Chapter 574 - 466: Montmorillonite Powder (Part 3)

Now I can’t go out to eat, so it’s just as well to have some light and easily digestible food to get my stomach back in order.

Being ill gives me an excuse not to handle matters.

The case hasn’t been concluded, but necessary investigations and organization of evidence still need to be done, including interrogations, reviews, and so on, all of which take time.

As for reporting the case details, this is no trouble for someone like Su Mobai who has navigated the officialdom for over twenty years.

As long as there’s no final decision, the report can be delivered impartially without any accusations of deception, leaving the emperor with nothing to criticize.

...

In the capital, inside Yangxin Hall.

The silence was almost terrifying.

Spring recess was over, and court sessions had resumed, yet the emperor himself did not attend, allowing the Crown Prince to place a seat directly below the dragon throne.

The Crown Prince was governing the state.

This was different from when the emperor went to the summer palace; this time, he was still in the palace while the Crown Prince ruled.

Currently, state affairs were first reported to the Crown Prince, who would then consult the emperor. Of course, the cabinet and ministers from six departments also had the right to meet the emperor directly.

However, unless necessary, they wouldn’t seek out the emperor voluntarily.

The Marquis Lingyang case erupted, and King Qi was placed under house arrest. In this round, the Crown Prince won, yet his position wasn’t secure since Marquis Lingyang and King Qi were not directly related.

One couldn’t pin Marquis Lingyang’s crimes on King Qi. Moreover, King Qi had just come of age and had only recently established his residence; he hadn’t even married yet.

Without an heir, the Crown Prince’s position wasn’t completely secure.

If the one in the Crown Prince’s palace announced a pregnancy, King Qi might really be out of the picture, though that didn’t seem imminent.

What if King Qi got ahead? It was hard to say.

Su Mobai’s report on the case had been sent by carrier pigeon to the capital. It first went to the cabinet and, after being circulated, was handed to the Crown Prince.

Crown Prince Zhao Yuanze dared not neglect it and immediately took the new Chief Minister, Tang Jing, to Yangxin Hall to seek an audience with the emperor.

No nonsense was spoken; the report was submitted.

The submission of the report instantly dropped the temperature in the hall significantly, and even the breathing of the eunuchs became cautious in the eerie silence.

"What a Green Blade Sect, truly a top-tier and orthodox martial arts school in our Da Li!"

"Calm your anger, Your Majesty!"

"How can I calm my anger? I’ve been more than generous to these top-tier martial arts schools, allowing them to recruit disciples, granting them the special right to forge weapons, as long as they don’t manufacture those explicitly banned by the court, and allowing their free movement and entry into officialdom. Is this how they repay me?"

Neither the Crown Prince nor Tang Jing spoke up.

Actually, the court was very wary of these powerful martial arts schools, yet sometimes needed these forces.

No court could entirely control the black and white undertakings, and for ordinary people, this control sufficed, but for powerful martial arts people and schools, the court couldn’t simply suppress or eliminate them.

Because, if these schools truly united, they could overthrow the court.

The Da Li Dynasty itself was established with the help of these schools, and many parts of the government and military are filled with disciples from these martial arts institutions.

Though the relationship between Da Li and these martial arts schools in its territory was fairly amicable and mutually dependent, this didn’t mean these schools could act recklessly.

A top-tier school like the Green Blade Sect evidently crossed the court’s red line, and indeed all the martial arts schools within Da Li would consider it taboo.

If not, the Green Blade Sect wouldn’t have dispersed its members and abandoned its headquarters, vanishing from the world when the news broke.

If they didn’t disappear, they faced annihilation.

Even if they ran, the bounty would still be issued, and whether it was the elders or core disciples of Green Blade Sect, they’d make it on the list. As for ordinary disciples with identifiable names, if caught, they’d certainly face punishment, though execution was unlikely; imprisonment, detention, or exile was inevitable.

When you joined the school and enjoyed its benefits, you were there. When the school committed crimes, trying to run was impossible.

The Da Li Dynasty’s legal code emphasizes "collective punishment."

No, wait, why was the emperor so furious over the Green Blade Sect?

The Crown Prince and Chief Minister Tang Jing exchanged a furtive glance, discerning a meaningful implication in each other’s eyes.

"Your Majesty, the Green Blade Sect’s smuggling of military supplies and colluding with foreign enemies is unforgivable. I request Your Majesty to immediately issue a decree to extinguish the Green Blade Sect and notify all schools across the land to completely erase their existence!" Tang Jing kneeled and declared loudly.

The Crown Prince’s eye twitched; Tang Jing, rising from humble beginnings to catch the father’s attention and now becoming Chief Minister, indeed had extraordinary insight and acumen.

"I second the motion!"

"Approved." Zhao Rui nodded and spoke.

"Crown Prince, how deeply do you think Marquis Lingyang is involved in this case?"

"I have reviewed the submissions from Pei Jian and Mr. Su. As of now, Marquis Lingyang is certainly implicated. No matter how powerful the Green Blade Sect is, the border smuggling line could not operate without internal arrangements. Further, in dealings with Beihu, the one conducting business is the Prince of Nan of Beihu. That links either through the Green Blade Sect or through Marquis Lingyang, yet needs further investigation." The Crown Prince replied.

Zhao Rui lifted an eyelid; the Crown Prince’s words were crystal clear. If it was through the Green Blade Sect, then they were the ringleaders of treason and collusion. If not, it implicated Marquis Lingyang as the ringleader.

The Green Blade Sect had fled, meaning its leaders had to take the fall, which was implied by the emperor’s words.

Even so, he still wanted to protect Marquis Lingyang.

Of course, it wasn’t for the sake of Marquis Lingyang but for his own brother, Prince Qi.

Even with the understanding implicit, more words were pointless. The emperor’s decisions, once made, were seldom changed.