Chapter 412: Spies in Southern Yunnan
"I'm fine..."
But after saying this, he fell straight back. Feng Youcai hurriedly supported him, and everyone in the hall was in chaos.
The imperial physician came hurriedly and frowned as he gave Emperor Defeng acupuncture.
Over the past six months, Emperor Defeng's health has been getting worse day by day. This time he fainted due to anger.
It is easy to wake Emperor Defeng up, but the real difficulty is how to replenish his lost vitality.
Mood is also an important factor that affects the body. If he can maintain a happy mood, his body will naturally be much better.
But unless the situation in various places can be restored, Emperor Defeng will not be in a good mood.
After Emperor Defeng regained consciousness, he summoned his ministers to discuss the situation in southern Yunnan without even having time to take a breath.
When the ministers learned about this, they were all shocked.
Everyone was divided into two factions. One faction believed that there was no need for the Southern Yunnan Prefecture to rebel, and Prince Jin was even less likely to rebel. He was clearly the best candidate for the crown prince, so why would he go so far away and do something that would go against the will of the world?
Some people believe that the Southern Yunnan Prefecture has long harbored evil intentions.
On the surface, Prince Jin is the most likely candidate for the crown prince, but with the previous example of Prince Wu right in front of us, the emperor has been hesitant to issue an edict to appoint a crown prince, and it is unknown how the situation will develop in the end.
Under such circumstances, there is no guarantee that the King of Southern Yunnan and the King of Jin will not resort to desperate measures.
Both factions felt that the court should send troops, but one faction suggested sending troops to support southern Yunnan to prevent the Kingdom of Nanyue from taking advantage of the situation.
Another group advocated the suppression of the rebels to prevent the Nanyue Kingdom from succeeding and making southern Yunnan a vassal.
The two factions were arguing endlessly. Emperor Defeng listened while rubbing his brows. His eyes were gloomy, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
In the end, neither side was able to convince the other, and Emperor Defeng lost his patience to listen any further, so he sent everyone away.
This is not a easy decision to make.
Emperor Defeng was the ruler of a country and did not dare to make a rash decision.
Concubine Rou came to ask for an audience, and Emperor Defeng hesitated for a moment but still met her.
The events of the previous dynasty were reported to the harem, and when Concubine Rou learned about it, it was as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting.
During this period of time, no matter how anxious and worried she was, she never cried.
But today, she couldn't help but shed tears.
She didn't believe that her father would have the intention of treason, and it was even more impossible for A Ci to do so. All of this was a frame-up by someone with ulterior motives.
There were obvious traces of tears in the corners of her eyes, and her voice was clearly crying.
"Your Majesty, my father and brother are loyal to you and the Great Qi Dynasty, and they have absolutely no other intentions. Ah Ci is even less likely to betray you. This is definitely a plot by the Kingdom of Nanyue to sow discord. You must be very discerning and must not fall for this treacherous scheme and allow the Kingdom of Nanyue to exploit this opportunity!"
Concubine Rou's tears were so severe that I felt pity for her.
Emperor Defeng's heart was also in turmoil.
"You get up first."
Concubine Rou was still kneeling on the ground, "Your Majesty, if you really doubt Aci and my father and brother, then please banish me to the cold palace. If they really rebel, there is no reason for me to continue living."
Concubine Rou's words were also a reminder to Emperor Defeng that she was still in the palace. How could Xiao Yanci ignore her and do such a thing?
Moreover, Lu Zhiran is still in the capital. If Xiao Yanci really wanted to rebel, he would have made arrangements for a retreat in advance.
Emperor Defeng also thought of this.
This matter is indeed strange.
Whether the King of Southern Yunnan has any intention of rebellion is another matter for later discussion, but it is indeed unlikely that Xiao Yanci would do so.
Emperor Defeng leaned over and personally helped Concubine Rou up.
"My beloved, I believe in the King of Southern Yunnan, and I also believe in Ah Ci. I will send troops to Southern Yunnan as soon as possible to support them, and will not allow the Kingdom of Nanyue to take advantage of the opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Rou burst into laughter.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Concubine Rou left the imperial study with red eyes and still felt uneasy.
She didn't dare to hope that she could dispel the emperor's doubts with just a few words.
She just wanted to remind Emperor Defeng that she, the hostage, was still in the capital, hoping that he could give Diannan more trust, or at least give them another chance to prove themselves.
Emperor Defeng sat at his desk, spread out the memorial, but did not write for a long time.
After a while, he asked, "Feng Youcai, tell me, does the King of Southern Yunnan have any intention of rebellion?"
Feng Youcai lowered his head and said cautiously, "The King of Diannan was an old minister who supported the emperor's ascension to the throne. He is naturally loyal to you."
"Yes, he was a hero back then."
However, after decades, people's hearts will change.
He had been holding troops in southern Yunnan for many years and had become a local emperor. The people in southern Yunnan only knew him as the King of Southern Yunnan, but not himself, the Emperor of the Great Qi.
Did he really never have any thoughts that he shouldn't have?
With so many things on my mind, the most urgent task is to resolve the external threats first and then deal with the internal troubles.
Emperor Defeng said in a deep voice, "Grind ink for me."
Emperor Defeng picked up his pen and wrote an imperial edict, sending troops to southern Yunnan to support disaster relief and resist the Kingdom of Nanyue. He must not allow the Kingdom of Nanyue to set foot on the territory of the Great Qi.
When Feng Youcai saw this imperial edict, his heart slowly settled down.
But no one expected that before the imperial edict could be issued, things would take a different turn.
On this day, a thief was caught in the home of Qin Zhongju, the Minister of Justice.
That thief was no ordinary person, he was actually a spy from southern Yunnan!
The person was originally an ordinary maid in the Qin family. She was exposed because she put something in the tea and was discovered.
After a final round of interrogation, she finally opened her mouth.
What she put into the tea was not ordinary things, but the eggs of the poisonous insect!
As long as you drink the eggs and the insect enters your body, you will be poisoned.
Qin Zhongju immediately asked the imperial physician to take his pulse to check whether he had been poisoned.
The next day when he went to court, Qin Zhongju told the matter.
"Your Majesty, I have a lowly suspicion that such spies exist not only in my household, but also in the homes of other lords. I beg Your Majesty to order a thorough investigation, and especially to instruct everyone to be careful about what they bring in. We must not fall for the Diannan Prefecture's treacherous schemes."
Originally, everyone was still sighing for Qin Zhongju's bad luck, but unexpectedly, the topic turned around and fell on their heads.
All the court officials suddenly felt insecure.
Qin Zhongju listed the different types of poisonous insects and the different reactions after being poisoned - all of this was learned from the maid's mouth.
After hearing this, many adults identified themselves with the situation and felt that they had been infected.
Emperor Defeng's expression turned very ugly, and the imperial edict to support southern Yunnan that he was originally going to read out was put on hold.
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me!"
If he is really a spy arranged by the Southern Yunnan Prefecture, his intentions are known to everyone!
As expected, the results were found one after another.
More than a dozen court officials were diagnosed with poisoning.
The imperial physician used the method of drawing out the poisonous insects from their bodies.
Everything I saw with my own eyes cannot be false.
Those spies planted in various households were pulled out one by one, just like pulling out a radish with mud.
What is shocking is that these spies have been staying in their house for at least three or four years, and some have even been there for ten years.
Emperor Defeng handed the interrogation over to his Dragon Scale Guards, and the confessions they obtained in the end were very consistent, showing that they were all secret agents of the Southern Yunnan Prefecture.
Recently, they all received instructions to start casting curses on the master's family.
This incident caused an uproar in the court and was even more chilling.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
