kvmb Chapter 394 Still Holding a Grievance
Chapter 394 Still Holding a Grievance
The imperial guards turned pale with fright and fled the palace in terror, only daring to look back once more.
The statue, which had been sinking inch by inch, crumbled and collapsed with a loud crash.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, completely unprepared for the statue to collapse.
The commander of the Imperial Guard, his face tense, waited for the thick dust to settle before striding over to see what was going on.
In the ruins, besides stone slabs, there was only a pile of copper wire and a few strands of copper wire made into copper rope.
He picked up a bronze ratchet and suddenly realized that the statue was not solid, but rather made using ingenious mechanical devices.
It's just that the age of the mechanism caused it to malfunction, which led to its collapse when they accidentally triggered it.
To inspect the base of the statue, the pile of broken stone fragments had to be cleared away, but he dared not make any rash moves before the Imperial Tutor gave the order.
The commander of the Imperial Guards turned to look at the Imperial Tutor outside the palace, and was about to step over when he saw the Empress looking at the Imperial Tutor with a subtle and complex expression.
He paused, not going forward to report, but standing still to wait for the Imperial Tutor and the Empress.
The Empress looked at the Imperial Tutor with mixed feelings. It turned out that as an outsider, she had always suspected that the Imperial Tutor was involved in the Lin family's murder. He used the excuse of worshipping Buddha at the National Temple to clear his name and then push the murderer onto the remnants of the previous dynasty.
After all, the Imperial Tutor had a grudge against the Lin family, and he also had the ability and means to quietly eliminate the Lin family.
If the murderer really was the Imperial Tutor, a new doubt arose in her mind. The Lin family massacre left no clues and could remain an unsolved case. There was no need for the Imperial Tutor to point the finger at the forces of the former dynasty and create panic for the Emperor of Northern Qi.
As the tutor of Emperor Xinzhong of Northern Qi, the Imperial Tutor was well aware of the influence of the remnants of the previous dynasty on Emperor Xinzhong.
By doing this, the Imperial Tutor was undoubtedly betraying the Emperor of Northern Qi.
However, the Imperial Tutor had no motive to betray the Northern Qi Emperor.
He followed the Northern Qi emperor from his teens and personally helped him ascend the throne, holding a position second only to the emperor and revered by all.
If he was unwilling to accept this situation and wanted to usurp the throne, but he had no children, who would inherit the throne he seized?
She couldn't understand this, and even suspected that she was being too paranoid.
Because the Imperial Tutor was too unfathomable, every time she saw his peaceful and tolerant eyes, she inexplicably felt that they were filled with a dangerous aura, so she was very wary of him.
At the slightest sign of trouble, people would speculate that it was him.
It wasn't until a statue of the former emperor appeared in the palace that she came to investigate but unexpectedly met the imperial tutor there. The thoughts she had suppressed before resurfaced, and she couldn't help but test the waters.
Then, she saw the Imperial Tutor's hand touch the statue, and a strange feeling arose in her heart, but she couldn't immediately recall what was strange about it.
When she saw the Imperial Tutor take out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers, she realized what was strange.
The Imperial Tutor suffered from germophobia, yet he disregarded the filth and touched the statue.
An absurd idea was about to emerge.
The next moment, the statue collapsed with a crash, burying her thoughts along with it.
The statue of the founding emperor of the previous dynasty is of great significance.
If the imperial tutor had any connection to the previous dynasty, how could he have stood by and watched the statue of his ancestor turn into ruins?
The Imperial Tutor turned to the Empress, who was staring at him in a daze: "Your Majesty?"
The Empress snapped out of her reverie and, facing the Imperial Tutor's questioning gaze, slightly tugged at the corners of her lips: "I just remembered something. Every time the Imperial Tutor leaves Northern Qi for more than seven days, a major event will occur in Northern Qi."
"The first time was more than twenty years ago when you left Northern Qi. Yi Zhen was killed by wild beasts. The day before you arrived in the capital, news came that the eldest prince had died."
"The second time you were sent as an envoy to the Great Zhou, a plague broke out in the Northern Qi."
"The third time, you debated with Master Xuqing, and the Lin family was wiped out."
The Imperial Tutor's brows furrowed in a deep, somber expression.
"If the Imperial Tutor had been in the capital these past few times, the tragedy could have been avoided," the Empress said cryptically. "It would be best for the Imperial Tutor to leave the capital less often in the future."
The Imperial Tutor said, "Where does Your Majesty's position lie with these words?"
The Empress's expression changed slightly. The Imperial Tutor was a clever man and understood the meaning behind her words. If it were heard by the Emperor of Northern Qi, he would only interpret it as an insinuation of his incompetence.
She pursed her lips slightly, realizing she had said something inappropriate.
"At tomorrow's morning court, if I were to convey Her Majesty's message, it would be that the local officials' negligence in supervision led to the outbreak of plague, and the Ministry of Justice's oversight resulted in the extermination of the Lin family. I humbly request Your Majesty to order all officials to diligently perform their duties, personally attend to every matter, and severely punish any further negligence."
The Imperial Tutor continued, "Has Your Majesty considered the consequences?"
The Empress's face darkened. Now that the Imperial Tutor had done this, memorials impeaching her for interfering in politics would rain down on the Northern Qi Emperor's desk like snowflakes.
The Imperial Tutor calmly bowed to the Empress, then walked toward the statue.
The Empress watched the Imperial Tutor's retreating figure, her fingers tightly gripping her handkerchief, and suddenly let out a violent cough.
Green Branch was startled and quickly patted the Empress's back to help her catch her breath.
She knew why the Empress had lost her composure; it wasn't just because the Empress suspected the Imperial Tutor, but also because the Empress was still deeply troubled by Princess Yizhen's death.
The Empress fell ill before the Mid-Autumn Festival and did not attend the palace banquet, which is why it was too late to prevent the tragedy from happening.
The Imperial Tutor happened to be away from the capital; otherwise, given his strategic vision, he would have definitely prevented the Northern Qi Emperor from throwing Princess Yizhen into the cage of wild beasts.
This became a hurdle in the Empress's heart.
The Empress stopped coughing and did not go in again. Instead, she returned to Chang Le Palace, claiming that her illness had relapsed and she was unable to visit the Emperor of Northern Qi at Yangxin Hall.
The Imperial Tutor was not influenced by the Empress. He ordered people to clean up the broken stone fragments of the statue and discovered that the statue's base was connected to the entrance to the underground palace.
However, with the collapse of the statue and the closure of the entrance, they were unable to enter the underground palace to investigate. They could only confirm that someone had activated a mechanism to raise the statue buried in the underground palace to the surface.
News from the palace also reached the ears of civil and military officials outside the palace.
Two elderly ministers, who had served two dynasties, heard a whisper of news and, leaning on their canes, stood by the window, opened one of the windows, and gazed into the distance toward the palace.
They knew the origin of the palace statue. Before his death, the founding emperor of the previous dynasty gathered extraordinary people from all over the world who were skilled in mechanical arts to create a giant statue for him. It was erected in Chengtian Hall on the east side of the palace, facing the direction of Jinluan Hall, and was meant to protect the empire of the imperial family.
It took craftsmen thirty years to complete this colossal statue, which is full of mechanisms and connects to the underground palace of Chengtian Hall.
Before the fall of the previous dynasty, this statue stood on the ground of Chengtian Hall, guarding the Zongzheng family's empire. It was not until the late emperor rebelled and attacked the capital that this statue was hidden in the underground palace of Chengtian Hall.
Before activating the mechanism, the former emperor of the fallen dynasty leaned on the statue and said, "The day the statue of the founding emperor sees the light of day again will be the day the country is restored."