Chapter 70
Lin Xiao and the others dared not argue further and could only murmur their assent.
The Emperor looked at their faces and added, "Marquis Zhenbei also has the right to know about this. You shall hear what he has to say as well."
Lin Xiao's first instinct was to object—but the Emperor did not even look at him. He simply ordered Ruan Jiqing to summon Shen Nian to join the discussion.
When Shen Nian arrived and heard the Emperor recount the full sequence of events, he put on a deeply aggrieved expression and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject suspects treachery. Your Majesty should order a thorough investigation into Chang Sheng's suspicious death. What puzzles this humble subject is this: Your Majesty sent him to the North Frontier for a change of garrison—a matter of the utmost secrecy. How then did he die so mysteriously? This humble subject believes that since he had colluded with the Western Di, it is very possible that the Western Di, seeing him try to slip away midway, killed him."
As soon as Shen Nian said this, the other ministers were so furious their mouths twisted out of shape. Even Lin Xiao, who was usually fair-minded before the Emperor, could not help shooting a sideways glance at him.
Shen Nian seemed utterly oblivious to everyone's stares. With an air of lofty righteousness, he declared: "Your Majesty, please think carefully about whether this humble subject's words hold any truth. Chang Sheng was the General of the West Frontier. The crime he committed by colluding with the Western Di is punishable by death. Put another way—without the West Frontier, he was nothing. The Western Di are savages through and through. If such a fat sheep were to slip away right under their noses, how could they not be enraged?"
"Your Majesty, do not take offense at this humble subject's blunt words. Even if we step back ten thousand paces, it is fortunate that Chang Sheng is dead. Otherwise, given his traitorous nature, once he reached the North Frontier he would surely have colluded with the Northern Rong as well. Then Da Qi would have faced enemies on two fronts."
"Marquis Zhenbei, are you suggesting that His Majesty made a mistake in choosing Chang Sheng for the North Frontier?" This time, Lin Xiao could not hold back his temper—or rather, ever since Shen Nian had broken Yue Yunzhou's leg, he had been bottling up his anger.
Yue shi had been magnanimous enough not to make a scene with him over this matter, but that did not stop Lin Xiao from feeling deeply humiliated.
The situation now was that Yue Yunzhou was recuperating at home, while Shen Nian remained safely in the palace—supposedly under house arrest, yet his position unchanged, still flattered by others, and even the Emperor occasionally indulged him.
Lin Xiao felt that Shen Nian's methods were more cunning than even those wily old foxes in the court.
Moreover, Lin Xiao had never liked it when others criticized the Emperor. His sudden interjection this time was driven by both personal grievance and loyalty to the sovereign.
Shen Nian slowly glanced at Lin Xiao, then turned back to the Emperor with an expression of utter loyalty and devotion: "Your Majesty, this humble subject grew up in the North Frontier..."
The moment he heard Shen Nian start with that line, Qi Junmu could not help cutting in: "Marquis Zhenbei means to say that having grown up in the North Frontier, which borders the barbarous lands of the Northern Rong, he is unfamiliar with courtly decorum, lacking in ritual refinement, and tends to speak rather bluntly."
Shen Nian's face lit up with delight: "Your Majesty is truly a sage! You actually know what this humble subject was thinking!"
Qi Junmu smiled modestly: "Marquis Zhenbei has said this before me several times. I am not yet at an age where I forget things—after hearing it a few times, it sticks."
To outsiders, the Emperor's words sounded like a mockery of Shen Nian.
To Shen Nian, however, the Emperor was indirectly reminding him that he remembered every word he said—and that felt wonderfully sweet.
Shen Nian chuckled and said, "Your Majesty speaks truly. Then, Your Majesty, if you have no objection—just now the Left Chancellor asked a question. This humble subject has always been honest, so I answered truthfully. On this matter, Your Majesty acted too hastily. Your Majesty was wrong. If Chang Sheng had truly entered the North Frontier, decades of peace there would have been ruined in an instant."
"Marquis Zhenbei, watch your words," Lin Xiao said sharply. "In your eyes, the decades of stability in the North Frontier were all built by the Shen family, so naturally you hold it especially dear, is that it?"
With that final remark, Lin Xiao was laying a trap for Shen Nian. Whichever way he answered—yes or no—he would be wrong, and it could easily arouse the Emperor's suspicion.
But Shen Nian's relationship with the Emperor was far from ordinary. Shen Nian knew it himself, though Lin Xiao did not.
Such petty schemes would not fool the Emperor, nor would Shen Nian care.
After all, there were distinct advantages to being the Emperor's lover.
The other ministers glanced at Shen Nian, then furtively at the Emperor, whose face revealed nothing, and kept their own expressions carefully blank.
Shen Nian shot Lin Xiao a sideways glare: "Left Chancellor, did I say anything wrong? Chang Sheng colluded with the Western Di—that is a fact supported by evidence. Would sending him to the North Frontier not be handing it over to the enemy? Or does the Left Chancellor believe that Chang Sheng's treason is not even worth mentioning? The Shen family has its share of merit in the North Frontier, but so do the countless soldiers of Da Qi. They say the broader one's mind, the broader one's vision. In the Left Chancellor's eyes, am I, Marquis Zhenbei, so lacking in understanding of the greater good?"
When it came to fast talk, Shen Nian was second to none.
Lin Xiao was angered. Anyone with ears could tell that Shen Nian was accusing him of being petty-minded, lacking a sense of the bigger picture, and trying to frame him. And although that was indeed somewhat his intention, having it pointed out so blatantly still stung.
Just then Qi Junmu spoke up. Rubbing his brow with a pained expression, he said, "Enough. I summoned you here to solve problems, not to bicker."
Lin Xiao fell silent in obedience to the Emperor.
Shen Nian, however, murmured in a voice neither loud nor soft: "It's not like this humble subject wanted to speak up either."
Qi Junmu shot Shen Nian a glare, signaling him to rein it in. Shen Nian pressed his lips together and stopped talking.
To the others, it seemed the Emperor was thoroughly displeased with Shen Nian.
And fair enough—if any of them had such a blabbermouth among their own staff, they would be exasperated too.
"The appointment of Chang Sheng to the North Frontier was indeed an oversight on my part." Qi Junmu cleared his throat and then turned to Shen Nian: "I simply thought Chang Sheng was suitable at the time, but I never imagined he would dare collude with foreign enemies."
Lin Xiao knew the Emperor was explaining himself to Shen Nian. After all, sending another general to rotate into the North Frontier without good reason could, from another angle, suggest that the Emperor did not trust Shen Nian.
If Chang Sheng had been competent, today's scene would never have happened, and Shen Nian would never have dared be so brazen. Normally, even when Shen Nian and Lin Xiao were at odds, they would not bring it before the Emperor or make a public spectacle of it.
Unfortunately, Chang Sheng was a fool. Dead and gone, and still they managed to dig up evidence of his treason. The man must have been stupid enough to die for it.
Still, given the situation, Shen Nian would not be able to strut about for much longer, Lin Xiao thought to himself. Few who flaunted their arrogance so openly before the Emperor ever came to a good end.
Having said this much, Qi Junmu nodded and said, "Regardless, Marquis Zhenbei is right about one thing—Chang Sheng deserved to die."
He spoke those last words with particular grimness, and the assembled ministers fell silent.
"Chang Sheng's death is suspicious. Though Marquis Zhenbei's line of thinking is somewhat peculiar, it is not without reason. Fortunately, Yang Jinglei and Prince Jin are in the North Frontier. Sooner or later they will get to the bottom of what went wrong." During the silence, the Emperor made his concluding remarks: "I share the same mind as Marquis Zhenbei. I do not wish to keep matters from him, which is why I summoned him here to inform him personally."
The Emperor's tone was sincere, his expression saying, I trust you completely and never intended to replace you with Chang Sheng. Shen Nian played his part with equal sincerity, his face brimming with emotion: "This humble subject knew that Your Majesty held him in your thoughts! I am endlessly grateful. I would go through fire and water for Your Majesty without a moment's hesitation."
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