Chapter 1093

Fei’s Mansion.

Fei Ji was a little incredulous as he listened to the news brought by his butler. “You said Ge Yiren was taken away by the secret guards?”

“Absolutely true. This Ge Yiren is a cabinet minister. If something happened to him, no one can hide it. The news is already spreading in Qingzhou City.” The butler said with a sigh of wonder.

Fei Ji felt a chill in his heart when he heard this. He had been in officialdom for so long and had experienced all kinds of storms. This news made him instantly understand that something was going to happen.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness. Fortunately, those three scoundrels of our Fei family have all been exiled. Otherwise, if they were implicated in this matter, even I would probably be finished.” Fei Ji said with a sigh.

The butler looked puzzled. He said, “Master, what do you mean by that?”

“The three of Fei Pei at most only violated the Emperor’s decree before. Now this matter is one that will cost them their heads. And the fact that this matter has been kept under wraps for so long must mean that the Emperor has been secretly making arrangements, with the purpose of carrying out a top-down rectification of the Empire.” Fei Ji had long had a plan in his heart.

So during this time, he often called in sick and rested at home, completely cutting off his contact with the ministers in the court, adopting a posture of not caring about anything.

Everything that was happening now proved his conjecture. Ge Yiren was only the beginning. He was afraid that many more people would have to be dealt with, and among them, many were former officials from Chang’an.

Ever since he saw Xiao Ming’s iron-blooded methods in the last incident, he had completely given up on his ambitions. After all, his daughter was already the Empress, and he had no son, so why bother continuing to stir up trouble?

After thinking for a moment, he continued, “From now on, you will announce that my illness has worsened and I cannot receive guests. I will not see anyone except the Emperor and the Empress.”

The old butler realized the seriousness of this matter. He nodded heavily and immediately had the servants close the main gate of the Fei mansion, leaving only the side gate for the servants to enter and exit.

Princess’s Mansion.

Princess Pingyang also received the news of Ge Yiren’s arrest. Since today was a holiday in the Empire, many people were relaxing in the city, so such a big commotion naturally spread quickly.

“Ouyang Mu, have the servants close the main gate. From today until this matter is over, I will not see any guests.”

“Not even Duke Song and Prince Yong?” Ouyang Mu asked.

“I will not see any of them. The gossip in the Empire is spreading fiercely during this time. There might be some restless imperial relatives involved. I don’t want someone to come crying to me to be a lobbyist.” Princess Pingyang’s brows were tightly furrowed.

Ever since she came to Qingzhou and took charge of the Ministry of Railways, becoming an influential female official in the Empire, she was very satisfied. After all, in the former dynasty, she could not participate in government affairs like a man.

And Xiao Ming’s actions to raise the status of women in the Empire also made her agree with him. In addition, under Xiao Ming’s rule, the standard of living in the Empire was flourishing. She enjoyed a comfortable life here that she had not been able to enjoy even as a princess before.

With this, what more could she ask for?

“Is this matter really that serious?” Ouyang Mu was still a little disbelieving.

“A cabinet minister has been arrested. Is that not serious enough? I’m afraid many heads will roll this time. I know Xiao Ming’s temper the best. When we first came to Qingzhou, did you think that the assassin was really sent by the Wang family?”

Remembering this long-past event, Ouyang Mu said, “I was also a little suspicious at the time, but there was not enough evidence. But now I can probably guess a little.”

“That’s right. He dared to frame the Wang family with a fake assassination when he was just the Prince of Qi. How much courage do you think he has? Later, he cleaned out the powerful families of the six prefectures in one night. How many people would dare to have such iron-blooded methods? Now that someone in the Empire wants to restrict his power, what is that if not courting death?” Princess Pingyang stretched and stood up.

After more than ten years, her youth had gradually slipped away from her face, but a natural nobility made her even more charming.

“In that case, we must be extra careful this time.” Ouyang Mu also felt a chill all over his body. The brutal internal strife of the Empire had been gone for a long time, and some people had already forgotten the terror of blood staining the entire city.

Nodding lightly, Princess Pingyang turned and walked towards the main hall. Now, she just wanted to live a peaceful life and see what other astonishing technologies the Empire would produce in the future.

At the same time, the other officials and powerful families in Qingzhou also quickly received the news.

For a time, the entire Qingzhou City was filled with a strange atmosphere.

And this atmosphere quickly fermented with the order to recall the commanders of the major military regions. The ensuing curfew made everyone even more panicky.

Raozhou.

Luo Quan was driving a herd of dairy cows back to the corral before dusk. After the demise of the Golden Tent Khanate, the five to six thousand kilometer grassland became ownerless land.

Before he resigned and returned to farming, he took the opportunity to ask Xiao Ming for a large pasture and some barbarian slaves. He also purchased a batch of Holstein dairy cows when the Empire was on good terms with the Dutch.

After a few years of management, the dairy cows on his pasture were now able to produce milk, which was one step closer to his goal of having everyone in the Empire drink milk.

And the reason he had this ambition was all because Xiao Ming explained to him the importance of milk for the physical fitness of the Empire’s people.

At the same time, if there was milk, a family could raise more healthy children, which was even more important for the Empire than conquering cities and territories. Of course, this was also what Xiao Ming told him.

While he was thinking, a person suddenly came from the east of the pasture. It was Niu Ben. Like him, he also acquired a pasture in Raozhou, but he was raising warhorses from Europe instead of cattle.

Looking at the galloping Niu Ben, Luo Quan cursed with a smile, “Did a wolf chase you, old man?”

Niu Ben’s face was very grim. He said, “Wait until I finish. Then you’ll see if you can still smile.”

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Luo Quan asked, puzzled.

Niu Ben then slapped a telegram onto Luo Quan’s chest. “Ge Yiren has been arrested. That brat Luo Hong is now in Yizhou. The Emperor has now ordered the commanders of the six major military regions to be recalled to Qingzhou for a military conference. Something big is about to happen!”

Luo Quan was also a man who had experienced many storms. Niu Ben’s brief words were enough to make him understand many things. But he still could not believe the possibility!

“That’s impossible. Luo Hong wouldn’t do that. Even if Luo Hong is confused, Luo Xin wouldn’t be so foolish.” Luo Quan’s face turned pale.

In the grassland campaign, he had already realized that the Luo family’s influence in the military was too great, which was why he decided to retire. His purpose was to let the Luo family gradually fade from the Empire’s memory.

He was also very grateful to Xiao Ming for not letting Luo Hong become a commander, because it showed that Xiao Ming had no intention of targeting the Luo family from the beginning.

This was because if the Luo family were to control two of the six military regions of the Empire, it would not be long before the Luo family was wiped out.

“I will go back to Qingzhou now. If those two rebellious sons dare to do anything that harms the Emperor, I will personally eliminate them.” Luo Quan was both angry and heartbroken.

Niu Ben sighed. “I will go back with you. At least I still have some face in front of the Emperor.”