Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 371 Kill this treacherous slave
Inside the Qianqing Palace, Li Quan was serving the emperor his medicinal soup.

The emperor said, "Now that you're in this position, you no longer need to do these small things yourself. Let them do them."

"I have served Your Majesty all the way here. I can entrust other matters to others, but Your Majesty is ill. I cannot feel at ease if I do not personally attend to you."

The emperor nodded, took the bowl, and drank the medicine.

Gao Hong saw this opportunity and walked in through the door. He quickly approached the emperor and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have important matters to report."

"What's the matter?"

Gao Hong took a few steps closer: "I want to accuse Eunuch Li of forming a faction with the Crown Prince."

The emperor, who was staring at the memorial, paused for a moment before suddenly looking over: "What did you say?"

Li Quan, who had just caught the empty bowl, immediately turned around and said, "Gao Hong! What have I ever done to offend you? How dare you slander me like this the moment you arrive!"

Gao Hong walked past him to the emperor's side, quickly untied the bundle he had brought, and took out a large stack of items from it, presenting them to him: "Over the years, Li Quan has been secretly colluding with the crown prince, plotting every moment to make the crown prince take power and ascend to the throne."

"His Highness the Crown Prince appears to reside deep within the Eastern Palace, but in reality, he interferes in court affairs through Li Quanquan. These are all pieces of evidence I have gathered; I implore Your Majesty to see the truth!"

The emperor took it without saying a word.

Li Quan hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty, Gao Hong is slandering me! This old servant is innocent!"

"you shut up!"

The emperor gritted his teeth and angrily rebuked, then opened the topmost book.

Li Quan turned to Gao Hong and angrily rebuked him: "You fabricated facts out of thin air! The Yan family is causing trouble in the court right now, and the storm hasn't subsided yet. You're stirring up trouble here. You're simply afraid that the world isn't chaotic enough!"

"It's one thing to slander me, but His Highness the Crown Prince is the Emperor's own flesh and blood, and you actually dare to throw mud at His Highness!"
"His Majesty has discerning eyes. Once the facts are investigated, how can the dignity of the Emperor be upheld if you are not torn to pieces?"

"Don't be delusional! His Majesty can tell at a glance whether what I've submitted is true or not!" Gao Hong retorted with a cold laugh, then turned and straightened up to face the Emperor with a stern expression: "Your Majesty, at this point, Li Quan is still protecting the Crown Prince. This shows that the Crown Prince's appearance in the palace that day was also a trap!"

"Li Quan, in cahoots with the Crown Prince, has been manipulating the Emperor! His crimes are unforgivable, Your Majesty, please arrest him immediately!"

When he got excited, he pointed his finger right in front of Li Quan's nose.

The emperor remained silent, his face dark as he perused the "evidence," his teeth clenching tighter and tighter. Then, his eyes flashed, and he looked up at Gao Hong with shock and anger: "You just said that these are all the evidence you collected about Li Quan's alliance with the Crown Prince?"

"Exactly!" Gao Hong replied with great enthusiasm and conviction: "Ever since I noticed something was wrong, I was afraid of wronging His Highness the Crown Prince and Eunuch Li, so I began to send people to investigate secretly."

"But the more we investigated, the more we discovered that their relationship was not simple. They had been colluding a lot over the years, especially after the controversy over the succession and the Emperor reprimanded Li Quan. Their interactions became even closer!"

“Your Majesty, this Li Quan is your servant. Your Majesty has been extremely kind to him, promoting him to the position of Grand Eunuch, in charge of such an important department as the Directorate of Ceremonial. You trust him so much and give him important responsibilities, yet he still colludes with the Crown Prince!”
"He forgot who his master was. He betrayed his loyalty to the emperor. He knew that it was taboo for two emperors to coexist. He joined with the court officials to request the establishment of an heir apparent. After the heir apparent was established, he secretly communicated with the crown prince. What was he thinking!"
"Isn't he being disloyal to the Emperor?" For many years, he had been subordinate to Li Quan, and although he was gaining more and more of the Emperor's trust, he was always overshadowed by Li Quan. If it weren't for this, why would he have been so flustered and fearful when the Emperor questioned him about colluding with the Yan family?

Therefore, there is no need to worry about the impact of the downfall of the Yan family on oneself!

These grievances had been building up in his heart for a long time, and he had already secretly revealed them many times before, so now he could recite them fluently from memory!
"Well said!" The emperor clapped his hands loudly, but his face turned even colder. He gritted his teeth and looked at him again: "Then I ask you, who gave you these things? If you dare to utter a single falsehood, I will execute you on the spot!"

Gao Hong was momentarily stunned by the word "immediate execution" at the end. He stared at the emperor's face, which was as hard as iron, and felt that something was amiss. But he couldn't withstand the emperor's majesty, so he lowered his head and said, "This humble servant dares not lie. These were all collected by my subordinates!"

Which subordinates?

"...They are the eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and their underlings and followers."

After receiving the evidence from Yan Song that night, he held it in his hands and read it over at least three times.

Based on his long service to the emperor in the Qianqing Palace and his understanding of the emperor, even if there is only a part of the evidence, combined with the cooperation between Li Quan and the crown prince in the main hall the other day, it would be enough for the emperor to list Li Quan as the prime suspect!
How could he possibly create unnecessary trouble and drag the Yan family into this?

Although it wouldn't be a big problem to say it, the emperor's priority at this time was naturally to eliminate dissidents, but it was always easy to be swayed off-topic.

"Indeed, you've been in the palace for twenty years. You've long since built up a following!" The emperor put down the scroll, his cold eyes glancing at him again. "I've heard that you have three or four wives and concubines in your private residence in the city, a bunch of adopted sons, and servants everywhere. Although you're a eunuch, your prestige and glory are no less than that of a second-rank official in the court!"

Gao Hong's heart jumped into his throat!

He had served the emperor for many years, and the emperor's reaction was definitely not normal. Shouldn't the emperor have immediately questioned Li Quan? Shouldn't he have immediately summoned He Ping to bring Li Quan into prison for strict interrogation?
Why are they now targeting Gao Hong instead?
Why does it seem like he's the one being accused?
A wave of bewilderment washed over him. He looked up at the emperor, whose face remained as calm as a still lake, its depths unfathomable.

Could something bad have gone wrong?

He had carefully reviewed it last night, and he had also checked it before leaving the house; there was nothing wrong with it!

What kind of trouble could it possibly cause?

It's impossible!

He's not someone who just started working in the palace!

He lowered his head: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My wives, concubines, and adopted sons are all poor people with nowhere to go. I took pity on them and kept them around to keep me company—Eunuch Li, Li Quan! He also keeps quite a few people in his private residence!"

"Nonsense! My private residence is full of servants; I have never had any wives, concubines, or adopted sons! Your Majesty—"

Li Quan took two steps closer to the emperor: "Gao Hong is spewing nonsense. I don't know what he's trying to do. May I ask if these are really the evidence used to accuse this old servant? Why don't you ask Commander He to take them and investigate them thoroughly? If they are indeed true, this old servant will plead guilty and accept punishment!"

"But if a thorough investigation proves this old servant innocent, then I beg Your Majesty to grant this old servant justice and execute this treacherous servant Gao Hong!"