Discuss with you

Chapter 466 Resolving the feud
The problem is that Cao Tianbao is no ordinary person.

General Cao had followed Emperor Jin on the battlefield since he was young, leading troops into battle. Even when he was just a junior officer, he was known in the army for his straightforward and fiery temper.

Over the years, his military achievements have increased, his official rank has risen, and he has grown older. Everything has changed, but his temperament has remained unchanged.

So, faced with Emperor Jin's almost explicit warning, Cao Tianbao did not cower and request to retire. Instead, he stood his ground and made his point clear: although he was old and vigorous, he could obey Emperor Jin's order to retire. However, he could not take the blame for something that was not his. Even if he retired, he could not go back without a clear explanation, otherwise he would bring shame to the Cao family's ancestors and make future generations unable to hold their heads high.

These words were tantamount to pointing a finger at Emperor Jin and accusing him of framing an old minister. Emperor Jin was so angry that he couldn't contain his anger, and the two argued heatedly in the main hall. Cao Tianbao refused to back down, which made Emperor Jin so angry that he almost exploded. He immediately ordered the imperial guards to tie Cao Tianbao up and throw him into prison, and it seemed that he wanted to behead him on a certain day.

If it were an ordinary person, daring to argue with the Emperor in the main hall like this, they would not be unjustly executed.

But this person is none other than Cao Tianbao! He is a top-notch military general in the court, and a veteran minister who followed Emperor Jin and helped him ascend to a high position, with outstanding achievements.

In particular, Cao Tianbao's personality was well-known throughout the court.

If this happened to someone else, it would be an absolute act of defiance. Not to mention cutting off their head, even cutting off their entire family wouldn't be too much.

But this is Cao Tianbao! That's just his personality, even if the Emperor himself came. He's incredibly straightforward. His resoluteness made the old ministers in the court wonder if he was really being wronged.

These veteran officials would also think to themselves, if Cao Tianbao was indeed framed this time and he couldn't clear his name, what if they were the ones who were plotted against next time? As veteran officials who had followed Emperor Jin their whole lives, would they deserve to be framed and killed one by one?

With the thought that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," these veteran officials began to plead for Cao Tianbao in the court, even those who were not on Cao Tianbao's side and had always kept their distance from him.

Although Emperor Jin was furious, he couldn't resist the pleas of the court officials. No matter how unhappy he was, he couldn't disregard the feelings of so many important officials and insisted on beheading Cao Tianbao.

The situation became somewhat awkward, with neither side knowing how to resolve the situation.

Just at this critical juncture of stalemate and difficulty, the situation suddenly took a turn for the better—Emperor Jin received a secret memorial from the Golden-Faced Censor, which detailed how the black iron mines of Shuo Kingdom had been secretly mined by outsiders, how those people had used various deceptions to kidnap Shuo Kingdom's blacksmiths, imprison them, and make counterfeit weapons, and even detailed how to distinguish the authenticity of these weapons.

After Emperor Jin reviewed the documents, he summoned the Ministry of War and, following the method outlined in the secret report, ordered them to bring the batch of weapons that Cao Tianbao's soldiers had received for inspection.

Upon inspection, the truth was immediately revealed—the batch received by Cao Tianbao's men was indeed counterfeit.

Emperor Jin was furious and reprimanded the Ministry of War, ordering them to thoroughly investigate who had sent the counterfeit weapons to Cao Tianbao's men. He then personally went to the prison to bring Cao Tianbao out, holding his hand and saying with red eyes, "Tianbao, you've suffered." Cao Tianbao's grievances were cleared, and he no longer cared about the previous events. The emperor and his minister reconciled, and Emperor Jin immediately issued an edict restoring Cao Tianbao to his original position and bestowing upon him gold, silver, and silk as compensation for the injustice he had suffered.

Cao Tianbao accepted the gift with profuse thanks, and the huge uproar that almost spiraled out of control was finally quelled.

After reading it, Zhu Yu turned around to look at Lu Qing behind him and saw that he had a calm expression and seemed satisfied with what was stated in the secret report.

"When did you send the secret report back?" Zhu Yu asked.

"When we were in Lan, after hearing about Cao Tianbao's matter, I asked the Shadow Guard to find a way to secretly deliver the secret report to the Chi Fu Guard." Lu Qing didn't intend to keep it from Zhu Yu forever, but they had been through so much recently that he had temporarily forgotten about it. "The Chi Fu Guard has not left Jin Kingdom, so I have no way to give it to them directly."

"Will the Shadow Guards be exposed?" Zhu Yu asked with some concern.

Lu Qing smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, they were all carefully trained by Lu Chao, they're not that bad."

"Then... your trip to Shuo Di this time was not on his orders. Although you have now secretly reported to him and relieved his immediate crisis, what if he wants to settle scores with you later after the current headache is resolved?" Zhu Yu was a little worried.

“His Chifu Guards were always around me, like my shadow, or even more like his eyes.” Lu Qing spoke calmly, as if it were commonplace for him to be under surveillance, without much emotion. “So from the moment I stepped out of Jin Kingdom’s territory and entered Shuo Land, he knew everything.”

Since he hasn't made any move, and even forbade Chi Fuwei from leaving Jin Kingdom to continue following me, doesn't that mean that although he knows all this, he is still observing my every move, or that there are still things he needs me to do for him, so he doesn't intend to harm me?

If one day he wants to settle scores, then whether I send him that secret memorial or not, he will still take action against me; it makes no difference.

But for us, at least for now, we share the same thought as that person. We don't want General Cao to be forced to retire early and return to his hometown because of an unjust accusation.

So what is meant to be will be, and what is meant to be will be. That person's thoughts are inherently difficult to fathom, so I will only do what is beneficial to our plans.

Zhu Yu thought about it and realized that Lu Qing's words made perfect sense.

She originally thought that as the Emperor Jin, she would have the strength and confidence to be decisive and ruthless, a true overlord. Now, she realizes that her original idea was too naive.

Even someone as high and mighty as Emperor Jin was caught in a dilemma this time, unable to advance or retreat, and in a difficult position.