The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1285: trying to cover up
Chapter 1285: The more you try to hide, the more obvious it becomes
Xiao Rongyan spoke sternly, reprimanding Murong Li, the Emperor of Yan, as if he were reprimanding his good-for-nothing child, without giving him any face at all: “The truth that one cannot gain the world by breaking faith is something that even a three-year-old child knows. Your father taught you this all the time when he was alive. Your Majesty has made this mistake, are you worthy of your father?”
Seeing Murong Li lowered his head and did not answer, Xiao Rongyan’s tone became more gloomy: “Yan State… after the alliance with the Great Zhou, every time the spoils of war were divided, the Great Zhou would take care of Yan State and give Yan State more. Under such circumstances, Yan State stabbed us in the back, which is unjust! Putting it in front of the people of the world is to put our Yan State in a sinister and despicable place, and make us Yan State a villain who repays kindness with enmity! Let us Yan State become the target of public criticism! Is your majesty satisfied with this result?”
“Ninth Prince…” Wang Jiuzhou, who was standing next to Murong Li, knelt down and kowtowed, “Ninth Prince, calm down. Your Majesty did not do this! It was…”
“Wang Jiuzhou!” Murong Li scolded harshly.
Wang Jiuzhou then pursed his lips tightly, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t bear to speak up for Murong Li.
Wang Jiuzhou knew in his heart that this time… both the master and the emperor were probably thinking of pulling the queen mother down from the position of regent. Wang Jiuzhou did not name the queen mother, but it was also a shot of prevention for the court officials, letting them know… This time, the disaster of the Great Zhou’s deployment of troops on the border of Yan State was caused by the queen mother.
Wang Jiuzhou was eager to defend Murong Li, but Murong Li scolded him and did not allow him to speak. This… was simply making things worse.
The court officials looked at each other. Who could not understand that there must be something else going on? It was even very likely that it was done by the Queen Mother of Yan, who had frequent contacts with the people of Xiliang some time ago. Their Majesty just wanted to take the blame for this matter.
“Forget it! Your Majesty, just follow me and go meet the Queen Mother. Let the Queen Mother meet the confidants around the old General Cui Shanzhong. The truth will eventually become clear.” Xiao Rongyan said.
The ministers of the Yan State watched and felt that the Ninth Prince would not give in, and must be trying to take this opportunity to remove the Queen Mother from the position of regent. From then on… the Yan State’s court would be ruled by the Ninth Prince, at least before the Emperor took power.
The court officials who had originally followed the Ninth Prince Murong Yan were naturally overjoyed, thinking that the Queen Mother Yan was asking for her own death, and that the Great Zhou’s deployment of troops on the border of Yan State actually helped the Ninth Prince.
The court officials who followed the Queen Mother were all frowning. Murong Li’s uncle Zhong Xingxiao was even more shocked. They knew in their hearts that it was the Queen Mother who did this. And now there is still a gap in the national strength between Yan State and Da Zhou. If they really had to fight… Yan State might not be a match for Da Zhou, and it really had to give an explanation to Da Zhou for this matter.
Especially since I just heard from the Ninth Prince that the cronies around old General Cui Shanzhong were handed over to the Ninth Prince by the Great Zhou, that means… the Great Zhou already knows that it was the Queen Mother who betrayed the Great Zhou. Since she wants an explanation, naturally the Queen Mother should give one.
Now that the emperor is young, those court officials who openly follow the emperor are basically following the empress dowager, so the empress dowager must be protected at all costs!
The court officials who support the Queen Mother have made up their minds to keep the Queen Mother’s position as regent at all costs.
“Your Majesty, Ninth Prince…” Zhong Xingxiao stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Murong Li and Xiao Rongyan, and said, “The so-called confidant of General Cui Shanzhong entrusted by the Great Zhou Dynasty may not really be General Cui Shanzhong’s confidant.”
Zhong Xingxiao looked up at Xiao Rongyan, whose mask was shining coldly, and continued, “Of course… Now that the Great Zhou has deployed troops on the border of our Yan State, the most important thing is to solve the problem that our Yan State’s main force cannot return and we do not have enough troops at home. If a war breaks out, our Yan State will not be able to resist! Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and the Ninth Prince should discuss this carefully! If it can be of use to us court officials, we will not hesitate to die. Please… Your Majesty and the Ninth Prince, take us all to meet the Queen Mother and brainstorm!”
The corners of Xiao Rongyan’s lips curled up slightly under the mask. He looked at the old uncle who was almost at the bottom of his attitude and did not say anything. He only asked Murong Li: “What does your majesty think?”
Murong Li clenched his fists tightly in his sleeves, as if he was very afraid of his uncle, and said, “Uncle, why don’t we let the court officials follow us! It just so happens… I… I have thought of a way these days, and I want to tell Uncle Jiu and the court officials about it. Why don’t we let the court officials follow us, and let’s go to the front hall first, and talk about seeing the Queen Mother later. After all, now is not the time to pursue right or wrong. We must first find a solution, and it will still be in time to pursue it later.”
Xiao Rongyan knew that Murong Li wanted to strike while the iron was hot and present the plan of merging the two countries to all the ministers today, so he nodded.
Soon, two of General Cui Shanzhong’s close associates were also taken down from the prison van.
An official who had seen General Cui Shanzhong’s deputy general in Yandu before opened his eyes wide and said, “Isn’t this…”
Xiao Rongyan paused when he heard this and looked at the official: “What do you know?”
The official was frightened by Xiao Rongyan’s cold voice and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, “This…this Xiliang man I have seen before in Yandu. I have seen him…in and out of the palace!”
The official closed his eyes and told everything he knew. He even asked someone to give him courage: “I saw it when I left the palace with Lord Guan and Lord Li before!”
When Lord Guan and Lord Li were called, they immediately knelt down…
Xiao Rongyan turned to look at the kneeling official and asked, “Is what he said… true?”
“Reply…Reply to the Regent, it’s true!”
“It’s true! It’s true!”
Xiao Rongyan got a positive answer, and continued to follow Murong Li into the palace. The ministers immediately followed Xiao Rongyan and Murong Li. They all knew that there would be a bloody storm in a while, so they didn’t dare to breathe.
Especially the three officials who had just revealed that Cui Shanzhong’s confidants had entered the palace. Seeing the gloomy eyes of the old uncle Zhong Xingxiao looking at them, they were full of regret and cold sweat on their foreheads. They knew in their hearts that they might have been involved in the fight between the regent and the queen mother, and they accidentally stood on the side of the regent.
Originally they just wanted to retire with honor in the court, but now that this problem has occurred, it would be fine if they can’t retire with honor, but the emperor’s uncle has always been petty and they are afraid that he will bring trouble to the whole family.
Queen Mother Yan was restless in the palace. When she heard the news that Xiao Rongyan had returned to Yandu, she was in no mood to feed the fish. She held the fish food box in her hand but was reluctant to scatter the food.