Chapter 527
【Well, for one thing, it’s because of Xie Zhilian himself. He was never raised to be the crown prince, so it’s perfectly normal that he lacks ability.
For another, he wasn’t merely incompetent—his character was poor as well. He had only just taken the throne when his maternal grandfather’s family was wiped out from within Panshan.
After that, he listened to the slander of the other side and did everything that rulers of fallen kingdoms tend to do. Of course Dayan was doomed!】
Xie Zhilian could bear no more. He collapsed onto the floor.
【Master, what’s wrong with Xie Zhilian?】
Before Yue Fuguang could say anything, Emperor Mingxi slammed his hand against the armrest of the imperial throne and shouted, “Xie Zhilian, the evidence is conclusive. Your maternal grandfather, Hu Zhongting, was on intimate terms with the Prince of Beili and is suspected of treason and collusion with the enemy. You still want to plead for him?”
「Little Zhu, I was so engrossed in the gossip just now that I missed something. How did Hu Zhongting suddenly become a traitor?
And he was on intimate terms with the Prince of Beili? Which prince—Beiyue or Bei Ye?」
【No idea! I wasn’t paying attention to what Minister of Rites Zhang Zhongping and Court of State Ceremonies Minister You Mingmin were saying earlier, either.】
「Forget it. It doesn’t matter. The crown prince is alive now, and Dayan is growing stronger by the day. Even if Xie Zhilian’s maternal grandfather comes looking for trouble, he won’t be able to cause any real waves.」
【That’s true, but we still need to find an opportunity to tell the crown prince about the eunuchs and palace maids his maternal grandfather’s family planted around him.
Especially Yang Fu. He deserves enormous credit for the fall of Dayan!】
Yang Fu. Emperor Mingxi, his sons, and all the civil and military officials repeatedly turned that name over in their minds.
As for the Eighth Prince, Xie Zhilian, they had no idea whether His Majesty intended to execute him or confine him.
But Yang Fu would not live to see another sunrise.
Yue Fuguang and the system finished their gossip and sauntered away, leaving the ruler and officials of Dayan with a mountain of work.
It took the court more than a month before that work finally began to wind down.
That day, Yue Fuguang sat atop a cloud, gazing down at the people of Dayan as they busily gathered the harvest. She felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.
In the fields, every farmer was drenched in sweat, yet the joyful smiles never left their faces. Those smiles smoothed away the wrinkles carved into their features by years of hard labor.
There was light in their eyes, and hope for a better life.
【Host, are you suddenly feeling that all your hard work over the past few months was worth it?】
Yue Fuguang rested her chin in her hand and nodded slightly. 「It does seem to have been pretty meaningful!」
【Then I’ll give you a few more pieces of good news.】
【Within Dayan, the Panshan organization has been destroyed by the imperial court by eighty percent over the past month. At this rate, more than ninety percent should be dealt with before the end of the year.
As for Southern Yue, the Dayan army has already advanced to Gancheng. The Southern Yue court has now split into two factions: the faction advocating resistance and the faction advocating surrender.】
「Is Gan Sheng dead yet?」 Wasn’t this man’s life a little too tough? Even with the medicine Zhao Quan’an found to alleviate the poison, he was enduring far too well.
「Gan Chengyuan is useless. He’s been on the throne for two months, yet he still hasn’t dealt with the previous emperor.」
【He thought Gan Sheng was about to die, but who could have expected him to hold on for so long? If Gan Tang’s people hadn’t sent him on his final journey, he probably could have lasted another ten days or half a month. By then, he might even have lived to see Southern Yue’s capital fall into Dayan’s hands.】
「You mean Gan Sheng is dead—and Gan Tang’s people killed him?」
【He breathed his last early this morning. The moment he died, his several children ‘disappeared.’】
「Did they really disappear, or did he send them away?」
【Of course he sent them away. Gan Sheng was afraid that his children would eventually fall victim to Gan Chengyuan’s schemes. He was even more afraid that, once Southern Yue was destroyed, Dayan would wipe out the imperial family.】
「He had so little confidence in Southern Yue?」
【If he truly had confidence, whose kingdom would lose most of its territory to an enemy in less than half a year?】
Yue Fuguang nodded. Even she had not expected the Dayan army, armed with gunpowder, to be so terrifyingly formidable. It seemed she might be able to complete her mission two or three years ahead of schedule.
【Oh, right, Master, I have one more piece of news. Beili had barely gone to war with Dayan when Dayan’s spies exposed the true relationship between Imperial Noble Consort Rong and Chancellor Wei.】
Yue Fuguang flashed a mischievous smile. 「Bei Ji’s expression when he learned the news must have been priceless!」
【Naturally. Apparently, he replaced the furnishings in his bedchamber several times. For several days in a row, he didn’t go near that mother and son at all.
The consorts and princes in the Beili imperial palace seem to have sensed that something was wrong and began secretly tripping up that mother and son at every turn. Guess what happened?】
「What? It didn’t work?」
【Not exactly. I don’t know whether Bei Ji was too busy fighting Dayan and simply turned a blind eye to their little schemes, but the Eighth Prince was injured because of them a few days ago. Bei Ji didn’t even go to see him, unlike in the past.】
Yue Fuguang fired off three questions in succession. 「Has he truly come to hate that mother and son because of this? And what about Wei Qingyi’s military authority? Is Bei Ji really comfortable leaving it in his hands?
And Bei Ye—has he succeeded after all this time? It’s been more than a month!」
【Rather than hatred, it would be more accurate to call it fury at discovering he had been deceived, humiliation and embarrassment at having been kept in the dark, and fear at how narrowly he had escaped losing the throne.
Bei Ji knows very well how capable Chancellor Wei is, as well as how deeply rooted his influence is throughout the court.
After learning that Imperial Noble Consort Rong is Chancellor Wei’s biological younger sister, Bei Ji naturally became afraid.】
「Afraid that Chancellor Wei would join forces with that mother and son, get rid of the father, and keep the son?」
【Once the Eighth Prince truly ascended to the position of crown prince and gained the legitimate right of succession, what use would there be for Bei Ji?】
「For someone like Chancellor Wei, who has someone he loves in his heart—a white moonlight—an emperor’s ambitions would be a nuisance. And once you eliminate the person creating the nuisance, the problem no longer exists.」
【That’s why Bei Ji is afraid now. An irreparable rift has formed between ruler and minister. His actions are meant to test whether Chancellor Wei will step in to protect the Eighth Prince.】
「Why would he even need to test that? Anyone with a brain knows that Imperial Noble Consort Rong and Chancellor Wei must be colluding.」
【That’s the thing. Although they’re both well into their years, Bei Ji still has personal feelings for Chancellor Wei. Those feelings make him unwilling to give up until he sees the truth for himself.
And it’s precisely because of those feelings that Wei Qingyi remains commander of those one hundred and fifty thousand troops. Bei Ji merely replaced the deputy general with one of his own trusted men.】
「Bei Ji is quite a complicated person—devoted and ruthless at the same time.」
【Isn’t he? He’s ruthless toward the sons he doesn’t value, devoted to his old lover, and even extends that affection to the people around him!
But he doesn’t know that one of his pawns is plotting to rebel against him.】
「You mean Bei Ye succeeded?」
【Mm-hmm. The backup pawn, Bei Ye, has successfully taken Wei Qingyi.
In the Dayan army’s forward camp, the Dayan and Beili forces are fighting fiercely.
In the rear camp, Bei Ye and Wei Qingyi are fighting just as fiercely.】
「This… is hard to comment on!」