Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 794 Decision
The commander of the Palace Guard prostrated himself on the ground, begging for mercy, and everyone in the room turned their gaze to him. Wang Bingchen had already guessed the outcome when he saw him accompany the Empress to the Funing Palace, so he was not surprised.

Only the Vice Chancellor and the Privy Councilor had somber expressions, subtly revealing a hint of unease.

Even the commander of the Palace Guard begged for mercy, what about them?

The Empress Dowager ignored the person kneeling before her and instead looked at Wang Bingchen: "Prime Minister Wang and his son have offended quite a few people!"

Wang Bingchen bowed, his eyes clear as a mirror: "As officials of the court, we must act with impartiality. We only hope not to fail the Emperor's grace and not to be ashamed before the world. As for anything else..."

At this point, Wang Bingchen paused: "The gains and losses, the praise and the criticism, are beyond measure."

The Empress Dowager nodded: "Prime Minister Wang is insightful."

After saying this, the Empress Dowager glanced at the Prince of Qin and asked, "Don't you know why the Jiang family is targeting Xie Yuyan and Wang Yan?"

The King of Qin forced himself to say, "Your subject truly does not know."

The Empress Dowager seemed to have anticipated this outcome. She was not angry, nor did she intend to use her power to suppress the King of Qin. This gave people the strange impression that, in the Empress Dowager's mind, the King of Qin's mistakes were not as serious as everyone thought, and the Empress Dowager also wanted to let the King of Qin off the hook.

Even the King of Qin couldn't guess the Queen Dowager's intentions.

The Empress Dowager picked up her tea and took a sip, her expression calm, but what she said next seemed to thunder in the King of Qin's ears: "Because the Jiang family has business dealings at sea, what Xie Yuyan did in Quanzhou this time not only sent Xie Yizhi and his people to prison, but also dealt a heavy blow to those who made a living by smuggling goods at sea. The Jiang family therefore harbored resentment and tried every means to deal with Xie Yuyan."

“But harming Xie Yuyan is not enough. The Wang family will definitely continue to investigate this matter. Let’s just take care of the Wang family as well. In this way, no one will dare to stand in their way.”

"The Duke of Wei has retired to avoid the limelight. Even if he has some connections in the court, how many people would be willing to work for him? The best way is to provoke a conflict between the Prince of Qin's mansion and the Prime Minister. In this way, not only will the Prince's mansion benefit from this, but it will also gain merit in front of you and earn your gratitude, so that it can exchange for greater benefits in the future."

The Queen Dowager paused and asked the King of Qin, "Am I right?"

It took the King of Qin a while to come to his senses. The look of astonishment on his face had not faded. He subconsciously shook his head and said, "No... that's not how it is. Where did the Sage hear such words? How could the Jiang family possibly be smuggling goods at sea for profit?"

"Jiang Ruming died for his country, leaving only the elderly and children at home. His father-in-law, the Duke of Wei, was ill and had not left the house for a long time. Ruming's wife, Wu, was left to manage the internal and external affairs. If these things were to be done, only Wu could handle them. Where would a woman like her find the energy to do these things?"

At this point, the King of Qin thought of Xie Yuyan. Xie Yuyan was also a woman, yet she had accumulated such a large fortune in just over a year. His statement was somewhat untenable.

The Empress Dowager chuckled: "What matters is not these things, but whether they have the will to do them."

"No," the King of Qin insisted, "definitely not."

The Empress Dowager suddenly smiled: "Then why did the Imperial City Guard arrest Wu? And why did the Empress suddenly come to the Funing Palace to contend for power with Prime Minister Wang? Whose side were those officials who knocked on the palace gates on?"

"The Jiang family? The Empress?"

"You'd give up your life for them?"

After saying this, the Empress Dowager looked at the Commander of the Palace Guard and asked, "What do you think?"

The commander of the Palace Guard touched the ground with his forehead, trembling and unable to speak.

"You have already confessed everything about the Empress, so why don't you dare to speak now?" the Empress Dowager said. "Because the Empress... is just someone to use to gain influence; that's all she's good for."

Her hand suddenly pointed at the King of Qin, and her gaze sharpened: "He is different. If he succeeds to the throne in the future, he will definitely settle accounts with you for your confession today. At that time, not only you, but your descendants will also be suppressed and unable to hold their heads up."

Am I right?

The commander of the Palace Guard seemed afraid to breathe, afraid to admit it, and lacked the courage to refute it, but his every move gave everyone the answer.

The King of Qin bowed to the Queen Dowager again, saying, "Your Majesty, you have wronged me."

"None of you dare to speak," the Empress Dowager's expression suddenly turned cold, "Then I will speak..."

As the Empress Dowager finished speaking, a coughing sound came from inside the inner palace.

Seeing this, Wang Bingchen couldn't help but stand up and stop him: "Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager didn't care about such things. She said, "When Xia Mengxian was arrested, the Emperor told me about the Prince of Qin..."

“Sage,” Wang Bingchen spoke again, “please do not continue.” Some things cannot be hidden, for once hidden, many things become impossible. The people involved may have their lives dictated by these words.

The two officials, the Vice Chancellor and the Privy Councilor, also rose and bowed before the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty, we are guilty."

Next, officials such as the Secretariat Attendants stepped forward to persuade him.

The King of Qin was pale. He could roughly guess what the Empress Dowager was about to say. He had been in contact with Xia Mengxian in private, and he thought that no one knew about this matter. But it was obvious that the Emperor had known about it for a long time and had even informed the Empress Dowager.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager did not mention it because they intended to let him off the hook, but he did too much to cover it up.

"Cough cough cough."

The sound of coughing came again from the inner chamber.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, glanced at the inner hall with a look of anger at their lack of ambition, and left everyone in the room to walk into the inner hall.

The Vice Chancellor wanted to speak with Wang Bingchen. The Emperor and Empress Dowager trusted Wang Bingchen, and only Wang Bingchen could speak on their behalf. However, Wang Bingchen ignored his hints.

After waiting for a while, the Empress Dowager finally returned. Wang Bingchen hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, how is the Emperor?"

The Empress Dowager said, "She's awake."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"His Majesty is too weak to speak much for the time being," the Empress Dowager said, looking at Wang Bingchen. "His Majesty wishes to see Minister Wang."

Wang Bingchen responded and followed the palace attendants into the inner hall.

The Emperor awoke and still trusted Prime Minister Wang, so the scheme orchestrated by the Wang family father and son had no effect whatsoever. The Vice Chancellor and the Privy Councilor couldn't help but regret their hasty decision to listen to the Empress and the Prince of Qin and to take sides so easily.

When Wang Bingchen came out, Jiang, the eunuch, followed behind him carrying the imperial seal.

"His Majesty said," Jiang, the eunuch, walked to the Empress Dowager's side, "that the case of the Court of Judicial Review and the case of the 'knock on the gate of Xuande' will be investigated together. Until His Majesty recovers, the Empress Dowager will be in charge of military and state affairs, and Wang Bingchen, the Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, will assist him."

After speaking, Eunuch Jiang showed everyone the Emperor's handwritten letter. The handwriting was extremely messy and incomplete, containing only a few key words: "Military and national affairs are entrusted to the Empress Dowager, with the Prime Minister assisting..."

But these words are enough to prove that the emperor was sober when he issued the edict.

Everyone immediately bowed in agreement.

Jiang, the eunuch, continued, "His Majesty also sent me to the Empress to retrieve the imperial edict and the imperial seal."

The commander of the Palace Guard on the ground was utterly despondent. With the Empress's title and seal gone, she had lost all power and could no longer rule as a ruler. In other words, the Empress had completely lost power.

Next, it was his turn.

As expected, Eunuch Shen looked at the Commander of the Palace Guard and conveyed the Emperor's decree: "Commander Chen Lun of the Palace Guard has failed to live up to the Emperor's grace. He is hereby dismissed from his post as Commander of the Palace Guard and shall be exiled to Guangnan West Road. Considering that his ancestors had rendered meritorious service to Daliang, his wife and children are permitted to remain in the capital."

The commander of the Palace Guard thanked the emperor with a trembling voice. His wife and children were being held hostage in the capital, and he could only reunite with them if he redeemed himself through meritorious service.

Jiang Neishi paused intentionally after speaking.

The Vice Minister of State stepped forward and said, "I am unwell. I will go back and write a memorial requesting to retire."

The Privy Councilor echoed, "I feel the same way."

Jiang, the eunuch, remained noncommittal and then looked at the Prince of Qin: "Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you in the inner palace."

The King of Qin hadn't expected the Emperor to see him at this time. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding wildly. Perhaps what awaited him inside was a cup of poison...

The moment that would decide his fate had arrived.

(End of this chapter)