Chapter 326: Not Exactly Identical, Almost Completely Irrelevant!
“Indeed! He’s so malicious!” Mo Rushuang and Guo Shaoshuai both exclaimed, united in their resentment.
“Young Master, what should we do now?” Mo Rushuang inquired.
“Prince of Northern Hebei has concocted such a poisonous plan, indicating his impatience. Therefore, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s hurry back to the capital! Additionally, draft another letter to Prince of Northern Hebei, telling him to wait for my return before taking any action!” Lin Beifan urged.
“Yes, Young Master!” they both acknowledged.
They rushed from Qinglong Mountain Range, making their way back to the capital with great haste.
After about a week, they finally returned to the capital.
On that day, the city’s residents once again lined the streets to welcome them.
“Lord Prefect has returned!”
“Lin Prefect is truly the military god of our Great Wu. He always returns victorious from every campaign!”
“He’s truly remarkable, a role model for us scholars!”
“To have a son like Lin Beifan is a blessing!”
…
In the Golden Imperial Palace, the Empress was seated on the throne, looking at Lin Beifan with a contented smile. “Sir Lin, you truly haven’t disappointed Us. Within the Phoenix Fortress, you defeated the combined forces of Wuxi and Dayue, saving Great Wu from crisis!”
“Furthermore, you fought your way to the Qinglong Mountain Range, reclaimed our territory from Wuxi, and even demanded substantial reparations from the Dayue Dynasty, greatly intimidating foreign powers! Excellent! You’ve done exceedingly well!”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s praise. I, a humble servant, dare not take credit,” Lin Beifan modestly responded.
“Your deeds are beyond excessive praise,” the Empress declared loudly. “Because of your resistance against foreign enemies within the Phoenix Fortress, your protection of Great Wu, your loyalty and valor are admirable. Therefore, you shall be promoted by one rank, becoming an official of the first class in the Imperial Court. Furthermore, a noble title shall be bestowed upon you, naming you the Loyal and Valiant Duke!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.
An official of the first class in the Imperial Court!
A bestowed noble title of Loyal and Valiant Duke!
At this moment, Lin Beifan had reached the pinnacle of court officials, surpassing many civil and military officials by a significant margin!
The envy and jealousy of those officials were beyond words.
They couldn’t utter any words of opposition, for those achievements were well-known by all!
Moreover, if they were to oppose, they would undoubtedly provoke that cunning little bastard who would play dirty tricks!
He was so sly, he was definitely capable of it!
They could only begrudgingly accept it!
Furthermore, the Empress showered Lin Beifan with a series of lavish rewards, too numerous for Lin Beifan to bother mentioning. After all, he no longer had to worry about his clothing and food for the rest of his life, so he didn’t care as much.
According to Lin Beifan’s merit report, he was rewarded according to his achievements.
Promotions were given where due, rewards were distributed as warranted. In short, those who excelled and devoted themselves in this grand battle received their rightful rewards.
“Report to Your Majesty, the rebel king Wu Tianyong and the traitors from Wuxi have been escorted to the capital and are waiting outside the palace!” Lin Beifan reported.
The Empress exclaimed loudly, “Summon them in!”
A group of individuals were brought in by the palace guards, many of them crying and wailing, kneeling as soon as they saw the Empress.
“Your Majesty, spare us, we know we were wrong!”
“Your Majesty, Wuxi’s king forced us, we didn’t want to do it!”
“Your Majesty, please grant us a chance to live!”
…
Impatiently, the Empress waved her hand, “Behead them all! As for the other prisoners, hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation. Punish them severely and without leniency!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” several officials responded.
After dealing with these lowly individuals, the Empress looked toward the one person who remained.
He was the Wuxi Duke, although he had lost all his power, his martial arts were crippled, and he had become a prisoner awaiting interrogation by the public. Yet he still stood defiant, scorning both civil and military officials.
“Imperial uncle, have you ever considered this day?” The Empress, seated high above, looked down and said, “For the sake of My imperial throne, you established your own domain, waged wars, and I was willing to tolerate it! But for your personal ambitions, you disregarded traditions, invited disaster, allowed 500,000 Dayue soldiers to invade, harming the people of the Central Plains, plotting against the Central Plains’ sovereignty…”
The Empress slammed her hand on the table, loudly questioning, “Imperial uncle, what crime do you deserve?”
Her voice reverberated through the court!
“Hmph! The victors are kings, the defeated are bandits. This king has nothing more to say!” The Wuxi Duke spoke arrogantly, “Ever since this king raised his troops, he’s been prepared for all consequences! Either ascending to the capital with an imperial robe, or dying on the battlefield! However, it seems…”
The Wuxi Duke’s bitter smile couldn’t hide his disappointment, “My luck isn’t quite favorable!”
The Empress declared loudly, “You rebelled against principles, forgot your ancestors, and defied virtue. Even Heaven doesn’t support you!”
The Wuxi Duke raised his head, his tone fierce, “I haven’t lost to Heaven, nor have I lost to the court. I’ve lost to a cunning villain! I hate it!”
“Which cunning villain?” the Empress inquired.
“It’s him!” The Wuxi Duke pointed at Lin Beifan standing at the forefront. His eyes were red with hatred, “If it weren’t for him, I would have long taken Phoenix Fortress and seized control of the Central Plains!”
“Sir Lin?” The Empress smiled, “Imperial uncle, he’s my loyal subject, devoted and capable. In these past two years, he has contributed immensely to the court. Why do you falsely accuse him?”
“Loyal subject? That’s the biggest joke this king has ever heard!” The Wuxi Duke sneered, “My niece, do you know what your beloved subject Lin Beifan has been doing behind your back?”
“Please, enlighten me!” the Empress said.
“Very well! This king will tell you what your ‘loyal subject’ has done behind your back!” The Wuxi Duke proclaimed loudly, “The method for crafting my aerial vessel, the Grand Air Balloon, was obtained from him, for which I paid a price of 3 million taels!”
“Ha!” The audience was astonished.
The Wuxi Duke continued, “The method for crafting my waterborne weapon, the Air Cushion Ship, was also obtained from him, for which I paid a price of 3.5 million taels!”
“Ha!!” The audience was astonished once more.
“This king even acquired the world’s treasure, the Dragon Bone, from him, for which I paid a price of 8 million taels!”
“Ha!!!!!” The audience was astonished for the third time.
“Overall, he cheated this king out of 14.5 million taels, nearly bankrupting me! With this background, I thought he was completely loyal to this king, but who knew…”
The Wuxi Duke trembled with anger, “In the battle at Phoenix Fortress, he used the trust I had in him to betray me! He took all my money and then turned the tables on me. He’s truly heartless and despicable, defying all sense of justice!”
“You accuse me of forgetting traditions and inviting disaster, then he, the greedy official, is one who’s selling out the nation for personal gain! You accuse me of disregarding the court’s principles and disrespecting the imperial authority, then he’s the traitor harming the country and the people!”
The Wuxi Duke made a vehement accusation, leaving everyone present in shock!
The Empress could barely hold back her laughter. The Imperial uncle was truly pitiable! He had paid such a heavy price, yet gained nothing and had been duped!
Is this surprising or not? Unexpected or not?
If she weren’t in the court, she would have burst into laughter three times over!
Suppressing her laughter, the Empress turned her head towards Lin Beifan. “Minister Lin, is this true?”
Lin Beifan calmly bowed, “Your Majesty, this is absolutely untrue. I am devoted to Your Majesty and would never commit such disloyal and unjust acts. Clearly, it’s a scheme fabricated by the Wuxi Duke to falsely accuse and slander a loyal subject. Please examine the facts, Your Majesty!”
The Empress nodded, “Minister Lin speaks the truth! We cannot believe the words of the rebel king!”
“Hmph! This king knew you would whitewash everything, so this king secretly left a backup plan!” The Wuxi Duke touched his armor and pulled out two crumpled papers, saying, “These are the manufacturing methods of two great artifacts that the crafty villain Lin Beifan gave to this king. Whether they are real or fake is obvious at a glance!”
“Present them!” The Empress glanced at the papers briefly, then handed them expressionlessly to the officials for examination…
The Wuxi Duke smiled triumphantly, “Now can you prove this king’s words?”
“Cannot!” The officials shook their heads one after another.
The Wuxi Duke was astonished, “Why not?”
The Empress said irritably, “Imperial Uncle, could you please put a bit more effort into fabricating accusations? Just producing a set of manufacturing methods and claiming Lin Beifan gave them to you—does anyone believe that?”
The Wuxi Duke, perplexed, asked, “Isn’t this proof enough? His handwriting is on there…”
“You’re using handwriting to prove, but this handwriting and Lin Beifan’s handwriting aren’t exactly the same. They’re practically unrelated! How can you prove that he gave you this?” The Empress retorted.
The Wuxi Duke was shocked, “They’re not the same?”
He turned to look at Lin Beifan, only to find him smiling slightly, thoroughly pleased.
This drove the Wuxi Duke mad, “He’s indeed a crafty villain! But I still have evidence!”
With great care, he extracted a waterproof pouch from his armor and then carefully removed a bag of white powder from within.
“This is Dragon Bone! I obtained it from Lin Beifan!” The Wuxi Duke declared.
The Empress glanced without interest, “Imperial uncle, you casually take out a bag of white powder and say it’s Dragon Bone. Who would believe that? And you claim Lin Beifan gave it to you. How can you prove that?”
“This…” The Wuxi Duke was once again dumbfounded, feeling that he really couldn’t provide evidence.
He looked at Lin Beifan once more, only to find him even more smugly delighted.
“This king still has evidence!” The Wuxi Duke said angrily, “Over the past year, I’ve given him not only wealth but also many precious treasures! For example, the Phoenix Shadow Night Pearl, the Black Jade Hairpin…”
After reciting a series of precious treasures, the Wuxi Duke glared at Lin Beifan with resentment and declared, “As long as we search his residence, find these items, it will prove my words!”
The Empress said expressionlessly, “Present the Phoenix Shadow Night Pearl and the Black Jade Hairpin!”
Before long, the eunuchs brought these two treasures forward.
The Wuxi Duke was astonished, “How do you have these treasures?”
“Because they were presented as tribute from another country, and I liked them very much, so I accepted them. They couldn’t possibly be in Minister Lin’s possession! So, my good Uncle…” The Empress squinted, “Until when do you plan to falsely accuse my loyal subject?”
“Your Majesty is wise!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.
“It’s impossible! Absolutely impossible…” The Wuxi Duke was losing his mind.
The Empress waved her hand, “Due to the Wuxi Duke’s rebellion against principles, his chaos within the court, his act of inviting disaster, and his heinous crimes, he is now demoted to commoner status, stripped of all rights, and to be imprisoned in the celestial dungeon!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” A few palace guards came forward, and they escorted the Wuxi Duke away.
The Wuxi Duke struggled, “Don’t take this king away! This king has more to say! Lin Beifan is undoubtedly a traitor harming the country and the people! He’s even more sinister and terrifying than this king! Quickly arrest him, or the future of Great Wu’s sovereignty will be in danger…”
The Empress gazed coldly without a hint of concern.
Lin Beifan wore a smile on his face, unperturbed.
The Wuxi Duke gradually sank into despair, issuing his final roar.
“Tyrant! You wretched tyrant!”
“And you, Lin Beifan, treacherous minister, you shall not die a good death!!!”
