A Scummy Alpha Emperor Transmigrated and Marked the Powerful Prime Minister - Chapter 11

Ouyang Shushi, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, stepped forward first to report.

“Your Majesty, Grand Chancellor, Elders of the Secretariat.”

“The lead at the Bureau of Equipment has gone cold, but there is one suspicious point. Wang Ergou has a tattoo on his body, and that tattoo is related to the Northern Frontier Defense Army.”

Gao Lingyi also spoke up. “Wang Duoshi survived three assassination attempts during the night. This morning, he began to confess.”

“Your Majesty, superiors—this is Wang Duoshi’s deposition.”

Lu Siling originally intended to take the document and read it directly, but she suddenly remembered Gao Lingyi had mentioned the young Emperor. She signaled for the document to be shown to Lin Jiayue first.

Lin Jiayue took the deposition, and her expression darkened the more she read.

The statement said that Wang Ergou was not Wang Duoshi’s kinsman; he had merely used that identity as a cover to enter the palace and get close to the Emperor. Without significant backing, it was impossible to enter the palace and immediately be assigned to the Emperor’s personal detail. Positions near the sovereign, even low-level servant roles, were fiercely contested.

Wang Ergou’s identity was a fabrication. However, the person who ordered Wang Duoshi to facilitate this was the head steward of the Cui family. It was the Cui steward who had gone through the Empress Dowager’s head eunuch, and then there was that frontier army tattoo.

The Great Zhou had nine vital frontier garrisons, with one Governor for every three garrisons. The highest-ranking military commander of a specific garrison was the General-in-Chief. There were three Governors for the Northern Frontier; one of them was the Empress Dowager’s brother, Cui Yuan.

In the late stages of the Great Zhou, civil officials were used to control the military. A Governor might not even know how to lead a battle, yet he could issue direct orders to the Generals under him. As the Governor of Youying, Cui Yuan was a civil official, yet he held military power in his hands.

Since Wang Ergou came from the Northern Frontier Defense Army, it was highly likely he was connected to Cui Yuan. All evidence pointed toward the Cui family—meaning, Empress Dowager Cui.

Come to think of it, the Empress Dowager had a mother, a terminally ill uncle, and a grandfather who, though deceased, had been a great scholar with students all over the world. Even if the mother was a Successor Empress and Prince Cheng was not born of the first wife (though later legitimized as such), with a background like that, could he truly have no ambitions for the throne?

The world-renowned “Virtuous Prince” Cheng had established the famous “Hall of the Virtuous” in the capital, providing free food and lodging for all scholars arriving for the imperial exams. He was surrounded by countless retainers. In history, how many who disguised themselves as “Virtuous Princes” didn’t secretly covet the throne? True virtue and false virtue are revealed by one’s actions. True virtue isn’t about gathering retainers and winning over the nation’s scholars; it’s about seeking the welfare of the common people.

With a grim face, Lin Jiayue passed the deposition along.

The first to read it was naturally Lu Siling. In truth, she had seen it long ago, but she re-read it calmly. The evidence pointed at the Cui family, but the Cuis weren’t idiots; when all signs pointed to them, it actually invited suspicion. Even if everyone knew the truth in their hearts, the evidence was there. Whether it was a frame-up or not would depend on the power struggle between the Grand Secretaries. If the Empress Dowager’s people won, it was a frame-up; if they lost, the Cui family would be severely crippled.

Grand Secretary Sun Xiuyuan’s faction undoubtedly wanted to seize the chance to suppress the Empress Dowager’s influence. The resulting vacancies would spark a new round of infighting. For now, they just wanted to clear out the positions held by the Cuis. “Cui family” didn’t just refer to those with the surname; it included those who had sought refuge with the Cuis—namely, Prince Cheng’s people.

Lin Jiayue’s dark expression was, of course, an act. She put on a look of profound grief, though she failed to squeeze out a single tear for half a day. It was a total Waterloo for her acting career.

She pretended to be unable to believe it, her voice filled with suspicion, fear, and worry: “The Empress Dowager… wants to kill me?”

Admittedly, the emotion was quite spot-on.

Lu Siling was close. While the others dared not look directly at the sovereign, she raised her eyes and caught Lin Jiayue winking at her.

Lu Siling: “…”

You are sick!

Lu Siling felt inexplicably amused for a moment, then immediately found her own reaction absurd. This young Emperor was so good at acting; no wonder her younger self had believed this bastard was “obedient” and ended up being schemed against.

The Emperor had spoken her conclusion, and the ministers were speechless. Who wouldn’t suspect Empress Dowager Cui after seeing this evidence? These officials might think deeply about deeper motives, but the young Emperor was eighteen and had spent her life studying; how could she understand the complex undercurrents? These people had “infantilized” the sovereign for so long that they truly viewed the Emperor as a child.

Lin Jiayue was a full eighteen years old and 175cm tall—in what world did she look like a child? Maybe by modern standards where middle schoolers are 180cm and built like tanks. Regardless, Lin Jiayue didn’t mind playing weak if it achieved her goals.

The Emperor had initiated the “team fight,” and the followers arrived immediately.

Sun Xiuyuan bowed. “Your Majesty, the evidence points to the Cui family steward, not the Empress Dowager. Why would the Empress Dowager kill Your Majesty?”

Exactly—why would she? Naturally, so her biological son could be Emperor. It sounded like a defense, but it was actually stoking the fire. These old foxes were truly wicked.

Zhang Wuwei would not sit by and let this be settled so easily. “Your Majesty, I believe since the evidence points to the steward, we should arrest that man for interrogation.”

He originally wanted to end it with Wang Duoshi, but who knew Wang would talk? Then again, no matter how loyal a person is, can they remain loyal after surviving three assassinations in one night? The Empress Dowager was truly foolish—if you’re going to silence someone, you must kill them in one hit. Doing it repeatedly only forced Wang Duoshi to talk nonsense. “Furthermore, the words of these servants may not be trustworthy.” Zhang Wuwei even wanted to accuse Wang Duoshi of random biting and slander.

Lin Jiayue looked at Lu Siling, and their gazes happened to meet. Lu Siling seemed to be waiting for her reaction.

What else am I supposed to do?

Lin Jiayue thought for a moment, then a spark hit her. “I have not yet taken full power. This matter should be discussed by the Grand Chancellor and the Elders of the Secretariat.” She added, “Besides, even if the Empress Dowager wants to kill me, what can I do? I can only sit here and wait for her to strike.”

Selling misery, playing the victim, expressing helplessness—helplessness toward the situation and toward the Empress Dowager. Most importantly, she was making it clear that the Empress Dowager could not untangle herself from this.

Zhang Wuwei wanted to contain the situation, but the others wouldn’t let him.

Sun Hanzhang stepped forward. “I request a thorough investigation. Wang Duoshi is the Empress Dowager’s confidant, and there is also the Cui steward. Furthermore, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, Cui Yuan, is currently serving as the Governor of Youying. I believe Cui Yuan should be summoned back to the capital to explain.”

The Censorate had Left and Right Vice Censors-in-Chief. The Left was the head, while the Right was often dispatched as a Governor. A Governor led three garrisons with about 200,000 troops. However, the Great Zhou military system was mature; it was very hard for a Governor to rebel because most soldiers recognized the General-in-Chief, not the Governor. Most importantly, Governors were monitored. If a Governor wanted to rebel, they had to align with a vassal king—and as it happened, the Cui family had Prince Cheng.

Calling Cui Yuan back was a disguised way of stripping him of his Governorship and his military power.

Does Lu Siling want to neutralize Cui Yuan?

Since the late Emperor’s death, Cui Yuan’s position as Governor had been far too stable. The Governors of the other two frontiers had been replaced twice, yet he stood firm.

In the novel, the first political enemy Lu Siling eliminated was the Cui family. She first stripped the Empress Dowager of her regency, then moved against Cui Yuan, effectively cannibalizing the Cui influence bit by bit. Was she doing it all at once this time?

Currently, whether it was the Empress Dowager, Empress Xining, or even Lu Siling herself, they were all usurping imperial power. The power was split into too many pieces; anything anyone did was met with opposition. Lu Siling allowed dissenting voices to impeach her or debate the reforms, but if someone opposed the reforms for their own selfish gain, she would show no mercy. Sun Xiuyuan’s goal was different, but their targets were the same.

“Your Majesty, Grand Chancellor, I support Grand Secretary Sun’s words. Since this involves the Cui family, Cui Yuan must return to explain things clearly.”

Zhang Wuwei wanted to speak again, but Lu Siling issued the final verdict: “Recall Cui Yuan. Send the Left Vice Minister of War to temporarily take over the post of Governor of Youying.”

There is a difference between being recalled for no reason and being recalled for being involved in a case. In the former, Cui Yuan might be suspicious and use stall tactics. Being recalled for a case left room for maneuvering; it wasn’t a conviction, just a suspicion. If he didn’t return, his guilt would be confirmed.

Cui Yuan’s return was set. Zhang Wuwei sighed and could only glance at a small eunuch nearby. Soon, the news reached the Palace of Longevity and Peace.

Empress Dowager Cui was furious. “Who told you to attempt to assassinate Wang Duoshi three times!”

The small eunuch knelt in terror. “Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this servant only attempted it once, and my man was lost! The Inner Prison is too tightly guarded. This servant was waiting for your awakening to report; I would never dare to launch repeated assassinations.”

Empress Dowager Cui believed her servant didn’t dare lie. It seemed this was the enemy’s tactic to interrogate Wang Duoshi. “Send word to my brother.”

“Yes.”

While the Empress Dowager was receiving her news, the Grand Secretariat had moved on to the topic of Cui Bai’s disrespect toward the sovereign. These men didn’t care in their hearts, but they acted furious on the surface. As the young Emperor grew older and the momentum for her personal rule became unstoppable, they began to feign respect. Previously, they had mostly ignored her; now, they at least bothered to play along.

“Disrespecting His Majesty… what does Cui Bai think he’s doing? Does he think being from the Cui family means he can act above the law?” Sun Hanzhang looked ready to slam the table. Sun Xiuyuan’s face was red with indignation, and Zhou Shouzheng kept his head down, looking like he too was practicing restraint. Lu Siling remained as indifferent as ever.

Only Zhang Wuwei took a deep breath. If a teammate is a pig, there’s no saving the game. He was working hard to maintain things in the Secretariat, only for his teammates to keep messing up.

Lin Jiayue watched them with great interest. This was truly the spectrum of human life; everyone spoke with such high-sounding words, yet each had their own agenda.

Lu Siling inadvertently caught Lin Jiayue’s eye—she froze. The young Emperor looked like she was watching a play as an outsider.

Thus, Lu Siling ended the session softly. “For his disrespect toward His Majesty, Cui Bai shall receive thirty strokes of the cane and be demoted to await a future appointment.”

Disrespecting the sovereign could be a minor or major charge; defined as “Great Irreverence,” it could even carry a death sentence. The Secretariat’s punishment was not heavy, but it certainly wasn’t light. “Demoted to await appointment” meant he wasn’t reduced to a commoner; there was still a chance for a comeback, depending on what Cui Yuan did upon returning to the capital.

No one had any objections. But then Lu Siling continued: “Her Majesty is exceptionally gifted. Since she has already begun auditing the Grand Secretariat, she shall submit an additional essay on statecraft every day at noon.”

Lin Jiayue: “?”

Wait, what? By what right? Is this even legal?