Chapter 185

Not long after this casual conversation between Su Xuan and Ying Zheng ended.

In Handan, Zhao Guo, the King of Zhao, who was already critically ill and dying, directly breathed his last due to the failure of the war with Qin Guo.

After the King of Zhao died, Crown Prince Zhao Qian, as the new King, although not officially enthroned, had already begun to handle state affairs in the capacity of a King, just like the Crown Prince of Han Guo had done.

It was also at this time that rumors spread throughout Zhao Guo.

Those words that Li Mu said when the King of Zhao married Lady Chang years ago were dug up by someone, no one knew who, and spread everywhere among the people. Besides these words, there were even people claiming that the King of Zhao's death from illness this time was also related to Li Mu.

The late King did not care about the words Li Mu said back then and even relied heavily on Li Mu, yet Li Mu disregarded the King's kindness. This time, not only did he fail to defeat the Qin army and take back the cities plundered by Qin Guo, but even the fact that Qin Guo retreated had nothing to do with Li Mu.

The late King was angered to death by Li Mu's incompetence!

This sentence was somewhat malicious.

Anyone with eyes could see that this was someone spreading rumors to sow discord between Li Mu and the new King.

But for the new King Zhao Qian, he happened to fall for this.

After the rumors spread, Zhao Qian was called into the palace by his mother, who should now be called the Empress Dowager.

"Your mother no longer has the face to live on!"

After seeing Zhao Qian, Lady Chang said such a sentence.

Zhao Qian's expression changed drastically, "Mother, why do you say that?"

Lady Chang's appearance was charming; even though she was already middle-aged, she still had a unique charm. This was also the reason why the King of Zhao had insisted on marrying her regardless of the dissuasion of his ministers.

If she were just a singing girl, that would be one thing; Li Mu back then would not have been unable to tolerate a singing girl and said such things.

The key was that before this, she had already married someone, married into the Zhao royal clan. Unfortunately, not long after marrying into the Zhao royal clan, her husband died. Afterward, she lived as a widow alone and was noticed by the King of Zhao. Because of her beauty, the King of Zhao insisted on marrying her.

A woman marrying twice was nothing, but a woman marrying into the same clan successively was a big problem.

Especially since she married a member of the royal clan; the King of Zhao marrying such a woman was a great loss to the face of Zhao Guo.

To some extent, Li Mu was also thinking of Zhao Guo.

But for the person involved, Lady Chang, Li Mu's words deeply stung her.

It was one thing for Li Mu to say that before, but now, after the King of Zhao died, she had been promoted to Empress Dowager, and her son was about to become the new King of Zhao. With those words Li Mu said back then spreading among the people again, where did this put her?

"Is it Li Mu?"

Zhao Qian looked at his mother's face and immediately thought of the rumors among the people recently.

After hearing the name "Li Mu," Lady Chang's expression changed slightly.

Zhao Qian immediately had the answer, "Mother, rest assured, I will give you an explanation for this matter!"

His father could tolerate some of Li Mu's inappropriate remarks because of Li Mu's talent and rely heavily on him, but this did not mean that he could tolerate Li Mu. Li Mu criticized his mother, and he must make Li Mu give him an explanation.

Moreover, Li Mu did not seem to be as powerful as he had imagined.

His defeat of the Xiongnu in Yanmen Commandery seemed to be just good luck.

This time he failed to defeat the Qin army, and even his father's death was due to Li Mu's incompetence. If Li Mu had defeated the Qin army, would his father have died of illness caused by anxiety?

The next day, in the imperial court.

Zhao Qian was not polite at all and directly reprimanded Li Mu, asking about the rumors among the people.

If Li Mu had softened his stance a little, that would be one thing.

But Li Mu did not think he had done anything wrong back then. His personality was unyielding, which exceeded everyone's imagination. Facing Zhao Qian's reprimand, he instead stood toe-to-toe with Zhao Qian.

Finally, he even stated that Qin Guo had already retreated, the border threat was not yet removed, and he intended to return to the Yanmen region to guard against Xiongnu attacks.

Regarding Li Mu's resignation and leaving the imperial court, Zhao Qian did not take it to heart.

After the court session, he directly summoned Guo Kai.

Guo Kai was his father's favorite minister and also a close friend of his father during his youth. His father was able to marry his mother, and Guo Kai contributed greatly to it. King Daoxiang of Zhao was therefore exceptionally fond of Guo Kai, and Guo Kai was also well-versed in the way of flattering his superiors. Knowing that King Daoxiang of Zhao loved Lady Chang and Zhao Qian, he frequently associated with these two while King Daoxiang of Zhao was alive and was even appointed as Zhao Qian's Grand Tutor by King Daoxiang of Zhao. After King Daoxiang of Zhao passed away, he leaped to become Zhao Qian's trusted aide.

"Grand Tutor, this Li Mu is truly hateful. Not only did he criticize my mother, but he even dared to talk back to me in public in the imperial court!"

"Your Majesty, do not be angry. Li Mu is just a crude martial artist who does not understand etiquette, so it is not surprising. Why should Your Majesty be angry with this crude person?" Although Zhao Qian had not yet officially ascended the throne, he would ascend sooner or later. Guo Kai was also a clever person and directly addressed Zhao Qian as King.

Zhao Qian said: "Today, Li Mu resigned to me, preparing to return to Yanmen to guard the border. Do you think I should agree to his request? Keeping him in this imperial court, seeing him every day, I only feel extremely annoyed!"

Hearing this, Guo Kai hurriedly said: "Absolutely not!"

"Oh?" Zhao Qian looked at Guo Kai in confusion.

Guo Kai explained: "Li Mu has great prestige in the army, especially since he once defeated the one hundred thousand-strong Xiongnu army. As far as I know, the border troops in the Yanmen region only know Li Mu and do not know Your Majesty. If Li Mu is allowed to return to Yanmen, wouldn't that be equivalent to letting a tiger return to the mountains?"

"Li Mu was already dissatisfied with the Empress Dowager, and therefore took his anger out on Your Majesty. If one day he develops ulterior motives and waves his arm, the border troops can all be used by him. By the time that happens, it will be too late..."

Zhao Qian's expression changed drastically.

What Guo Kai said, in his ears, was not alarmist talk, but a fact that was highly likely to happen.

Li Mu had always looked at their mother and son with displeasure and had been very close to the deposed Crown Prince Zhao Jia back then. Letting him return to the border was equivalent to raising a tiger that would cause trouble.

"Then in the Grand Tutor's opinion, how should Li Mu be dealt with?" Zhao Qian hurriedly asked Guo Kai again.

Guo Kai said in a deep voice: "If Li Mu really had talent, that would be one thing; he could be arrogant because of his talent. But this war with Qin Guo has already proven that he is just a mediocre person. Although he was not defeated by the Qin army, it was only because Qin Guo took the initiative to withdraw its troops. Such a mediocre person is unwilling to be used by Your Majesty!"

"Keeping him will have many hidden dangers. My suggestion is to get rid of him directly!"

— Author's Notes —

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