xymnovel Chapter 108 Martial Might
Chapter 108 Martial Might
Chapter 108 Martial Might
The hall fell silent instantly.
For the first time, Empress Dowager Dong's face was truly extremely grim.
Someone is using her name to get things done.
It was something that, once uncovered, would taint the entire Prince's mansion.
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Liu Bian.
This look, for the first time, lacked the pure defensiveness of before, and instead held a cold scrutiny.
Is this crown prince using this opportunity to launch an attack, or is he truly following the clues and wielding his sword against someone else?
Liu Bian remained calm and simply said, "If Grandmother trusts her grandson, then let the Inspectorate take these people away."
"Grandson, give your grandmother an explanation."
"To give Xie'er an explanation as well."
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Empress Dowager Dong did not answer immediately.
She looked at the people on the ground, at the account books and scraps of paper on the table, and after a long time, she slowly uttered, "Take them away."
"Report to me immediately if any results are found in the investigation."
Upon hearing these two sentences, Liu Bian breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The fact that the Empress Dowager was willing to let him take the person away meant that she had admitted to something—
The Crown Prince made the right arrest today.
From this moment on, the sword of the Inspectorate truly gained weight.
Empress Dowager Dong left first, while Liu Bian and others led their men to the temporarily sealed-off interrogation room in a side courtyard of the Prince's mansion.
Before the severe punishment, the first thing they did was to impose the debt.
Lists of names, door signs, and sheets of paper and ink were laid out on the table, making it clear at a glance who signed on behalf of whom, when the signatures were changed, and when back doors were opened.
The steward of the prince's mansion had been gritting his teeth beforehand, insisting that he was "confused" and "deceived."
By the time he unfolded the third account book, sweat was pouring down his forehead like water.
When Cao Cao put that piece of scrap paper together with the transcribed memorial from the court and asked him to figure out how to put those words back together, he completely collapsed.
"I'll say it—I'll say it—"
"Someone delivered a message, saying it was from Chang Le Palace, saying that the Prince of Chenliu's residence would only need to borrow the gate to deliver some ordinary messages, without harming the prince or touching anything in the residence."
"I... I truly didn't know it was about the court at first—"
Cao Cao stood before the desk, his gaze indifferent.
"I don't know?"
"Where are the two eunuchs?"
The two "helping eunuchs" beside him were already pale as death. One of them finally couldn't hold back any longer and stammered, "It was...it was someone from Zhao Changshi's old days who came to us—"
The room fell silent.
That same phrase again.
On the day Liu Xie moved his residence, a sudden change occurred halfway there. The clue that was peeled away from the hail of arrows pointed to Zhao Quan, a former member of the Chongde Palace. When the people below reported back, they used a similar explanation—that it was related to the Chang Le Palace.
Last time, they used Empress Dowager Dong's name to intimidate people, so that the people in the Prince's mansion would not dare to investigate further.
This time, the door was opened under the guise of Empress Dowager Dong, so that someone else could send the letter and the person out of the Prince of Chenliu's residence.
An assassination attempt under a false name.
A letter was delivered under someone else's name.
Although the approaches are different, they are essentially the same method.
This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
This is because someone is certain that as long as the name of Empress Dowager Dong is mentioned, there will always be people in Changle Palace and Chenliu Prince's Mansion who dare not ask too many questions, dare not look too closely, and dare not pursue the matter to the end.
The moment the eunuch spoke, it was like a dam bursting.
"They said that the old ways in the palace are still in place, and that they just use the Prince's residence to send letters a few times without anyone investigating."
"They also say that the political winds have shifted, and those who don't take sides will die. They tell us to be obedient and that we'll have a way to survive in the future."
"There's another person to meet us; it's a newly appointed minor official from the court—"
"Who?"
"A registrar surnamed Xu! No, that's not right, he only showed his face once; the one who actually delivered the message was his clerk—"
"They say Liangzhou is in dire need of help, and the court will have to discuss the general sooner or later. They told us to leave the road clear, keep the accounts neat and tidy, and not let anyone suspect that there's an extra layer of interference—"
Each word spoken sent a chill down one's spine.
Zhao Zhong's old party remnants.
The new officials in the imperial court.
The old and the new actually got together in secret.
Using Empress Dowager Dong's name, the gate of the Prince of Chenliu's residence, and the urgent news from Liangzhou, they quietly slipped what should have been done in the shadows into the court proceedings.
This is no longer just a minor scandal within the inner court.
This is someone using the power of a young king, a royal palace, and an empress dowager as a cover-up.
Liu Bian stood aside, not uttering a single word from beginning to end.
Only at the very end did he ask, "Why do they insist on borrowing the Prince's mansion?"
The eunuch's lips turned pale, and after a long pause, he stammered, "Because—no one would suspect the Chenliu Prince's Mansion first—"
Also because—
He swallowed hard, a hint of near-desperate fear flashing in his eyes: "Because, if something really happens, the first reaction from outside will only be to think..."
"It is Chang Le Palace protecting the Prince of Chenliu—"
This is the most toxic part.
Success! Continue with the hidden storyline.
After losing, the dirty water was first poured on Chang Le Palace, then on Chen Liu Prince's Mansion, and finally the Crown Prince's Mansion was dragged down as well.
This is no longer a simple letter delivery.
This is using a young prince and a royal palace as a shield in the court.
The warmth in Liu Bian's eyes finally faded completely.
Write it down.
Cao Cao cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."
Liu Bian turned his head and continued to ask, "How many lines are left in Zhao Zhong's old faction? Who are the new officials in the court connected to? Who is above that clerk from last night?"
The clerk's voice trembled uncontrollably: "That's all I know. I know nothing else."
Liu Bian didn't waste words with him, but simply raised his hand to signal Cao Cao. Cao Cao understood and was about to step forward when suddenly footsteps came hurriedly from outside.
"Your Highness."
"This letter appears to be an ordinary greeting card, but the paper is wrong; it seems to be double-layered."
Liu Bian reached out and took it.
The letter was written in neat and gentle handwriting, containing nothing more than greetings and reports of well-being, without the slightest hint of anything unusual. However, when you held it in your hand and weighed it, it was indeed a bit heavier than ordinary letters.
Cao Cao walked over at this moment.
"Your Highness, there's something wrong with this letter."
Liu Bian handed over the letter, and Cao Cao raised his hand and gently warmed it over the candlelight.
The thin, almost invisible insert at the bottom of the paper slowly began to fray at the edges.
Then, he flicked it with his fingernail.
An even smaller piece of paper was picked out from the bottom of the letter.
The eyes of everyone in the room all fell on it.
There were only two words on the piece of paper.
—Wuwei.
Dong Zhuo.
Everyone knows that Dong Zhuo is currently in Wuwei.
The memorial to the emperor recommending Dong Zhuo had just sent him to Liangzhou.
This shows that—
The hand hidden in the shadows in Luoyang and the one in Liangzhou are no longer simply separated by thousands of miles.
The wind is no longer blowing from Luoyang outwards.
It started in Liangzhou and first blew into Luoyang.
Liu Bian looked down at the two words for a long time before gently putting the piece of paper down.
"really."
"What they borrowed was not just the Prince's mansion."
"They borrowed it."
"The crack in the door through which the wolf was let in."