134. On Sin

At the Dali Temple, Yu Qingzhou was very capable and was promoted by Rong Se to Dali Temple Minister. He was also given the job of a censor. It was almost time for him to leave his post, but he did not expect the Regent Prince to come in person. Seeing his frosty face, Yu Qingzhou thought that the situation was not good and he did not know what had happened. He quickly bowed and said, "I did not know that the prince was coming. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person."

"Forget it." Rong Se took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Yu Qingzhou, "This is an urgent memorial from Marquis Dingbei, take a look."

All memorials from court officials had to be reviewed and sent to Rong Se's case, but Liang Shenyu's letter was sent directly to the Regent King by his own people. According to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, this was not in accordance with the rules.

But Yu Qingzhou did not dare to take it lightly, and immediately took it and read it. After reading it, his face darkened and he said angrily: "This Zhou Haiyi is so straightforward and bold!"

"I think he is not only extremely courageous, but also has someone to rely on."

Rong Se sneered, but it was not a loss of composure. The calm and majestic look between his eyebrows could easily make people ignore his overly handsome appearance.

"Master Yu, I came to you today to have this memorial delivered to me openly and aboveboard."

He meant something, but Yu Qingzhou understood it. He was in charge of the Dali Temple, but he was the censor. He nodded and said, "I understand, but you executed the criminal first and reported to the emperor later. I'm afraid that Minister Luo of the Ministry of War will not let it go."

"There is no need for him to quit. I will not let him go on with this matter."

Rong Se had no intention of letting this matter rest with them. His eyes were calm, yet contained an extremely rare fierceness.

"Before Marquis Dingbei returns to the capital, I'm afraid the capital will not be stable. I want to see what Cao Lun can do."

Yu Qingzhou understood Rong Se's meaning. He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but say, "Marquis Dingbei is not in the capital now. If the Cao family makes trouble..."

"Then let's see whose fist is harder." Rong Se raised his eyes calmly, "Even without the Marquis of Dingbei, I am not a soft persimmon."

Yu Qingzhou vaguely saw some of the demeanor of the former regent king from the man in front of him, but there was still some difference. It seemed that after getting to know Marquis Dingbei, the prince not only became much gentler, but even his sinister and cold nature disappeared at some point, and now there was only a reassuring calmness in him.

Yu Qingzhou no longer had any objections.

The memorial passed the imperial examination and was approved. On the next morning, Rong Se, in front of all the civil and military officials, ordered someone to bring up the box sent by Marquis Dingbei, and then poured it on the ground. The red-stained snow and three skulls rolled down in the hall.

Looking at the three bloody heads, Man Chao was filled with astonishment.

Rong Se was also not used to seeing dead heads, let alone the kind that were preserved in ice and snow, but he did not show any sign and his expression was as calm as ever. However, this calmness combined with these three heads made people even more frightened.

"Uncle..." Rong Jing said with great effort, "What do you mean? Whose head is that?"

"Your Majesty, please don't be anxious." Rong Se said slowly, looking at Lou Kui, "Who is this? Minister Lou has to identify him in person. Minister Lou, do you recognize him?"

The three heads looked hideous, with disheveled hair and blood on their faces. It was hard to tell who they were at first. Lou Kui looked carefully after hearing the voice. He could not help but recognize that they were his daughter's family of three. He was immediately shocked and his face changed drastically: "...This, this!"

He raised his head suddenly and glared at Rong Se, his eyes almost spitting fire.

"Your Highness! How could my daughter and her family die in such a tragic way?! Your Highness actually ordered their heads to be placed here, what is your intention?!"

All the ministers were shocked and looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Regent Prince threw the heads of the Minister of War's daughter and her family in front of the palace, and he still had a tone of calling the shots to hold them accountable. This must be a big thing!

So they all stole glances at the Regent.

Only Cao Lun closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment.

Rong Se sat steadily, his face without a smile, and snorted with a hint of sneer, "It seems that you have recognized me, Minister Lou, you still have the nerve to ask me why?"

As he spoke, he took out an official urgent report in the tone of Marquis Dingbei from his sleeve and threw it down.

"Look for yourself, what a great thing your good son-in-law has done!"

Luo Kui had a complicated expression. He knew the reason when he saw the heads of his daughter and her family. Because of this, even his rage seemed fake. He was more of a panic and fear of his plan going wrong. So he picked up the secret report from the ground with trembling fingertips. After opening it and reading it, his expression changed unpredictably. Finally, he sneered, "Ridiculous! Who knows that the words on it are true? What treason? Zhou Haiyi is a minister of Jin, and my daughter is from a military family. How could she surrender to the enemy? Dingbei Hou killed my son-in-law and daughter's family. How can we know that he didn't do something shameful and wanted to kill people to silence them!"

"Whatever the truth is, everyone in Zhou Haiyi's mansion has witnessed it, so you can't make up stories." Rong Se shouted, "Zhou Haiyi used the excuse of hosting a banquet to assassinate Marquis Dingbei. Now the situation in Qiangzhou is critical, and the Xiongnu army is gathering at the border. Everyone in the world knows that the Xiongnu are terrified of Marquis Dingbei. But at this moment, your good son-in-law wants to kill the commander of the Jinbei Cavalry. If Marquis Dingbei makes any mistake, the morale of the army on the border will be in chaos! You still dare to say that he didn't collude with the enemy and commit treason?!"

Luo Kui's expression changed several times. He was thinking about how to refute when Rong Se sneered again.

"Okay, Minister Lou, stop racking your brains to come up with excuses. You and I both know the truth."

Although it was not clear what he said, Rong Se knew that Lou Kui would definitely understand. It was definitely not Zhou Haiyi's own idea to assassinate Liang Shenyu, and Lou Kui, his father-in-law, must have known about it.

As expected, after hearing this, Lou Kui was speechless, but his expression became even uglier.

"Or..." Rong Se said sarcastically, "Because I sent Marquis Dingbei to Qiangzhou instead of your good grandson Hou Peihu, Zhou Haiyi wanted to find a way out for this nephew by killing Marquis Dingbei first and then letting Hou Peihu take over?"

In the past, it would have been a great honor for the Hou family to have a queen. But now the emperor was just a decoration in Rong Se's eyes, not to mention the fake royal relatives of the Hou family.

When he said this, not only Luo Kui, but even Hou Peihu's biological father, Hou Shilang, was stunned. He was sweating profusely and immediately stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not the case!"

"If that's the case, then Zhou Haiyi's family is guilty of collaborating with the enemy." Rong Se said coldly, looking at Lou Kui, pausing at each word, "Death is not a pity."

Hou Qingxia had just been crowned as queen, and Lou Kui was still counting on this granddaughter, so naturally the Hou family could not be involved. Rong Se was determined on this point. In fact, they all knew why Zhou Haiyi wanted to kill Liang Shenyu. He just wanted to clip the wings of the Regent King, but he failed.

Rong Se had no evidence but insisted that Zhou Haiyi was in cahoots with the enemy. In this way, it would not be a serious crime for Marquis Dingbei to kill first and report later. He mentioned the Hou family to threaten Lou Kui to admit the incident, otherwise Rong Se would drag the Hou family into it, and then things would only become more difficult to resolve.

As expected, Lou Kui stopped arguing and just stared at Rong Se with a cold look, and said slowly: "Your Majesty is wise."

Rong Se saw the expression of "we have a feud" on his face, but he was not panicked at all. He and Cao Lun had been at war with each other for a long time. This Minister of War was in cahoots with Cao Lun, so they were naturally mortal enemies.

"This is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans, Minister Lou, you are also among them." Rong Se said, "Considering your advanced age and the fact that you are an important official in our dynasty, I will spare your life. Go back home and have a good rest in the next few days. As for this head——"

Rong Se glanced over, frowned in disgust, and said in a deliberately magnanimous tone: "Just take it back."

Luo Kui was so angry at his lenient tone that he almost vomited blood. He was filled with grief and anger, but he could do nothing but thank him: "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace."

After saying that, he went to pick up the three heads. Rong Se gave a wink, and someone came forward with a wooden box, which was the one that contained the three heads.

The old man lost his daughter and had to pick up the heads of his daughter, son-in-law and grandson himself. This should have been a tragic scene, so bleak that it made people sigh. But Rong Se could only think of why the owners of the three heads ended up in such a situation, and it was really hard to have any sympathy.

They wanted to kill Liang Shenyu.

When Rong Se thought about it, he could hardly control his rage to the point of burning everything. At the same time, he also realized more clearly that his situation was no longer the same as before. If he took a wrong step or was careless for a moment, he might be doomed.

After the court was dismissed, Rong Se selected several court officials to go to Linghui Pavilion. Before leaving, he said, "It is useless for your majesty to study all day. Why don't you all come to Linghui Pavilion and listen to how the adults handle state affairs."

Rong Jing seemed to be in a trance, and asked blankly, "What?"

Rong Se raised his eyebrows slightly, "Your Majesty, come to Linghui Pavilion."

Commanding tone.

Rong Jing couldn't laugh and nodded silently.

The affairs of state to be discussed are nothing more than current events. Last year, the harvests were good in various places, and there were no natural disasters, except for the earthquake in Tong County. However, the victims of the disaster have now been properly resettled. However, it is almost the end of the year and there are wars on the border. The financial situation is somewhat tight, and more needs to be considered.

Rongse was already able to handle these trivial matters with ease, and was also adept at conversing with court officials. After the matters were handled and the officials took their leave, Rongse did not leave, but sat upright in his place.

"Lord Cao, please step aside first. I still have something to say to His Majesty." Rong Se glanced at Cao Lun.

Since the Regent King had spoken, Cao Lun had no choice but to take his leave first. In the room that was filled with court officials just now, only Rong Se and Rong Jing were left.

"Uncle."

Rong Jing addressed him respectfully, but after seeing with his own eyes how Rong Se directed the affairs of state, he could not help but feel jealous. He lowered his eyes and said, "What do you want to tell me?"

"That's what I just said." Rong Se glanced at Rong Jing with contempt and said indifferently, "How much did your Majesty understand?"

Rong Jing choked.

He didn't really listen.

Rong Se knew what was going on and sneered, then said, "You should be thankful that San Lang is fine. If anything had happened to him, I would have killed you at the court this morning."

Rong Jing's expression changed, "This matter has nothing to do with me!"

Rong Se saw that he did not look fake, and was silent for a moment, then snorted and laughed, "I don't care about that. It was not you, but your uncle who came up with the idea. Otherwise, how could Zhou Haiyi dare to attack San Lang? Your Majesty, take care of yourself. Cao Lun is not a good person, so it's best if you don't have any offspring."

It doesn't seem like Cao Lun wants to teach the emperor. Instead, he wants to let Rong Jing take his own course and he urges him to take a queen. If I'm not mistaken, Cao Lun probably doesn't want to be a supporting minister, he wants to be a powerful minister!

Rong Jing didn't even have time to feel jealous of Rong Se's affectionate address to Liang Shenyu before he was hit in the sore spot by his ambiguous warning.

His uncle indeed did not take the emperor seriously.

Rong Jing felt cold all over at once.