"Survival of the fittest. So, those who are alive to begin carrying out missions must have quite good qualifications."
[But judging by the reactions of these officials, they likely see them as stains and can't wait to have them all killed!]
Emperor Mingxi and his attendant Qian Gui exchanged a glance. The emperor had shadow guards, death warriors, and two intelligence networks—one for internal affairs and one for external.
A portion of the internal network was managed by Qian Gui.
As for the other portion... Emperor Mingxi swept his gaze over a certain individual in the grand hall.
Yue Fuguang took it all in, knowing the emperor had taken note, and said no more.
Emperor Mingxi cleared his throat lightly and said, "All my esteemed ministers have seen it. Feel free to speak your minds. I pardon you from any offense."
An elderly official stepped forward first, saying, "Your Majesty, Prince Qi has spied on imperial authority and planted spies in the residences of court officials. His intentions deserve death, and his actions deserve punishment!"
As soon as his words fell, someone immediately spoke up, "I second the motion. Your Majesty, the matter of Prince Qi's intent to rebel should be thoroughly investigated to also clear our names."
"I second the motion. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly, we are loyal only to Your Majesty and have absolutely no connection with Prince Qi!"
Another person jumped out to second the motion. Yue Fuguang saw they were all the ones whose households had been infiltrated by Prince Qi's people, their expressions now a mixture of shock and anxiety.
They were all eager to pledge their loyalty to the emperor and, in one stroke, finish off Prince Qi!
Indeed, hadn't the ruler and his ministers thought alike on this?
Thus, Emperor Mingxi declared, "The matter of Prince Qi's intent to rebel is hereby ordered to be thoroughly investigated by the Three Judicial Offices.
Ensure not a single guilty person escapes, nor an innocent person is wronged."
Wei Ping, Huo Ying, and Feng Tang immediately bowed in assent.
Emperor Mingxi then said to Wei Ping, "Minister Wei, take all the spies from the prince's residence into custody in your Dali Prison. They will be dealt with collectively after the case of Prince Qi's rebellion is concluded."
Wei Ping replied solemnly, "Your servant obeys the decree!"
"Minister Cai, how is the trial of the Four Great Families proceeding?"
Seeing the emperor set aside the previous matter and inquire about the Four Great Families, the officials whose homes had been infiltrated secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed His Majesty would not pursue their negligence for now.
[Master, the emperor really is going to have all those people executed. Do you want to stop it? You've been in court for so long and haven't offered a single useful suggestion.]
"Forget it. I just want to watch the show and enjoy the drama. The emperor can handle it however he wishes. Besides, what useful suggestions could a child like me offer? I don't understand court politics."
Everyone thought to themselves that the Little Immortal Lord was indeed still the same Little Immortal Lord. This mercy of his seemed both present and absent, his unpredictable temperament living up to the name of a capricious deity.
Fortunately, no matter what, this one could be considered a 'benevolent deity,' which was also Great Yan's good fortune.
Cai Xian stepped forward to report, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the principal culprits of the Four Great Families have not yet confessed, but many accomplices have already admitted to the misdeeds of their respective families."
He paused thoughtfully before continuing, "Your servant interrogated Bai Yu again yesterday. He stubbornly denies any involvement in Chonghua's disappearance.
He only says the reason he left the banquet without saying goodbye was due to an urgent summons from the family head, and that he sent someone to leave a message for the Princess Consort on his way home."
Emperor Mingxi appeared deep in thought. "If Bai Yu didn't take Chonghua, then who could have?"
Cai Xian wore an expression of extreme discomfort but pressed on bravely, "Your servant will intensify the interrogation. I am not afraid he won't tell the truth."
The court officials thought: His Majesty is determined to pin the blame for Chonghua's disappearance on Bai Yu.
Looking at Minister Cai Xian, they all felt quite sympathetic. The ones who could do the emperor's dirty work could only be him and Wei Ping; Feng Tang wasn't capable of such things.
[Master, these people still don't know they've actually arrested the wrong person!]
'Arrested the wrong person? Who was wrongly arrested?'
The hearts of the Great Yan emperor and his officials sank. Could it be that among the prisoners, someone was using a false identity?
Especially Cai Xian and Wei Ping, who instantly pricked up their ears. They were determined to hear this. All the sons of the Four Great Families serving as officials in the court had already been imprisoned. Who else could have escaped their capture?
[Bai Yu. He was wrongly arrested.]
'Impossible, right?'
Impossible. These three words echoed in the hearts of Cai Xian and Wei Ping just as they appeared in Yue Fuguang's inner thoughts. The main members of the Four Great Families had been arrested based on portraits.
Bai Yu frequently visited the Prince of Qi's mansion and was a favorite by Princess Pingning's side. Many people in the capital knew him.
Even they had seen him once. It was impossible for them to have arrested the wrong person.
[Master, they really did arrest the wrong person. The one currently locked in the prison is Bai Yu (with the character 'Yu' meaning 'jade' but with a 'gold' radical). This is Bai Yu's twin brother.]
'Twin brother? If Bai Yu is a twin, wouldn't Wei Ping and Cai Xian know about it? Why was only one arrested?'
[Because only a few people in the Bai family know about this. Didn't I mention before that the father of the family head, Bai Yu—that is, Bai Yu's father Bai Yu's—birth mother was from the Miao family in Nanzhao?
She was the aunt of Miao Qingling, Xi Ling's mother. In their clan, there is a taboo: twins are considered inauspicious, and one must be eliminated, otherwise the household will know no peace.]
Yue Fuguang didn't believe in such things and got straight to the point: 'It's because they fear twins fighting over the family inheritance, right? Mortals place great importance on birth order, don't they?
With twins born one after the other, being born just a moment later affects inheritance rights. That can indeed easily breed resentment and lead to internal strife.
However, this Bai Yu is a concubine's son. He wouldn't get much of the family fortune anyway, so it shouldn't matter, right?'
[His father, Bai Yu, thought the same. So after the twins were born, he didn't take the life of either, only publicly announced that a concubine had given birth to a son named Bai Yu.
From then on, the brothers lived as one in the light and one in the shadows, acting as each other's double.
Since childhood, they have taken turns appearing. Because their looks and demeanor were identical, no outsiders ever noticed.
Even Xie Zhiyao didn't know that the person appearing by her side was actually two brothers. The one who developed genuine feelings for her was the younger brother, Bai Yu (gold-radical Yu), while the one who wanted to use her was the older brother, Bai Yu (jade Yu).
The one currently on the run is Bai Yu (jade Yu), and the one who appeared at Peach Blossom Lane was also Bai Yu (jade Yu).']
'This Bai Yu (jade Yu) seems much smarter than his brother, doesn't he?'
[That's natural. Bai Yu (jade Yu) has both high emotional and intellectual intelligence. Despite being a concubine's son of the Bai family, he managed to get recognized as a sworn son by Fan Shiping, the head of the Fan family, one of the Four Great Families.
After his powerful backer Fan Shiping died early, he still earned the regard of his father, Bai Yu, and gained the recognition of Fan Chengye, the new head of the Fan family. That alone speaks volumes.]
'Fan Shiping from Liangzhou was also Bai Yu's (jade Yu) sworn father? You seemed to have said before, in the original timeline, among the Four Great Families, only this Fan Shiping didn't live to see the grand finale; the other three all did.'
The Great Yan emperor and officials: Could the grand finale the Junior Mentor mentioned be the day the Great Yan perished? (Silently biting handkerchief.jpg)
[Master has a good memory. Indeed, besides him, the other three all lived to see the fall of the Great Yan.]
The Great Yan court officials: We knew it! The grand finale the Junior Mentor mentioned refers to the fall of our Great Yan!
So, some among them, like this Fan Shiping, also didn't live to see that grand finale!
Wei Ping and Cai Xian were left speechless upon hearing the reason. The Bai family's mouths were truly sealed tight; only now did they learn there were two Bai Yus!
They could only hope these two venerable figures would speak about the current whereabouts of the fugitive Bai Yu, and please, please don't digress to talk about Fan Shiping again.
That man was currently locked up in prison and wasn't going anywhere. They couldn't care less who his adopted father was—it wouldn't help them catch Bai Yu!
