Late at night, within the imperial palace.
In the Fengtian Hall, all palace attendants except for Yinshun had been dismissed.
The emperor sat while his minister knelt, both remaining silent for a long ti.
Finally, the emperor spoke: "Huai Shan, do you rember the last ti it was just the two of us, sovereign and subject, alone like this?"
Chu Huaishan replied in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, it was before you ascended the throne."
Indeed. I recall it seed to be right here in this Fengtian Hall as well. You were frad by the Third Prince and shattered a Warring States–era liuli vessel that our late father, the Emperor, cherished most. How did you manage to escape punishnt back then?
Chu Huaishan shuddered, bowing his head to the floor. "At that ti, Your Majesty snatched the glass fragnts from my hands and falsely told our late father that you had broken it yourself. That was how I barely escaped with my life. Because of that, you endured ten lashes from the late emperor and were bedridden for a full half-month..."
"So you do rember!" The emperor let out a cold laugh and abruptly stood up. "Chu Huaishan! Do you know that when rumors spread recently about you adopting the daughter of a forr dynasty official, both the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Yu urged to execute you rather than risk any doubt—yet I did not! Because it was you—you, Chu Huaishan, my ritorious supporter who helped secure the throne!! I entrusted you with the Ministry of Personnel, the foremost of the Six Ministries, putting you in charge of all official promotions and transfers across Great Xia. Though I was sparing with titles and rewards, I disregarded all opposition and directly enfeoffed you as the Duke of Chu... Chu Huaishan, ah, Chu Huaishan, it is you who has betrayed !!!"
Chu Huaishan closed his eyes in anguish. "Your Majesty! All the fault is mine alone. I beg Your Majesty to show rcy and spare my wife and daughter!"
The emperor flew into a rage, grabbing a teacup from beside him and hurling it down. "Wife and daughter, wife and daughter! All you care about is protecting your wife and daughter! Have you ever considered ? Considered Great Xia? Considered this realm and its altars of soil and grain?!"
The shattered teacup flew in all directions, a piece of porcelain grazing Chu Huaishan's face.
He paid it no heed, speaking each word deliberately. "It is precisely because I consider Your Majesty, because I consider the realm and altars of soil and grain of Great Xia, that I have remained!"
The emperor, furious beyond asure, roared, "So according to you, I should be grateful to you?!"
Chu Huaishan straightened his spine and slowly raised his head. "I dare not! Your Majesty, I know you are furious, but there are things I must still say—Your suspicion of the Chief Minister stems from his excessive power and his illustrious military achievents against the southern barbarians. But do you rember? When the An Sheng Grand Princess staged her coup, it was also he who, placing himself in the tiger's mouth, led troops back to reinforce us, preserving the Murong family's empire! If he harbored disloyal intentions, why would he wait until now?"
The emperor gave a cold smile. "That was then, this is now. Is it so strange that he had not yet tasted the nourishnt of power or developed ambition back then? Do not forget, after this great victory over the southern barbarians, he delayed his return to the capital. What is that if not using his troops to build personal power?"
Chu Huaishan argued fervently, "He was searching for his elder brother's remains, a matter of understandable sentint, Your Majesty! Moreover, the Chief Minister returned half of the tiger tally. After this campaign, he cannot mobilize troops. Is that not sufficient proof of his loyalty?"
The emperor looked at him impassively. "Chu Huaishan, I know it is because he is your son-in-law that you defend him so strenuously. But I am the Son of Heaven. Even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, I dare not gamble. If Yan Zheng truly harbors no rebellious intent, what does it matter if I detain his family?"
Chu Huaishan kowtowed. "Your Majesty! The Chief Minister is not a re general. You should understand his temperant! If you truly act against the Yan family on a re suspicion, the consequences will surely be irreparable!"
Yan Zheng did not believe in heaven, nor was he loyal to the sovereign—he was loyal only to himself!
He would risk his life to repay those who treated him well, but likewise, against anyone who threatened him or hard those he cared for, he would retaliate with insane, relentless fury until death!
The emperor, however, seed to have heard a great joke. "Minister Chu, listen to what you are saying! I am the Son of Heaven. Since when must the Son of Heaven consider the feelings of his subjects? Since ancient tis, if the sovereign demands a subject's death, how dare the subject not die? Why should the Yan family be an exception?!"
A surge of emotion made Chu Huaishan blurt out, "Because the Yan family defended the nation's borders until their entire household perished!"
The hall fell deathly silent.
The emperor's gaze grew colder by the second. "Well, finally you speak your true mind? Chu Huaishan, even you believe that I can sit securely on this throne today only because of Yan Xu, because of his Yan family, is that it?"
Chu Huaishan found himself at a loss for words, utterly unable to fathom why the emperor was being so stubborn on this matter!
He took a deep breath and spoke with despair, "Your Majesty, I never intended such a aning. I only beg you, in consideration of the Yan family's past rits, do not act so swiftly... At the very least, at the very least, wait until the Chief Minister returns."
The emperor scoffed dismissively, but Yinshun also knelt and said, "Your Majesty, this humble servant believes Duke Chu's words are not without reason. Did not the Prince of Qin say the sa thing before his departure?"
The emperor was taken aback and truly recalled it.
Before his death, the Ninth Prince had also pleaded with him to rely on the Chief Minister without suspicion, saying the Yan family were loyal subjects...
If it were anyone else, he would have sneered, but rembering his youngest brother, a tumult of emotions washed over him.
Seeing this, Chu Huaishan hurriedly added, "Your Majesty! The Prince of Qin and this old minister harbor no selfish motives. I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of the Prince of Qin, wait a little longer! Wait until the Chief Minister returns before taking any action!"
A flicker of hesitation appeared on the emperor's face. Just then, a sinister laugh sounded from outside the great hall.
"Wait for him to return? So he can join forces with your daughter from within and without to seize the Great Xia empire?"
The emperor looked up to see the Empress Dowager dragging Roumin inside, her expression icy.
"Mother? Why have you co, and what is this?"
His eyes were clouded with confusion, but Empress Dowager Su shoved Roumin to the ground. "If I, the Empress Dowager, had not visited the Noble Consort Dowager today, this earth‑shattering secret would never have been uncovered!" she shouted, then barked, "Speak! Repeat what you told the Noble Consort Dowager today!"
Roumin trembled all over in fear. Chu Huaishan roared fiercely, "Roumin! You must not speak!"
But Roumin paid him no heed, addressing Empress Dowager Su instead: "Your Highness, if Roumin speaks, can she be spared from implication?"
Empress Dowager Su sneered, "Fine! If you confess everything truthfully and in detail, I, the Empress Dowager, can promise in His Majesty's na that you will remain Lady Roumin, and the affairs of the Chu family will not implicate you in the slightest!"
Upon hearing this, Roumin imdiately declared, "Your Majesty! Chu Ruoyan is not Duke Chu's true daughter—I am! Her true identity is the daughter of the forr dynasty's Prince Regent. Her original na is Yun Miao!!"
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