Chapter 61 One-Word King
Ye Wanning straightened her clothes and said to Su Zhong, "Uncle Su, please come with me. It will be good to have someone to look after you."
In the front hall, a tall, thin middle-aged man with a high nose and deep-set eyes, wearing a Western Region-style brocade robe and a jewel-encrusted curved sword at his waist, looked Ye Wanning up and down as she entered. He curled his lip in disdain: "You're the one who holds the Tiger Tally? You're just a little girl, do you think you're worthy of carrying something so important?"
His entourage laughed even harder, their eyes filled with disdain. Chun Tao clenched her fists in anger, about to lash out, but Ye Wanning stopped her. She walked up to the envoy and asked calmly, "The envoy has come from afar, yet instead of paying respects to the Emperor, he comes to my humble Ci'an Hall first. Is it to question the holder of the Tiger Tally? Or does the Western Regions vassal king think that Great Qi is powerless and want to take advantage of the situation?"
The envoy's expression changed, and his smile vanished: "I'm here to verify the authenticity of the tiger tally! After all, who knows if this tiger tally is a forgery? If it's fake, and it delays the alliance between the Western Regions and the Great Qi, can you bear the responsibility?"
Ye Wanning sneered, "A brocade box!" She took out a brocade box from her bosom, opened it, and placed the tiger tally on the table. "The tiger tally recognizes its owner; it will never reveal its secrets to anyone other than the person holding it. If the envoy doesn't believe me, he can take a look!"
Ye Wanning pressed the groove in the middle of the tiger tally and recited the secret code her mother had given her: "May the mountains and rivers be forever secure, and may the sun and moon shine together!" Suddenly, a faint golden light appeared on the tiger tally, and then, behind the patterns that Ye Wanning could not see clearly, a line of small characters appeared: "The Prince of the Western Regions awaits your command." It was the late emperor's own handwriting, and it had the majesty of an emperor!
Upon seeing this, the messenger immediately knelt down with a thud. "Greetings, Master of the Tiger Tally! I was blind and did not recognize your greatness. I have offended you. Please forgive me!"
Ye Wanning helped him up. "Envoy, please rise and speak. The vassal king sent you to see me not just to prove the tiger tally is genuine, but also to ask me to do something, right?"
The envoy stood up, wiping the sweat from his face. "Indeed, indeed, Master is truly wise. The vassal king received news that the Turks have recently been mobilizing troops in the border region and have already occupied two small towns in our Western Regions. They probably intend to invade the Great Qi. It was only by winning over the Turks and having Zhou Song and his men act as inside agents that the Turks have become obedient again."
"Thank you for informing me, Your Highness," Ye Wanning said. "I will report this to the Emperor immediately so that the court can make preparations as soon as possible. You must be tired from your journey, sir. Please rest in the capital for a few days. I will give you a reply after I have discussed it with the Emperor."
"Yes, I will obey your orders, Master," the messenger replied hastily.
After seeing the envoy off, Su Zhong said, "Second Miss, the Turks are acting strangely at this time. I'm afraid it's not simple. Should we send our secret guards to the border to investigate?"
“Okay, go and make the arrangements,” Ye Wanning said. “Also, keep an eye on Zhou Song’s movements. Although he’s imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, he still has people around him, and he might be colluding with the Turks.”
Just then, Pei Zhi rushed over: "Wan Ning, I just received news from Ying Ge that there are new clues about Physician Liu's body!"
Pei Zhi entered, holding a fragment of blue brocade in his hand: "The people from Yingge found this under Physician Liu's fingernails. After comparison, it was found to be the brocade often worn by Li Qian, the Vice Minister of War. Li Qian is the brother-in-law of the Duke of Li. When the Duke of Li fell from power, he was fined three months' salary by the Emperor. I didn't expect that they had left him a backup plan."
Ye Wanning took the brocade, which was embroidered with a dark peony pattern. It was indeed a special material supplied by Yunjinzhuang in the capital, and only high-ranking officials could afford to wear it.
“Imperial Physician Liu is a veteran of the Imperial Medical Academy, so he must know a lot of palace secrets. Maybe he was silenced because he discovered Li Qian’s secrets,” Pei Zhi said. “I think so too. Li Qian is still working in the Ministry of War and still holds some military power. If he were to collude with the Turks, that would be terrible. We need to find evidence of his crimes as soon as possible and bring him down.”
Ye Wanning thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "I've got it! I'll have the waiter spread rumors in the teahouse that Physician Liu left behind an account book before he died, which records the amount of bribes he and the treacherous officials in the court received. The account book is currently in Cixi Hall, and Li Qian will definitely take the bait."
Pei Zhi nodded: "That's a good idea. Li Qian is guilty, he'll definitely take the bait. We'll set up an ambush at Ci'an Hall and make him walk right into our trap."
That afternoon, Ye Wanning instructed her waiter to spread rumors in the teahouse, claiming that the hospital's physician Liu's account book was hidden in a cabinet in the backyard of Ci'an Hall, and that it contained incriminating evidence against a powerful figure. The news spread quickly, and before evening, people saw officials from the Ministry of War's residence acting suspiciously near Ci'an Hall. It seemed that Li Qian had already arrived.
As night fell, the backyard of Ci'an Hall was silent. Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi hid behind the artificial hill, while the Shadow Pavilion members lay in ambush all around, each armed with bows and arrows. At the third watch, a dark figure scaled the wall and stealthily approached the cabinet in the backyard—it was none other than Li Qian, the Vice Minister of War!
He opened the cabinet, reached in, and grabbed nothing. Just as he was about to turn around, Ye Wanning's voice came from behind the artificial hill: "Lord Li, sneaking into Ci'an Hall at the third watch of the night, are you looking for Physician Liu's account books?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qian's expression changed drastically, and he was about to turn and run away. Pei Zhi emerged from behind the artificial hill, brandishing his long sword and blocking his path: "Lord Li, since you're here, why don't you stay and have a chat?"
Knowing he couldn't escape, Li Qian drew his sword and shouted, "Don't you dare mess with me! I'm an official of the court, how dare you touch me?"
"An official?" Ye Wanning sneered twice. "Colluding with the Turks and poisoning the imperial physician, is that something an official should do?"
Li Qian was startled and brandished his broadsword, slashing at Ye Wanning. Pei Zhi drew his sword, and in a flash, Li Qian's blade was deflected. Pei Zhi then kicked him to the ground. The Shadow Pavilion members rushed over and bound him.
Pei Zhi searched him and found a letter. Upon opening it, he saw that it was written in the handwriting of the Turkic chieftain. The letter read: "If you can open the border gates and lead my army into the pass, after I overthrow the Great Qi, I will appoint you as a king of equal rank!"
"With such evidence, what else do you have to say?" Ye Wanning threw the letter in front of Li Qian.
Li Qian collapsed to the ground, his face drained of color: "I... I was forced by Zhou Song! He said that as long as I helped the Turks, he could protect the Li family..."
"Now that things have come to this, you still want to implicate others?" Pei Zhi said coldly. "Tie him up and put him in the dungeon so he can have a good talk with Zhou Song."
Seeing Li Qian being taken away, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief. Another member of the Li family's remnants had been eliminated. However, she knew this was far from enough. There were definitely many more people backing Li Qian.
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