I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon novel Chapter 1384

Chapter 1384: Chapter 535: The World Is Changing! The Holy Daughter Is Missing! (Part 2)

"His Majesty anticipated this situation long ago, so he made preparations in advance."

"Looks like I guessed right. The one secretly wrestling with Chen Mo isn’t some aristocratic clan at all, it’s the Emperor himself!"

Zhuang Jingming’s heart surged, his fist secretly clenched inside his sleeve, yet his expression remained as calm as a lake.

Only when Chen Mo appeared did ripples finally stir in his eyes.

"He really came. Lei Xiwen is probably in trouble."

"Trouble?"

Yin Zhao raised his teacup, shook his head and sneered. "No matter how unruly Chen Mo is, he wouldn’t dare openly defy an imperial edict, would he?"

But just as the words left his mouth, he saw flames spring up in Chen Mo’s hand, and that imperial decree was directly cast into the fire, turned to ash and scattered on the wind.

"Pfft!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Yin Zhao sprayed a mouthful of tea, coughed violently, his face flushed scarlet. "T-This bastard’s got some nerve, he actually dared to burn an imperial decree?! That’s the crime of gross disrespect, a capital offense! Has he grown tired of living?"

Zhuang Jingming shrugged and said, "Don’t look at me. This was a private decree His Majesty gave you. The Cabinet has no copy on file. Even if you want to lodge a complaint, you can’t produce any evidence."

Yin Zhao: "..."

With the only decree destroyed, now only the Emperor himself could prove that this matter was real.

But the problem was, right now the gates of Qianji Palace were tightly shut, His Majesty had yet to show himself; he simply couldn’t be seen at all!

He’d originally wanted to sound out Chen Mo, only to end up wrapping himself in instead!

Zhuang Jingming pursed his lips, a half-smile playing about his face.

Chen Mo’s bold move once again confirmed the suspicion in his heart.

The two sides were already like water and fire, the conflict had reached a white-hot stage; there was no need to even maintain the appearance of harmony anymore.

At a time like this, one had to firmly choose a side!

Or rather, ever since Gao Yuheng died in the Zhuang residence that day, he no longer had any choice at all!

Glancing at the utterly baffled Yin Zhao, Zhuang Jingming quietly shook his head, rose, and said, "We’ve almost finished the tea. There are still a lot of government affairs piled up in the Cabinet. I’ll take my leave first. Mr. Yin, no need to see me off."

With that, he stepped down from the sedan chair, boarded another soft sedan, and quickly departed under the escort of the guards.

Yin Zhao sat there clutching his teacup like a statue, motionless for a long time, no one knew what he was thinking.

Dong, dong, dong—

Before long, a follower’s voice sounded from outside: "Sir, Vice Minister Lei requests an audience."

Yin Zhao returned to his senses, his voice a bit hoarse. "Let him in."

"Yes." the follower answered.

A short while later, Lei Xiwen stepped into the sedan, bowed, his face as dark as iron, and said in a deep voice, "My lord, that bastard Chen Mo is utterly lawless. Not only did he dare burn the decree, he also beat Cheng Lang half to death. He’s truly arrogant beyond belief!"

Yin Zhao remained silent.

Lei Xiwen continued, "Every decree His Majesty issues leaves a copy in the Cabinet. I’ll write a memorial as soon as I get back; I must impeach him! No matter how much Her Majesty the Empress favors him, she can’t possibly shield him so brazenly, can she?"

Yin Zhao still did not speak.

Sensing that something was off, Lei Xiwen’s emotions gradually cooled. He asked cautiously, "My lord, why aren’t you saying anything?"

Yin Zhao lowered his lids, his tone icy. "First of all, that Yellow Decree was a secret edict His Majesty gave me; there is no copy on file. Second, I sent you to take over the Demon Suppression Department—who told you to lay hands on people?"

Lei Xiwen froze. "I did act a bit rashly, but even so, Chen Mo still shouldn’t have..."

"Even if Chen Mo refused to cooperate, all you needed to do was call for reinforcements, surround the Demon Suppression Department and stir up a big enough fuss. Once the palace sent people over, who would dare deny the decree?" Yin Zhao glared at him. "But what did you do? You actually handed the Yellow Decree straight to him! Now, aside from the testimony of you few, there’s no evidence whatsoever. The Empress already favors him heavily; all the more reason she won’t punish him!"

Lei Xiwen’s throat moved; he said with difficulty, "Then what should we do now?"

"There’s nothing to be done. Unless His Majesty personally steps out, this matter can only be dropped." Yin Zhao’s gaze turned deep; he hesitated, then said, "The Demon Suppression Department is a small matter. What worries me is that His Majesty may already have..."

Though Lei Xiwen was rather confused, he knew he’d bungled things. He lowered his head and said, "I am incompetent. Please punish me, my lord!"

Yin Zhao sighed and said, "Did you learn nothing from that business with Lin Junxian last time? You’re the number two man in the Ministry of War. Use your head when you act. Or do you want to follow in the Xu Family’s footsteps?"

Lei Xiwen lowered his head even further, fine beads of cold sweat oozing from his forehead.

Woo—

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify