"Traitorous wretch, spouting nonsense!"
A sharp, piercing roar suddenly came from behind the curtain. Though it was a human voice, it carried a chilling shrillness that even demons couldn't match. The entire hall turned deathly cold because of the sound, and all the civil officials knelt on the ground, their faces ashen. If an outsider were present, they would find it incredibly eerie, because the entire hall had turned ashen, including the people inside.
All the generals lowered their heads, their eyes filled with confusion. The Nine Ministers also stared at their heads, a strange glint flashing in their eyes!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, how could this be?" Behind the curtain, the shadow slowly stood up. Although the curtain was not very large, the shadow was as tall as a giant, a giant that could block out the entire world in one glance!
"Your Majesty only has blood with me; all others are defective!"
In an instant, the child on the dragon throne's pupils dilated, and his body became increasingly blurry in the grayish-white light, like a dark shadow!
"Your Majesty!" The nine ministers all knelt down. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Even a shrewish woman or child in the marketplace would not believe such absurd words from this traitorous minister!"
Jiuqing's voice was deep and resonant, yet also humbly and sincerely. This prevented the chilling atmosphere in the hall from continuing, and the terrifying shadow finally did not open the curtain, but instead slowly sat back down.
The next moment, the Queen's voice came from behind the curtain again, but this time it was no longer the shrill and terrifying one as before, but rather gentle, just like always.
"What you all say is true. That Chen Qing is a traitor and a rebel; who would believe what he says?"
As the sound emanated, the temperature in the hall began to rise, and the original grayish-white color gradually regained its vibrancy.
"The Empress is wise!" The Nine Ministers kowtowed again, while the remaining civil and military officials, still in a daze, followed the Nine Ministers in kowtowing and stood up in a daze.
"Alright. Tell me, what else did Chen Qing say?"
"Your Majesty," the newly appointed Ministry of War Minister Pang, wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a low voice, " General Yuchi suffered a defeat this time, but fortunately he was only captured. Chen Qing's letter indicates that he has no intention of being an enemy of the court and is willing to return the prisoner."
"That one from the Yuchi Household," the Empress said in a low voice, "He really brings honor to the family."
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" A tall figure knelt down, saying with shame, "My son has disgraced the court so greatly, and has truly failed the court's trust. I beg you to strip him of his title of Duke!"
"It's not that bad," the Queen said quietly. " The Yuchi Household has made great contributions, and His Majesty will not lose trust over such a small matter. Yuchi Peng is young and impetuous, and he suffered some losses due to the machinations of treacherous people. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. He will learn from his mistakes and can still shoulder great responsibilities in the future."
"The Queen is right, I am ashamed."
"Hmm, Chen Qing is so willing to return Yuchi Peng so easily? Are there any other conditions?"
The Ministry of War hesitated for a moment, but finally said, " Chen Qing wrote that His Majesty sent him to Jiangnan to guard the ancient Jiangnan region. Now that the ancient Jiangnan region is about to open, he alone cannot fulfill His Majesty's sacred mission. To prevent the people from suffering this calamity, he hopes that Central Plains will temporarily cease hostilities and that all forces will go to Nanming Prefecture to discuss how to deal with this calamity. Therefore, he hopes that the court Time Stop its advance into the north and send a capable representative to Jiangnan to discuss the matter!"
Upon hearing this, the entire court fell eerily silent. Although the atmosphere wasn't as sinister and terrifying as before, it was still chillingly cold.
Finally, after a long silence, the Queen slowly spoke, "So, Chen Qing is instructing the court on how to conduct itself?"
Seeing the tense atmosphere, the Ministry of Rites quickly stepped forward. "Your Majesty, that villain is arrogant and deserves to die, but the situation is chaotic now, and the court has suffered losses on several fronts. If we were to lose General Yuchi Peng as well, it would be a huge loss. That petty Chen Qing is so smug that he dares to invite forces from all sides to Jiangnan. He truly doesn't know what's good for him. My suggestion is that we go with the flow and send someone to Jiangnan to bring back General Yuchi Peng first, and then take advantage of this invitation to go to Nanming Prefecture to find out the truth."
"So you mean to agree to Chen Qing?"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger." The Ministry of Rites quickly knelt down and bowed, saying, "That Chen Qing is arrogant and ignorant. He dares to act like a hegemon from the Spring and Autumn Period after only a small victory. He doesn't even know his own limitations. Xiao Mingyue, the patriarch of the Shen Family of the West Sea, and the traitorous Wang Household of the State of Wei in the north are all wolves in sheep's clothing. How could a child like him possibly handle them?"
"This is a self-destructive act. My intention is to take this opportunity to probe the stances and strengths of other forces, and also to see what this so-called ancient Jiangnan is all about."
Upon hearing the words "Ancient Jiangnan," a glint flashed in the eyes of the Nine Ministers and the sorcerer ministers, while the bloodline generals remained bewildered.
"What you say makes sense, my esteemed minister. The court does indeed need to investigate the true nature of those rebels, and the ancient Jiangnan region... well, it certainly cannot be left unchecked. In that case, which of you ministers is willing to represent the court and go to Jiangnan?"
In an instant, scions of noble families volunteered one after another. "Your subject is willing to go!"
The nine ministers also knelt down. "Your subjects are also willing to go!"
"Oh?" The Queen's voice became playful. "If they've all gone, what will happen to the court?"
Everyone: "."
"My dear ministers, discuss this amongst yourselves. Once you have reached a decision, have the Directorate of Ceremonial send a message to me. I am tired and must go and keep His Majesty company."
Respectfully seeing off the Queen!
As the officials knelt to see him off, the person behind the curtain, supported by a eunuch as withered as an old tree, stepped out of the curtain. Everyone, including the Nine Ministers, buried their heads tightly, not daring to look at him even once!
It's not that no one has tried, but they've all disappeared, including the former head of the Nine Ministers: Minister Mei of the Ministry of Personnel.
To this day, no one knows what he saw when he looked up, and no one knows what became of Minister Mei.
After the Queen left the main hall, the temperature in the entire hall suddenly warmed up, and everyone's complexion quickly returned to normal. The prince on the dragon throne then regained his composure and burst into tears, and the eunuchs beside him quickly stepped forward to comfort him.
But none of the civil and military officials underground even glanced at the prince.
"The rest of you may step down." The Nine Ministers turned to look at the line of civil officials.
All the civil officials immediately understood that "others" referred to them.
Although their expressions showed some reluctance, they all obediently bowed and said, "Then we will take our leave."
" Vice Minister Yang, please stay." All nine ministers coldly looked at one figure.
Among those taking their leave, a refined old man suddenly broke out in a cold sweat; he was the very one who had previously vehemently advocated attacking Chen Qing.
The other civil officials wanted to speak, but seeing the gazes of the group of sorcerer officials, they immediately lost their courage.
Normally, in the imperial court, everyone is on the same side. When they're not serious with you, they respect you as a great scholar and will give you some face. But that doesn't mean you can really be on equal footing with them!
You must understand, if people from bloodline families are considered half-demon, then sorcerers are merely demons in human skin.
All the civil officials knew that, in reality, the Nine Ministers and those bloodline monsters were all the same kind of people!
The Ministry of Rites Vice Minister Yang at Vice Minister Yang and asked, "Where did you get those inexplicable intelligence reports?"
Under the watchful eyes of the Nine Ministers, how could an ordinary old man in his sixties resist? His legs went weak and he knelt down. "They are distant relatives from Jiangnan. They told me about Chen Qing's background. They have investigated very thoroughly. His men are all rural militia, a rabble!"
"A rabble?" Minister Pang sneered. "Although Yuchi Peng's troops weren't elite, they were still genuine bloodlines. A rabble? How could they wipe out Yuchi Peng's 50,000-strong army in a single day?"
"I..." Vice Minister Yang trembled and lowered his head. He knew nothing about military affairs and could not offer any explanation. He could only stammer, "It was my carelessness."
"You've caused a huge mess with just one careless word!" Minister Pang's eyes were icy cold. Now, after the battle in Jiangnan, the court's prestige has probably plummeted to rock bottom!
"I'm personally going to Jiangnan to discuss matters this time. You've given me your so-called distant relative informant; I want to see what's really going on!"
"Yes," Vice Minister Yang dared not disobey. "There's a Asheng in the wine shop in the east of the city. He was bribed by my distant cousin to deliver messages."
"Oh?" Minister Pang nodded, then turned to the other ministers and scions of noble families without glancing at him again. "I will go this time. Do you have any objections?"
All the sorcerer ministers exchanged glances, and finally said, "We will send one of our best members to accompany them."
Minister Pang nodded. "Agreed."
The military families frowned, wondering why they should be so actively involved, and nodded in agreement, saying, "We'll leave it to Minister Pang."
Minister Pang nodded indifferently, exchanged glances with the other nine ministers, and then said, "After I leave, I'll leave things here to you."
"Don't worry, we can hold out here," the Minister of Ministry of Personnel said in a low voice. "But it won't last much longer. Only the ancients can resist the ancients. We must thoroughly investigate the situation in Jiangnan!"
Minister Pang turned his head, looked at the bewildered eyes of the military officers, and sighed, "This is the only way."