Jiuxi

Chapter 1014: 1012 [Willing to be an Ant]

In fact, Yuan Yuji didn’t know many secrets. To be exact, there was only one unusual thing.

About half a year ago, the young emperor asked him to collect various information, basically all related to Lu Chen.

It includes the life experiences of military generals, the family backgrounds of officials at all levels in the New Government Office, Lu Chen's personal whereabouts, and the general situation of the Qin Palace in Chengpingfang.

Empress Dowager Ning was very wise and she quickly figured out the emperor's intentions from these clues.

She looked at Yuan Yuji with great disappointment and said, "I handed over the Ministry of Internal Affairs and even the Internal Guard to you, and this is how you repay my trust?"

With a plop, Yuan Yuji fell to his knees and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I have been trusted by the late emperor and you for so many years. How dare I be disloyal? If I have such thoughts, I will be damned forever!"

"shut up!"

Queen Mother Ning frowned and said, "Since you have no intention of being disloyal, why did you do these things without telling me?"

Yuan Yuji said dejectedly, "Your Majesty, although the emperor is young, he is very intelligent. He said that he had no other intentions in doing this, but just wanted to understand the situation in the court so as not to be completely in the dark about the situation outside. The emperor also said that he did not want your Majesty to worry. If I tell your Majesty about this, it will put the emperor in an unfilial position. Therefore, I dare not disobey the emperor's order."

On the surface, his reason makes sense. After all, the emperor is also a monarch, and he is only letting Queen Ning take over the government because he is young.

What can he do as a minister caught in the middle?
However, Queen Mother Ning knew him too well, so after a brief thought, she said with a complicated expression: "You are not unfaithful, on the contrary you are very loyal, but your loyalty is to the late emperor and the emperor. As for me, I think you are extremely disappointed with my constant concessions to the King of Qin in the past two years. You think I should mobilize all my strength to fight the King of Qin, even if it means rivers of blood and the loss of lives, it is better than doing nothing now and watching the King of Qin take control of power bit by bit, right?"

This time Yuan Yuji did not answer immediately, but remained silent.

Queen Mother Ning said slowly: "But have you ever thought that by dragging the emperor into this vortex, you might kill him directly?"

"Your Majesty, does the death of the previous emperor really have nothing to do with the King of Qin?"

Yuan Yuji raised his head, tears streaming down his face.

Queen Mother Ning's eyes dimmed, and she said woodenly, "Yes, I almost forgot about those things. That time you ridiculed the Queen Mother in person, and told me that the King of Qin had rebellious intentions by moving his troops across the river in advance. These things all show that you have hatred in your heart, and it has not subsided until now. You hate the King of Qin to the core, and at the same time you have resentment towards me, so you instigated the young emperor."

"No, Your Majesty, I have never instigated the Emperor."

Yuan Yuji shook his head and said, "I do hate that the King of Qin is still alive, but I have never thought of putting the emperor in a disadvantageous position. How dare I instigate him with words?"

What’s the point of saying this now?
Regardless of whether Yuan Yuji took the initiative or was forced, he had betrayed the trust of Queen Mother Ning. So after a brief silence, Queen Mother Ning said tiredly: "You should stay in the inner palace for a while. During this time, Lu Wei will temporarily take over your duties."

Yuan Yuji also knew that this was a lenient sentence from Empress Dowager Ning, otherwise he would not be able to bear the charge of seducing the emperor.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Yuan Yuji choked up and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Not long after he left with his staggering steps, Li Daoming, the emperor who was supposed to take a lunch break, came to the East Warm Pavilion again. After paying his respects in a proper manner, he said, "Mother, Junior Supervisor Yuan only did those things at my request. Please calm down, Mother."

Queen Mother Ning looked at him steadily.

Ruolan and others couldn't help but become nervous.

Li Daoming was not as nervous as usual. He tried to remain calm and even looked at his mother stubbornly.

After a long while, Queen Mother Ning said slowly: "I have said so many things to you, but it seems that you have not listened to a single word."

"Mother, I know you are doing this for my own good, but I don't want to pretend I know nothing and just hide in Jixian Hall to study."

Li Daoming said earnestly, "The person who treats me best in this world is my mother. The person who considers me wholeheartedly and without regard for gains and losses is also my mother. I am not a stupid person. How could I ignore your good intentions? However, I don't know how far you want to retreat, and whether the royal family can bear the consequences by then."

Queen Mother Ning said, "So you asked Yuan Yuji to help you get the news, and then what? What else do you want to do?"

Li Daoming lowered his eyes and replied, "Even the Queen Mother cannot do anything to the King of Qin, so what can I do? Queen Mother, I just want to know how far the King of Qin has gone. I just don't want to be forced to abdicate in the future and then die in a daze. Queen Mother, I don't want to be a confused ghost. Is this request too much?"

Empress Dowager Ning was speechless.

Li Daoming added, "Sometimes I think that if my mother and I were ordinary mother and son, we wouldn't be able to enjoy such grace and honor from the royal family, but that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. But I know I have no choice. From the moment my father passed away, my fate was doomed. Even if there weren't powerful ministers like the King of Qin, there would be people like my grandmother and my third uncle. My mother has worked so hard over the past few years, and I've seen it all. I just hate myself for being useless and not being able to help her share her worries."

These words made Empress Dowager Ning feel sad, but also made her understand one thing.

Although her son is still very young, growing up in such a unique environment, he thinks much more than his peers.

Therefore, she slowed down her tone and asked, "My son, tell me, what do you want to do?"

Li Daoming raised his head to meet his mother's gaze, shook his head and said, "Mother, I really didn't do anything, and I don't plan to do anything. Please don't blame Yuan Shaojian, it was all forced by me." Queen Mother Ning forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, I won't make a big move, I will just give Yuan Yuji a slight punishment to let him know what to do and what not to do. Well, you've been reading for the whole morning, go and have a good rest, I also need to rest."

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Li Daoming bowed respectfully and then retreated with steady steps.

Watching his back gradually becoming that of a young man, Empress Dowager Ning felt overwhelmed with frustration.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Ning looked a little unhappy, Ruolan motioned for the other female officials to withdraw, and then stepped forward to comfort her: "Your Majesty, perhaps the emperor really did nothing."

"He is testing me."

Queen Mother Ning shook her head and said softly, "Now that I think about it, he must have deliberately revealed this flaw in front of me, and then used my treatment of Yuan Yuji to determine my attitude."

Ruolan was stunned.

She was a little bit unbelievable. Could the emperor, who was only nine years old, really have such a mind?

Queen Mother Ning suddenly smiled, her smile full of sadness, and said, "He hoped that I could make a desperate effort to get rid of the King of Qin, but I never did so, so he no longer had any hope in me. In this respect, he is indeed very similar to his father. Of course, it is also possible that some people instigated him to think that killing the King of Qin would be a very easy thing and that he would be done with it once and for all."

Ruolan said worriedly, "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Queen Mother Ning was silent for a moment, and a look of determination gradually appeared in her eyes. She said gently but firmly: "Wait for Lu Chen to return to the capital, and I will meet him once."

……

In the evening, in an ordinary-looking house in Xiangfufang, North City.

Xue Ruogu, dressed in casual clothes, stood up to greet Wang Hong, the deputy commander of the imperial guards' left guard, and said with a smile, "Brother Gongdu, did anyone notice you on the way?"

"Brother Ziyuan, don't worry. Even though the people in the Prince Qin's Mansion will not ignore the Imperial Guards, their attention is mostly on Marshal Shen. How could they pay attention to small figures like us?"

Wang Hong smiled and said, "But it is better to be safe than sorry. I made a detour to make sure there were no spies following me along the way."

Xue Ruogu nodded and said, "That's great."

Ever since Lu Chen left Beijing, many people breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the thick dark clouds overhead had temporarily dissipated. However, Xue Ruogu was not careless, as he knew that this was the most dangerous time, and if he relaxed even a little he might be caught by Lu Chen's men.

Wang Hong asked expectantly, "How is it?"

"It's decided."

Xue Ruogu gave an answer that greatly excited him, and then he took out a piece of silk from his arms and spread it flat on the table.

Wang Hong looked up and saw six big characters "Clear the imperial court, punish corrupt officials" above him. There were more than a dozen names below, and the first one was Xue Ruogu's autograph.

His blood boiled and he picked up the pen without hesitation. However, Xue Ruogu suddenly stopped him with his hand and said sternly, "Brother Gongdu, the King of Qin is very powerful and has hawks and minions everywhere. We are doing something that will lead to our death. You must think it through. Once you sign this name, there will be no room for regret."

"Brother Ziyuan, why do you look down on me?"

Wang Hong pulled his hand away, signed his name in a flamboyant manner, and said with a smile: "I remember you said last time that there are always some people in this world who are willing to do stupid things that will lead to their death, as long as they feel it is worth it. Now that the family is in danger of collapse, how can we turn a blind eye? Even if we die, we must die in a blazing manner, which is better than being a traitor to our master."

"it is good!"

Xue Ruogu put away the piece of silk and said, "We will live and die together."

Wang Hong returned the greeting, and then said with some regret: "If we can catch the King of Qin off guard during his absence from the capital, perhaps there will be a pleasant surprise."

Xue Ruogu shook his head and said, "The King of Qin is good at luring people into traps. He took the initiative to leave the capital in the hope that someone would take action, and then take the opportunity to coerce the righteousness, and then threaten the saint in the palace. So we must be patient and wait until he returns to the capital and slowly lets down his guard before taking action. That way, there will be a slim chance of hope."

Wang Hong sighed. He knew that Xue Ruogu was right. With the power and authority that Lu Chen currently held, even if he really let down his guard and they were well prepared, the hope of success in the end would be very slim.

He suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and asked softly, "So you're sure it's on that day?"

"Yes."

Xue Ruogu said in a deep voice: "December 26th, the year-end court meeting."

(End of this chapter)