Chapter 218: Revenge (IV)

Chapter 218: Revenge (IV)

Qin Huaiyuan was well versed in knowing when to advance or retreat. Otherwise, his outstanding talents alone wouldn’t have been enough for the emperor to trust him for so long. So with the summons today, the emperor was quite confident that the marquis would fall in line after a round of conversation with Grand Preceptor Cao and his own imperial majesty.

But who knew that Qin Huaiyuan would fall to his knees after entering the imperial study, wailing in between kowtows and decrying the tragedy that had befallen the Qins?

“…this humble subject doesn’t dare defy anything the emperor orders, but the assassins were simply too brazen! The capital is the doors to the son of heaven, right beneath your imperial majesty’s eyes! How dare the Great Zhou assassins be so insolent to not only send large numbers of attackers, but raid my home as well! They’re completely ignoring your authority, Your Majesty!

“The emperor’s fortunes are unparalleled and your might shakes the world. Now that Great Zhou and Great Yan are at war, wouldn’t we be indicating to everyone that you’re afraid of Great Zhou if we let the captives off lightly? Therefore, out of consideration for your imperial dignity, we must put these three to death! Please decide with clarity, Your Majesty!”

The emperor wavered when he heard this.

Though he was deathly afraid of triggering fiercer attacks after angering Great Zhou, he still had the matter of his own face to consider. News of the Qins planning to dismember the assassins had already spread; if he openly opposed this, the populace would definitely talk about him behind his back.

But still, he was genuinely afraid of actually letting the Qins rip those three apart. A compromise struck the emperor when his thoughts travelled here. He lifted the marquis up with a smile.