Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The emperor really wanted his father, who was in the afterworld, to get up and take a look.
This was what the good son he had doted on was up to.
For the sake of the throne, he had no scruples and dared to collaborate with anyone.
He did not care about Daliang and its people at all.
Very quickly, the emperor stabilized his emotions.
Looking at Zhuo Jun, he asked again, "Do you know which people in the imperial court are from King Jin and the previous dynasty?"
Zhuo Jun was already prepared.
He took out a piece of paper from her pocket.
"This is the list of names given to me by King Jin before I came to the capital.
"I can't tell whether these people are from King Jin or the previous dynasty. There must be something wrong with them."
The emperor took the paper from the chief eunuch and looked at it.
The anger in his eyes grew even more.
He did not expect that many important official positions had been infiltrated by King Jin.
And this was definitely only a part of it.
With King Jin's character, it was impossible for him to hand over all of it to Zhuo Jun.
Other than King Jin's people, there were definitely still remnants of those from the previous dynasty hidden in the imperial court.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
His father had become more muddle-headed as he grew older in the last two years before his death.
In the list that King Jin gave, many people were promoted by the previous emperor when he still held the throne.
In the past, these people had appeared to be neutral, or had sided with him.
After he ascended to power, he saw that these people were indeed talented, so he had been using them all this time.
He did not expect that these people were already people of King Jin in secret.
Of course, he did not fully trust Zhuo Jun.
He would get his people to investigate them one by one and only deal with them after they were verified.
The emperor asked again, "Have you seen the treasure map in your mother's secret compartment?"
Zhuo Jun took out a piece of paper from his sleeve. "I secretly copied it back then."
The emperor took the paper and looked at it.
At the same time, he took out a piece of animal skin from the desk and put it together to compare.
Only then did he realize that these two maps were not the same.
They needed to be combined together to be truly complete.
If he were to take a single map, he would think that it was complete.
In reality, it would not be of much use.
Previously, when Xiao Yuanshi presented the treasure map to the emperor, the emperor felt that it was too easy to find.
It turned out that it had been divided into two parts.
The princess from the previous dynasty had one, and the general of the previous dynasty who held military power had one.
If one of them was captured or fell into the wrong hands, it would be useless for others who had obtained the treasure map.
It would be impossible to find it.
Only when the two of them combined could the real treasure map be useful after combining them together.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
The princess from the previous dynasty should be the only royal bloodline left from the previous dynasty, because the previous dynasty's emperor and all the princes had been killed by his father while his father was the emperor.
The previous dynasty's royal family wanted to restore their governance, so of course, they needed someone with royal bloodline.
The princess could not be the emperor, but her son could.
The royal family was also afraid that the general would take the treasure and rebel, so they gave him half of the treasure map.
Moreover, the princess also had the imperial jade seal and the hidden connections left behind by the previous dynasty.
Only when the people from both sides came together could the map be of the greatest use.
Otherwise, relying on one side alone would have no hope of reviving their governance of the nation.
This treasure was also the key.
Without money, how could they recruit soldiers and buy horses?
The previous dynasty's royal family was good at scheming, and they even made so many arrangements before the country was destroyed.
The emperor then asked Zhuo Jun, "Did you deliberately expose your identity as a woman in front of Xiao Hanzheng and guess that he would report to me?"
Zhuo Jun smiled bitterly, "There was indeed a deliberate exposure, but I am not sure if he would report to you. I only think that he is a smart person and has a high chance of reporting to you.
"I am surrounded by King Jin's men. All my movement is basically under surveillance, so I can only place my hope on Xiao Hanzheng."
She had also observed and tested him for a long time before she chose Xiao Hanzheng.
Firstly, she found that Xiao Hanzheng was a very smart and intelligent person.
Secondly, he was a person who was faithful and righteous.
This could be seen from his attitude towards his wife and family.
Lastly, Xiao Hanzheng was the only person she knew who could meet the emperor alone.
Because Xi Rong, the emperor's niece, could "bridge the gap".
In order to get rid of King Jin's control and to take revenge, she had been planning it since the hui examinations.
She deliberately showed hostility and displeasure towards Xiao Hanzheng's wife.
She heard that Shi Qingluo was very smart and had a good relationship with Xiao Hanzheng and his wife.
The other day, she did not seem like an ordinary village woman.
There was a saying that women have a very accurate sense of those who eyed their husband, so she did this.
Sure enough, Shi Qingluo definitely felt it and told Xiao Hanzheng about it.
After that, Xiao Hanzheng tried to probe her.
It was also because she found out that Xiao Hanzheng was observing her that day that she deliberately took the opportunity to lean towards Xiao Hanzheng.
It was also to make it easier for him to find out that she was a woman.
Moreover, she was certain that the emperor had asked someone to gently bring her into the palace today instead of directly capturing her and interrogating her first, probably because Xiao Hanzheng was the one who discovered that something was amiss and suggested it.
This man was really quick-witted and his reaction was also very quick.
No wonder the emperor wanted to place him in an important position.
The emperor believed these words.
Since King Jin wanted to use Zhuo Jun to do things, he would definitely have his people keep an eye on her at all times.
Zhuo Jun was only a tanhua and had gone to the Imperial Academy.
Normally, she did not have the chance to approach him alone.
Thus, she was unable to report these matters to him.
If Zhuo Jun were to use another person to carry out such a plan, there was an 80-90% chance that this would fail.
Only Shi Qingluo and Xiao Hanzheng would react so quickly and feel that something was wrong.
Then, they would probe and secretly report to him.
This also proved that Xiao Hanzheng and his wife were his lucky stars.
It had to be said that Xiao Hanzheng was powerful, but Zhuo Jun was not bad either.
It was a pity that she was a girl.
Otherwise, if she really broke away from King Jin's control in the future, she would probably be a big shot.
The emperor pointed at the treasure map. "After using this to find the treasure and that would be all, or does it need something to open it?"
Zhuo Jun replied truthfully, "I also found a special large key in my mother's secret compartment, so I suspect that it might be needed to open the treasure."
The emperor asked, "Did you get that thing?"
Zhuo Jun shook his head. "I was afraid of being exposed, so I didn't dare to take it."
This was within the emperor's expectations. "So you decided to expose your identity and expose this. Other than wanting revenge, what else do you want?"
He did not think that Zhuo Jun had done so much just for revenge.
"For the sake of freedom, I don't want to be their knife anymore.
"I only hope that in the future, Your Majesty can grant me my freedom so that I can live as a woman."
She was clearly a woman, but she was forced to disguise as a man.
She endured the painful training of disguising herself as a man and had to take medicine every month.
She also wanted to wear dresses, wear jewelry, put on powder and rouge, and to stop covering up when she used the fragrance that women liked.
So she really hated her current identity.
To get rid of all this and restore her identity as a woman, only the emperor could help her.
After coming to the capital, she had been investigating and observing this emperor.
She found out that the emperor was indeed a wise and broad-minded person.
It was unlikely that he would kill her after using her.
Of course, no one could guess the emperor's thoughts.
If she was really killed, she would accept it.
At least she would no longer be under control.
If she could not have her own thoughts, what was the point of living?
Being able to avenge her father and herself was worthy enough.
After all, just relying on herself, it would be impossible to deal with those two people.