Her guards

Chapter 196 Asking My Father-in-Law for Help

Chai Du was brought back to the Dali Temple once again. This time, Chai Yuan did not cause trouble, because he had already caused trouble outside the city gate, almost getting into a fight with the Dali Temple and alarming the Beijing Garrison.

Marquis Yichun stopped Chai Yuan and told him to go home. This time, he came to Dali Temple in person.

"Let His Majesty ask me first, then you can ask my son," he said calmly, sitting in the hall of the Dali Temple.

The emperor arrived quickly.

"What's going on? I just heard the news..." he said, "Bring that deputy general up here, I'll personally..."

Before he could finish speaking, Marquis Yichun interrupted him: "Your Majesty, let me ask you a question first."

The emperor waved his hand, and the officials in the hall all withdrew, while the imperial guards stood guard outside the door and closed it.

"Father-in-law," the emperor said, sitting down, "please speak."

Marquis Yichun looked at him: "Your Majesty, do you believe that Chai Du was responsible for the Baima Town case?"

The emperor looked at him and shook his head.

So, you did this, trying to frame us. We thought it was just to get our daughter back, but we never expected you were trying to get back at the Chai family...

Looking at the emperor, the Marquis of Yichun felt a surge of emotions welling up inside him. Deng Shan, you have been sitting on the throne for more than ten years, and you haven’t even settled down yet!
You should think twice before you act!
But just as these words were about to come to his lips, the emperor spoke again.

"I know who did it."

Do you know who did it? Marquis Yichun paused, the words swirling in his throat.

The emperor's eyes lit up with excitement: "I was completely clueless until Ji Ying's servants jumped out and I realized their purpose." He then gave a mocking smile, "Actually, I should have realized it a long time ago. Ever since that child appeared, you, father-in-law, have been dissatisfied with me, and Ah Feng and I have also quarreled many times."

Marquis Yichun swallowed his turbulent words, frowned, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying this is all a conspiracy," the emperor said in a deep voice, "a conspiracy to sow discord between me and the Chai family."

The Marquis of Yichun looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, do you know who it is?"

The emperor nodded without speaking and pushed a case file in front of the Marquis of Yichun.

Marquis Yichun picked it up and looked at it. His expression instantly turned serious, and he stood up abruptly.

“You scoundrel! I knew it! The Li family is no good!” he shouted.

The emperor raised his hand and hissed at him.

……

……

"His Majesty!"

"Since you know who it is, why don't you arrest them immediately!"

"Why arrest Chai Du instead?"

Marquis Yichun asked repeatedly.

He looked down at the case file he was clutching. The contents were very simple: it was about the interrogation of a servant of the Dali Temple who had been instructed by the teacher of the school provided by the Li family to pass on information to the servants of the Ji family.

Although it was simple, Marquis Yichun understood it at a glance.

"Because there is not enough evidence," the emperor said softly, looking at the case file. "It doesn't mention that it was Doctor Li's order. He was merely supporting the private school, something the Li family has done for generations. Punishing him for this will not convince the public and will only cause unrest."

The Li family's reputation was no less than that of the Chai family, and they were even more popular.

Marquis Yichun, of course, knew this as well, and looked at the emperor, asking, "Then what does Your Majesty intend to do?"

The emperor rose and bowed: "I ask my father-in-law and second brother to make this a real charade."

The charade had become real... Marquis Yichun frowned slightly.

"Please have Second Brother pretend to be interrogated to mislead the villains," the Emperor continued. "This way, we can catch them off guard, find more evidence against Lady Li, and also expose the spies she planted in the Gaoyang army."

His brow furrowed as he spoke.

"This lieutenant general was personally trained by my second brother and trusted for more than ten years, yet he was assigned by Lady Li. Who knows how many traitors are still hiding in the army?"

"That's my second brother's Gaoyang Army!"

Marquis Yichun said from the side, "Your Majesty is mistaken. That is not the Gaoyang Army of Chaidu, but Your Majesty's."

He then bowed in greeting.

"I have failed in educating my son, and he has been deceived by the villains to this extent."

The emperor reached out to help him up and sighed, "My lord, it was my fault for misjudging people and letting a wolf into the house."

After saying this, he grasped the hand of the Marquis of Yichun.

"I beg Your Excellency's assistance."

Marquis Yichun's expression shifted for a moment, then he looked at the emperor and slowly nodded: "Your subject has come to discuss this with Chai Du."

……

……

By informing the real person behind the scenes, demonstrating the emperor's honesty, and also revealing the secrecy of the Gaoyang Army, Marquis Yichun should be willing to accept the charade becoming real.

Thus, Chai Du ostensibly relinquished military power in Gaoyang Army, and the imperial court sent people to Gaoyang Army to investigate. Although nine out of ten people sent would inevitably be chosen by the Marquis of Yichun, even one of them being the emperor's man would be enough to pry open the military power that had split the Chai family. The emperor was lost in thought for a moment, then turned past the screen door and went to the hidden chamber in the hall.

This is a place set up by the Dali Temple officials to facilitate listening to interrogations without being discovered by the interrogated.

At this moment, two young girls were sitting in the secret chamber. When the emperor entered, the maid, who was disguised as Miss Yang, immediately got up and quietly retreated to the outside of the secret chamber.

The emperor paid no attention to the maid, who never spoke in his presence, remaining silent and unnoticed as if she did not exist.

She was a very sensible and obedient maid.

The emperor was very satisfied.

The people my daughter trained are really good.

“Your Majesty,” Yang Luo said with delight, “as expected, only the murderer can provide detailed evidence. Look, the records handed over by this deputy general show that after they killed the people, they did not leave immediately. They waited until the government used death row inmates to impersonate bandits before leaving.”

He patted his chest as he said this.

"Luckily, I didn't go to the government to reveal my identity."

"A-Luo is intelligent," the emperor exclaimed.

Yang Luo smiled inwardly, not because she was clever, but because she had learned her lesson after dying once.

"Ah Luo," the emperor smiled bitterly again, "if you hadn't come up with this idea in time, I'm afraid I really wouldn't have been able to do anything to the Chai family this time."

He was well aware of the Chai family's power and arrogance, and he also knew that the Chai family had raised his son to be a descendant of the Chai family. If he didn't take action to deal with the Marquis of Yichun, the empire he had built might not even last two generations before it was changed to the Chai family name.

However, the newly established dynasty was not stable due to external and internal troubles, and had not yet found a suitable opportunity to weaken the Marquis of Yichun.

Unexpectedly, his daughter, who had been living away from home, gave him an opportunity.

It's a good, roundabout, and discreet method.

“I know how difficult it is to accomplish something,” Yang Luo said softly. “Your Majesty is responsible for the fate of the nation, so it is even more difficult for you to do things.”

After saying this, he looked at the emperor.

"Don't be afraid of being bullied. No one gets bullied forever."

He was being bullied, but only his daughter could see that he was being bullied. Everyone else thought that he, the emperor, was high above others and could only bully people, never be bullied himself. But in reality, he was having a very hard time, and his life was not as carefree and enjoyable as when he was conquering the world... The emperor's eyes stung with tears.

He looked at the girl before him, a daughter whose blood flowed with his, and who had nothing to do with any aristocratic families or powerful figures, but was devoted solely to him.

“Yes,” the emperor said, “I will not be bullied forever.”

My daughter will no longer be bullied.

Yang Luo curtsied and said, "Then Your Majesty will take care of the rest. I'm returning to the National Academy."

The emperor looked worried: "Let's continue living in the palace, in case we encounter another assassination attempt." He added, "There are good reasons for living in the palace. After all, Miss Yang is a survivor from White Horse Town. We need to protect her until the case is solved."

Yang Luo shook his head: "We can't neglect our studies, Your Majesty. Our affairs are our own affairs. Since we became the disciples of the Chancellor after ranking first in the National Academy, we can't let the Chancellor down. We should study hard."

He smiled again as he said this.

"As for assassination attempts, they haven't managed to hurt me despite all these attempts, which shows that luck isn't on their side."

The emperor couldn't help but laugh heartily.

This is his fallen petals, true to his word, neither arrogant nor impatient, calm and steady, fearless... just like when he was young.

No, he's even more impressive than when he was younger.

The emperor nodded gently: "Alright, I will listen to you."

……

……

In the imperial city, at the princess's palace, a palace maid rushed in.

"Princess, Princess." She ignored the fact that the King of the East Sea was sitting in the hall and Princess Pingcheng was talking, and went straight in to interrupt.

Princess Heisei immediately stopped talking to the Prince of Donghai and looked at her, asking, "Is there any news?"

The King of the East Sea relaxed his furrowed brows and looked at the palace maid with some nervousness. His sister must have asked him to inquire about his uncle.

"Yang Luo has left the Dali Temple and returned to the Imperial Academy," the palace maid said. "She..."

Princess Heisei asked, "Did Father Emperor send her there?"

The palace maid hurriedly shook her head: "They went by carriage themselves."

Princess Heisei asked, "What kind of carriage are you riding in?"

The palace maid was taken aback for a moment, but thankfully she had indeed paid attention to this, and quickly replied, "It's a carriage from the Dali Temple."

Princess Heisei nodded to the carriage from the Dali Temple, signaling the palace maids to leave.

The palace maid obeyed and left.

The King of the East Sea stood there, stunned and somewhat bewildered. What was going on? The information he had the palace maid gather was about what kind of carriage Yang Luo was traveling in!
　No updates tomorrow while traveling.

　　(End of this chapter)