eurekapd Chapter 432 Double Play
Chapter 432 Double Play
After leaving the palace, King Qi returned to his residence, where guests began to arrive one after another seeking an audience.
King Qi met with wave after wave of people.
They were all right-wing officials and elders of prominent families.
As soon as they saw the King of Qi, they began to chatter amongst themselves, their words filled with anxiety and resentment.
"The Emperor detained Prime Minister Li today and placed him in Chengxin Palace, guarding it with heavy troops. This clearly shows that he is determined to cut off our hopes of rescuing Prime Minister Li, showing no mercy whatsoever!"
"We know perfectly well whether the evidence presented by Song Bingzhi is fabricated or based on fact. It's just that it hasn't been verified yet, but that's only a matter of time. Once it's verified, will the Emperor let us off the hook?!"
"The emperor is determined to eliminate the powerful families this time. If it weren't for us, how could he have ascended the throne? Now that he's powerful enough, he wants to betray us. Does he really think we're pushovers?"
"Your Highness, things have come to this point, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom! If Li Xiang falls, we will be next, and there will probably be no place for us in the court."
"The decision on what to do now rests with Your Highness!"
Everyone was pressuring King Qi to make a decision.
Looking at the angry, fearful, or excited gazes of the people before him, King Qi felt an extreme headache.
He reached up and rubbed his temples hard, his voice weary: "Gentlemen, things haven't gotten that serious yet. The cases that Song Bingzhi is suing are all old ones, and they won't be easy to investigate."
"We have had enough time to deal with Li Xiang during this period."
One of them said, “Your Highness, the crisis is not just about Prime Minister Li, but about all the aristocratic families. The Emperor has already decided to deal with them, so we can no longer rest easy.”
"Instead of living in such fear, why not..."
The officials from the powerful families exchanged glances; though they didn't utter the last four words, they all understood each other's meaning—
Change the emperor.
……
After meeting these powerful officials, King Qi's face darkened completely.
He sat alone in his study for an hour before a servant came to report that Li Zhuoyue was requesting an audience. Only then did the King of Qi come to his senses and order Li Zhuoyue to be summoned.
Upon receiving the message from the King of Qi via carrier pigeon, Li Zhuoyue dared not delay for a moment and hurried back to the capital.
He arrived at the Prince's Mansion travel-worn and dusty, without even having time to change his clothes.
When the King of Qi saw him, his first words were, "Li Chongyi is not easy to save."
Li Zhuoyue's father and Li Guan were from the same clan. Although they were not closely related by blood, the two families had become closely connected over the years and, driven by interests, had become partners in the same boat.
Li Chongyi is like the sail on a ship; if the sail falls, the whole ship will capsize.
The King of Qi did not provide a detailed account of the situation in his letter. Now, after hearing the King of Qi recount what had happened in the palace, Li Zhuoyue couldn't help but frown.
He said, "Your Highness, what the noble families mean is..."
Li Zhuoyue didn't dare to say those words easily.
He paused for a moment, then asked, "What is Your Highness's opinion?"
King Qi remained silent for a long time, then looked out the window with a complex and unreadable expression. After a long while, he slowly spoke: "Do I have a choice?"
Li Zhuoyue choked.
Most of the powerful families now support the Prince of Qi and want to elect him as emperor, simply because the Prince of Qi can meet their expectations.
But if the King of Qi makes a decision that completely goes against their wishes, will those aristocratic families turn against the other prince?
Although several princes have died recently, Emperor Wenjing still had quite a few sons.
There are five or six princes who have grown up, and many more who are younger.
Moreover, for powerful families, a young emperor is often easier to control than someone like Prince Qi who is decisive and capable. Once they have other ideas, it will be extremely difficult for Prince Qi to ascend the throne, and he may even fall into an abyss of no return.
He was already tied to the powerful families; he had no other choice.
At this moment, King Qi suddenly felt a pang of envy for King Chen.
He knew that Prince Chen was also eyeing that position and had been trying to win over the court officials, but most of the officials Prince Chen was trying to win over came from humble backgrounds and lacked depth.
Even if there comes a day when Prince Chen is unable to control them, he will never be controlled by these people.
King Qi rubbed his forehead and sat down dejectedly. "Let's observe the situation first and do our best to save Prime Minister Li."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhuoyue had a thousand words stuck in her throat, but she couldn't say them.
He simply replied respectfully, "Yes."
……
Because Li Chongyi was imprisoned, Yun Shang's "resurrection" became less noticeable.
However, the people of Shengjing reacted extremely strongly when they learned that Yun Shang was not dead.
For several days in a row, restaurants and shops have been seen offering discounts and promotions under the pretext of "family celebrations," or distributing food for free to the poor and beggars in the city.
Yu Wan also followed the trend, and Yu Ji Hot Pot held a three-day sale with all pots at a 90% discount.
The King of Qi's spies learned of this and reported it to the King.
King Qi remained silent for a long time after hearing this.
Just when the scouts thought that the King of Qi did not take the matter to heart, the King of Qi suddenly swept the teacup in his hand to the ground with a loud "bang"!
The scout was secretly alarmed and immediately knelt down, not daring to raise his head.
All that could be heard was King Qi gritting his teeth and saying, "That Yu Wan! She has truly made me a fool of myself!"
Yu Wan's "falling out" with the Yun family was all an act from beginning to end!
And he actually believed it!
King Qi's eyes were filled with malice. Recalling everything that had happened before, the anger of being fooled in his heart grew stronger and stronger, as if it would devour him!
He recalled his previous encounters with Yu Wan, and realized that her pitiful and timid demeanor was all an act!
He not only let his guard down around her, but even protected her in some matters, only to be outmaneuvered by her and Yun Shang!
"Your Highness, please calm down..." the scout said tremblingly, his voice barely audible.
The King of Qi looked at him, took a deep breath, and said, "You don't need to do anything, just keep an eye on her."
She's just a woman. Once he's settled his important matters, he'll have plenty of time to deal with her!
Anyone who dares to fool him will be made to pay double!
Like King Qi, Li Zhuoyue was also nearly blinded by anger at this moment.
On the day he returned to the capital, Madam Li told him that Yunxi had fallen ill.
Li Zhuoyue did have some affection for Yunxi, so he asked the household steward to take his warrant and fetch the imperial physician.
However, the imperial physician and the steward of the Li family were both thrown out by Madam Shen.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Madam Shen chuckled lightly:
“My son had no choice but to fake his death, but you, surnamed Li, came to my house to take advantage of my vulnerability and tried to force my daughter to be your concubine.”
Shen's voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
"We, a widow and her daughter, were left with no one to rely on. We were forced to agree by the Li family. But then my daughter suddenly fell ill. It wasn't a serious illness, but the Li family thought my daughter was unlucky and refused to welcome her into their home on the wedding day!"
"Your Li family is truly a century-old family, full of the demeanor of a great family!"