The emperor's words were like steel knives, stabbing Qiu Yizi's heart. He had read many history books with Zhongli Kuang, and of course he knew that the emperors of all dynasties feared most that their civil and military officials formed cliques for personal gain.
Among the people Qiu Yizi had invited to a banquet a few days ago, there were generals who guarded a region, a ship owner who was feared by the world, celebrities who were well-known in the court and the public, brave generals who had experienced hundreds of battles, the world's number one martial arts master, and a wealthy businessman. With such a group of people gathered around him, it was no wonder that the emperor would be suspicious.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi's forehead was covered with cold sweat. His knees could no longer support his weight. He immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, these are all my old friends. We haven't seen each other for a long time after the war, so we gathered together just to talk about our old friendship. We didn't talk about anything unspeakable."
Emperor Zheng Rong replied, "You are my confidant. If I don't trust you, I don't know who else in the world I can trust. I said this just to remind you to be careful and cautious. You are a conspicuous person. There are so many eyes watching your every move. After the banquet that day, Li Shengjie listened to your call and went to visit Lin Shuhan's manor. This incident also happened, right?"
Qiu Yizi was fully confident that everyone inside and outside Lin Shuhan's "Bansong Manor" was trustworthy and that no matter what they discussed, it would never be leaked easily. However, he did not expect that the emperor, who seemed to live in seclusion, actually knew everything about this matter.
Seeing Qiu Yizhi nodded slightly in acknowledgement, Zheng Rong continued, "I just said that you are someone I can put my mind at ease with. I have such a favor, and you can't let me down, right?"
This was a question without suspense. Qiu Yizi kowtowed several times on the ground and said, "I am willing to sacrifice my own life to repay the emperor's kindness."
"I don't want you to repay me desperately. What do you think about the matter I asked you before, asking you to lead troops in Lingnan Road?" Zheng Rong asked.
Having come to this point, even if Qiu Yizi was unwilling in his heart, he couldn't refuse.
He was about to reluctantly agree, but heard Zheng Rong say, "I know you don't want to go to Lingnan Road, and I don't want to force you to go. I have discussed it with your Master Zhongli. If you really don't want to go, you can transfer Zheng Sen to Lingnan, and you can go to Youyan Road for him. That's where you grew up, and it can be regarded as a return home in glory."
Qiu Yizhi was startled when she heard this. Just as she was about to answer, Zheng Rong continued to press her: "Why? You don't want to go to Youyan Dao either? The old Youyan Palace still has people guarding and maintaining it. It is at least the place where my dragon rose. There is no room for you there?"
Qiu Yizi didn't expect Zheng Rong to be so ruthless. He was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He pressed his face to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, how can I deal with myself in the future when you say this to me? Please point me to a place, whether it's the smoky and miasma in the south or the bitter cold in the north. Whether it's climbing a mountain of swords or jumping into a cauldron of oil, I won't complain at all."
"Humph! 'I dare not complain at all', just for saying this, you are guilty of an unforgivable crime!" Zheng Rong's tone was as cold as a thousand-year-old ice, "You said you dare not, which means you have had the same feeling in your heart. I have good intentions, but you harbor resentment, which is a serious crime in itself."
Qiu Yizi didn't expect Zheng Rong to criticize her in such a critical manner. She was so frightened that she even forgot to apologize and just kowtowed on the ground.
But Zheng Rong said in a tone as hard as cast iron: "Now you probably think that I am punishing you without reason, and you feel that 'serving the emperor is like serving a tiger', and you are afraid that I, a big tiger, will eat you in one bite, right? Humph! I am a dragon, a true dragon emperor, not some tiger that has come down from the mountain. I don't want to eat you, but to save you."
Qiu Yizi felt even more confused after hearing these words. He was fine, and he had so many friends around him who were resourceful, skilled in martial arts, and brave in battle - except the emperor in front of him - who else in the world could harm him, and who did he need to be rescued from
Unexpectedly, Zheng Rong's next question immediately dispelled all doubts in Qiu Yizi's heart, and at the same time threw him into a bottomless deep courtyard.
Zheng Rong asked, "What's going on with Wen Lingjiao? Please explain it to me."
Qiu Yizi had completely believed that the fact that Wen Lingjiao was with him was only known to a few of his closest people and would never be spread to others, especially the emperor. But today, when the emperor questioned her face to face, she was completely confused.
Seeing that Qiu Yizi, who was originally eloquent, was speechless after hearing his question, Zheng Rong sneered secretly and said, "What? You don't even remember your confidante? Do you want me to remind you?"
"No, no, no need." Qiu Yizi said, "This Wen Lingjiao used to live with me. But because Wen Lingjiao is the saint of Tianzun Sect, I am afraid that she will follow the leader Wen Honghui to do evil again, so I kept her by my side to prevent her from committing crimes again."
This was Qiu Yizi's most evasive explanation. Of course, such an explanation would not pass muster with Zheng Rong.
But the emperor asked, "Then I want to ask you, when the identity of the cult leader Wen Honghui was exposed, you made a special report to me and explained the whole story. Then why didn't you mention anything about Wen Lingjiao, such a big thing? What's your intention?"
All the moisture in Qiu Yizi's body seemed to turn into sweat, evaporating from her face, body, hands and feet, and dripping onto the ground.
Qiu Yizi was sweating all over the floor. Hearing that Zheng Rong did not continue to ask questions, as if waiting for his answer, he said, "I have no other intentions. It's just that Wen Lingjiao is not evil by nature. When the emperor was in trouble, she also helped. I remember that the emperor also intended to save her life. That's why I..."
"Sweet words and flattering expressions!" Zheng Rong ruthlessly interrupted Qiu Yizi's words, "If you intend to protect her, then how many times have you corresponded with me, and you could have mentioned this matter at any time? How come I have never heard you mention it? It's obvious that you are hiding it from me! I have watched you grow up, how could I not see this trick? However, you don't repent, and you are still making trouble today, this is unforgivable!"
Wen Lingjiao's position in Qiu Yi's heart is no less important than that of Emperor Zheng Rong. She still lowered her head and said, "Although Wen Lingjiao was once a saint of the cult, she has decided to leave the cult. When Wen Honghui was exposed, Wen Lingjiao also made it clear that she wanted to break off with her brother. Before, Wen Honghui joined the rebellion of Lingnan King Zheng Gui and was almost forced into a desperate situation. Thanks to her for standing up, she saved my life. Therefore, I don't want to report her whereabouts to the court."
Zheng Rong sneered, "According to what you said, you knew that if I knew about Wen Lingjiao's news, I would definitely punish her, so you deliberately concealed it?"
Qiu Yizi was a smart person. He knew that if he answered with a "yes", he would be guilty of "deceiving the emperor"; if he answered with a "no", his previous words would be difficult to justify, which would also be a "crime of deceiving the emperor".
Caught in a dilemma, Qiu Yizhi's pride suddenly rose up, and he said with his neck stiff, "Yes. Your Majesty, I have committed a heinous crime. I hope the emperor will punish me."
Zheng Rong had never heard anyone contradict him like this before, not only after he ascended the throne and became emperor, but even when he was the King of Youyan. He was stunned by Qiu Yizhi's "yes" and didn't know how to respond.
But Zhong Li Kuang, who had been silent for a long time, said, "Qiu Yizi, is this the way to talk to the emperor? Are you relying on your achievements to be proud of yourself?"
This reminded Zheng Rong that Qiu Yizi had made great contributions. In the process of suppressing the rebellion in the Lingnan Palace alone, Qiu Yizi had made unparalleled achievements. If he was punished because of Wen Lingjiao's matter, he would be labeled as a person who was abandoned after the rabbit had died and a person who was abandoned after the bird was killed.
Zheng Rong thought for a moment and said, "Since you have been honest today, I will not punish you. And since you have always been effective, your merits outweigh your faults. You should go with me to Youyan Road to guard the northern border. After you have made meritorious contributions, I will promote you."
Qiu Yizi had always wanted to retire to the countryside, but today he was frightened by the emperor. He felt that if he always stayed by the emperor's side, he would inevitably end up in trouble, so he replied: "I dare not. My crimes are so heinous that even if the emperor does not want to punish me, I have no face to stand in the temple. I also ask the emperor to remove all my positions and demote me to a commoner to correct the social order."
Zheng Rong sneered and replied, "How could I not know what you are thinking? You just can't forget that enchantress Wen Lingjiao and want to find a chance to stay with her among the common people. If I really demote you to a poor person, wouldn't that be fulfilling your wish?"
As he spoke, Zheng Rong personally took out a beautifully sealed box from a cabinet leaning against the wall, opened the box, took out a memorial from it, and handed it to Qiu Yizi: "Here, read it carefully."
Qiu Yizi took the memorial, held it in his hand, and read it carefully.
On the paper as delicate as yellow satin, there was written in extremely handsome and elegant small regular script, and at the beginning of it was a sentence: Your Majesty the Emperor, the King of the Loyal Han Dynasty and the King of Bohai, Dali, respectfully wishes His Majesty the Emperor a long life and prosperity for the country!
It turned out that this memorial was written by Dali Khan of Bohai Kingdom to the emperor.
Dali Khan was a powerful figure in the Bohai Kingdom in the northeast of the Han Dynasty. He was an expert in fighting wars, but he was not good at writing and could not write such an article. As expected, this memorial was written by Cai Wenchou, a counselor under his command.
Cai Wenchou was also a famous scholar. However, because his ancestors participated in the reform of Emperor Xianzong, they were liquidated after the reform failed. Not only were they demoted and dismissed, but even their descendants, including Cai Wenchou, were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. Cai Wenchou had great talent but could not serve his country. By chance, he was won over by Dali Khan and settled down in the far north.
Although Cai Wenchou was a talented writer, he had no room to display his talent in official documents such as memorials to the emperor. He just discussed the matter in a routine manner. However, two important messages were revealed in the memorials: first, the Turkic power continued to grow, and the conflict with Bohai State became more serious. Dali hinted that the court should send a large army to join forces with him to strike hard at the Turks in order to maintain peace in the north; second, Dali also heard about the rebellion in the Lingnan Palace, and expressed his determination to stand on the side of the court. He would rather give up fighting with the Turks temporarily, and was willing to send cavalry south to cooperate with the court to quell the rebellion.
Qiu Yizi knew about the first thing here; the second thing was the first time he heard of it. However, the rebellion in the Lingnan Palace had been quelled, so there was no need for him to go south to help.
While reading the memorial, Qiu Yi was wondering why the emperor asked him to read it. After thinking it over, he felt that the emperor wanted him to know that the situation in the north was getting worse day by day, and only by sending reliable and capable people like himself could the situation there be stabilized.