Chapter 400
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Ye Wushuang chuckled upon hearing this, glanced at Li Cunxiao, Zhou Yuanding, Qu He, and the others beside him, and then spoke.
“If you truly intended to kill me, why bother summoning us to the palace? You could have simply ordered this grand eunuch beside you, who is already at the Tian Gang realm, to execute me in front of everyone. That way, you could still maintain the facade of an emperor who cares for his subjects.”
“Since you’ve gathered us all here, it must be for some other purpose.”
“Li Cunxiao, a retired grand marshal and the Marquis of Zhongxin, with just a single shout, can summon dozens of generals and officers from the capital. His command seems more effective than an imperial decree. Imagine if he were still in office—wouldn’t these generals follow his orders without hesitation, even if it meant attacking the palace itself?”
As soon as these words left his lips, Li Cunxiao, Qu He, Li Qing, Li Guang, and Zhou Yuanding all turned pale.
Ye Wushuang had struck a nerve.
Indeed!
A retired grand marshal, the Marquis of Zhongxin, could summon dozens of generals and officers with just a shout. What kind of influence was that?
And if such influence were used for rebellion, what would the emperor think?
Ye Wushuang smiled again and continued, “In the past, my Ye clan was also at the height of its power. Even the royal family would give us a wide berth, but the Ye clan never contended with the royal family.”
“Technically speaking, even if the five great families joined forces, they would still be no match for the Ye clan. However… if an external force were to intervene—if a powerful entity from outside the Qingyun Empire were to get involved, the five great families would immediately turn on us and join forces to annihilate the Ye clan.”
“Now, the most powerful entity in the Qingyun Empire is the royal family. If someone were to target the royal family, would the five great families follow suit? And what about these so-called generals and officers? In the end, they might only know their grand marshal and forget about their emperor.”
“What if the grand marshal were to rebel? Wouldn’t they follow him and simply take your head?”
“Blasphemy!”
As soon as Ye Wushuang finished speaking, the chief eunuch Li Shun immediately screeched, “How dare you!”
Qing Muyuan, however, waved his hand, signaling that it was fine.
“Your Majesty!”
Li Cunxiao fell to his knees with a thud, his face pale as he declared, “I have no such intentions. I have always been loyal to Your Majesty and to the empire!”
“Your Majesty, we have no such intentions,” the generals and officers echoed, falling to their knees one by one.
Ye Wushuang’s words were truly venomous.
“Ye Wushuang!”
Li Cunxiao glared at Ye Wushuang and growled, “You are sowing discord between us and our sovereign. Your intentions are despicable, despicable!”
Ye Wushuang sneered and replied, “Sowing discord? Today’s events merely reveal the true nature of your relationship with the emperor. It’s hardly sowing discord.”
“From the moment your emperor summoned you to the palace, you should have known that he didn’t intend to kill me, but you.”
“I suggest you all reflect on what you’ve done over the years.”
At this point, even Qing Shanya and Qing Mengli were utterly shocked.
Ye Wushuang was not only ambitious and impulsive but also possessed a level of cunning and insight that was truly alarming.
Upon reflection, it made sense.
The emperor had no need to gather everyone to attack; if he wanted to kill Ye Wushuang, he could have simply done it in the streets!
Now, Li Cunxiao, Zhou Yuanding, and the others were completely panicked.
“Your Majesty, we have no such intentions, Your Majesty!!!”
“It’s him!”
Li Cunxiao, in a fit of rage, shouted, “It’s Ye Wushuang. This man is silver-tongued and is slandering us!”
“Ye Wushuang, I’ll kill you.”
With a roar, Li Cunxiao lunged at Ye Wushuang…
