fifth form

Chapter 3223 Mutual Attack
Tian Fen was indeed somewhat forced into the role of prime minister, which led to him being unable to handle many matters effectively.

But he remained very calm.

The injury trope, which Zhang Xuezhou has overused, is indeed very effective. A patient like him wouldn't be going to cause trouble by attacking Dou Ying and others; the incident must have been caused by Dou Ying's side.

Although he wasn't entirely sure if his retainers had been involved in the affair, Tian Fen felt it wouldn't be difficult for him to extricate himself from the entanglement.

It wasn't until two sorcerers under Sima's tutelage attacked Shen Chong and were shot dead that Tian Fen realized he was in trouble.

This trouble did not stem from Dou Ying, but from his performance in the ambush at Mayi.

The one who defeated Daojun and the others was the new emperor, but it was difficult for any cultivator from the fierce kingdom to know that the swordsman was the new emperor. The empress dowager also managed to remain hidden, making it difficult to discern her identity from her attire.

Tian Fen somewhat resented himself for being too flamboyant, even during the Battle of Mayi when he wore the Prime Minister's crown.

Although this is a great treasure, he is hardly the kind of person who can use such a treasure.

The treasure was useless, but his identity was thoroughly investigated, and he was even tracked down to his residence by a sorcerer.

He felt increasingly agitated and anxious.

"What do you mean by not asking Dongfang Shuo to keep an eye on me? Is it because his place is heavily guarded and difficult to get in, so you're not asking him?"

Tian Fen cursed inwardly a few times.

He only snapped back to his senses when the new emperor called his name in court.

"This old minister is seriously ill and injured, and it is absolutely impossible for him to cause trouble on his own initiative. He would only retaliate if he was bullied to the point of exhaustion. Your Majesty must do justice for this old minister!"

Tian Fen bowed deeply and cried out, then quickly covered his head with his hands.

He needed to feign illness to get rid of trouble, but Tian Fen couldn't show it too obviously, lest he be unable to 'be competent' for the position of prime minister.

If it weren't for the need to consider the Empress Dowager and their family ties, Tian Fen felt that he would likely have been temporarily appointed as the prime minister by someone else, and then he would have had to go home to recuperate.

It's very difficult to do something that requires you to be sick, but you can't be too sick.

"Dou Ying was unworthy to serve as prime minister in the past, and was later dismissed from office. He has been thinking about this all these years, waiting for the old minister to fall ill so he can take his place!"

Regardless of Dou Ying's true intentions, Tian Fen chose to retaliate.

"Prime Minister, His Majesty asks if you need a chair because you have difficulty standing!"

The Imperial Censor Han Anguo, who was standing side by side in the main hall, had to whisper a reminder before Tian Fen realized what he had missed while he was distracted.

But words spoken cannot be taken back, so Tian Fen had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue reporting.

"absurd!"

After Tian Fen finished speaking, he heard Wei Qihou Dou Ying, who was on the other side of the court officials, deny it outright.

After being removed from his position as prime minister, Dou Ying was not allowed to enter the palace except for special occasions, and had not visited the Weiyang Palace Hall for a long time.

He stared intently at Tian Fen, his eyes seeming to spit fire.

"You...you're just a crony, lacking both ability and strength to hold your position. You know best what you've been up to behind the scenes. People like you are here to bring disaster to our Great Han Dynasty!"

Dou Ying pointed at Tian Fen, her posture almost as if she was about to strike, causing Tian Fen to involuntarily take two steps back.

"If you can't even withstand Dou's imposing presence, how can you have the face to serve as Prime Minister?" Dou Ying rebuked.

"Although I am not very talented, I am not someone who would slink away from the position of prime minister in half a year!"

Tian Fen retorted sarcastically, mentioning that Dou Ying's performance as prime minister was even worse, practically useless and incompetent. "You..."

It's like bringing up a sore spot; being dismissed from his position as prime minister was the most painful thing for Dou Ying.

The situation he faced at that time was extremely complex, far beyond what we see today.

The fact that Dou Ying was overwhelmed by just one Empress Dowager meant that it wouldn't matter who was the prime minister, which inevitably made him somewhat vulnerable.

When Dou Ying threw a powerful punch at Tian Fen, he was blocked by Han Anguo, who was trying to break up the fight, and couldn't push away Han Anguo, who was good at defense, for a while.

When other officials stepped in to break up the fight, Dou Ying could only resort to cursing.

"Marquis Wei Qi tried to kill me! He openly tried to kill me in the main hall of Weiyang Palace! His fist almost broke my bones!"

Tian Fen was both surprised and furious.

With the Empress Dowager seriously injured, his support collapsed by more than half. Moreover, Tian Fen's ability to fly was not unique in the court; there were others like Zhang Xuezhou who could pilot the Imperial Shuttle.

Although Zhang Xuezhou also suffered an injury, young people recover faster.

Tian Fen was genuinely afraid of being beaten to death. He shouted and cursed at the same time, accusing Dou Yinghou's family of many scandals.

This prompted Dou Ying to berate him, directly exposing the scandalous and irregularities of the Prime Minister's residence. Corruption was commonplace for Tian Fen, and Dou Ying could provide Tian Fen with a long list of such things.

"You went to great lengths to rescue Guan Fu, and it was probably you who ordered Guan Fu to steal the Crimson Sky Sword. Your covetousness for the rightful heir to the Crimson Sky Sword clearly reveals your true intentions!"

Tian Fen also lost his temper and started cursing.

He saw that the new emperor in the court had already frowned, clearly somewhat dissatisfied after listening to Dou Ying's detailed explanation.

Not to mention the new emperor's dissatisfaction, Tian Fen was also surprised that he had received so much.

Having too much money made Tian Fen lose his sense of proportion. Listening to Dou Ying calculating how much armor the money could buy for the army and how many mounts to replace, Tian Fen panicked and could only directly attack Dou Ying's weak point.

A marquis cannot be brought down by mere words; only when it involves rebellion or similar acts can he be irrevocably brought down.

Tian Fen himself was a marquis, so no matter how much he was investigated, he would at most lose his official position, and he could regain it later through some maneuvering.

He was filled with resentment that the position of prime minister would inevitably be taken by someone else in the future, so he couldn't help but accuse Dou Ying of spreading rumors and attempting to use the chaos of last night to implicate Dou Ying in the Chixiao Sword case.

"Guan Fu is a man of great talent. He fought to the death during the Rebellion of the Seven States. There are few generals as brave as him today," Dou Ying said angrily. "You have ordered your retainers to frame Guan Fu. Only a force that wants to usurp the throne would do such a thing!"

"Everyone knows about your relationship with Guan Fu. The Chixiao Sword case has sentenced him to death. It is a fact that you instigated the Guan family's retainers to rescue him. Now you are making false accusations, you must be trying to kill me. Marquis Wei Qi, don't act so arrogantly just because the Dou family is related to the imperial family. Don't use treason as an excuse to attack people at every turn!"

"Tian Fen, don't pretend. I have evidence to prove my point!"

"If you're so capable, then provide evidence. Don't just spout nonsense here!"

Tian Fen cursed repeatedly.

He pondered this over and over but couldn't come up with any idea of ​​what forces he had conspired with to seize the Han Dynasty.

The current Empress Dowager is his own sister, and the current emperor is his nephew. Tian Fen believes that only someone with a mad mind would be capable of plotting to seize the throne. If someone else were to become emperor, who would he rely on, and how could he possibly become prime minister?

This is something that can be answered with a little rational thought; even his good-for-nothing son knows this.

Tian Fen launched into a scathing rebuke and then explained the reasons behind it, which drew nods of approval from the assembled officials.

But he didn't expect Dou Yingzhen to pull out a piece of evidence.