Chapter 1918: Seamless

Fantasy Novel

Inside the East Palace, Bi Linglong said to Zu An, "A'Zu, you did well this time, without acting impulsively. I will help you get justice for the Qin family."

She was filled with lingering fear. Such a major incident had befallen the Qin family, and even she felt anger, let alone Zu An, who had such a close relationship with them. If Zu An had erupted on the spot and gone to kill the King of Dai, she truly wouldn't have known how to handle the aftermath.

The King of Jin and the King of Dai had been killed by the same person, one after another; even if he was the Libationer, he probably wouldn't have been able to silence public opinion. This time, the other party chose to come to the imperial palace to inform her and resolve the problem through normal court channels, which she found exceptionally gratifying.

At the same time, she resolved to use this opportunity to advocate for Zu An, so he wouldn't feel disheartened. Furthermore, how could she let go of such a good opportunity to deal with the King of Dai and Meng Yi?

Immediately after, she directly took Zu An to Kunning Palace. She had originally prepared for the Empress to prevaricate, so she could use the opportunity to vent her anger in front of her. To her surprise, upon hearing the matter, the other party also bristled with anger and immediately cooperated by actively summoning all ministers to discuss it.

Seeing her earnestness in comforting Zu An, Bi Linglong was utterly bewildered.

"Is A'Zu truly my person, or yours? Why do I feel like you care more than I do?"

The two most powerful women in the capital reached an agreement. So, the bell, which had been silent for decades and never rung to summon officials, unprecedentedly echoed throughout the entire capital.

Not long after, ministers, one after another, rushed into the Golden Imperial Hall. They privately discussed what major incident had occurred that would cause this bell to be rung.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the Empress cleared her throat. "Marquis Shen, please tell us, what exactly happened in the imperial prison today?"

"The imperial prison?" Hearing this, the King of Dai and Meng Yi raised their eyebrows and instinctively exchanged glances.

The King of Dai's expression was somewhat unnatural, while Meng Yi transmitted a secret message: "Don't worry, everything is under control." Seemingly infected by his composure, the King of Dai gradually calmed down.

"That's right," he thought. "I am a son of the late emperor, a dignified prince, and with the Meng family as my backing, what is there to fear?"

Everyone's gaze focused on Zu An, wondering if this bringer of ill fortune had caused another incident. Zu An, staring at the King of Dai and Meng Yi, sternly recounted the general events that had occurred in the imperial prison: "The Qin family has always been loyal to the emperor and devoted to the nation, and the Murong family has also served with utmost dedication. The court hasn't even convicted them yet, yet someone dared to privately inflict such cruel torture upon them. This is simply outrageous. I hope the court will severely punish the perpetrators!"

The hall immediately erupted in an uproar. While Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde might have been tolerable, the two dukes held extremely high prestige, and their former students and subordinates were spread throughout the military. If this matter were to spread, it could easily lead to a mutiny. Moreover, many ministers in this very hall were still in their cradles when the two dukes of the Qin family were already important court officials. The prestige they had accumulated over many years was truly incomparable to ordinary people.

Hearing many ministers join in the accusations, Meng Yi spoke. "Lord Zu, please don't unjustly malign others. If something happened in the imperial prison, why don't you go to Grand Justiciar Jiang, or the Ministry of Punishment, instead of coming to us? What does any of this have to do with the King of Dai or this old man?"

Jiang Boyang immediately retorted, "Who doesn't know that Meng Yi's influence has expanded greatly lately? Is there any area where you don't have your people?"

Behind the beaded curtain, Bi Linglong's eyes narrowed slightly. After the Battle of Mount Zi, the Meng family launched a series of coordinated actions, using various high-sounding pretexts to imprison some political rivals and force others out of the capital. Their expansion was truly significant; many factions that previously belonged to the Bi family had been seized by them. Of course, to achieve such an effect, besides his own methods and the schemes of his formidable daughter, it was also due to the endorsement of his father, Minister of Works Meng Jing, one of the Eight Dukes.

Meng Jing had been at the peak of the Grandmaster realm for many years. It was rumored that he could take a step towards becoming an Earth Immortal at any time, which was why various factions were so angry but dared not speak out. Compared to the Meng family, the Bi family's foundation was still somewhat lacking.

Meng Yi chuckled. "Grand Justiciar Jiang, you mustn't speak carelessly. As a Grand Justiciar, you should know that everything relies on evidence. How can you accuse someone's innocence with mere baseless words?"

Jiang Boyang frowned. This old fox had always been meticulous in his actions; it was indeed troublesome to find his weak point.

At this moment, Zu An said in a deep voice, "I knew you would say that, so I specially brought witnesses." With a casual wave of his hand, people soon brought up the Ministry of Punishment officials. Ye Ping, in particular, was carried in.

"Oh, Lord Ye, what happened to you? Who beat you like this?" Although the King of Dai was of mediocre talent, he was not a fool like the Crown Prince. Seeing this situation, he immediately seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Ye Ping secretly glanced at Zu An and stammered, afraid to respond.

The King of Dai was even more amused when he saw this. "Lord Ye, don't be afraid. With all the civil and military officials, Her Majesty the Empress, and the Crown Princess here, no one dares to act recklessly. Just tell the truth, and we will avenge you."

Ye Ping opened his mouth, hesitating a little. This was indeed a good opportunity. Once he firmly declared in court that Zu An was responsible, no matter how high Zu An's cultivation, could it surpass the combined might of all the civil and military officials? Moreover, there were many masters in the imperial palace, as well as numerous imperial guards, enough to drown him.

At this moment, Zu An calmly said, "Lord Ye, how exactly did you break your leg? Think it through before you speak."

Ye Ping immediately shivered. He instantly recalled that the other party dared to kill even the King of Jin. What was it to kill a mere Vice Minister of Punishment like himself? At that time, would all the civil and military officials really make a big fuss over a dead Vice Minister of Punishment?

Thinking this, he immediately calmed down and quickly said with a forced smile, "Today, while inspecting the imperial prison, I didn't notice the steps under my feet and accidentally fell down, breaking it."

All the civil and military officials: "..."

"Who are you fooling? Anyone can tell at a glance that your leg was broken by someone. It must have been Zu An. This fellow certainly has some good tricks, to make a Vice Minister of Punishment afraid to speak the truth."

The King of Dai never expected to hear such a reply. He couldn't help but say angrily, "Lord Ye, do you know the consequences of deceiving the emperor?"

Ye Ping's face turned pale. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not daring to.

Zu An, however, sneered, "Where is the emperor in this court now? Could it be that the King of Dai, day and night dreaming of it, has already prematurely stepped into the role of the emperor?"

Upon hearing this, both the Empress and the Crown Princess couldn't help but glance at the King of Dai, especially the officials loyal to the East Palace, whose gazes towards the King of Dai were exceptionally hostile.

"The Crown Prince is still here, so how could it be your turn? If you really ascended, would we all be left out in the cold?"

Hearing this, the King of Dai hurriedly said, "You, Zu, stop slandering others!" Although he truly thought that, "You can't just blurt it out!"

Rage points from Zhao Ping: 311, 311, 311...

"Such a big reaction. Did I hit a nerve?" Zu An sneered.

The King of Dai became anxious, wanting to retort, but was stopped by Meng Yi. "Lord Zu truly has impressive methods, breaking someone's leg and still making them afraid to tell the truth. Just now, Lord Zu claimed we resorted to torture; isn't your own behavior also a form of private punishment?"

Zu An said calmly, "You, Meng, must speak with evidence, otherwise, I'll accuse you of slander. Who resorted to private punishment? Lord Ye just said he fell himself. If you can't hear clearly from such a close distance, it proves your eyesight has grown dim with age. You should retire to your hometown early and not hinder the court's affairs."

Meng Yi: "..."

Given his current status, who wouldn't respectfully address him as Lord Meng? Yet he was being scolded and pointed at by a mere youngster. Even with his profound self-control, he found it difficult to suppress the rage in his heart.

Rage points from Meng Yi: 400, 400, 400...

At this point, Zu An no longer bothered with him and loudly addressed the ministers. "These Lords from the Ministry of Punishment are the witnesses I spoke of. They can testify to what happened in the imperial prison today."

"Oh, Lord Ye, quickly tell us, what exactly happened in the imperial prison?" the Empress spoke. Everyone's gaze also converged on Ye Ping and the others.

Feeling the threatening gazes of the King of Dai and Meng Yi, and then looking at Zu An's unfathomable eyes, Ye Ping and the others felt like crying but had no tears. They couldn't afford to offend either side, so what were they to do?

At this moment, Bi Linglong frowned slightly. "Just say what you have to say directly. What inhibitions could there be in this imperial court?"

Thinking of the Crown Princess's shrewdness and strength, Ye Ping gritted his teeth. "It was the King of Dai and Lord Meng who sent me to the imperial prison to torture the lords of the Qin and Murong families, saying it was to teach someone a lesson."

As soon as these words were uttered, the hall immediately erupted in an uproar. They realized that the Golden Imperial Hall had never been as lively as it was today, with various shocking revelations appearing one after another.

The King of Dai's face turned pale; he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, thinking, "It's over, it's over."

Meng Yi, however, remained as calm as ever. He transmitted a soothing message to him with his essence qi. Then he took a step forward and looked at Ye Ping, saying, "Lord Ye, you claim that the King of Dai and I sent you to the imperial prison to commit violence. But did we personally order you?"

"Not directly," Ye Ping hastily replied. "However, the person was Gou Huo, the deputy steward of the King of Dai's mansion. He came with the King of Dai's token to deliver the message and mentioned that this was the will of the King of Dai and Lord Meng."

The ministers nodded one after another. A prince's deputy steward, carrying the King of Dai's waist token, was indeed sufficient to represent the will of the King of Dai and Meng Yi.

The King of Dai's face became even paler. At this moment, Meng Yi calmly said, "Hmm, that's strange. To my knowledge, a theft occurred at the King of Dai's mansion yesterday, and it was found that Gou Huo was the thief. Therefore, the Consort of Dai, my daughter Chan'er, has already expelled him from the King of Dai's mansion. Could it be that he used his work access to secretly take the King of Dai's token without being discovered, and then went out to deceive and swindle people?" As he spoke, he respectfully bowed to the Empress. "Your Majesty, your humble servant requests that a warrant be issued for the arrest of this disloyal rogue!"

The King of Dai blinked. "Could it really be done this way? Right, how come I didn't know Gou Huo was expelled from the household?"

Meng Yi exchanged a glance with him and coldly snorted, thinking, "By the time you know, it'll be too late." However, he also admired his daughter. After learning that he and the King of Dai had sent someone to deal with the Qin and Murong families, she immediately sent Gou Huo out of the capital to avoid trouble and, at the same time, declared to the servants that he had committed a crime and been expelled from the household. So even if someone investigated afterwards, it would be seamless. At the time, he thought she was too cautious, but now he had to admit that his daughter was indeed full of clever strategies and had long anticipated such a possibility today.

The entire imperial court instantly fell silent. Everyone's expressions were strange. Everyone knew that Meng Yi and the King of Dai were behind all this, but this old fox was too well prepared, and no one could possibly convict him.