Chapter 462 Mutual Performance
The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at Zhao Yi in surprise. He actually asked the virtuous king to investigate the case?
Not to mention the tense relationship between King Xian and Zhao Yi, King Xian would not work hard for Zhao Yi.
Just because the secret guard was his man, it would be impossible for the wise king to find the real culprit. He would only find a scapegoat and hastily close the case.
Zhao Yi must be aware of this.
If that’s the case, why did Zhao Yi force him to investigate the case?
Suddenly, an idea popped into the mind of the Northern Qi Emperor - Zhao Yi wanted to kill the virtuous king.
Yongqing County is controlled by Zhao Yi's forces, and the virtuous king may never return.
After all, he had few children, only three sons, and the King of Qi had withdrawn from the fight for the throne, leaving only Zhao Yi and the Xian King's two sons fighting. If the Xian King died, the throne would fall on Zhao Yi's head.
However, given Zhao Yi's scheming and cunning, he would not openly kill the virtuous king.
Could it be... that there is a conspiracy here that he doesn't know about?
For a moment, several thoughts flashed through the mind of the Emperor of Northern Qi, and he was somewhat unable to figure out Zhao Yi's thoughts.
The Northern Qi Emperor's eyes darkened. "You said you wanted to send the virtuous prince to investigate the case?"
Zhao Yi replied, "No one is more suitable than the virtuous king."
"The virtuous prince had just returned from his fiefdom, and you were assassinated on your way back to Kyoto. That would have been fine, but you even personally asked the virtuous prince to investigate the case."
Although the Emperor of Northern Qi could not guess what Zhao Yi was thinking, he was more inclined to believe that Zhao Yi wanted to eliminate the virtuous king, so he directly warned him.
"Northern Qi is currently facing a period of turmoil, and the identity of your assassin remains unknown. If anything were to happen to the virtuous prince during his investigation, the ministers at court would likely suspect you of orchestrating the assassination in order to lure the virtuous prince to Yongqing County and kill him."
"Your Majesty has always valued blood ties, which is why, upon learning of my origins, you sent people to Great Zhou to bring me back for a reunion. Your health was already significantly weakened after the last incident with the Prince of Qi. If something were to happen to the virtuous Prince again, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to withstand the blow."
Zhao Yi seemed to not understand the meaning of the Northern Qi Emperor's words. He picked up a small cloth bag beside him and handed it to Eunuch Liu. His words were full of consideration for the Northern Qi Emperor and the virtuous prince: "Feng Zhihuan and Concubine Shu are cousins. He probably gave most of the money he earned from exploiting the people as a tribute to the virtuous prince."
"If other ministers were sent to investigate my assassination, they would probably find Feng Zhihuan. After all, Feng Zhihuan is the most motivated and the most suspicious person. Thanks to his connections with Concubine Shu, he was able to forge the token of the Royal Guard. Killing me and destroying the evidence might mitigate his guilt and prevent his family from being implicated."
"The Xian Wang and Feng Zhihuan have a deep entanglement. Once the investigation leads to Feng Zhihuan, the Xian Wang will inevitably be implicated, bringing all these lawsuits to light. By that time, even if you protect the Xian Wang, he will lose the support of the people."
The Emperor of Northern Qi pretended not to know who assassinated Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi also pretended not to know.
Even if he exposed the murderer as the Emperor of Northern Qi, it would be of no avail. Instead, it would cause the two of them to openly fall out, which would not benefit him at all.
It would be better to give the Emperor of Northern Qi a way out and put the blame on Feng Zhihuan.
The Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly understood that all the previous things were just preparations, and Zhao Yi's ultimate goal was to become a wise king.
At this time, Eunuch Liu opened the small cloth bag, took out a few booklets and handed them to him: "Your Majesty, please take a look."
The Emperor of Northern Qi quickly flipped through the booklet, which detailed the financial transactions between Feng Zhihuan and the Xian King, as well as some cases of conspiracy between the two. Each and every one of them was enough to sentence them to death.
If Zhao Yi revealed what the virtuous king had done, even if he saved the virtuous king, it would be difficult for him to enthrone the virtuous king as the crown prince, otherwise it would cause dissatisfaction among the people.
If the previous dynasty had taken advantage of this opportunity to build momentum and encourage people from all over the country to revolt, I'm afraid his rule would have been unstable.
Zhao Yi stared at the imperial edict spread out on the dragon table and continued, "Since childhood, I have learned the ways of a minister. I serve the Emperor and share His Majesty's worries. I also provide for the people and ensure that they have enough food and clothing. I have done my best to serve you and the people. Even if my actions are criticized by the officials, it does not matter."
His words were so righteous and awe-inspiring that it seemed that the Emperor of Northern Qi was judging others by his own standards.
Unfortunately, the Emperor of Northern Qi could not find any fault, and had to severely punish the virtuous king to shut Zhao Yi up.
"This evil creature dares to embezzle and pervert justice, and harm the people by refusing justice." The Northern Qi Emperor was furious and ordered Eunuch Liu: "Go and bring the virtuous king into the palace."
Eunuch Liu received orders to leave the palace and go to Prince Xian's mansion to invite Prince Xian into the palace.
Seeing that Eunuch Liu looked serious, the wise king wanted to test his mind.
But Eunuch Liu looked down on him, and no matter how he tried to hint at it, he would never reveal a word.
Suddenly, the wise king remembered the day he returned to Kyoto, when the Emperor of Northern Qi hinted that he would be appointed crown prince.
Could it be that the emperor sent someone to invite him into the palace today to discuss the matter of appointing the crown prince?
Thinking of this, the wise king specially put on a dragon robe and entered the palace with a happy face.
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