Chapter 1319: Chapter 1319: Let’s Be Frank

"It really did appear."

Emperor Chu said to Song Zhiyuan, "Speak up, over the past twenty years, we searched everywhere, heaven and earth, yet it was always futile. But suddenly, what was supposed to appear did and what wasn’t supposed to, also appeared, like a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Song Yunzhi, do you think there’s anything more dramatic?"

Not even fiction writers dare to write such plots.

Song Zhiyuan looked at the hall door and said, "There’s nothing too strange in this world, just like the saying about how flowers don’t stay red for a hundred days, they won’t bloom endlessly without wilting..."

"You’re wrong, fake flowers will."

Song Zhiyuan: "..."

No desire to chat anymore, can’t continue the conversation.

Emperor Chu said somewhat irritably, "So you mean they’re out of luck, doomed?"

"Possibly, perhaps they’re just destined for bad luck, running into misfortune," Song Zhiyuan said with a slight smirk.

People, when unlucky, even cold water seems to jam their teeth.

Xia Houzhe and the Cabinet Minister were probably unlucky, but more so, some people dug their own graves, leading themselves to their demise.

Or perhaps, there’s a real "huángquè" (means "oriole", but in this context implies someone waiting to reap benefits) pushing things behind the scenes.

Emperor Chu was about to speak when a eunuch entered the hall to report that the culprit had been brought.

"Bring him."

Ning Hongde walked in, maintaining a calm, unruffled expression, with his back straight. Upon reaching the presence, he didn’t kneel but simply clasped his hands, "The criminal Ning Hongde, greets the Emperor."

Emperor Chu and Song Zhiyuan looked closely at the old man before them, both thinking the same: this old man is not far from death.

No matter how neatly he dressed or how straight he held his back, he couldn’t hide his frailty. That aura of impending death seemed to circulate around him.

Song Zhiyuan sensed the old man’s scent, the same as in the secret chamber of the small courtyard in the west of the city, and glanced at Emperor Chu, nodding slightly.

It’s him.

Emperor Chu looked at the Cabinet Minister with interest, sized him up, and said, "I never thought someone long presumed dead would appear so lively before us. Cabinet Minister Ning has truly set a grand chessboard."

Ning smiled lightly, "However grand the setup, a misplaced piece leads to total defeat. The Emperor praises too highly."

"To say total defeat is not entirely accurate, didn’t you already arrange in advance, giving the former Crown Prince Xia’s remnants enough time to retreat before appearing in front of me?" Emperor Chu said, half smiling.

Just as he and Song Zhiyuan had analyzed and discussed, following the leads given by Xia Houzhe to investigate those strongholds, either catching a few inconsequential small fry or finding them completely vanished.

Those who’ve disappeared certainly need pursuing, but it undoubtedly increases manpower and resources; the Great Qing Territory is vast, and with the dispersed escapees hidden, it’s simply impossible to catch them immediately.

For this, Emperor Chu dispatched numerous detectives specializing in pursuing criminals.

Ning looked at him and said, "I won’t speak grand standing words like ’I alone bear my actions,’ as the Emperor wouldn’t heed them. Let’s not waste words; what would make you spare the Ning clan’s children under six and the womenfolk?"

There’s merit in dealing with smart people, Ning didn’t make a grand demand to protect the whole Ning clan because he understood Emperor Chu’s anger needed calming; it’s not something that can be settled by merely presenting bargaining chips. If Emperor Chu were that easy to persuade, Ning wouldn’t have felt they had no chance these past years.

So he directly focused on protecting children under six.

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