kvmb Chapter 460 Extermination of 9 Clans
Chapter 460 Extermination of 9 Clans
The Northern Qi emperor's expression changed instantly.
He originally planned to send his secret guards back to Yongqing County with his written order to reinvestigate the lead mine collapse case.
Zhao Yi is implicated in the lead mine collapse case, and until the case is fully investigated, he is temporarily detained in the prefectural governor's mansion under the guard of soldiers and secret guards.
At this time, he issued another decree to send the Prince Xian to Yongqing County to thoroughly investigate the lead mine collapse case, and to take over Zhao Yi's duties.
Now that Zhao Yi has quelled the rebellion in Yongqing County, only some follow-up matters remain. As long as it does not endanger the safety of the Prince Xian, he is at ease.
His men fabricated evidence that Zhao Yi had sent people to collapse the lead mine and kill several innocent civilians in order to frame Feng Zhihuan, thus confirming Zhao Yi's crime of disregarding human life for his own selfish desires.
At that time, the wise king will escort Zhao Yi back to the capital.
On the way back to Kyoto, the royal guards disguised themselves as mobs and crippled Zhao Yi's legs.
Once Zhao Yi becomes crippled, he will no longer pose a threat to the wise king.
The Northern Qi emperor had planned everything perfectly, except for the fact that Zhao Yi would return to the capital ahead of schedule.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Guangling has returned to the capital. What should we do?" The guard was secretly alarmed. Zhao Yi had not only seen through their plan, but also bypassed their people and rushed back to the capital, directly thwarting their scheme.
His meticulous thinking, strength, and courage were unmatched by any prince of the Northern Qi Kingdom.
If Zhao Yi did not have the blood of the Great Zhou royal family, the Northern Qi emperor would definitely have supported him as the crown prince, right?
The Northern Qi Emperor's gaze turned sinister: "The riot in Yongqing County has not yet been quelled, yet the Prince of Guangling has returned to the capital without authorization. He has defied my decree." He waved his hand, signaling the guards to leave, and said coldly, "Let him in."
A short while later, the gate opened from the outside in.
Zhao Yi slowly walked into the main hall.
The Northern Qi emperor looked at Zhao Yi with a deep gaze, about to question him, but then he saw that Zhao Yi's face was pale, his lips were dry, and he looked very haggard.
"Cough cough...cough..." Zhao Yi coughed a few times, clutching his chest, and bowed to the Emperor of Northern Qi: "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
The Northern Qi emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and looked Zhao Yi up and down, only then noticing that he had lost a lot of weight.
The clothes that used to fit well now look too loose.
The Emperor of Northern Qi asked, "Are you ill?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not come to see you while I am ill." Zhao Yi replied to the Northern Qi Emperor. Before the emperor could make a move, he continued, "Your Majesty, a few days ago I was ordered by you to go to Yongqing County to quell a riot and obtained evidence of Feng Zhihuan's crimes, and arrested him."
"Who would have thought that Feng Zhihuan's accomplices would impersonate your bodyguards to assassinate me."
"I am your son, so why would you send someone to assassinate me?"
"At best, this matter has caused a rift between my son and me. At worst, it will affect the harmonious relationship between the Northern Qi and the Great Zhou."
"This is utter nonsense. How many heads do they have to give me if they dare to impersonate my secret guards?" The Emperor of Northern Qi sneered, not letting Zhao Yi lead him by the nose. "Besides, Feng Zhihuan is an incorruptible official. His crimes are countless and every investigation would prove him guilty. If I kill you, I can send other officials to investigate. Can they really wipe out all my officials?"
At this point, the Emperor of Northern Qi changed his tone: "Moreover, you are a prince of Northern Qi, who would dare to assassinate you?"
This statement is full of doubt about Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi seemed about to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he burst into another fit of coughing.
“Northern Qi is my empire. Even if Feng Zhihuan’s accomplices dare to assassinate you, I will dig three feet into the ground to find them and exterminate their entire clan, so that I can give you and Emperor Jing’an an explanation.”
The Northern Qi emperor rebuked him displeasedly, "It is you who, for such a trivial matter, returned to the capital without permission. If this gets to the ears of the censors, I will impeach you at tomorrow's morning court. Even if I wanted to protect you, I could not."
Zhao Yi immediately understood the Northern Qi emperor's intentions: if he couldn't eliminate him in Yongqing County, he would accuse him of disobeying the imperial decree or dereliction of duty, and strip him of the power he held.
In this way, he, a prince with no real power, posed no threat to the wise prince.
Zhao Yi handed over a memorial: "Your Majesty, the people of Yongqing County deliberately created a riot in order to save their lives. They hope to reach your ears in this way so that officials can be sent to investigate Feng Zhihuan's crimes."
"Now that Feng Zhihuan has been arrested, the people are living normal lives. Those who instigated the riots have all confessed their crimes."
"Your humble servant knows that you care about the people of Yongqing County. After quelling the riot, I immediately rushed back to the capital to report to you."
These words effectively deflected the Northern Qi emperor's threat to interrogate him.
The Northern Qi emperor's face was gloomy.
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yi took out a token from his sleeve pocket: "This token was found on the assassin who was posing as a bodyguard."
The Northern Qi emperor recognized the token as the leader of the secret guards, and his face immediately turned extremely ugly.
He already knew the whole truth from the secret guards.
The leader of the secret guards did not assassinate Zhao Yi; he simply ordered the city gates to be closed.
In order to prove that he had nothing to do with the lawsuit over the lead mine collapse, Zhao Yi ordered his subordinates to open the city gates.
The leader of the secret guards was killed by Zhao Yi's subordinates for merely trying to stop Zhao Yi from opening the city gates.
Now, in Zhao Yi's mouth, it has become that the leader of the secret guards assassinated him.
Thinking of this, the Northern Qi Emperor felt a surge of anger and was about to lash out when he saw Zhao Yi take out another token from his sleeve. He heard Zhao Yi say, "I was assassinated again on my way back to the capital. This token was also found on the assassin."
When the Emperor of Northern Qi saw the two identical tokens, the veins on his forehead throbbed.
The next moment, Zhao Yi unbuckled his belt, took off his clothes, revealing a bloody knife wound on his shoulder, to prove that he was not lying.
"Your Majesty, the assassination attempt on me is a minor matter, but the fact that this person forged the royal guards' token is a serious matter. If I didn't know that Your Majesty values me, I might really think that you sent someone to kill me. If this matter gets out, it will probably damage the reputation of the royal family." Zhao Yi knelt down and said, "I beg Your Majesty to investigate this case thoroughly to uphold the dignity of the royal family."
The Northern Qi emperor's face turned ashen. He couldn't believe that Zhao Yi didn't know what was going on, and was still pressing him for an explanation.
He suffered a loss in silence, feeling frustrated but unable to do anything to Zhao Yi.
Now that things have come to this, the Northern Qi emperor can no longer admit that the secret guards are his men.