Chapter 457 It was all a setup from beginning to end.
Xie Yun smiled and casually tossed something in front of him: "Oh, Professor Nong, what is this?"
Minister Nong looked at the familiar object and had a bad feeling. He opened it with trembling hands and found it was the list of his retainers that he had personally handed over a few days ago.
“Professor Nong, you wrote this list yourself. It’s full of your…retainers?” Xie Yun changed his words. “Rather than each course, it’s more like people like you who harbor ulterior motives and intend to disrupt the court!”
As soon as Xie Yun-yang finished speaking, a distinct commotion could be felt below.
Whether this unusual movement was met with surprised discussions or with guilty consciences and attempts to evade responsibility remains unknown.
Minister Nong was furious, pointing at Xie Yunxiang one moment and Xie Yunchuan the next.
Xie Yunchuan considerately approached Minister of Agriculture, exchanged a smile with Xie Yun, and then asked, "Is Minister of Agriculture looking for me?"
Minister Nong was again struggling to catch his breath. Xie Yunchuan, seemingly in a rare playful mood, asked, "Minister Nong, what's wrong? You don't seem very happy to see me?"
Minister Nong met his gaze timidly, but could only look away in resentment.
The Duke of Zhenguo was puzzled and didn't understand why the Second Prince and the Crown Prince, who were just at odds, were now suddenly on good terms.
Someone next to him shook his head and said, "Sigh, can't you see? Master Nong fell into the trap set by the two princes from the very beginning!"
Sheng Sheng quietly turned her head to look at Xie Yunqi and Xie Yunli, who were staring in disbelief. The two were so shocked that they hadn't even noticed when she had returned.
So all this time, the strange behavior between Xie Yunchuan and Xie Yunyang was for the sake of such a grand scheme!
Xie Yuxiao narrowed his eyes, looked at the list on the ground, and turned to instruct Eunuch Hou: "Bring that list up for me to see."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eunuch Hou walked over with small, quick steps, picked up the things on the ground, and showed them to Xie Yuxiao. Xie Yuxiao looked at each name with a calm gaze, feeling both angry and gratified.
This list was hard-won, and it can basically be used to expose most of the disloyal officials in the court.
As expected of his son, he never disappointed him!
Seeing that Xie Yuxiao remained silent for a long time, some people below could not help but whisper among themselves.
The relationships between the court and the government are complex and intertwined; one person is another person's friend, and another person is yet another person's relative.
Today, Your Majesty intends to thoroughly suppress those involved in this matter in front of all the officials, and also to use this opportunity to warn everyone.
Everyone is afraid of being implicated.
Minister Nong was filled with regret. After all, he was a member of the royal family; how could he be so easily manipulated?
He thought he was one step ahead, but little did he know, he was the one who had fallen into the devil's den all along!
Xie Yun had clearly held his lifeline firmly in her grasp long ago, yet she chose to wait until today, at this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, in front of all the officials, to completely crush him and prevent him from ever recovering.
Ahead, Xie Yun, whom he had always thought was on the same boat, was smiling but hiding a knife.
Xie Yunchuan, whom he regarded as a rival, remained calm throughout.
Above him stood His Majesty, whose words could decide his life or death.
He understands, he understands everything...
He understood everything!
Minister Nong lost his balance and fell to the side.
His long-term scheming and the accumulation of what he thought was the ability to confront and stand against them were nothing more than fishing lines deliberately released by them to catch big fish in the long run.
So he was just an actor on a stage, constantly being controlled and acting out a pre-written story.
It turns out that this was all a setup from beginning to end.
Minister Nong gave a bitter laugh, realizing that he had absolutely no chance of turning things around.
The cacophony of voices and ambiguous stares around him nearly exhausted Minister Nong. He couldn't even complain, couldn't bring up the details, and couldn't question anything.
Because that was His Majesty, the royal family, absolute power, the person who controlled everything about him, the hammer that woke him up and made him stop being so clever, only to find out that he had always been just a tiny ant.
Minister Nong understood that if he were to angrily curse or make a desperate, resentful struggle, he would only suffer an even worse fate.
Since he was going to die anyway, Minister Nong gritted his teeth, suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Xie Yunyang's robe, saying, "You must protect me, or I will reveal all of the Empress's secrets!"
Xie Yun paused: "What do you know?"
"Heh, why do you think I dared to seek cooperation with you? The master who cured the Third Prince back then was someone I found!"
Xie Yun's eyes darkened, a hint of coldness flashing in them.
"So what?" Xie Yun shook off his hand. "Since you have such a close relationship with her, don't you know that things between us are no longer what they used to be? Even if you tell her everything you know now and she ends up like you, I won't be moved at all."
"What?" Minister Nong was astonished, finding his words unbelievable. "She is your mother, how can you really just ignore her!?"
"You're welcome to give it a try."
Xie Yun's face was cold and stern. His experiences along the way had long since made him completely let go of the grudges in his heart.
What does it matter if they are mother and child, or whether they love each other or not?
Empress Zheng's obsession with her third brother had long since transformed her from a normal mother into a puppet controlled by her lust for power and her own obsessions.
When Empress Zheng chose to ignore his thoughts and insisted on making him do things he didn't like, did she ever think about him?
When Empress Zheng was blinded by grief and orchestrated the fire that caused Sheng Sheng to wander for many years, did she ever think of him?
She always said that mothers and sons are connected by heart and one, but she never listened to his own thoughts. Instead, she did countless things that caused him pain.
Sheng Sheng was his sister. His mother almost killed Sheng Sheng. Even if Empress Zheng had any concern for him, understood him, or loved him, she would not have done such a cruel thing.
He couldn't accept that his mother was such a person.
He leaned down, his fingertips gripping Minister Nong's chin with such force that the other man's face turned pale. "You think you're holding a bargaining chip? It's nothing but a death warrant that leads you to your own demise."
Xie Yunyang glared at him coldly, as did Xie Yunchuan.
Xie Yunchuan was as reassuring as ever; standing beside him was like silently telling you that he had everything under his protection.
Minister Nong trembled all over, only now truly understanding that the Crown Prince before him was no longer the same Crown Prince who had always endured and yielded for that illusory blood connection.
The Duke of Zhenguo turned pale with fright. Just what did this Minister of Agriculture know?
What do you mean by saying that the master who treated the Third Prince back then was someone he found? Doesn't that mean... the master who treated his daughter was the same master he was talking about?
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