The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

”Just going to watch?” Emperor Chu furrowed his thick brows and glanced at Song Zhiyuan.

Song Zhiyuan’s face was expressionless as he said, ”He was prepared to die from the start. It’s difficult to balance loyalty and righteousness throughout history. He willingly concedes this game, but he won’t reveal another word about those dealings.”

Emperor Chu’s face darkened, and he sneered, ”A loyal dog indeed, willing to sacrifice his family but unwilling to abandon those old associates.”

Song Zhiyuan remained silent, but his thumb and forefinger were rubbing against each other. Those familiar knew that this gesture meant he was deep in thought. Emperor Chu did not interrupt.

Song Zhiyuan indeed contemplated whether Mr. Ning’s generous martyrdom truly meant he didn’t care about the life and death of the Ning clan members?

If that were the case, why did he come forth at all? Wouldn’t it have been better to stay hidden, fight with all his might, or save a few people rather than enter the palace to face humiliation?

Surely he didn’t come forward just to see the Ning clan members off, opting instead for cowardly survival and then willingly entering the palace to die?

Seems rather deceptive.

”What are you thinking about?”

Song Zhiyuan snapped back to reality and looked around the hall, saying, ”I can’t figure out what Ning Cabinet Minister’s mindset was, insisting on entering the palace, unable to use even a single bargaining chip, not saving a single member of the Ning clan, and ending up confessing himself here.”

Emperor Chu’s expression grew increasingly grim upon hearing this.

Song Zhiyuan looked at him and said, ”Now that Ning Cabinet Minister is gone, the former associates’ means of livelihood can likely only be approached from Xia Houzhe’s side.”

With Ning Cabinet Minister gone, those former associates lost their leader. If they have a livelihood, they would certainly vie for power and profit. This period is quite crucial; once the true business is discovered, we could seize a few big fish. Thus, the influence of the old associates would be significantly reduced, making it harder for them to rebel.

”Not only that, there’s also one more.” Emperor Chu narrowed his eyes halfway.

Song Zhiyuan was taken aback: ”Shang Pu—not him, you mean the Prince?”

Emperor Chu snorted lightly.

Song Zhiyuan opened his mouth, wanting to say that dismantling Shang Pu might be even harder than dealing with Xia Houzhe’s situation.

”The Ning Clan Leader could likely be interrogated, and if possible, exchange for some useful bargaining chips.”

Emperor Chu nodded and looked towards Chief Eunuch Zhou, who bowed and retreated.

”If you were Ning Cabinet Minister, what would you do?”

Song Zhiyuan said, ”You’re being influenced by Ning Cabinet Minister; there aren’t any ’ifs’.”

”Just say it.” Emperor Chu glanced at him.

Song Zhiyuan made a disrespectful expression, rolling his eyes, and said, ”I told you before, where you go, so do I. If you become an emperor, I serve as a minister; if you fall from grace, I fearlessly follow.”

Emperor Chu spat twice, yet his expression was exceedingly pleased.

”As for the Prince, you’ll probably need to put in more effort.”

Emperor Chu’s smile faded, and a flicker of light moved in his eyes.

”Go on in.” He stepped forward.

Xia Houzhe looked dazedly at Mr. Ning, who had already lost all signs of life, his mind blank, and his whole body turning cold.

In the midst of this extreme cold, he finally figured out and saw through some things.

Mr. Ning truly didn’t want to kill him. How could he, an old man on his last legs, manage that? Yet he acted, the only possibility being that he thought he would counterattack.

Mr. Ning wanted to kill him personally, rather than leaving him at Emperor Chu’s mercy.

Xia Houzhe, upon realizing this possibility, couldn’t help but press his lips tightly together, his eyes turning red.

Ning’s living soul: Overthinking it; I truly intended to take you down, fearing you’d sell out the old associates’ people again.

As footsteps approached, Xia Houzhe turned to see Emperor Chu and Song Zhiyuan coming closer, a cold smile tugging at the corners of his lips: ”Now that Mr. Ning is dead, is it my turn?”