Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Within the Prince Yan’s mansion, Meng Jinyuan and Liu Yunshi left the study. As they departed, Meng Jinyuan couldn’t help but glance back, his shifting expression catching Liu Yunshi’s eye. The latter asked, “Meng Jinyuan, what are you looking at?”

“The court factions are at odds, the Secret Faction schemes in the dark. Liu Yunshi, what do you think?” Meng Jinyuan suddenly said.

Liu Yunshi paused, sensing that Meng Jinyuan’s words had a deeper meaning, and his eyes slowly hardened.

Meng Jinyuan looked toward the sky outside the mansion. The weather had warmed, spring flowers were blooming, yet it clashed with the turbulent capital. He said meaningfully, “His Majesty suffered a severe injury during the Mobei campaign eight years ago. He hasn’t had the same energy in recent years.”

At these words, Liu Yunshi’s expression shifted slightly. Meng Jinyuan was a royalist, pretty much the most loyal minister in Dayuan. Even Liu Yunshi didn’t have his guts. Yet this guy dared to bring that up at this moment. Liu Yunshi lowered his voice, “Meng Jinyuan, some things just can’t be talked about right now.”

The court was rife with factional strife. In these troubled times, one wrong word could get you in trouble!

Meng Jinyuan’s face darkened as he looked at the documents in his hands. He was old, not young anymore. Over the years, he had devoted himself to Dayuan, but the leftover problems from the last emperor’s aggressive wars had begun to surface. He didn’t know how much longer he could remain in the court. “The Deposed Crown Prince is useless and immoral, the First Prince is too proud, the Third Prince isn’t good at writing, the Seventh and Eighth Princes are just average... That’s why I’ve been keeping an eye on the Second Prince.”

Dayuan had two warrior emperors in a row. The Second Prince, with no power or influence, appeared mediocre, but he picked people based on their skills.

Regardless of whether Dayuan fell to the Yun family or the Lu family, the Yun family having too much power would hurt the people, and the latter’s succession would inevitably lead to another martial rule, making it hard for Dayuan to stay peaceful.

Some things, Meng Jinyuan had to consider.

“His Majesty gave out titles but no land, and specifically summoned him back to the capital at this time, letting him handle the Jiangnan case however he wanted,” Meng Jinyuan said. “I think you know this well.”

Hearing this, Liu Yunshi got it—Meng Jinyuan was alluding to His Highness Prince Yan. Had he not thought the same? Out of all the princes, who’s got Prince Yan’s presence? Yet every time he thought of this, he remembered the mess with the Ning family. He understood clearly, but if Prince Yan took that seat, with his weak health, how long could he last?

“On this, I’m not as good as Hu Buyu. We’re both loyal to Dayuan, but he picked his side before I did.”

Meng Jinyuan said, “Liu Yunshi, you and I still have some strength left in this court. Dayuan still has some life left in it.”

If we wait a few more years, we’ll be useless.

Liu Yunshi was quiet for a long time. Only when speaking these words did his tone drop the usual dodging and joking. “What do you intend to do?”

“Some people can’t be left alive,” Meng Jinyuan said.

The two ministers hung around outside the study for a long time. Weng Yanqing, carrying documents, knew that Meng Jinyuan’s mention of this matter here, within Prince Yan’s mansion, meant he wasn’t trying to hide it.

When the voices outside died down, he moved all the secret documents to a hidden spot in Prince Yan’s study.

The secret letters from the two War Ministry officials, asking about Prince Yan’s sickness, had accumulated over two days. Yet in these two days, Ying Fusheng hadn’t fully woken up. Some things couldn’t be kept from Hu Buyu and Shen Changcun.

“Inform them of the two ministers’ visit,” Weng Yanqing instructed.

Now, the whole court knew Prince Yan was sick, yet they stayed on guard around his mansion. Apart from their own people, no one dared to believe Prince Yan couldn’t even stay awake.

Everyone figured the prince had a plan B, that this sickness was just a temporary move.

Now that Prince Yan had truly lost consciousness, the court’s caution ironically gave Prince Yan’s mansion some breathing room.

When Weng Yanqing got to the side room, he happened to see Qi Hanzhou there. Ying Fusheng had said back in Jiangling that if any emergencies arose, Qi Hanzhou could be trusted.

He stood outside the door, watching the man lingering by the sickbed.

Since the incident, Prince Yan’s bedchamber had been surrounded by the Light Garment Guard. Apart from a few close attendants, no one else was allowed to step into this courtyard. With the news of his illness spreading for days, no one in the court had managed to set foot here. Weng Yanqing knew this was partly due to Qi Hanzhou’s influence.

In all the years Weng Yanqing had served Ying Fusheng, Junior General Qi had been by His Highness’s side from the start. Now, he saw Qi Hanzhou standing by the sickbed, without his outer robe, his posture tall and straight, but his downward gaze held an indescribable dark light.

Weng Yanqing’s eyes flickered as he sensed something.

Noticing his arrival, Qi Hanzhou gently lowered the bed curtain to block the bright light that might disturb sleep. Ying Fusheng slept peacefully. After days of restlessness, he had probably never had such a long, undisturbed sleep.

Qi Hanzhou withdrew his gaze, picked up his sword, and turned to face Weng Yanqing.

Weng Yanqing bowed slightly, then said, “Junior General.”

“When Meng Jinyuan investigated the Ministry of Personnel, he found traces of the Second Prince’s dealings with Western Shu.”

Qi Hanzhou closed the door, the sound of the latch soft. “To the study.”

At that moment, Ye Xuanjiu secretly arrived at the rear courtyard of Prince Yan’s mansion. Seeing Qi Hanzhou, he immediately stepped forward: “Junior General, we have news. We intercepted a carrier pigeon from outside the Second Prince’s residence—a secret letter from Western Shu!” He handed the letter to Qi Hanzhou.

With Song Yu’s incident, a silent bait had been cast.

Finally, someone had taken the hook.

“Additionally, we discovered spies beyond our surveillance.”

Ye Xuanjiu said, “Over the past two days, three groups have attempted to enter Prince Yan’s mansion. They were likely targeting His Highness.”

Weng Yanqing was startled: “Has news of His Highness’s impaired consciousness leaked?”

“Uncertain.” Ye Xuanjiu glanced slightly at his own young general.

Prince Yan had thwarted too many schemes—factional interests, the Secret Faction’s plots. Every official in the capital feared that disaster would strike next, that Ying Fusheng’s hand, wielding power over life and death, would fall on them. Among them, the Secret Faction was especially wary. From the destruction of the Xu family in the capital, to Jiangnan, to the current situation in the capital, if he were the mastermind behind it all, he would pay a great price to eliminate this sole variable.

Hearing this, Qi Hanzhou’s gaze darkened. He turned to look at the quiet side chamber behind him. “Master Weng, what do you think he would do?”

“Leave no loose ends,” Weng Yanqing said after deep thought.

Qi Hanzhou turned back. When he spoke, it was as if he were asking Weng Yanqing, yet also, through him, asking another who could not yet respond. “Then that’s it.”

Weng Yanqing faintly sensed that something had changed.

Outside Prince Yan’s mansion, spies from various factions were densely positioned. A carriage stopped in a corner of the alley, but the Light Garment Guard hidden in the shadows did not move to intercept it. Inside the carriage, Empress Xu sat quietly. She had been outside for an hour, yet she had not ordered anyone to knock and visit. She knew exactly what medicines had been sent into the mansion and which imperial physicians had come and gone.

After days of praying at the National Protection Temple, she had asked Master Zhi to divine her fate.

The slip of paper with the divination words—she had read it once and dared not read it again.

Beside her sat a thirteen-year-old girl.

The Third Princess had grown into her features, her temperament calm. She had been with Empress Xu, immersed in Buddhist teachings. “Aren’t you here to visit the sick?”

“I won’t go in,” Empress Xu said.

The Third Princess looked at her in confusion.

After Concubine Ruan’s death, under the Empress Dowager’s orders, the Third Princess had been raised under the care of another palace concubine.

Concubine Xian had exploited Concubine Ruan’s vanity to have her killed at the flower-viewing banquet, leaving no trace. Yet she hadn’t anticipated that Concubine Ruan was also shrewd, leaving some items in the Third Princess’s brocade box—letters and notes exchanged secretly with Concubine Xian.

When Empress Xu’s people secretly investigated Concubine Xian, they noticed the young princess nearby and realized that this seemingly timid and cowardly girl had also been secretly investigating her mother’s death. The clues in the brocade box were enough to prove that Censor Ruan of Jiangnan had been a secret agent of the Second Prince’s faction.

“Elder brother has always been in poor health,” the Third Princess said, looking out the carriage window. “When my mother was alive, she intended to have me get close to him. Later, I realized she did have ambitions to curry favor, but more than that, she was lured by Concubine Xian.”

Empress Xu glanced at her. From long ago, many had tried to get close to her child. She knew the child had a divine physician by his side, but without any word of his safety, she could never calm down. Only by sitting here could she find some solace.

Now, with the court situation placing him at the center of everyone’s target, everyone wanted to drag him down from that high position. If the child had any contact with her, it would give the other factions a reason to attack him.

Concubine Xian and the Secret Faction of the Second Prince are now in the open, and she also knows why the Emperor has yet to move against the Second Prince's faction. The Deposed Crown Prince and her Xu family were used as pawns by the Secret Faction, becoming their front men, and at that time, the Emperor did not discover the Second Prince's existence, leading to the sudden calamity in Jiangnan.

The same situation now—the Emperor wants to eradicate it completely.

At this moment, a light tap came from outside the carriage.

A young servant stood by the carriage: "Your Grace, you dropped something."

The coachman immediately took the item and handed it inside.

Empress Xu's eyes flickered as she saw the object—a jade piece engraved with the character "Xiao."

The Xiao family.

Seeing the jade, Empress Xu understood something.

...

On the sixth day of the Ministry of Personnel case at court, a massive upheaval occurred. Minister of Personnel Meng Jinyuan, after self-investigating the ministry, denounced ten officials, citing their connections with the King of Qin of Western Shu and the Fei family of Jiangnan, confirming them as Secret Faction members colluding with the King of Qin. Not stopping there, he demanded a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice, requesting the Censorate to step in and scrutinize both ministries!

The Minister of Revenue looked at Meng Jinyuan in shock.

Meng Jinyuan, who was most likely to favor stability, chose to issue a formal denunciation.

The Emperor's gaze swept down, and Ji Wuming immediately stepped forward.

"Song Yu was forcibly brought to the capital under guard, and after interrogation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was confirmed that the Eldest Prince's incident was caused by him," Ji Wuming reported.

The entire court was stunned.

From the moment Meng Jinyuan spoke, the invisible hand had set everything in motion.

"Then who was the mastermind behind him?" a member of the Eldest Prince Faction couldn't help but ask.

Ji Wuming did not directly answer his question but said, "There are still members of the Secret Faction within the Ministry of Revenue."

With this revelation, the wily veterans in the court understood that the Eldest Prince's incident was ultimately tied to the Secret Faction of Western Shu, thus preventing the Yun family from using it to stir up factional infighting.

Behind the Ministry of Revenue stood the Yun family, a powerful faction that had dominated the court and country for years. The Yun family, like the Xu family, had been a founding clan under the late Emperor, deeply entrenched and seen by all as a behemoth.

Liu Yunshi and Meng Jinyuan collaborated, with the Emperor's blessing and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's push, blaming it on the Secret Faction.

If the Ministry of Revenue refused to cooperate with the investigation, it would confirm the ironclad evidence of the Secret Faction's presence. These swift and decisive measures made the shrewd old ministers keenly aware that the one on high was about to consolidate power. Prince Yan had exposed the Secret Faction's affairs, and the Emperor, in turn, used the framing of the Yun family to seize control of the Ministry of Revenue.

Inside the Second Prince's residence, when news from the court arrived, the Second Prince, who had been confined for days, his expression shifted slightly. Losing the hidden agents in the Ministry of Personnel was already a heavy blow, and he still had some Secret Faction members in the Ministry of Revenue. When he had planted those agents within the Yun faction, he was confident that the Emperor would compromise to stabilize the court, leaving room for maneuver.

Based on their understanding of Prince Yan's methods, he was skilled at waiting for the opportune moment to strike. He had prepared to incite factional conflict and incite turmoil at court, but he never expected the Emperor to strike at this moment. What evidence had Ying Fusheng given the Emperor to prompt such a purge of the Yun family's Ministry of Revenue?

The factions behind the Yun family were not something that could be moved overnight—the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works... Who else was pulling the strings? Were those shrewd old ministers in the court willing to act without regard for the consequences?

"What about the hidden agents in the Lu family? Are they letting Prince Yan gain power without opposition?" the Second Prince frowned.

His subordinate replied, "It's the Censorate. Xiao Yan personally went to the Lu residence, bringing three censors."

With censors present, who knew what dirt they had on the Lu family, and on whose orders?

At this, the subordinate added with a tremble, "And it's not just that—all our secret outposts north of the city are gone."

The Second Prince shuddered: "Who did this?"

"Qi Hanzhou," the subordinate said. "Some of our people have long been under his surveillance. The Embroidered Uniform Guard made their move, leaving no survivors."

When they arrived, there were only bloodstains on the ground, and not even a single body was found.

The Second Prince's Consort came out cradling her belly. The others in the residence had already prepared. She looked at the Second Prince with a pale face, but could only hold her belly protectively. She knew that the child in her womb was inextricably linked to her husband's grand plan, and once the decision to leave the capital was made, there could be no hesitation.

The Second Prince was shaken to the core. He hadn't expected that these people in the court would act simultaneously at this moment. No, that's not right—to be able to mobilize so many people at once, this must be the work of Ying Fusheng and Qi Hanzhou.

What exactly had these two done?! First, they suppressed the Ministry of Revenue and the Yun family, then pushed these people forward. Even if the Yun family had the intention, they wouldn't dare to move at this time... The Second Prince paced back and forth, knowing that the situation in the capital had reached a critical point. "Find a way to get to the palace to retrieve Mother Consort, and leave today immediately—"

"Your Highness, hurry and leave. The Embroidered Uniform Guard seems to be coming this way." Before he could finish, another person came to report from outside the door.

The court matters had just been settled, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived.

The Emperor wanted him dead.

The Second Prince's expression turned sinister. "Before leaving the capital, I must give Prince Yan a great gift."