NOVEL NEXT chapter 15
Chapter 15: Trust Broken Again
Qin Ji understood that at this moment, any explanation he gave would be futile in the eyes of the other party.
Undoubtedly, this was not just an attempted assassination, but also… a frame-up. No, to be precise, the main purpose of the other party might have been to frame him, and the assassination was just something they did along the way.
Qin Ji regretted it a bit. He should have thought of it earlier. Since the Emperor had planted spies in his An Guo Gong Mansion, there must be others who knew about this matter—they might not know who the Emperor had arranged, but at least, the Emperor would definitely arrange spies.
The other party obviously anticipated this, so they simply used the spies in An Guo Gong Mansion to personally deliver this seemingly ordinary information. In an instant, Qin Ji would go from being a victim to a genuine traitor intending to assassinate the Emperor… What a clever tactic.
“Your Majesty, allow me to report. I truly did not know about this matter. I came here today precisely to explain to Your Majesty my encounter yesterday, hoping to get some clues from Your Majesty…”
Qin Ji knew that explanations might be useless at this time because, in the eyes of the Emperor, he was no longer “one of us,” or rather, he never was from the beginning. And now, even if he was truly innocent, the Emperor would be the first to suspect him. This was the negative impact of being the Duke of An Guo.
“I know, Qin Ji, I am very clear about what you want,” Xia Yuxiao sneered at the powerful minister in front of her. Her fingers gripped the pen tightly, so much so that her palm seemed to be scratched by her nails. “However, I have never made things difficult for you. Indeed, there were times when I did not trust you, but I never thought of killing you. And you… is it the power in your hands that finally made you unable to resist this desire, or is it that I have not yet stabilized the domestic situation, making you feel capable of replacing me?”
Hearing these words, Qin Ji quickly lowered his head:
“I have never thought of such treasonous things.”
“Never thought of it, or dare not think of it? Or… can’t think of it for now?”
Xia Yuxiao walked up to him and asked in a low voice.
Qin Ji did not speak.
“I remember I once told you, you are my brother, and whatever you want, I can give you. As long as you don’t turn your elbow outwards, I will try to meet your requirements,” her tone grew colder, and her straight, fair legs stood in Qin Ji’s sight, as if each step she took would affect countless people’s destinies. “But what about you? You wanted military power, I gave it to you; you wanted money and grain, I gave them to you; you raised a private army, I allowed it. Tell me, what else do you want?”
At this point, she suddenly smiled, then flung her sleeves and spread her arms:
“Why don’t I just give you this outfit and the crown on my head, how about that? Oh, and if you’re still not satisfied, I’ll strip off this outfit, and you can have my entire body, how about that?”
“Your Majesty, I have never had such thoughts.”
Qin Ji took a deep breath, not daring to look up—not because he felt guilty, but because he was afraid that any movement at this moment would further provoke the other party.
“Do you have such thoughts? I can’t guess,” Xia Yuxiao snorted coldly, then her tone seemed to soften a bit, making one feel like a spring breeze, “How about it? Duke of An? What I just said is not an empty word. Having a loyal minister like you in my court really makes me feel like sitting on pins and needles. I’m tired of sitting on this emperor’s seat. You must be more suitable for this position than I am. What’s it called? Oh right, abdication, isn’t it?”
“Your Majesty is joking.”
“Look, you seem to have never been afraid of me. Even now, you don’t have a drop of sweat…”
Xia Yuxiao’s voice became a bit tired. As she finished speaking, she suddenly noticed a problem.
In this room, there was one person who did not lower their head.
She subconsciously looked at that person, the woman, or rather, the girl standing beside Qin Ji.
Then, she felt as if her heart was being tightly gripped.
Ling Yan was right beside Qin Ji at this moment. She did not lower her head but stared at Xia Yuxiao with vigilant eyes—that could no longer be considered vigilance, but genuine killing intent. This feeling was like being stared at by a lurking venomous snake, but Xia Yuxiao hadn’t even noticed her before.
Ling Yan’s expression seemed to be saying one thing, something she would truly act upon:
“Before you touch him, I will kill the emperor.”
The gazes of the two women collided, the cold emperor and the murderous “witch” had a brief confrontation.
Qin Ji sensed the abnormal atmosphere. In his field of vision, he noticed that the emperor’s leg seemed to be slightly inclined towards Ling Yan.
He immediately understood what was happening.
“Ling Yan, don’t be rude.”
“Yes, young master,” Ling Yan withdrew her gaze, her right hand, which had already formed into a claw, returned to its natural hanging state, and then she saluted in the same manner as Qin Ji, “I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness, I… was just doing my duty.”
Hearing this, Qin Ji’s heart was full of bitterness.
My goodness, can’t you just keep quiet? You look like you’re going to kill the emperor, and now you’re saying you’re just doing your duty. Whose duty are you fulfilling? Declaring in front of the emperor that you only serve the Duke of An?
I told you to read more books, but you just wouldn’t. This silly girl, if we ever get into trouble, it will definitely be because of her…
“No matter, your young master is a good master to you.”
Xia Yuxiao sighed deeply, then sat back in her seat, and glanced at Qin Ji indifferently:
“No need for such ‘grand’ gestures, Grand Marshal Qin. Standing like this all the time, doesn’t your neck hurt?”
“I don’t feel any pain, I just hope Your Majesty can see the truth and handle this matter calmly.”
“I am very calm, Grand Marshal Qin.” Xia Yuxiao laughed in extreme anger, “Look, I am even ready to give you everything I have.”
“I dare not accept.”
“Don’t pretend to be loyal in front of me. Sometimes I get annoyed too. Tell me, how do you want to explain?”
“Ling Yan, tell His Majesty everything you encountered yesterday, in detail.” Qin Ji could only sigh and let Ling Yan explain what happened last night.
Ling Yan nodded, then recounted everything she saw last night, including the death warriors who committed suicide by poisoning.
Xia Yuxiao listened to Ling Yan’s account with a calm expression, without any interruption, but as she listened to the latter part, her expression began to change.