Ninth Imperial Glorious Phoenix Chapter 688

Chapter 688: Painstaking Efforts

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"Come here," Yuwen Chu, guessing Mingzhu's purpose, ordered her sternly.

Mingzhu ignored him, smiling, "Forgive me, but I'll come over after I say my piece." She turned to Peng Liang and the others, her smile fading as she spoke calmly. "You don’t care about the outcome, nor about whether this sudden doctor can cure the Great Empress Dowager, or if it's a trap to harm me. You only care about humiliating the Emperor, the Regent, and me, ruining our reputations, right?"

She hit the mark, but Peng Liang and his group wouldn’t admit it, protesting, "We only want the Great Empress Dowager to recover quickly. If the Regent and the Wangfei acted selflessly for the greater good, why would they be humiliated?"

Yuwen You said, "You should know that General Yuan Lihuan deeply owes the Great Empress Dowager a great debt from early on. The first target for any invading rebel forces would be Eling, which he guards. When he heard about the Great Empress Dowager’s illness, he sought out many precious remedies and skilled doctors to send to the capital, hoping to help her recover sooner. The news of her severe illness hasn't reached him yet, but if he finds out that Ying Wangfei had the chance to cure the Great Empress Dowager and missed it out of selfishness, I can't predict how he would react. It's quite possible he might abandon Eling, allowing the Zhongshan rebels to advance unimpeded. By the way, there's also..."

Interrupting him coldly, Mingzhu said, "I know, General Zhao Song and General Zhang Lishi, both loyal and brave."

These staunch traditionalists were led by General Yuan Lihuan, whose position at Eling was crucial—a natural barrier protecting the northern path to the central plains. If he became disaffected and ignored Yuwen Chu's orders, the war would be lost from the start. Yuwen Chu’s abilities would be useless without soldiers.

Yuwen You smiled. "Impressive, Sixth Sister-in-law, you recognize the generals and the situation."

Mingzhu sneered, "Of course, I recognize these generals and understand the gravity of the situation. Our lord informed me as soon as he heard about it, making sure I understood the circumstances clearly. He wants me to go, but he doesn't seek credit and is concerned for my safety, so he planned to keep it low-key. Who could have guessed you all would turn such a minor issue into a major uproar? Did the sky fall? Did it? A bunch of pathetic literati! When the nation is in peril, you should be out there killing enemies and earning merits, not bickering and slandering honest people here. Our lord has endured and retreated repeatedly for what? So that everyone can unite and protect our country! How can you have the conscience to cause such a fuss?" 

The orthodox faction was not a monolith; some genuinely believed that the regent couple did not want the Great Empress Dowager to recover, thinking they were selfishly vying for power, thus feeling very angry. Hearing Mingzhu's words, some of them began to waver, and naturally, their momentum decreased significantly, no longer as aggressive as before. Seeing Yuwen Chu remain silent and enduring, they started to believe he was indeed bearing the burden silently. 

Having said what she needed to, Mingzhu still didn’t look at Yuwen Chu but confidently walked up to Yuwen Guang, bowed, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I have said all I needed to say. Please punish me." 

Entering the Chongzheng Hall without a summons was a capital offense, or at least deserving of twenty heavy strokes of the court staff. Normally, Mingzhu wouldn't have been able to storm in, but given the special circumstances, the guards wanted to appease the new regent and didn't dare offend her, so they let her slip through. 

Yuwen Guang couldn't possibly punish Mingzhu under such circumstances. He immediately stood up to help her, saying, "There are reasons for this; it is not Sixth Imperial Aunt's fault. If it means curing the Great Empress Dowager, I would wish to go myself, but the situation doesn't allow it, and I can't leave. Originally, this was a task for men, but now it falls entirely on Sixth Imperial Aunt, a frail woman. I already feel deeply reluctant; how could I punish you further?" 

This outcome was within Mingzhu's expectations. She rose with a smile, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy."

However, Yuwen Chu coldly interjected. "Hold on. The law applies equally to princes and commoners. If Your Majesty bends the rules for her today, how will future similar cases be judged?" He ordered Mingzhu to be taken for punishment, appearing impartial and ruthless.

Some felt he was being hypocritical, watching coldly to see how he would end this, whether he really intended to punish Mingzhu. Others rushed out to plead for mercy: "There are reasons for this. Laws should not override human emotions. The Wangfei did not intend to offend divine authority. Regent, please withdraw your decree and spare the Wangfei this time."

But Mingzhu could see that Yuwen Chu really intended for someone to hit her. At first, she found it unbelievable, but then she became angry. She rushed over here in such a hurry, every word she said was to defend him, and he was actually going to punish her? Is he really that impartial? No, if he were really that impartial, he wouldn't be sitting here, expressionless, staring at this group of people. Instead, he would have already agreed to their demands and urged her to go on this trip.

So he wants to hit her, he must want to take the opportunity to delay, find a suitable way to solve the problem, and try to keep her from taking risks. She's been injured, hasn't fully recovered yet, how can she hit the road? Are you in a hurry? Let's cure the Great Empress Dowager's illness first, and then fulfill our promise. What does it mean to cure? It means there's absolutely no problem. But anyone with clear eyes can see that the Empress Dowager's illness is deeply rooted and very serious, definitely impossible to completely cure.

Just by buying this time, he could find an appropriate reason to delay and thus gain the time needed to turn the situation around.

Mingzhu instantly understood Yuwen Chu's painstaking effort. She was about to express her willingness to undertake the journey when the old minister, who had been restrained from banging his head in despair earlier, sneered, "The Regent King may be ruthless, but let’s not forget. If the Regent Wangfei were injured or met with any misfortune, delaying the divine healer's conditions and treatment for the Great Empress Dowager, what then?"

The crowd suddenly realized the Regent King's cunning. He was calculating even this! Everyone then began pleading for Mingzhu, praising her as unparalleled.

Yuwen Chu glanced at the stubborn old minister, showing his first smile of the day. "Censor Xiao, you know me well."

Mingzhu looked sympathetically at Censor Xiao, knowing Yuwen Chu's nature meant this man was in for a rough time.

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