Chapter 138: Turning Danger into Safety (Seventh Update, Please Reward!)

At this point, Gao Panlong paused briefly before continuing: "Therefore, I petition Your Majesty — the court should select a virtuous and capable minister, one whose character and talent are both excellent, to shoulder this great responsibility. I beg Your Majesty to approve my petition."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Gao Panlong and said, "This matter is of great importance. I must also deliberate with all my beloved ministers — I absolutely cannot act arbitrarily on my own."

"Gao Aiqing's loyal heart for sovereign and country is known not only to me, but surely also to the late emperor. So Gao Aiqing should first hear the opinions of the assembled ministers." With that, Zhu Youxiao turned his head, sweeping his gaze across the faces of the ministers one by one, and asked, "I wonder what thoughts all my beloved ministers have?"

In fact, many people knew this was complete nonsense.

The late emperor had indeed died, but not murdered by Fang Congzhe. The reason Noble Consort Zheng had sent women to the late emperor was also simple — she was afraid, afraid she would die in the palace without anyone knowing how.

Back then, she had treated the late emperor poorly more than a few times, especially when the late emperor was contending with her son for the position of Crown Prince — she had done no small number of wicked deeds.

Later, when the late emperor ascended the throne, this Noble Consort Zheng naturally had to curry favor with him, or else she might have died without anyone even knowing.

Sending those women to the late emperor represented Noble Consort Zheng's submission, and at the same time represented her attempt to please him.

The women were sent over, but who could have imagined the late emperor would simply accept all of them in one go?

The late emperor had probably been pent up for all these years. For several days straight he indulged in revelry day and night, unable to stop himself, and his body collapsed all at once. Then, while receiving treatment, he took the elixir pills given by Li Kezhuo — two pills in total — and directly ate himself to death.

There might be inconsistencies here, and perhaps someone really did administer poison, but the facts would never be as Zhang Chunping described.

So this case was fabricated out of thin air from the start — stitching together a bunch of specious things to make the whole affair look as real as could be.

Only, not many people in the court actually believed it. Yet everyone would still speak of it as though it were true — this was a very, very strange thing about officialdom.

Some things one clearly does not believe in one's own heart, but when spoken aloud, it sounds as though it truly happened.

After Zhu Youxiao's question, sure enough, someone else stepped forward, saying much the same things — roughly similar to Gao Panlong in substance, though with a considerably milder attitude, putting on a posture of "let's investigate and see — if there's a fault, correct it; if not, take it as encouragement."

But was this matter something you could just casually investigate?

This was the murder of the late emperor!

Once this case began to be investigated, blood would surely flow like rivers and heads would roll. By then, I fear it couldn't be stopped even if one wanted to!

Some people always want to control things they cannot control. Zhu Youxiao felt helpless.

Glancing at Liu Yijing beside him, Zhu Youxiao directly asked, "I wonder how my beloved minister views this?"

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Liu Yijing suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Moments ago, Liu Yijing had been like a clay Bodhisattva in a temple, with a look of his soul wandering beyond the heavens, seemingly still sunk in his recent defeat, unable to extricate himself.

Now, hearing Zhu Youxiao's question, Liu Yijing gave a start, then said, "I believe this case should indeed be investigated. It's just that, as before, a seasoned and prudent senior minister should be dispatched to handle it. Only thus will nothing go wrong, and the full ins and outs of the case can be thoroughly clarified."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Liu Yijing, somewhat puzzled in his heart.

Is this all you've got, Liu Yijing?

Weren't you doing quite well before? How is it that at this critical moment you have nothing left?

If the plot really developed this way, then Liu Yijing would truly disappoint him too much.

But Zhu Youxiao felt he should still give Liu Yijing a helping hand. If Liu Yijing fell at this time, things would become troublesome.

Zhu Youxiao truly could not figure out what Liu Yijing was thinking.

This matter was plainly the Donglin Faction's doing — either as revenge, or to escape Donglin's own crisis by dragging Liu Yijing into the water.

Once an investigation began, Liu Yijing absolutely could not escape, and everyone connected to him would also be implicated.

And now Liu Yijing was actually putting on a nonchalant posture? Actually agreeing to let it be investigated?

Yes, the matter was of great importance, and refusing to investigate would invite attack from others — but you should also think of some other way, rather than just agreeing like this.

Could it be that you, Liu Yijing, truly want to wait for death?

"Is that how my beloved minister sees it?" Zhu Youxiao asked again.

Liu Yijing's expression remained completely unchanged as he continued slowly: "To answer Your Majesty, I do believe this matter should indeed be investigated. However, I also have some differing views."

These words made Zhu Youxiao somewhat satisfied.

That's more like it!

How could you, Liu Yijing, concede defeat?

It's not yet time for you to cave — doing your job well is the true way.

In fact, Liu Yijing had no choice. It wasn't that he had no response and no measures — it was just that it was inappropriate for him to be the one to voice them. He had already arranged for others to handle this matter.

But His Majesty had pressed him again, and the attitude was already very clear: His Majesty did not want others to step forward for Old Liu, but wanted him to bear the brunt himself. So there was no choice left.

Though it was inappropriate for him to say it himself, he still had to. Of course, he could choose not to say it — but then His Majesty would probably teach him a lesson.

At such a critical juncture, offending His Majesty truly led to no good end. His Majesty wouldn't even need to push him — just standing by with folded arms would be enough to finish him.

So Liu Yijing could no longer worry about much else and directly said: "I believe this matter should investigate the source of the information. The matter itself must be investigated, and the source of the information must also be strictly investigated."

"It concerns the late emperor and implicates so many people, especially reaching into the inner palace, so we must be cautious. I believe we should investigate thoroughly, lest someone take the opportunity to stir up trouble." Liu Yijing said with a grave expression, looking every bit the loyal minister devoted to his country.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "My beloved minister speaks sensibly."

"Then how does my beloved minister think it should be investigated?" Zhu Youxiao continued asking.

Liu Yijing no longer held anything back, and respectfully spoke frankly: "Since the matter involves the inner palace, it is naturally inconvenient for outside ministers to be involved. Ministers should abide by their proper station — matters of the palace are not something for ministers to participate in. As for who should investigate, that should also be decided by Your Majesty."

"As for matters outside the palace, I do think the Embroidered Uniform Guard could investigate. They are quite skilled at this sort of thing and should yield results. As for whether it should be designated a major case, let us investigate first before deciding. If there is indeed evidence, then naturally it must be severely punished."

After saying these words, Liu Yijing bowed and stepped to the side.

Zhu Youxiao shot an appreciative glance at Liu Yijing — the old fellow was indeed extraordinary, a true old fox.

First, he split the matter in two — half inside the palace, half outside. Second, he made it very clear that outside ministers could not meddle in palace affairs, and could not even offer advice on who should investigate.

He was the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat — if he could not do something, no one else could either. This was equivalent to digging a pit for the Donglin Faction: don't stick your fingers into His Majesty's palace affairs.

At the same time, Liu Yijing was also currying favor with Zhu Youxiao, showing himself to be an obedient and sensible minister.

As for matters outside the palace, he proposed letting the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate directly, cutting off any possibility of the Donglin Faction reaching in — everything would be decided by His Majesty alone. You want to take control? I won't give you that chance.

If I have no chance, I certainly won't let you have one either.

Judging from the current situation, striking at the Donglin Faction was still the top priority, so Liu Yijing could still borrow this favorable wind for now.

Giving the matter to the Embroidered Uniform Guard was absolutely better than letting the Donglin Faction get involved.

Because Liu Yijing also knew this matter would never fall into the hands of his own people.

Having already been burned once over Zhang Yingdao's matter, Liu Yijing decided to play it safe this time.

As for the final framing, it was a way of turning a major matter into a minor one.

In the Donglin Faction's telling, this was already a case of high treason—never mind investigating, issuing an edict to arrest and convict the culprits outright would have been entirely acceptable.

Liu Yijing stepped back and returned the case to the investigative track—a retreat that was actually an advance.

After these several exchanges, though he hadn't reversed the situation, he had basically steered clear of danger, and for now there was no immediate risk.

With things having come to this pass, Liu Yijing believed someone would find a way out—and that someone was Fang Congzhe.

Though Fang Congzhe had already stepped down, he still had no shortage of followers among the officials—how could they possibly sit idle and wait for death?

Who knew—old Liu might even take the opportunity to absorb these people into his own camp.

Though they might not be willing to help Fang Congzhe, they certainly wouldn't want to be implicated by him, so these people would inevitably step forward to protect him.

When that time came, all he needed to do was give a push from behind, and the Donglin Faction would surely become the target of everyone's arrows.

Naturally, there were those who couldn't read Liu Yijing's intentions—at this moment, Sun Shenxing's face had turned extremely ugly.

The current situation did not match their original plan. They had intended to put forward Sun Chengzong—he was the only person on their side whom His Majesty would accept.

Now that Liu Yijing had pulled this move, it would no longer be appropriate for their side to put Sun Chengzong forward either.

"Outer officials cannot investigate the inner palace"—those words were spoken by Liu Yijing, but they were aimed at everyone.

In Sun Shenxing's heart, he even suspected that Liu Yijing had some connection with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If that were truly the case, their side would be in trouble. And as for the imperial palace itself—would Wei Zhongxian let this opportunity slip by?

At this thought, Sun Shenxing also drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

Liu Yijing's move was truly vicious—with this kind of maneuvering, the matter might end up being investigated all the way back to their own people.

It would be a wonder if Sun Shenxing's expression could be anything but sour.

Watching the flickering, shifting gazes of the various men below, Zhu Youxiao nearly burst out laughing.

This was more like it!

This was exactly how they should fight!

A steady, peaceful, harmonious court was precisely what wouldn't do!

These were the ministers he needed—a court of total harmony and goodwill was not what he wanted.

And so this time Zhu Youxiao didn't even ask, directly saying: "Since my beloved minister has spoken thus, let it be done as my beloved minister proposes."

This was showing face to the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat—since the man had spoken, as Emperor he naturally had to show respect.

So Zhu Youxiao didn't bother consulting the assembled ministers and settled the matter on the spot.

Most of those below weren't particularly surprised, but quite a few wore grim expressions.

Some were somewhat hesitant—clearly, everyone seemed to have underestimated the weight this Chief Grand Secretary carried in His Majesty's heart.

Seen this way, His Majesty still held the Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yijing in considerable regard. Perhaps some of their strategies needed adjusting?