Chapter 357 Zhao Hede 18
Zhao Hede glanced at Liu Ao's expression at the moment and couldn't help feeling embarrassed for him.
He had just finished comforting his beloved concubine, but then he turned around and lost face in front of the woman he loved most. Oh my God, the Wang family is even more powerful than she thought.
Bang--
Zhao Hede looked at Liu Ao's suddenly silent face, and seemed to hear the taut string in his head finally stretched to its full length and breaking.
"Well, you are indeed a courageous Grand Marshal, and a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. But Grand Marshal is old and his memory is not so good. If you want to arrest them, then of course you should arrest both of them. How can you arrest one and leave the other alone?"
Having said that, Liu Ao immediately issued an order, ordering people to arrest Wang Mang, who had just been demoted, and put him in the Ye Ting secret prison.
At this moment, Hede did not continue to cry and beg, but instead expressed his rage: "This is outrageous! Could that Grand Marshal and General be so all-powerful? My brother, Marquis Guangbo, is a high official, and he dared to bypass Your Majesty and imprison him?!"
"This is really, really...absurd!!!"
Zhao Hede's chest rose and fell violently, and anyone could feel her excitement. Seeing this, Liu Ao felt strangely calmer, and even felt like joking:
"Hasn't my reign as emperor always been a joke?"
"His Majesty?!"
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. My virtue is much more important than those old bastards. Don't get yourself sick because of them. Besides, I'm not angry at all. Don't worry. I'll issue an order to release your brother right away, okay?"
Before Hede could say anything, he heard the palace servants report that Xiao Yu and the Grand Marshal and General and his entourage were coming to the Xuanshi Hall.
Hede quickly stood up and tried to avoid them, but Liu Ao grabbed his hand and said, "I'm afraid they are here just to deal with us. Are you going to abandon me and leave me to face them alone?"
The words were pitiful, but Hede understood that he was trying to irritate the Grand Marshal outside. Although the emperor was using her as a tool, Hede smiled secretly.
Whether it was a concubine or the empress, logically, no one should have appeared in the Xuanshi Hall. It was just that Hede was favored, so as long as she kept a low profile and there were no idle people to criticize her, everyone would understand.
But now the emperor asked her to stay and face the Grand Marshal and General Xiao Yuxiao together. The meaning of this is different.
Once something starts happening, there's no way to stop it.
"Hede will protect your majesty."
The eighteen-year-old Hede raised his head, as if he had misunderstood the meaning of Liu Ao's words. He really felt that the emperor would be wronged, and had a determined expression as if he was willing to protect him to the death.
It's like the cat at home saying it wants to raise you.
Liu Ao was both amused and touched. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, he would have wanted to hug Hede in his arms and rub her tightly.
"Then I will rely entirely on Hede."
Liu Ao's gentle gaze was caught by Xiao Yu who entered the hall. He knew too well what this look meant, and could not help but follow the other person's gaze. Even though he loved the empress dowager deeply, he was still distracted for a moment by her stunning beauty.
Coming back to his senses, he glanced at the Grand General in front of him, then at the Emperor and Zhao Zhaoyi in front of him. Thinking of the recent turmoil in the court, he felt a little hesitant.
He had originally thought the Emperor's actions this time were more out of spite towards the Empress Dowager, or perhaps also due to being mesmerized by her beauty. But just now, it seemed that the Emperor's love for Zhao Zhaoyi was genuine. But now, the matter involved the previous dynasty...
The two men bowed to the emperor, and Hede sat aside motionless.
Because the emperor unexpectedly brought Zhao Zhaoyi with him, Wang Yin was stunned for a moment when she saw this rumored favorite concubine for the first time.
But he had a strong character. Although he was bewitched by Zhao Hede's appearance just now, it made him more convinced that she was a woman who brought disaster to the country. Therefore, his voice was particularly cold and hard:
"Your Majesty, how can you allow a woman from the harem to be here again during the previous court meeting? Your Majesty's actions are disrupting the moral code. Please do not be deceived by this seductive woman. Clear your court and set things right."
Xiao Yu thought it was bad news. Even if Wang Yin had said nothing wrong, she shouldn't have said it so bluntly. The Emperor was already displeased with the Wang family. They had come to ask him to pardon Liu Fu and appoint a new empress. Now that Wang Yin had said this, even if it had been possible, it was probably doomed.
"Oh? The Grand Marshal is looking for me to make decisions about the affairs of the previous dynasty? This is really strange. Wasn't the Grand Marshal always the one who had the final say in the previous dynasty? How could it be my turn to take charge?"
Liu Ao sat in his seat without even changing his expression. Hede, who was sitting next to him, seemed not to have heard Wang Yin's words. He was even in the mood to take a piece of dessert and start eating.
However, Wang Yin could not help but react. He quickly bowed and said, "I am terrified." But his expression did not show that he felt he was wrong.
The emperor was young and didn't know how to handle state affairs, he only knew how to indulge in the harem. For the sake of the Han Dynasty, he naturally had to help his nephew take care of these political affairs.
Liu Ao naturally noticed the indifference on his face. He still had a cynical smile on his face, but his eyes were like icy ice soaked in poison. "Really? Does the Grand Marshal think I'm qualified to make decisions about the past?"
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, ruling the world. He is naturally qualified. However, as a subject, it is also my duty to point out Your Majesty's shortcomings."
"In that case, someone come and convey my decree to immediately release Marquis Guangbo without charge."
Liu Ao pretended not to hear the second half of the sentence and finished it in one breath without giving Wang Yin any chance to refute. He directly stamped the imperial seal on the decree he had written while Wang Yin was nagging. Zhao Hede immediately picked it up with both hands and handed it to the servant beside him. The two of them cooperated very well and caught them off guard.
Wang Yin tried to stop him, but Hede spoke up at the right moment, "General Sima, are you trying to get Your Majesty to retract your order and become a king who breaks his word?"
He gestured for the two men to look at the imperial seal in the emperor's hand and said, "The imperial edict has been issued. Do you think you can just withdraw it?"
Indeed, if it was an oral order, it could be revoked if it was not carried out, but an imperial edict was different. It was not a good thing for the emperor to change his orders overnight.
Now Xiao Yu could no longer stay out of it. He stepped forward to stop Wang Yin, obviously disapproving of him continuing to make trouble.
Then he reminded him: "Marquis Guangbo made only a minor mistake. Grand Marshal can punish him lightly, but don't forget your main task."
Wang Yin, alerted by his words, immediately responded, "Your Majesty, if you wish to favor the Zhao family, I have no choice but to obey. However, I hope Your Majesty will not discourage the loyal ministers of the previous dynasty. As a counselor, it is the duty of Lord Liu Fu to advise Your Majesty. Now, Your Majesty has imprisoned him for his remarks. How can he convince the public?"
well……
At this moment, Zhao Hede and Xiao Yu were surprisingly in sync with each other, and both were speechless about this great Sima General.
This is really awesome. It turns out that the Wang family, from top to bottom, really treats the emperor as their own relative.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Marshal's point is that Doctor Liu's rude words were certainly inappropriate, but his assisted government work was diligent and meritorious, and his crime is not punishable by death."
"Your Majesty punished him to establish his authority. Liu Fu has been imprisoned in the Ye Ting Prison, and the ministers are already terrified. If Your Majesty can forgive Liu Fu at this time, it will comfort the Empress Dowager and her son, and open up the relationship with the ministers to accept advice. Please consider it."
Liu Ao still respected Xiao Yu very much, so he would not be prejudiced when listening to him. Xiao Yu always spoke slowly and calmly, unlike the Wang family's stubborn and rotten wood, who spoke in a stubborn and harsh manner, so he could still listen to a little bit of what he said.
But the key issue is that this incident made Liu Ao feel unprecedentedly uneasy.
If Wang Feng's use of most of the court officials to force him to submit only made him angry and embarrassed, then the fact that a loyal and upright minister like Liu Fu actually obeyed the orders of the Empress Dowager made him panic.
There is a big difference between a court that listens to Wang 90% of the time and a court that listens to Wang 100% of the time.
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