Directorate of Imperial Horses?
The court officials were all dumbfounded!
Ever since Cao Zhengchun took over as Commander of the Nine Gates, the post of Director of the Directorate of Imperial Horses had long been vacant.
The Directorate of Imperial Horses was responsible for the imperial stables and also managed the Tengxiang Four Guards and the Death Battalion, all of which were branches of the imperial guard!
Now the Emperor was appointing someone to this post anew, evidently intending to dilute the power of the Commander of the Nine Gates.
The court officials speculated among themselves.
Could it be that the Commander of the Nine Gates had failed in his duty last night?
Had the Emperor been nearly assassinated and almost lost his life?
Was that why the Emperor was consumed with rage?
Hearing the imperial decree, Gao Li prostrated himself on the ground in a fever of excitement.
"This humble servant receives the decree and expresses his gratitude for the grace!"
Through his own efforts, step by step, he had finally reached the pinnacle of power!
He had good reason to thank Wei Zhongxiang and the others. If they had not sent him to risk his life to assassinate the Emperor, how could this opportunity ever have come about?
Down below the steps, Cao Zhengchun was so furious he could practically grind his back teeth to dust.
Clearly, the Emperor of Dazhen had miscalculated; the puppet before him was far from a docile obedience.
He even knew how to divide and weaken power!
How terrifying!
This man absolutely could not be allowed to remain in the palace!
Zhao Zheng rose from the dragon chair, his voice booming like a bell.
"Court dismissed!"
"Court is~~ dis~~missed~~"
As the attendants below the steps raised their voices in a prolonged cry, the officials hurriedly dropped to their knees and shouted in unison.
"Long live our Emperor, long live our Emperor, long live, long live our Emperor!"
After the court was dismissed, the officials were overjoyed.
For years, the eunuchs had held power, and the officialdom had been shrouded in darkness.
The court ministers had dared to feel resentment without daring to speak out, forced to submit to the tyrannical might of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Now that the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial had been thrown into the Imperial Prison, it felt to them like the clouds parting to reveal the sun.
"Heaven has eyes! The Emperor is finally able to tell the loyal from the treacherous!"
"It is truly a joyous occasion that the eunuch faction of the Directorate of Ceremonial has been imprisoned by the Emperor!"
"If the Emperor can remain this wise and sagacious from now on, we will surely serve him with our all!"
While the officials rejoiced, only Zhang Juyang remained gloomy and dejected.
Because the Emperor had released Li Wei, the father of Noble Consort Li, it meant that Zhang Juyang had gained yet another political rival.
It had taken him all the effort of relying on Consort De's favor, coupled with the instigation of the Directorate of Ceremonial, to finally get Li Wei sent to the Imperial Prison.
Yet who could have foreseen the unpredictability of the world, that Li Wei would actually be restored to his former post!
Li Wei had previously served as the head of the Censorate, responsible for overseeing all officials—he was precisely Zhang Juyang's mortal enemy!
Seeing Zhang Juyang looking sullen, Qian Yong couldn't help mocking him, "Prime Minister, are you rather displeased that the Emperor has released President Li?"
"Grand General, there is no need for the fifty steps to laugh at the hundred. You've heard the rumors in the palace, haven't you? His Majesty has just recovered from a major illness only to launch a bloody purge within the palace—the Grand General has not suffered small losses either, have you?"
The corners of Qian Yong's mouth twitched slightly.
Those words had indeed struck right at his sore spot.
The intelligence agents he had painstakingly planted in the palace had likewise been cleaned out completely by the Emperor.
"Prime Minister, between the two of us, what is the point of mutual sarcasm? The eunuch faction has already been eradicated, what kind of waves can a mere head of the Censorate stir up?"
Zhang Juyang sneered. "Does the Grand General truly believe that the Emperor intends to execute the Directorate of Ceremonial?"
Qian Yong wore a look of utter puzzlement.
Before he could ask for clarification, Zhang Juyang had already departed from the Meridian Gate.
……
Midday.
Jiade Villa.
Cao Zhengchun arrived at the villa and said to the eunuchs guarding the entrance, "Has the matter been settled?"
"Reporting to Grand Eunuch Cao, the moment you give the word, we will enter the palace immediately."
"Very good! Once this is accomplished, the lot of you will be my trusted confidants from here on out!"
Cao Zhengchun flashed a sinister smile.
Ever since the Emperor of Dazhen fell gravely ill, he had been plotting for himself all along.
The reason he had actively proposed sending the Directorate of Ceremonial to prison during the morning court session was precisely to make the Emperor of Dazhen lose his own claws and teeth!
He simply hadn't anticipated that the substitute found for the Emperor of Dazhen would not be so easily controlled.
No matter; he still held the life of the substitute's younger sister in his grip, so a mere substitute couldn't act arrogantly for long.
The one thing he wanted to do upon coming to Jiade Villa right now...
was to pin all the blame squarely on the substitute and force the Emperor of Dazhen to eliminate him.
That way, he could elevate a young puppet emperor to the throne and become the foremost powerful minister of Dazhen, second only to one and above all others!
Having served the Emperor of Dazhen for many years, he knew the Emperor's vulnerabilities inside and out.
Entering the main sleeping quarters.
Through the screen, Cao Zhengchun dimly saw that the Emperor of Dazhen had grown several circles thinner, lying on the bed and exuding an aura of decay and withered rot all over.
"Your Majesty."
Hearing the voice, the Emperor of Dazhen opened his clouded eyes slightly, tinged with anticipation.
"Minister Cao, I have finally longed for your arrival. How did that pariah behave during the morning court today?"
Cao Zhengchun dropped to his knees with a thud, wailing, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this old servant is incompetent!"
"The twelve eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, headed by Eunuch Wei, were all impeached by the court ministers."
"That substitute paid no heed to this old servant's intentions and stubbornly went his own way, throwing Eunuch Wei and the others into the Imperial Prison!"
Upon hearing the news, the Emperor of Dazhen felt as though the heavens had collapsed, and he rolled right off the bed.
To the Emperor of Dazhen, that group of eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial was his mainstay for keeping the external relatives and scholar-gentry clans of the court in check.
As long as external relatives and scholar-gentry clans held power in the court, imperial authority would slip away!
It had taken two generations of monarchs in the Dazhen Dynasty to finally reclaim power by utilizing the eunuchs, only for imperial authority to be destroyed in an instant because of a mere substitute!
How could the Emperor of Dazhen not be enraged to the point of desperation?
Several close-attendant eunuchs wept bitter tears as they rushed to support the Emperor of Dazhen.
"Your Majesty, please mind your imperial health!"
Choked with rage, the Emperor of Dazhen spewed a mouthful of fresh blood onto the floor, and with the support of the attending eunuchs, he managed to stagger over to stand before Cao Zhengchun.
"What about the substitute? Why didn't he come with you?"
Driven out of his mind with fury, the Emperor of Dazhen was frantic and at his wit's end.
Prostrating himself on the ground, Cao Zhengchun choked out, "May Your Majesty calm your wrath. It is this old servant's incompetence that has let Your Majesty down. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
"The substitute dares to defy me? Preposterous! Cough, cough, cough..."
"Your Majesty, you must preserve your imperial health!"
The Emperor of Dazhen's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze tearing at the corners: "Since the substitute is already out of control, then kill him! I will write a secret decree in the dead of night to pass the throne to the Third Prince."
Kneeling on the floor, Cao Zhengchun wore a cunning smile. Everything was going as he had anticipated; he was simply waiting for the Emperor of Dazhen to write this secret decree.
Once successful, he could substitute a fake for the real thing, alter the secret decree, and secretly murder the substitute to elevate a new monarch to the throne.
Cao Zhengchun cupped his hands and said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, this old servant will go and see to it at once!"
With that said.
Just as he was about to leave the bedchamber, he heard the Emperor of Dazhen call him back.
"Minister Cao, wait!"
Cao Zhengchun's heart sank.
Could it be that his flawless plot had still been seen through by the Emperor?
That was impossible!
He had disguised himself so well without ever revealing any flaws.
"What further instructions does Your Majesty have?"
The Emperor of Dazhen pondered for a moment.
"Minister Cao, that substitute cannot die just yet! Right now, the palace is filled with news of my discord with Consort De. If the throne is passed to the Third Prince at this time, how could the court ministers believe it? Such a move would destroy Consort De and her young son."
Cao Zhengchun cupped his hands and asked, "Then what is Your Majesty's intention..."
"I shall draft an imperial decree confiscating all personal property under the names of the Directorate of Ceremonial eunuchs, administering a slight punishment as a warning to others. You are to immediately hurry to the Imperial Prison, promulgate the decree, and release Wei Zhongxiang and the others."
"This old servant obeys the decree."
With his plan dashed, Cao Zhengchun's face was filled with disappointment.
The Emperor of Dazhen truly was not so easily fooled!
In that case, the only option left was to have the substitute die within the palace and forcefully bring about the demise of the Emperor of Dazhen.