Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Su Yu mooched a midday meal at Yu Chiyi’s place, eating and drinking her fill before finally rising to leave.

Yu Chiyi asked her, "When does your servant depart for Hebei?"

Su Yu replied, "Within the next few days. Arrive in Weizhou before February."

Yu Chiyi had no objections. "Does Your Majesty have other places to visit? Allow me to accompany you. Once I go to Hebei, it will be some time before you see me again."

We intend to first visit the Xie residence to see Zhi Wei," Su Yu said airily, "then find Buyi, and in the evening, head to the Cui residence."

That way, she could mooch dinner at Cui Xuan's place. Given how particular Cui Xuan was, his household’s dinner should be the most lavish, right? That was what Su Yu thought.

Yu Chiyi lowered his eyes, masking his emotions, and asked with a smile, "Didn’t those two just accompany Your Majesty for the New Year’s Eve vigil yesterday? Have they already returned?"

Su Yu shot him a sidelong glance and clicked her tongue softly. Who said Yu Chiyi was an honest man? This was blatant prodding.

She answered airily, "Last night, I didn’t keep anyone. Ayou was the one who stayed with me for the vigil."

Yu Chiyi instantly felt relieved. When he looked up, he met Yu Chiyou’s bared-teeth grin and ground his teeth. It was a pity he would soon be leaving for Hebei—no time to spar with Yu Chiyou.

Following Su Yu’s planned route, they first went to the Xie residence. Both Xie Yiguan and Xie Yixin were home. Since both siblings held important positions under Su Yu and were wary of people prying into the Imperial Security Bureau affairs, they had kept their gates tightly shut on New Year’s Day, refusing all visitors.

Upon seeing Su Yu, Xie’s parents prostrated themselves in awe, but the siblings remained much calmer.

Yu Chiyi stayed by her side, showing no intention of leaving.

After exchanging a few words with the siblings, Su Yu took Yu Chiyi and the Xie siblings to visit Liu Wushi.

Liu Wushi was momentarily stunned to see Yu Chiyi. He had assumed Yu Chiyi had already fallen out of Su Yu’s favor—how had he returned to her side so quickly?

The Liu household was full of prying eyes and loose tongues, so Su Yu did not disclose her identity. However, the way Liu Wushi looked at her made his sisters instantly guess who she was.

Noticing the discomfort of Liu’s sisters, Su Yu chatted briefly about the current situation in Jiangnan before rising to leave. Liu Wushi followed her out.

Su Yu asked him bluntly, "I’m going to mooch dinner at the Cui residence. Are you coming?"

Liu Wushi: "...I’ll go."

In the end, Su Yu led her growing entourage to the Cui residence.

The moment Cui Xuan saw Su Yu, a bright smile flickered in his eyes—until he noticed the crowd behind her, at which point his face fell.

When Su Yu sat down in Cui’s banquet hall and saw the food being served, her smiling peach blossom eyes drooped. After being emperor for so long, she had made her first grave miscalculation—

She shouldn’t have come to Cui Xuan’s for dinner. The meals of a prestigious family were shockingly meager!

With a complicated expression, she picked up her bowl of sorghum porridge and stared at the large dish before her, which boasted merely three slices of meat. She couldn’t help but ask Cui Xuan, "Does Xing Jian usually eat like this? Doesn’t he go hungry?"

Cui Xuan had intended to say that eating too much at night was hard to digest and unhealthy. But Su Yu was already so thin—even if she wanted more meat in the evening, she deserved it. He beckoned a servant and murmured instructions, "Bring two more meat dishes."

Liu Wushi ate in silence. For some reason, he had a strange feeling. Though Cui Xuan, Xie Yiguan, and Yu Chiyi all seemed the same as before, the way they looked at Su Yu felt subtly different.

Distractedly, he didn’t even react immediately when Su Yu called his name.

She considered Liu Wushi and smiled, asking, "What’s wrong, Buyi? You seem distracted."

After the Qiantang Governor was brought to the capital, the imagined rebellion countdown over his head had also disappeared. So, in the original course of events, had Liu Wushi rebelled because of the Qiantang Governor?

Liu Wushi looked at Su Yu. In winter, the sky darkened early, and the bright lamplight cast a glow on Su Yu's cheeks, like layers of delicately blended rouge. Even after five years of knowing her, her beauty still took Liu Wushi’s breath away. But since he’d once mistaken the emperor for a woman, he wouldn’t make that error again.

He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to discuss with you." In private.

Su Yu understood his meaning and replied, "Then come back to the palace with me later."

Cui Xuan, Xie Yiguan, and Yu Chiyi all rose to their feet in unison.

Liu Wushi glanced at them again. Xie Yixin also glanced up, startled, at Xie Yiguan, whose tension was palpable. Why did she feel her elder brother was acting strangely?

Xie Yixin recalled the repeatedly revised *Great Cloud Sutra* her brother had been working on, as well as the divine message that had appeared on the jade tablet. A realization struck her like lightning, and her eyes widened abruptly as she turned to stare at Su Yu.

Su Yu's smile remained unchanged. Xie Yixin quickly averted her gaze, as if she’d uncovered a world-shaking secret, her palms growing damp with sweat.

No wonder Xie Yiguan had said his life was at stake—this was why! But what could be done?

A sudden thrill shot through her. In that brief moment, she thought: *Could I, a woman in office, aim higher—maybe even become chancellor?* But the Xie family already had one chancellor, and the emperor surely wouldn’t appoint another.

At this, she threw a resentful look at Xie Yiguan.

Xie Yiguan: "?" Why did a chill run down his spine? It must be due to the poor feng shui of Cui Manor.

"Your Majesty, I also have something to discuss with you," Cui Xuan said.

"What a coincidence, so do I," Xie Yiguan added.

Yu Chiyi glanced at the two of them, then mimicked Yu Chiyou's manner, gazing at Su Yu with puppy-dog eyes. The uncle and nephew bore some resemblance, though Yu Chiyou's eyes were rounder, like a pup's, while Yu Chiyi's were sharp as an eagle's. His attempt at playing cute was like a tiger trying to pass as a housecat.

Su Yu paused briefly before saying cheerfully, "Tomorrow, each of you may come to the palace one by one. We’ll speak then."

If they were eager to work during the spring recess, she, as the emperor, certainly wouldn’t complain.

Su Yu first met with Liu Wushi alone.

Liu Wushi explained that the Qiantang Governor had played a significant role in helping him sneak the *meteorite iron* into the capital. The original plan had been to forge the iron into weapons and transport them via waterways to Qiantang. However, after Yu Chiyi seized the shipment and Su Yu appointed Xie Yiguan as the *Surveillance Commissioner* of the southern waterways, he had cut off all ties with the Qiantang Governor over the *meteorite iron*.

But upon careful reflection, Liu Wushi now suspected the Qiantang Governor had been secretly raising an army—and a sizable one at that.

Su Yu immediately ordered the *Security Bureau* to investigate.

Sure enough, they uncovered that the Qiantang Governor had indeed amassed an army of ten thousand. Had the *Security Bureau* not acted swiftly, before he could react, he would have deployed this army against them. Even after being brought to the capital, the governor had held out hope his private army would save him—only to find that the *Security Bureau* had intercepted them before they could even approach the capital.

Su Yu instructed Cheng Heyuan to bring the Qiantang Governor before her. When she met him, she sighed regretfully, "I had originally intended to grant you dignity."

She truly hadn’t planned to execute him. After all, during the campaign against the three rebellious towns in Hebei, the Qiantang Governor had supplied her with provisions. Her initial plan had been to confiscate his assets after the *Security Bureau* had sufficiently intimidated the officials, then reassign him to one of the fifteen western provinces.

Grasping at straws, the Qiantang Governor tearfully pleaded, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! My loyalty is as bright as the sun and moon! When the *Military Governor of Zhenhai* rebelled, I was the first to rush forward to quell it. When the three towns of Hebei plotted treason, I gathered provisions for Your Majesty!"

Su Yu shot back, "Then what of the ten thousand private soldiers? Surely you didn’t raise them for *me*?"

The governor choked, then after a pause, stammered, "Those troops were trained under the late emperor! At the time, *Great Qi* was overrun with bandits and displaced peasants. I spent my own silver to protect Qiantang’s people! Had I truly intended to rebel, I would have done so long ago—why wait until now?"

"You indeed had no intention of rebellion," Su Yu conceded, "but you acted as if Qiantang were your private domain."

She paused briefly, then coolly met his gaze. "Does Qiantang belong to you?"

The governor’s face turned ashen, yet he still defended himself: "I’ve served Qiantang for years—how could I abandon its people and land?"

Su Yu smirked. "Is it the people you couldn’t bear to part with—or the coins in their pockets?"

The Qiantang Governor trembled and asked, "Your Majesty, is there truly no chance for me?"

Su Yu looked at him and said, "I gave you a chance."

The Qiantang Governor collapsed to the ground, utterly defeated. After being taken back to the Censorate prison by Cheng Heyuan, he left a plea written in blood begging Su Yu to spare his family before taking his own life by dashing his head against the wall.

When Su Yu heard the news of his death, she frowned as if deep in thought.

Cheng Heyuan knelt before her and said, "I failed to keep him restrained."

Su Yu helped him up and said, "I am worried someone might use this to smear Jinwen."

Cheng Heyuan coughed twice behind his hand, then lowered his head with a smile. "As long as Your Majesty knows my innocence, that is enough."

His reputation was already ruined—what’s one more blemish?

Sure enough, after the Qiantang Governor’s death, before the spring break even ended, a group of officials jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Cheng Heyuan.

Su Yu shelved the matter without addressing it.

Wang Rui, patriarch of the Wang family, saw an opportunity to retaliate against Cui Xuan. He submitted a memorial strongly defending Cheng Heyuan, stating that the Qiantang Governor’s crime of maintaining a private militia was already punishable by death. He also pointed out that Cui Xuan had actively developed the new waterways in the south and had close dealings with the Qiantang Governor, urging the emperor to thoroughly investigate Cui Xuan.

When Cui Xuan was summoned to the palace, Su Yu was lying on a rocking chair, seemingly asleep. The memorial impeaching him lay open on her body, allowing Cui Xuan to see its contents clearly.

Cui Xuan warmed his cloak by the warming brazier before stepping forward, closing the memorial, and setting it aside. Then, he draped the warm cloak over her.

The moment he did so, Su Yu opened her eyes.

Their gazes met.

Cui Xuan did not retrieve his cloak, only withdrawing his hand and taking a step back, standing silently.

Su Yu did not rise, nuzzling into the fox fur of the cloak, leaving only her eyes visible as she looked at Cui Xuan—charmingly childlike. Cui Xuan felt a faint flutter in his heart, but he restrained the impulse to reach out to her.

"Did you see the memorial clearly just now?" Su Yu asked.

Cui Xuan replied calmly, "I have."

Su Yu asked again, "Do you have anything to say?"

"The Cui family was indeed involved in the construction of the new waterways, and I did exchange letters with the Qiantang Governor," he admitted frankly without denial. "But the Cui family does not maintain a private militia. We only sent people into the military. However, after the reorganization of the Sixteen Guards, I withdrew from such dealings."

Back then, the Cui family could command three of the Sixteen Guards in the capital, and he also held the Wei family’s token from Tongzhou—all things Su Yu knew. Later, he gave the Wei family’s token to Su Yu, and after the Sixteen Guards were reorganized, Su Yu was also aware of these matters.

"Hmm," Su Yu nodded, nuzzling into the fox fur, making her appear even more endearing. Cui Xuan’s gaze softened in response.

Yet the next moment, she turned her head, and the piercing intensity of her gaze froze him—this was the true gaze of an emperor. Su Yu was simply adept at putting people at ease.

Su Yu cast aside the cloak and stood up, meeting his eyes directly. She pointed at the letter spread on the table and said, "This is the final letter left by the Qiantang Governor. Read it, Xingjian."

Cui Xuan skimmed through it swiftly, then heard Su Yu sigh and say, "He placed his family above the realm."

Cui Xuan’s fingers tightened slightly. Su Yu seemed to be implying something. He took another step back and performed a deep bow, declaring firmly, "To me, the realm precedes the family; the sovereign, the subject."

Su Yu chuckled lightly. "Do not fret, Xingjian. As you are my loyal servant, I shall shield you. I won’t let your family be destroyed."

Cui Xuan looked at her—her bright eyes, her soothing voice—and he believed her effortlessly.

Su Yu took a step closer to him, and he unconsciously held his breath. She continued, "I don’t believe a single word of the memorial impeaching you, Xingjian. You know what I intend to do, so I need you to cooperate with me in playing out this charade."

"What does Your Majesty wish me to do?"

"Secure the south in my stead," Su Yu tilted her head slightly, her eyes alight. "I hereby demote you to Qiantang Governor."

Without waiting for his response, she took his hand and placed a military token in his hand. "This is the token to mobilize the Zhenhai Army. Should the need arise, you may deploy troops directly."

Cui Xuan’s throat bobbed, his palm searing with the weight of it. He answered with utmost solemnity, "Your Majesty’s will be done."