Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 1519

Chapter 1519: Chapter 1514: Selfish Motives

Xiao Rongyan nodded.

"Yue Shi..." Murong Li called Yue Shi and said, "Ninth Uncle has returned without rest day or night, travel-worn. Send someone to inform the Regent Prince’s residence that Ninth Uncle will be lodging in the palace tonight."

Xiao Rongyan had not planned to stay in the capital of Yan, so whether the Regent Prince’s residence was tidied or not made no difference to him.

Yue Shi clasped his fists and replied, "Yes!"

"Ninth Uncle, please..." Murong Li respectfully invited Xiao Rongyan to ascend the platform with him. After seeing Xiao Rongyan sit in the Regent Prince’s position, he followed and sat on the Dragon Throne.

Murong Li’s icy gaze fell on Minister Meng, who dared not rise from his knees: "Minister Meng, you incited the Empress Dowager to keep me under house arrest; I can overlook that, but as a high-ranking minister of the Yan Court... you formed factions and conspired, coaxed the Empress Dowager to disregard the lives of the common people, prevented medicinal herbs from entering the city of Zhou, and sealed the borders of the Yan Kingdom to stop the herbs from entering..."

"Your Majesty, I did it all for the Yan Kingdom, I beg Your Majesty to see clearly. Now the epidemic in our Yan Kingdom is a natural disaster. Only by drawing the city-states of Zhou and our Yan Kingdom into it, even dragging the entire Zhou into it, can we stand a chance of winning!"

"An epidemic is a natural disaster, exactly when our Zhou and Yan Kingdom must unite and work together. Otherwise, if the epidemic spreads, infecting one and then ten, ten and then a hundred, any city that is infected will be a mountain of bones, with no people left... even if we gamble the nation and win, what then?" Murong Li’s heart churned, "Minister Meng, you were once esteemed by scholars in your early years, but now you don’t even understand the principle that the people are the foundation of the state?"

Minister Meng’s throat quivered, unable to speak a word in his defense.

"From the Emperor to the officials of Zhou, despite having all the advantages of time, place, and harmony, chose to gamble with the nation alongside our Yan Kingdom... to determine victory or defeat with our Yan Kingdom and unify the world! And what of our Yan Court? You, as a Chief of Staff, regard the lives of the people as expendable, attempting to win this national gamble with the lives of the people who once lived and died with our Yan Kingdom! Shameful! Truly shameful!"

"Calm your anger, Your Majesty!" The court officials kowtowed fervently.

Murong Li looked at the officials kneeling and refusing to rise, aware that... although not many were involved with Minister Meng and the Empress Dowager in disregarding the people’s lives for the sake of a national victory, most had consented to it, or they would have been removed long ago...

For instance, the Regent Prince’s faction, if Ninth Uncle had returned any later, they might have been eradicated.

Murong Li also understood that the officials who followed Ninth Uncle might not be pleased with him as a young ruler, yet they remained dedicated to the court’s service. Otherwise, Ninth Uncle wouldn’t have entrusted them with important responsibilities before he left.

"Whoever... participated in this matter with Minister Meng, who spread the epidemic into the cities of Zhou, step forward and confess or... My Prince will have you investigated, and your families will face extermination. The choice is yours." Xiao Rongyan spoke with a dismissive tone.

As soon as the words were spoken, a court official knelt forward: "Your Majesty, Regent Prince, please see clearly, I... I did this for our Yan Kingdom!"

"Your Majesty! Regent Prince... I was following the orders of the Empress Dowager and Minister Meng!"

Once one person spoke up, it seemed as if the officials had found direction, all shifting the blame to simply following orders.

"Your Majesty, Regent Prince, please see clearly! We were all acting on orders!"

Xiao Rongyan’s gaze swept over them as he spoke: "Explain how you followed orders by yourself at the Court of Judicial Review."

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