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Princess and the General - Chapter 364

Published at 6th of October 2022 07:42:49 AM


Chapter 364

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He Understood

 

“What do you mean by even if His Majesty appoints her empress, she will eventually be yours?”

 

A figure suddenly stepped out from behind the trees. Under the dim moonlight, their shadow was elongated and blurry. It was faintly visible that it was a handsome man.

It was none other than Gu ShuBai.

Yin Shuo saw Gu ShuBai and instantly became vigilant, “What is the reasoning for the dignified eldest young sir to be eavesdropping on the conversations of others?”

Gu ShuBai slowly walked over, “I was just worried about my fiancee being together with an unknown man, and I was worried that there might be some sort of accident. That’s why I followed along and protected her. Who could have expected that prime minister would say something so horrifying? Wouldn’t it be best if prime minister explained what exactly you meant by what you just said?”

Yu Fu took advantage of the situation and said: “That’s right. I also want to know. What exactly did you mean?”

Yin Shuo’s back was to the moon, and his face was completely hidden in darkness.

Yu Fu could not clearly see his expression, but she could guess that it was particularly ugly; otherwise, the usually eloquent Yin Shuo would not have remained silent for such a long time.

After a long time, Yin Shuo lifted his head, “Yu Fu, many thanks for the grace of saving my life today. In the coming days, I will surely repay this debt. It’s getting late, so I will be returning to my manor.”

He avoided the question, and just when Yu Fu was about to ask again, she suddenly saw QI Zhou lead some people carrying lanterns toward the garden.

“Eldest young sir, yougn miss, the people from the prime minister’s manor have come. They will be taking Prime Minister Yin back.”

Yu Fu said: “How would the people from the prime minister’s manor be at our manor?”

Qi Zhou glanced at Yin Shuo then tactfully said: “It was fifth young sir and sixth young sir who told us to let the people at the prime minister’s manor know in order to keep… to keep Prime Minister Yin from using his stay in the marquis’ manor as an excuse to get entangled with young miss.”

The latter half could not be considered tactful. Based on the tone, Yu Fu could tell that those words had come directly from Gu Yi and Gu Xiang.

Yin Shuo cupped his hands to the two and quickly left with Qi Zhou and the others.

Yu Fu was a little disappointed, “Eldest brother, he actually avoided the question. What is the reason for that?”

Gu ShuBai patted the back of her head, and the two slowly walked back side by side. He helplessly said: “Yin Shuo will only avoid answering questions related to you, and you will always remain ignorant to the matters of love.”

He said that she was ignorant, so could it be that he already had an answer?

Yu Fu looked at him suspiciously, and the latter’s eyes were clear; however, there was not a trace of a smile, “Yes, I already understand what he means.”

He inadvertently turned to look at the rockery on the ground nearby.

It had been dyed dark red with Yin Shuo’s blood.

The carriage from the prime minister’s manor brought Yin Shuo back to his manor. As he expected, nobody had come out to receive him.

Only the steward of the manor noticed that he was walking with a limp and said: “Young sir, did you hurt your leg?”

Yin Shuo felt his knee and then leaned over to feel the area behind his knee. Raising his hand, he found it covered in blood.

The servant let out a shocked cry, “Young sir, how did you get hurt? Quickly, quickly send for an imperial physician!”

“Quickly go and get a sedan to carry the young sir back to his room. Move quickly!”

The servants moved about with haste, while Yin Shuo just frowned but did not say anything. Back when he was still in Marquis Gu’s Manor, he had pretended that he had not been hurt, even going as far as to try and maintain a normal gait when he left.

It was this normal gait that left his leg in even more pain and caused his wound to bleed even more.

However, had no choice but to do this.

To Yu Fu, his apology was already enough. If him pretending to not be hurt allowed her to feel less guilty, he would be fine with enduring any amount of pain.

Two servants very quickly carried a sedan over, “QUickly help young sir onto it and carefully carry him back to his room.”

Yin Shuo lay on the sedan and closed his eyes. Word of his return to the manor in the middle of the night should have already spread, but regardless of whether it was Yin Yan or Yin JiYao, neither sent anyone to even check on the situation.

As the son and as the elder brother, just how much of a disappointment did he need to be such that nobody even cared that he was alive?

Killing the ruler, plotting a rebellion, and disobeying his father’s orders, all of these things annoyed Yin Yan.

Employing a honey trap, disfigurement, and mistreatment caused Yin JiYao to spend two months in Marquis Gu’s Manor. Seeing how the elder brothers in Marquis Gu’s Manor treated Yu Fu surely made her hate him even more, right?

All of these scenes from the past played in his mind, and the words that Gu ShuBai had said to him reverberated in his ears-

Completely isolated.

He curled his lips into a self-mocking smile, as he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. They were the light footsteps of a girl. They sounded both very familiar and very unfamiliar.

The footsteps were familiar, but the pace was different. It was very hurried.

He frowned and subconsciously opened his eyes. Princess DanYang appeared before him with tears streaking down her face.

It was actually her.

No matter how he thought about it, he did not think that the first one to come and worry about him would be Princess DanYang, the girl whom he had ignored and placed under house arrest in the Eastern Courtyard.

She was still sick because he intended for her to come down with an illness that would be hard to treat. All of this was for the sake of getting revenge on her and for the sake of no longer needing to touch her ever again…

And at this moment, she was the one who stood in front of him and cared about him, “What happened? Where did you hurt yourself?”

Her eyes were full of terror and uneasiness. She was like a frightened deer, as she concernedly looked him over. Finally, she noticed the large patch of blood below his knee.

She immediately reached out to try and inspect his wound, but she was also worried about hurting him, thus her hands froze part way.

The servants nearby saw this and immediately lowered their heads, as all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

Yin Shuo had suffered an injury and returned in the middle of the night. Who knew that the one to come and receive him would not be his father or younger sister? Instead, it was his wife, whom he had always mistreated.

How ironic.

Yin Shuo’s frown became even tighter, “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the Eastern Courtyard? Who allowed you to come out?”

Princess DanYang froze. She did not think that he would immediately say this upon seeing her.

She felt completely lost and awkwardly stood off to the side.

The servants watched the two masters and carefully observed the situation. They could not understand why Yin Shuo treated Princess DanYang so poorly. What was wrong with having a wife who was both affectionate and honorable?

Even if he did not love her, he should not be embarrassing her to such a degree.

Princess DanYang murmured for a while before meeting Yin Shuo’s frigid gaze and then quietly said: “I heard that you were hurt, so I had the person stationed outside let me come and take a look. They are right behind me to ensure that I don’t go anywhere else.”

Yin Shuo turned his head slightly to look behind her. Sure enough, two servants were following behind her in the distance. When they met his gaze, they lowered their heads…

If not for Princess DanYang’s sincerity swaying them, they would not have dared to go against Yin Shuo’s order and allowed her to come out.

Yin Shuo coldly said: “You already saw it. I haven’t died yet. Go back.”

Princess DanYang’s face was bright red, “I came here because I was worried about you. Why do you keep people at such a distance?”

Yin Shuo was not at all swayed by this, “I don’t need your concern. Who knows if you will try to take revenge against me while I’m injured? I have servants to take care of me, so you aren’t needed.”

After saying this, he looked at the two servants behind her, “Take Princess DanYang back. In the future, without instructions from me, she is not allowed to take a single step out of the Eastern Courtyard!”

The servants hesitantly stepped forward to guide Princess DanYang back, while the steward stepped forward to intervene, “Young sir, how about allowing princess to take care of young sir?”

Yin Shuo coldly glared at him, his gaze showing that he would not tolerate any negotiations.

The steward stepped back and found that Princess DanYang had already run off while wiping away tears.

Seeing her run off without any concern for her appearance, Yin Shuo felt very complicated but ultimately closed his eyes and said: “Back to my room.”

 

After Ji DaoGong claimed illness, and after senior minister Chen really fell ill, Yin Shuo became the third official to fall ill.

To be more accurate, he was injured.

Apparently, after he had drank too much alcohol, he had gone out and nearly froze to death in the snow. Fortunately, Princess ZhenJiang saved his life, but he still ended up injuring his leg.

There just happened to be an envoy from the small country of LiuQiu to the south visiting the capital to give their congratulations. After hearing the news, they sent a wheelchair to the prime minister’s manor, and Yin Shuo specifically went into court in a wheelchair.

Ning ChengZhi was initially very displeased to hear about his injury, believing that he would not cooperate with his policies, but his view softened upon seeing him enter the palace in a wheelchair.

“Did you really get hurt?”

“Yes, it’s true. Your Majesty, this subject did indeed hurt his leg. In addition to this, I caught a cold and am truly not in any condition to be in court.”

Ning ChengZhi was dressed in bright-yellow imperial robes, and he wore a golden crown with nine beaded strings hanging from it. He sat behind his desk in the imperial study and looked him over. His sullen expression slowly turned into a teasing one, “A cold? It seems that the report was true. You really did collapse in the snow.”

Yin Shuo continued: “That’s right. Fortunately, Princess ZhenJiang happened to be passing by and brought this subject back to her manor to take care of me. Princess really is a bodhisattva. It’s no wonder Your Majesty wants to make her the empress.”

Ning ChengZhi immediately became alert and said: “In the future, she will definitely become Our empress. Nobody is allowed to covet her. Yin Shuo, you wouldn’t…”

Intuition told Yin Shuo to immediately deny it.

Ning ChengZhi hated Gu ShuBai so much that his teeth itched. There was not a single man who would want the girl that they loved to be coveted by another. Only by denying it could he continue to be liked by Ning ChengZhi.

But he hesitated for a moment, unable to bring himself to say that he did not like Yu Fu.

This brief moment of hesitation was enough for Ning ChengZhi to catch on, and a look of displeasure appeared in his eyes.

Gu ShuBai liked Yu Fu, and Gu JiuGe also liked Yu Fu. The disciple of the Deity of Medicine, Tian Shu, also liked Yu Fu… Adding on Yin Shuo, could it be that every young talent in the world liked Yu Fu?

“Hm?”

He let out an impatient grunt.

Yin Shuo immediately regained his composure, “Not to hide it from Your Majesty, but is there any man that would not like Princess ZhenJiang? That’s why she must become the mother of all under heaven. There is nobody else worthy of her. Only Your Majesty, as the son of the heavens, is worthy.”

Ning ChengZhi was very displeased when he heard the first part, but he felt much more at ease after hearing the latter part. He nodded, “Very good, it’s often said that beautiful women bring disaster. Regardless of whom a girl like Yu Fu marries, there will be people who are displeased. No matter how influential Marquis Gu’s Manor might be in court, they do not seem capable of protecting Yu Fu. Only the noblest of positions in the palace is suitable for Yu Fu. Only then would nobody dare to make a move!”

Yin Shuo’s brow slightly moved. He did not refute anything or agree to anything. He just wore a faint smile.

Ning ChengZhi suddenly said: “Though you have hurt your leg and cannot attend court, you still must come to Our imperial study. We cannot leave you alone. This is especially true now that the cabinet has been abolished. Do you understand?”

Naturally, Yin Shuo understood, “This subject also feels this way. Though sitting in a wheelchair is inconvenient, as the prime minister, I do not dare slack off with regard to court affairs. At worst, I will trouble the various ministries with sending documents to the prime minister’s manor.”

Ning ChengZhi nodded with satisfaction, “That’s right. To tell you the truth, if not for seeing you working hard, no matter how angry We might be, We would not dare to abolish the cabinet. Since the cabinet was handling the majority of the court’s work, We needed you to take over their work. Only then did We dare to get rid of them!”

Yin Shuo cupped his hands in a salute from his wheelchair, “Your Majesty, do not worry. This subject never made any mistakes in the handling of court affairs before the existence of the cabinet. It’s just that the late emperor was biased toward Marquis Gu’s Manor and did not want this subject to continue gaining influence.”

With Marquis Gu’s Manor being brought up, Ning ChengZhi immediately furrowed his brow and sneered, “The late emperor, it’s the late emperor again! Take a look at Our desk. Every single letter is saying that the late emperor established the cabinet for the sake of replacing the prime minister but passed away before the ministers could be selected. They say that We, as the son, cannot go against Our father’s wishes! Those worthless old things. Do they think that mentioning the late emperor’s name will make Us afraid?”

“Hmph, We are the emperor! The late emperor was wise, but he has already passed. This is also the case with Yu Fu’s engagement with Gu ShuBai, if We want to cancel that, it will be canceled! We will let those old officials see that Our influence is greater than that of the late emperor!”

Yin Shuo faintly smiled, “Naturally, that is true. Only the person seated on the throne controls everything. Once they have left that seat, they are nothing. What of the late emperor? He is nothing more than a whisp of a soul in the underworld.”

Eunuch Chi stood behind Ning ChengZhi. Hearing Yin Shuo’s words, his brow faintly moved, as he was too afraid to make a sound.

Ning ChengZhi was the emperor. Even if he made such rude remarks, there was nothing that could be done about it, but Eunuch Chi did not think that not only would Yin Shuo not bother to advise against this, but he would actually speak even more rudely than Ning ChengZhi.

It was a truly shocking experience.

Ning ChengZhi, however, did not see the slightest bit angry that he had insulted his imperial father. On the contrary, he laughed, “That’s right. That’s exactly right! To put it nicely, he is the late emperor. To put it less nicely, he’s just a ghost! We want to marry Yu Fu, and nobody can stop that. First, We shall make an example of the cabinet!”

Yin Shuo glanced at the letters on the desk, “Then… these letters, how does Your Majesty wish to have them dealt with?”

“How shall they be dealt with?”

Ning ChengZhi spoke with disdain: “Do We need to consider their feelings when it comes to handling these matters? Regardless of how the officials in court oppose it, We will not care in the slightest. Just abolish the cabinet. We will have them see that anyone who dares to stop Us from making Yu Fu empress will meet the same fate as the cabinet!”

Eunuch Chi quickly glanced up at Yin Shuo. Normally speaking, he should provide some advice.

Since ancient times, there had been many cases of the ruler ignoring their officials, but there were not many that continued to act as they wished when they faced opposition from the entire court.

If Ning ChengZhi insisted on doing this, the outcome would be that he would lose the trust of many.

Yin Shuo lowered his head and thought for a moment. Outside of Eunuch Chi’s expectations, he did not try to dissuade him. On the contrary, he said: “Your Majesty is right. Those old worthless old officials should be taught a lesson. They will no longer dare to stop Your Majesty from acting.”

Ning ChengZhi was stunned and a little shocked. Yin Shuo did not try to stop him.

Someone as smart and capable as Yin Shuo was in agreement with his ideas. It was clear that his views were correct!

He became a little excited, “Good! Then let’s go with that plan! During court tomorrow, We will throw out all of these letters and then decree the abolishment of the cabinet. As for those cabinet ministers, they can either retire or return to their old posts. We can’t be bothered to deal with that.”

Yin Shuo answered tactfully, “Naturally, those matters can be left to this official.”

The person seated at the head smiled, “Good, it will be handled like that. You may go.”

Yin Shuo’s wheelchair was pushed out of the study. The sunlight happened to be shining on the entrance to the study, and he subconsciously raised his hand to block it.

“Spring is about to arrive.”





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