sbdcsierra Chapter 140 Blood Book
Chapter 140 Blood Book
Zhao Liangchen looked terrified, kneeling on the ground, his body trembling slightly as he said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I will allow you to explain!"
The emperor glanced at him fiercely, his hands tightly gripping the armrests of the throne. He suppressed the rage burning in his heart, leaned back heavily, and said in a cold voice, "Hmph! I want to hear what you can say to convince me that your absurd act of making and giving away maps can be forgiven!"
Zhao Liangchen didn't rush to defend himself. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, looked up at the emperor, and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, in your opinion, who in this world would be most interested in maps?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor snorted in disdain and shouted impatiently, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't talk about other things."
Zhao Liangchen quickly lowered his head and continued, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I have absolutely no such intention. I believe that, aside from those like you who hold the empire, those treacherous ministers and villains who harbor ulterior motives and seek to usurp the throne are the most eager to obtain a detailed and accurate map. It is for this reason that I dared to secretly create this map and send it to you. My goal is to lure out those treacherous villains who secretly covet your throne!"
The emperor was originally reclining lazily on the dragon throne. Upon hearing this, his body instantly straightened up as if he had been electrocuted. Then he suddenly leaned forward, his eyes wide open, and asked anxiously: "How do we lure the snake out of its hole? Tell me quickly!"
Zhao Liangchen, who was kneeling below, took a deep breath, gathered himself together, and said, "Your Majesty, you also know that my father has betrayed you and joined others.
However, my father acted extremely cautiously with that person. After a long period of secret investigation, I was still unable to find out which high-ranking court official my father had private dealings with.
I feel this is not a long-term solution! We are now in the open, while the enemy is hiding in the shadows. We have no idea of his next actions and intentions, let alone how much power he has now or how many ministers he has won over.
In this situation, we can only passively defend ourselves, unable to take the initiative and control the situation. Therefore, after much thought, I finally came up with a plan.
He specially and carefully made such a giant map and then secretly sent it back to the palace.
Given my father's character, receiving such a precious gift would certainly not keep it hidden at home. As a token of loyalty, he would undoubtedly present this map. Then, we only need to secretly follow my father and observe where he sends the map. Then, we can follow the clues and uncover the person hiding behind my father.
After hearing this, the Emperor looked at Zhao Liangchen with a hawk-like gaze. His words were like a sword, piercing Zhao Liangchen's heart. "You must know that if your father really handed over the map, he would undoubtedly be committing the heinous crime of treason. If that happened, your entire Zhao family would face annihilation. Can you really bear to do that?"
Zhao Liangchen's expression was as solemn as a statue. Without hesitation, he replied, "Your Majesty, you are aware that my relationship with my father was not good. However, although I harbor resentment towards my father, I absolutely do not want my entire family to be buried with him. Therefore, I boldly ask Your Majesty, if this matter can be successfully completed and help you eliminate dissidents and smoothly assume power, could you, in consideration of my sincerity, spare the other members of the Zhao Mansion who were not involved in this matter and give them a chance to survive?"
The emperor's sharp eyes looked Zhao Liangchen up and down. Zhao Liangchen lowered his head slightly and let the emperor look at him. After a long time, the emperor leaned back and sneered: "Zhao Jian is really a failure. None of his sons are on his side."
"Hmm?" Zhao Liangchen looked up in confusion: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
The emperor pulled out a letter from the compartment under the table and threw it in front of Zhao Liangchen: "Read it yourself."
Zhao Liangchen picked up the letter and opened it. It was written in blood.
When he looked at the content inside, the corner of his mouth twitched. This letter was written by Zhao Liangsi, and it was full of words expressing his willingness to go through fire and water for the emperor and to sacrifice his life to show his loyalty.
However, in addition to expressing his loyalty in the letter, he also criticized Zhao Liangchen, saying that Zhao Liangchen had already become rebellious and defected to King Liang, and he was willing to get rid of Zhao Liangchen for the emperor.
He was smart and did not write that Zhao Jian and his mother defected to King Liang. However, even if he did not write it, it would not change the facts. As long as the emperor was not stupid, he would know that Zhao Jian and his mother were also involved.
Zhao Liangchen looked up at the emperor in surprise: "Prince Liang? Zhao Liangsi means there's something wrong with Prince Liang?"
The Emperor cried gloomily, "That's what he said."
Zhao Liangchen asked: "Do you believe it?"
The emperor's expression was a little distorted, and it was unclear whether it was pain or anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "How can you expect me to believe it? When I was young, my father was busy with government affairs and had no time to take care of me. I didn't have any other brothers, so it was my uncle who often accompanied me. He taught me how to hold a pen for the first time, how to ride a horse for the first time, and how to shoot arrows for the first time. He not only participated in my entire growth, but also personally sent me to the throne. In the past few years, he has carefully taught me how to be a good emperor.
If he had wanted the throne, I would not have fought with him for it. I would have definitely given it to him. But he didn't. He said that I was my father's son and the legitimate one, and he reprimanded many ministers who supported him.
How can I believe that such an uncle of the Emperor has any intention of disloyalty?"
The emperor became more and more excited as he spoke. His eyes were bloodshot and he pounded the armrests of the dragon throne with his hands.
Zhao Liangchen pursed his lips and kept a tense face, but did not respond. He knew this would happen when he did not directly expose King Liang after his rebirth.
The emperor has deep feelings for King Liang and trusts him very much. In his previous life, the emperor never believed that King Liang had any rebellious intentions, so he missed the opportunity to suppress King Liang in the early stages. Finally, it was not until the enemy was at the gates of the city that the emperor had to believe that King Liang had really rebelled.
At that time, his reaction was not anger, but heartbreak, and he kept asking: "Why? Why did he do this? If he wanted the throne, I could give it to him, why did he have to rebel?"
Unfortunately, no one answered this question, and Zhao Liangchen didn't know what the final outcome of King Liang and the Emperor would be before his death.
With this understanding, Zhao Liangchen never told the emperor that the mastermind behind the disaster relief silver case was King Liang. He chose to slowly guide the emperor and let him know that someone was coveting his throne.
The emperor became suspicious and gradually stopped trusting anyone, and decided to secretly build up his own power. Then, the matter of King Liang was slowly revealed. By that time, he was mentally prepared. Although he would still be shocked as to why it was King Liang, fortunately, he was prepared and would not be beaten without the ability to fight back, let alone easily give up the throne to King Liang.
He discussed it with Su Qin and felt that now was the perfect time to use the map to lure out Prince Liang and make the emperor suspicious of him.
The emperor might not believe other evidence, but the fact that he kept the map privately and it was given to him by a subordinate official was enough to show the ambition of the King of Liang.
Although it won't lead to a direct conflict between the Emperor and Prince Liang, it will definitely make the Emperor suspicious of Prince Liang.
Once a person has doubts, many previous things will become questionable and cannot stand scrutiny. Once trust is cracked, it will collapse sooner or later.
Originally, Su Qin and Zhao Liangchen had a good plan, but they did not expect that Zhao Liangsi would expose King Liang in advance.