Chapter 460: Who Deceived Who?

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Emperor picked up the note on the table and, after looking at it, his eyes darkened slightly. He did not expect that an ordinary accident would let him discover such a secret.

Most of the government affairs were actually controlled by Qin Fang. The Emperor had always thought that Grand Tutor Yan and the others were just exaggerating because they could not stand seeing him favor Qin Fang. All these years, Qin Fang’s orders had been issued under his nose. It was also his decision to choose which officials to promote. He’d felt that other than military power, everything was still in his control.

Although the old ministers were a little long-winded and the commoners had some objections about Qin Fang, he’d felt that it was not a big deal.

However, after Madam Li’s accidental fall this time, no one understood the whole story better than him.

He had been getting people to secretly monitor the Qi family, including Qi Haoran, Madam Mu, Madam Li, and even Fan Zijin.

That was how he knew the moment something happened to Madam Li. Hence, when Qi Haoran made a fuss outside the palace and wanted to see him to seek an imperial doctor, he quickly met him. After that, he saw how things developed. He saw that Qi Haoran was so angry that he insisted on sending the women involved to prison. In the end, Fan Zijin persuaded him with all his might before he agreed to take a step back.

At that time, he had only wanted to see how the Zhang family and the Shu family would deal with the matter out of curiosity. As for the Zhou family, he did not take it to heart. Although the Zhou family was rich, they were just businessmen who relied on the Shu family’s power.

However, it was also because of his curiosity that he now knew his Minister of Revenue was Qin Fang’s man. Not only that, the Minister of Works, the Assistant Minister of Official Personnel Affairs, and key positions in the six ministries were all held by Minister Qin’s men.

What shocked the Emperor the most was the subsequent developments. The memorials to impeach Zhang Cheng were sent to him one after another. The Emperor only remained silent for half a day before secretly instructing his two most trusted subjects to carry out the operation. Then, there were even more memorials to impeach Zhang Cheng.

He made a gesture of wanting to replace the Minister of Revenue. As expected, Zhang Cheng panicked and tried to suppress the matter using an emissary. It was only at this moment that the Emperor realized that there were actually many ministers who had submitted to Minister Qin.

This meant that he could not control his own safety range.

General Yuan, who was thousands of miles away, had already made him unable to sit still. If the people around him were someone else’s men, wouldn’t that make him even more uneasy?

Emperor Jingyan was never an open-minded and smart person. On the contrary, he was a suspicious person.

This time, he was already suspicious just by catching a glimpse. Coupled with Grand Tutor Yan and the others’ actions against Minister Qin over the years, the Emperor then remembered that the people he placed in an important position seemed to all have been recommended by Minister Qin or someone close to him.

The Emperor felt a chill, but he knew that he could not be rash. Otherwise, half of the officials in the Imperial Court would probably be affected. Since this could cause a huge earthquake, he could only take things slowly.

In order to take back the military power in General Yuan’s hands, he had planned for ten years. He certainly had the patience to calmly deal with Minister Qin.

Qi Haoran’s confrontation with the Zhang and Shu families this time was an opportunity. Hence, he called Qi Haoran into the palace and asked him how he planned to deal with this matter with interest. Just as he had thought, Qi Haoran did not have any concrete thoughts, and simply wanted those three families to pay the price.

Worried that Qi Haoran wouldn’t understand the hint, the Emperor could only suggest that he ask the Zhang and Shu families for benefits. Only then could they feel the pinch and desire to take revenge.

This was the first time the Emperor had put in so much effort to scheme for someone, but the results were obvious. The Zhang and Shu families had indeed made concessions, and not only had he obtained those benefits, but he had also seen their fangs through this.

The Emperor had already made up his mind. After some time, he would find a few excuses to slowly knock off their claws so that he could replace them with his own men. This time, he definitely would not promote anyone recommended by Minister Qin.

Anyway, with this year’s Fall Quarter Examinations and next year’s Spring Quarter Examinations being held, there would be an abundance of talent. The Emperor finally felt a little better at this comforting thought.

What reassured him even more was that Qi Haoran was not interested in this. Instead, he was very tempted by the Zhou family’s money. The Emperor secretly mocked him in his heart. Then, he got someone to keep an eye on Qi Haoran, eager to know Qi Xiuyuan’s reaction when he found out about this. Qi Haoran, who had just left the palace, slowly heaved a sigh of relief. God knew that his heart skipped a beat when the Emperor called him in to ask about this.

Indeed, spying wasn’t something that anyone could do. Moreover, he was a good person. Fortunately, the crisis had temporarily passed.

When Qi Haoran returned to the Qi Manor, the compensation gift sent by the Zhou family had already been carried to his residence. Other than two shops and two manors, there were two cases of jewelry and a box of banknotes.

Qi Haoran put away the banknotes, opened the case, grabbed a handful, and threw it into a box. He threw it to Yanmo and said, “Take it to the East Manor and say that this is compensation from the Zhou family.”

This time, his father and Madam Wu did not hold him back. Otherwise, things would be even more complicated. Qi Haoran knew that in order to maintain this situation, both sides had to work hard together.

Originally, it had always been Sister-in-law who handled this sort of thing, but right now she was recuperating. He could forget about counting on Ah Ling. Even if she was given ten more years, she wouldn’t have thought of this, so this time, he would handle this personally.

Only then did Qi Haoran close the box with his foot and let Yanmo put it away. Then, he went to look for Fan Zijin with his hands behind his back.

Fan Zijin was reading. When he saw him enter, he asked with a straight face, “Are you done?”

Qi Haoran said ingratiatingly, “It’s all done. I’ve already accepted the gifts.” Fan Zijin snorted and picked up his book to memorize, ignoring him.

Qi Haoran lowered his head to look at his desk. There was a piece of paper on it that wrote what Fan Zijin wanted to say to him. He had already written a letter to Qi Xiuyuan through another channel. The other party would be able to reply according to their wishes very quickly.

Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin were very uneasy. This time, when they were called into the palace by the Emperor, Qi Haoran finally understood that they were being monitored so closely. Originally, they still dared to whisper some taboo secrets behind closed doors, but now, they did not dare to say it out loud.

Qi Haoran sighed. He could only hope that the Emperor would face off against Qin Feng as soon as possible so that he could transfer the people around them away. Otherwise, living under such surveillance would drive even good people crazy.

Ignoring the fact that Fan Zijin was studying, he continued to pester him like he usually did before leaving happily. After he left, Fan Zijin picked up the note he had left on the table and looked at it. It roughly described his and the Emperor’s conversation. Fan Zijin felt that there was no problem, so he threw all the paper into the basin. The ink spread out in the water, and in the end, all the words disappeared.

It was indeed the cheapest ink, totally living up to its price.

Qi Haoran, who felt that he had accomplished a huge matter, was not in the mood to stay in the city. So, he rode his horse and brought his men to the farmstead.

After receiving the report, the Emperor pursed his lips and said, “He just can’t stay away from his wife, huh?”

Eunuch Bai said with a smile, “Your Majesty, General Qi and Madam Mu are childhood sweethearts and are a loving couple. It’s a good thing for the country and you.”

The Emperor thought about it and agreed. The deeper Qi Haoran’s feelings were for his wife, the more value Madam Mu would have for staying in the capital as a hostage..