Demoness, where are you Fleeing to? Chapter 370

Before the court was dismissed, the current Minister of War and grand tutor, Yu Jie, hurriedly walked out of the Ministry gate and mounted a land-traveling dragon, galloping towards the Imperial Palace.

By his side was palace eunuch Wang Chuanhua, who had come to summon him.

In this freezing weather, the head eunuch in charge of the Duzhi Bureau was pale, sweating profusely: "The Crown Prince is safe, but Imperial Physician Bureau found deadly poison in his tea. The cause of Peng Yuan’s death was similar, both ingested ’Blood Cherry’ poison."

Yu Jie thought for a moment before asking, "Didn’t the Crown Prince drink the tea?"

"No," Wang Chuanhua shook his head: "For the sake of respecting his teachers, the Crown Prince never eats or drinks anything provided on the desk during lessons. He only drinks tea during breaks, and this always happens after his mentors have tried it. But due to the Imperial court assembly today, Peng Yuan went there late, and didn’t allow the Crown Prince to rest for an entire shichen (2 hours) to save time."

Yu Jie nodded slightly, familiar with the Crown Prince’s principled actions, "Shouldn’t this case be simple? Examine the staff from the imperial kitchen, the servants who delivered tea and water, can’t they derive the truth from them?"

"But all who had been involved committed suicide by poison at the moment of the crime." Wang Chuanhua looked panic-stricken. "Now, only the chief eunuch of the palace, Xi Huaien, is still alive and is being interrogated by Xiuyiwei and the inner Jishi Bureau. Those poisonous dim sum and resupplies fell into his hands in front of Hanyuan Pavilion and were sent to the Crown Prince and Peng Yuan. However, his likelihood of being the culprit is minuscule. The trouble now is outside—"

While they were talking, their mounts had already arrived at the Wu Gate.

Upon seeing the scene, Yu Jie’s eyebrows knitted involuntarily. In front of him were hundreds of officials kneeling in the snow, totaling over three hundred.

Wang Chuanhua wryly smiled, "Not even a moment after the incident, rumors spread outside, saying that the Emperor intended to change the succession order, attempting to poison the Crown Prince. Instead, he accidentally hurt the bystander, causing the Wujing Boshi, Peng Yuan, to meet an untimely death in the East Palace. As a result, institutions such as the Hanlin Academy, Zhanshi Government, and Inspectorate were all in uproar, coming together to the Wu Gate, seeking an audience to implore the Emperor to thoroughly investigate the case and reiterate the Crown Prince’s heir status, in order to put the ministerial doubts at rest. Besides, when I was leaving, I heard that the news of Peng Yuan being poisoned to death has already reached the Guozi Bureau and the Ministry of Rites. There are people assembling at the Ministry of Revenue."

"Absurd!"

Yu Jie couldn’t help but scoff, "Even if the Emperor wanted to change the succession order, why would he need to use this sort of endless trouble?"

He cast a chilling glance at the officials kneeling in the snow, but in the end, he didn’t go forward to berate them.

As the Minister of War who effectively controlled nearly all of the troops in the Jin Dynasty and had the power to dethrone the Emperor, this current grand tutor Yu Jie was not favored by these upright officials. Presently, at least ten memorials accusing him of arrogating power to himself that were drafted by the Imperial Censors of the Inspectorate were offered to the Emperor every day.

Self-aware, Yu Jie knew there was no need to go seek a rebuke.

"It’s indeed the grand tutor who sees the matter clearly." Wang Chuanhua sighed before leading Yu Jie straight into the Wu Gate, "Before I left the palace, His Majesty had already ordered the cabinet, as well as the Shangshu from the six ministries to come to the palace to discuss matters. They have probably been waiting for the grand tutor for a while."

The two men spurred their land-traveling dragons and stormed into the Wu gate.

Granted by the Emperor’s favor, Yu Jie had the privilege of riding within the palace, did not have to run when entering into court, did not have to proclaim his name when paying respect, and was allowed to enter the hall with sword and boots. He was usually cautious in his speech and action and did not use these privileges at all.

However, due to the unusual circumstances today, Yu Jie didn’t dismount within the palace and rode all the way towards the Taihe Gate.

Since the reign of Emperor Tai of the Jin Dynasty, this was the place where successive Emperors of the Jin Dynasty carried out their administrative duties. Generations of Emperors have accepted ministerial ceremonies and memorials here and issued edicts.

When Yu Jie arrived, he found that the members of the cabinet, including the Grand Secretary Chen Xun, Cifu Gao Gu, Jing Shen Hall Scholar Wang Wen, and Zuochun House Daxueshi Shang Hong, along with the Seal-bearing Eunuch of Sili Bureau, Qian Long, had already gathered here.

The Jingtai Emperor was sitting upright on the throne, his sharp eyes staring down at his ministers like a hawk. He looked to be around thirty, had a round face with sparse beard, and his complexion was unnaturally pale.

Yu Jie bowed to the Emperor, then stood behind Wang Wen - although the latter only entered the cabinet during the Jingtai reign and did not have a high position within it. Yet before entering the cabinet, he had already been the Minister of Personnel and was one of the most trusted ministers of the Emperor within the cabinet.

At this time, the ministers were already arguing incessantly. After listening for a moment, Yu Jie realised that the cabinet ministers were arguing about who should handle the case of the East Palace.

"In my opinion, neither the Xiuyiwei nor the inner Jishi Bureau should handle this case!"

The one speaking was Cifu Gao Gu, who was also promoted to a grand tutor during the early years of the Jingtai reign and once taught the Zhengtong Emperor: "Otherwise, even if the truth is revealed in the future, it will still be difficult to dispel the ministerial doubts."

Seal-bearing eunuch Qian Long frowned, "Does Shaobao Gao’s words imply that His Majesty is a suspect?"

"There is no way His Majesty would do this." Gao Gu shook his head solemnly, "The problem is that the ministers have been stirred up by those with intentions to doubt His Majesty. The Xiuyiwei and the Neishi are both His Majesty’s entourage, so it will be difficult for them to quell the public opinion."

"So hand it over to the Ministry of Punishments to investigate, with the Inspectorate and the Dali Temple pending the investigation and the cabinet overseeing it."

This was Jing Shen Hall Scholar Wang Wen who went on to say, "If that doesn’t work, we can also outsource it to the Liudao Division for their Qinglong Hall and the general hall to send personnel to investigate."

Daxueshi of Zuochun House, Shang Hong, shook his head, "The issue lies not in which part is in charge, but who is involved in handling this case! I recommend Zuo Baoyuan, a servant to the Ministry of Punishments. He is upright and honest, and has held posts in various localities for twelve years, handling countless cases and earning the epithet of ’clear sky’ among the people. With him in charge, regardless of the outcome, it will certainly convince the ministers."

After listening to this, Yu Jie shook his head slightly.

Zuo Baoyuan was indeed honest, but he was promoted during the Zhengtong era and had a close connection with Gao Gu, Shang Hong and other ministers.

No matter how much the Emperor trusted Zuo Baoyuan’s character, he would certainly not give up control.

Sure enough, the Jingtai Emperor’s eyes flashed, and he said in a calm voice, "Are there any other suitable candidates?"

After that, the ministers recommended several more people, but they were either rejected by the Jingtai Emperor or fiercely opposed by Gao Gu, Shang Hong, and other ministers.

The Jingtai Emperor had no intention of forcing the matter, knowing that once a person has been vetoed by ministers like Gao Gu, they would certainly have difficulty gaining the trust of the other ministers in the court.

As the sun began to set, the light in front of the Taihe Gate gradually dimmed, and the scholar from the Jing Shen Hall, Wang Wen, began to grow impatient. He asked mockingly, "So you’re saying, the person handling this case needs not only exceptional abilities and an almost divine knack for solving cases, but also impeccable character, a strong reputation, and the ability to win the trust of all the court officials? Who amongst us, including all the members of the Liudao Division, could possibly meet this criteria?"

Upon hearing this, Shaobao Yu Jie’s expression subtly changed, as a certain person came to mind. He raised his head, exchanged a knowing look with Gao Gu and Shang Hong, who had the same thought.

Even the scholar from Jing Shen Hall Wang Wen suddenly stopped speaking, lost in contemplation.

He remembered, there was indeed such a person in this world who could not only put the Emperor at ease, but also gain the unquestionable trust of the original ministers from the Zhengtong Era and the Qingliu.

※※※※

At the Hualong Pool on Longhu Mountain, the Azure Phoenix Niulang, flapping its heavy wings, swooped down from the sky and landed on a rock in the pool.

When it landed, perhaps due to the high amount of water vapor in the air making the rock too slippery, Niulang failed to stabilize itself. Its body lurched forward, almost falling into the pool.

Fortunately, Li Xuan, standing nearby, reached out his hand in time to grab its wing and threw it back onto the rock.

"You silly bird, how many times have you messed around with Zhinv? You can’t even stand properly. I asked you to watch over Yunrou, but you spend all day messing around with Zhinv. Choosing you to be my Spirit Pet was a big mistake."

Niulang promptly let out a sharp cry, protesting to Li Xuan, explaining that the reason it slipped was due to the condensation on the rock, which made it extremely slippery.

"Still won’t admit it? If you’re so sure, then don’t ask me for more elixirs that restore Yuan Qi."

Li Xuan’s words immediately silenced Niulang, but he still handed over a green Spirit Pill.

After all, it was his Spirit Pet, one he could rely on for future assistance. If it suffers from a deficiency in Yuan Qi, he would ultimately be the one at a disadvantage.

After taking the medicine, the Azure Phoenix Niulang noticed that Li Xuan was not in good spirits that day. His eyes were drooping, and there was a faint handprint on his face.

The Azure Phoenix couldn’t help but let out another cry, curiously asking what happened.

Over the past few days, Li Xuan had been intimately close with Xue Yunrou, and also flirting with Yu Hongshang. Weren’t these the blissful days an immoral man dreamed of? What could he possibly be unsatisfied with?

Li Xuan glanced at Niulang and sighed heavily, "What would you understand?"

He thought to himself, how would this silly bird understand his current pain?

Just over a week ago, despite suffering, he was still happy. He and Xue Yunrou had established a de facto marital relationship, enjoying its sweetness for the first time. On the other hand, he and Yu Hongshang had also implicitly confirmed their feelings for each other, despite their physical relationship being constantly interrupted by intentional or unintentional interruptions by the female officials.

The problem occurred a few days later when Xue Yunrou sneaked over to meet Li Xuan. Upon seeing a mark on his left shoulder, she instantly became jealous.

For the entire day, she clung onto him and refused to let him go. By the time Li Xuan finally managed to return to Hualong Pool, dragging his fatigued body, Yu Hongshang, who had been waiting for him all day, was furious.

In the ten or so days that followed, Li Xuan’s life was a living hell.

"Clearly, I need to work more on my time management."

Li Xuan sighed, saying something that the Azure Phoenix did not understand at all, "So, Niulang, I’m thinking you need to stay at the Heavenly Master’s mansion and keep an eye on Yunrou. What can I say? I just can’t rest easy when it comes to Yunrou."

The Azure Phoenix immediately held its head high, clearly unwilling. It thought, go back there again? That’s a death sentence for birds!

Besides, the situation at the Heavenly Master’s mansion had finally stabilized.

"What do you mean ’death sentence’? Show some guts! Isn’t it enough not to bother Zhinv? You’re the majestic Azure Phoenix, how can you lack self-control like this?"

Li Xuan glared at it angrily and said, "I’ll give you three more bottles of qi-restoring elixir. You need to watch over Yunrou for five days. After that, I’ll find you another female bird. Not wanting to be a scoundrel like me, fine. I’ll get you a better magical instrument."

Just then, Li Xuan’s expression changed slightly as he looked towards the horizon. A signal flare was coming from a distance, finally landing in front of him.

Li Xuan immediately held it in his hand and used his Primordial Spirit to feel its message.

The signal came from Peng Fulai, transmitted here through several post stations.

As Li Xuan took in the message, he suddenly got up briskly, a look of shock appearing in his eyes.

Yue Qianqian was in trouble? Arrested and interrogated in the Zhenyao Tower?

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then without hesitation, he flew straight towards the center of Hualong Pool, instructing the Azure Phoenix Niulang, "You don’t have to go to the Heavenly Master’s mansion anymore. We need to hurry back to Jinling as soon as possible. If you have time, go and say your farewells to your sweetheart. I’m guessing you two won’t see each other for quite some time."

Azure Phoenix Niulang was first relieved, instinctively feeling joyful. But then, it hung its head low, its heart full of reluctance and sadness.