Chapter 773: Chapter 485: The Night Before the Coup (5k)
A few days ago, there have been farmers from the outskirts of the Capital entering the city... At this point in time, it seems quite unusual. When I went to investigate, I found that these people didn’t look like farmers at all, but rather like retired soldiers... I didn’t dare delve deeper into specifics."
Zhao Douan and Xu Zhenguan were both stunned, their eyes focusing intensely!
This guy, did he really discover something? Zhao Douan frowned:
"You mentioned these things, have you not reported them to the Imperial Court?"
Since Qin Qiu took the assignment, he was supposed to report it to Ma Yan.
Why does he say "didn’t dare delve deeper"?
Qin Qiu hesitated, then cautiously said: "I... I haven’t had the chance to report yet."
Ha, haven’t had the chance, or just playing blind and pretending not to see? Zhao Douan sneered.
He knew this guy too well, and with a little thought, understood the reason:
Qin Qiu indeed sensed something amiss during his inspections, but fearing the Prime Minister’s Mansion and unwilling to get involved in higher intrigue, he chose to hide the findings.
After all, the previous Ministry of Justice case taught him too harsh a lesson.
This is a small man’s strategy for self-preservation, especially with the Empress and Junior Guardian Zhao missing. During this period Qin Qiu was extorting and gathering wealth, didn’t he also plan to flee and seek refuge quickly?
Since he has no confidence in the court, why report and cause trouble?
Qin Qiu is such, and the other clerks responsible for inspections, who share duties, likely had the same plan. In such a situation, the inspection became a hollow shell.
Ma Yan, sitting in the Imperial Court, with limited manpower, probably hasn’t detected these secret disturbances.
Ultimately, when the people in the court are disheartened, no matter how wise and capable the high-ranking ministers are, they will become blind, deaf, and dumb.
As for why Qin Qiu decided to speak now, one reason is an attempt at atonement, another is that with the Empress and Junior Guardian Zhao returning, he naturally has no reason to flee.
"Li Yanfu..." The Empress felt a heaviness settle in her heart.
"Is Your Majesty worried that the Li Party might be plotting in the shadows?" Zhao Douan perceptively intuited.
The Empress nodded, then shook her head: "Further confirmation is needed."
Zhao Douan felt a stirring and glanced at the informant on the ground:
"You may leave now, you know what to do, right?"
Qin Qiu had a moment of clarity:
"I will manage things and absolutely won’t reveal any information related to Your Majesty and the Junior Guardian. I’ll claim I was chased out by two powerful nobles, and if I leak a word, may my entire family be executed!"
"Get out," Zhao Douan said:
"Remember, once the chaos in the city subsides, return all the money you extorted, or you know the consequences."
"Yes! I dare not slack!"
Qin Qiu, overjoyed, backed out of the door with his head lowered, and only when he closed the door did he exhale deeply, almost drenched.
Yet a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, somewhat pleased:
Right now, in this city, probably only I, Qin Qiu, know of the Empress’s return?
He walked down to the first floor triumphantly, facing a group of "outsourced employees" from the Imperial Court, deliberately putting on a gloomy face: "Move along, move along."
"Uh, Mr. Qin... who was that upstairs..." someone asked.
Qin Qiu kicked them, annoyed:
"Ran into someone with connections, don’t pry, can’t afford to offend them. Careful or knowing too much might get you killed without you knowing how."
The clerks dared not ask more.
Working in the Capital, this group of low-level attendants most feared accidentally offending some noble. Not prying is a basic rule.
...
Inside the room.
"Your Majesty, you mean..." Zhao Douan closed the door and turned to inquire.
Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment, revealing a delicate leaf-like instrument in her fair palm.
She walked straight to the window, placing the porcelain-like "leaf" to her red lips, gently playing it.
No sound was heard, but Zhao Douan clearly felt a slight ripple in his mind.
Xu Zhenguan set down the leaf instrument, her lacquered eyes gazing toward the street:
"This is a method to summon the Hidden Guard in the inner court. I need more people to confirm the Li Party’s movements."
So, you already had a way to get information... Zhao Douan grumbled in his heart, then said seriously:
"Your Majesty didn’t return publicly, but entered the city quietly because you wanted to first sort out the restless ones in the city, those who might be colluding with the rebel army?"
Two words popped into his mind: Baiting!
Thinking, could Zhenbao be planning to use this chance as bait? To capture all unstable elements and the court’s internal rebel contacts in one go?
"It is indeed a good opportunity, but if these people don’t reveal themselves soon, we can’t just keep waiting. The longer Your Majesty does not show yourself, the less strong the resistance will be locally." Zhao Douan analyzed calmly.
He believed that under the current circumstances, baiting wasn’t suitable.
Because the losses incurred by continuing to lie low might be greater than exposing some parasites.
"No," the Empress shook her head, her eyes looking clearly at him:
"I will stay hidden in the city for only one day at most. By tomorrow morning, no matter the result, I will enter the palace to ’attend court’ and stabilize the situation.
However, I do need this one day to find out as much as possible about who in the court might be colluding with the rebel army. At this point, I can still wait for one day."
One day...
Indeed, if the Empress revealed herself immediately, by the time she stabilizes the situation and sends people to investigate, many traces would disappear.
So, waiting one more day wouldn’t affect the broader picture, yet could help weed out hidden dangers in the court as much as possible.
After all, oftentimes, a single inside culprit in the court could cause more loss than losing an entire city.