Chapter 202 : Chapter 202
Chapter 202: Your Majesty, Cheng Yu Has Taken Men to Raid and Confiscate Duke Dingguo’s Estate!
Ning Dingyuan, who had already prepared himself to surrender to Xiao Wuji, was somewhat breaking down at this moment.
His eyes widened until they were round, and he looked utterly at a loss, his face stretched long with despair.
He had taken the initiative to come here and obediently confess his guilt, guaranteeing that he would be loyal to Xiao Wuji and never offend again.
As a duke, he had abandoned his dignity and lowered himself to such an extent.
Yet he had never expected this Great Qian Emperor to be so iron-hearted.
He had said something about having him discuss the punishment for the prison break with Lu Zhi and letting Ning Cen recover from his injuries. Did that not sound as if he were saying:
This round will end for now. If you do not want anyone to know, behave yourself and wait for the next round, where you can slowly wait to die!
If the dignified Emperor of Great Qian wanted to deal with someone, and he did not give a clear and explicit statement that he intended to let that person go, how was Ning Dingyuan supposed to negotiate with the Jinyiwei?
Ning Dingyuan began kowtowing frantically. His ninth-rank martial artist’s skull slammed heavily against the floor.
The exquisite and luxurious floor tiles cracked with a sharp series of snaps and pops, yet even that could not drown out his wretched pleas for mercy.
“Your Majesty, I truly know I was wrong! Please spare this guilty minister!”
Xiao Wuji looked at the cracked floor tiles and instinctively felt a pang of heartache. These exquisite decorations had all been left behind by the former emperors during Great Qian’s flourishing era.
By his generation, he could no longer afford to repair them.
Although Great Qian’s national treasury could not be called completely empty, allocating any money from it was still a struggle. It would be even worse if those stubborn ministers accused him of waste.
He immediately became rather annoyed. Why did Ning Dingyuan look as if he could not understand kind words? Now he was even destroying things.
This was improper!
But in the end, one could hardly strike a duke who had come so humbly. Xiao Wuji could only let a trace of anger enter his voice.
“After saying so much, just where exactly were you wrong? As for your son and the matter of the prison break, did I not already say that I would not pursue it too heavily?”
Where exactly was he wrong?
When Ning Dingyuan heard this, he only felt old tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
His Majesty was forcing him to confess his crimes himself!
He said miserably, “This guilty minister... was wrong in every way. Everything is deserved punishment!”
“A few years ago, when Your Majesty wanted to promulgate new policies and weaken the noble stipends, this guilty minister verbally supported Your Majesty, but I harbored selfish motives and acted with bias and reservations. That was why Your Majesty’s enlightened new court policies failed!”
“And Cen’er refused to change despite repeated teachings. He openly violated Great Qian Law many times, yet this guilty minister protected him, humiliating the dignity of the imperial court... I did not firmly stand behind Your Majesty. I privately accepted bribes and spoke according to profit...”
“And also...”
“This guilty minister confesses to all of these things without dispute! I ask Your Majesty to directly issue punishment. There is no need to continue secretly warning this minister!”
After Ning Dingyuan poured all of this out like beans from a bamboo tube, he felt as if all his vexation had been emptied out, and the knot in his heart finally loosened.
Since Xiao Wuji insisted on avoiding the main issue and firmly holding him in his grasp, Ning Dingyuan would simply state everything plainly and openly. Even if all these matters were combined into a grave crime, at least he would no longer have to live in constant fear.
However, there was something strange.
At this moment, Xiao Wuji furrowed his brows. The expression on his face, along with the hand pinching his beard, froze completely.
He was stunned.
Duke Dingguo had secretly done so many things behind his back?
The noble Emperor of Great Qian felt his mentality collapse somewhat at this moment.
Even the seemingly upright Duke Dingguo had done such things?
Deceiving the sovereign and offending one’s superior, bending the law for personal gain, accepting bribes...
Xiao Wuji had always thought that although Ning Dingyuan was not firm enough in his attitude of blindly supporting him, compared with those vexing fellows, he was generally a good minister and a good duke.
If one had to point out his problems, he could only be considered a sorrowful father.
One had to know that Duke Dingguo’s identity was not limited to being a noble of the court. He was also the representative of many neutral officials at court who did not participate in the factional struggles of Elder Grand Secretary Qi and the others.
These officials and nobles were not troublesome, and they were useful when doing their work.
Who would have thought? Who would have thought that his own imperial eyes had been blind? Ning Dingyuan, whom he had placed high hopes in, was also a vile parasite!
Then again, that made sense.
Those who could survive amid those factional schemers were either even more ruthless and decisive than ordinary people, or they were planning some unimaginable undertaking and possessed immense will.
As Xiao Wuji’s mind shook, an incomparably terrifying Supreme Dragon Might pressed down fiercely on Ning Dingyuan. All the internal energy in his body was crushed in an instant. His ninth-rank cultivation appeared utterly unable to withstand even a single blow at this moment.
“Is everything you said true?”
“Every word is true!”
Ning Dingyuan trembled all over and nodded sincerely. Since he had dared to come to the imperial palace, he had already prepared himself to be suppressed by the imperial Dragon Might.
According to the punishments applied to princes, dukes, and nobles, these matters would not be enough to completely ruin him.
At the very least, it was better than living in fear every day, unable to even carry out truly important matters...
When Xiao Wuji heard this definite answer, the anger that found no resistance turned entirely into sorrow.
“Good. Good indeed. You people all love doing so many things behind our backs.”
He had originally thought that even if the ministers who did not participate in factional struggles and simply did their work did not firmly support him, at least they were doing proper business and not making trouble.
Now it seemed that it was all false!
How had this imperial court become like this?
“Please punish me, Your Majesty!”
Ning Dingyuan pressed his head firmly against the floor, not daring to look up at Xiao Wuji even once, wretchedly seeking a charge for himself.
Hurry up and give him a result!
He would accept it!
Xiao Wuji slumped back onto the Dragon Throne. Countless words surged in his heart at this moment, yet he could not say any of them. He could only wave his hand.
He wanted to fly into a rage and cripple Ning Dingyuan, yet he could not bring himself to make that decision.
No wonder the Late Emperor had said that his temperament was not good, that he was too lenient and benevolent, and that if he inherited the throne, it would be very difficult for him to revive the glory of Great Qian’s flourishing age...
In the end, he merely heaved a long sigh.
“Forget it. Forget it. In this Great Qian, who can be without fault? We also make mistakes. It is enough that Duke Dingguo knows his errors and can correct them. We are tired. You may return first.”
Imperial grace was vast and mighty. It should have nourished people like rain and dew.
But in Ning Dingyuan’s ears, it was a terrifying thunderclap that resounded throughout heaven and earth.
The Great Qian Emperor had brushed the matter aside again!
He still refused to let him go!
For an instant, Ning Dingyuan even felt that he had gone in the wrong direction. Perhaps Xiao Wuji did not actually want to deal with him, and everything was merely his own imagination.
But if that were the case, he could not persuade himself no matter what. Why would Cheng Yu, a mere Jinyiwei Commandant, dare to treat Ning Cen that way and openly confront him?
Lu Zhi had kept his head tucked in like a tortoise within the Jinyiwei for so long. Why had he been so firm in this matter?
How could the Jinyiwei, that useless mire, suddenly straighten its back like this without Xiao Wuji’s orders?
He did not believe it!
Xiao Wuji had to be the person giving instructions from behind the scenes!
After firming up this thought, an extremely terrifying possibility appeared in Ning Dingyuan’s heart in an instant.
Even after things had reached this point, Xiao Wuji still refused to deal with him. Clearly, this had already exceeded an emperor’s benevolence.
There was obviously only one possibility. He wanted to cast a long line to catch a big fish...
And by an extraordinary coincidence, Duke Dingguo was an extremely, extremely large fish. If he were fished out, the world would be overturned!
No!
If that happened, he would either die without a burial place, or he would spend the rest of his days living in fear and suspicion, forever unable to find an opportunity to take revenge on Cheng Yu!
Cen’er would have been reduced to that state for nothing!
In the end, Ning Dingyuan completely firmed his resolve. He could not be afraid. He had to be bold and speak the truth directly to His Majesty!
“This humble minister still has something to say to Your Majesty. I have fully understood the suppression and test that Your Majesty instructed the Jinyiwei to carry out against this humble minister!”
There was no need to keep doing things in such a furtive manner!
If one wanted to kill a man, one might as well do it cleanly. Let him see how Xiao Wuji would keep pretending now!
Xiao Wuji froze. What had he instructed the Jinyiwei to do?
When had he told Lu Zhi, that fellow who only wanted to coast along and collect his salary every day, to deal with Ning Dingyuan?
Was that right?
Just then, an incomparably swift shadow flashed in from outside the palace and knelt on the floor at lightning speed with a THUD to salute.
The Jinyiwei Shadow Guard cupped his fists, his tone somewhat off. “Reporting to Your Majesty, Duke Dingguo’s Estate has been raided and confiscated by Cheng Yu and his men!”
Ning Dingyuan: ???