Chapter 121 - The Panicked General Yun
Chapter 121 – The Panicked General Yun
The pin-drop silence lingered in the Imperial Court after Commander Xie finished his words.
All the ministers looked at General Li who was still sitting very calmly.
The atmosphere was dreading. Everyone could imagine what kind of a worse condition battlefield would be in if a General would suddenly disappear.
They could have lost in this battle and Xin could have been in the enemy's hands today.
If it was true that General Li really did sell his ancestral war strategies to the enemies then executing the whole Li Clan was really a fair punishment.
Suddenly General Yun stood up from his seats interrupting. Commander Ji was relieved to see this. However, in his mind, he had already decided that if he was exposed in front of everyone then he would also not let the General go.
With a sneer, he glanced at Xi Ying and said
"Prime Minister Xi, your acts surely are very reasonable."
Then General Yun walked to stand in front of the Emperor and continued
"Your Majesty, this subject wants to know does a commander who saved Xi from such a dreadful attack with his cleverness, does she deserve such a treatment?"
"Instead of rewarding him and appreciating his loyalty to Xin, Minister Xi made Commander Ji enter the Imperial Court like this. While the one who committed the treason is sitting comfortably on his seat as a high-ranked General."
While saying the last sentence, General Yun looked at General Li.
"Your Majesty, what kind of justice is this?"
The Emperor was silent but he also glanced at Xi Ying. Sensing his gaze, Xi Ying nodded his head and opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, General Yun will get answers to all of his questions, if he can sit back on his seat patiently or I also have many other ways to shut his mouth."
Coldly looking at General Yun, Xi Ying said lazily
"Because this minister doesn't like being interrupted."
Hearing his words, the Emperor also said
"General Yun, we will give everyone a chance to speak his opinions. But you should go back to your seat now."
General Yun was infuriated by Xi Ying's disrespectful attitude but he could only huff and go back to his seat.
Finally having the silence back, Xi Ying started to speak.
"Your Majesty, when Commander Xie told me everything, I found everything very suspicious."
General Yun's back straightened suddenly while the Emperor raised his eyebrow and asked
"What was suspicious, Minister Xi?"
"Doesn't His majesty find it strange that Commander Ji was able to send so many soldiers suddenly to the borders, that too when it was a sudden attack?"
"Even if commander Ji knew everything just as the attack started, he would not have gotten that much time to prepare the soldiers and send them to the borders from their camps. And it can also not be possible that he already knew beforehand because then he would not have called Commander Xie to tell everything amidst the attack."
Everyone had a moment of realization on their face. While the Emperor's lips were pressed in a thin line as he glanced at the tied Commander Ji.
"Thinking over everything that happened, this subject only came to one conclusion. Commander Ji could not send the soldiers to the battlefield ….
"Unless everything was planned beforehand."
Xi Ying's sentence was completed by the Emperor himself.
"Your Majesty is right."
Under everyone's suspicious gazes and Emperor's cold stare, Commander Ji was feeling very afraid. He hurriedly kneeled down and wailed
"Your Majesty, …this subject is innocent. I was ordered by General Yun to do all this."
Pointing at the shocked General Yun, Commander Ji continued shouting
"He asked me to abduct General Li from the battlefield and then send soldiers to fight. I don't know anything, Your Majesty. I just did what I should have done as a subordinate."
"Rubbish…"
Furious and nervous, General Yun ran to the wailing commander and kicked him harshly. The wounded commander screamed in pain but General Yun didn't care.
Two Imperial guards dragged General Yun away from Commander Ji. After struggling for a while, General Yun instantly kneeled in front of the Emperor and said loudly
"Your Majesty, this subject is being framed. I have never done anything against Xin. Your Majesty must not believe this betrayer without any evidence."
A low chuckle interrupted General Yun's begging. He turned sideways and saw Prime Minister Xi looking at himself coldly.
Now all of his arrogance had wore down and General Yun only felt a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the young minster's cold and cruel smile.
Sure enough, the cold minister opened his mouth and said
"What if there is evidence, General Yun?"
General Yun shook his head in horror and confusion.
'What evidence will he have against him? He had made sure that there were not left any traces of his wrongdoings. Even the men who were told to abduct General Li would never utter his name if Prime Minister Xi had caught them. It was only Commander Ji who was the weakest point in all his planning and confessed easily.'
With a very cold smile, Xi Ying looked at General Yun increasing his fear, and said
"Minister Xin, can you please show the evidence to His Majesty?"
Everyone's attention was now turned to Minister Xin who bowed his head and came to the center of the Imperial Court with an old book in his hands.
General Yun's eyes were about to fall on the ground when he saw the book while General Li's eyes flickered with relief when he saw the book.
"Your Majesty, the book in my hands is the one which had all the war strategies from the ancestors of Li Clan. This subject had sent his people as servants to General Yun's manor under Prime Minister's Xi instructions and they found it in General Yun's study room."
It took General Yun a few moments that now he was really in a very difficult situation. In his panic and fear of being exposed, he ran towards the Crown Prince and kneeled down in front of him.
"Your Highness, Please help me."