Chapter 603
Chapter 603
A base of the Hidden Yuan Society.
“Ning Zheng must fall for His Highness the Crown Prince to recover his prestige. What he did was an unforgivable offense. Besides, the position of Admiral of Tianyue must be taken back!”
At Zhuo Zhaoyan’s words, Shu Tingyu frowned.
“Gao Yizhen impersonated a band of marauders to kill the family of the Lotus Son, Yan Jin, and privately executed Yan Jin and Bian Xin. Isn’t that crime alone enough to bring Ning Zheng down? If you need witnesses and evidence, we can provide them.”
“But doing so might expose the Lotus Pavilion’s scandal, implicating Consort Bian in the matter. Does His Highness the Crown Prince wish to antagonize Consort Bian and Duke Bian Wu at a time like this?”
“We only need to kill Ning Zheng and Gao Duhuan! We won’t expose the scandal, but by posturing as if we will, we can pressure and control the King.”
Shu Tingyu’s brow relaxed. That was something he could do.
“His Majesty condemned Shen Lang and sent him into exile. On the surface, it seems imposing, but in reality, it’s no different from him being unable to withstand the pressure from the Hidden Yuan Society and the Great Yan Dynasty, begging for forgiveness and compromising. It’s only natural that when they see a man fall ill, they’ll try to take his life, demanding more and more without end. Since His Majesty has compromised once, he can compromise a second and a third time! If we expose how Ning Zheng impersonated marauders to slaughter the Lotus Son’s entire family and act as if we’re about to reveal the Lotus Pavilion’s scandal, Consort Bian’s reputation will be in jeopardy. To protect her, the King will surely submit to our control. Besides, he doesn’t like Ning Zheng in the slightest.”
“But doesn’t Consort Bian like Ning Zheng?”
Zhuo Zhaoyan sneered at Shu Tingyu’s words.
“That’s just a hypocritical pretense. Ning Zheng saved her life, so if she doesn’t pretend to like him, won’t she be criticized for being ungrateful? But when her own interests are at stake, Consort Bian will undoubtedly abandon Ning Zheng. Wouldn’t she have to choose between abandoning him or seeing her status and honor dragged through the mud? The Lotus Son committed the capital crime of buying and selling innocent children, yet Consort Bian wrote a plaque for him. Even if she wasn't involved, isn't it true she protected them? If the scandal breaks, Consort Bian won’t be able to clear her name even if she throws herself into the Raging River. To protect herself and the Bian Clan, she will definitely sacrifice Ning Zheng!”
“But Miss Zhuo, have you noticed that when the Crown Prince, the Hidden Yuan Society, and the Third Prince’s factions unite, we are victorious in everything we do? We successfully seized those with the Blank Bloodline, cutting off the lifeline of Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army. Moreover, we pressured His Majesty the King into backing down and compromising!”
Zhuo Zhaoyan replied with a sneer.
“Of course. Even a king cannot stand against the world alone, let alone with the Great Yan Dynasty looming over him.”
“Therefore, this matter must also be handled jointly by our three factions! Let the three of us together exert pressure on the King and control him once more!”
Zhuo Zhaoyan frowned.
“Does this mean we have to fight over the Hidden Yuan Society, the Lan Clan’s Ten Brothers, and the Nirvana Army again?”
In Zhuo Zhaoyan’s eyes, Ning Zheng without Shen Lang was nothing but a useless wreck. Eliminating him, a man with no power to resist, was an effortless task. Yet, everyone was drooling over Ning Zheng’s elite force of two thousand three hundred Nirvana Army soldiers and the Lan Clan’s Eleven Brothers. What right did that piece of trash, Ning Zheng, have to command such a powerful army? The Crown Prince wanted the Nirvana Army for himself. It would be like giving wings to a tiger. The Nirvana Army was a well-trained, elite force that could be immediately deployed to the battlefield to pacify all directions. But according to the Hidden Yuan Society's proposal to pressure the King together, wouldn't they have to split the forces three ways again?
Shu Tingyu said, “Rest assured. This time, our Hidden Yuan Society will not take a share of the Nirvana Army. We will give it all to the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.”
In their view, the elite Nirvana Army was already as good as theirs. Zhuo Zhaoyan remarked, “That laughable Shen Lang. To think he was working for others’ benefit all this time. What an utter fool!”
***
Zhuo Zhaoyan met with Xue Xue again.
“Congratulations!”
“The congratulations are mutual!”
That wretched Shen Lang had been driven out, which was certainly worth celebrating. Zhuo Zhaoyan continued, “When our three factions unite, there is nothing we cannot achieve. How about we join forces once more?”
“I would like to hear the details.”
“It’s about eliminating Ning Zheng.”
Xue Xue asked in surprise, “Is that really necessary?”
Without Shen Lang, Ning Zheng was a nobody, posing no threat at all. Did they really need three factions to unite just to take down a dog?
“The Lan Clan’s Ten Brothers are remnants of Jiang Li, holders of the bloodline. And isn’t it like casting pearls before swine for the two thousand three hundred elite soldiers of the Nirvana Army to follow Ning Zheng?”
Xue Xue nodded, his interest piqued. Zhuo Zhaoyan continued, “The Crown Prince’s faction will step forward to impeach Ning Zheng’s personal guard. We will say they committed the monstrous and treasonous act of impersonating marauders to slaughter the Lotus Son’s clan. If the Third Prince’s faction supports us then, our three factions can pressure His Majesty! In that case, Ning Zheng will surely die, and we can easily obtain his Nirvana Army!”
“Then what about Gao Duhuan?”
Zhuo Zhaoyan answered with a sneer, “A good-for-nothing is a good-for-nothing, no matter how skilled he is in martial arts. He should have been dead long ago!”
Xue Xue nodded.
“Excellent!”
“Once the matter is settled, the Lan Clan’s Ten Brothers will go to the Third Prince, two thousand soldiers of the Nirvana Army will go to His Highness the Crown Prince, and the remaining three hundred and eighty will go to His Highness the Third Prince.”
Xue Xue frowned but soon nodded. This time, the Crown Prince’s faction would take the lead, while the Third Prince’s faction would merely play a supporting role.
“Very well! But if a monarch is pushed to such an extent, I imagine being king wouldn't be very enjoyable.”
“Ning Yuanxian’s back was broken before, and it’s been broken again. It’s only natural that a king who cannot stand up straight has no dignity left.”
***
After the three factions concluded their negotiations, the Crown Prince’s faction began selecting people to take the lead. With the King having compromised and exiled Shen Lang, the Crown Prince was once again in the limelight and easily selected several people to spearhead the effort. A total of nine officials from the Censorate, the Supreme Court, and the Tianyue Admiralty prepared to submit memorials of impeachment. When Ning Zheng took charge of the Tianyue Admiralty, many officials had only feigned obedience. As a result, Ning Zheng, lacking his own power base, had promoted lower-ranking officials who were eager to prove themselves, replacing the existing ones. The officials who refused to obey lost their authority, and only after filling their positions with new people could the Admiralty operate normally.
However, the officials who had lost their power were filled with resentment toward Ning Zheng. When the Crown Prince beckoned, officials from the Admiralty who were supposedly under Ning Zheng all stepped forward. They spent a day finding witnesses and fabricating evidence. Soon, they had prepared a memorial of impeachment, as detailed and exaggerated as possible. Looking at it, at least on the surface, it seemed to have solid evidence. For Ning Zheng to have his military officers impersonate marauders and kill an entire family was a terrifying and heinous act. If this were exposed, it would be a great crime against the state and the royal family. Ning Zheng would not only lose his official post but also his title. Gao Duhuan, who had personally carried out the killings, was a dead man for sure.
Of course, the witnesses and evidence they spoke of were all fabricated. How could Shen Lang and Gao Duhuan, who handled matters with such caution, have left even a trace behind? But this was a political struggle; the goal was not to investigate the truth of the case but to blackmail the King. That was the most important objective. It was sufficient to create enough evidence to present to the world. What would the utterly foolish common people know? They would believe whatever they were told. Moreover, the Crown Prince firmly believed that the pressure from the Great Yan Dynasty and the Hidden Yuan Society still existed. With the three factions united, the King would certainly compromise, and to protect Consort Bian’s reputation, he would surely sacrifice Ning Zheng.
Thus, in this world, one could not blame an enemy for demanding more and more after a single compromise. If you fight for peace, you can achieve peace, but if you compromise for peace, you will never achieve it. How many days had it been since Shen Lang was exiled? The Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Hidden Yuan Society, having tasted victory once, were preparing to attack again. They were truly brandishing their butcher knives, ready to strike at Ning Zheng and the King.
Before today’s court session had even begun, the ministers already knew what was about to happen; they could feel the atmosphere of an impending storm. Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu was still absent from court, citing illness. In the grand hall, officials from the Third Prince’s and the Crown Prince’s factions exchanged glances, recalling their secret agreement and nodding. They all knew what they had to do today. The Crown Prince would move to eliminate Ning Zheng, and the Third Prince would support him.
When Su Nan was in court, the neutral faction had been strong. But with his fall and Nangong Ao’s ambiguous stance, the neutral faction had suffered a severe blow. After the King fell ill, the neutral faction scattered, with its members joining either the Crown Prince or the Third Prince. Of course, there were still some who remained neutral, such as the Minister of Rites, the Grand Censor, and the third-ranking official in the Grand Secretariat, the Minister of Personnel. These were all high-ranking officials, but they had remained silent recently. It was impressive enough that they hadn't aligned with the Crown Prince; asking them to step forward and confront him would be putting them in a very difficult position.
Therefore, the only person in this court session who could speak the truth without reservation was Royal Uncle Yongji, the most senior and intolerant of injustice. But while he held a high position, he had no real power. If the Crown Prince’s faction came forward to impeach Ning Zheng, there would be no one in court to defend him. When the Crown Prince and the Third Prince united, their power was overwhelming, enough to move mountains and overturn seas.
Royal Uncle Yongji stood in the grand hall, his expression stern, ignoring everyone. Even when Royal Uncle Yongyou, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Clan, came to speak with him, he did not respond. He disliked Yongyou.
‘You are a royal uncle, yet you fawn over and curry favor with the powerful. What is the meaning of this? As the dignified Grand Steward of the Imperial Clan, are you not ashamed to flatter the Crown Prince?’
Originally, Yongji had found Shen Lang extremely irritating, but now he found the Crown Prince and Ning Qi even more detestable. They did not act like subjects of the King.
‘You are the Crown Prince, yet you cannot even tolerate your own brother? You’ve exiled Shen Lang, so what more do you want? Do you intend to kill Ning Zheng as well?’
Yongji knew he would speak up for what was right in a moment, but unfortunately, he also knew that his voice alone could not save Ning Zheng’s fate.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
The head eunuch, Lü Jun, announced loudly. Ning Yuanxian walked out majestically and sat on the throne. His expression was quite cheerful. The loyal ministers thought to themselves, ‘Isn’t His Majesty forcing a smile? He just compromised and surrendered by exiling Shen Lang, yet now we are about to launch a joint attack again.’
A minister can compromise. Compromising with the monarch is a minister's duty. But when a monarch compromises and surrenders, it invites great disaster. Now, all the officials’ eyes turned to Ning Zheng. He was still a thorn in everyone’s side.
‘Now that Shen Lang has been exiled, why haven’t you resigned from your post and returned to your merchant wife’s side? Do you think there is a place for you, Ning Zheng, in this court? The lightning that strikes this time will surely turn you to dust.’
“Present your memorials if you have them. If not, the court is dismissed!”
As Lü Jun called out, several officials from the Crown Prince’s faction stepped forward from the ranks to impeach Ning Zheng. The struggle to eliminate him had begun. But just then, the King suddenly spoke with a smile.
“Ah, I just received a letter from Royal Uncle Yongjiang. He says he is unwell and wishes to return to the capital to recuperate.”
At those words, everyone froze in their attack. Ning Yuanxian had just dropped a massive bomb.