Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 47

In the grand hall of the hunting palace, the ministers were arrayed on both sides, with only Wei Song, the Minister of the Household, kneeling alone in the center.

Li Yanzhen swept his gaze around, his eyes finally settling on Wei Song, and he slowly began, "Just now, someone reported to me, claiming that Minister Wei has been conspiring with the enemy, committing treason..."

Before he could finish, Wei Song's hunched figure suddenly trembled, and he burst out, "Your Majesty, I have been falsely accused!"

A cold breath was drawn in secret among the ministers, and whispers quietly surged, casting varied glances in his direction.

Li Yanzhen raised his hand, and the hall fell into a semblance of silence. He continued, "Why bring up such an accusation all of a sudden?"

The captain of the guard stepped forward, knelt down, and looked back. Following his glance, two guards brought forward a man, pressing him to approach the emperor. He asked Wei Song, "May I ask if this person belongs to your household?"

Wei Song turned to look at the man, who knelt there trembling, and replied, "Indeed, he is my servant."

The captain of the guard averted his gaze, bowed deeply, and presented a letter with both hands held above his head, respectfully saying, "To report to Your Majesty, while patrolling the interior and exterior of the hunting palace, we noticed someone acting suspiciously near the residence of the Xiongnu envoys. Upon closer inspection, we found this man. His answers were evasive, and he appeared panicked, hiding something. Thus, we seized this letter from him. I dare not slander a high official of the court, as to why it constitutes the crime of conspiring with the enemy," he paused, his voice deepening, "Your Majesty will understand upon reading the contents of the letter."

The eunuch stepped forward to take the letter, opened it, and handed it to Li Yanzhen. After a cursory glance, Li Yanzhen frowned, silent for a moment before looking over it more carefully.

The captain of the guard stood straight and said, "In the letter, Minister Wei claims he can help the Ninth Prince of the Xiongnu forge an alliance, obtaining five cities to demonstrate his goodwill. The letter contains many phrases that show closeness to the Xiongnu, even outright expressing a willingness to serve the Xiongnu..."

"A bunch of nonsense!" Wei Song couldn't help but raise his voice to interrupt, his body shaking.

Whispers and murmurs had already started among the crowd.

Chu Mingyun looked at Wei Song without much expression, while Su Shiyu slightly furrowed his brows. They could see clearly that Wei Song's complexion grew paler with each word from the captain of the guard, now completely ashen.

Amidst the murmuring, someone suddenly sighed deeply, "So, that's how it is," Yue Yuxuan, the Minister of Works, looked straight at Wei Song, as if he had an epiphany, "Back then, when Minister Wei and Minister Chu were at loggerheads, insisting on ceding land to forge an alliance, the reasons he gave were all plausible and seemed to be for the good of the people. I thought Minister Wei, as the Minister of the Household, truly cared for the welfare of the people, and I admired him greatly, ready to support him fully. I didn't expect..." he slowly shook his head, "it was all just to present a gift to the Xiongnu."

"Every word I said that day came from the heart!" Wei Song said, "The Xiongnu and our Great Xia have been blood enemies for generations. Even if we could temporarily set aside our differences to communicate, how could I betray my country and bow down to the Xiongnu!"

Yue Yuxuan turned his head and sighed to himself, no longer responding.

"Lord Wei, the letter states exactly this, and every word of mine is true," the captain of the guard continued. "Besides, wasn't the person Lord Wei sent to deliver the letter captured at the Xiongnu's residence?"