I don't want to destroy the country
There was silence in the court for a moment.
But then countless accusations came flooding in. Everyone stared at Liu Tingwei, talking at once, spit flying everywhere:
"After so many days, you, the Imperial Court, haven't found anything yet, and you're still holding the Wei family hostage and refusing to let them leave. Isn't this chilling the hearts of the soldiers at the border?!"
"Investigate! You're taking the imperial salary but doing nothing. What evidence do you have other than General Guan's complaint?!"
"You can't see the hardships the Wei family has endured guarding the border for years, and now you want to accuse the Wei family of a crime just by talking?!"
"Are you not satisfied until loyal ministers and good generals are forced to death?"
Despite countless indignant glances, Liu Tingwei's expression remained unchanged. "As someone receiving a salary from the court, I naturally serve the court wholeheartedly. Without evidence, how could our Tingwei Temple slander a loyal official?"
As he spoke, he slowly took out a stack of letters from his sleeve, looked around at the generals in front of him, and finally his gaze fell on General Lian, who was slowly stroking his long beard, and said calmly:
"The evidence is here, in black and white."
"Everyone, please look."
Wow——
There was an uproar in the court, and a group of military officers blew their beards and stared in disbelief at the stack of letters he was holding lightly in his hand.
——Is there really evidence? How is that possible?
Before General Guo could move, a man strode forward, snatched the stack of letters, and tore them open with a frown, muttering, "I want to see what this thing can be called evidence!"
With the "swish, swish" sound of paper friction, the expression of General Xie Wuwang gradually became ugly, and the movement of the paper in his hand gradually slowed down.
General Guo, who was supported and walked to his side, couldn't help but feel a pang of fear when he saw his expression. His body trembled and he could only stand steadily with the help of others who helped him carefully.
He subconsciously wanted to take the letter in Xie Wuwang's hand. He stretched out his hands with trembling hands, but before he could touch the letter, he was stopped by a hand that stretched out from the side.
General Guo followed the arm and turned to see General Lian who had arrived at some point. Lian Xiangsheng was stroking his long beard with one hand, his eyes half closed, and he shook his head slightly and slowly at him, still maintaining a calm demeanor.
General Guo's eyes were filled with tears, his whole body trembling. He grabbed his arm with both hands and said painfully, "It's impossible... It's absolutely impossible for those two children, it's absolutely impossible for the Wei family..."
Lian Xiangsheng didn't say anything, but just took the letter handed to him by Xie Wuwang and read it with squinted eyes.
He read it carefully and handed it to General Guo. General Guo took it with trembling hands, lowered his head to read half of the paper, his eyes went dark, and his body stiffened and fell backwards.
"General Guo!!!"
"General Guo!"
"You can't fall, General Guo!"
The people beside and behind General Guo hurriedly supported him, their faces filled with anxiety. His old hands trembled, and countless papers slipped from General Guo's hands, scattering all over the floor.
After hearing everyone's nervous shouts, he forced himself to exhale, stood up again, bent down and pretended to pick up the papers on the ground, while the three or two people next to him were very considerate and picked up the papers one by one before him and handed them back to him.
After letting out a few low cries from his throat, General Guo closed his eyes and continued to read the contents of the letter carefully.
The people in the court stopped arguing. Colleagues looked at each other in confusion. No one dared to speak, for fear of scaring General Guo to death. They exchanged glances with each other secretly.
——What exactly was in the letter that made General Guo almost faint on the spot after reading it?
The next moment——
"absurd!"
General Guo was furious. He raised his hand and slammed the letter at the person next to him, shouting, "How can you prove that this letter is related to the Wei family? If you want evidence, you must produce solid evidence. If this letter is an enemy plot, then aren't you falling into the enemy's trap by forcing the Wei family like this?!"
"Over the years, members of the Wei family have died in battle one after another. General Wei's third son was even beheaded by foreign enemies. With such a deep blood feud, how could the Wei family collude with foreign enemies!!!"
A man behind Xie Wuwang also stood up, frowning and sternly saying, "It's too arbitrary to punish the Wei family based solely on these letters. You, the Court of Justice, must think carefully about whether you can afford the consequences of slandering the Zhongliang Dao! Without the Wei family, what will become of Dayuan's southwest?"
"Hmph..." Liu Tingwei said coldly, "Our Tingwei Temple has never persecuted loyal officials, nor has it imprisoned anyone from the Wei family. We have simply placed the Wei family under heavy security."
He said, "In the past, this stack of letters would have led to the execution of the entire Wei family. But now, precisely because I love talented people, I don't want to let loyal and honest people suffer injustice. I just heavily guard the place and keep a strict watch, hoping that the matter will be investigated and the truth will be revealed as soon as possible."
"So, you can't wait any longer?" Liu Tingwei glanced at everyone and said, "You are so eager to force the Wei family to move out of the capital, which is truly chilling to the hearts of the people of Dayuan!"
The scene was silent.
"General Wei is the only one left in the southwest. Emotionally, the battlefield situation is ever-changing, and General Wei is old, so it's time for the Wei family to reunite. Logically, the southwest is short of manpower, and the Wei family's presence there would solve Dayuan's urgent needs." Suddenly, someone couldn't help but speak up, breaking the silence. "If you could investigate, you would have done it ten days or half a month ago. You haven't been able to produce solid evidence until now. If you continue to delay, you might as well fall into the enemy's trap—"
"There might be chaos at the border!"
Everyone had a serious expression and frowned, not knowing what they were thinking about. No one responded to him, nor did they refute him.
"Are you treating this battlefield like a joke?" Suddenly, someone stepped out and said to the person who had spoken, "You can't distinguish between good and evil, loyalty and treachery. You're sending people to the border so carelessly. You're truly harming Dayuan!"
As soon as he said this, the people around him echoed:
"Master Gao is absolutely right. The war situation isn't that urgent yet, so how can we afford to lose our composure?"
"If everyone in the world defined good and evil, and sin, based on the words of others, then what would be the need for laws? Wouldn't the world be in chaos?"
"The Wei family holds a high position and should set an example for the people of the world."
"Investigate! The Wei family's affairs should be investigated by the Imperial Court! If the Wei family was framed by someone with ulterior motives, then we can clear the Wei family's name. On the other hand, if the Wei family truly committed treason, no one in the Wei family should be allowed to escape!"
"You only know the Wei family's grief, but have you ever considered that if the Wei family truly collaborates with the enemy, sending them to the border would be tantamount to allowing the entire Wei family to defect! What would become of Dayuan's southwest checkpoints then?! What would become of the people of the southwest?!"
The generals were left speechless, not knowing how to respond, and their faces darkened with dissatisfaction.
Wei Shiyi, who was standing behind the crowd, had trembling pupils and moving lips, but he could not utter a single word to defend himself and the Wei family.
He felt a strong sense of powerlessness.
They have no evidence and cannot prove their innocence.
Lord Liu is right. If it were in the past, their Wei family would have been executed long ago. The reason why the Wei family has not fallen now is just that General Wei’s former comrades-in-arms still have some sympathy for them.
Thinking of this, Wei Shiyi lowered his head, and the ten fingers curled up in his sleeves finally loosened powerlessly.
——It doesn't matter. As long as the southwest can be held, they shouldn't have interfered. There's still a long way to go, and they'll always have a chance to prove their innocence.
"You, have you, the Censorate, determined that the Wei family is guilty?!" A person next to General Guo was so angry that his face turned red, but he could only utter this sentence.
Imperial Censor Lin Yanqing walked out, surrounded by a group of people. He glanced at him calmly and spoke slowly, "Whether the Wei family is guilty or not is a matter for the Imperial Court to investigate. My office is responsible for supervising all officials. How come you don't even know this after serving in the court for so many years?"
The person next to Lin Yanqing also glanced at him mockingly, muttering, "Could it be that he used someone's connections..."
He seemed to be talking to himself, but his voice was not concealed at all and could be heard clearly by the people around him.
"you!"
The man's expression suddenly twisted and his face turned ashen.
"Okay." Lian Xiangsheng half closed his eyes, stroked his long beard with one hand, and raised the other hand to stop him from speaking. No matter how unwilling the man was, he had to step back.
Lian Xiangsheng's hair was gray, but his voice was still deep and powerful. "You all know the situation in the southwest. For so many years, only the Wei family has been able to keep it under control. In the past two years, those people in the southwest have begun to become more active. Now that only General Wei is left in the southwest, and there are no capable people in the court to guard the southwest, and you are preventing the Wei family from going to the southwest to assist General Wei, there is no guarantee that those people in the southwest will not take this opportunity to cause trouble.
"You all understand how difficult it was when Your Majesty and Prince Yi were fighting in the southwest. Back then, instead of attacking Nanwu and Xiyu, Prince Yi was killed. We feared they would fight back, resulting in mutual destruction, so we simply made them vassal states. Now that they've recovered, they're looking to stir up trouble again. Are you willing to let them succeed?"
"I would like to ask, if war breaks out again with Nanwu and Xiyue, how confident are you, my Lords, that you can stabilize the southwest?"
——It’s not about taking over the southwest, but about stabilizing the southwest. Just pacifying the southwest is so difficult.
In this case, do you still want to insist on obstructing the Wei family?
This... All the officials in the court looked at each other in hesitation.
"Master Lian is right. My Lords, the Wei family must head to the southwest as soon as possible! General Wei is old, and the southwest barrier is too weak. Nanwu and Xiyu will not let this opportunity slip away!"
"My Lords, make a decision soon! The southwest barrier cannot be lost!"
"The Wei family's loyalty is known to all. If they were collaborating with the enemy, why would General Wei still be defending the southwest until now?!"
A group of generals echoed in agreement, and for a moment, their faces were gloomy, unable to hide their worry and anxiety.
"Everyone in the Wei family is in the capital, and old General Wei is alone in the southwest. Even if he wants to commit treason, he has to wait until everyone in the Wei family arrives before he does." Suddenly, Rong Yejin, who was standing in front of a group of civil officials, spoke slowly.
Amidst the flying of saliva, the crowd, who were arguing with red faces, paused, and the court became quiet again.
In the court, Rong Yejin could only be heard saying slowly, "The suspicion against Wei Jiazi hasn't been cleared yet, yet the Wei family is so eager to relocate to the southwest. Why is this?"
There was a dead silence in the hall for a long time.
"No."
In the study, Rong Yejin seemed to have guessed the question that flashed through the girl's mind and said with a smile, "In recent years, the Wei family's heart has been wavering, but they will not collaborate with the enemy and betray the country.
"They have shed countless honors, blood, and tears. They just want a way out. How could they become traitors?"
He smiled easily and said, "Everyone else in the court, including me, is just trying to gain power, not to destroy the country."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
