The capital city, Li Qin's residence.
After a comfortable night.
The next day, Li Qin got out of bed and dressed with the help of Zhang Qianrou and her maids.
He got up and went to the hall where he handled his affairs.
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, kneeling outside.
Seeing Luo Yangxing kneeling outside, Li Qin knew that he must have found out something.
He then waved for his servant to bring him in.
Upon entering Li Qin's hall, Luo Yangxing bowed deeply to Li Qin and said:
"My lord, after my desperate investigation and interrogation of the captured prisoners, I have finally found some people."
As he spoke, he took out a list from his hand.
After Li Qin took it, he looked at the list behind the mountain, and the first name was Xu Youzhen.
Upon seeing his name, Li Qin closed his eyes and took a breath.
As expected, he was there.
His gaze then swept over the names one by one, finally turning to Luo Yangxing in front of him and asking:
"You did a good job. Is there anyone else?"
"Besides these people, there are some others who are suspected of involvement, such as Grand Secretary Qian Qianyi, but it is not certain."
Based on the confessions of the prisoners we secretly arrested, as well as the servants of these officials.
They secretly contacted Zhao Shuaizhen, and taking advantage of the Duke's absence with his troops, leaving the capital vulnerable, they coordinated with Zhao Shuaizhen to lead their troops into the capital, quickly storm the Forbidden City, and abduct the Emperor.
Moreover, His Majesty is not involved in this matter at all.
According to their confessions, during the coup, they wanted to quickly find His Majesty in order to enter the Forbidden City.
They even passed a note to the emperor, instructing him to be in the Imperial Garden behind the Shenwu Gate on the day of the rebellion.
Listening to his words, Li Qin also caught a key phrase: Imperial Garden.
According to Xi Ning's report, the emperor was in the Imperial Garden when the rebellion broke out.
He then nodded and said:
"Your investigation is acceptable, but if something like this happens again, you won't have another chance."
"Yes, Your Majesty, there will be no next time. If there is a next time, I will commit suicide to atone for my sins."
Upon hearing Li Qin's words, Luo Yangxing knew he had passed the test and immediately said excitedly.
Completely unaware that in addressing himself before Li Qin, he referred to himself as "your subject."
"Keep everyone on this list under surveillance, along with their families. Don't let a single one of them escape."
"Yes, Duke."
Upon hearing Li Qin's order, Luo Yangxing immediately assured Li Qin.
Li Qin then waved him away.
He then looked at the list in his hand, which contained the names of officials who had participated in the rebellion.
He carefully put it away without expression and placed it inside his clothes.
Many people attending today's imperial victory celebration banquet will likely not see the sun rise tomorrow.
Nighttime at the residence of Grand Secretary Xu Youzhen.
“Master, there are quite a few Imperial Guards around our mansion.”
A servant approached Xu Youzhen and respectfully reported.
Xu Youzhen listened to the servant's words but did not answer immediately. Instead, he straightened his official robes and prepared to attend the victory celebration banquet that evening.
Looking at the scarlet official robe he was wearing, he knew that this was the last time he would wear it.
"Okay, you can go now."
Xu Youzhen waved her hand with her back to the servant and said.
He had initially sided with Li Qin in exchange for continuing to wear this official robe, all to preserve his power and wealth.
In the end, however, Li Qin effectively sidelined the court, rendering himself, the second-ranking Grand Secretary, a mere figurehead.
How could someone who had spent his entire life climbing the ladder of power accept this?
So he secretly contacted Zhao Shuaizhen, took a risky move, and with the help of others, broke into the capital and headed straight for Shenwu Gate.
If we want to abduct His Majesty and take him away from the capital, while most of Li Qin's main force is in Shanxi and the area south of the capital is undefended, we should try to find a way to go south via Tianjin or Taihang Mountains.
He will be the most meritorious person in the coup.
However, in the end, Li Qin's confidants mobilized other forces within the capital and blocked them from entering.
This led to the plan's ultimate failure.
He also intended to escape the capital, but because Li Qin's confidants had blockaded the capital, Zhao Shuaizhen's army was able to escape too quickly.
This resulted in all of them being confined to the capital.
Now, the day has finally come for the coup, the day of reckoning after the failure.
After giving his final instructions to his family, he boarded a carriage bound for the Forbidden City.
Upon arriving at the Forbidden City, he saw that many ministers had already arrived.
They were all talking to each other, some happy, some sad.
Xu Youzhen's gaze swept across the faces of those who had participated in the coup with her.
Most of them sat obediently in their seats.
None of them went to communicate with the others; they seemed to understand their fate.
As a Grand Secretary, Xu Youzhen was greeted with bows by many officials as soon as he entered the room.
Xu Youzhen ignored them.
Instead, he sat down in his own seat.
Those ministers who had conspired with him looked at him as if he were their pillar of support when he arrived.
Xu Youzhen then looked at Sun Zhixie and Qian Qianyi sitting on either side of her.
Sun Zhixie knew that this was a blatant traitor and an absolute supporter of Li Qin.
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