Da Li Temple - Chapter 67.1

Chapter 67.1
Confess

The lights in the Zichen Hall had only rested for less than three hours before they were lit again.
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Su Moyi was already waiting outside the hall for Emperor Yonghui to summon him. Fu Gui came out and invited him inside.
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Inside the candle-lit hall, for the first time, there was no ambergris incense, which the royal family exclusively provided, but instead, mint was burned to refresh the mind.
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Emperor Yonghui leaned on the dragon chair with a tired face. When he saw Su Moyi walking in with a calm and relaxed face, his heart felt slightly relieved, and he stopped rubbing his forehead.
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“Song Zhengxing is dead,” Emperor Yonghui said right to the point.
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“En, ” Su Moyi is not surprised; after all, today, he met the Emperor for the sake of this pile of things.
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Emperor Yonghui couldn’t guess Su Moyi’s thoughts and was somewhat anxious: “According to your opinion, King Liang is behind this matter?”
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Su Moyi faintly smiled, slightly raised his eyes, and said, “I don’t know. He paused before adding: “But I thought it would be unimportant if King Liang did it.”
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“Oh?” Emperor Yonghui was surprised, “What do you mean by that?”
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Su Moyi nodded, “Because the court has already ascertained the matter in Hongzhou. Furthermore, Song Zhengxing is dead. As long as the court intercepts Hongzhou’s smuggling, King Liang will think that Song Zhengxing has confessed to his crimes. Therefore, as long as Song Zhengxing has stayed in prison, whether he gives an account or not, or how much he gives, it makes no difference.”
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After being told by him, Emperor Yonghui realized it was so; his hanging heart fell back to his chest, and his eyebrows stretched a few points.
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“So, according to you, what are King Liang’s next moves?”

Su Moyi said calmly, “When the crime is exposed, King Liang has three ways to go. One of them is to surrender to the court.”
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Emperor Yonghui frowned, seemingly thinking that this was impossible.
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Su Moyi continued without haste, “Two, rebel against the court and raise troops into the capital; three ……”
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“Move in secret, harming the Emperor while pointing the finger at the ministers, entering the capital to clear the ruler’s side. Kill the king, capture the minister, embrace the crown prince, and then gradually take over the throne using his power and in-law relationship with the Empress’s family.”
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Emperor Yonghui nodded his head in silence. He couldn’t be more clear about the current situation. If King Liang wanted to rebel and confront the court head-on, he still needed to improve. The reason why Su Moyi took down Song Zhengxing on the spot was undoubtedly to force him into a corner. In this way, the court does not use a single soldier if he surrenders; Emperor Yonghui is naturally happy to see it; least of all, if he chooses to take the risk, the court can also get a legitimate excuse to kill him.
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Emperor Yonghui pondered momentarily: “Did the Empress Dowager tell you the people that King Liang planted in the palace ……”
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“It’s Wei Shu,” before Emperor Yonghui finished, Su Moyi took over and said, “I have checked with the Empress Dowager, and at that time, when Official Zhang was testing me in Hongzhou, the only person who could disclose the information to him was Wei Shu.”
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“En,” Emperor Yonghui nodded and added after a moment of silence: “Empress ……”
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Su Moyi understood what he meant and said with downcast eyes, “According to the Empress Dowager’s command, I sent people to the Empress’s mother’s house, and I pried around the place where Princess Shu was healing that year, and I found nothing.”
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Hearing him say it so politely, Emperor Yonghui immediately understood. There was no problem, and that was the biggest problem because it shows that someone was deliberately helping Wei Shu to cover up. Even the Empress Dowager and Su Moyi could see the problem. Still, the Empress, as the birth mother, was not only unaware of it, she even took care of everything in her mother’s house, as if she had already expected that someone would look into it.
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Emperor Yonghui’s face was immediately gloomy. After all, the couple had been together for more than ten years; although it wasn’t love, at least they respected each other.
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Su Moyi slightly raised his eyes and added a sentence, “The Empress is the Crown Prince’s biological mother; I thought she certainly would not disregard the future of the Crown Prince and chose to join with King Liang.”
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This sentence is equivalent to reminding Emperor Yonghui that the Empress intervened in this case because King Liang may have held her handle.
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Emperor Yonghui’s face became more ugly.
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Su Moyi knew when to stop and started another conversation, “If King Liang intends to rebel this time, he will likely let Wei Shu start or provide information; the Emperor only needs to get along, using the scheme against the scheme.”
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“En,” Emperor Yonghui nodded and said, “When the time comes, let the Empress Dowager take the Empress away from Daming Palace on the pretext of avoiding the cold. This way, Wei Shu can be controlled.”
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“Yes,” Su Moyi responded.
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Footsteps sounded outside the door, and the door of the Zichen Hall was open. A small eunuch attached his ear and said something to Fu Gui, then Fu Gui took the letter in his hand, walked over, and bowed to Su Moyi and Emperor Yonghui, “This letter is what the Empress Dowager wants to give to Heir.” After saying this, he bowed and presented the letter with both hands.

The Empress Dowager handed him a letter at this time; it must be important. So, he didn’t hesitate and immediately opened to read it.
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However, after a breath, Su Moyi’s face changed. Initially, his face was not very colorful, and now it was even more pale as a paper page. The previous confidence instantly disappears, leaving only fear and helplessness.
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Emperor Yonghui has never seen such an expression on his face. However, before he said anything, Emperor Yonghui saw him arch his hand and said, “I have urgent matters and must return to Da Li Temple …….”
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His voice was trembling.
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