Chapter 1247: YeXi Calling the shots (1/2)
One fell to his knees while the other collapsed completely, unable to crawl to his feet.
“Your Majesty, have mercy ah! Your Majesty, spare us! This commoner was used!”
“Your Majesty spare our lives, I beg of you! This commoner knows nothing, someone instigated us!”
Various expressions greeted them from the crowd. Han Yunxi only smiled coldly to herself. She had overestimated these two leaders. Her original plan was to bring them into the hall and interrogate them, but they’d given up before even reaching them!
“Who ordered you?” Long Feiye asked. He had no idea what Han Yunxi’s master plan contained, but he wouldn’t be stupid enough to ask them about the tableware directly. His angry voice was enough to scare one man senseless as he fainted from fright.
Now the emperor’s silence made Baili Yuanlong and Baili Lixiang quake. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that catastrophe was imminent for them. Outside the hall, the remaining conscious scholar was too scared to speak straight. Tongue-tied, he stammered, “It, it...it was a eunuch from the palace who told this commoner to act as such.”
Baili Yuanlong’s heart stopped, but Baili Lixiang held on steadfastly! She hoped that eunuch wouldn’t sell her out! Naturally, she had been very prudent when arranging her plans and never interacted with the leaders directly. Instead, she used a young eunuch in the palace as the middleman. His name was Chen Zhaode[1], but he too, had used another middleman to relay orders to the scholars.
As long as the middlemen remained silent and Chen Zhaode kept his secrets, it would be hard to uncover the culprits within a short time!
“Who was it?” Long Feiye asked next.
Baili Lixiang’s heart was hanging up in the air. She kept trying to comfort herself. Chen Zhaode wouldn’t be so idiotic as to confess, because that would mean his life was over too!
The scholar didn’t speak, but the young eunuch Chen Zhaode was already shaking from his feet to his hands on the sidelines. He didn’t even dare to lift his head. The tension rose in the silent room! Baili Yuanlong and Baili Lixiang were the most anxious ones of all, as life and death hung on this moment.
“You won’t speak, is that it?” Long Feiye’s icy tone sent dread around him.
The scholar’s soul all but flew out of his body. “This commoner doesn’t…”
Han Yunxi suddenly cut in. “Someone come, bring out Chen Zhaode and have him confess!”
“Yes!” Xu Donglin cried.
“This servant was—”
“Stop speaking nonsense!” Baili Lixiang pounced like a woman possessed before he could finish.
At this, the silent hall grew even more still. Even the commotion outside the hall had died down. Baili Lixiang had thrown herself at the eunuch’s feet and was now gaping as she realized what she’d just done.
Heavens! What...what’s wrong with me?
Even if….even if Chen Zhaode sells me out, I can just deny it all! Even if they beat me to death! I could even use my death to save the Baili Clan, but…
Just then, I was simply asking for trouble myself!
Everyone was staring at her now. Some were stunned, some sympathetic, some gloating at her misfortune. The Baili Clan all wore expressions of despair. Chen Zhaode never expected Baili Lixiang to throw herself at him. He locked eyes with her, too stunned to speak.
Han Yunxi watched this all from above expressionlessly. Actually, she had no idea who the scholars interacted with directly, or what Baili Lixiang told them to do. When Xu Donglin reported to her about Chen Zhaode leaving the palace to deliver a message, she knew that the eunuch had to be involved with Baili Lixiang. Thus, she wanted to push Chen Zhaode out of the banquet hall so the scholars could accuse him instead. It was purely a psychological plot!
But the results went beyond her expectations! She only guessed that Chen Zhaode was connected to the master behind the scenes, not that Baili Lixiang would come right out and admit it. Now she didn’t have to waste so much energy and words to get results. This didn’t prove she was cruel, despicable, or sinister. When it came to court intrigue, justice and fairness didn’t exist, nor did open and aboveboard values.[2] She was simply treating things as they were.
As she looked at Baili Lixiang from high above, she was partly pitying her, partly angry. Her remaining emotions were simply regret. If Baili Lixiang had been more intelligent, she should have taken the title of first-rank lady and take up permanent residence in Northern Li instead of coming back.
How could Long Feiye give all of Northern Li to Jin Zi? That was extremely dangerous. And from what she understood of Northern Li and her agents there, those with enough patience and time could definitely gather enough strength. If Long Feiye wanted to keep Jin Zi in check in the future, he would definitely use Baili Lixiang if she was there.
After leaving the Baili Clan for so long, why was she back to mix in their muddy waters again? Did she think she was smart and talented enough to get more benefits for the Baili Clan? What an imbecile! Baili Lixiang must have forgotten that it wasn’t through her efforts alone that she crawled from the position of a court lady into a noble consort most favored by the Northern Li emperor!
Over the past decade, how much help had she received from Long Feiye’s agents hidden in Northern Li? How many suggestions had he given her in multiple crucial points?