Chapter 1542: Counterattack

The entire court was a huge mess. As they argued about Sang Hong’s case, they were divided into two factions.

King Qi, who was standing in front of the ministers, secretly gave Zhao Han a look. He wasn’t able to pick up much from the emperor’s expression. He sighed and thought, This older brother of mine really is hard to predict. I can’t tell what kind of attitude he has at all.

He looked at the civil and military officials around him, only to discover that many of the people he was used to seeing had gone missing as of late.

The two brothers Vanguard General Qin Zheng and Defense General Qin Se had led their armies to battle due to the Fiend races slaughtering an entire city. The Fiend races had sent one of the four great generals, the Flying Leopard King, to lead the other side; that had left them evenly matched. It would take some time before the battle ended and they could return.

Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan had shamed the royal family, as he had married a princess but been implicated in a love rivalry with Zu An in a brothel. As such, he had admitted responsibility and resigned. His father, Imperial Secretariat’s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong, had also been affected by that affair. Even though his proposal for resignation had been rejected by the emperor, his prestige had still suffered a lot of damage.

Then, a huge fiasco had occurred surrounding Cloudcenter Commandery’s Yu clan. Yu Xuanchong hadn’t had the face to continue serving as the Imperial Secretariat’s Left Confidential Assistant. In that case, the emperor had approved his resignation.

Those people all formed part of the backbone of King Qi’s forces! Now, his allies in the upper echelons of the court only consisted of Waterfront Duke Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, King Fufeng, and Great Western General Zhao Cang. Compared to the great influence he had wielded in the past, he really did seem much lonelier now. Still, his many years of influence weren’t for nothing. There were still many middle-rank officials who supported him.

This time, he was borrowing the Sang Hong incident to launch a fierce counterattack and seize a bit of initiative back after the past few months' decline. The line ‘Sang Hong has colluded with the Fiend races and ought to have his whole family executed down to the third generation’ had been spoken by one of his men.

Hmph, the emperor has repeatedly attacked my forces. How can I appease my anger unless I get revenge?

Just then, Bi Ziang gestured with his eyes, and an official on his side stepped forward and retorted, “Those words are incorrect. Sir Sang was the Imperial Envoy who was attacked on the way back. He is a victim. Why are you now accusing him of colluding with the Fiend races?”

Sang Hong was a part of the emperor’s faction, but it didn’t really matter whether he was involved or not. What mattered was that Zu An was also involved. Zu An was now an important minister in the Eastern Palace, and a useful servant of Bi Ziang’s younger sister. If Zu An were to be convicted of a crime, it would easily end up involving Bi Ziang and his sister.

“Based on the time frame, the Imperial Envoy should have returned to the capital a long time ago, but they continued to stall for time using all manner of excuses. They only picked up their pace when his majesty personally issued a decree. Then, however, something happened as soon as they arrived at Silkworm City. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?” someone from King Qi’s side replied.

“That means nothing. There were constant reports from the Imperial Envoy along the way. They encountered all kinds of unexpected events, and every single one is backed with proof that can be looked into,” said War Chariot General Liu Guang and a subordinate of General Liu Yao. They were the older brothers of the empress, so they naturally stood at the emperor’s side. Otherwise, if King Qi rose to the throne, they would be cast away.

“During the fire that night, why was it that all the other members of the Imperial Envoy died, and yet Sang Hong was the only one to disappear mysteriously?” another official harrumphed.

“You said it yourself; he disappeared mysteriously. Why do you insist that Sir Sang colluded with the Fiend races to harm the Imperial Envoy fleet?” said a subordinate of Central Secretarial Supervisor Meng Yi. The Meng clan was also a core pillar of the emperor’s faction.

“We found proof left behind at the scene of the crime. Sang Hong’s personal keepsake and a letter of communication with the Fiend races,” Chief Attendant Pei Zheng reported after giving a subordinate of his a look.

“Something like that happened?!” The entire King Court erupted into commotion. Many of them had never heard that claim before.

Crown Princess Bi Linglong, who was sitting in a side room, frowned. The crown prince was really too stupid, so he couldn't appear in such a grand ceremony. If he said some kind of terrible joke out loud, that really would give King Qi’s faction a free blade. As such, as a compromise, they had allowed Bi Linglong to remain in a side room with pearl curtains blocking her view.

At that moment, she reflexively looked toward the emperor. From what she heard, the Embroidered Envoy had immediately arrived at Silkworm City, bringing all of their witnesses and evidence back to the capital under a seal. Why did King Qi’s faction know about that?

A hint of anger flashed through the emperor’s eyes. He was clearly unhappy with the way King Qi was exploiting every weakness. Faced with his subjects’ unspoken conclusions, however, he said indifferently, “This emperor has already sent the Embroidered Envoy to investigate this affair. The case is still ongoing.”

He didn’t confirm or deny anything, but those present were smart. They quickly realized that there was indeed evidence of that sort.

With that, the momentum of King Qi’s faction immediately surged. Just then, Capital Magistrate Yi Chun added, “This subject has already sent my men to investigate the Sang clan. I believe there will be a result soon.”

When they heard that, the representatives of the Liu, Bi, Meng, and several other clans all felt a grim premonition. They were all old foxes. They knew that, as King Qi had sent his people, that meant his side would most likely find the evidence they needed.

Another member of King Qi’s faction pressed the matter and said, “This subject has received intelligence that the reason Sang Hong le[t stalling for time is to wait for Zu An to return. Zu An was not actually with the rest of the fleet at the time; rather, he went with the Medusa Queen to the fiend side.”

Suddenly, another huge bomb had been dropped, causing a commotion to break out. It seemed that King Qi’s side wasn’t satisfied with just dealing with Sang Hong. They wanted to wipe out the Eastern Palace’s great minister too.

There was no happiness or joy to be seen on King Qi’s face, however. Inwardly, his thoughts were ice-cold. That brat Zu An is just too cunning. He said he was going to ally with me to deal with the emperor, but he kept ruining my great plans.

It would have been one thing if it were just some normal affair, as that would just be the price of obtaining the emperor’s trust. However, the situation in Cloudcenter Commandery was definitely intolerable. He had painstakingly invested in his plans there for over ten years, and yet it had all been ruined because of Zu An.

Either way, Jiang Luofu had already obtained the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from Zu An, so King Qi no longer felt that the brat had any value left. He had to take the chance to eliminate Zu An. At the same time, that would also eliminate a powerful minister from the Eastern Palace.

Bi Linglong’s expression turned completely cold. With her understanding of Zu An, what the official had said was most likely true. When she thought about how worried she had been about him while he hadn’t even sent her a single letter, but as it turned out, he had eloped with another woman, she was furious.

Still, anger was anger, but she had to save him regardless. She gestured, and one of the Eastern Palace’s officials quickly retorted, “That is slander! Sir Zu has always been loyal. How could he possibly do something like that?”

King Qi’s official replied, “Our spy from the Fiend races has brought us intelligence that Zu An has appeared on the fiend side. You can have the Embroidered Envoy verify the source.”

He took out some proof and had a nearby eunuch present it. Just like that, the Eastern Palace’s power waned.

Just then, however, Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang said, “I believe there must be some kind of misunderstanding here. We need to investigate this matter more closely first.” Because of his daughter Jiang Luofu, he actually had a good impression of Zu An.

The officials who were friendly with Zu An, but had previously maintained neutrality, began to speak up one by one. For example, the officials under the Minister of Ceremonies all more or less had some relationship with people from the Royal Academy. On top of that, Zu An’s relationship with the teachers in the Royal Academy was quite close.

…

When he saw that the situation was showing signs of turning the other way, Magistrate Yi Chun said, “If it really were as you say, and Zu An were still with the Imperial Envoy, he and Sang Hong definitely wouldn’t have let the evildoers achieve what they wanted with their cultivation. However, the entire fleet was murdered in Silkworm City, and yet the two of them are nowhere to be seen.

“Once is a coincidence; twice can still be a coincidence. But if it happens that many times, how can it still be a coincidence?

“The document we delivered to his majesty records Zu An’s appearances on the fiend side. It is irrefutable evidence.

“This subject asks your highness to convict Zu An of treason!”

…

He had always been good at judging cases. His powerful and resonant arguments left the other side speechless. After all, the proof they had was far too unfavorable for Zu An.

Bi Linglong couldn't sit still anymore. She said, “The crime of treason is no small matter. Sir Zu is missing right now, so we cannot hear a one-sided story. It will not be too late to question him in detail once he returns.” She could only try to stall for time now. She had to drag out the case as much as she could.

However, no one could have expected King Qi’s side to be so prepared. They had already had information on Zu An being on the fiend side before, and yet they had kept it to themselves. This time, they had used the Imperial Envoy case as the nail in the coffin.

“The Crown Princess’ words are incorrect. As Zu An has already committed treason, why would he come all the way back here just to be punished?” Yi Chun sneered.

Bi Linglong was very worried. She looked toward her father and older brother with a pleading expression. However, considering how bad things looked, they both chose to remain silent.

Suddenly, as Bi Linglong began to feel despair, a loud and clear voice suddenly called out, “It sounds like someone was looking for me!”

When she heard that familiar voice, Bi Linglong’s eyes immediately widened. However, she was worried that the emperor would notice something, so she immediately looked down and tried to remain calm.