Chapter 517
The steward said that now the streets and alleys, restaurants, and taverns were all discussing this letter. At this rate, by tomorrow, the hottest topic in Dadu City would be this letter from the Left Prime Minister, Li Mao.
Back then, Li Mao had lowered himself to gain the trust of the Second Prince. He had even explicitly stated in the letter that the Second Prince stood out among all of the Emperor’s sons and would surely ascend to the throne one day. He was willing to devote himself wholeheartedly to the Second Prince.
Now, looking at the content of the letter, Li Mao hated himself for having written it, wishing he could slap his own old face a few times.
Seeing the white-robed counselor enter and bow, Li Mao quickly said, “No need for formalities, sir. You must have heard on the way here that this letter has already spread throughout Dadu City. By tomorrow’s morning court, someone might suggest to His Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter!”
The white-robed counselor took the letter from Li Mao’s hand, sat opposite him, and carefully read it while listening to Li Mao.
“This time, the move on Shuoyang was indeed reckless!” Li Mao gritted his teeth.
No sooner had Li Mao finished speaking than Li Mingrui lifted the hem of his robe, entered, and bowed to Li Mao. “Father!”
Li Mao, sitting under the lamp with a somber and weary look, asked, “Are you aware?”
“I’m aware!” Li Mingrui also sat across from Li Mao, took the letter from the white-robed counselor, carefully read its contents, rubbed the paper with his fingers, and sniffed the ink’s scent.
The white-robed counselor looked up at Li Mao. “This should also be a warning from the Princess of Zhen, Prime Minister… The Princess is telling us that she indeed holds the letter. She is warning us to behave and not push her too hard. Otherwise, the Princess wouldn’t have chosen such a letter that leaves room for maneuver!”
Li Mao frowned deeply. “Now… how should we handle this?”
“At tomorrow’s morning court, someone will certainly attack the Left Prime Minister. It would be better for the Left Prime Minister to seek the Emperor and confess first! After all, when the Second Prince attempted rebellion years ago, the Left Prime Minister was credited with protecting His Majesty!” suggested the white-robed counselor.
“Father, this letter has already stirred up a frenzy. Tomorrow, Dadu City will be abuzz with discussions. Anyone can see that someone did this deliberately!” Li Mingrui looked up, his deep, dark eyes reflecting the flickering flames, and earnestly said to Li Mao, “I think, Father, you should deny it… refuse to admit that the letter is from you! Ask His Majesty to thoroughly investigate who framed you…”
“This isn’t obvious. This was done by the Princess of Zhen. If I cry out for justice and ask the Emperor to thoroughly investigate… and it leads to the Princess of Zhen, and she hands over all the letters…”
Li Mao, feeling vexed, interrupted his son’s words, but his voice suddenly paused midway, and he looked at his son.
The Emperor was already quite wary of the Bai family. If Bai Qingyan had handed the letter directly to the Emperor, it would have been easier to explain. But if Bai Qingyan waited until the Emperor found out and then handed it over, the Emperor would suspect the Bai family of having ulterior motives. From observing Bai Qingyan’s conduct, she wouldn’t be that foolish.
This was a method that would harm the enemy by ten thousand while losing eight thousand themselves. She wouldn’t use it unless it was a critical moment.
Bai Qingyan’s aim was to warn him to behave. If she really wanted to deal with him, handing the letter to the Crown Prince would suffice and wouldn’t stir up a whole mess.
“Father, have you forgotten? You once told His Majesty that upon noticing something wrong with the Second Prince, you joined his camp to find out what he was planning. You didn’t expect the Second Prince to attempt a coup, and by the time you knew, it was too late to notify His Majesty!”
“Of course, I remember. What I fear is not this letter… but the other letters! This letter merely shows that I once served the Second Prince. But the Second Prince’s rebellion back then…” Li Mao gritted his teeth and did not continue.
The Second Prince’s rebellion back then was indeed pushed by Li Mao himself. The content in those exchanged letters was crystal clear. He feared the letters in Bai Qingyan’s hands.
Li Mingrui placed the letter on the wooden table and pushed it toward Li Mao. “The Princess of Zhen chose this letter, which means… She doesn’t want to drive you to death. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be the letter causing such a stir in Dadu City! Father, you are too tense because of your brother’s leg injury last time…”
Li Mingrui understood that his father had developed a fear of the Princess of Zhen and was losing his cool.
“Father, think about it. How precious is paper? Ordinary noble families use paper for correspondence, only aristocratic families with deep foundations frequently use it.” Li Mingrui tapped his finger on the paper. “So the source of this paper and ink can be easily traced. The Princess of Zhen wouldn’t make such a mistake! Maybe she wants to use our Left Prime Minister’s residence to remove someone.”
Li Mao squinted his eyes, deep in thought. After a long time, he said, “Mingrui, send someone to catch up with Ziyuan… tell him to apologize to the Princess of Zhen, and inform her that the Li Mansion will do its best to defuse the letter incident. If we can’t resolve it, we will have to deny it in court to protect ourselves and ask her to understand. In the future, should the Princess of Zhen have any orders, our Left Prime Minister’s residence will do its utmost to comply.”
In this way, they had boarded the Crown Prince’s boat.
“Mingrui understands!” Li Mingrui got up and went to handle it immediately.
Although Li Mingrui suggested that Li Mao appeal for justice at the morning court, Li Mao felt it was inappropriate. He thought he should meet the Emperor before morning court and explain the letter, reminding the Emperor that someone was using this letter to make a big deal, seemingly with another agenda.
If the Emperor wanted him to appeal for justice, he would do so. If the Emperor wanted him to admit it, he would admit it.
Having calmed down, Li Mao understood that nothing else mattered as long as the Emperor didn’t become suspicious of him.
The matter of King Liang refining elixirs had been exposed. After the Emperor ordered his house arrest, he withdrew the Patrol Camp and Hidden Guard, allowing the servants of King Liang’s residence to come and go freely.
When King Liang heard that Li Mao’s correspondence with the Second Prince had been transcribed and spread, known by everyone in Dadu City, he couldn’t help but sweat for Li Mao.
After all, those whom King Liang could use were all the Second Prince’s people back then. Li Mao was among the highest-ranked of them.
Moreover, if it weren’t for Li Mao’s son, Li Mingrui, helping overtly and covertly in Yanwo, figuring out that the girl who claimed to have the immortal elixir was summoned by the Emperor to the palace because of his interest in immortality and longevity, he wouldn’t have found the alchemy master in time to curry favor with the Emperor.
Now King Liang highly valued Li Mingrui. Although he wasn’t as important as Du Zhiwei, with no other skilled counselors around, he had to rely on Li Mingrui, despite also harboring some precautions against his intelligence.
Thus, when Bai Jinxiu’s people managed to deliver a letter to King Liang in the name of the Ninth Prince of Yan, claiming to offer King Liang a favor by helping to win over the Left Prime Minister, Li Mao, King Liang couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.