Chapter 343 Hatred
The plague in Yuncheng and Panshi City was being controlled in an orderly manner, and the news about Lin Yi's beheading reached the palace.
Concubine Shu sat in a rosewood waist-belted armchair, fiddling with a reading lamp in her hand with a smile on her face.
This lamp, with a green-green copper stand, resembles a lotus leaf, holding up a lotus flower. When a candle is lit, the snow-white petals glow with a warm, shimmering light, resembling a golden lotus, a truly elegant sight.
Concubine Shu was so fond of the newly acquired Golden Lotus reading lamp that she placed the lamp stand nearby, intending to use it as an excuse to invite the Emperor of Northern Qi to her bedroom.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened." Hongqiao hurried in from outside and said in a trembling voice, "My lord, he... he was beheaded by Prince Guangling."
The smile on Concubine Shu's face froze, and she asked, "Which sir?"
"Lin... Lord Lin..."
With a "bang", the Golden Lotus Lantern fell to the ground.
This news was like a bolt from the blue to Concubine Shu, leaving her brain numb.
Before leaving the capital, her brother wrote her a letter, saying that after he quelled the plague and overthrew the imperial teacher, he would join forces with other ministers to write a letter to the Emperor of Northern Qi, asking him to appoint a crown prince.
By then, he would have a way to get the Northern Qi Emperor to appoint Heng'er as the crown prince.
Now when I hear news about my brother again, it is not the news that he has returned to the capital in glory, but the sad news that he has been beheaded.
Concubine Shu shu shuddered, refusing to believe the news she had heard. "It's fake, it's fake news. My brother is a fourth-rank official, a junior secretary, and my elder brother. How dare Zhao Yi, a prince in name only, chop off my brother's head?"
The more she spoke, the more she believed it: "Zhao Yi is a dead man, how could he have killed my brother?"
Hongqiao's face turned pale. "Prince Guangling fell into the river and was saved by a ferryman, saving his life. He beheaded you, probably to avenge a personal vendetta."
A strong hatred emerged in Concubine Shu's eyes, and she wished she could kill Zhao Yi immediately to avenge her brother.
"Help me to see His Majesty."
Concubine Shu wanted to get up, but her legs seemed not to belong to her and she couldn't stand up.
Hongqiao held Shufei's hand and felt that Shufei was trembling all over. She must have not recovered from the shock yet.
She became more cautious, helped Concubine Shu into the sedan chair, and went to the imperial study.
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In the imperial study, the Emperor of Northern Qi learned that Lin Yi had sent someone to assassinate Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi's carriage fell into the river, but he was lucky enough to be rescued by a ferryman.
Zhao Yi was frail and fell ill after falling into the cold river. Once he regained consciousness and was able to get out of bed, he hurried back to Yuncheng. However, upon hearing that Lin Yi was planning to burn the people to quell the plague, he took advantage of his position as the ruler of his fiefdom and had Lin Yi beheaded.
Later, the Emperor of Northern Qi heard another piece of news that Zhao Yi had quelled the plague in Yuncheng and became a great hero of Yuncheng.
Public opinion is now polarized, with one side criticizing Lin Yi and the other side praising Zhao Yi's deeds.
The Northern Qi Emperor was at a loss and was about to send for the Imperial Preceptor to come to the palace for consultation. Then he realized that the Imperial Preceptor had not yet returned to the capital.
At this time, Eunuch Liu came in and announced, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Tutor has returned to the capital."
The Northern Qi Emperor was delighted and said, "Hurry up and invite the Imperial Tutor into the palace."
"I obey your command." Eunuch Liu hurried out of the palace to invite the imperial tutor.
The Emperor of Northern Qi quickly organized the memorial and would show it to the imperial teacher later.
Previously, the imperial teacher arranged for Zhao Yi to go to Yingcheng to control the plague in order to prevent the Great Zhou from making further advances and deliberately making things difficult for the Northern Qi.
Who would have thought that the plague would spread to Yuncheng and Panshi City? Zhao Yi actually cured the plague in these two cities and gained a very high reputation among the people.
This is not a good thing for him.
His purpose of keeping Zhao Yi was to contain the Great Zhou.
In this way, Zhao Yi became an important figure in Northern Qi. If he tried to usurp the throne, wouldn't the Northern Qi be in a state of change?
The imperial teacher came in the wind and snow, and was invited to take a seat by the Emperor of Northern Qi before he even paid his respects.
When the Emperor of Northern Qi saw the Imperial Preceptor, he felt that he had found a backbone. He told the Imperial Preceptor everything about how Zhao Yi had killed Lin Yi and how he had gained reputation among the people.
He was filled with worry: "Emperor Master, how do you think I should deal with him?"
"If Your Majesty is referring to the incident in which Prince Guangling killed Lord Lin, I have a different opinion."
The Imperial Preceptor spoke slowly, "Lin Yi plotted to murder the heir to the throne. This alone is a capital crime. Furthermore, Lin Yi's intention to burn the people of the two cities sparked public resentment."
"Prince Guangling sent Lin Yi back to the capital. You handed the case over to the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. The entire Lin family would inevitably be executed. This would severely damage Prince Xian's power and disrupt the balance."
The virtuous prince was the prince born to the virtuous concubine.
Upon hearing this, the Northern Qi Emperor felt that the Imperial Preceptor's analysis made perfect sense. Although he valued the Prince of Qi, he was still in his prime and feared that the Prince of Qi would become so powerful that he would not be able to force his way to the throne.
By supporting the power of the virtuous king, the King of Qi and the virtuous king can check and balance each other.
In this way, Zhao Yi killed Lin Yi, which actually helped him a lot.
"Prince Guangling committed the crime of usurpation by beheading Lin Yi. He performed great service in combating the plague in Yuncheng and Panshicheng, and should have been rewarded." The Imperial Teacher took a sip of his hot tea. "Now, let's let his merits and demerits offset each other, and use this to suppress public opinion."
This sentence reminded the Emperor of Northern Qi that if Zhao Yi had not killed Lin Yi, given Zhao Yi's achievements in controlling the plague, he would have to give Zhao Yi some real power and let him step into the center of political power.
The Emperor of Northern Qi breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how high Zhao Yi's reputation was, as long as he did not have real power, he would not be a threat.
"Lin Yi plotted to murder Prince Guangling, and Prince Guangling beheaded him personally. Even if the Great Zhou is unhappy about this, we have an explanation."
The Imperial Preceptor said slowly, "This is precisely why I, Liu Ci Fu, and I did not stop Prince Guangling from taking action."
The Northern Qi Emperor's worries dissipated, and he was completely relieved: "Should I summon Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan back to the capital?"
The Imperial Master did not speak directly, but reminded: "Yingcheng is guarded by the King of Zhenbei."
The Emperor of Northern Qi was worried. If he allowed Zhao Yi to stay in his fiefdom, then if the Great Zhou wanted to attack Northern Qi, Zhao Yi would definitely open the city gates and welcome the Great Zhou troops into the city.
Then Yuncheng and Panshi City would be in the hands of the Great Zhou.
By keeping Zhao Yi under close surveillance and eliminating his influence in the fiefdom, there would be no need to worry about Zhao Yi helping the Great Zhou to steal the country.
Thinking of this, the Emperor of Northern Qi immediately issued an order to summon Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan back to the capital to prevent them from expanding their power in Yuncheng and Panshi City.
The Imperial Preceptor waited for the Northern Qi Emperor to pass on the decree, and then reported to the Northern Qi Emperor the important things that had happened in Yuncheng, and then took his leave and returned home.
As soon as he left, Concubine Shu arrived.
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