Chapter 241: Officially Declaring Prince Chu a Traitor!
Golden Throne Hall.
The Great Qian court session had already begun before dawn.
By the time the sun hung high overhead, the major daily matters—border affairs, taxes, and disaster reports—had nearly all been presented.
Xiao Wuji sat on the Dragon Throne, bored out of his mind, watching the ministers bicker back and forth over trivial nonsense.
The impatience on his face was entirely unconcealed.
He tilted his head and whispered to the man beside him, "Lu Zhi, do you think if our ancestors saw me like this—especially the Progenitor himself—would they be so furious they'd faint?"
The Great Qian Emperor, the dignified Exalted Son of Heaven.
When had he been reduced to such a sorry state?
Xiao Wuji had long since grown sick of Qi Han and his ilk, yet still had to plaster a cheerful expression on his face.
Every time they proposed that the court yield ground to the Jianghu...
Xiao Wuji was a hundred times unwilling, yet could only feign deliberation before being half-coerced into agreement—playing the role of a prodigal descendant selling off his ancestors' legacy.
Day after day he lived in frustration and resentment, yet there was nothing he could do.
At this moment, Xiao Wuji even felt a twinge of envy toward Lu Zhi beside him.
The man had lost his position as Jinyiwei Commander and no longer had to deal with that endless pile of duties.
Each day he stayed in the palace guarding the Emperor and keeping his injured son company, as tranquil and idle as still water.
"Your Majesty mustn't belittle yourself. The Progenitor of Qian wouldn't be angered."
"True enough—why would the old Progenitor ever be angry?" Xiao Wuji let out a self-deprecating laugh.
His ancestor—the Progenitor of Qian.
If he'd cared about how his descendants fared as emperors, he wouldn't have left the entirety of his inheritance scattered across the world for anyone with enough skill and fortune to claim.
Even if outsiders obtained the inheritance and used it to bully his descendants—that was something the Progenitor had never bothered to consider.
Meanwhile.
The squabbling in court had reached its tail end.
"You disloyal, faithless wretch! You've betrayed the nation and still have the gall to stand here, disgracing a thousand years of Great Qian's prestige! This old minister requests his execution!"
The man being berated sneered in response. "Is Lord Wang suggesting we cling to dead principles and undermine the very foundations of Great Qian's stability? You'd sacrifice the nation's future to burnish your personal reputation—how ill-intentioned of you."
"Exactly, exactly—he gets his glorious name while Great Qian pays the price."
The assembled ministers chimed in one after another, saying whatever came to mind, jabbing viciously at the old minister's spine.
"What utter nonsense..."
The aging Regency Minister had barely dragged himself from his sickbed, insisting on attending court despite his condition.
Now he was so enraged he collapsed to the floor, and the imperial physicians rushed in to feed him medicine.
Xiao Wuji sighed helplessly.
"Is Old Lord Wang all right?... Alas, let's just proceed with Elder Grand Secretary Qi's recommendation on this matter."
Once this tedious squabble concluded, a sharp gleam immediately flashed through his eyes as he swept his gaze down over Qi Han and the others from his elevated seat.
"My esteemed subjects, Duke Dingguo's Estate has been thoroughly raided and its assets confiscated. As for how to formally charge and sentence the household—do any of you have opinions?"
If it were any other matter, the Moderate Faction would use "the bigger picture" as an excuse to make Xiao Wuji swallow his anger.
But they were now discussing a dead man.
He wanted to see what these people could possibly say, since Ning Dingyuan's head had already been sent to the Northern Suppression Army.
What was done was done—nothing they said could change it.
This was purely about savoring the satisfaction!
Qi Han's expression remained composed as he stepped forward. "The chief criminal Ning Dingyuan has already been put to death. Your Majesty has already made arrangements for those deserving punishment or reward. The criminal's family members need only be dealt with according to the law."
He understood perfectly well that at a time like this, the Emperor was simply venting. There was no need to deliberately oppose him—just go along with it, since it had nothing to do with him anyway.
Xiao Wuji nodded.
Conspiring in treason was a capital crime warranting the extermination of three generations of kin, and not a single person in Duke Dingguo's Estate would escape.
Just as he was about to order them all beheaded for public display...
Zhao Yi's voice drifted in from the side, cool and unhurried. "Your Majesty, this old minister believes this course of action is unwise."
Qi Han looked toward Zhao Yi in confusion.
What was this old fox trying to do by speaking up now? Could he not read Xiao Wuji's mood?
"Where does Beloved Subject Zhao see the issue?"
Zhao Yi's aged face was the picture of calm, though a strange glint of amusement flickered in his eyes. "Reporting to Your Majesty—Ning Dingyuan's death is done and settled. However, if we handle his family strictly by the letter of the law, it becomes rather complicated... After all, legally speaking, the Northern Suppression Army is still a Great Qian army."
The moment these words left his mouth, the entire assembly of ministers recoiled in shock.
What on earth was old Grand Chancellor Zhao saying? Had he gone mad?
Saying the Northern Suppression Army was still a Great Qian army—wasn't he deliberately touching the very thing the Emperor refused to address? Prince Chu's legal standing was His Majesty's sore spot!
Although everyone under heaven knew Prince Chu Xiao Li's true intentions—
Rebellion and usurpation!
But in reality, he had never openly declared as much, and every clash between him and Xiao Wuji had only existed in the shadows.
On the matter of the northern frontier's demon defense line, the two sides remained entangled in a tenuous, lingering connection.
There was no need to bring too much of it into the open!
Qi Han furrowed his brow as well. He refused to believe an old fox like Zhao Yi would provoke the Emperor at a time like this.
"What is he up to?"
On the other side, Xiao Wuji's expression was growing increasingly displeased. "We did not quite follow. What exactly does Beloved Subject Zhao mean?"
Zhao Yi's complexion remained composed as he declared in a righteous, ringing voice:
"If Your Majesty convicts the members of Duke Dingguo's Estate under the charge of treason, it amounts to a public admission that Prince Chu is a traitor. Should ill-intentioned individuals seize upon this to spread rumors, it could damage Your Majesty's reputation."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wuji—who had been somewhat irritated—now wore a look of sudden realization.
How the court discussed and referred to Prince Chu Xiao Li was one thing. Calling it treason outright in conversation was perfectly fine.
But if an imperial decree formally sentenced those who colluded with Prince Chu under the charge of treason, wouldn't that be an official declaration that Prince Chu was a traitor?
The truth of the matter was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Prince Chu had repeatedly refused imperial summons to return to the capital and held sole control over the Northern Suppression Army—his intentions were undoubtedly treacherous.
But what was formally written in the historical records had to be publicly established information.
Xiao Wuji immediately turned to the court historian who was furiously scribbling away. "Hand over that ledger!"
Before the historian could resist in the slightest, a powerful, imposing force snatched the ledger from his grasp and sent it flying into Xiao Wuji's hands.
Written upon it in bold strokes was:
Prince Chu grew arrogant. Duke Dingguo colluded with him in secret. The Emperor, enraged, had him killed and declared both guilty of treason!
"This..."
A boulder dropped in Xiao Wuji's chest. What the hell was this?
If Prince Chu actually rebelled in the future, wouldn't later generations interpret it as Prince Chu being driven to rebellion by Xiao Wuji's paranoid suspicion?
"What a pedantic fool! Drag him away and—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
He suddenly noticed a gleam flash through the historian's eyes—unmistakably the joy of a dream about to come true.
The Emperor was going to execute him for his unbending pen—he was about to be immortalized in the annals of history!
"Wait! Let him go!"
Xiao Wuji snorted coldly and tossed the ledger back, no longer paying attention to the historian whose elation had just curdled into bitter disappointment.
He'd nearly let the man get what he wanted.
"Then according to Beloved Subject Zhao, what should We do?"
"The members of Duke Dingguo's Estate terrorized the region and committed countless atrocities. Punishing them doesn't require the charge of treason... Of course, if Your Majesty feels that letting the criminals off easy is unacceptable, there is another way."
Zhao Yi spoke with eloquent ease, and Xiao Wuji's eyes lit up.
Those who plotted treason to usurp his throne were absolutely unforgivable!
"What way?"
"Prince Chu Xiao Li's treacherous schemes continue unchecked, and his disloyal heart is plain for all to see! Your Majesty might seize this opportunity to use the authority of the Son of Heaven to formally declare Prince Chu guilty—and officially designate him a traitor!"
Zhao Yi smiled with an air of utter nonchalance.
Formally branding a titled prince who commanded an entire army as a traitor—apparently, in his eyes, it wasn't such a big deal.