Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Chapter 200

Jiang Yi had discovered that General Rong was colluding with the Beichuan rebels—the real reason the war had dragged on for so long. He had found ways to profit from the money, grain, soldiers, and even the firearms the Emperor had allocated to him.

The correspondence between Rong Zhenhai and the rebels had been intercepted. To avoid tipping his hand, Jiang Yi had simply copied the letters before returning them to their original place. It was up to the Emperor to determine their authenticity—after all, the possibility existed that Jiang Yi was framing a loyal subject in a self-directed ploy to advance his own career.

After reading Jiang Yi’s secret memorial, the Emperor sat in silence for a long time.

Standing nearby with his head bowed, Liang Yuyin watched with a thumping heart.

He had served the Emperor since his days in the imperial mansion, so he knew what his master looked like when truly enraged. He could only bow his head even lower, trying his best to fade into the background.

Just then, a palace maid entered with a bow to replace the cold tea.

She, too, sensed the tense atmosphere. Growing ever more fearful, her hand slipped, and she knocked over a cup, splashing tea across the floor.

“This servant deserves death! I beg Your Majesty to show mercy.”

The palace maid hastily prostrated herself, kowtowing repeatedly.

Startling the Emperor was a grave offense. According to the late Emperor’s old rules, one wouldn’t even need a command before the offender was dragged away and beaten to death. Not only had she startled the Emperor, but she had also splashed tea on his robes—an even more unforgivable, capital crime.

The Emperor frowned but simply waved his hand. “Dock one month of her monthly silver. She is no longer to serve in my presence.”

She had lost her prestigious post in the imperial court, but at least her life was spared—a true act of imperial grace. The palace maid kowtowed again and again in gratitude before retreating, leaving others to help the Emperor change out of his tea-stained robes.

He sat behind the imperial desk, and soon, everything returned to a state of normalcy.

“Liang Yuyin.”

“Your Majesty, this servant is here.”

“In your opinion, am I a harsh master?”

Hearing this, Liang Yuyin hastily denied it. “Your Majesty has always treated this servant with kindness and generosity! If anyone were to call you harsh, I would be the first to disagree! I am clumsy and slow-witted; if not for Your Majesty’s constant forgiveness, I would have reported to the underworld long ago!”

‘It’s not a eunuch’s place to comment on matters of the court.’

‘Otherwise, he really would have said more—the Emperor also treats his ministers exceptionally well, overlooking minor faults and judging major ones with fairness.’

“Then why would Rong Zhenhai treat me this way!?”

“Never mind how he has treated me, here in my palace! What have the people of Beichuan done to deserve this? How many resources have been wasted? How many commoners killed? How many of our enemies have grown fat on this treachery?”

The Emperor hurled the secret memorial to the floor, his fury uncontrollable.

Liang Yuyin flinched and dropped to his knees with a thud. “Your Majesty, quell your anger!”

“Have I not treated him well enough? Would he only be satisfied if I gave him my throne?” The Emperor’s eyes were bloodshot. He then squeezed them shut, a twisted smile forming on his lips. “Even if he changed his surname to Xie and called me father, I would never hand this empire over to a man who so flagrantly disregards the people.”

Liang Yuyin: Information overload. System shutting down.

‘As the Emperor’s personal attendant, he was all too aware of how much favor General Rong had enjoyed over the years. It was no exaggeration to say the Emperor treated him like family. He had already reached the pinnacle of an official’s career, yet he had grown increasingly brazen, dancing on the minefield of imperial authority. The Emperor had tolerated him for a long time, and now that his patience had run out, he would naturally make a move to clean house.’

The candlelight flickered, casting the Emperor’s face in shifting light and shadow, his expression unreadable.

‘The late Emperor passed the throne to me. I wouldn’t claim to love the people as my own children, nor do I aspire to some grand title like ’emperor for the ages’… but at the very least, I’m dedicated to my work. For ten years, day in and day out, I have managed the affairs of the state, never daring to be negligent for a single day. I don’t care for building grand spectacles or going on extravagant tours; my expenditures are all within reasonable limits.’

‘Rong Zhenhai is living it up more than the Emperor himself!’

‘He has his fun, and I’m the one who has to take the fall!’

‘I can’t. If I think about it any more, I’ll drive myself mad.’

Of course, the Emperor didn’t believe the matter was true based solely on Jiang Yi’s hand-copied letters. He was convinced because the back-and-forth arguments in the correspondence between Rong Zhenhai and the rebels referenced details from several previous battles—details an outsider couldn’t possibly know. At the very least, Jiang Yi certainly wouldn’t know them.

The fall of the Rong Family would bring no benefit to the Pure Consort, either.

According to regulations, there could be two women holding the rank of Noble Consort. There was no need to eliminate the Rong Family for the Pure Consort to be promoted in a year or two.

‘Since there was no motive, all that remained was the truth.’

“Bring me the red pen.”

At this critical juncture, the Emperor realized that after all the years he’d spent consolidating power from the civil servants, he could count the number of military generals he could truly rely on on one hand. The young man from the Jiang family had shown talent, but he was far too young. And yet, the Emperor now had no choice but to trust him.

‘But throughout history, haven’t all the great tales of wise rulers and talented generals hinged on a gamble of trust?’

Xie Che had never lacked for confidence.

‘He simply believed he had the kind of legendary luck that could pull an SSR on a single draw.’

He summoned several ministers and issued his decree.