She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 130: An Old Man’s Obsession with Power

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: An Old Man’s Obsession with Power

This path, paved with shattered porcelain pieces, was a full ten meters long.

Each piece of porcelain was deliberately angled to expose its sharpest edge on top.

With every step, Yan Wanqing felt agony piercing through her heart.

Gradually, her skirt had become soaked with blood, blossoming like flowers at her feet.

The eunuch beside her could not bear to watch and averted his gaze.

Yet, Yan Wanqing kept biting her teeth and slowly continued forward, one step, two steps...

"Commandery Princess, if the pain is unbearable, just give up," the eunuch finally couldn’t help but speak.

Trembling from pain, cold sweat streamed down Yan Wanqing’s petite face. Her lips were already bloody from biting, but even so, an outsider would not hear her utter a single word of pain!

This was the unwavering strength of someone from the Township Manor!

The palace attendants looked at Yan Wanqing’s retreating figure with deep respect.

Princess Anping, truly the backbone of the literati under the heavens.

"There’s no need to persuade me, eunuch. The moment I beat the Gong of Appeal today, I knew this ordeal awaited me. Climbing mountains of blades or descending into seas of fire matters not, but the loyal souls of the Yan Family over a hundred years..." she gasped through clenched teeth, "don’t tolerate the slightest defamation!"

She was determined to cleanse the slander cast upon her family with her own blood.

Finally, the ten-meter long path of blades was behind her, and she stood unsteadily drenched in blood. She looked at the eunuch and managed a weak smile: "Let’s continue, eunuch."

...

Xiao Hongshen sat in the principal seat, the room filled with his retainers.

Everyone was chattering with their own ideas, and in the haze, the faces of familiar figures like Chai You and Wa Chengnan appeared.

"Silence, all of you!" Xiao Hongshen said, his face cold as he rebuked the ongoing chaos, seeing that they were getting nowhere.

Suddenly, the room fell deathly quiet.

Looking at the incense on the tea table about to burn out, his face darkened: "A whole stick of incense is about to finish, and you still haven’t come up with a useful method? I feed you, I give you drink, and at a crucial moment, all of you are just a burden!

"Your Highness, this situation is not our fault, blame Yan An for presumptuously bringing forth the Dragon Robe to slander the Township Manor; otherwise, we wouldn’t be facing such a predicament."

"Yes, Your Highness, it’s all Yan An’s fault, what does it have to do with us?"

Xiao Hongshen, furious, felt like committing murder: "I asked you for solutions, not for excuses."

"Your Highness, don’t despair. The Gong of Appeal isn’t something you can just strike at will. Anyone who strikes it must endure trials of blades and flames to stand before His Majesty. Princess Anping, delicate and frail, how could she possibly withstand such trials? Even if she did, by the time she stands before His Majesty, she likely wouldn’t have the strength to accuse you further," Wa Chengnan spoke out from the crowd.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongshen’s expression slightly improved.

"Finally, a voice of reason."

Wa Chengnan, neither servile nor overbearing, stood out like a crane among chickens, while the surrounding strategists sent him looks of scorn.

Unperturbed, he continued: "Princess Anping’s insistent beating of the Gong of Appeal is nothing more than being unable to swallow this grievance. Hearing that His Majesty has already sent a confidant to escort her into the palace, it’s clear His Majesty has already made his stance known. Right now, Your Highness, the most urgent issue you should worry about is who will take responsibility and bear His Majesty’s wrath."

"Based on my understanding of Princess Anping, since she dares to continuously strike the Gong of Appeal for three hours, she must have prepared thoroughly for the Dragon Robe issue. Once in front of His Majesty, she will undoubtedly clarify everything clearly. At that point, His Majesty’s displeasure towards Your Highness will grow," Chai You suddenly spoke.

Seeing Chai You also speaking up, Xiao Hongshen’s expression visibly improved, his voice carrying a tone of respect.

"Then, Mr. Chai, what do you think I should do at this moment?"

Chai You glanced at Wa Chengnan and stepped forward to bow before Xiao Hongshen: "As Brother Wu said, finding a scapegoat is necessary, but it’s more important to consider His Majesty’s attitude in this matter at this time."

He looked at Xiao Hongshen with eyes full of unspoken depths.

Xiao Hongshen knew that Chai You had something he wanted to discuss privately with him.

Thus, he raised his hand and dismissed everyone, including Wa Chengnan.

Wa Chengnan was the last to leave the room. He frowned slightly as he closed the door, and his colleagues behind him immediately started mocking him without hesitation.

"The plan was Wa’s idea, but in the end, it was still Mr. Chai that His Highness trusts."

"Yes, Wa, this business of dismantling others’ bridges to tailor one’s own wedding gown, Chai You is quite adept at it."

...

Everyone went on disparagingly in front of Wa Chengnan, who’s face started to look a bit unpleasant. He pushed through the crowd and left with a sweep of his sleeves.

Seeing this, everyone scoffed, "Pretending to be so high and mighty."

"Back in the day, he was nothing more than a kept man."

"A glorified servant of three surnames has nothing to be proud of."

Inside the room, Chai You, listening to the voices that grew more distant at the door, finally spoke seriously,

"Firstly, Princess Anping has always been extraordinarily capable and has a reputation for being strategic. In this regard, not to mention women in Capital City, even among men, there are few who can match her. Thus, her striking the Gong of Appeal and making it well known that she went to see His Majesty was nothing more than wanting His Majesty to clarify the innocence of Township Manor publicly, allowing the men of Township Manor to clear their names..."

Xiao Hongshen nodded. "Mr. Chai has hit the nail on the head."

Chai You continued, "Thus, she must have devised a foolproof plan, just waiting for Your Highness to walk right into the trap."

"Then what should I do?" Xiao Hongshen feared this very point—the moment Yan Wanqing opened her mouth, with her eloquent persuasiveness, she could make the dead seem alive and black appear white, supported by evidence in every word. He genuinely couldn’t outmatch her with straightforward power and plotting.

This was also why, despite his repeated attempts to order assassins, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Yan Wanqing’s intelligence, if it could aid him in his great endeavors, would take but a moment.

"I mentioned before to observe His Majesty’s attitude. When you left the palace today, His Majesty did not overly criticize you. This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire in the eyes of the Yan Family members—" Before he could finish, Xiao Hongshen frowned and interrupted, "Are you suggesting that Emperor Father did it intentionally?"

Chai You with heavy implications, "This servant cannot speculate about such matters. It’s just based on Princess Anping striking the Gong of Appeal, indicating that the Yan Family’s rage has reached its peak."

"The Yan Family and the Sun Family have been established in Dawei for a century. Not to mention that the worm does not stiffen when dead, just their prestige among the common people is enough to pose a significant challenge to Your Highness,"

Xiao Hongshen felt increasingly anxious as he listened.

Today, when he left the Imperial Study, he thought his father spared him from undue punishment because the Emperor had no other princes to rely on.

But he hadn’t imagined that his father harbored such thoughts.

To set him up for destruction...

To let the Yan Family and him tear each other apart.

Seeing the tumultuous expression in Xiao Hongshen’s eyes, Chai You knew that his words had created a storm in his heart.

So he continued, "On the day the Duke of Township returned to the Capital, sudden snow fell in June. Today, as the Duke’s funeral procession passed, the commoners lined the roads, disregarding their own safety to protect him. Such deep-rooted popularity is, frankly, not what an emperor wishes to see."

"That’s why... when I proposed investigating Township Manor for colluding with enemies and treason, Emperor Father intentionally let me give it a try," Xiao Hongshen felt a chill run down his spine.

This was the true strategy of an emperor.

"How could Emperor Father treat me this way!" Xiao Hongshen’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

He had never imagined that an old man, one foot in the grave, could still harbor such deep obsessions with power.

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