Chapter 265
Chapter 265 - This Official Has a Clear Conscience
Didn't dare to stop for a second to enter the palace with the letter. Only when they had entered the palace gates did he dare not follow, but they didn't leave either. Instead, they stood straight and upright outside the palace gate with solemn expressions, scaring the guards so much that they started fighting.
“Your Majesty, the Lord Commander has returned.” A Young Eunuch came in to report.
“Quick, spread it!” The emperor unconsciously revealed a trace of happiness, but it was quickly suppressed by him.
The officials stopped their discussion and waited for Commander Xu to come in. The direction the situation would take would depend on what Commander Xu brought back.
Commander Xu walked into the Chengde Hall with a head full of sweat.
“Your humble servant greets Your Majesty. Your Majesty, long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty.” Commander Xu bent his legs and bowed deeply.
“I guess so. What's the result?” The Emperor asked as if he did not care and continued to stare at Commander Xu.
More than a hundred gazes gathered on one person at the same time. No matter how calm Commander Xu was, he could not help but have his lips turn pale.
“Fortunately, I didn't fail you!” With trembling hands, he took out the letter from his bosom. His sweat had covered it all the way, so the letter was already damp.
The Emperor, however, did not care about this. He eagerly ordered someone to present the envelope, and when he saw the familiar envelope, the corners of his mouth faintly twitched.
He glanced at the officials below him, his gaze stopped at Huo Zhengquan, seeing that he was still calm, he snorted in his heart.
He took out the letter and shook it. The letter was opened by the wind, and on it were some familiar words. Before he could read them clearly, the emperor said angrily, “Huo Aiqing, do you have anything else to say?”
Huo Zhengquan raised his head and stared at the letter with shining eyes, “May I ask Your Majesty, what was written in the letter? Commander Xu found this letter from the Huo Family? “
Commander Xu's face turned pale as he replied with his head lowered, “Yes.”
The Emperor asked in a slightly amiable manner, “Was there any Huo Family Army supervising them at that time?”
“Yes.” Commander Xu's words were not a lie, as for whether or not the soldier saw that the letter was found, that was not something he could care about.
“If that's the case, then no one is framing me in secret.” The emperor said lightly, and it could be considered as confirming Huo Zhengquan's accusation.
“Your majesty, every year, Big Liang spends thirty percent of his military expenses on taxes. But not only is Marshal Huo full of personal wealth, he also takes over the military salary, and has colluded with foreign enemies to report military information, he has lied about military merits, and deserves severe punishment.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The people of the world thought that the Marshal Huo was wholeheartedly trying to avenge his country, but who would have thought that he was lying? Such a madman should be severely punished to show justice!”
Voices came one after another, even the officials who were previously in the neutral position revealed themselves. Counting the great hall, there were actually half of the officials who wanted to put Huo Family and land of death on the line.
Huo Yiming understood the sinister nature of humans. Amongst these people, some of them had once been on good terms with Huo Family, some of them had even tried to fawn on it, how many of them had received help from Huo Family, and how many of them had even called him brother?
He closed his eyes and walked out in large strides. “This subject humbly requests Your Majesty to give me an answer. What exactly is written in the letter? Who wrote it? How can I judge my father? “And how can you be sure that this letter was not forged by someone?”
The emperor waved his hand and had the letter passed down. From his initial expression of distrust to his current regret, it seemed as if Huo Family had betrayed his trust.
Just when everyone thought that he would destroy the proof, they saw him lower his head and look carefully, only to see that he actually had a smile on his face.
Could it be that he had gone mad from the anger?
When Huo Yiming finished reading all of the content, he suddenly laughed out loud, the laughter resonated in the hall for a long time, stimulating everyone's ears.
“What's going on?”
“Could there be a problem with the contents of the letter?”
“Since it was brought back by the Commander Xu, it shouldn't be possible. Maybe the Huo Family has some evidence to refute it.”
Huo Yiming laughed for a long time before stopping. He did not say anything, and threw the letter onto the face of an official, “Look, look carefully at your so-called evidence, look carefully at how our Huo Family is colluding with the enemy to sell our country!”
The official was stunned for a moment before hurriedly picking up the letter. When he read the letter, his expression changed and he raised his head to look at the emperor.
The rest of the officials, curious, gathered around to read. Some of them smiled when they saw it, and others stiffened. Even the emperor could not help but sit down on his throne.
“Let us have a look!” He let out a loud roar and read the letter ten lines at a time. After reading it, he felt a sweet taste in his throat and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
This… What was going on? What about his prepared letter? How could this be?
Huo Zhengquan walked over step by step with steady steps. His face was calm, as if he was fearless.
He took the letter and looked at it seriously, his eyebrows raised slightly, “Commander Xu, where did you find this letter from? This Commander has actually forgotten where to put it, and I've even looked for it a few times.”
The Commander Xu was confused. Naturally, he did not know about this and thought that the Emperor had already arranged everything and brought him to the palace without even looking at the content.
Judging from the emperor's expression, he could tell that this matter would not end well. He sighed, “I found it in the marshal's study and placed it inside a book. I saw that the envelope is the same as what the lord gave me, and it's not a great gift. I thought it was something I was looking for and made a mistake.”
Since he didn't want to admit it, he had no choice but to admit his mistake. After all, he couldn't afford to reveal the Emperor's Dark Guard.
The emperor was furious, he kicked Commander Xu on the chest, “Is this how you do things? “I trusted you so much, yet you dare to fool me!”
“A lowly death sentence!” Commander Xu pressed his forehead to the ground, the cold sensation spreading throughout his body.
Huo Zhengquan held onto one end of the letter, and a look of reminiscence surfaced on his face, “This letter was sent over ten years ago to her, it was only a few greetings, and he had abandoned his family and came back with me to the capital. I have been in the Liang Household for over ten years, and I have indeed wronged her.
In the next few years, her family was killed by bandits while they were out, and she did not even see them for the last time. Whenever she thought about it, Madam would always wash her face with tears.
Huo Zhengquan sighed heavily, he folded the letter and wanted to keep it close, but hesitated and asked: I wonder if this letter can be brought back?
The corners of the Emperor's mouth went stiff. “Of course, since it's a letter from the Mrs. Huo, I have no reason to withhold it.”
At this time, the emperor also understood that he was made a fool of by the Huo Family. Otherwise, how could a good piece of evidence be turned into a letter to his family?
But when did he do it? The emperor thought through every detail and realized that there were only two answers. Either his own Dark Guard had betrayed him, or his own Commander Xu had secretly interfered.
Commander Xu felt a cold gaze on his body, and immediately explained: “Reporting to Your Majesty, after this subject received the letter, this subject has directly returned to the palace and has not come into contact with anyone. All along the way, there have been guards and Huo Family Army watching us, this subject swears to the heavens that this letter truly comes from the Huo Family, and this subject is at a disadvantage.”
These words sounded like he was trying to defend himself, but it also confirmed the innocence of the Huo Family and also gave the emperor a way out.
It was because the Commander Xu took the wrong letter. The Emperor was about to be convicted without even looking at the letter just now because he trusted him. After all, no one could have imagined that the Commander Xu was so unreliable.
“You have truly betrayed my trust!” The Emperor waved his hand. “Scram! From today onwards, you shall be stripped of the post of commander and be fined one year's salary.”
“Thank you for your grace, your majesty!” Commander Xu kowtowed three times, bowed and left.
Walking out of the Chengde Hall, he discovered that the sun outside was already so beautiful, but he couldn't stop the cold, but the result this time was still pretty good, at least his life was preserved.
He turned around and glanced at Chengde Hall. This imperial government might not be able to calm down for a while, so avoiding it would be good as well.
Since the evidence is fake, then the previous accusation is fake. Huo Yiming grabbed the official and questioned: “Speak, why did you falsely accuse Huo Family? Who ordered you to do this? “
The official's face turned green and he stammered, “General Huo…” “This humble subject …” This humble subject is speaking the truth … If you can't find the evidence, that doesn't mean you can't… Commander Xu must have leaked it … Your Majesty … Your Majesty … “Save me …”
Huo Yiming threw him onto the ground and coldly snorted: “You mean that we need to go through the Huo Family again? So that you can have a chance to frame me, right? “
“Cough, cough …” No, this humble subject did not frame you, the Marshal Huo was the enemy of my country … “
“You're about to die yet you still dare to speak nonsense!” Huo Yiming was so angry that he wanted to slap him to death, but it was only Huo Zhengquan who shouted for him to stop.
Huo Zhengquan bowed to the emperor, “Your majesty, this subject has a clear conscience!” With that, he ignored the chaos in the imperial court and left.