The Han family, who were far away in Xiangyang, had just received the bad news and were being raided and arrested. However, Xie Zhongren, who was in the capital, was unwilling to be dragged down, so he pretended to be seriously ill and was carried to see Emperor Zhaowu.

He was nearly 70 years old, his hair was completely white, and he had lost a lot of weight in recent days. Without the fine clothes and jade belt of a eunuch in charge of the imperial seal, he looked quite different from the dying old man in the countryside. He looked quite pitiful.

As soon as he saw Emperor Zhaowu, Xie Zhongren knelt on the ground trembling with fear, supported by the eunuchs. However, as soon as the eunuchs let go of him, his body swayed and he was about to fall, gasping weakly from his throat.

Emperor Zhaowu frowned and said, "Alright, alright, just sit on the ground."

In his early years, Xie Zhongren was very good at pleasing Emperor Zhaowu and he almost knew the emperor's likes and dislikes. But as he grew older, his mind was not as sharp as before and his actions were no longer as swift. Emperor Zhaowu was in his prime and he increasingly felt that Xie Zhongren was not serving him well. He was no match for Yan Sikong, who was both smart and pleasing. Besides, between a wrinkled old face and a handsome face, everyone would rather look at the one who liked the look, so he was seen less and less.

Xie Zhongren burst into tears before he even opened his mouth, and cried bitterly, "Your Majesty, I am an old slave... I deserve to die..." As he spoke, he lowered half of his body and his forehead hit the ground with a bang.

Yan Sikong looked down at the old thief who was curled up on the ground like a dog, his eyes as cold as frost in the late moon.

Emperor Zhaowu panted heavily with his fat body: "You also know that you deserve to die? Your good nephew is about to hand over my Liaodong to others!"

"This old slave deserves to die... deserves to die..." Xie Zhongren cried bitterly on the ground, "This old slave... My eyes are dim and I can't recognize people clearly. This old slave wishes I could... clean up the house, Your Majesty..."

Yu Ji curled his lips with a look of disdain.

Yan Sikong pretended to be reluctant and asked Emperor Zhaowu carefully, "Your Majesty, why don't you give Eunuch Xie a seat?"

Emperor Zhaowu snorted coldly and glanced at Yu Ji. Yu Ji understood and waved his hand. Immediately, a eunuch brought a chair over and helped Xie Zhongren sit on it.

Xie Zhongren burst into tears of gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I would like to die a thousand times... a thousand times..."

Emperor Zhaowu said angrily, "Don't think I dare not kill you. I have already ordered the confiscation of Han's entire family! It was you at the beginning! You were the one who supported him. I allocated troops and food to him, and the annual military expenditure was millions. Not only did he fail in the war, he also betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy. You..." He became more and more angry as he spoke. He grabbed the teacup and threw it at Xie Zhongren, soaking his body with the fine Longjing tea.

Xie Zhongren burst into tears: "I feel ashamed of your majesty and the people of Liaodong, but I risked my life to advise your majesty, now... you must not kill Han Zhaoxing's family."

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes and thought, although this old guy was panicked for a moment, he was not completely confused. He should have known that things would not go so smoothly.

Emperor Zhaowu stared at him with wide eyes: "You... you still dare to beg for them? You are really stupid!"

"Your Majesty has misunderstood... cough cough..." Xie Zhongren coughed violently. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves, and saw bloodstains on them, but he didn't know whether it was real or fake.

Emperor Zhaowu frowned.

"Your Majesty..." Xie Zhongren choked up, "I will never plead for the rebels, but they are still useful. Han Zhaoxing surrendered to the enemy, perhaps out of desperation, and he must be afraid and regretful. I want to write a letter to persuade him to work with General Zhao to sow discord... so that the Han family, young and old, can't run away... cough cough cough... can't run away, Your Majesty, why rush?"

Emperor Zhaowu stroked his beard and looked at Yan Sikong: "Sikong, he is right. Han Zhaoxing's family is still in Xiangyang. It may be possible for me to use them."

Xie Zhongren also looked at Yan Sikong dimly, his eyes were very difficult to fathom. Yan Sikong knew that Xie Zhongren was suspicious of him. No, with Xie Zhongren's character, it was impossible for him to trust anyone wholeheartedly. He was just more suspicious at this time. He looked normal and said, "Eunuch Xie, you can give this plan a try, but it's hard to say whether this letter can be delivered to Han Zhaoxing, and how Han Zhaoxing will respond."

"Your Majesty," Xie Zhongren pleaded, "This old slave... cough cough... This old slave has not much time left. I would like to use my remaining days to advise... cough cough... Han Zhaoxing..."

Yan Sikong secretly spat, he was not sure whether this letter could be delivered to Xie Gou. Even if it was delivered, he would have to secretly plan a lot of things in the process. It might take a year or two. By the time Emperor Zhaowu's anger subsided, he would be able to come back to life.

What a sinister and cunning villain he is.

Emperor Zhaowu hesitated. He leaned forward and looked at Xie Zhongren. "Xie Zhongren, I will trust you again because of your many years of service. But if I don't punish you, I will not be able to explain to my ministers and the people of the world. What do you think I should do?"

"I beg Your Majesty to allow me to... make amends for my crime and then, whether this matter succeeds or not, I and the Han family will... ahem... leave it to Your Majesty to decide."

"How...how ill are you?" asked Emperor Zhaowu.

Xie Zhongren wiped the tears from his face and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to serve Your Majesty for a few more days."

Emperor Zhaowu and Yan Sikong looked at each other with hesitation in their eyes, but Yan Sikong looked back at him firmly. Facing his ministers and son-in-law, Emperor Zhaowu forgot his imperial dignity for a moment and turned his face away guiltily.

Yan Sikong knew that the emperor's indecisiveness had come back. He softened his heart and hesitated. Fortunately, he knew him well and had already made preparations. Zhu Lanting had not yet taken office and was still in charge of the palace guards. He had informed him early this morning. The guards were waiting outside the palace gates. All he had to do was...

Yan Sikong shook his head and suddenly raised his hand to adjust his crown. He heard a fierce dog barking outside the palace gate. Then, a black-haired hound broke into the palace and rushed straight towards Xie Zhongren, followed closely by two guards.

Everyone knows that Xie Zhongren is afraid of dogs.

Sure enough, Xie Zhongren was so frightened when he saw the beast running towards him at a very fast speed that he jumped up from his chair and ran. He ran steadily and shouted "Someone come here" with full energy. How could he look like a desperate person?

The hunting dog was the favorite dog of Emperor Zhaowu. It always ran in the front during hunting. It was very brave and very human-like. It would not bite anyone. After it threw Xie Zhongren to the ground, it pressed its two paws on his chest and growled loudly.

Xie Zhongren was almost frightened to death.

The guards quickly rushed up, pulled the hound's lasso and pulled it free, kneeling down to plead guilty: "I deserve death for frightening Your Majesty."

Emperor Zhaowu ignored them and pointed at Xie Zhongren fiercely: "You, I think you are still very strong even though you are old!"

Xie Zhongren fell to the ground in fear and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me, I was frightened... I was frightened..."

"Come here..." Emperor Zhaowu shouted, "Bring Xie Zhongren to me... Arrest him! Send him to the Ministry of Justice for trial!"

Xie Zhongren sat paralyzed on the ground and begged desperately. Emperor Zhaowu looked struggling, but still watched him being taken away.

After Xie Zhongren was taken away, Yan Sikong knelt on the ground and said in annoyance, "I failed to do my job well. When I told the guards, they misunderstood my intention. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

What the two of them had discussed yesterday was that if Emperor Zhaowu touched the crown with his hand, the imperial guards would release the dogs to scare Xie Zhongren and see if he would reveal his true intention. But Emperor Zhaowu was obviously hesitant just now, and Yan Sikong had a backup plan, which was that the imperial guards would also release the dogs when Emperor Zhaowu was adjusting his crown.

Emperor Zhaowu waved his hand impatiently: "Stop talking, I am very upset, you can go back."

"His Majesty……"

"Get out, all of you!" Emperor Zhaowu shouted, "None of you give me peace of mind, all of you, get out!"

Yan Sikong bowed his head, bent his waist and backed away.

At this moment, his heart was churning with emotions, and he wished he could roar loudly to the sky.

Xie Zhongren was imprisoned! Although this incompetent emperor might regret his decision tomorrow, his imprisonment was a huge blow to the eunuch party, who were already on tenterhooks. It also greatly boosted their morale, and made all the civil and military officials in the court see that Xie Zhongren's power was set to decline, and that he would go from bad to worse until his demise.

He finally waited for this day!