The Legend of Zhen Huan: Rebirth of Ling Rong

The emperor received a letter and someone wrote a book praising Nian Gengyao as a great man of all time.

The emperor asked who it was, and Emin said that this person was Nian Gengyao's aide Wang Jingqi.

The emperor was furious and ordered Wang Jingqi's head to be beheaded and displayed to the public. His head was to be hung at Caishikou for ten years and not to be taken away. Although Zhen Yuandao disagreed with the emperor's order, he did not dare to speak out.

After the court session, Zhen Yuandao casually told Emin that the emperor's move would make the people tremble and fear.

Emin was already dissatisfied with Zhen Yuandao's promotion. After hearing this, he immediately came up with a way to frame Zhen Yuandao.

"I heard that there are a lot of calligraphy, paintings and books on Qipan Street. Brother Zhen, don't you want to go and take a look?" Emin asked.

"I'm just about to go and see it. I wonder if Brother Emin would like to go with me?" Zhen Yuandao asked enthusiastically.

"No, my madam asked me to go back early today, so I won't go." Emin made an excuse.

The Emperor muttered to the Empress, "Princess Wan is just like her father. They both have sympathy for those I don't like."

"Your Majesty, concubines are not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Your Majesty is too indulgent towards Wanpin, allowing her to arbitrarily interfere in state affairs."

The emperor didn't say anything, but his expression was obviously displeased.

"Sister, did the Emperor ask you about Wang Jingqi yesterday?"

"Wang Jingqi is guilty and deserves death, but publicly displaying him would scare the people. I always feel that he is innocent, but the emperor said that it is better to kill him wrongly than to let him go lightly."

"Wang Jingqi is guilty, and I shouldn't speak for him. If the Emperor asks about it again, I must advocate for severe punishment. Also, I want to remind Uncle Zhen to be careful with antiques and books. At this juncture, if someone deliberately frames him, it will be hard to defend against."

"This... Lingrong, what do you mean?"

"The Emperor is now extremely wary of Nian Gengyao, and his biggest concern is anyone related to him. If Wang Jingqi is like this, then there will be others. For example, isn't Qian Ming also a close friend of Nian Gengyao?"

"I'll send a message back right away, asking my father and mother to be more careful in the mansion."

"I usually just enjoy some calligraphy, paintings and books. Huan'er is too cautious. Why is she so cautious?" Zhen Yuandao didn't take it seriously at this time.

"What happened to the Nian family is a lesson for us. Why aren't you more cautious? In my opinion, all your books should be destroyed." Mrs. Zhen said anxiously.

"Madam, that's such a pity. I got all these with great difficulty. How can I just destroy them? Other things are fine, but I haven't finished reading the poetry collection I just got recently. I'll keep it for now." Zhen Yuandao still wanted to try harder.

"Show it to me. What kind of poetry collection could interest you so much?"

Zhen Yuandao reluctantly took the book and handed it to Mrs. Zhen.

Mrs. Zhen picked up the book and looked at it. The poems inside were ordinary, nothing special. She asked Zhen Yuan, "These poems are not good either. Why do you collect them?"

"Even though it's not outstanding, I just like it. I just took it to have a look. There's no other meaning."

Mrs. Zhen took another look at the person who wrote the book and was immediately shocked.

"Qian Ming was a close friend of the treasonous minister Nian Gengyao. His poetry collection is naturally disrespectful. How dare you keep it? Who else knows about this?" Mrs. Zhen also realized the seriousness of the matter at this time.

"Only Emin and I know about this. He and I went to Qipan Street together and bought the book together." Zhen Yuandao said lightly.

"Master, you are so confused! If Emin is deliberately trying to frame you, you won't be able to defend yourself. Nian Gengyao has become the emperor's Achilles' heel. The emperor is suspicious by nature and must have suspected something about this matter."

"You mean, Emin would tell the emperor? Impossible! He and I are colleagues, he wouldn't do that."

"As someone who also contributed to the impeachment of Nian Gengyao, it's hard to guarantee that he won't harbor resentment for being ranked below you. Huan'er has already told you to be careful with the people around you. You shouldn't have the intention to harm others, but you must always be on guard against them!"

After Mrs. Zhen's analysis, Zhen Yuandao immediately understood.

"Madam, you are right. I was careless in this matter and almost made a big mistake. Fortunately, I discovered it in time, otherwise it would have caused great disaster. Madam, don't worry, I will destroy all the related poetry collections and will not leave any handle for others to use."

Zhen Yuandao then found out all the people related to Nian Gengyao, as well as all their poetry collections and calligraphy and paintings, and secretly burned them overnight.

On this side, Emin bought all the same books as Zhen Yuandao, and finally found Qian Mingshi's poetry collection, thinking that he had caught Zhen Yuandao.

He brought the collection of poems into the palace and made a statement to the emperor, falsely accusing Zhen Yuandao of secretly collecting a collection of disrespectful poems and of plotting rebellion against the emperor.

Although the emperor had some suspicions, he had no evidence, so he ordered Zhen Yuandao to come to the palace.

Madam Zhen was very worried, but Zhen Yuandao remained calm: "Madam, don't worry. The Emperor summoned me to the palace at this time, it must be about Qian Mingshi's matter. I will be careful with what I say."

Mrs. Zhen was worried at home, fearing that something might happen.

"Your humble servant Zhen Yuandao pays his respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor! I wonder why the Emperor summoned me here?" Zhen Yuandao looked indifferent, which made the Emperor unable to tell whether this was true or false.

The emperor glanced at Emin, who immediately understood and asked Zhen Yuandao, "Master Zhen, do you recognize this collection of poems?"

Emin took out Qian Ming's poetry collection and asked Zhen Yuandao.

"What does Lord Emin mean?" Zhen Yuandao asked back.

"Qian Mingshi was a close friend of the traitorous minister Nian Gengyao. Collecting his poetry collection is a great disrespect to the emperor. I wonder why Lord Zhen has Qian Mingshi's poetry collection?" asked Emin.

"Qian Ming's poetry collection is extremely disrespectful. Lord Emin invited me to go to Qipan Street to enjoy books, calligraphy, and paintings. He even bought the same books as me. As far as I know, Lord Emin is not usually interested in poetry and books."

"Why do you often invite me to appreciate poetry collections recently? Lord Emin knows exactly what books I have recently acquired!"

"Your Majesty, I, Lord Emin, and I purchased this book from Qipan Street. Upon returning, I discovered that Qian Ming was a close friend of the treacherous minister Nian Gengyao. Knowing this was a deeply disrespectful collection of poetry, I immediately burned it."

"Oh? Is this true? If you knew, why didn't you report it to me?" The emperor was a little unconvinced.

"Your Majesty, after burning the collection of poems, I felt uneasy, fearing that it would spread and influence public sentiment. Therefore, I privately investigated all the places where the book was written and sold. Most of the people were illiterate, so they blindly followed the trend. I am guilty, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Zhen Yuandao presented a detailed list, and Su Peisheng immediately went to get it and presented it to the emperor.

"Zhen Yuandao, you... Emin was so surprised that he couldn't speak. He didn't expect that Zhen Yuandao had already prepared for this."

"Emin, what do you say?" The emperor was obviously angry after reading it.

Emin was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have no such intention. Please understand!"

"You're certainly not someone who's into poetry and books, but as far as I know, you've been going to Chessboard Street quite often lately, and you've often privately bought back books that Zhen Yuandao has already bought. What's your intention?"