Chapter 113: The Prime Minister Grows Suspicious, Tests Xiao Qidi

Xiao Qidi's eyes gradually showed a fierce, domineering look.

His expression remained unchanged, yet his aura instantly rose a great deal.

Si Tu Wei's eyes lit up, "Exactly! That's the feeling!"

Xiao Qidi quickly concealed his revealed sharpness, putting on a fawning smile, "Thank you for the praise, Prime Minister; it's all thanks to your teaching."

Si Tu Wei stroked his beard and said:

"Tomorrow I will spread the news that Xiao Qidi is to return to the Royal City."

"These few days you must rest well and stay away from wine and women, so you won't make a fool of yourself before the officials."

"Besides, I plan to let you hold the coronation ceremony early!"

Upon hearing the four words "early coronation," Xiao Qidi's heart jolted.

According to Daxuan's longstanding custom, the coronation ceremony is held when the ruler turns twenty.

This means the ruler begins to govern personally; before this, the authority exercised by officials on the ruler's behalf must be handed over to the ruler.

However, this handover process will be slow, and various obstacles may arise.

Xiao Qidi went along with the plan and swapped identities with the puppet, aiming to first eliminate Si Tu Wei, the biggest obstacle, but he never expected Si Tu Wei to bring up the coronation himself.

And it's—an early coronation!

"Prime Minister, are you acting too hastily?"

Xiao Qidi deliberately probed with that sentence, wanting to see what medicine Si Tu Wei was selling in his gourd.

Si Tu Wei gave him a sideways glance, "How come, are you scared? Weren't you always eager to indulge in being the king?"

Xiao Qidi smiled, "With the Prime Minister handling all affairs, I only need to be a figurehead; naturally I'm not afraid."

"We can't delay," Si Tu Wei said with a somewhat solemn expression, "If we don't take over the Empress Dowager's power soon, we'll invite trouble."

"Could the Empress Dowager have done something that worries you so much?" Xiao Qidi followed the line of questioning.

Si Tu Wei stared at Xiao Qidi for a moment.

For some reason, he always had an indescribable feeling that the puppet he had cultivated seemed different somehow.

Vaguely, he even felt that this person was Xiao Qidi himself.

But this was merely a feeling, with no evidence to support it.

Yet the more he thought about it, the stronger the feeling became.

Could it be… the invalid lying in bed is actually the puppet, while the one before him that he thought was the puppet is in fact Xiao Qidi pretending to be it?!

This speculative thought suddenly popped up, startling Si Tu Wei.

But upon further reflection, this is utterly impossible.

Not to mention that Xiao Qidi could hardly know of the puppet's existence; besides, after I became Prime Minister of Daxuan, I secretly established the Qingyou Platform, and any stir in the court or important regions of Daxuan cannot escape its surveillance.

Even if some miracle occurred that let Xiao Qidi discover the puppet, he could not possibly swap identities with it without anyone noticing.

Si Tu Wei quickly ran through the thoughts in his mind.

Although rationally he judged everything was under his control, he still couldn't completely dispel a lingering doubt.

Thus, he decided to test the puppet before him, who was about to replace Xiao Qidi, once more.

"It's fine to tell you," Si Tu Wei said slowly, "I already found out that the Empress Dowager, under the pretense of recuperation, moved to Shuncheng a few years ago; she was actually secretly bearing children—first a son, then another son two years later, and now those two children are five and four years old."

Xiao Qidi secretly felt alarmed.

The Empress Dowager and the Marquis Le An had hidden this matter deeply, with all of Shuncheng being the Marquis's territory—how could Si Tu Wei have uncovered it?

Could there be Si Tu Wei's agents in Shuncheng?

But that doesn't make sense.

If there were agents, then when I suddenly went to Shuncheng earlier and executed the Marquis Le An while placing the Empress Dowager under house arrest… Si Tu Wei would certainly know.

If he knew, he would surely have acted long ago.

Xiao Qidi temporarily suppressed his doubt about this, feigning shock: "The late king has been dead for years, yet the Empress Dowager bore another child? Who did she have it with?"

Si Tu Wei stared at Xiao Qidi's eyes and said, word by word, "With the current Marquis Le An."

He wanted to see what reaction the person before him would have upon hearing this.

Given his understanding of Xiao Qidi's nature, even if Xiao Qidi hid his disposition deeply, upon hearing that his birth mother had secretly borne two sons with the Marquis Le An, he could not possibly suppress his anger.

At that moment, Xiao Qidi also sensed that Si Tu Wei was probing him.

He couldn't help but secretly feel relieved.

Relieved that he had long known of this matter and had even handled it personally.

All his emotions were fully released that night.

Otherwise, if he were to learn of this now, he would surely lose control of his emotions!

Xiao Qidi widened his eyes, continuing to feign shock, exclaiming, "There's actually such a thing?!"

Si Tu Wei observed all of Xiao Qidi's facial reactions, but aside from surprise, he detected no other emotion whatsoever.

The real Xiao Qidi could never have shown only that reaction.

Si Tu Wei added, "I suspect the Empress Dowager and the Marquis Le An have some scheme; they are very likely to eliminate Xiao Qidi and install their sons as heirs."

Xiao Qidi showed a look of disdain, "With the Prime Minister around, that's just a daydream for them!"

Only then did Si Tu Wei withdraw his gaze, his doubts completely dispelled.

Having probed to this extent, if the person before him showed no abnormality at all, he could definitely not be Xiao Qidi himself.

As expected, he had been overthinking.

"Not entirely a daydream, either," Si Tu Wei said, walking slowly with his hands behind his back, "Over the years the Empress Dowager and the Marquis Le An have snatched nearly half of my authority from me, and many senior officials at court support them."

"If Xiao Qidi were eliminated by them, there would be no one left in the Daxuan royal family capable of inheriting the throne—only the children borne by the Empress Dowager, who can barely be considered of royal lineage."

"At that point, if they came forward to confess their affair, even I as Prime Minister would have to suppress this shocking scandal within the Daxuan royal family and devise a way to make their sons' succession seem legitimate. Otherwise Daxuan would become a laughingstock among the Seven States of Zhong Yuan, losing the people's hearts forever, and the long-held wish of past Daxuan monarchs to unify the realm would never be fulfilled..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qidi felt something stir within him.

It seems that, although Si Tu Wei has spent his life pursuing power, his heart ultimately leans toward Daxuan.

"Prime Minister," Xiao Qidi probed again, "Has there been any recent developments in Shuncheng?"

Si Tu Wei shook his head, "There have been no changes. My men reported just a few days ago that the Empress Dowager and Marquis Le An have been indulging in pleasure lately."

Five years ago, when the Empress Dowager first went to Shuncheng, he sent an order to Qingyou Platform to dispatch personnel into Shuncheng.

However, that was Marquis Le An's territory, so they could only infiltrate slowly, lest they alert the enemy.

The Qingyou Platform agents spent more than three years to infiltrate, then about another year to uncover the Empress Dowager's and Marquis Le An's secrets.

Since then, whenever Marquis Le An arrived in Shuncheng, the Qingyou Platform agents would report his situation.

Xiao Qidi listened to Si Tu Wei's words, both startled and puzzled.

It was clear that Si Tu Wei had informants in Shuncheng.

Moreover, the informants were hidden so deeply that he himself, while dealing with Marquis Le An's followers in Shuncheng, failed to notice them.

Strangely, his informants could even uncover the Empress Dowager's and Marquis Le An's illicit affairs; could they have missed that Marquis Le An was already dead and that something had happened inside Shun Palace?

Yet they reported to the Prime Minister that the Empress Dowager and Marquis Le An had been indulging in pleasure recently.

Was it that the informants were incompetent and missed it? That seems unlikely.

It couldn't be a deliberate concealment, could it? That would be even more impossible.

Could it be… the informants over there have become lax, stopped investigating altogether, and just gave a perfunctory report?

That seems the only possibility.

Xiao Qidi thought briefly, and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

It truly feels as if Heaven itself is aiding me…

"Prime Minister," Xiao Qidi asked deliberately, "If you wish to advance the coronation of His Majesty, would the Empress Dowager and her followers consent?"

"You can't even figure that out?" the Prime Minister laughed, "Your mind really isn't sharp; it's far inferior to Xiao Qidi's. If it were him, he wouldn't ask such a question at all."

Xiao Qidi, of course, continued to play the fool, mocking, "I hope you, Prime Minister, will enlighten me."

Si Tu Wei stroked his beard, "According to Daxuan's regulations, after Xiao Qidi is crowned, all ministers entrusted by the late king with authority over various court affairs must surrender that authority to him."

"Both the Empress Dowager and I wish to diminish each other's real power. As long as she sees I can weaken power, she will gladly relinquish a portion herself. How could she refuse?"

Xiao Qidi immediately praised, "I see! I understand now."

Si Tu Wei wore a smug expression, "When the time comes, I will set an example, leading my men to transfer real authority. The Empress Dowager's faction will inevitably show sufficient sincerity. And you, under the guise of Xiao Qidi, are actually my man. I will shift the power I hold from my left hand to my right, ultimately still under my control, and the portion they hand over to the king will also become mine."

"How wise you are, Prime Minister!" Xiao Qidi flattered.

"Stay here for a few days," Si Tu Wei squinted, "Once I'm ready, I'll come fetch you."

Xiao Qidi clasped his fists, "Yes!"

The next day, Si Tu Wei drafted a letter inviting the Empress Dowager back to Royal City to discuss advancing His Majesty's coronation.

He ordered his trusted aide to take the letter to Shuncheng.

The following morning, the aide rushed back overnight.

"Did you enter Shun Palace? Did you see the Empress Dowager with your own eyes?" Si Tu Wei asked.

The aide said he had entered and saw her personally.

Si Tu Wei asked again, "Did you see Marquis Le An? Did you notice anything unusual?"

The aide replied, "I found no irregularities inside Shun Palace, but I did not see Marquis Le An."

Si Tu Wei said, "I see. Even if Marquis Le An were inside, he wouldn't let you see him."

"Sir, the Empress Dowager appears unwell, looking haggard and very weak. After reading your letter, she wrote a reply."

The aide produced the Empress Dowager's reply and said, "I also followed your orders to request her return to Royal City, but she declined, stating that she had already explained the situation in her reply to you."

Si Tu Wei took the letter, "Hmm, you may step back and rest."

"Yes, I take my leave."

After the aide left, Si Tu Wei opened the Empress Dowager's reply.

Si Tu Wei glanced at it.

Its gist was that the Empress Dowager claimed she was too ill to endure the journey back to Royal City, and that the decision on His Majesty's coronation rested with the Prime Minister.

A cold smile curled at Si Tu Wei's mouth; everything was indeed as he had expected.

The Empress Dowager readily agreed to the coronation.

As for her frailty, ha, it's obvious—she must have been exhausted by Marquis Le An's nightly revelries.

"Lao An, Lao An," Si Tu Wei muttered, squinting, "You truly have skill, but… when His Majesty is crowned, your good days will be over."

That evening, Si Tu Wei gathered a group of ministers from his faction to give instructions.

Two days later, he assembled all court ministers inside the Prime Minister's Residence to discuss the coronation.

Si Tu Wei sat high in the main hall, surveying the ministers, "His Majesty will return soon, and both the Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager support an early coronation for him to assume rule. Does anyone among you dissent?"

All present were senior court officials, more than half loyal to Si Tu Wei, and naturally voiced no objections.

Another roughly forty percent were the Empress Dowager's people, likewise remaining silent.

Si Tu Wei was unaware that Xiao Qidi had already secured all these people; he assumed, as he had suspected, that they aimed to use the king's coronation to weaken his own power, which is why no one objected.

"Very well, since there are no objections, the early coronation is settled," Si Tu Wei restrained his excitement, his face unchanged, "Before the late king passed, he entrusted the various royal seals of state affairs to each of you, assigning you your duties. I expect you to return those seals to the current His Majesty on the day of the coronation."

These royal seals of state affairs represent the ultimate decision‑making authority over all governmental matters.

During the period when the Xuan Guo king had not yet taken personal rule, the ministers designated in the late king's edict each managed them on his behalf.

Those holding a royal seal of state affairs may handle their respective matters without reporting to the king.

This includes documents within their duties, transmitting orders within their scope, and they may affix the royal seal themselves.

Once these seals return to the king's hands, they can no longer unilaterally decide matters.

As Si Tu Wei's words fell, a minister of the Empress Dowager's faction spoke up, "His Majesty's coronation, we ought to hand over all kinds of royal seals, but... I wonder if anyone would be reluctant to part with theirs!"

As he spoke, he looked toward the group of ministers sitting opposite.

Si Tu Wei smiled and said, "You all know full well who among us is my people and who is the Empress Dowager's; there's no need to hide it any longer—speak up, which royal seals are you willing to hand over?"

The minister who had just spoken said, "We are willing to hand over the royal seals for land, household registrations, civil official examinations and appointments, rituals, sacrifices, criminal cases, weapon forging, and grain and fodder management."

Si Tu Wei was somewhat surprised.

Although these ministers of the Empress Dowager's faction hold more than just these few royal seals, the ones they said they were willing to hand over already make up more than half, and they are quite important in their authority.

"Prime Minister, what about your people? Which seals are they handing over?" that minister asked.