Han Jincheng, the Emperor of Nanyue, a mere twenty-three years old, was the one who, with the assistance of his uncle, Han Chongguang, commanded Shi Zairong to lead his army into the Liang Kingdom. As a young emperor, Han Jincheng was filled with a passion for revenge, but his inability to seize power in the court left all his ambitions to become mere dreams.
Fortunately, however, a young man suddenly appeared before the emperor two years ago. With wisdom beyond comprehension, he single-handedly forced the regent, Han Chongguang, to temporarily abandon the soon-to-be-conquered South Vietnam and retreat behind the scenes. This young man thus became the most dazzling of South Vietnam's rising stars, and the youngest Grand Tutor in its history.
Although Han Chongguang now appears to be a recluse, seemingly unconcerned with worldly affairs, apart from fishing and bird-walking, he is still the true ruler of South Vietnam. Although not legitimately, the power he holds is enough to undermine a young emperor with little support.
On this day, several senior officials from the court arrived at Han Jincheng's imperial study one after another, as if by appointment. Han Jincheng simply looked at them with downcast eyes, saying nothing more. After making sure no other officials would suddenly interrupt their conversation, Han Jincheng signaled that they could each state the purpose of their visit.
Several people, led by Lin Feng's father, Minister Lin Yang, explained to Han Jincheng the recent progress of Tianshu Tower's work in Liang State and the intelligence they had collected in Liang State, and then they shut up obediently.
But after everyone lowered their heads and waited for a long time, they didn't hear Han Jincheng's voice. Lin Yang had to add one more sentence: "Your Majesty, the above is all the news that Xiahou Qing has brought from Liang State."
Han Jincheng glanced at the people in the imperial study, then lowered his head and continued reading, appearing to be completely indifferent. "Well, what do you think of this information?"
Even so, the ministers who hadn't entered together remained silent, all looking at Lin Yang. Without waiting for his name to be called, Lin Yang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Shi Zairong has secretly reached an agreement with Qingliang Valley. I believe this must not be tolerated. The Grand Tutor now has tens of thousands of our elite troops under his command. If this continues, I'm afraid he'll harbor rebellious intentions!"
Lin Yang's words were sincere, as if he had already determined, even confirmed, that Shi Zairong would rebel. Han Jincheng knew what these people were trying to do. Although these ministers appeared to be acting independently, they actually had a unified leadership.
Young talents like Shi Zairong have, to some extent, posed a threat to their status. As the only South Vietnamese official he promoted, it was inevitable that Shi Zairong would become a thorn in the eyes and a thorn in the flesh of these people.
Han Jincheng, sitting on the throne, yawned and turned the book upside down on the table. He asked, "What about you? Do you also think, like Lord Lin, that Shi Zairong will rebel?"
"……" From the moment these ministers came in until now, except for Lin Yang, they stood aside pretending to be dumb, as if they had agreed not to speak in the morning.
Han Jincheng said, since you don't want to talk about it, then he won't be polite: "I have heard some other rumors from the Huangfu family..."
Before Han Jincheng could finish his words, a clear and beautiful female voice came from the door of the imperial study, interrupting him: "Your Majesty, the Huangfu family has never been involved in government affairs. Their words should be carefully refuted to verify their authenticity."
As Concubine De spoke, she walked into the imperial study. The guards outside did not dare to stop her and could only let her swagger in with her maid.
Han Jincheng saw that the person coming was his cousin, so he slowly stood up, walked down from the throne with a smile on his face, and stopped in front of the woman. His expression changed, and he tightly grasped the woman's neck, which was so thin that it seemed that a slight force could break it. "Did I ask you to speak? And why are you here? This is not a place for a concubine like you to be."
Defei had never thought that Han Jincheng would actually attack her. After being released by Han Jincheng, she knelt on the ground panting: "Ahem, Your Majesty, I am also worried about your health, so I brought you some soup!"
Han Jincheng glanced at the food box in the maid's hand and said coldly, "Get lost."
Lin Yang wanted to rush over to stop Han Jincheng, but seeing his red eyes, he was frightened and retreated. He had never expected that the docile little lamb would turn into a man-eating tiger in the blink of an eye.
Han Jincheng glanced at the old ministers in the Imperial Study, then turned his gaze to Concubine De and warned her, "Remember your identity. The Imperial Study is not a place you can enter and leave at will."
After saying this, he gave a hard kick to the nanny beside Concubine De, who always gave bad advice, and said, "Take your master and get out of here."
"yes!"
Before Concubine De and the nanny left the imperial study, Han Jincheng shouted, "Pass on my order. All the guards who let her in just now must be kicked out. Concubine De has committed insubordination and is under house arrest."
Lin Yang, who had held back his words just now, couldn't hold back any longer. After Han Chongguang's "retirement," he had repeatedly warned that his daughter would become the future empress and continue the royal family line, and that there must be absolutely no mistakes. No matter what, he had to remind Han Jincheng that this Defei was no ordinary concubine: "Your Majesty, the Defei is, after all..."
Han Jincheng couldn't let Lin Yang finish his words. He raised his hand to interrupt him and then brought the subject back to the topic: "Master Lin, if I remember correctly, your eldest son, Lin Feng, is also in Qinghe County now. Has there been any news from him recently?"
After saying this, Han Jincheng slowly walked back to his throne and looked down at everyone. Lin Yang didn't know what was wrong with Han Jincheng today; his expression changed so quickly. But since he had asked, not answering would be a capital offense of disrespect. So, Lin Yang slumped to his knees, tears streaming down his face, and cried, "...Your Majesty, please help me!"
The ministers following him, seeing their leader kneel, also knelt on the ground. Their coordinated movements surprised Han Jincheng somewhat. It seemed that a large portion of these ministers, who were forced to submit because Han Chongguang held leverage over them, had completely sided with him.
However, it must be said that Lin Yan is a veteran who has been in the court for a long time. The speed at which he changes his expression is much faster than turning pages of a book.
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