Chapter 556: The Reason Behind Everything
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation . Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
When the Great General Weimeng was still alive, the General’s wife was a member of the upper class in the capital city. Ordinary aristocratic families did not dare to offend her rashly.
After the death of the Great General, who would care about a general’s wife who had an undeserved reputation, especially a general’s wife who did not even have any children?
It was impossible for the General’s wife to trip those people up within a short time by herself.
By chance, she heard about a religious group called the White Lotus Cult.
Many people in the capital city had never heard of this religion before back then. It only had a small influence among the commoners. After the death of the first leader of the White Lotus Cult, the White Lotus Cult was practically non-existent.
However, even though the White Lotus Cult had fallen apart, the General’s wife realized that the former members of the cult still revered the Great Immortal White Lotus that this cult worshiped. At that moment, she thought that since she could not deal with those hypocritical men head-on, why not take action on their womenfolk instead?
“From that point on, I would send people to intentionally or unintentionally mention the name of the Great Immortal White Lotus in front of those women, to let them know how powerful the Great Immortal White Lotus is.”
In the beginning, those noble women and young ladies naturally did not believe it. However, as time passed, after the General’s wife used some little tricks, gradually some people believed firmly in this immortal without any doubts.
“Were you the one who found Hao Bailian?”
The General’s wife lowered her eyes. “Yes.”
“And who is Abbot Sanmei?”
The General’s wife’s eyebrows were tightly knitted, and her face was tense as if she was very resistant to this question.
“Is he your lover?” Su Ying’s voice was so icy that there wasn’t a hint of warmth in it.
“He’s not!” the General’s wife roared furiously. “I have not conducted myself improperly with him. Everything I did is for the General!”
Abbot Sanmei was once a subordinate of Great General Weimeng. Due to Great General Weimeng’s fall, not only was this subordinate’s credit stolen, but he was also stripped of his position. After he learned of the thoughts of the General’s wife, the idea to take revenge together with her took root.
“Now that you’ve gained the trust of these people, what do you plan to do next?” Su Ying continued to probe.
The General’s wife pursed her lips and said with a sinister look, “The White Lotus Cult has a practice in which people can offer sacrifices for eternal life, which I adapted. They only need to bury the sacred objects of the White Lotus Cult in a specific direction and perform a ritual, which would allow them to protect their wealth for eternity.”
How could the noble women and young ladies who had long been accustomed to enjoying wealth and splendor resist such a temptation? However, they were not completely stupid either, so the General’s wife told Hao Bailian to tell these greedy people that the sacrificial ritual was divided into seven steps. These seven steps required a long time to complete. In this way, the people would let down their guard.
The General’s wife was really patient. She had waited for nearly ten years for them to bury those things within the grounds of her residence.
Now, she was only one step away. She was only one final step away from success, but the matter was exposed!
“What crime do you want to pin on them?”
“Colluding with foreign enemies to murder the Great General Weimeng!” the General’s wife replied.
This was not a false charge that she had cooked up, but a real crime that those people had committed. She was going to pin this crime on them to make them apologize to her husband.
Su Ymg took out the Fire Token and waved it in front of the General’s wife. “Do you know what this is?”
The General’s wife looked at the token and shook her head. “I don’t know. This belongs to Li An. I’ve seen it before, but I don’t know what it is.” The Li An she was talking about referred to Abbot Sanmei.
“Where is Li An hiding now?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t completely trust me. Yesterday, he made me go to the palace to see Your Imperial Highness to confirm where Hao Bailian was. Li An then sent someone to silence her again. Your Imperial Highness also started suspecting me from that point, didn’t you?”
When she entered the palace yesterday, the General’s wife had a very bad premonition in her heart, but she did not expect trouble to come so quickly.
As Su Ying stood up from the bench, she lowered her eyes to look at the General’s wife. Even at this moment, that woman’s eyes were still filled with determination. She didn’t feel that she had done anything wrong.
However, her revenge had indirectly harmed many innocent people, such as Nie Jun. If it wasn’t for the timely surgery, that kid might have lost his life.
“Then why did you ask someone to take my son’s predestined lifespan? Is this the final step of your plan?” Su Ying’s eyes turned sharp.
The General’s wife did not deny it. “Yes. If things don’t work out, I’ll hold the First Prince hostage. I shall avenge my husband no matter what method I have to use!”
Su Ying grabbed her by the neck and lifted the General’s wife off the ground. The General’s wife was shocked, but her eyes were still calm and firm. “Even if… I die, I have no regrets. The only thing is… I have let… let him down…”
Su Ying threw the General’s wife to the ground the moment she was on her final breath.
“Argh! Cough, cough, cough!” The General’s wife cried out in pain from the fall and coughed hoarsely.
Su Ying’s expression was frosty as she turned to leave, but the General’s wife called out to her. “Everyone knows that Your Imperial Highness is arrogant and tyrannical, and doesn’t take other people seriously. However, 1 know that Your Imperial Highness has a scale in your heart that can measure people’s goodness. My husband’s heart is filled with loyalty, and he shouldn’t be tarnished by others after his wrongful and unjust death. As for those people who climbed up by stepping on his corpse, they were laughing and joking around at the dining tables full of wine, mocking my husband’s stupidity! These people are the ones who deserve to die!
“I implore Your Imperial Highness to restore my husband’s innocence and not let him die without peace of mind.”
Su Ying didn’t give any response. However, on the way back to the Minister of Justice’s study, she never once uttered a word.
The Minister of Justice cautiously followed closely behind Su Ying, trying his best to soften the sound of his breathing. He was fearful that Su Ying might feel annoyed and take it out on him by kicking his head like a ball.
Su Ying sat without any emotion on the chair, and the Minister of Justice hurriedly ordered his subordinates to bring over some cooling tea.
When the Empress was talking to the General’s wife just now, they had heard every single word.
This incident happened so many years ago, so it was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to investigate. What they could not fathom the most now was the Empress’s attitude.
“Go summon the Minister of Appointments to see me. Tell him to bring me the name list of those who were promoted and conferred titles after the Great General Weimeng died in battle more than twenty years ago.”
When the Minister of Justice heard this, he realized that the Empress did not intend to let the matter rest. He did not dare to be negligent and immediately sent someone to look for the Minister of Appointments.
The Minister of Appointments was already over fifty years old, and his way of doing things was somewhat pedantic. When he brought the booklet to Su Ying, immediately after he bowed in greeting he straightened up, he asked her why ’ she had summoned him.
That day, when many of the officials in the Imperial Court stepped forward to complain that Su Ying, a woman who should remain in the back of the house had meddled too much in the affairs of the previous dynasty, he was the one ’ with the second loudest voice. He had been very displeased with Su Ying’s actions.
“When the Great General Weimeng died on the battlefield, you were already in the Ministry of Appointments, weren’t you? You should know how many people were promoted and rewarded by the late emperor.”
The Minister of Appointments replied, “Your Imperial Highness, I was indeed already working in the Ministry of Appointments at that time. I still have some vague memories of what happened back then. I just don’t know why Your Imperial Highness is bringing this matter up..”