SFS Chapter 343 Hatred
Chapter 343 Hatred
The plague in Yuncheng and Panshicheng was being managed in an orderly manner, while news of Lin Yi's beheading reached the palace.
Consort Shu sat in a rosewood armchair with a waist belt and a footrest, smiling as she fiddled with a reading lamp in her hand.
This lamp has a greenish-blue copper frame shaped like a lotus leaf, supporting a lotus flower. If a candle is lit, the snow-white lotus petals will glow with a warm, shimmering light, resembling a golden lotus, extremely elegant.
Consort Shu was quite fond of the newly acquired golden lotus lamp. She placed the lamp stand nearby, intending to use it as an excuse to invite the Emperor of Northern Qi to her palace.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" Hongqiao rushed in from outside, her voice trembling as she said, "My lord... he has been beheaded by the Prince of Guangling."
Consort Shu's smile froze, and she pressed, "Which official?"
"Lord Lin... Lord Lin..."
With a "bang," the golden lotus lantern fell to the ground.
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Consort Shu, leaving her numb.
Before her brother left the capital, he wrote her a letter, in which he said that once he had quelled the plague and overthrown the imperial tutor, he would join forces with the ministers to petition the Northern Qi emperor to establish a crown prince.
At that time, he would have a way to get the Northern Qi emperor to make Zhang'er the crown prince.
Now, the next news I hear about my brother is not of him returning to the capital in glory, but of the devastating news of his beheading.
Consort Shu felt a chill run down her spine, refusing to believe the news she had heard: "It's fake, it's fake news. My brother is a fourth-rank Junior Chamberlain, he's my elder brother. How could Zhao Yi, a prince in name only, dare to cut off my brother's head?"
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became: "Zhao Yi is a dead man, how could he have killed my brother?"
Hongqiao's face turned pale: "The Prince of Guangling fell into the river and was rescued by the ferryman, saving his life. His beheading of you, sir, is probably just settling a personal score."
A strong hatred welled up in Consort Shu's eyes; she wished she could kill Zhao Yi immediately to avenge her brother.
"Help me to see His Majesty."
Consort Shu tried to get up, but her legs felt like they weren't her own, and she couldn't stand up.
Hongqiao held Shufei's hand and felt that Shufei was trembling all over, probably still recovering from the shock.
She became increasingly cautious, helping Consort Shu into the sedan chair and heading towards the Imperial Study.
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Inside the imperial study, the Northern Qi emperor learned that Lin Yi had sent assassins to kill Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi's carriage fell into the river, but he was lucky enough to be rescued by a ferryman.
Zhao Yi was frail and fell ill immediately after falling into the cold river. Once he regained his senses and was able to get out of bed, he rushed back to Yuncheng. However, upon hearing the news that Lin Yi intended to burn the people to quell the plague, Zhao Yi, taking advantage of his status as the ruler of his fiefdom, had Lin Yi beheaded.
Subsequently, the Northern Qi emperor heard another piece of news: Zhao Yi had quelled the plague in Yuncheng and become a great hero of Yuncheng.
Public opinion is now polarized, with some condemning Lin Yi and others praising Zhao Yi's deeds.
The Emperor of Northern Qi was at a loss and prepared to send someone to invite his imperial tutor to the palace for a discussion. However, he then realized that the imperial tutor had not yet returned to the capital.
At this moment, Eunuch Liu came in to announce: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Tutor has returned to the capital."
The Emperor of Northern Qi was overjoyed: "Go quickly and invite the Imperial Tutor to the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Liu hurriedly left the palace to invite the Imperial Tutor.
The Northern Qi emperor quickly organized the memorial, intending to have it reviewed by his imperial tutor later.
Previously, the Imperial Tutor arranged for Zhao Yi to go to Yingcheng to manage the plague, in order to prevent the Great Zhou from taking advantage of the situation and deliberately making things difficult for the Northern Qi.
Unexpectedly, the plague spread to Yuncheng and Panshicheng, and Zhao Yi managed to cure the plague in both cities, gaining him immense prestige among the people.
This is not a good thing for him.
His purpose in keeping Zhao Yi was to restrain the Great Zhou.
In this way, Zhao Yi became a pivotal figure in Northern Qi. If he were to plot a coup, wouldn't the Northern Qi dynasty change hands?
The Imperial Tutor arrived amidst wind and snow, and before he could even pay his respects, the Emperor of Northern Qi invited him to take a seat.
When the Northern Qi emperor met the imperial tutor, he felt he had found a pillar of support and told the tutor everything about Zhao Yi's killing of Lin Yi and his gain of prestige among the people.
His face was full of worry: "Imperial Tutor, what do you think I should do with him?"
"If Your Majesty is referring to the matter of the Prince of Guangling killing Lord Lin, I have a different opinion."
The Imperial Tutor said calmly, "Lin Yi's plot to harm the imperial heir is a capital offense. Not to mention that Lin Yi intended to burn down the people of two cities, which incited public resentment."
“If the Prince of Guangling sends Lin Yi back to the capital, and you hand this case over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, the Lin family will inevitably be executed. In doing so, the Prince of Xian’s power will be severely damaged, and the balance of power will be disrupted.”
Prince Xian was a prince born to Consort Shu.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Northern Qi felt that his imperial tutor's analysis made a lot of sense. Although he valued the Prince of Qi, he was in his prime and feared that the Prince of Qi's power would become too great and that he might not be able to wait to force the emperor to abdicate.
By supporting the power of the wise king, the King of Qi and the wise king can check and balance each other.
In this way, Zhao Yi's killing of Lin Yi actually did him a great favor.
"The Prince of Guangling killed Lin Yi, committing the crime of usurpation. He made great contributions in controlling the plague in Yuncheng and Panshicheng, and should have been rewarded." The Imperial Tutor took a sip of hot tea: "Now let his merits and demerits cancel each other out, and use this to suppress public opinion."
This statement reminded the Northern Qi emperor that if Zhao Yi had not killed Lin Yi, given Zhao Yi's achievements in controlling the plague, he should have been given some real power, allowing him to step into the center of political power.
The Northern Qi emperor breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how high Zhao Yi's prestige was, as long as he did not have real power, he was not a threat.
"Lin Yi plotted to murder the Prince of Guangling, and the Prince of Guangling personally beheaded him. Even if the Great Zhou is dissatisfied with this, we have an explanation."
The Imperial Tutor slowly said, "This is precisely why your humble servant and Vice Minister Liu did not stop the Prince of Guangling from taking action."
The Northern Qi emperor's worries dissipated, and he was completely relieved: "Should I summon Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan back to the capital?"
The Imperial Tutor did not speak directly, but instead reminded him, "Yingcheng is guarded by the Prince of Zhenbei."
The Northern Qi emperor was alarmed. If Zhao Yi were left to guard his fiefdom, and the Great Zhou wanted to attack Northern Qi, Zhao Yi would definitely open the city gates wide and welcome the Great Zhou's troops into the city.
Then Yuncheng and Panshicheng would become the possessions of the Great Zhou.
By keeping Zhao Yi under close surveillance and undermining his influence in the fiefdom, there is no need to worry about Zhao Yi helping the Great Zhou steal the country.
Thinking of this, the Northern Qi emperor immediately issued an edict summoning Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan back to the capital to prevent them from expanding their power in Yuncheng and Panshicheng.
After the Imperial Tutor and the Northern Qi Emperor conveyed the imperial decree, they reported the important events that had occurred in Yuncheng to the Northern Qi Emperor before taking their leave and returning to their residence.
No sooner had he left than Consort Shu arrived.