Chapter 821
Threat
The emperor turned around in the blink of an eye and saw the note on the table. He was startled and immediately looked up. The palace maids and eunuchs serving in the hall did not react, and the guards outside the door did not notice anything unusual.
The emperor was furious, not only at Pan Yun, but also at the Imperial Guards.
Such strict palace access restrictions made him feel like he had a thorn in his side.
The emperor's mind flashed back to the Tang Dynasty's attack on the palace. If the Ming Dynasty's access control was the same as that of the Later Tang Dynasty, wouldn't he be able to be killed at any time even if he lived in the palace?
When the emperor summoned the commander of the Imperial Guards in shock and anger, Pan Yun was sitting face to face with Wang Zhen.
Wang Zhen stiffly put down the tea in his hand and said in a deep voice, "How dare you trespass into the palace? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the emperor and punish you?"
Pan Yun pulled out a teacup, poured herself some tea, and chuckled, "I just came from His Majesty's place."
Wang Zhenxin gripped his teacup tightly, carefully observing Pan Yun's expression to discern the truth in her words.
As he looked, Wang Zhen's expression gradually cracked: "You, you didn't break into the Emperor's study like you broke into my room, did you?"
Pan Yun looked up and smiled slightly at him.
Wang Zhen slammed his teacup down with a bang and said in a deep voice, "Do you know how many people will die this time?"
"Did it ruin your plans that you've been working on for years?" Pan Jun tilted her head to look at him.
Wang Zhen was furious. He had worked for many years to gain the emperor's complete trust and planted his own people around him. He did not want to harm the emperor, but just wanted to make things easier.
But Pan Yun's last appearance made the emperor doubt his character, which not only cracked the trust, but also caused him to use several hidden agents in order to get himself out of trouble.
It took him a full year to rebuild trust. During that year, he worked even harder than when he first arrived at the young emperor's side. He finally managed to regain the emperor's trust and leave a few people around him...
Wang Zhen's face twisted in pain. With Pan Yun entering the palace, all his preparations over the past year might be for naught.
Wang Zhen gritted his teeth: "What exactly do you want?"
Pan Yun leaned in and stared into his eyes: "That's what I should be asking you. What exactly do you want?"
Wang Zhen froze, then his eyes flickered slightly before he looked away from her gaze.
Pan Jun snorted and sat up straight: "This is a warning, Wang Zhen. If you don't offend me, I won't offend you."
"Hmph, you won't mess with me? Yet you've caused so much trouble in Quanzhou and Ji'an..."
“I’m only dealing with the issues, not the person,” Pan Jun said with a sneer. “You think I’m targeting you, but that’s only because you happen to have done a lot of things in both of those matters.”
"Stop talking nonsense. What do these two cases have to do with me?"
"If it has nothing to do with you, why would Minister Wang say I'm targeting you?"
Wang Zhen choked and fell silent.
Pan Jun downed the tea in his cup in one gulp, slammed the cup down, and stood up, saying, "Wang Zhen, this is the last time I'm going to the palace to warn you. If there's a next time, it won't be difficult for me to kill someone quietly."
A cold glint flashed in Pan Jun's eyes as she asked him in a low voice, "Master Wang, aren't you curious? After you die, will anyone seek justice for you? Will your wife and children, or even the emperor, investigate the truth for you, and will they be able to find out the truth about me?"
Wang Zhen shuddered and said in a deep voice, "I will definitely leave a last message. If I die, the first person I suspect will be you!"
Pan Jun smiled and said, "You're welcome to give it a try."
She didn't specify what she was testing, but Wang Zhen understood: she was testing whether she dared to kill him, testing whether he could leave a last message...
For power lovers, especially those who have already succeeded in their pursuit of power, simply being alive is their most basic desire.
Just like eating and drinking, it is indispensable.
Because he cherished his life, he was filled with fear. Ten breaths after Pan Yun disappeared from the room, Wang Zhen finally moved his stiff limbs and stood up, leaning on the table for support.
He knew why Pan Yun had come to the palace to warn him; it wasn't just that he wanted to drag her down with him, but also that he wanted to drag Pan Hong down with him as well.
Xue Xuan was a thorn in the flesh, while Pan Yun was a thorn in the throat; even swallowing saliva caused unbearable pain.
But she appeared too frequently. Despite being a Taoist priest and disliked by the emperor, she kept appearing in the court and in the emperor's sight.
Moreover, no matter how much the emperor disliked her, he acknowledged her abilities and even appreciated and expected more from her.
In fact, the emperor trusted her very much.
The emperor himself may not have realized this, but Wang Zhen, who raised the emperor from childhood, did.
Even if he and the Embroidered Uniform Guard jointly reported a matter, the emperor would still have doubts, suspecting that someone in him and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had ulterior motives.
But if Pan Yun reports it, no matter how stubborn he is, he will believe it in his heart.
Upon realizing this, Wang Zhen wished Pan Yun would disappear from the world immediately.
He absolutely could not let the emperor realize this, so he constantly deepened the emperor's dislike for Pan Yun and suppressed her achievements in the Japanese silver mines and the lifting of the sea ban, all to prevent her from coming to the emperor's side.
Once she arrives, she will surely be highly valued by the emperor. Once she is highly valued, the emperor will trust her more and more, and he will lose his only advantage.
However, the emperor was unaware of anything at that moment; all he felt was disgust for Pan Yun.
When Wang Zhen rushed to the Imperial Study, the emperor had just been furiously punishing a group of people, from the Imperial Guards to the eunuchs, and all of them had been replaced with a new batch.
The eunuch and the imperial guard that Wang Zhen had finally managed to get the emperor to get used to were both replaced.
But he couldn't show it; he could only swallow his anger and resentment. He paused at the door, carefully managing his expression, before rushing into the study: "Your Majesty, what has happened?"
The emperor's face was ashen, and he asked in return, "Where is Pan Yun?"
Wang Zhen was taken aback. Did the emperor know that he had met with Pan Yun in private?
"Is she staying at the Pan residence, the Yin residence, or some inn? Have the Imperial Guards bring her to the palace!" the Emperor said through gritted teeth. "I want to ask her myself what she's trying to do."
Wang Zhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief; the emperor was still unaware…
He lowered his head, concealing the sharpness in his eyes, and bowed, saying, "According to the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Pan Yun has been living in the Yin residence since entering the capital, only occasionally returning to the Pan family to have meals with Pan Hong and his son."
The emperor sneered, "She's certainly severing ties with Pan Hong, isn't she afraid of implicating Yin Song?"
The emperor ordered Wang Zhen to immediately lead men to Yin's residence to arrest Pan Yun and bring him to the palace.
Wang Zhen certainly couldn't do the arrests himself; he always ordered the Southern Garrison Command to do it.
The Imperial Guards left the palace overnight and woke up Yin Song, who had just seen Pan Yun off and had just gone to bed.
Yin Song silently pushed open Pan Jun's door, and he and the Imperial Guards saw a letter left on the table.
Not to mention the Embroidered Uniform Guard, even Yin Song didn't expect this.
He was about to step forward to take the letter when the Imperial Guards pressed it down before he could, and saw three large characters on the envelope—"For the Emperor!"
The Imperial Guards were momentarily stunned, then expressionlessly put away the letter and turned to leave. (End of Chapter)