I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 311 Death
Grand Tutor Zhang and the others glanced coldly at Grand Secretary Li kneeling on the ground, snorted, and went about their business.

Grand Secretary Li had been kneeling for so long that he couldn't get up even after several attempts. It was only because a young eunuch couldn't bear to see him like that that he reached out and helped him up.

After thanking the emperor, Grand Secretary Li hunched over and left the imperial study. Instead of taking the sedan chair bestowed by the emperor, he walked step by step, trembling, to the inner cabinet. After conveying Emperor Pingyuan's decree, he excused himself by saying he was tired and went back to his duty room to rest.

Seeing that Grand Secretary Li looked haggard, the cabinet members couldn't bring themselves to say anything, no matter how much they wanted to say, and could only let him go back to rest.

At noon, Emperor Pingyuan personally served him a royal meal.

After everyone thanked him, they went to the duty room to invite Grand Secretary Li to eat with them. But when they opened the door, they found that Grand Secretary Li had hanged himself from the roof beam with his belt.

"Grand Secretary Li!" The crowd rushed over and hurriedly lowered Grand Secretary Li, who was hanging from the roof beam. Seeing Grand Secretary Li's pale face, Grand Secretary Chen still refused to give up and tried to check his breathing.

The others asked, "How is it?"

Grand Secretary Chen shook his head with a sullen face, "Grand Secretary Li has left."

Upon hearing this, everyone disregarded everything else and burst into tears, crying out, "Grand Secretary Li, you're gone! What will become of the Great Yu Empire?"

Wang Da, who was outside the gate on the orders of Emperor Pingyuan to personally deliver the meal, heard the crying inside and turned around and ran into the inner palace.

Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was kneeling before the Buddha, chanting sutras.

The Empress Dowager and Emperor Pingyuan waited anxiously in the outer hall, their eyes frequently glancing towards the Buddhist hall in the inner hall.

Finally, the sound of the wooden fish stopped.

The Empress Dowager, supported by her nanny, stood up and walked steadily out of the inner palace.

The Empress Dowager quickly stepped forward to help him up.

The Empress Dowager seemed not to see him and walked around the Empress Dowager to sit on the soft couch.

"I know why you've come," the Empress Dowager said, fiddling with the prayer beads in her hand. "I can't control what you do, but I will never aid and abet evil."

The Empress Dowager's face turned pale instantly, and she opened her mouth to defend herself.

The Empress Dowager coldly interrupted, "Keep your nonsense to fool those fools. Although I am blind, my mind is still as clear as a mirror."

The Empress Dowager glanced at her son, whose face was ashen, and seemed frightened, so she dared not make any further moves.

Emperor Pingyuan did not argue further, but pleaded, "Please, Empress Dowager, for the sake of my father and grandfather, help your grandson."

The Empress Dowager stroked the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand. These were a gift from the Emperor Gaozu. Later, the beads were damaged, and the late Emperor personally went to Huguo Temple to ask the Imperial Preceptor for a new pair to replace them, so that she could continue to use these beads to worship Buddha.

This is not just a string of Buddhist prayer beads, but also a symbol of a husband's love for his wife and a son's filial piety towards his mother.

Whenever she uses these prayer beads to worship Buddha, it is as if her husband and son are still by her side.

For the sake of the great Chongqing region, her husband and son devoted their entire lives to it. How could she let their efforts be wasted in the hands of her grandson?

I can only apologize to my second son.

Tears silently dripped from the Empress Dowager's eyes. So be it. She already owed Er'er countless debts anyway, so what difference would one more make?
Once she reaches the underworld, she will confess her crimes to King Yama, and she will willingly accept whatever punishment he deems fit. "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will not allow treacherous officials to falsely accuse you," the Empress Dowager said, clutching her prayer beads. "I will send someone to rebuke Prince Xuan for his disloyalty and filial impiety, and I will ask the head of the imperial clan to strip Prince Xuan of his title and imprison him and his family in the Imperial Clan Court until they die of old age."

Emperor Pingyuan's face relaxed slightly, and his stiff body came to life. He stood up and bowed deeply to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Grandson thanks His Majesty for your great understanding."

The Empress Dowager turned her head away, unwilling to look at him, but she could not help but reprimand him, "As the emperor is a role model for all people, he should set an example for himself so as not to be criticized."

"I hope the Emperor will take today's events as a warning and not repeat such grave mistakes," the Empress Dowager said with a bitter smile. "After all, this old woman of mine won't live much longer, and I'm afraid I won't be able to help Your Majesty one more time!"

Emperor Pingyuan seemed oblivious to the resentment in the Empress Dowager's tone, and said with a relaxed expression, "Grandson will remember the teachings of his Empress Dowager."

Seeing that the matter was settled, the Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked, "Would the Empress Dowager like to write an imperial edict now? Your Majesty, I will serve you with pen and ink."

The Empress Dowager seemed not to hear.

Seeing her son nod, the Empress Dowager mustered her courage and urged, "This matter concerns the Emperor's reputation, and we cannot delay for even a moment."

The Empress Dowager sneered, "Now you care about your reputation? What were you doing when you were treasonous with the enemy?"
Despite her anger, having already made her choice, the Empress Dowager did not wish to make things difficult for them. She personally went to her desk, wrote an imperial edict, and handed it to Granny Shi, who had always served her, saying, "Go to the Northwest to proclaim this edict."

As Granny Shi knelt down, ready to receive the decree, the palace door was suddenly pushed open with a bang. Eunuch Wang tripped on the threshold with his right foot and rolled into the palace like a ball.

Seeing that things were taking a turn for the better, the Empress Dowager was in a great mood. She was not angry at Wang Dajian's rudeness, but complained, "What a big matter, why are you in such a hurry! You've been in the palace for decades, but you're not as good as a little eunuch who just entered the palace."

Ignoring the Empress Dowager's words, Wang Dajian crawled to Emperor Pingyuan's feet and cried out in a shrill voice, "Something terrible has happened, Your Majesty! Grand Secretary Li, Grand Secretary Li has committed suicide!"

Emperor Pingyuan's smug smile froze. "What did you say?"

Wang Dajian's eyes were filled with terror. "When I went to the cabinet office to deliver the meal just now, I personally heard the cabinet ministers crying and shouting that Grand Secretary Li had passed away!"

"No, this is impossible!" Emperor Pingyuan disregarded everything else, kicked aside the eunuch Wang who was blocking his way, and strode away from Cining Palace, ignoring the Empress Dowager's calls.

The Empress Dowager was annoyed by her son's recklessness and turned to the Grand Empress Dowager, saying, "The journey to the Northwest is long and arduous. It may not be safe for Granny Shi to go alone. Why don't I send someone to escort Granny Shi there?"

The Empress Dowager stumbled and fell into a chair. After a long while, she said, "There's no need."

The Empress Dowager frowned. "What?"

The Empress Dowager reached out her hand, and Granny Shi respectfully returned the imperial edict to her, lit the candle, and threw it into the brazier.

"Grand Empress Dowager, what are you doing?" The Empress Dowager suspected that the Grand Empress Dowager had changed her mind. She stepped forward to snatch it but was afraid of burning her hands with the flames. She could only watch helplessly as the imperial edict was burned to ashes.

"Didn't you hear? Grand Secretary Li is dead," the Empress Dowager said, her aged face filled with frustration. "He would rather die than serve a traitorous emperor."

The Empress Dowager had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter. "So what? There are so many ministers in the court and so many people in the world who want to be loyal to my son!"

The Empress Dowager was completely heartbroken. She went to the Buddhist hall, knelt before the Buddha, and wept bitterly.

In the imperial study, Emperor Pingyuan stared at the corpse of Grand Secretary Li, his face terrifyingly grim.

"All the eunuchs and guards on duty today will be beaten to death," Emperor Pingyuan said, looking at the group of old ministers kneeling on the ground. "After you leave the palace, you must not tell anyone the truth about Grand Secretary Li's death. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"