Chapter 96: Surprise News

The Capital of Great Zhou, Northern Suppressing Faction yamen.

Wei Yue was eating lunch.

Although he held a high position, his lifestyle was quite simple; unless he was hosting guests, he only ate one meat dish and one vegetable dish when dining alone.

"Foster father," a sturdy, dark-skinned young man with a calm demeanor walked in quickly.

Wei Yue asked, "Feng'er, what is it?"

"Child encountered someone from the Tongzhou Hundred-Household Office at the entrance, saying Pei Shaoqing has an urgent matter to report, it is of the utmost importance," Lu Feng said with a sunken face and no expression.

It was not that he was in a bad mood, but his upbringing had forged his current cold temperament.

Wei Yue said immediately, "Bring him to the side hall."

For Pei Shaoqing to bypass the Thousand-Household Office and specifically send someone to the Capital meant it must be an extraordinary matter.

How could he still have the heart to eat?

"Yes." Lu Feng accepted the order and left.

Soon, under Lu Feng's guidance, Sun Youliang met Wei Yue in the side hall and immediately saluted, "Subordinate Sun Youliang, Small Flag of the Tongzhou Hundred-Household Office, pays respects to the Lord!"

"Rise," Wei Yue waved his hand and got straight to the point, "What is the reason Pei Shaoqing sent you here?"

"This is my Lord's personal letter," Sun Youliang took out Pei Shaoqing's letter, lowered his head, and presented it with both hands.

Lu Feng stepped forward to take it and passed it to Wei Yue.

Wei Yue opened it and looked, his expression changing drastically; he raised his head and asked urgently, "Where is the confession mentioned in the letter?"

He was not a man who could not control his emotions.

But the Shu Prince plotting a rebellion was too shocking.

"Replying to the Lord, the confession is here," upon hearing this, Sun Youliang immediately took out the testimonies of Wang Wu and Yan Sichen.

Lu Feng stepped forward again to take them and handed them to Wei Yue.

Wei Yue had calmed down by now, his expression returning to tranquility; he silently and quickly finished reading the two testimonies and said, "Follow me into the palace to see the Emperor."

"The Lord means me?" Sun Youliang asked in surprise and doubt.

He actually had the fortune to see the Emperor!

"Yes," Wei Yue was already striding out.

Only then did Sun Youliang react and hurriedly follow.

On the way to the palace, Wei Yue kept warning him about things to pay attention to when seeing the Emperor later, "If the Emperor does not call on you, you must not speak recklessly; when he points to you to come forward and answer, you must kneel and lower your head; remember, you must never look up at the Sovereign..."

Emperor Jingtai was in a very good mood today.

Because Pei Shiqing's letter had arrived in the Capital by fast horse, indicating that preparations for war had already begun, and that once spring arrived next year, he would lead troops north to launch a war of annihilation against the Northern Barbarians, while requesting the Capital to raise grain and other supplies for next year's great war.

Once happy, he felt his "little brother" could move again.

"Go tell Wan Guifei, I am coming over immediately."

When a person is old, one must act immediately when in the mood, otherwise, once the mood passes, it is like an eggplant hit by frost.

Liu Hai pursed his lips and smiled, "Yes, Emperor."

"What are you laughing at, you dog thing? What would an old dog like you know about a man's pleasure?" Emperor Jingtai clearly saw the teasing smile on his face but did not mind.

Liu Hai said with a smile, "This servant was castrated and followed the Emperor at ten years old, so naturally I do not understand, but seeing the Emperor happy, this servant is also happy."

"Enough, go quickly, go quickly. I will finish replying to the Weiyuan Marquis and then go over," Emperor Jingtai waved his hand.

Liu Hai replied again, "This servant will go at once."

Hearing that the Emperor was coming, and in broad daylight at that, Wan Guifei was both happy and worried.

She was happy that she, having been neglected for so long, could finally be nourished; she was worried that the Emperor always left her feeling unsatisfied, and afterwards, it was even more uncomfortable than if he hadn't done anything at all.

Yet, with the Emperor present, she could not take matters into her own hands, nor could she use external objects, nor could she engage in pretense with the palace maids; she had to endure it until the Emperor left.

After sending Liu Hai away, Wan Guifei looked down at the Sanhua cat in her arms and sighed, "Why is my life so bitter? Spending my prime years living as a widow."

If only the Emperor were willing to take medicine, but for the sake of his health, the Emperor never took those potent drugs.

"Meow." The Sanhua cat could not empathize with her.

Because Li Jiangjun was quite fierce in one-on-one encounters.

Wan Guifei interpreted the Sanhua cat's meow herself, stroking its fur and saying, "Don't worry, I certainly won't let you suffer the same emptiness and loneliness as me; I'll find you a tomcat another day."

"Meow!" The Sanhua cat immediately expressed a firm "no."

It would never betray its own husband.

Despite being annoyed, Wan Guifei still had to try every possible way to please the Emperor and ensure he left satisfied.

She immediately had the palace servants make preparations.

When Emperor Jingtai arrived at Yongning Palace and saw the door to Noble Consort Wan's bedroom closed, and that she did not come out to welcome him, he was not displeased; rather, he felt some anticipation and excitement.

Because he knew very well that this woman, Wan Guifei, was not only overbearing but also flirtatious and wanton; in the past, she always came up with many new tricks to please him, and this time would surely be the same.

The year she first entered the palace, setting aside the factor of interests, he had indeed been infatuated with her young and beautiful body.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Wan Guifei to become pregnant.

"All of you, step back."

He dismissed the eunuchs and pushed open the door himself.

Through the hanging curtains, he saw the graceful silhouette on the bed, feeling a bit of heat in his heart; he stepped forward and pulled back the curtain, his heart trembling violently.

He saw Wan Guifei on the bed with her hair neatly arranged, but wearing the Faceless Mask of the Jing'an Guard on her face, dressed in a standard Jing'an Guard uniform, while beneath the hem of the skirt were two beautiful legs and jade feet wrapped in white Ice Silkworm Silk.

"Subordinate Jiang Yue'e, Small Flag of the Northern Suppressing Faction of the Jing'an Guard, pays respects to the Emperor," Wan Guifei crawled up, stuck her bottom high in the air, knelt down, and said in a coquettish tone.

Emperor Jingtai was overjoyed, pinched her chin, and said, "You can always come up with new tricks for me."

"Emperor~" Wan Guifei reached out to remove the mask.

"No!" Emperor Jingtai stopped her, his breathing rapid as he said, "What I want is the Jing'an Guard."

"Your Majesty! Wei Yue requests an audience! He claims it is a matter of utmost urgency." Liu Hai's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

He actually already knew from Wei Yue what the matter was, which was why he dared to disturb the Emperor's refined pleasure at such a juncture, but he could not say it openly.

For an elderly person, especially one who is physically and mentally exhausted every day, it is not easy to have such an interest.

If one is distracted even for a moment, it is all over.

The blood that had just rushed to the Emperor Jingtai's head instantly receded, and feeling that there was no more movement there, he looked at the bone-deep seductive Noble Consort Wan with sudden, intense disgust.

He immediately turned and left, "Prepare the carriage for the Imperial Study."

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Noble Consort Wan took off her mask and shouted repeatedly at Emperor Jingtai's back; watching the eunuch close the door, she angrily smashed the mask away and pointed at two palace maids, "You two, come here!"

"Yes, Your Ladyship."

The two palace maids walked toward the bed with flushed faces.

Clearly, they were already well-versed in this sort of thing.

The calico cat was dumbfounded; humans are truly lewd and chaotic.

It begged for a pair of eyes that had never seen this scene.

By the time they reached the Imperial Study, the Emperor had already recovered his appearance of not showing joy or anger, at least to the point where Wei Yue could not tell at all that the Emperor had just had his own refined pleasure in the bedchamber disturbed.

"Your subject Wei Yue, pays respects to..."

"Since it is a matter of utmost urgency, spare these tedious formalities and speak directly." The Emperor interrupted him.

"Yes!" Seeing that only the eunuch Liu Hai was in the Imperial Study, Wei Yue said with a grave expression: "Pei Shaoqing has submitted an urgent report to the capital, claiming that the Shu Prince intends to rebel."

"The Shu Prince is rebelling?" Emperor Jingtai's facial muscles twitched violently, but he did not fly into a rage; instead, he first turned his head and glanced at Liu Hai without leaving a trace.

Liu Hai shook his head slightly; the Secret Guard he had carefully selected to monitor Pei Shaoqing had likely only just arrived in Tongzhou.

It was not that fast to send back intelligence related to it.

The Shu Prince then looked at Wei Yue, "Is there evidence?"

"There are the confessions of the Shu Prince Heir and the Private Army recruited by the Shu Prince Heir as evidence." Wei Yue replied in a deep voice.

In the letter, Pei Shaoqing had defined these Secret Guard death soldiers recruited by Yan Sichen, such as Wang Wu, all as a Private Army.

The difference between the two is more than just in name.

Emperor Jingtai immediately said: "Present them."

Wei Yue handed Pei Shaoqing's letter and the two confessions to Liu Hai, who then presented them to the Emperor.

After Liu Hai took them, he opened them and checked them carefully, only sending them before Emperor Jingtai after confirming there were absolutely no issues.

The more Emperor Jingtai read the letter, the uglier his expression became.

Especially Yan Sichen's confession; the various details and the sequence of events within it were extremely clear and explicit, and it could also be cross-referenced with part of the confession given by Wang Wu.

"Good, good, good! Good! Good!" Emperor Jingtai laughed out of extreme rage, his eyes terrifyingly cold, "Look at my good younger brother, what has he done? Using my subjects to feed ghosts! Just because he believes that ghost can help him drive me off the dragon throne and replace me to sit on it!"

"Your Majesty, calm your anger!" Liu Hai and Wei Yue urged.

"Calm your mother's head!" Emperor Jingtai grabbed the inkstone on the table and threw it out, roaring in a fury: "This piece of trash actually believes the ghost's nonsensical words! If he had even tried to rebel on his own, I would have thought more highly of him! He actually believes a ghost's words and wants to rebel against me!"

Liu Hai and Wei Yue were both very close to the Emperor.

But at this moment, they did not even dare to breathe loudly.

A member of the imperial clan rebelling is something the Emperor absolutely cannot accept, because that is exactly how he ascended to the throne himself.

Back then, he drove his own older brother off the throne, and for so many years, he had racked his brains and spared no effort, all to prove to the world that he could do better than his older brother.

As a result, first the Crown Prince rebelled against him five years ago.

Now his own younger brother wants to rebel against him again.

How would the world look at him?

Is this retribution for his own usurpation?

Therefore, Emperor Jingtai's anger was understandable.

"Scoundrels! One after another, do they really think I am too concerned with family affection to dare to kill?" In front of two close confidants, Emperor Jingtai no longer cared about his image at all.

Liu Hai bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, the Shu Prince has always been respectful..."

"Are you saying my dear official Pei Shaoqing dares to deceive the Emperor on this matter?" Emperor Jingtai coldly interrupted him.

Respectful?

Before he raised his army, he was also very respectful to his older brother.

Liu Hai knelt down on the spot, "This servant is guilty."

"Old dog." Emperor Jingtai let out a cold snort, then immediately asked another question: "Is the messenger who brought the report to the capital here?"

"He is." Wei Yue hurriedly replied.

Emperor Jingtai said: "Summon him."

"Jing'an Guard Tongzhou Hundred-Household Office Small Flag Sun Youliang pays respects to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live, long live."

As soon as Sun Youliang entered the door, he knelt down and shouted "long live" three times.

He kept his head lowered, always remembering Wei Yue's instructions.

"I ask you, how much do you know about the matters in Pei Shaoqing's letter?" Emperor Jingtai's tone was devoid of fluctuation.

Sun Youliang answered honestly: "Your subject only knows that Magistrate Pei, in order to investigate the case of missing women, captured two people one after another; the first person was named Wang Wu, and later another person came to break him out of prison, but Magistrate Pei did not disclose his identity."

"Did you participate in the capture?" Emperor Jingtai asked again.

Sun Youliang replied: "I was fortunate enough to participate, but this subordinate only contributed a meager effort; it was entirely due to Magistrate Pei's strategic planning and leading the charge to kill the enemy that we captured the two."

"You may withdraw." Emperor Jingtai waved his hand.

Sun Youliang lowered his head and backed out of the Imperial Study.

"Little Pei, my beloved minister, you are the right-hand man of this Emperor!" Emperor Jingtai sighed with emotion and looked at Wei Yue, "Even if the Shu Prince has a heart for rebellion, he should still be in the preparatory stage and has not yet won over many people he can use."

"Otherwise, he would not have had to send his own son to stage a jailbreak. You must go there yourself, and go quickly. With Yan Sichen captured, I fear the Shu Prince may become desperate and start his uprising ahead of schedule. If you confirm it is true, suppress the rebellion directly."

He did not say how to deal with the Shu Prince.

Wei Yue knew that this meant he was to kill the Shu Prince.

One could not bring him to the Capital and let the Emperor, who already bore the notoriety of killing his brother, also bear the reputation of killing his younger brother, could one?

But if he did not kill him, the Emperor could not swallow that resentment.

Nor would it be enough to deter other members of the imperial clan.

Since the Emperor knew how he himself had ascended to the throne, he had to strictly guard against the very path he had walked.

He could forgive his own son once for this kind of thing.

But his own younger brother would not do.

(End of chapter)