Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 475: The List!
Duanmu Nan looked at him in disbelief. πππππ¬πππ·ππΏππ‘.ππΈπ
In this world, emperors who are willing to admit their mistakes are extremely rare.
Throughout history, every emperor has believed themselves to be the Son of Heaven, supreme and infallible. To have an emperor admit a mistake? Impossible! The error must be yours!
Under such cultural influence, having an emperor admit a fault is truly difficult.
Thus, Qi Yunβs admission surprised Duanmu Nan greatly.
He fell into silence.
After a long while, he said, "Youβre doing all this for Li Qingmu, arenβt you?"
Qi Yun looked at him, "You understand everything. But thereβs one thing youβve misunderstood. I spared you not because of him!
I have said before, I will not kill the innocent at random! Do you all consider me a foolish emperor who would rather kill wrongly than let others escape?
Ha, that is entirely wrong! The Yulong Pavilionβs intelligence network is spread throughout the world; do you think I wouldnβt know who truly deserves death?"
Pausing for a moment, Qi Yun continued, "Logically speaking, regarding the Duanmu familyβs affairs, before I issued any orders for arrest and execution, there shouldβve been no disturbances.
Yet it was precisely your Duanmu familyβs mysterious annihilation that made me realize that these people have infiltrated and are attempting to seize power from my hands! This, I will not allow!"
Duanmu Nan slowly raised his head, staring at him, "Since the Emperor already noticed a group of enemy spies mixed in, why not remove them swiftly?"
"They canβt be completely eradicated. These people are like a festering bone, impossible to eliminate without special methods. Even if you deal with one batch, theyβll send another wave, endlessly!"
"So, you just watch them grow?" Duanmu Nan laughed, his smile full of sarcasm, "Arenβt you afraid of playing yourself to death?"
Usually, he wouldnβt say such words, but this time, Qi Yunβs gambling attitude truly angered him.
Are you playing with the lives of all the commonfolk in this world?
"A generalβs success is built upon countless bones; the royal power struggle is always pieced together with blood and bone. Duanmu Nan, the tragedy of the Duanmu family, I deeply regret it. I wish to make amends now, but is it still possible?"
Duanmu Nan stared at him like this for a long time before saying, "How can I trust you? How can I believe that during the tragedy back then, you were also kept in the dark?"
Qi Yun remained silent; these words were somewhat heart-piercing.
"You can wait, wait until Li Qingmu returns. He will definitely bring the real evidence!"
"Ha, alright!"
Qi Yun said nothing more, what needed to be said had been said. Everything now depended on fate, and hopefully, his son would not disappoint him!
Duanmu Nanβs case was like a stone dropped into the sea, completely shrouded without any news.
Since he was imprisoned, Qi Yun had stopped mentioning it, and had not even called for interrogation.
Five days later, a sudden shadow appeared in Qi Yunβs bedroom. Though the shadow only stayed for less than an hour, a team of spies from Yulong Pavilion and elite Imperial Army went out of the Imperial City towards Guyang County.
It is said that they went there to check if remnants of the Duanmu family still existed and to arrest those suspicious people.
Long Yue, with a big belly, went outside the palace gate every day hoping the Emperor would summon her.
But Qi Yun always refused to meet.
Later, he even issued a prohibition order, placing Long Yue under house arrest.
The issuance of this order caused turmoil in the court.
Everyone knew something had happened again.
Especially seeing the Emperorβs displeased face during the morning assembly, which made all ministers shudder in fear and not dare to speak.
After the assembly, some speculated about what had happened since it started after Wang Qi returned, and some visited stealthily to investigate.
But nobody found anything.
Wang Qi only vaguely stated that the Emperor was angry about a trafficking case.
Who would believe that?
Wang Qi was a smart person. After returning to Jingzhao Mansion, he began to probe the matter and found the case in the government office archives.
This matter was secretly handled at the time. He immediately understood that this matter wouldnβt be widely publicized now, because such an affair of cursing the Emperor would damage the Emperorβs reputation.
Some might say, is it because the Emperor is incompetent that he invites such things?
Such words wouldnβt be spoken outright but could be whispered behind the scenes!
What is most terrifying about rumors? Itβs their ability to spread rapidly, with each person multiplying them exponentially, eventually making something out of nothing.
Rumors are truly terrifying; even if wise ones end them, how many wise ones exist in this world? Most people are ignorant and easily swayed.
During this strange atmosphere, one day on the court, Qi Yun suddenly spoke.
"In Guyang County, someone used the Yansheng technique to curse me, building an altar underground, using children as a lure..."
He spoke slowly, his icy gaze sweeping across the ministers.
The ministers felt their scalp tingle.
Even since Cui Yuanhe and Di Jing, the old ministers, had chills running down their spines.
Being old ministers, they naturally knew that something similar happened sixteen years ago when Qi Yun was enraged and wanted harsh punishment, but three Prime Ministers led by Pei Shangqing advised him that it would harm his imperial reputation and urged him to handle it secretly.
The three Prime Ministers jointly advised, and after weighing it, Qi Yun could only handle it secretly.
But this time, he spoke openly.
Now the trouble has begun.
"Your Majesty..."
Cui Yuanhe shuddered, quickly raised his head, and stepped forward to advise, but Qi Yun just waved his hand.
"I have diligently governed these years and believe I have a clear conscience, yet some despicables always wish to stir trouble. You are truly good ministers!"
As soon as Qi Yun finished speaking, clang, clang, clang, countless Imperial Army charged in, surrounding the court completely.
The ministers were dumbfounded.
What is happening?
What has happened? Why is this fire burning on us?
Is this an arrest?
The crowd was panicked; they saw the Emperor wave his hand, and instantly, these Imperial Guards rushed up and captured certain officials on the court.
"Whatβs happening? What are you doing? Your Majesty, why are you arresting us? What have we done wrong?"
With the arrests, the ministers loudly proclaimed their innocence.
Qi Yun sneered, ridiculing, "Innocent? Are you truly innocent, or are you guilty at heart? See for yourselves!"
Qi Yun suddenly threw a stack of memorials from the desk.
Cui Yuanhe instinctively picked them up, and upon opening them, his face changed.
"What audacity, truly courageous! Daring to embezzle silver, carelessly slaughtering lives, hateful, infuriating, deserves death!"
Cui Yuanhe, a person of integrity, couldnβt tolerate even a speck of sand in his eyes. Seeing such scum, he was eager to execute them personally!
Witnessing Cui Yuanheβs fierce demeanor, a minister suddenly said, "Whatβs wrong with embezzling? If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Weβre just casually corrupt, and the Emperor wants to take us down? We disagree, we disagree!"
"Dare to argue? Do not overlook doing good, do not commit evil because it seems minor. This silver is the peopleβs fat and blood, embezzlers are heinously guilty!"
Old Prime Minister Cui Yuanhe shouted angrily, even wanting to roll up his sleeves to fight, but Di Jing held him back.
Ahem, old Cui, image, mind your personal image!
Qi Yun coldly watched the farce below, waved his hand, and those corrupt ministers were led away.
