kvmb Chapter 480 Surrender
Chapter 480 Surrender
Compared to the fear and insecurity of the Xianwang Party, the Guangling Prince's Mansion appeared quite peaceful and carefree.
The Northern Qi emperor granted Zhao Yi the privilege of not having to attend the morning court session.
Even so, Zhao Yi still got up at the crack of dawn.
Shen Qingtan was awakened by the rustling noise. She subconsciously moved back, but instead of getting close to that warm and broad chest as she had hoped, she fell into a soft quilt.
She groggily opened her eyes and saw Zhao Yi standing by the bed getting dressed: "Didn't His Majesty bestow a grace, exempting you from the morning court?"
Zhao Yi turned around and saw Shen Qingtan wearing an undergarment, her snow-white arms wrapped around the quilt in her arms, her slender legs pressed against the brocade quilt, looking charming and beautiful.
“It’s chilly at night.” Zhao Yi pulled the blanket over her arms and legs, leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I need to go to the prison as soon as possible to interrogate those two vice ministers and close the case before the court session ends, to prevent any further complications.”
Given their official positions as Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel, it's likely that half of the officials in the court had some connection with them.
If all those involved are punished, the imperial court will surely be thrown into turmoil.
Moreover, his main objective was not this; dealing with the few people in the prison would suffice.
Shen Qingtan nodded lazily: "Go on your way." She yawned, tears welling up in her eyes: "I've been 'sick' for some time now, and I should be feeling better. I plan to go to the shop today."
"Alright, you can sleep a little longer," Zhao Yi instructed. "Take a few more people with you when you leave the manor."
Shen Qingtan agreed and watched Zhao Yi leave.
She lingered in bed a little longer before ringing the bell by her bedside.
Tingxue brought water into the room and helped Shen Qingtan get up.
Liu Yue then went to the kitchen to serve the meal.
After breakfast, Shen Qingtan sat in the front hall, selected a few people to accompany her, and prepared to leave the mansion.
At this moment, the gatekeeper brought over a box of visiting cards: "Your Highness, the old lady of the Ministry of Personnel's residence sent someone to deliver a visiting card to you."
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. The Minister of Personnel was a member of the Prince Xian's camp, and his position was opposed to that of their Prince's Mansion. What was his intention in visiting them at such a sensitive time?
She gestured for Tingxue to fetch the visiting card box.
Tingxue took the visiting card box, opened the lid, and respectfully handed it to Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan glanced into the box and saw that the visiting cards were small folded pages made of silk.
She took out the visiting card and looked at its contents.
A line of small, elegant calligraphy, with its simple and solemn style, comes into view, clearly written by the old lady herself.
But given the old lady's status and age, she most likely had her maid write it for her.
This shows that the old lady attached great importance to this visit, and it was definitely not just a simple visit to check on someone who was ill.
Shen Qingtan accepted the visiting card: "I have some free time right now, so I can meet with the old lady."
The servant immediately went to deliver the message.
Shen Qingtan instructed Tingxue to go to the door to greet the old lady.
In less than fifteen minutes, Tingxue brought the old lady to the front hall.
The old lady, leaning on her cane, bowed to Shen Qingtan: "This old woman greets Your Highness, wishing you a long and healthy life."
Shen Qingtan helped the old lady up and offered her a seat.
The old lady sat down and gestured for the maid to hand the Blood Ganoderma to Liuyue: "I heard that the Princess Consort has been ill for some time and I have been thinking about her. I happened to obtain a Blood Ganoderma these past two days, and I thought it would be of some benefit to the Princess Consort's health, so I brought it to you."
Shen Qingtan instructed Liu Yue to accept it, saying, "You're very kind."
When the old lady saw that Shen Qingtan had accepted the gift, she was slightly moved. She wanted to say something to test Shen Qingtan's attitude, but she was afraid of offending her.
Last night, my wife returned from the Prince Xian's residence, and she had been looking worried the whole time.
She then asked, "Is the situation not very optimistic?"
Her husband told her, "Today, Lady Lian came to me and asked me to plead for Lian Yanqing before the Prince Xian and save his life."
"However, for the sake of his own great cause, the wise king completely disregarded the lives of these colleagues. Not only that, but he also wanted to use their deaths to smear the Guangling King."
"Although the road to becoming an emperor is paved with blood and piled with bones, the wise king is too heartless."
"These colleagues may not be good people, but they did their jobs for the wise king, which is why they ended up like this. In the wise king's eyes, everything we did to support him was just for the benefit of our families."
"Our relationship with him was nothing more than an exchange of interests, and it wasn't worth him risking his life to save people for us."
“I’ve figured it out now. Even if we help him get to that position, given his mean and ungrateful nature, he might just kill us, his meritorious officials.”
"After all, the wise king is convinced that he could have reached that position even without the help of us ministers, so why would he remember our kindness?"
Upon hearing these words, she couldn't help but think of the King of Guangling, who had never exploited the people and treated his supporters well.
The King of Guangling was more flesh-and-blood than the King of Xian, and valued loyalty and righteousness.
So she asked, "Should I visit the Princess of Guangling tomorrow?"
His wife made a decision: "If the Prince of Guangling can leave the palace safely, you should go and visit the Princess Consort of Guangling."
“I have always felt that the throne of Northern Qi will fall into the hands of the Prince of Guangling. If my premonition comes true, I will take off my official robes, apologize to the Prince of Guangling, and beg him to spare your lives.”
As she listened to her husband's words, it felt as if a knife was cutting into her heart.
One should not be too greedy. Once greed takes hold, it is difficult to have a good end.
They are just too greedy, which is why they are so obsessed with scheming.
If one is honest and law-abiding, there is no need to live in constant fear.
The reason they couldn't understand it before was because they imagined things too beautifully, as if everything in the world would go according to their wishes.
Only when things come to a head do you see things clearly.
The old lady pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked up at Shen Qingtan in the main seat: "I have another matter to discuss today. My seventieth birthday is in half a month, and I would like to invite the Princess to attend my birthday banquet."
Last night, after her husband finished speaking to her in private, he was invited over by his colleagues.
She never came to the main courtyard again, nor did she send anyone to deliver a message to her.
As agreed, she came to visit Shen Qingtan today.