Shao Xuji had already risen to his feet without realizing it. The muscles in his face trembled uncontrollably, the joints of all ten fingers tense, while his dragon eyes held shock, fury, astonishment, and a trace of deeply hidden fear.
But in the end, rage covered his eyes.
Li Zhen was nothing more than a dog, a dog he had raised himself. How could he proclaim himself king in Dan Prefecture?
Secretly cultivating elite soldiers? Their level of prowess was even enough to suppress the Ten Thousand Black Cavalry.
Every word of this military report made Shao Xuji burn with rage.
“Li Zhen, you unfilial wretch! How dare you betray the trust I placed in you and the position of chancellor I granted you, putting you below only one person and above countless others! You—you... you deserve to die!”
Shao Xuji’s mindless roar reverberated throughout the entire main palace hall.
His nearly crazed voice was filled with fury and icy coldness.
Why had the other side secretly hidden such elite troops? What did he intend to do? Concealing his cultivation level—what exactly did he intend to do!
Wolfish ambition!
His crimes were utterly heinous!
Despicable!
Despicable!
The civil and military officials all lowered their eyes. The explosiveness of this news was practically even more shocking than the emperor’s maternal uncle’s wife getting involved with a man from a brothel.
“Send orders to Northern Cold Pass. Command the Grand Army to immediately trample Dan Prefecture beneath its hooves. I want Li Zhen dead! I want him dead—”
Shao Xuji spat out the final word through clenched teeth.
This was something he could not accept. Even if Li Zhen had defected to another kingdom, it would have been better than this, because no matter which kingdom he went to, he would still be another emperor’s dog!
But now, this dog actually wanted to rule on his own!
Unacceptable! Incomprehensible! Unforgivable!
Shao Xuji’s heart had already turned cold. His former admiration and affection for the young prodigy who had assisted him had vanished completely.
“Imperial brother! I want to personally go to Northern Cold Pass. I don’t believe Li Zhen knows martial arts, and I don’t believe he could have hidden elite troops! I want to see it with my own eyes!” A complicated look flashed through Shao Xuxue’s eyes.
Li Zhen had been with her practically all these years. They had chatted about everything under the heavens, spending every day and night together. How could she not know whether he possessed a cultivation level?
That was absolutely impossible!
Xuan Yue could not possibly have lied, but she had to see this matter with her own eyes before she could believe it.
Especially since she had to see him marry a wild woman from Dan Prefecture!
“Good! Zhao Bugui, heed my command!”
Suppressing the rage in his heart, Shao Xuji immediately turned to look at Zhao Bugui in the lower seat.
“Your Inferior General is here!”
Zhao Bugui was also shaken by Xuan Yue’s military report. That refined and scholarly Li Zhen had actually hidden himself so deeply?
No matter how one looked at it, he did not seem capable of such a thing. However, Xuan Yue certainly would not dare to falsely transmit information of this level.
“Lead thirty thousand Garrisoned Dragon Troops there. If Li Zhen truly possesses such wolfish ambition, immediately flatten Dan Prefecture. I want that so-called Great Zhen Royal Court of his to cease to exist for even a moment longer!”
A trace of a smile appeared on Zhao Bugui’s face.
Being able to spend time alone with his goddess was something he had dreamed of.
He immediately cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, rest assured. If the matter is confirmed, Your Inferior General will certainly capture that traitor and bring him before Your Majesty, thereby easing the hatred in Your Majesty’s heart!”
At this moment, Shao Xuxue no longer cared who would be accompanying her.
Her heart was filled with a single thought.
The very thing stated in the military report: that he had taken a woman from the Shuoyan Tribe as his wife.
Shao Xuxue had no time to salute. She turned and left the main palace hall.
She absolutely had to see it for herself.
Why, exactly.
After saluting, Zhao Bugui hurried after her.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity. He had to seize it.
Watching Zhao Bugui leave, Shao Xuji uttered a sentence.
“Scholars should not be befriended deeply; scholars should not be trusted deeply!”
As soon as these two sentences were spoken, the civil officials in the main palace hall immediately grew displeased.
What was that supposed to mean? What did it have to do with them?
Besides, what did he mean by saying scholars should not be befriended deeply? Was it not because of Li Zhen, Great Yu, that the kingdom now enjoyed an age of prosperity? What did these crude martial men understand about governing a kingdom?
The martial generals beside them, meanwhile, subtly puffed out their chests.
That was a reasonable statement.
Back when Li Zhen was present, the civil officials of Great Yu had grown stronger along with him.
If this had been when His Majesty had just become emperor, would they have had any chance to speak?
Now that Li Zhen had left, His Majesty finally knew who truly formed Great Yu’s foundation.
Shao Xuji clasped his hands behind his back, calming his mood as he looked at the ministers below. Fortunately, he had been cautious back then and had not allowed Li Zhen to meddle in the affairs of the martial generals. Now, all military authority was firmly in his hands.
Otherwise, if Li Zhen could secretly cultivate an elite force, and then gain military authority as well, would that not be like adding wings to a tiger?
“Is there anything left to confiscate from Li Zhen’s residence?”
The Minister of War, who had been responsible for handling Li Zhen’s residence at the time, stepped forward and bowed. “Reporting to Your Majesty, Li Zhen’s residence has already been thoroughly searched and confiscated. Nothing was left behind!”
“How much silver was discovered?” Shao Xuji asked, his brows furrowing.
He very much wanted to know whether there were ten thousand taels of gold, enough to rival the wealth of an entire kingdom!
The Minister of War hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “Fifty taels of gold... three hundred silver taels... a thousand bolts of brocade...”
“Hmm? What else?”
“Nothing else!”
“Nothing else?” Shao Xuji’s eyes widened.
How could there be only this much?
“Reporting to Your Majesty, there truly is nothing else!” The Minister of War looked at Shao Xuji awkwardly.
There really was nothing more!
He could not exactly fabricate something, could he?
Shao Xuji clasped his hands behind his back and deliberated for a moment before saying coldly, “Issue an imperial decree. Li Zhen possesses wolfish ambition and rebellious intentions. Abolish every policy enacted during Li Zhen’s tenure, and publicly proclaim that he was wealthy enough to rival an entire kingdom, but fled to Dan Prefecture and declared himself king after his crimes were exposed.
“From this day forward, no one within Great Yu may mention Li Zhen. Every lyric he wrote is to be burned completely, without leaving a single one behind!
“I will erase all his achievements! From now on, Great Yu must not preserve even a single written record of this man!”
As soon as his voice fell,
a figure stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, absolutely not! Even if Li Zhen has committed crimes, the policies themselves are innocent, and so are the poems, songs, and prose! Since its Founding of a State, Great Yu has never issued such a harsh order!
“Furthermore, fabricating facts out of thin air is not the conduct of a gentleman. Your Majesty...”
The person who stepped forward was none other than the Chief Censor who had previously spoken out against the false accusations aimed at Li Zhen: Cui Zhe.
Although he had been at odds with Li Zhen, that had been because of Li Zhen’s position.
But Cui Zhe genuinely admired Li Zhen’s abilities.
“Cui Zhe, are you saying that I am not a gentleman?” Shao Xuji narrowed his eyes, cold light shooting toward Cui Zhe below the hall.
His killing intent was overwhelming.
He had already lost all reason regarding Li Zhen. All he could think about was how to ruin Li Zhen’s reputation.
Nothing else was under consideration.
Thud.
Cui Zhe fell to his knees. “As the Chief Censor, I bear the responsibility of admonishing Your Majesty. I am not rebuking Your Majesty, but admonishing Your Majesty. The policies are innocent, the reforms are innocent, and the songs and poems are innocent!
I humbly beseech Your Majesty to withdraw the decree!
I cannot judge Li Zhen as a person, as the reports have yet to be verified. But his achievements are known throughout the world. What Your Majesty is doing will only destroy your own city wall and invite condemnation!
My every word is spoken out of concern for Your Majesty’s heart!”
Cui Zhe lay prostrate on the ground, shouting himself hoarse.
He truly was doing this for Shao Xuji.
Whether Li Zhen was right or wrong, whether he possessed immense wealth, whether he had wolfish ambition—could the common people really not know?
They were merely ignorant, not fools!
The people now enjoyed the benefits of Li Zhen’s policies. If those policies were abolished, how could the people possibly accept it?
As time passed, Great Yu would likely lose the people’s hearts entirely!
Shao Xuji could kill one person, or a thousand. Could he really kill ten thousand?
Was this not a completely fabricated crime?
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