Chapter 2108: Conspiracy Unfolds

Meanwhile, in the Human Capital, after nightfall, the city gates were tightly closed. However, the city was adorned with twinkling lights everywhere, truly living up to its reputation as the most prosperous city in the world.

Unlike the bustling city, the Imperial Palace was much quieter, as it was an important imperial stronghold where numerous rules were enforced and security was extremely tight after dusk.

However, inside the Emperor's bedchamber, it was brightly lit at this moment.

The corpulent Zhao Ruizhi yawned listlessly, one leg casually propped on the dragon throne. While stuffing pastries into his mouth, he gulped down a bowl of tea before finally saying, "My two Imperial Uncles, what do you want with me at this late hour? Speak quickly if it's important, I want to go play."

Opposite him stood two middle-aged men, dressed in the attire of imperial generals.

One was named Zhao Si, the other Zhao Tai. Their father was Prince Yi, Zhao Huang, who held the rank of Grand General Who Guards the East and was granted the authority to establish his own government (Kai Fu Yi Tong San Si), making him a highly respected figure within the imperial clan.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, for the sake of loyalty, imperial guards were often chosen from among the children of the imperial family and noble clans. Thus, the two brothers became generals of the Imperial Guard.

Since Prince Yi, Zhao Huang, was Emperor Zhao Hao's uncle, by seniority, the two men were also Zhao Ruizhi's uncles.

Seeing Zhao Ruizhi's undignified posture and how crumbs from the pastries he had just eaten sprayed out as he spoke, they realized he truly did not resemble an emperor.

However, their reason for coming was certainly not to advise the Emperor on his manners. Hearing his words, they quickly said, "We have urgent and confidential matters to report to Your Majesty. We request Your Majesty to dismiss your attendants."

As they spoke, they looked hesitantly at the eunuchs and palace maids nearby.

"How dare you! You seek an audience with His Majesty in the middle of the night; how can we allow His Majesty to be alone with you?" the eunuch behind Zhao Ruizhi rebuked them. He was an old retainer who had been with the Crown Prince since his days in the Eastern Palace, and now his status had risen considerably.

In the past, everyone called him Little Xu, but now, who didn't respectfully address him as Eunuch Xu?

He naturally understood how he had attained all his current glory and thus genuinely cared about Zhao Ruizhi's safety. After all, the Emperor was not... a normal person and had little ability to protect himself.

At this moment, a general at the doorway said in a deep voice, "I will remain here to guard His Majesty; no one will be able to harm him."

The most intimate guard unit protecting the Emperor was the Imperial Tiger Warriors, whose leader was Prince Guangling, Zhao Yuan, followed by the Palace General and the Palace Attendant-in-Ordinary.

And this man was Li Guanshi, the Palace Attendant-in-Ordinary.

Given Zhao Yuan's status, it was impossible for him to be constantly by the Emperor's side, so Li Guanshi, accompanied by various imperial guards, was primarily responsible for Zhao Ruizhi's daily safety.

He possessed high cultivation and was extremely reliable in his duties. So when Eunuch Xu heard him speak, he said no more and led the other attendants to withdraw one by one.

After the eunuchs and palace maids had left, Zhao Ruizhi impatiently said, "What is it? Speak quickly."

At this, Zhao Si and Zhao Tai knelt down in unison. "Your Majesty," they declared, "Grand Tutor and General of Chariots and Cavalry, the Liu brothers, have colluded with the Regent and secretly communicated with the demon race, intending to rebel!"

"Huh?" Zhao Ruizhi, who had just picked up another pastry to bite into, froze instantly upon hearing this.

Even though he was foolish, this news was simply too explosive.

"This is impossible!" he exclaimed. "The Grand Tutor and the others are elders of the Empress Dowager and are loyal to me. And the Regent is even my master! How could they possibly rebel?"

"This matter is absolutely true!" Zhao Si said anxiously. "Earlier, news came from the demon race that there was a problem with their sealed land, requiring our assistance. The Regent and the Liu brothers strongly advocated sending reinforcements to the demon race. However, not long after, our reinforcements were ambushed within the demon territory, and a hundred thousand elite troops were completely annihilated!"

Zhao Tai also chimed in repeatedly, "That's right! Thinking about it now, the news about the demon race's sealed land was only reported by Zu An alone. He is also the demon race's Regent and he colluded with the little Demon Queen. Clearly, he intended to use this opportunity to ambush and eliminate our human forces, clearing obstacles for a future demon invasion."

"And the Liu brothers, who handled this matter entirely, are clearly accomplices of Zu An."

The two men spoke with spittle flying, but Zhao Ruizhi looked at them with confusion and, after a long while, said, "Wasn't all this discussed in court before? Linglong and the Empress Dowager both said that the frontline intelligence was unclear, and it was too early to make a judgment. Do you have anything else to report? If not, I'm going to play with my crickets."

Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were instantly dumbfounded, never expecting their impassioned impeachment to fail to pique his interest.

They knew clearly that if they didn't get the desired outcome today, tomorrow, a large group of people, including themselves, would be executed.

Thinking of this, the two men gritted their teeth and said, "The Empress Dowager is a member of the Liu family, so naturally, she will defend them."

"As for the Empress, the Empress is..."

"What about Linglong?" Zhao Ruizhi suddenly looked up, glaring fiercely at the two men.

Others might be excused, but Bi Linglong was his "reverse scale"—the most sacred and untouchable person in his life. Over the years, he had come to regard her as the most important person to him.

Seeing his reaction, the two men were somewhat intimidated. Unable to find a reasonable excuse at that moment, they immediately fell silent.

"If you have nothing else to say, then get out." Zhao Ruizhi was displeased, caring not whether they were his uncles. There were so many members of the imperial clan anyway, and these two weren't important figures. Linglong had already told him about everyone who was important and should not be slighted.

At this moment, Li Guanshi at the doorway suddenly spoke, "The Empress very likely said that intentionally to help the Regent clear his name."

Zhao Si and Zhao Tai's eyes widened instantly. This guy really dared to speak such words.

As expected, Zhao Ruizhi immediately flew into a rage, glaring at him. "What did you say?"

Although he usually appeared more like a fool, at this moment, a murderous glint seemed to flicker in his eyes.

At this moment, Li Guanshi's face showed some hesitation. "The Empress seems to be overly intimate with the Regent," he said, "and Her Ladyship's demeanor towards the Regent is clearly different from how she treats other men."

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhao Ruizhi immediately became agitated, his entire corpulent body trembling.

Li Guanshi sighed. "Your Majesty, please think carefully," he said. "Doesn't the Empress never allow any other man into her bedchamber, not even Your Majesty? Yet the Regent can enter directly without prior announcement."

Zhao Si and Zhao Tai's breathing quickened. It seemed they had heard some incredibly shocking gossip today.

Although both were generals of the Imperial Guard and had occasionally heard some rumors, they hadn't taken them seriously at the time. Now, with confirmation from someone close to the Emperor, the meaning was different.

"That's because Linglong and the Regent have important military matters to discuss!" Zhao Ruizhi quickly argued. "Linglong told me about this!"

"But why doesn't Her Ladyship's bedchamber allow Your Majesty to enter?" Li Guanshi asked, looking at him with a sympathetic gaze.

"That's because... because..." Zhao Ruizhi's fat face turned crimson, incoherent words tumbled from his mouth as he struggled for a reasonable explanation.

At this moment, Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were inspired and quickly added:

"Oh, right! I seem to recall," said Zhao Si. "When Her Ladyship was still the Crown Princess, there were rumors of an affair between her and the Regent."

"That's right!" added Zhao Tai. "At that time, the late Emperor even had someone examine the Crown Princess's chastity because of this."

Zhao Ruizhi seemed to have found a lifeline and immediately said, "Yes, that's right! The palace matrons at the time proved Linglong's innocence. And the Libationer also performed a 'truth-telling' ritual for Zu An, confirming he wasn't lying."

At this, a strange smile appeared on Zhao Si's face. "Your Majesty," he began, "matrons and the like can be bribed. While the Libationer cannot be bribed, what if he himself willingly shielded someone? You must know that he always valued Zu An highly and later even passed on the position of Libationer to him. This proves their relationship is extraordinary."

"Shut up, shut up!" Zhao Ruizhi hurled the teacup in his hand at the two men. "You're just making wild guesses! Linglong is so good to me, and the Regent has saved me several times! They have no reason to do anything to betray me!"

"Who says there's no reason?" Zhao Si quickly said. "That Zu An is very likely a royal descendant, a grandson of the previous dynasty. Though it's a rumor, there's no smoke without fire. He bears a deep-seated grudge and a blood feud. Of course he wants to rebel and overthrow our Great Zhou Dynasty!"

Hearing this, Zhao Ruizhi's face immediately darkened. He wasn't completely unintelligent and could distinguish simple good from bad. If the Regent truly had such an identity, he indeed had sufficient motive to rebel.

At this moment, Li Guanshi also spoke. "As for Her Ladyship the Empress, she naturally holds deep affection for Your Majesty," he began. "But the Regent is truly too powerful. He even had Your Majesty's own brother, Prince Jin, killed without hesitation, and Prince Dai was casually deposed. Her Ladyship may have had to endure humiliation and cater to the Regent in order to protect you."

"What!" Zhao Ruizhi suddenly stood up, pointing a finger at him. His entire body trembled with agitation and fury, his voice nearly quivering.

Li Guanshi continued, twisting the knife. "Your Majesty, do you remember that one time? The Regent entered Her Ladyship the Empress's bedchamber. Your Majesty happened to go there but was stopped outside the door and couldn't enter. Finally, the Regent stayed inside for several hours before coming out."

"Stop talking!" Zhao Ruizhi covered his ears with his hands, his fat face contorted in agony. These things had seemed normal before, but after hearing them spoken of this way today, he gradually began to discern something amiss.

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself," Li Guanshi advised. "A moment's impatience can ruin a great plan, and it would be an injustice to Her Ladyship's sacrifice for you."

"You damned bastards!" Zhao Ruizhi kicked over a nearby chair, smashing it. "Patience, my ass! I've had enough patience! Guards! I want to have those rebellious traitors torn into ten thousand pieces!"

"The traitors are extremely vicious," Zhao Si and Zhao Tai quickly said. "How can Your Majesty, with your precious imperial body, personally attend to such matters? It would suffice to entrust them to your loyal subjects. However, it would require Your Majesty to issue an imperial decree."

Thinking of Zu An's fierce reputation, Zhao Ruizhi couldn't help but gulp. "What my beloved subjects say is very true," he said. "However, for an imperial decree, I need to summon the ministers from the Chancellery..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Si had already taken an imperial edict from his robes. "Your Majesty, please rest assured," he said. "We, your loyal subjects, have already drafted the imperial decree. It only requires Your Majesty to affix your imperial seal."

"Excellent!" Zhao Ruizhi was overjoyed, yet he never once wondered why the other party had prepared such a decree so early.

He took the imperial decree, didn't even look at it, and immediately affixed the Imperial Seal. His mind was now entirely consumed with killing the detestable Zu An, leaving no room for other concerns.

Originally, within the Imperial Palace, Bi Linglong handled all sorts of state affairs. But to save the Emperor's reputation, she would return the Imperial Seal to Zhao Ruizhi for safekeeping after handling affairs during the day, and then request it from him again the next morning.

Unexpectedly, someone seized the opportunity at night to orchestrate such a major event.

After Zhao Si and Zhao Tai left the Emperor's bedchamber, they both expressed immense relief. "Fortunately, General Li helped us today," they said, "otherwise, our plan might have fallen apart."

"I wonder whose man that General Li is," Zhao Si mused. "Why would he help us? Surely he isn't truly loyal to the Emperor and spoke out simply from righteous indignation."

"Of course not!" Zhao Tai countered. "He is the Palace Attendant-in-Ordinary. He is very likely a subordinate of Prince Guangling, Zhao Yuan. But not necessarily; perhaps he's a secret agent planted in the palace by another influential figure. He played a decisive role today."

"Do you think what he said about Zu An and the Empress is true?"

"The foolish emperor believed it, but do you?" Zhao Si scoffed. "What kind of person is the Empress? She has always been a noble lady, a model of virtue for the realm. How could she do such a thing?"

"You're right," Zhao Tai conceded. "That Li fellow is truly ruthless to have come up with such a malicious scheme!"

"Fortunately, he's on our side."

In a small courtyard outside the Imperial Palace, there was no light whatsoever in the room.

Yet a group of people sat inside, silently waiting for something. The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive and quiet, with beads of sweat appearing on many foreheads.

It was known that the matter plotted today was immense, and failure would mean disaster, leading to the extermination of entire families. Even though everyone present was accustomed to facing great storms, they were now incredibly tense.

At this moment, the door opened, and someone brought in a scroll. Its bright yellow hue made everyone in the room's eyes light up.

The person at the head was none other than the current Empress's father, Bi Qi, head of the Bi clan. He took the imperial edict, looked at it, and burst into laughter. "Half the deed is done!" he declared. "Now, everyone proceed according to the plan!"

"Yes!" Everyone stood up and left one after another. If anyone else had witnessed this scene, they would have been greatly shocked, as every person present was a highly influential figure in the capital.

At the Pei family's estate in the capital, a lively banquet was taking place in a detached courtyard. Two young men were there, arm in arm, enjoying their wine and conversation.

"Brother Pei, which young lady from your Pei family is stepping out?" one asked. "Can you give me a hint?"

"Brother Gao," the other chuckled, "you really abandon principles for beauty! I invited you so many times before, and you always found excuses not to come. But as soon as I mentioned the Pei family was interested in a marriage alliance with you, you immediately showed up."

The two men were Gao Ying and Pei You. After the situation in Yunzhong Commandery had stabilized, they were summoned back to the capital by their respective families.

Unfortunately, they had just missed the opportunity to meet Zu An.

"Don't you know already?" Gao Ying said with a bitter smile. "I am currently responsible for the safety of the Imperial Palace. My responsibilities are extremely heavy, and it's rare for me to get a single day off."

"Tsk tsk tsk, there you go showing off again," Pei You chuckled. "I almost forgot to congratulate you on your promotion to General of the Right Guard!"

"Don't you know how I reached this ninth rank?" Gao Ying sighed. "It was purely achieved through the Liu family pouring in resources without regard for cost. To be honest, I even feel that my progress is too fast, and my unstable foundation will leave a significant hidden danger for the future."

Pei You couldn't help but sigh and drank with him. "Only we, who know each other so well, can understand that this truly is what you think," he said. "Anyone else would probably think you're deliberately showing off."

"But you don't need to be so modest," Pei You continued. "Your cultivation has progressed extremely quickly these past few days. You are now already at the ninth rank. Aside from being a bit young, you are more than capable of holding this position."

"Tsk tsk tsk, showing off again," Pei You said, a bit glumly. "I wish the Pei family would give me so many resources and boost me up too." His status in the Pei family naturally wasn't as high as the other's.

Gao Ying realized his faux pas and immediately put an arm around his shoulder. "Let's not talk about that anymore," he said. "Just secretly give me the lowdown. Which young lady from which branch are they actually considering for marriage with me?"

The beauty of the Pei family's daughters was legendary. Take Pei Mianman, for instance; when he first saw her, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, she was Brother Zu's woman, so he dared not harbor any thoughts. He merely mused that if the Pei family's intended bride for this alliance possessed sixty to seventy percent of Pei Mianman's beauty, it would be enough.

Pei You awkwardly said, "Actually, I'm not clear on this either. My father just told me about it; I don't know which branch the elders prefer. But you don't have to agree today. Just wait and see. Wait until I, your brother, secretly find out the details for you."

Gao Ying was overjoyed. "That's a true brother!"

The two clinked their cups, and with other Pei family members occasionally coming to urge them to drink, they drank heartily and boisterously.

"Oh, why is the sky turning a bit red?" Suddenly, female relatives at the banquet began to murmur.

Gao Ying casually glanced and instinctively replied, "It's probably a fire at some house. Let me think, which house is in that direction..."

Suddenly, his eyes widened considerably, and a cold sweat broke out on his body. That was the direction of the Imperial Palace, and there were no other private residences nearby.

"Cloud Dragon Gate!" As the General of the Right Guard, he had been familiarizing himself with the layout and topography of the Imperial Palace these past few days, and immediately realized where the fire was.

The Cloud Dragon Gate was one of the two most important gates of the Imperial Palace!

He could no longer sit still and stood up to leave. But as soon as he stood up, he felt a sudden dizziness and nearly fell.

"This isn't right! The wine is poisoned!"