SFS Chapter 479 Zhao Yi's Scheme
Chapter 479 Zhao Yi's Scheme
The various families exchanged information and met privately in a small house to discuss countermeasures regarding Zhao Yi's gaining the emperor's favor.
Five or six people discussed it for a long time, but they still couldn't come to a conclusion.
One of the officials suggested, "Should we try to see the Prince before making any further plans? If we make a decision on our own and it inadvertently disrupts the Prince's plans, it would be a disaster."
Another official disagreed: "In my opinion, since the Prince Xian is still under house arrest, we shouldn't think about how to deal with the Prince of Guangling. After all, he is the heir to the throne. We should wait until the Prince Xian is released from his confinement. The most urgent thing is to think of a way to rescue our colleagues who were arrested today."
They were all loyal to the wise king, and their interests were aligned.
Although the case in Yongqing County had nothing to do with them, they were involved in other places to some extent.
They were afraid that Zhao Yi would investigate their cases and that the cases would eventually come to them.
Everyone turned to look at the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Justice.
Only the two of them have a way to see the wise king.
“I met with Prince Xian last night.” The Minister of Personnel put down his teacup. “His Highness is also in trouble now. He wants to help people, but he can’t protect himself. In order to protect the overall situation, His Highness has to protect himself. After all, if he falls, we won’t be able to escape either.”
The Minister of Justice sneered, "I also went to see Prince Xian today, but he refused to see me."
The group exchanged glances, all looking surprised.
The wise prince has actually stopped even bothering with appearances?
For a moment, the group had different thoughts.
The wise king must understand the principle that a single move can affect the whole situation.
The mere fact that the Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel were involved in the case was enough to uncover a whole host of other problems.
If the Northern Qi emperor truly intends to settle scores, none of them will escape.
-
Lanxue Garden.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Tingxue ran into the room, panting, and said, "I heard that His Majesty summoned the Imperial Tutor today and left our Prince standing outside the palace for most of the day."
At this point, she complained, "Our prince is still injured. His Majesty must have made him leave the palace in a sedan chair because his injuries must have worsened."
Shen Qingtan said sarcastically, "That guy is the type who always slaps you first and then gives you a sweet treat."
Tingxue angrily ground her back teeth, cursing the dog emperor in her heart.
She snorted coldly: "So many people were waiting to see our prince make a fool of himself, but instead of being punished, he was given favors that other princes didn't receive. Who knows, he might be made difficult for the prince at tomorrow's morning court session."
“They need to have the skill too.” Shen Qingtan held a lamp hairpin in one hand, gently fiddling with the wick of the oil lamp, and with the other hand, she took a pair of scissors and “snipped” off the blackened tip of the wick: “They’re just a bunch of rabble.”
Tingxue felt sorry for her master, who had not had a pleasant day since arriving in Northern Qi.
"May Your Highness be well."
Just then, the sound of a maidservant greeting someone came from outside.
Shen Qingtan turned to look at the doorway and saw Zhao Yi enter the room bathed in moonlight.
"Tingxue, prepare the meal." Shen Qingtan placed the scissors on the curved table, slipped on her shoes, walked to Zhao Yi's side, took the official robe he had taken off, and hung it on the clothes rack: "His Majesty punished you to stand for half a day, has your injury worsened?"
“The wound is on my shoulder, it doesn’t affect the injury.” Zhao Yi grasped Shen Qingtan’s outstretched hand, stopping her from unbuttoning his inner garment, and diverted her attention: “The Emperor of Northern Qi wants to seize my power today.”
As expected, Shen Qingtan became distracted and carefully analyzed the Northern Qi emperor's motives.
"His Majesty has tolerated you for a long time. Because of the Great Zhou Dynasty behind you and his reputation as a wise ruler, he dares not openly break ties with you. And you took advantage of this mentality and schemed against him."
"Today, he quietly arrested several important court officials. Isn't this a challenge to his authority as emperor? And yet, you have the right to do so, so he can't punish you even if he wants to."
"However, if he doesn't punish you, he won't be able to swallow his anger, so he will definitely find an excuse..."
"He probably found a pretext to seize your power, claiming that you abused your authority, unjustly killed a high-ranking official, and caused turmoil in the court."
"Moreover, the whole capital is spreading rumors that you are a spy for the Great Zhou."
There is no better reason than this.
“That’s true.” Zhao Yi rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands, not forgetting to tease the person in front of him: “Anyone who didn’t know the situation would probably think you were there too.”
"Go ahead and tease me," Shen Qingtan said coquettishly. "If you hadn't said it was me, you probably would have guessed what he was thinking long ago."
With a smile, Zhao Yi extended her slightly dripping hand to Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan rolled her eyes at him, took a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and continued talking about serious matters.
"After what happened today, His Majesty can no longer tolerate you."
"His summons of the Imperial Tutor at this critical juncture is probably to discuss with the Imperial Tutor how to punish you legitimately and leave the Great Zhou speechless."
However, the Imperial Tutor and the Emperor of Northern Qi were not of one mind, so his plan was destined to fail.
Otherwise, Zhao Yi might not have been able to escape unscathed today.
“If possible, His Majesty would probably like to destroy the Great Zhou, so that he will have no worries about the future.” Shen Qingtan handed Zhao Yi a deep robe to put on him: “At that time, he can do whatever he wants with you.”
Shen Qingtan was very glad that the Imperial Tutor did not side with the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Otherwise, the Great Zhou might not have won the battle.
After all, the Imperial Tutor was a master strategist and a skilled tactician.
Moreover, he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
This is something that Father couldn't do.
You're bound to suffer losses.
"His Majesty's idea is actually a good thing for me. I'm using this psychology to make him temporarily abandon the idea of eliminating me." Zhao Yi's eyes revealed a coldness: "Today I ask His Majesty, if he were me, would he side with Great Zhou and help Great Zhou unify Northern Qi, or what would he do?"
Shen Qingtan understood: "With His Majesty's temperament, he will definitely fight for the throne of Northern Qi and then destroy Great Zhou."
Zhao Yi nodded slightly: "He judges others by his own standards, so he naturally assumes that I think the same way." After a pause, he added: "Moreover, he has always been convinced that I covet the throne of Northern Qi."
Shen Qingtan was optimistic: "We can live a peaceful life for a while."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi said, "His Majesty has ordered us to go to our fiefdom to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and reunite with your father and brothers. Whether your father and brothers come to our fiefdom or we go to the Great Zhou to see them, it will likely arouse suspicion in the Great Zhou that your father and brothers are guilty of treason."
Even if Emperor Jing'an trusts Prince Zhenbei, the officials and common people will suspect that Prince Zhenbei has ulterior motives.
The Northern Qi emperor planned to use him to force the Prince of Zhenbei to return.
Therefore, he pretended to have a numb leg today to test the extent to which the Northern Qi emperor was lenient with him.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor of Northern Qi bestowed upon him a palanquin to ride in.
The wise king is now under house arrest.
He could use the Northern Qi emperor's "indulgence" and "favor" to sow discord between the virtuous king and the Northern Qi emperor.
After all, it wouldn't be long before his words to the Northern Qi emperor circulated among the aristocratic families.
Given the impatient nature of the wise prince, he would surely be a hindrance to the Northern Qi emperor.
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. They could avoid seeing their father and brothers, but the Emperor of Northern Qi would find a way to make them meet.
She asked, "Do you have a solution?"
Zhao Yi remained silent for a moment, then dipped his finger in the tea in the cup and wrote three characters on the curved table.
Shen Qingtan stared at those words for a long time without looking away, until the water droplets condensed into a single mass.