So he mustered his resolve, and as he did so, beads of sweat visibly dripped from Xu Jingnian's forehead.
"Your Majesty, King of Northern Li, I have important matters to report. Your Queen and the Valiant King have been taken back to Great Chu by my Regent. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will ensure their lives are spared, as a sign of friendship between our two nations. Regarding the matter I previously discussed with Your Majesty, if Your Majesty can grant my request..."
Xu Jingnian paused after reading this part, his hand trembling as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and glanced at Xiao Yanchu, "Your Highness, shall we continue reading?"
"read!"
Xu Jingnian coughed and continued reading, "As long as Your Majesty can kill Xiao Yanchu for me, it will still count, and the tribute can be doubled."
After Xu Jingnian finished reading, the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and some people even seemed to stop breathing.
Who wrote this letter? Can't anyone tell?
Xiao Chenyi's hands, hidden beneath his wide dragon robe, were clenched so tightly that he didn't even feel the pain as he dug them into his palms.
He explained why he hadn't received a reply from the Northern King: it turned out that the letter he sent had been intercepted by Xiao Yanchu.
Damn it!
"Lord Xu, why don't we circulate this letter among everyone? I'm sure the ministers will be able to recognize the Emperor's handwriting," Xiao Yanchu suggested.
With trembling hands, Xu Jingnian handed the letter to Prime Minister Xu. Prime Minister Xu remained relatively calm, took the letter, glanced at it, and then passed it to the Minister of Works, followed by the Minister of Revenue.
The court officials were all familiar with the emperor's handwriting, so they didn't need to look at it much; they could recognize it as Xiao Chenyi's handwriting at a glance.
Everyone's expression changed drastically after seeing it, and they all lowered their heads, not daring to look at Xiao Chenyi.
Seeing this, Xiao Chenyi knew he could no longer stop anything, and suddenly burst into laughter, "Regent, I don't know why you would want to frame me like this, what good will it do you? Since Jamukha can imitate the Su family's letters, why can't he imitate mine?"
At this moment, Minister Dong stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, in my opinion, this Jamukha must have imitated the Emperor’s handwriting to write this letter in order to sow discord between Your Majesty and the Emperor and cause internal strife in the Great Chu. In this way, the Northern Li will have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.”
Some ministers felt that the Emperor and Vice Minister Dong were right, since Jamukha could imitate others and therefore could imitate the Emperor's handwriting.
Indeed, this letter will surely sow discord between the Regent and the Emperor.
Some ministers couldn't help but speak up, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, be careful not to fall into Bei Li's trap!"
Xiao Yanchu said nothing, then took out another letter from the box and handed it to Vice Minister Dong.
"Minister Dong, please read it."
Vice Minister Dong was stunned. He had only come out to say a few words on behalf of the Emperor, so how did he end up doing this?
But the regent demanded it, and he dared not refuse, so he took it with trembling hands and began to read.
This letter was a secret letter from the Emperor to Zhang Deren, in which he instructed that Zhang must seize command of the Mohan border army, unconditionally cede Mohan to Beili, and refrain from any conflict with Beili.
At the same time, they wanted to sideline Su Wenzhou and kill him on his way back to the capital.
After Vice Minister Dong finished reading, he was speechless.
Xiao Yanchu took out another piece of paper from the box. This time it wasn't a letter, but a confession. "Minister Dong, thank you for your hard work."
Vice Minister Dong had no choice but to bite the bullet and read the confession aloud. At that moment, he deeply regretted ever standing up for himself.
Because of the death of his daughter Dong Menglou, he harbored a grudge against Su Ruojin and firmly stood on the Emperor's side from then on. He originally wanted to show his face in front of the Emperor, but he didn't expect to get himself into a hot potato.
The confession, delivered by a bailiff from the Dali Temple, stated that Empress Dowager Wei ordered them to replace Wei Xuebin before the execution, but they were knocked unconscious and the replacement failed. In the end, it was Wei Xuebin who was torn apart by five horses.
After Minister Dong finished reading, Xiao Yanchu added, "Oh, it was I who had the constable who was supposed to be replaced knocked out. The prince is subject to the same laws as the commoner. How can the laws of the Great Chu be treated as a joke!"
The court officials were so overwhelmed by the constant stream of information that they were completely stunned.
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