Chapter 182 Queen
Chapter 182 Queen
Establishing a queen is a major national event and should not be taken lightly.
Many days ago, officials from the Ministry of Rites had been preparing for this matter, and eventually came up with an extremely detailed plan to properly arrange every moment of the Empress's day.
Likewise, countless people in the capital are busy with this, making sure that everything goes on as usual today and avoiding any unexpected situations.
Having said that, the plan submitted by the Ministry of Rites still leaves room for unexpected events.
But... no matter how carefully they thought about it beforehand, they could not have imagined the unexpected death of the supervisor.
What's more unexpected is that the person who killed the Supervisor was Gu Zhuo, and Pei Jinge was involved.
After hearing the news, the queen remained silent.
Beside her, the female officials were terrified, but how could they dare to stop what they were doing before receiving orders?
Her hair was combed smoothly and covered with luxurious ornaments, her face was heavily made up, exquisite, dignified and elegant... At this moment, the queen's eyes, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened.
She looked at herself in the mirror, making sure that there was no emotion in her eyes, and said softly, "That's it for now."
The personal female official wanted to speak.
The queen smiled gently and continued, "The rest of the matter will proceed as usual."
When he finished speaking, the tense and silent atmosphere in the hall eased a little, no longer so oppressive and solemn.
The empress stood up with a heart-warming smile and raised her hands so that she could put on the gorgeous dress.
……
……
Jinghai.
The chief eunuch reported in a low voice to the emperor, bringing the fact of Jian Zheng's death to his majesty.
He paused, and then continued, "This news first reached the Empress at the request of Gu Zhuo herself."
The emperor was silent for a moment and then asked, "What do you think?"
The eunuch leader had already thought about this issue and whispered, "It is not appropriate to cause any more trouble today."
Hearing this, the emperor suddenly laughed and said, "Yes, after all, the overall situation is more important."
The eunuch leader was slightly startled and his mood suddenly became extremely strange.
Throughout human history, in most cases, the four words "put the overall situation first" have been applied to those who attempt to achieve success on their own. However, today it is completely the opposite.
The emperor's smile was full of self-mockery, but his eyes did not reveal any emotion, just like the surface of Jinghai Sea shrouded in thick fog, no one knew what kind of horrible undercurrents were hidden underneath.
"Go."
He stood up and said with an unconcealable weariness: "Let everyone who should know know about this."
……
……
The Sun Also Rises.
As the sun spread across the capital and fell into thousands of homes, the news that the Supervisor was killed by Gu Zhuo also reached the ears of those who should know.
This gift is so important that everyone knows it will be a huge rock that will cause a thousand waves.
Precisely because they knew this, they pretended nothing had happened and decided to talk about it another day.
Even Bai Nanming is no exception.
So the ceremony went on as usual, with guests from all nations and sects as witnesses, and the entire divine city was celebrating.
People were immersed in this long-lost bustle. Many of the gods and dignitaries who were enemies of the Queen Mother fell silent, put on hypocritical smiles of enthusiasm on their faces, and did not hesitate to applaud and praise.
The picture is so perfect.
……
……
Time passed, dusk came, and then night fell.
The perfection of the etiquette department made the host and guests very happy.
In the Weiyang Palace, when the banquet was at its most lively, no one noticed that the bigwigs of the empire quietly left the banquet and gathered in a side hall.
Perhaps to avoid being seen, or perhaps to pay tribute to the Supervisor, there were not many lights on in the side hall, making the light somewhat dim, enough to cover half of the faces of the people present.
The first person to speak was His Majesty the Emperor.
"Let's talk."
His tone was casual and ordinary: "What should we do about this matter?"
As he said this, the sound of clinking glasses from the Weiyang Palace came with the night wind, and it was extremely lively here.
The news of the killing of the Supervisor came in the early morning. There was a whole day to think about it. The important figures present at the moment certainly would not remain silent. They did not know what to say.
The prime minister asked, "Is there any new news from Wangjing?"
His Majesty the Emperor glanced somewhere.
Standing there was a thin middle-aged man with a handsome face and elegant temperament.
Few people could recognize him at first sight and recognize that he was the most mysterious chief of the Sky Patrol Department, an unparalleled powerful man who had entered the realm of Yuhua many years ago and was one of the pillars of the Great Qin Empire.
"No."
The director paused and added, "Gu Zhuo has no intention of adding any explanation to this matter."
His Majesty the Emperor closed his eyes, placed his hands on the armrests of the chair and stroked them gently, and stopped talking.
Everyone in the room suddenly felt a long-lost feeling.
Many years ago, when Your Majesty was still handling government affairs personally, whenever you encountered a difficult problem like today, you would close your eyes and listen silently, and then make the final decision.
But will someone else make the decision in this matter?
Such as the queen.
Then voices began to linger in the hall.
In fact, there is not much that should and can be said about this case.
After all, Gu Zhuo is not an ordinary person. Behind him stands the tallest mountain in Daqin and even in the world. The name of that mountain is Bai Nanming.
Before Bai Nanming spoke and made his position clear, it was difficult to make a decision on this matter.
The first opinion reached by the bigwigs in the side hall was to let Gu Zhuo return to the Divine Capital as a prerequisite for investigating the death of Jian Zheng.
After all, there is no reason for Gu Zhuo to kill people indiscriminately. There must be some hidden story behind it, and there are many things that can be written about it.
As for who will be responsible for investigating this case, it is certainly not a matter for one person.
After all, this case directly involves Pei Jinge. Without her as a backup, how could Gu Zhuo kill people?
After Gu Zhuo returns to the capital, the case will be judged personally by the important figures present here. All government offices of the imperial court will participate in it. It will be a trial of great significance after many years.
With just a few simple sentences, this case involved too many issues and everyone present was troubled by it.
In this gloomy and depressing mood, almost everyone, whether front or back, turned their eyes to the Queen. The emotions were unusually complicated, with feelings and sighs, expectations and curiosity.
No matter who it is, it would be extremely unlucky to encounter such a thing on the first day of taking office.
The Queen spoke very little during this conversation, and was almost as silent as the Emperor, and she was just listening most of the time.
Until the end of the conversation, she still hadn't expressed her attitude, let alone made a clear statement.
In a way, this was the first major test she had ever faced.
If she fails to handle this matter properly, perhaps His Majesty the Emperor will no longer continue to give her full trust.
Thinking of this, several people present became smart and couldn't help but feel that Jian Zheng's death was quite valuable.
……
……
After leaving the side hall, the queen went to the imperial study instead of the bedroom. She sat on the familiar chair, without any anger or indifference in her eyes, even if the emperor returned to Jinghai tonight, she had no intention of sleeping with him.
A brand new piece of news was delivered to the Queen, on the table.
From Lin Wanyi.
The delicate handwriting on the letter expressed her meaning very clearly.
She had learned from Gu Zhuo the truth about the assassination last spring. After thinking it over again and again, she felt that this was her own business and that revenge should be done by herself, and she should not let others interfere, even if that person was her mother.
The reason why she wrote this letter specifically to mention this matter was to convey Wuyoushan's meaning, but her meaning was just "convey" without any more emotions.
In addition, at the end of the letter, Lin Wanyi earnestly gave her blessing regarding her mother becoming the queen.
The queen read the letter calmly, with a faint smile on the corner of her lips.
No one saw this smile, just like few people in this world knew that Wuyoushan had surrendered after the failed assassination attempt on Lin Wanyi in late winter last year.
Then she stopped smiling and her dark brows slowly frowned.
Everything started because of her.
To be precise, if she had not said those words to His Majesty the Emperor last winter, causing Gu Zhuo to be suspected once again with justification, there would not have been the incident in Wangjing yesterday, and the Supervisor might very well still be alive now, but she did not regret doing so.
It was the death of Jian Zheng that made her believe that she had done nothing wrong in this matter.
In fact, she didn't even care whether the supervisor lived or died.
What she really cared about was something else.
——Pei Jinge borrowed a knife from Gu Zhuo.
……
……
The same night, Wangjing.
Deep in the old dynasty, in an attic.
Gu Zhuo and Pei Jinge sat side by side, talking about the affairs of the Divine Capital.
Or rather, the Queen.
"Just like how you first perceived me."
Pei Jinge sat on a recliner and said thoughtfully, "I have a very good relationship with Lin Wanyi's mother. Our friendship over the years is worthy of the words 'helping each other'."
Gu Zhuo didn't say anything.
Pei Jinge's voice didn't sound particularly sad, even though what she was going to say next was something worth being sad about.
"Why shouldn't I hate you?"
"Because I know very well that the person who made me lose my job and leave the chair I had sat in for decades was not you, but my good friend, the current Queen."
"Of course, I wouldn't consider this a betrayal. That would be too petty."
"I believe that she was influenced by you because you gave her a reason to do so. This was a rational decision."
"but……"
“That’s what makes me so unhappy.”
"Looking back now, I specifically sought you out and spoke to you. In essence, I was using you to vent my anger."
Pei Jinge spoke casually, not trying to appear calm, and not wanting to reveal any emotion.
Gu Zhuo listened very carefully.
Pei Jinge said: "Although I am unhappy, I will not let my reason be overcome by my emotions. This is the most fundamental reason why I accept unemployment."
Gu Zhuo said: "I thought it was because of your loyalty to the White Emperor."
Pei Jinge said seriously: "This is of course also a very important reason."
Without waiting for Gu Zhuo to speak, she continued chatting, still muttering almost to herself.
"Why did I change my attitude yesterday and be willing to lend you a knife?"
"It is undeniable that there is indeed a desire for revenge, but the premise is... I am sure that this is something I can do."
"It's just like the Queen made me unemployed."
"If the warden wants to kill you, then you kill him. Isn't that the natural thing to do?"
"I just gave you a chance for revenge, just as she thought you deserved to be suspected again and thoroughly investigated."
"A judgment based on reason and rules."
"At least on the surface, these two words can be used as an excuse."
Having said this, Pei Jinge was silent for a long time.
She looked at the night sky after the rain, at the stars that seemed so far away from the human world, and said softly, "That's probably what it is."
Gu Zhuo thought about it and said seriously: "Then you succeeded."
"Yes."
Pei Jinge smiled, her voice full of mockery: "I guess she must be a little distressed now. On the first day of becoming the queen, she encountered such a big case."
Gu Zhuo looked at her profile and suddenly had a strange feeling.
Pei Jinge felt this gaze and asked, "Do you think what I said is childish and ridiculous?"
Gu Zhuo hummed honestly.
"Maybe."
Pei Jinge suddenly changed the subject and said mockingly, "But in my opinion, you are far more childish than me."
Gu Zhuo could not deny it.
Pei Jinge withdrew his gaze from the starry sky, fixed his gaze on his eyes, and said softly: "After yesterday, you successfully made the officials in the court have a very bad impression of you. Regardless of whether your killing of the Supervisor was justified or not, and this was something you clearly knew before killing him, you still did it."
Gu Zhuo said: "What should be done, no matter what the consequences are, is what should be done."
Pei Jinge looked at him and asked, "Isn't this childish?"
Gu Zhuo pondered for a moment, then spoke a very long speech, which was very rare.
"From the end of last year's summer festival until the moment Jian Zheng died yesterday, there have been mosquitoes buzzing around me. I have been silent, quiet, and warned, but this mosquito has never been quiet. Even after I took the initiative to come to Wangjing, it still chased me and refused to leave me alone. It had to come to my side and bite me again and again, wanting to see what color my blood is."
"I guess no one likes to be pestered by mosquitoes."
"In that case, my choice to slap the mosquito to death is the right thing to do."
He finally said calmly: "As for those who are unhappy about this, they probably forgot that I was actually the first one to be unhappy."
Pei Jinge looked into his eyes and said, "Have you ever thought about a question?"
Gu Zhuo said: "After I slap this mosquito to death, more mosquitoes will fly towards me, making me restless?"
Pei Jinge said: "That's right."
“This is indeed a very troublesome matter.”
Gu Zhuo stood up, walked to the railing, and said, "But the solution is also very simple."
Pei Jinge asked: "For example?"
Gu Zhuo didn't even turn his head, his voice was calm and indifferent: "Let them know that this is something that will kill many people."
I feel numb and dizzy after watching this game. I will change it later.
(End of this chapter)