Quick Transmigration: Drama Queen's Daily Life-Chapter 770 - 759: The Substitute Younger Sister
She had actually fallen for him even before they were married, always considering his needs, while he remained clueless.
Duan Huaijin felt as if he’d lost something exceedingly precious, a sense of emptiness and loss washing over him.
He had yet to appreciate her goodness, to truly connect with her heart, and they had never consummated their marriage before she died!
Duan Huaijin’s eyes reddened, realizing for the first time that someone had once cherished him this deeply, but he had let her slip away.
Regretful howls resonated from the room, alarming the servants outside, who became even more tremulous.
Little Golden Crow perched on the osmanthus tree, and the soulful Ye Qiu sneered coldly. Her long preparations were not in vain; she intended to make Duan Huaijin regret, but this was merely the beginning. Although Duan Huaijin might have liked her, his affection could not compare to his obsession with Jiang Shan.
The moment he would forever lose his chance at the throne would be his most painful.
In the Qin Mansion, an account book mysteriously appeared on Minister Qin’s desk today, meticulously recording the transactions of Prince Li Duan Huaijin’s purchasing of troops and horses over the years. It even detailed the locations of two iron mines in the Northwest Region, which Prince Li had not only failed to report but also secretly used them to forge weapons.
At the end of the ledger, there was even information about the officials Prince Li had bribed. The discovery shocked Minister Qin to the core, prompting him to change into his court attire and seek an audience with the Emperor.
Emperor Wen’s health was already failing. After examining the ledger, he vomited a mouthful of blood. He knew Prince Li was not content, but he had not expected the scale of his covert operations.
"You say this account book suddenly appeared in your study?"
Minister Qin knelt down and kowtowed: "Your humble servant would not dare to lie."
Minister Qin had served under two dynasties, always remaining unentangled with other powers. Emperor Wen still trusted him a great deal; otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted him with the position of Minister of Revenue.
The person behind the ledger must have dared to hand these pieces of evidence to Minister Qin because they also believed in his character. Thus, Emperor Wen nodded his head and believed him.
"I remember that Minister Qin’s grandson is this year’s imperial examination’s top scholar?"
Minister Qin’s heart trembled slightly: "Indeed, Your Majesty!"
"Then I will assign twenty guards from the Imperial Army to you for Qin Ting to promptly investigate and clarify this matter. There must be no mistakes," Emperor Wen ordered gravely.
"This servant accepts the decree."
Minister Qin knew that this was an opportunity for the Qin Family, but also a dangerous one. However, since the person behind the scenes had such faith in the Qin Family, he was determined to handle the affair well.
He had two sons, but whether in terms of the imperial examination or officialdom, they were both mediocre. Only his eldest grandson, Qin Ting, possessed a semblance of his past glories. If his grandson could handle this matter well, their Qin Family might have a chance to go even further in the future.
Seeing that Minister Qin had the confidence to take on the task, Ye Qiu felt at ease. It was worthwhile for her to have gathered so much evidence and delivered it to the Qin Family’s desk. In her previous life, she dragged her cousin Yanran down with her. In this life, she would let her enjoy all the glory and wealth the world had to offer.
"Qiuqiu, where are we going now?" Little Golden Crow was quite pleased with the current state of affairs, enjoying the feeling of being needed by its master.
"Go see the Emperor, but don’t let him die too soon."
Ye Qiu was scheming from behind the scenes. Prince Li and his strategists waited and waited, but they couldn’t wait for Emperor Wen to pass away. Instead, they were besieged by the Imperial Army, which surrounded the entire Prince Li Mansion so tightly that not even a fly could escape.
"Qin Ting? Is that you? What’s the meaning of this?" Prince Li asked coldly.
The current Qin Ting was no longer the one who had come to offer condolences to Ye Qiu and was somewhat afraid of Prince Li. He unearthed the evidence of Prince Li’s rebellion himself, which was a huge blow to his loyalty and patriotism.
Therefore, his gaze towards Prince Li was also very cold: "Your Highness Prince Li, His Majesty is concerned, please accompany this official on a visit."
"Minister Qin, you’re quite imposing. It’s just a visit to the palace. Is there a need to surround my mansion?" Prince Li frowned and said, sensing a bad premonition, so he gave a look to the guard by his side.
"His Lordship will understand once he enters the palace. Please!"
Knowing that the odds were against him, but with so many Imperial Army soldiers, he had no choice but to go, Duan Huaijin’s face turned grim.
Once inside the palace, he discovered that not only Emperor Wen, but also several important ministers of the court, as well as his third brother, Prince An, who had already been imprisoned, were waiting for him. Although there were many people, not one of them was on his side, which greatly shocked Duan Huaijin.
"Your servant pays respect to elder brother Emperor. If elder brother Emperor is unwell, it would suffice to send a message to your servant. Why would you personally get out of bed?" he pretended to ask respectfully.
Emperor Wen’s face was filled with anger, and his complexion was somewhat flushed: "If I do not get out of bed, I’m afraid the throne might have become yours, right?"
Duan Huaijin’s expression did not change as he knelt down: "I do not understand what elder brother Emperor means by this? Has someone been speaking ill of me in front of elder brother Emperor? Please see clearly, elder brother Emperor, this must be someone else trying to sow discord between us."
"Sow discord? Do others still need to sow discord when you are so brazen? Imperial Brother, does this look familiar to you?" With that, a strange-shaped weapon was tossed in front of Prince Li.
Prince Li saw it, and his pupils shrank. It was a weapon with arrowhead-like ends that could be screwed together for direct use or attached to a long spear. Most importantly, the spearhead was designed with barbs, enhancing its lethality. Even if the stabbed victim didn’t die on the spot, recovery was nearly impossible later. This was a weapon meticulously developed and forged by his men. How could his elder brother know about it?
"Quite familiar, isn’t it? My dear Imperial Brother, I didn’t know that in your barren desert land there was such a large iron mine. One hundred thousand weapons of immense power, Imperial Brother, what exactly do you plan to do with these?" Emperor Wen asked coldly.
Duan Huaijin had no defense and only wanted to know how Emperor Wen came to learn about these. What else did he know?
"Are you perhaps wondering what else I’ve uncovered?" Emperor Wen said with a sarcastic smile, mocking both his brother’s ambition and his own oversight, "The Minister of War is your man, isn’t he? Using the court’s military salary to maintain your troops, you’ve really planned it well!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"Since elder brother Emperor has already uncovered everything, why bother asking?" Duan Huaijin simply stopped kneeling and laughed unrestrainedly.
"How dare you!" Chang the eunuch exclaimed, pointing at him in alarm.
Duan Huaijin glanced at him coldly: "It’s not your place as a eunuch to accuse this Prince."
"Since you’ve admitted your crimes, seize Prince Li and cast him into the Heavenly Prison," Emperor Wen commanded in a deep voice, but after calling out for a while, not a single guard entered.
The faces of Emperor Wen and the ministers present darkened, but Duan Huaijin laughed: "Did elder brother Emperor think I would enter the palace unprepared? You’re getting old and sick. Even if you’ve uncovered my crimes, so what? Besides these few, who else is loyal to you?"
