Chapter 116 Trapped, How to Save Yourself
Liu Yu woke up and found it was pitch black in front of her eyes. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She tried to move her body and found that she was not tied up.
She tried to stand up by holding on to the wall, but she felt dizzy and the back of her neck still ached slightly. Finally, she could only sit on the ground helplessly.
"Gu Yu?"
Her call received no response at all.
"Separated?" Liu Yu murmured: "What is Qiu planning to do?"
The person who was kidnapped in Pingnan Marquis' Mansion could only be Qiu. Did Qiu feel that the Chen Mansion was in trouble and she had no support, so she couldn't wait to take revenge on herself?
Or is it the same as last time? Is he planning to send her to Prince Qi's bed again?
Apart from these two reasons, she couldn't think of any other reasons for arresting her, which was really troublesome.
But no matter which one it is, her life should be out of danger for the time being.
Now we should first figure out where this place is and how to escape.
Liu Yuqiang endured the discomfort, slowly stood up with the help of the wall, and felt around the room.
……
In the blink of an eye, it was three days later.
The Wenxuan Hall of the Imperial Palace.
The ministers were arguing fiercely. Just yesterday, a dead body was found outside the capital. An autopsy was performed in the afternoon and the conclusion was that the man was stabbed to death.
And this corpse was none other than an official from Lingnan.
"Your Majesty, Chen Zhihe privately detained the local officials and brought them to the capital. After the matter was exposed, he brutally killed them and abandoned their bodies in the wilderness. For such behavior, he should be directly dismissed from his position as cabinet minister and the position of Minister of Personnel. Chen Fu and others should be immediately imprisoned."
"What a big tone, Lord Shu, what evidence do you have? Did Lord Chen kill the person? How can you just say something without any evidence?"
"Master He, you are very eloquent. If this Lingnan official appeared in the capital, it's not Chen Zhihe, could it be you or me?"
"That's not up to you alone. Mr. Chen is a cabinet official after all. You can't just slander and convict him."
"Slander. People in Lingnan have long said that Chen Zhihe has left, so he must have returned to the capital. Why didn't he show up for the capital? What else could it be but a guilty conscience?"
"..."
Listening to the officials below arguing fiercely, Emperor Dewu had a headache.
He originally thought that if he sent He Xiao out, Chen Zhihe would know his intention and step forward on his own initiative.
Now that so many days have passed, there is still no trace of Chen Zhihe. Is it true that he died of his injuries as the rumors say? Or is it like Zhang Lianci and others said, that he did something wrong to me and is feeling guilty?
Emperor Dewu narrowed his eyes and glanced at the people from Zhang and Zhou factions. As expected, none of them were easy to deal with.
The people below are still arguing...
"Your Majesty, now that Lingnan officials have disappeared and Chen Zhihe is unwilling to show up, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. Now the local officials are beginning to panic, and the people are even spreading rumors that the court is incompetent. If this continues, it will shake the foundation of the country."
After these words were spoken, the people of Zhou faction were speechless. Even Lord He, who had just spoken so well, could not find any useful words to say for a while.
Lord He looked at Zhou Zheng, who was sitting in the first seat on the right, and the latter shook his head weakly at him.
Zhang Lianci snorted in his heart with disdain. It was too unrealistic for Zhou Zheng to think that he could pull him down by relying on Chen Zhihe.
Seeing how he destroyed his chess piece with his own hands, Zhang Lianci stood up with a hunched figure:
"Your Majesty, we know you are in a difficult situation. Mr. Chen is indeed a rare talent. This matter is indeed debatable, but we have to pay attention to the foundation of the country."
"We can follow Lord Shu's advice and remove Lord Chen from his official position first. When Lord Chen returns to Beijing, we will know that he was indeed wronged, so it is not impossible to re-employ him." As long as Chen Zhihe is removed from his post, he will be able to prevent him from getting promoted for the rest of his life.
"Sir Zhang, who do you think of His Majesty? How do you think the people will view such behavior?" Zhou Zheng immediately shouted.
Emperor Dewu also looked unhappy, but finally said nothing. This method was indeed the most appropriate.
When it comes to people who understand Emperor Dewu, Zhang Lianci is definitely the first one, and he will not put himself in danger.
He will agree.
People from both factions stopped and waited quietly for Emperor Dewu's final decision.
"What do you think of Prime Minister Zhang's proposal?" Emperor Dewu threw the question to the ministers.
This action undoubtedly sent a signal to the ministers below that he agreed, but was embarrassed to give such an order. I will give you the decision-making power, and you can just go with the flow!
The officials in the court looked at their noses and their hearts.
Emperor Dewu's attitude explained everything. They all sighed in their hearts that Chen Zhihe was already doomed and no one was willing to stand up for him anymore.
The Zhang faction's people held their heads high, looking like winners.
However, there was one exception, and that was Yang Shizhong, who was standing in the corner. His eyes fell on the side hall, where stood a person who could change the entire situation in the court.
In the end, he did not betray him to Feng Bu and brought him in anyway.
"Your Majesty is wise. Chen Zhihe's crimes are unforgivable. As a sign of leniency, he has not been executed along with his entire clan. We have no objection to Prime Minister Zhang's proposal." Feng Bu knelt down and took the lead in expressing his opinion.
Others followed closely, and finally, the Zhou faction's people, under pressure, all knelt down.
Zhou Zheng closed his eyes and was about to lift his robe and kneel down.
"I have objections." A resounding voice of objection suddenly came from outside the hall.
All the officials in the court looked and saw Chen Zhihe, who they had heard missing for a long time, wearing the purple court robe of a second-rank official, a long-winged hat on his head, and holding a tablet in his hand. He strode into the court hall, lifted his robe, and knelt down to Emperor Dewu who was sitting on the dragon throne.
"I have lived up to your majesty's expectations and have returned from investigating the case of the dam collapse on the Xunjiang River in Lingnan." He took out a memorial and a list from his arms and handed them to Eunuch Cao who was walking down the stairs.
Chen Zhihe's appearance in the court was unexpected. By the time the Zhang faction's people reacted, the notebook and the list had already reached Emperor Dewu's hands.
Feng Bu stared at Chen Zhihe intently, then turned around and swept his fierce gaze over all the officials in the court.
Yang Shizhong stepped out before him and knelt behind Chen Zhihe, "Your Majesty, I am guilty."
"Oh, my dear Lord Yang, what crime have you committed?" Emperor Wu De put down the list in his hand, his frowning brows relaxed, and he looked at Yang Shizhong with a smile in his eyes.
"Mr. Chen was brought here by me." Yang Shizhong truthfully reported how he met Mr. Chen Sanye and how he saw that he was seriously injured but had to escape from being hunted down. He just omitted the matter of repaying Liu Yu's favor.
After hearing this, Emperor Dewu flew into a rage. His majestic gaze swept over all the members of the Zhang faction, and finally landed on Zhang Lianci and Feng Bu:
"I only ordered He Xiao to bring Chen Aiqing back. Who dared to bypass me and send someone to assassinate Chen Aiqing? How brave they are."
Feng Bu was panicked and broke into a cold sweat. He quickly said with a smile: "Lord Chen is an important official of the court. How could anyone dare to assassinate Lord Chen? Maybe Lord Chen was mistaken and encountered mountain bandits and mountain bandits."