Chapter 101: Needle Point Against Wheat Awn
"Suotu? Didn't I already send him to handle matters outside? Why has he returned so soon?"
At Eunuch Zhang's announcement, a flicker of doubt crossed Chu Jinghui's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
"Summon him!"
Suotu soon followed Eunuch Zhang into the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Seeing Wei Sizhong standing to one side, he glanced at him before turning to bow to Chu Jinghui.
"Suotu, how have you fared with the task I entrusted to you?"
"Your Majesty, I have come to report a matter of the utmost urgency."
Suotu glanced at Wei Sizhong again, then explained his purpose to Chu Jinghui.
"What is it?"
Seeing Suotu repeatedly look toward Wei Sizhong, Chu Jinghui understood that what he wished to report concerned the chancellor.
Under the usual circumstances, Chu Jinghui would have ordered Wei Sizhong to leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation. This time, however, for some reason he did not. Instead, he told Suotu, "Make your report at once."
Suotu straightened slightly. "The news I bring is deeply shocking and concerns the very foundations of Western Chu. I dare to ask Your Majesty to dismiss your attendants!"
Unexpectedly, Chu Jinghui waved a dismissive hand. "Those at my side are all my Pillar Ministers. How could any of them be considered outsiders?"
Hearing this reply, Suotu realized that Chu Jinghui intended to place his trust in Wei Sizhong once more. He sighed inwardly. "I intercepted a band of men with sinister intentions in the burning mountains of the Capital Outskirts."
Chu Jinghui laughed at his answer. "Suotu, are you about to tell me about the men hidden in that Taoist temple in the Capital Outskirts?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty! In recent days, I discovered unusual activity in those mountains. Suspecting something was amiss, I..."