Chapter 1613: Deserved Death

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Shi Che had said in the letter that he would not investigate the person who sent the letter. The Emperor agreed.

He was not a bad person if he wanted to bring those filthy officials out of the capital. He did not have any bad intentions and did not think of abusing the power. If he investigated, it might bring trouble to him, so he decided to not do it.

He had already sent quite several people to Lizhou and had given his younger brother the right to take advantage of the situation. His younger brother had also mobilized the nearby military horses to help. His younger brother had not mentioned in his letter that he lacked manpower. Therefore, he did not think of sending more of his men there, having trust that his younger brother knew what he was doing.

Shi Yuan then closed the letter from his brother.

It was also at this moment that he heard the head eunuch outside bowing to his wife, Empress Tuoba. Then, his wife walked in.

“Your Majesty.” Empress Tuoba bowed.

“Why are you here?” Shi Yuan quickly came down from behind the table and held his wife’s hand. Then, they sat on the bed under the window.

Usually, his wife would not come to the royal study because she was afraid of disturbing him when he was dealing with state affairs.

However, such matters called for his attention.

The chief eunuch hurriedly called for the palace maids to serve tea.

“There’s one thing that I hope the Emperor can agree to,” Empress Tuoba smiled.

“What is it?”

“Today, some of the women came to the palace to drink tea with me as usual. One of them was the Prime Minister’s wife. Although the Prime Minister has been imprisoned, her official position has not been taken away. She is still a first-grade official. Just now, when everyone left, she was unwilling to leave. She cried and told me that she wanted to see you and that the Prime Minister was wronged.”

Shi Yuan was silent for a moment before he sighed. “Dou Chen didn’t even say that he was innocent or guilty. He’ll admit to anything no matter what we interrogate him for. I asked him myself a few times, and his answer was always the same. Especially when I asked him if he had anything on Qiu Pusheng, he said he didn’t. Qiu Pusheng didn’t want him to say anything. He even laughed and said that Dou Chen would kill me sooner or later.”

Dou Chen was Prime Minister Dou.

When Shi Yuan first passed through, Dou Chen was just the son of a sixth-grade official. Later, when Shi Yuan went to war on behalf of the Emperor, Dou Chen blocked his way and volunteered to serve him.

At that time, Dou Chen was only 16 years old, but his eyes were filled with light. He was extremely energetic and a high-spirited boy. He had a rough background, and the Imperial City was filled with dignitaries. No one looked up to him at all and belittled him everywhere he went… It was Dou Chen’s expression at that time that infected him, and he agreed.

At first, he didn’t trust Dou Chen. After all, he had only met Dou Chen a few times. Later on, Dou Chen would always be at the forefront of the battlefield to protect him. In addition, Dou Chen had seen Zhuo Yuan and shared many of his interests. They had similar interests. Slowly, they became good friends.

Moreover, Dou Chen had also made many military achievements. Therefore, after the previous Prime Minister was caught having trouble, he promoted Dou Chen to Prime Minister.

He trusted Dou Chen very much. Ever since he had become friends with Dou Chen, he had never thought that Dou Chen would betray him. At this moment, he firmly believed that Dou Chen had not betrayed him. He believed that Dou Chen had no choice but to help a tyrant commit evil deeds. He had caused the commoners in Lizhou to suffer for so long, but Dou Chen had completely given up on speaking up for him and was bent on seeking death.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He wanted to know what that weakness was.

However, Dou Chen and Qiu Pusheng didn’t say anything and only the two of them knew the answer. He had no choice.

Seeing her husband sigh, Empress Tuoba gently held her husband’s hand and smiled. “I heard from the Prime Minister’s wife that she has evidence. Even if she can’t prove that the Prime Minister is completely innocent, she can at least prove that the Prime Minister’s crime doesn’t warrant death.”