Chapter 126 The outcome is now decided. The events in the main hall are already a done deal.
An He interrupted him impatiently, twirling the ring on his finger: "Of course you can. Didn't General Zhou notice? Deputy General Lu didn't attend court today."
Zhou Feng was stunned. Lu Xuan... as his deputy, had only said that he had family matters to attend to in the past two days and had already asked the court for leave.
As his capable deputy, he was naturally more lenient and thought it was just a minor matter.
Anhe reminded Zhou Feng, "His Majesty's personal secret letter, coupled with Vice General Lu's prestige in the army, should be enough to convince those people outside the city."
These words made Zhao Liangxu turn around.
She hadn't heard that Deputy General Lu was involved.
She still remembered the last time she met Lu Xuan. Even though he didn't quite agree with Zhou Feng's statement, he still discussed An He's preferences with her according to Zhou Feng's requirements. He was clearly still biased towards Zhou Feng that day.
Now Anhe is saying, "And Lu Xuan is also involved?"
Zhao Liangxu was somewhat puzzled, but when she looked at the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, she understood a little.
Previously, it was because the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had some interaction with Lu Xuan that Qiu Cheng was able to introduce Lu Xuan to her as her self-defense instructor.
However... the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has always been neutral in the court, which is why Zhao Liangxu didn't think of it for a moment.
Is it only because of this thin line that Anhe asked Lu Xuan to do this for him?
Lu Xuan truly put righteousness before family.
Zhao Liangxu still had some doubts in her heart and planned to ask Anhe about it later.
Zhou Feng was clearly unwilling to believe it. How could Lu Xuan, who was clearly one of his men, have so easily defected to Anhe?
He wanted to say something more, but An He was too lazy to explain further. Li Ying, on the other hand, still wanted to watch the excitement for a while longer, but the time was about right, so he had no choice but to give up and say, "Zhou Feng, since you have already admitted it, there is nothing more to explain. If you want to wait for people from outside the city to come and rescue you, you should go and wait in prison!"
The men guarding Zhou Feng received orders and attempted to take him away.
But Li Ying had one last question to ask the court officials: "General Zhou, I have treated you well. As a general with outstanding military achievements, I have always respected you. Why would you collude with your former enemies to try and seize my throne? Are you so greedy?"
Zhou Feng already knew that today was his oversight, but he did not expect An He to launch an attack so quickly, having set up such a huge trap for him in just a few days.
He then gave up and burst into loud laughter inside the hall, his laughter filled with resentment and mockery.
This caused the other ministers to frown, and even the ministers who were originally Zhou Feng's faction became submissive and lowered their presence.
His words, filled with resentment, contained a few insults.
"How ridiculous! I have fought for the Southern Zhou for many years, and now that I have returned to the capital, I have to kneel before an emperor who is driven by a eunuch, and be overshadowed by a disgusting eunuch. Eunuch An in the city is also very powerful. Everyone who sees him has to respectfully call him 'Nine Thousand Years.' How can I accept this!"
"But you, a young emperor who has not yet come of age, may be praising yourself for your own good, but anyone can see that you are nothing more than a puppet of Anhe, not concerned with politics. Who in the court does not sigh and worry about the future of the entire Southern Zhou?"
These words are far too blunt and utterly disrespectful.
It was utterly disrespectful to imperial authority, making people turn pale upon hearing it.
Zhou Feng's mouth was covered, while the others broke out in a cold sweat.
In the front hall of the Qianqing Palace, within the imperial court where imperial power was so concentrated, Zhou Feng uttered arrogant words.
No one dared to look at the expressions of the two men at the head of the table.
Before today, many people shared similar thoughts with Zhou Feng.
Li Ying was a puppet emperor, and people could see almost no future in him; all they could do was be angry at his lack of ambition.
Even worse, the others wanted to purge the eunuch faction and replace them with a member of the imperial family.
Today, Anhe did subtly guide Li Ying, but some of the things he said were clearly not prepared for Li Ying to say beforehand. So what's going on?
Everyone thought today was just an ordinary court session, but little did they expect a major event to unfold.
Zhou Feng was gagged and led out of the main hall, but he still glared at the group of ministers with resentment, and everyone avoided his gaze.
Finally, Zhou Feng's eyes met those of Zhao Liangxu, who was dressed as a eunuch, and his eyes widened suddenly.
Zhao Liangxu, however, wore a mocking expression, letting Zhou Feng interpret it as he pleased.
She really disliked Zhou Feng, and the more she could annoy him, the happier Zhao Liangxu felt.
In the midst of the silence, Li Ying broke it, saying, "Now that everything is clear, let's adjourn the court..."
But Zhao Liangxu, who had been quiet all along, pulled a few people out from among the ministers, attracting the attention of the entire hall.
"Your Majesty, you have forgotten that Zhou Feng's faction still seems to have some ulterior motives."
Just subduing Zhou Feng isn't enough; who knows which of his supporters have the same audacity?
These individuals clearly reacted differently from the other ministers; rather than being startled by what had happened in the palace, they appeared more restless and uneasy.
Her observations were always meticulous, and compared to the reactions of normal people, the reactions of these people were obviously like a few weasels mixed in with a group of people, glaringly obvious.
Li Ying momentarily forgot about this matter and secretly regretted it. She nodded and said, "You are right. I have already noted in court who are secretly supporting Zhou Feng. Now, I would like to ask everyone to think carefully about what to do."
"As for these people," Li Ying glanced at their faces, "I have already had Eunuch An investigate their backgrounds, Eunuch An."
An He then pointed out the names of several people, and the names matched those of the people Zhao Liangxu had identified.
"Let's invite you all to have a cup of tea in the prison first."
Several people were clearly panicked, but their reactions to Zhao Liangxu were more prominent than their attempts to defend themselves.
The Grand Tutor and the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in particular, only then noticed that this unknown little eunuch was actually Zhao Liangxu.
Those who recognized Zhao Liangxu exclaimed, "She's also a remnant of the Northern Zhou, yet she was allowed into the morning court!"
Clearly, they hoped that Zhao Liangxu would also be executed.
Her identity had always been a source of discontent among the court officials, and her identity in the Northern Zhou was so dangerous it was outrageous.
Anhe narrowed his eyes.
Before An He could speak, Li Ying said first, "Why do you say that, my dear minister? Zhao Liangxu came to Southern Zhou as a hostage when she was young, and she spent very little time in Northern Zhou. Moreover, it was Zhao Liangxu who risked her life to lure out Zhao Chengxin and Lu Ming and other remnants. That's how Eunuch An was able to keep track of the remnants' movements and also to find clues about Zhou Feng. There is absolutely no way she could have any relationship with those people!"
"Moreover," Li Ying lowered his voice and questioned, "my life was saved by Zhao Liangxu; otherwise, I would have died at the hands of the assassins that very day... Do you want me to personally throw my savior into prison and be ungrateful?"
The man was stumped by the questioning and also intimidated by the rare display of authority from Li Ying.
"This... Your subject dares not."
At this moment, Li Ying displayed the demeanor befitting a qualified emperor.
"In that case, there's no need to bring it up again."
Zhao Liangxu was surprised that Li Ying spoke up for her first.
But through these words, everyone could also see Anhe and Liying's attitude.
Although they still don't understand many of the things that happened today, the matter is already settled.
*
After the court session, Anhe simply made arrangements for what would happen next and then returned to his duty room.
He hadn't slept for a day and a night, and had arranged and planned so many things. The exhaustion in his mind and body overwhelmed him, and he seemed to be unable to hold on any longer.
Anhe's injury was only kept alive by the usual medicine and the extra dose of hemostatic medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, but if he wanted to recover quickly, he could only get proper rest.
Even if Zhou Feng is imprisoned, there are still many things to clean up afterward.
Anhe rested intermittently for a few days, and also spent a few days in the palace dealing with follow-up matters.
Some of Zhou Feng's faction only wanted to use Zhou Feng's popularity to suppress Anhe, but they dared not think about what would happen next.
Only a handful of people truly harbored any intention to overstep their bounds.
An and his men were efficient, and as he said, he was very good at searching for evidence.
Not only was he skilled, but his subordinates were also very proficient.
The individuals secretly colluding with Zhou Feng were several influential ministers in the court. When they were exposed that day, some bystanders found it hard to believe.
But when the evidence was finally presented to the court, they all fell silent.
Zhou Feng's treasonous intentions were a capital offense, and the evidence was conclusive, so the verdict was handed down very quickly.
Such a person fought for the Southern Zhou for the first few decades of his life and was indeed quite capable in troop deployment. However, the higher a person's achievements, the easier it is for him to have other thoughts.
Zhou Feng's personality also clearly demonstrates his arrogant nature.
He could have been a powerful and ruthless leader, but now he can only be beheaded and displayed to the public.
Anhe has been in the palace for the past few days, and often stays in the Qianqing Palace.
The Grand Tutor was teaching inside the hall, while Anhe stood outside, seemingly lost in thought, and did not go in.
Zhao Liangxu asked, "Eunuch An, there's something I don't understand."
An He snapped out of her daze and looked at Zhao Liangxu: "You speak."
"You told Zhou Feng that day that besides the secret letter, you also had the help of Deputy General Lu? Are you very familiar with him?"
She thought about it for many days but couldn't figure it out.
An He hadn't shown any interaction with Lu Xuan before, and even secretly felt jealous because he had met Lu Xuan a few times.
So when did he interact with Lu Xuan, and how did he persuade Lu Xuan not to work for his revered general, but instead to help An He, a treacherous eunuch?
Anhe's public image is really bad.
Anhe clearly hadn't expected Zhao Liangxu to ask about this.
He blinked and said vaguely, "I have said before that Zhou Feng's soldiers are loyal to him, but even more loyal to Southern Zhou."
He didn't want to explain too clearly, so he silently turned away to indicate his refusal.
Zhao Liangxu was naturally dissatisfied with this answer. She turned Anhe's body around so that Anhe would look at her.
The other palace maids and eunuchs guarding outside the hall noticed Zhao Liangxu's actions and all lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Now that no one in the court can threaten Eunuch An, although they knew that the two were close, they were still secretly worried because of Zhao Liangxu's actions.
Zhao Liangxu asked, "But you still haven't explained. Are you very familiar with him? You should be the one who contacted him, not His Majesty. You should have already communicated with him before you even started planning with His Majesty."
Since the three of them were in the Qianqing Palace all night, if only a letter were given to Lu Xuan, he probably wouldn't believe it.
Further back, Anhe and Lu Xuan must have had some interaction.
Seeing Zhao Liangxu's eagerness to get to the bottom of things, An He's eyes darted around.
He remained silent for a moment, then gave in: "I know, I'll tell you, just don't be angry."
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Author's Note: Just wrapping things up, but I don't know how many chapters to finish.
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