Chapter 439: Birthday
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Qin Xiaoyao glanced at Lord Liu once again but ignored his plea.
Instead, she gestured to the back with her hand.
Immediately, Huang Fei and Huang Shi dismounted.
Thereafter, they went to Lord Liu’s men to take custody of Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan.
Lord Liu’s subordinates saw that the two approaching men were fierce-looking and had a strong murderous aura, so they did not dare to go against those two.
When the two of them came over, Lord Liu’s subordinates handed over Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan to them.
Huang Fei and Huang Shi gave the four subordinates a look that implied, “At least you know what’s good for you.”
Then, the duo moved the blindfolded Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan, who had their hands tied, onto the horses they were riding as if they were moving goods.
After that, they each mounted their own horses, firmly securing the person in front of them.
Upon seeing this, Lord Liu was anxious, but he did not dare to stop the duo.
“Alright! Now that we have gotten the people, we’re going back!” Qin Xiaoyao said.
“Yes, Leader!” Huang Fei and the others answered. They then turned their horses around and left.
Qin Xiaoyao, however, stayed behind.
She hesitated for a moment inwardly before speaking to Lord Liu.
“Don’t ask questions that you shouldn’t ask in the future. Also, regarding Master’s identity, you can think whatever you want.”
After saying that, Qin Xiaoyao also turned her horse around.
“Giddy-up!” After spurring her horse forward, the steed Qin Xiaoyao was riding dashed forward in pursuit of her men.
She quickly overtook the few people in front of her and once again took up the leading position in front of the group.
Lord Liu only raised his head when the sound of hooves was far away.
He watched the group of people gallop away until they disappeared from the intersection.
“My lord…” One of Lord Liu’s trusted aides came forward.
Lord Liu raised his hand and stopped him from asking.
“That person just now has already made it very clear. In the future, don’t ask questions that you shouldn’t ask,” he said in a deep voice.
After saying that, he walked towards his carriage with firm steps.
He could think whatever he wanted?
Hehe! Now, his heart was finally at ease.
This matter appeared to be a crisis, but now, it seemed like it might be an opportunity knocking on his door.
If Prince Huaiyin could really ascend to that position, Lord Liu could be marginally considered a subject of the ruler of the dragon throne.
At the thought of this, Lord Liu could not help but smile.
Qin Xiaoyao did not return to the capital with Huang Fei and his men. Instead, she changed her disguise halfway and shoved Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan into the carriage before sending them to the manor.
After she was done, Qin Xiaoyao returned to her residence.
Following this, she continued to uncover evidence of other crimes during her investigation now that the crack that was Lord Liu had been pried open. Qin Xiaoyao deployed the same method and obtained a lot of evidence incriminating Jia Kun and the other members of the Jia family.
By the beginning of August, everything was in place except for the final piece of the puzzle.
In the blink of an eye, another eight days passed.
The day of the Emperor’s birthday had finally arrived.
On this day, all the officials in the Imperial Court gathered in the imperial garden of the palace.
The Empress personally held a banquet in the imperial garden to entertain the officials.
Halfway through the song and dance performance, the gift-giving segment began.
The Crown Prince gave a painting depicting a hundred characters of “longevity.” The birthday gifts given by the various princes and princesses were mostly related to the word “longevity”. Most of the gifts were made personally.
Other officials above the rank of second grade also presented their congratulatory gifts.
Qin Xiaoyao presented the Emperor with a dagger seized from the Liao army and won the Emperor’s favor.
As a result, she was rewarded with two jars of fine wine.
Song Rui listened to Qin Xiaoyao’s suggestion and sent people to the suburbs of the capital to pick some crops that were growing well.
He then projected that the Great Jin State would welcome a bumper harvest soon and offered this as a congratulatory present for the Emperor’s birthday.
The Emperor was overjoyed when he received this gift.
He praised Song Rui for his concern for the state and the people, saying that he would definitely be able to accomplish useful achievements for the Imperial Court and the people in the future.
Thus, Song Rui became the second person to be rewarded with fine wine.
Soon, almost all the gifts from the Imperial family members and the courtiers were displayed.
Only Jia Kun and Prince Huaiyin had not presented their gifts.
Jia Kun wanted to be the last to present, but when he saw that Prince Huaiyin had no intention of presenting before him, Jia Kun hesitated for a moment before finally standing up.
After walking to the center, he cupped his hands and bowed to the Emperor and Empress Jia.
“Your lowly official pays his respects to Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness. May Your Majesty live for tens of thousands of years! May Your Royal Highness live for thousands of years!” he proclaimed loudly.
The Emperor smiled.
“Please rise!” He gestured for Jia Kun to straighten up.
After looking at Jia Kun, he even turned his head to look at Empress Jia.
He exchanged looks with Empress Jia and smiled.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Jia Kun straightened up.
Then, he gestured for the person beside him to present the gift box to the Emperor sitting on his throne.
“This is my congratulatory gift. Your Majesty, please take a look.”
The Emperor once again exchanged glances with Empress Jia, who was beside him. The look in his eyes indicated that he was very interested.
“Oh? I am really curious about the congratulatory gift from Lord Jia,” he said.
He gestured to the eunuch beside him to bring the congratulatory gift to him.
The eunuch bowed to the Emperor and went down to retrieve the gift box.
He quickly took the gift box and presented it. After opening the gift box, he invited the emperor to check the contents.
The Emperor glanced at Jia Kun before looking at the gift box.
When he saw that there were some letters and accounting ledgers in the gift box, he was slightly stunned.
Then, the Emperor flipped through the contents of the accounting ledgers.
Following that, the smile on his face disappeared.
After flipping through one of the ledgers, the Emperor threw it aside with an ominous expression.
Then, he opened one of the letters.
After reading the contents of the letter, the Emperor’s face completely clouded over.
Jia Kun, who was standing below, secretly glanced at the Emperor’s reaction. Then, he turned his head and glanced in the direction of Prime Minister Shen.
Prime Minister Shen sensed Jia Kun’s gaze and a bad premonition rose in his heart.
He also looked upwards at the Emperor.
At this moment, the Emperor’s gaze happened to turn to Prime Minister Shen, and his expression was extremely grim.
Prime Minister Shen only felt a stinging pain in his eyes and quickly avoided the Emperor’s gaze.
Just as he was feeling a little flustered, the Emperor’s voice rang out.
“I accept this congratulatory gift from Lord Jia.
“Lord Jia, please return to your seat and partake of the delicacies.”
That was right. The congratulatory gift that Jia Kun gave the Emperor was actually evidence of Prime Minister Shen’s crime.
The Emperor naturally knew about the fight between the two.
However, he had always turned a blind eye to it.
The two parties had been clashing openly and plotting secretly for a long time, but they had never brought their feud into the open publicly.
Thus, the Emperor pretended not to know and wanted to protect both of them.
However, today, on his birthday, in front of all the civil and military officials, the Empress’s elder brother presented him with evidence of Prime Minister Shen’s crimes.
The conflict between the two of them had already reached such a stage.
At this moment, the person he was most angry with was not Prime Minister Shen, but the Empress’s elder brother.
Why did Jia Kun have to cause trouble on his birthday, of all days? Did Jia Kun not want him to have a peaceful birthday?
He glanced at Empress Jia beside him and saw that her eyes were filled with curiosity.
The Emperor still smiled and calmed his Empress down.
He was doing it for the Empress. Otherwise, he would have dealt with Jia Kun long ago.
Over the years, Jia Kun had committed far more crimes than Prime Minister Shen, and they were much more serious.
If the Emperor hadn’t hushed up some matters, the crimes would have been enough to convict Jia Kun and give him the death sentence many times over.
Jia Kun raised his head to look at the Emperor.
However, he did not excuse himself and maintained his bowed posture.
When the various officials saw this, they all sensed that something was wrong.
In particular, Prim Minister Shen stared at Jia Kun with a piercing gaze.
Suddenly, Jia Kun turned his head and gazed back at Prime Minister Shen.
Jia Kun then gave him an icy, sinister smile.
Prime Minister Shen’s heart shuddered momentarily. Then, he saw Jia Kun cupping his hands and bowing to the Emperor again..