Chapter 96.1 â Selfish And Arrogant
It wasnât hard to investigate what happened during the morning court. A lot of officials participated in the court meeting, and everyone there saw it. Lu Qipei was also there, and sending someone to inquire only took a moment.
So not long after Qi Yang returned to her mansion, the hidden guard who had been sent to investigate returned, and she learnt more about what had happened at the court meeting.
âYesterday, King Wei and King Wu had a fruitless fight. The two of them fought in front of the Emperor, making His Majesty angry. For this morning court, King Wu was still injured, and the Emperor did not require him to participate. But he still came, and also submitted a memorial1Â about the disaster relief. The memorial was said to be very well written, and His Majesty praised it a lot after reading it. King Wu took advantage of the opportunity and got the disaster relief job from His Majesty.â The hidden guard half-knelt on the ground as told the story.
After hearing this, Qi Yang asked, âDid King Wei say anything?â
âKing Wei tried to fight for it, but he failed to win over King Wu, and was reprimanded by His Majesty. He was said to be looking only for his self-interest, and was not as attentive as King Wu, who still thought about sharing his worries even when he was injured.â
Qi Yang almost wanted to laugh when she heard this. She didnât know her father could say such a thing, as if he didnât know that someone else wrote King Wuâs memorial for him. Speaking of which, she asked, âWho wrote the memorandum for the disaster relief?â
The hidden guard knew that she might ask this, and had investigated it in advance. âIt was an aide in King Wu Mansion. In his early years, King Wu was weak, and his men didnât have a bright future. Now King Wu had a chance to make a difference, and all his aides are very dedicated.â
Qi Yang was not surprised to hear that. But on second thought, if that aide was really that talented, it was strange for him to have chosen the weak King Wu from back then. Even without mentioning the Crown Princeâs Eastern Palace, the previous King Qi, King Chu and even King Wei who was still around, all of them would be more worth assisting than King Wu.
As far as Qi Yang was concerned, she didnât see the image of a wise king on King Wu.
Thinking about it this way, her interest was piqued again. Qi Yang turned around and ordered someone to go to the Eastern Palace to see the Crown Prince and see if he could find the memorial that King Wu presented today. She wanted to see how well it was written.
And just before Qi Yang received the memorial, King Wu had already led his men out of the capital, galloping out in high spirits.
The Court of Judicial Review never had a shortage of work. Lu Qipei had been busy there all day, and couldnât return until the sun set on the evening. When she returned, Qi Yang was frowning at the memorial.
Lu Qipei walked around the screen and changed into her regular clothes as she asked, âWhatâs the matter, Your Highness? What are you looking at?â
Qi Yang waited for her to finish changing her clothes, then handed Lu Qipei the memorial in her hand, saying, âIâm looking at the disaster relief memorial that King Wu presented to Royal Father this morning. Iâve read it, and itâs really very well done, with all aspects taken care of. If you implemented it following this, even an inexperienced youth would be able to do the job well. With someone with King Wuâs identity going there, it would be enough to get the job done.â
Lu Qipei nodded casually, sat down beside Qi Yang, and drank the cup of tea she was holding. âThatâs great. This is the first time King Wu is doing this kind of job, so he has to do his best, so the people would suffer less.â
Qi Yang glanced at Lu Qipei and ignored her as she drank her own tea, but she still frowned and said, âBut this memorial is written so well that it couldnât have been written by an ordinary person. How could King Wu have such a capable person under him? To put it another way, if he had such a capable person under his command, why would he only show himself now?â
Mingzhou was thousands of li away from the capital, and the flood was not as serious as the Yellow River bursting over. At the end of the day, the impact was limited.
King Wu wanted to stand out and didnât have a better opportunity before, but he chose this one even at the expense of fighting King Wei until his head bled. Qi Yang really couldnât understand the key reason behind it.
Lu Qipei stroked her teacup, thinking for a while, then said, âActually, thereâs something that I havenât mentioned to Your Highness.â
When Qi Yang heard this, she raised her eyebrows, âWhat is it?â
Lu Qipeiâs eyes lowered slightly and she replied, âOver the past three years, I have taken over most of the power from Qi Bo, and my contact with the north have gradually decreased. Xie Yuanâs side should have noticed something. When the Rong envoy entered the capital last time, he gave me a warning. But with Xie Yuanâs temperament, I think he will definitely do more than that. After this, he will probably not trust me anymore.â
Qi Yang understood, but first she grabbed Lu Qipeiâs arm and asked, âYou said that the Rong envoy warned you last time he entered the capital? What did he do, and why didnât you tell me?â
Her tone was harsh, obviously a bit angry, but also a bit scared â Lu Qipei had too many secrets on her person. If any one of them was taken out, it would be enough to put them in a situation that cannot be reversed. Most importantly, the secret was still in the enemyâs hands.
Of course, Lu Qipei understood Qi Yangâs concern. Her brows softened slightly and she smiled, âDonât worry, Ah Ning. He canât give up on me so easily.â
Qi Yang didnât believe it, and her eyebrows furrowed even tighter. âIs there anything he canât give up on? Heâs such a ruthless person! Back then, Xie Hongyi was also his son, but didnât he give up on him? What canât he do for his own benefit!?â