Fortunate Young Gentleman

The remaining forces of the Black Barbarians no longer need the help of the three-nation coalition to clear them. In the next period of time, the Wanyan tribe will lead the Sushen tribe to end this old enemy.

After the Black Barbarians were defeated, Chen Chu and the coalition forces in the Western Regions also retreated to their respective countries. Xiao Jue led the army back to the court. The 100,000-strong army is now stationed outside the capital, waiting for the court's commendation and reward.

Tang Ning looked at Xiao Jue and said, "Prince Huai rebelled."

"I know." Xiao Jue nodded and said, "Now it's my turn."

The people of the capital all know that the case of the royal family more than 20 years ago was closely related to Prince Huai, because Concubine Yang was Prince Huai's biological mother and the Queen was Prince Huai's adoptive mother, but everyone overlooked an important fact, that is, the Queen's surname was Xiao. In addition to being Prince Huai's adoptive mother, she is also the biological sister of General Xiao Jue, the general of the West Gate Guard, and the daughter of General Xiao.

During this period, the capital was in turmoil because of this incident, but the Xiao family remained silent until Xiao Jue, who was ordered to reinforce the grassland, came back.

Tang Ning looked at him and asked, "Have you thought about it?"

Xiao Jue said seriously, "I want to seek justice for my sister."

Tang Ning patted his shoulder and said, "Then do it, leave the rest to me."

...

The situation in the court is very tense, and it can be roughly divided into three factions recently.

One faction is naturally the current emperor and the new nobles in the court who were quickly promoted by him. The other faction is the Fang family, headed by the two prime ministers. The last faction is the neutral party that has not taken sides, including Song Yi, the Minister of Punishment, Qian Shuo, the Minister of Revenue, Lu Ding, the Minister of War, and the Ling family of the Golden Feather Guard...

In terms of power alone, the neutral party has the largest number of people and the most powerful power. The Fang family faction weakened by the emperor is weaker than him. As for the current emperor, it is the weakest.

Although he is the king of a country, the affairs of the court have never been judged by the status. An emperor who has almost no control over the court cannot be considered a real emperor. This is also the reason why the neutral faction is reluctant to stand by Emperor Chen.

Xiao Jue left the Tang family and Tang Ning went to the Song family.

He stayed at the Song family for a whole hour. When he left, the brothers Song Yi and Song Qian personally saw him out the door.

Watching Tang Ning's figure go away, Song Yi, the Minister of Justice, sighed and said, "How did things get to this point?"

Song Qian asked, "How to choose?"

"It's hard to choose..." Song Yi shook his head and said, "If we are not careful, our Song family will be doomed..."

Song Qian said, "If we don't choose, His Majesty will not let us go."

Song Yi thought for a long time, then smiled helplessly and said, "Then the Song family can only be a flatterer for once."

Song Qian smiled and said, "Don't worry, this flatterer will never be the Song family's turn..."

After Tang Ning left the Song family, he went to the Ling Mansion, the Han Mansion, and the Qian Mansion, and did not return home until the evening.

At the same time, the Xiao family.

Xiao Jue knelt in the hall, lowered his head, and said nothing.

Old Master Xiao looked at him and asked, "Are you really going to do that treasonous thing?"

Xiao Jue said, "I just want the truth."

Old Master Xiao asked in a deep voice, "Are you willing to rebel for this?"

Xiao Jue lowered his voice and said, "He harmed my sister, so what if I rebel?"

Old Master Xiao looked at him for a long time, and the solemn expression on his face disappeared. He smiled and said, "You have grown up, and you will make your own decisions about the affairs of the Xiao family in the future..."

Xiao Jue knelt on the ground, kowtowed several times, and walked out without looking back.

Lu Ya held a swaddling cloth in her arms, looked at him, and said, "Dad asked you to go to the Lu family."

Xiao Jue took the swaddling cloth from her arms, teased the baby for a few times, gently held her hand, and said, "Let's go."

...

In recent days, the situation in the capital has been tense, the court has become a mess, and the people are also panic-stricken. The army led by General Xiao helped Sushen and defeated the Black Barbarians, and returned with a great victory, which finally brought a little relief to this tense atmosphere.

In the imperial study, the gloomy mood of Emperor Chen eased a little. Looking at Xiao Jue, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Xiao Jue cupped his hands and said, "This is my duty."

This time, Chen State sent troops to the grassland to help the Sushen tribe, which is of great significance. It not only improved the relationship with the Sushen tribe, but also eased the relationship with the Western Regions. In this way, the foreign threat of Chen State was finally eliminated. It was the most stable period on the border since the founding of Chen State.

Emperor Chen looked at Xiao Jue and said, "You have made such a great contribution. I don't know how to reward you for a while. Tell me yourself, what reward do you want?"

Xiao Jue slowly raised his head, looked at Emperor Chen, and said, "I would like to ask Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the death of my sister Empress Xiao more than 20 years ago..."

Emperor Chen was shocked. When he looked at him, his eyes gradually became colder and asked, "Even you want to go against me?"

Xiao Jue said, "I just want the truth."

This matter has become a thorn in Emperor Chen's heart, a thorn that no one else can touch.

"Get out!" Emperor Chen looked at him and said angrily, "Get out of here!"

Xiao Jue did not say anything more, bowed and said, "I'll leave..."

As Xiao Jue left, Emperor Chen smashed the teacup hard on the ground and said sternly, "Do they all want to rebel? Why do they all force me!"

Wei Jian stood behind him and sighed silently.

An eunuch walked in cautiously from outside, holding a stack of memorials in his arms, and said: "Your Majesty, the memorials from the Ministry of Shangshu have been delivered today."

Emperor Chen no longer cares about court affairs, but the Ministry of Shangshu still sends some important memorials on weekdays.

He held his forehead and whispered: "What's written on it?"

The eunuch opened a memorial, raised his head, and said: "Prime Minister Wang requests Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the old case of Concubine Yang and the Queen who were 20 years old."

Emperor Chen's body trembled, clenched his fists, raised his head suddenly, and said coldly: "Next!"

The eunuch opened a new one and whispered: "Prime Minister Tang requests Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate..."

Emperor Chen's voice became even colder: "Next!"

The little eunuch trembled and said: "Minister Fang Hong of the Ministry of Personnel, Vice Minister Fang Zhe of the Ministry of Personnel..."

Emperor Chen looked at him suddenly and gritted his teeth and said: "Who else, read it out to me!"

The little eunuch opened one memorial after another, and his voice trembled even more: Minister of Works Zhang Yan, Vice Minister Zhang Hao, Minister of Revenue Qian Shuo, Vice Minister Sun Qian, Minister of War Lu Ding, Vice Minister Nie Qian, Zhou Hai, Minister of Punishment Song Yi, Chief Justice of Gyeonggi Province Song Qian, Doctor of the Left Secretariat Zhong Mingli, General of the Left Golden Feather Guard, Marquis of Wulie Han Wei, General of the Right Golden Feather Guard Ling Wu, General of the Left Xiaowei Guard Chen Zhou, General of the Right East Gate Guard Bai Yu..., request Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the deaths of Empress Xiao and Concubine Yang..."

The little eunuch read out dozens of names in a trembling voice. All of these names were high-ranking officials of the court above the fourth rank, almost covering seven or eight out of ten high-ranking officials in the court...

Empress Chen took a few steps back and collapsed on the chair, and the words of King Huai rang in her ears again.

"Your son wants to betray you, your ministers want to betray you, and the whole world wants to betray you..."

His son has already betrayed him, his ministers have also betrayed him, and King Huai's words have been mostly confirmed...

"The people will not betray me..." Even though he is the emperor, he cannot fight against most of the court alone. Emperor Chen looked at the memorials one by one, his face finally turned pale, and he closed his eyes powerlessly.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, his lips trembled, and he said: "Wei Jian, draft an edict, I want to see if they really want to rebel..."