The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

"What?!" Chai Zhen suddenly stood up from the dragon throne, and the sleeves of his dragon robe drew a sharp arc in the air with his movement.

He widened his eyes in disbelief, as if he had heard the most absurd thing in the world. His voice was so sharp that it almost broke, "How is this possible?!" He grabbed Chen Zigui's arm with great force, "Li Yusheng, he is a key minister of our Great Zhou. He has made great contributions to our Great Zhou. I treat him well, and he..."

Chai Zhen was speechless for a moment and couldn't say the following words. His chest was heaving violently, and he was obviously very angry.

Why would he defect to Northern Xinjiang? They were their sworn enemy! Chai Zhen felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, as if he had fallen into an icy cave, his entire body shivering.

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui felt Chai Zhen's anger and disbelief, but he had to bite the bullet and continue, "I know that this matter is hard to believe, but all signs indicate that this matter is not groundless." He paused, sorted out his thoughts, and continued, "I still remember that a month ago, Li Yusheng left the military camp for several days on the pretext of visiting relatives, and that period of time happened to be the day when the envoys of Liaodan Kingdom visited..." Chen Zigui did not say anything else, but the meaning was self-evident.

Chai Zhen's expression became increasingly ugly. He paced back and forth in the magnificent hall like an enraged lion. His heavy footsteps echoed in the empty hall, and every step seemed to step on his heart.

His mind kept replaying every little detail about Li Yusheng: Li Yusheng was the hero who helped him inherit the throne and was his most trusted military general. Back then, when the previous emperor passed away, foreign enemies were approaching and civil strife was about to break out. It was Li Yusheng's Zhenxi Army that blocked the elite troops of the Liaodan Kingdom and protected the northern defense line, supporting him to inherit the throne. He also personally led troops to quell the rebellion in the southwest Shuzhou, which led to his current position as Chai Zhen.

Over the years, Li Yusheng has made great military achievements for the Great Zhou and is deeply loved by the soldiers. Therefore, Chai Zhen has great trust in Li Yusheng and focuses on promoting him. In some aspects, he even receives better treatment than his own uncle.

He couldn't understand why Li Yusheng would betray him, betray the Great Zhou. Had he been pretending all these years? Had he approached him just to betray him today? Then what was the point of him risking his life for Li Yusheng?

"Also," Chen Zigui's voice rang out again, interrupting Chai Zhen's thoughts, "When I went to Li Yusheng's tent today to discuss matters, I found that he looked flustered, his eyes flickering, as if he was deliberately hiding something."

He paused, observing Chai Zhen's reaction, and seeing that Chai Zhen had no intention of interrupting him, he continued, "Moreover, I also noticed that there are many unfamiliar faces around his tent. These people are all strong and powerful, with sharp eyes. You can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary people. I suspect..." Chen Zigui deliberately lowered his voice when he said this, but did not continue, leaving room for Chai Zhen's imagination.

The more Chai Zhen listened, the gloomier his expression became. He suddenly raised his head, and his hawk-like sharp eyes shot straight at Chen Zigui, and asked in a deep voice: "Then my dear, do you know what Li Yusheng wants to do?" His voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed out from his chest, with a chilling sense of oppression.

"I suspect," Chen Zigui lowered his voice and uttered a guess that shocked Chai Zhen, "Li Yusheng might be plotting a rebellion!"

"Treason?!" Chai Zhen exclaimed, his eyes filled with shock and anger. He slammed the armrest of the throne and roared, "How dare he! How dare he?!" The armrests of the throne thumped with his slaps, betraying his fury and disbelief. How dare he?! How dare he betray me and the Great Zhou?! Chai Zhen was enraged, wishing he could cut Li Yusheng into pieces immediately.

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui said in a deep voice, "Li Yusheng commands a large army and is colluding with the Northern Frontier. I'm afraid his ambitions go beyond this!" He looked at Chai Zhen worriedly, fearing that he would do something irrational in a moment of impulse.

Chai Zhen took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He walked to the dragon throne and sat down, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment before slowly opening his eyes. He looked at Chen Zigui and asked, "My dear, what do you think we should do now?" His tone was full of fatigue and helplessness.

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui paused for a moment, his tone becoming more serious. "The current situation is complex, and we must proceed with caution. Our first priority is to uncover Li Yusheng's true intentions and who is behind him."

He paused, then looked at Chai Zhen with a determined gaze. "I suggest that Your Majesty send someone to secretly monitor Li Yusheng's every move, closely monitoring his movements to see who he interacts with and what he says. Furthermore, I suggest a thorough investigation of those who have had close contact with Li Yusheng."

Chai Zhen nodded slightly in agreement. "Well, my dear minister, you make sense. I'll make the arrangements right away." He knew the importance of this matter and couldn't afford to lose a moment.

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui felt relieved when he saw that Chai Zhen had accepted his suggestion, but his brows were still furrowed, as if he had something else to say, "I have something else to say, but I'm not sure whether I should say it or not."

"My dear minister, please speak freely," Chai Zhen encouraged Chen Zigui, noting that he hesitated to speak. "Between you and me, as ruler and subject, there's no need to worry too much."

"It's about what Dean Cen discovered in the dungeon secret room." Chen Zigui lowered his voice, a hint of solemnity in his tone.

When Chai Zhen heard this, he immediately became interested and asked, "Oh? What did Dean Cen find in the dungeon secret room?" The dungeon secret room has always been a forbidden area in the palace, and few people know what secrets are hidden in it. Now that Dean Cen has made a discovery there, he can't help but feel curious.

"When Dean Cen and I went to Li Yusheng's tent to discuss matters today, we discussed this matter in advance. We thought we could gain something at the Zhenxi Army camp, but Li Yusheng was too cautious, and we didn't get any more information from those coded account books." Chen Zigui spoke slowly, explaining the whole story.

"Code account books?" Chai Zhen frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "What does this mean?" The mess in the accounts didn't sound like a big deal, but he believed that Chen Zigui would never do it without a purpose.

"These account books record transactions involving gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings," Chen Zigui explained. "However, the dates and order of these records are extremely confusing, as if someone had deliberately shuffled them. It's impossible to make sense of them. At first, Dean Cen thought it was just a simple confusion, but then he discovered..."

"What did you find?" Shai Zhen realized that things were not simple.