As soon as these words were spoken, Shi Qingxue raised his head.
She was stunned for a long time, as if she didn't realize that Chu Yi would ask such a question.
But soon, he replied calmly:
"Your Majesty, whatever your sentence may be, I will accept it. Since I have pleaded guilty, there is no reason for me not to admit it."
"Okay, I know what's going on in this matter."
Before Chu Yi could speak, Xiao Ling stopped him.
"I will have the Heavenly Guards investigate those implicated in this matter. If Duke Rong's intentions of rebellion are true, I will naturally punish him severely. Fortunately, this incident did not occur. I also understand General Shi's painstaking efforts. The punishment for this crime of treason should be reduced appropriately according to the circumstances. I do not want to implicate innocent people."
"However... I will depose Duke Rong from his position. General Shi, do you think this is appropriate?"
The emphasis here was on not implicating innocent people, and Shi Qingxue understood the implicit meaning.
She was stunned for a long while before she bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty's grace is something I will never forget. I will repay your majesty with my lifelong loyalty!"
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Ling added a reminder: "After this matter is settled, General Shi should head north to fight against Qi."
"I am grateful for your Majesty's willingness to support me. I know the situation in Yan. This time, if I were to take on Qi, I would surely ensure that the Qi army would never return!"
After Shi Qingxue left, Chu Yi turned around and spoke:
"Your Majesty's handling of this matter is quite enlightened. No one is willing to move."
Xiao Ling was unhappy. "Didn't you say that Duke Rong was behind this? I can't really execute Duke Rong, right? If I do, I can't guarantee that General Shi will still be loyal."
"I do suspect that Duke Rong did this on purpose," Chu Yi admitted decisively. "If I wanted to force the emperor to abdicate, I wouldn't have informed my subordinates first. The first person I would have to convince would have been Chu Yan. If Duke Rong truly intended to rebel, the first person he would have to convince would have been his granddaughter, General Shi, who held the military power, rather than anyone else."
He spoke a lot in a very eloquent manner, but Xiao Ling only focused on the two words "forcing the emperor to abdicate".
Hearing this, her brows furrowed tightly. "Chu thief, can you please consider my dignity when you speak? Or... you can try to force the emperor to abdicate?"
Chu Yi couldn't help but laugh, and stretched out his hand to hug the little empress in his arms:
"Your Majesty, are you serious?"
"If I force the emperor to abdicate, I'm afraid His Majesty won't be able to hold back..."
After saying that, his frivolous eyes looked intentionally or unintentionally at the little empress's lower abdomen.
Xiao Ling was stunned for a long moment, and then her cheeks turned red instantly.
"Chu thief! You are truly shameless, in every way!"
She simply wanted to die. Ever since she got to know Chu Zei again, every dirty joke he told would drive her crazy.
hateful!
When will I be able to get some ground back?
Fortunately, Chu Yi didn't continue to make jokes back, and Xiao Ling didn't take it too seriously.
"I still don't quite understand. I clearly hold the Shi family in high regard. Isn't it too risky for Duke Rong to take such a move?"
Chu Yi nodded and said, "Perhaps... once the Tianwei team finds out something, the truth will be revealed."
…
Following the clues, Tianwei's investigation progressed rapidly.
Soon, a group of court ministers implicated by Gao Qian surfaced.
The matter of Duke Rong was also verified to be true. Xiao Ling took drastic measures and quickly exiled the relevant court ministers who were implicated.
In the end, Duke Rong was stripped of his title.
Just when everyone thought that the Shi family would no longer be favored by the emperor, and when Shi Qingxue was about to leave, an imperial edict slapped the whole world in the face.
His Majesty has issued an edict to promote Shi Qingxue and appoint him as the Marshal of the Northern Expedition.
In addition, Shi Qingxue was named Duke Dingguo. She was awarded the title of Duke of the State, which is also the only female Duke of the State known to people in Anguo and even in ancient and modern history.
…
Bei'an, Huining City.
After a few days, the wind from the capital finally blew into the most prosperous city in Northern Ontario.
Outside the city, the 100,000 Beijing troops led by Chu Yan set up camp here.
"Fuck it, how could such an unlucky thing happen!"
Outside the fire, Chen Yi's frustrated outburst ignited the silent atmosphere among the generals in the military camp.
They were in such a hurry to travel north this time that they only reached Huining today, and the news from Taining, the capital, had only just reached here.
The news from the capital was somewhat unbelievable. That was because the current emperor had admitted to the whole world that he was a woman who became emperor.
All the soldiers in the Beijing Camp were stunned when they learned of this shocking news.
The facts were right in front of them, and they had to believe it.
So according to this news, they have been working for a woman for more than three years?
Everyone just felt a vague sense of frustration in their hearts, but they couldn't put it into words.
Especially since the previous rebellion was suppressed, several generals felt even more upset.
Now it is very clear that His Majesty is rushing the Beijing troops north, probably to prevent these people from rebelling in Guanzhong, right?
Finally, seeing that no one else spoke, Chen Yi spoke again:
"Everyone, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the cadres looked at each other and finally shook their heads in unison.
"General Chen, this matter is indeed a bit explosive, but... we are now in Huining, waiting to resist the Qi army's southward advance, and there is nothing we can do."
"Yes, even if the current emperor is a woman, so what?" someone said helplessly.
"It's a pity that General Chu has no intention of rebelling. Otherwise... this would be a great opportunity."
A different voice rose from the corner, and then it continued, "Although we have no interest in a woman becoming emperor, those corrupt scholars certainly don't want to see it. If we seize the throne now, it will be what the people want!"
After saying this, the soldier next to him couldn't help but push him: "Don't talk nonsense, General Chu has no such idea at all!"
"Yes, we are going to the border to resist the Great Qi Army now. We should behave ourselves. Anyway, we have General Chu here, and we will be more comfortable here than in the capital!"
Everyone fell silent for a while.
The bonfire in the middle gradually burned brighter, reflecting the different expressions on the faces of a group of bearded men.
"You all must be taking this matter too lightly!"
Just when they were silent, Fu Xi's voice came from behind them.
At this time, Fu Xi was in the military camp, and he had changed into a man's appearance. At first glance, he looked like a military advisor.
She walked among the generals and looked at them all.
"In my opinion, our General Chu may not necessarily want to fight for the throne."
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