Meanwhile, in the human capital, after nightfall, the city gates were tightly closed, but the city was brightly lit with lanterns, truly living up to its reputation as the most prosperous city in the world.
Unlike the bustling city, the palace was much quieter. After all, it was a sacred place, and there were many rules and strict security after nightfall.
However, the emperor's bedroom was brightly lit at this time.
The fat Zhao Ruizhi yawned listlessly, casually propped one leg up on the dragon throne, stuffed some pastries into his mouth, and then gulped down a bowl of tea before saying, "My two royal uncles, what brings you to me so late? Speak quickly, I still want to play."
Opposite him stood two middle-aged men, both dressed in the robes of palace generals.
The two were named Zhao Si and Zhao Tai. Their father was Prince Yi, Zhao Huang, who held the official position of General Who Guards the East and was a highly respected figure in the royal family.
For the sake of loyalty, the Great Zhou Dynasty mostly selected sons of imperial nobles and members of the royal family to serve as palace guards, and the two brothers became generals of the palace guards.
Because Prince Yi, Zhao Huang, was Zhao Hao's uncle, they were also Zhao Ruizhi's uncle in terms of seniority.
Seeing Zhao Ruizhi's improper posture, and how he spat out quite a few crumbs of pastry while speaking, it was clear he was not behaving like a ruler.
However, the two men were certainly not there to advise the emperor on his manners. Upon hearing this, they hurriedly said, "We have confidential matters to report to Your Majesty. Please dismiss your attendants."
He looked at the eunuchs and palace maids beside him with a troubled expression.
"How dare you! You request an audience with the Emperor in the middle of the night! How can you allow the Emperor to be alone with you?" the eunuch behind Zhao Ruizhi scolded. He was an old servant who had served the Crown Prince since the Eastern Palace era, and his status had risen accordingly.
Everyone used to call him Little Xu, but now everyone respectfully calls him Eunuch Xu.
He was well aware of how he had achieved all his current glory, and naturally cared about Zhao Ruizhi's safety, since he wasn't a normal person and didn't have much ability to protect himself.
At this moment, a general at the door said in a deep voice, "I will stay here to protect the Emperor; no one can harm him."
The closest guards protecting the emperor were the Tiger Warriors, led by Prince Zhao Yuan of Guangling, followed by the Palace General and the Palace Attendant.
This person was Li Guanshi, the Palace Attendant.
Given Zhao Yuan's status, it was impossible for him to be inseparable from the emperor at all times. Therefore, it was mainly Li Guanshi who led various imperial guards to be responsible for Zhao Ruizhi's daily safety.
He was highly skilled and extremely reliable in his work. Once he spoke, Eunuch Xu said nothing more and led the others away.
After the eunuchs and palace maids left, Zhao Ruizhi said impatiently, "What is it? Speak quickly."
At this moment, Zhao Si and Zhao Tai knelt on the ground together: "Your Majesty, the Liu brothers, Grand Tutor and General of Chariots and Cavalry, have colluded with the Regent Prince, are in league with the demon race, and are plotting a rebellion!"
"Huh?" Zhao Ruizhi, who had picked up another piece of pastry to take a bite, froze on the spot upon hearing this.
Even if he's stupid, this news is still incredibly explosive.
"That's impossible. The Grand Tutor and the others are the Empress Dowager's elders and are extremely loyal to me. The Regent is also my teacher. How could they possibly rebel?"
“This is absolutely true. We received news from the demon race that there was a problem with their sealed land and they needed our support. The Regent and the Liu brothers strongly advocated sending reinforcements to the demon race. However, not long after, our reinforcements were ambushed by the demons within their territory, and our 100,000 elite troops were wiped out!” Zhao Si said hurriedly.
Zhao Tai echoed, "That's right. Now that I think about it, the news about the sealed land of the demon race was only said by Zu An. He is also the regent of the demon race and colludes with the little demon queen. Obviously, he wants to take this opportunity to ambush and kill our human race's vital forces to clear the way for the demon race's future invasion."
"The fact that the Liu brothers handled this matter alone clearly indicates that they were accomplices of Zu An."
...
The two were talking animatedly, but Zhao Ruizhi looked at them with suspicion. After a long while, he said, "Didn't we already discuss this in court? Linglong and the Empress Dowager both said that the intelligence from the front lines is unclear, and it's too early to make a judgment now. Do you have anything else to report? If not, I'm going to play with my crickets."
Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were dumbfounded. They never expected that their impeachment, delivered with great passion, would not arouse his interest in the slightest.
They knew that if they didn't get the results they wanted today, a large group of people, including themselves, would lose their heads tomorrow.
Thinking of this, the two gritted their teeth and said, "The Empress Dowager is a member of the Liu family, so she will naturally make an excuse for the Liu family."
"The Empress, the Empress is..."
"What happened to Linglong?" Zhao Ruizhi suddenly looked up, staring fiercely at the two of them.
He could tolerate the others, but Bi Linglong was his Achilles' heel. Over the years, he had come to regard her as the most important person in his life.
Seeing his reaction, the two were somewhat frightened, and since they couldn't find a reasonable explanation for it, they fell silent.
"If there's nothing else, then get lost." Zhao Ruizhi was annoyed. He didn't care if the other party was his uncle or not. Anyway, there were so many members of the royal family, and these two weren't important figures. Linglong had told him about all the important people who couldn't be treated lightly.
At this moment, Li Guanshi, who was standing at the door, suddenly spoke up: "The Empress may have said that on purpose to exonerate the Regent."
Zhao Si and Zhao Tai's eyes widened immediately; this guy really dared to say that.
As expected, Zhao Ruizhi immediately flew into a rage, glaring at the other party: "What did you say?"
Although he usually seemed more like a fool, there was a murderous glint in his eyes at this moment.
At this moment, Li Guanshi hesitated slightly: "The Empress seems to be too intimate with the Regent, and the Empress treats the Regent differently than she treats other men."
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