Investigate the Espionage (Part Two)
“Your Majesty, this consort was wrong. This consort doesn’t dare do it again!”
A woman in a plain palace dress staggered along the palace path, as ornaments fell from her body. There was a certain desolate feeling to this scene.
She ran at the front, while a large group of palace servants chased after her, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, stop running. His Majesty doesn’t want to see you!”
“Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that you are not allowed out for half a year. You are opposing his decree!”
Imperial Consort Li insisted on continuing to run forward. After passing through this long corridor, she would arrive at his palace. No matter what, she had to plead for lenience.
Because of a bowl of chicken and velvet antler soup, Ning Chengzhi wanted to have her stay shut inside for half a year. With her beauty, how could she give up on this opportunity so easily?
Hearing the commotion, some palace servants up ahead stopped Imperial Consort Li from advancing, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, you absolutely cannot continue forward and disturb His Majesty!”
Imperial Consort Li stopped in her tracks and fiercely glared, “Move aside! You lowly servants dare to stop this One? This One is the inner palace’s noblest consort. Do you know that?”
The palace servants looked at each other.
With Imperial Consort Li’s status, it was indeed difficult to offend her, but His Majesty’s decree could not be unenforced!
Seeing their expressions slightly change, Imperial Consort Li took advantage of the situation and said: “His Majesty only sentenced this One to remain inside to reflect. This One has come to ask for lenience. Everything will be fine. If you don’t allow this One to go, when this One regains imperial favor, this One will come for your skins!”
The palace servants that were easier to scare hastily moved to the side and then tugged on the hems of the palace servants that were still blocking the path, “Let’s just let her through. Her Highness Imperial Consort Li came from the second prince’s manor. A day as a wife leads to a hundred days of love, much less how many years they’ve been together!”
The remaining palace servants had no choice but to step aside. Imperial Consort Li lifted the hem of her dress and rushed toward the palace.
“Your Majesty, this consort was wrong and begs Your Majesty to forgive this consort!’
Ning ChengZhi was rudely awoken from his dream and shuddered, suddenly hearing the shrill cry of a woman’s voice come from outside of the palace.
He moved, and the wounds that Yu Fu’s attack had left started to hurt. They hurt so much that he opened his mouth but could not speak. Eunuch Chi quickly entered the hall and saw that he was already awake. He quickly reported: “Your Majesty, Her Highness Imperial Consort Li is removing her jewelry to apologize for her wrongdoings.”
“Removing her jewelry to repent again, does she know when to stop?”
He adjusted his position on the bed and suddenly remembered that he had sent Eunuch Chi out in the morning to deliver gifts to Marquis Gu’s Manor. He hastily said: “Have all of the gifts been given to Yu Fu?”
Eunuch Chi’s hair immediately stood on end, fearing that something was about to happen.
Ning ChengZhi would always ask this question. He could not escape, thus he decided to just report the truth.
He bowed and said: “Replying to Your Majesty, they have all been delivered, but…”
“But what?”
“But princess said that she did not like them, and she… she smashed two of them in front of this servant.”
Ning ChengZhi was stunned. He had given so many gifts to Yu Fu in the past, yet he had never heard of her not liking them. Could it be that even though she was rewarded rather than punished, she was still unhappy?
Eunuch Chi closed his eyes and resignedly said: “Also after this servant left, she ordered for all of the gifts that Your Majesty gave her to be smashed and then tossed out of Marquis Gu’s Manor for the citizens to discuss.”
“What?!”
Ning ChengZhi became furious. Eunuch Chi had already prepared himself for this, dropping to his knees, “Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please calm down!”
Ning ChengZhi covered the injuries on his face, “Why would she do this? Did she say anything else?”
Eunuch Chi listed out the reasons, “Princess said that the ones who protected Your Majesty were the eldest young sir and the third young sir, thus she should not be the one to receive Your Majesty’s reward. She also said that she should be punished for having hit Your Majesty. For the sake of being punished, she smashed those treasures in front of this servant. This servant knows that Your Majesty loves princess, so how could this servant dare to do anything to princess? This servant was thinking of reporting this upon returning, but Your Majesty was sleeping…”
“Enough!”
Ning ChengZhi’s roars were as loud as thunder, “It’s Gu ShuBai again. She only has room for Gu ShuBai in her heart. She must be annoyed that We did not reward Gu ShuBai! No, even if that was the case, there would be no need for her to smash those things…”
He suddenly realized something, and his expression became desolate.
“We understand. She does not want to accept Our kind intentions and does not want to be appointed empress by Us. She smashed those treasures and threw them out in front of Marquis Gu’s Manor to infuriate Us and make Us give up on her.”
Your Majesty, this consort doesn’t dare do it again. Your Majesty, please forgive this consort!”
Imperial Consort Li’s annoying voice could be heard once more. Ning ChengZhi’s heart was already filled with anger. Hearing Imperial Consort Li’s voice just made him angrier. Without any concern for the pain coming from his facial injuries, he shouted, “Who allowed this woman to come to Our bed chamber? Didn’t We tell her to remain inside to reflect? Who allowed you to let her in?!”
Eunuch Chi quickly stood up from the floor, “Yes,this servant will go and chase her out immediately!”
Ning ChengZhi lay back down in bed and closed his eyes. Thinking of how rude he had been toward Yu Fu last night, it was all a result of Imperial Consort Li’s petty plans. He hated her so much that his teeth itched.
It would be one thing if she was like this on an average day, yet it just had to happen when he was with Yu Fu. The end result was that he received a beating. He could not vent his anger on Yu Fu. He could vent it on Imperial Consort Li!
Shortly after this, he heard Eunuch Chi’s voice, “What are you all standing around stupidly for? Quickly take Imperial Consort Li back! His Majesty still hasn’t recovered from his injuries. If you disrupt His Majesty’s recovery, I’ll see which one of you can bear the burden of that crime!”
Imperial Consort Li remained on her knees and cried. Seeing Eunuch Chi stand in front of her with his arrogant bearing, she instantly lost her composure, “Stand aside for this One. Even if this One must be chased away, it must be His Majesty who chases this One away. What can you be considered?”
Eunuch Chi was stunned, and his expression immediately became twisted.
He had already been made to suffer at Yu Fu’s hands at Marquis Gu’s Manor. Yu Fu was a princess, and she was viewed as a treasure by all. It was one thing if he suffered from that, but he did not think that he would also need to suffer from dealing with Imperial Consort Li after returning to the palace.
What could he be considered, and what could Imperial Consort Li be considered?
Eunuch Chi sneered, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, this servant advises you to go back. You did something inappropriate and caused His Majesty to lose face. His Majesty currently does not want to see you, so why must you make a mockery of yourself?”
Imperial Consort Li was unable to see the situation clearly. She thought that she was the noblest lady in the inner palace and shouted at Eunuch Chi: “As long as this One sees His Majesty, His Majesty will surely change his mind. There’s no need for a servant like you to speak!”
Do not speak of height in front of dwarves. With Imperial Consort Li repeatedly speaking of servant this and servant that, everyone below Eunuch Chi felt uncomfortable.
Eunuch Chi thought quickly and suddenly started smiling, “That’s right. His Majesty does not have an empress, thus Your Highness Imperial Consort Li is the noblest lady in the inner palace. Thinking back to the late emperor’s inner palace, wasn’t it Imperial Consort Xian who managed it for many years?”
Imperial Consort Li smiled with delight, “It’s fine as long as you know. Back then, Imperial Consort Li was not even afraid of His Majesty and Princess DanYang. The position that she occupied back then is the same as the one that this One currently occupies. Do you still dare to stop me?”
The corners of Eunuch Chi’s mouth twitched into a smile, waving for the palace servants to stop Imperial Consort Li. He then entered the hall to report to Ning ChengZhi, “Your Majesty, Her Highness Imperial Consort Li said that she occupies the same position as Imperial Consort Xian did back then and that this servant does not have the right to stop her. She wants Your Majesty to personally stop her!”
“Impudence!”
Ning ChengZhi suddenly opened his eyes. Imperial Consort Li was so stupid that she would take the pot that did not have boiling water. Despite clearly knowing that when he was still just a prince, he hated that the eldest prince had Imperial Consort Xian helping him, she still compared herself to Imperial Consort Xian.
Back when Imperial Consort Xian had control over the inner palace, it was because Ning ChengZhi’s birth mother, the empress, passed away early. Was she trying to curse Yu Fu?
He had run out of patience. Picking up the incense burner next to his bed, he walked out, “Hand down Our decree. Imperial Consort Li is to be demoted to Concubine Li, and she is to remain under house arrest to reflect on her actions for half a year. If We see her again, she will be demoted to the rank of talented lady!”
He said this while enduring the pain from his injuries. Even those outside of the hall could hear his voice.
Being too far away, Imperial Consort Li could not clearly hear what he had said, but she felt that the situation did not seem too good. It seemed to be going against her.
Not long later, Eunuch Chi strutted out from inside the hall, “In accordance with His Majesty’s decree, Concubine Li is to return to her palace. If she dares to come out on her own to see His Majesty again, she is to be demoted to the rank of talented lady!”
Concubine Li?
Imperial Consort Li’s eyes rolled back. Unable to bear the weight of the situation, she passed out. The servants quickly rushed forward to support her.
Eunuch Chi sneered and regretted that he could not kick her a few times. He then turned around and returned inside the hall, quietly muttering, “Shit.”
…
With the conclusion of the Lantern Festival, the seal on the court was lifted. Ning ChengZhi’s appearance was still pretty bad, thus he left the court to be handled by the cabinet.
As everyone expected, there was a decree making Yin Shuo the leader of the cabinet. Occupying the position above the other officials, he led the officials in court.
After taking the medicine that Yu Fu had given him, Chen GeLao had already recovered, and he returned to court as everyone had expected.
Ji DaoGong continued to claim to be ill and could not get out of bed, thus his court affairs were temporarily handed to his eldest son, Ji XuanXian. After the seal was lifted, the first topic worthy of discussion was the shattered remains of the imperial gifts in front of Marquis Gu’s Manor.
It was said that not even the yellow labels had been removed, thus anyone who saw them could tell that they were imperial gifts. Ning ChengZhi’s desire for Yu Fu and Yu Fu’s rejection of him were both abundantly clear.
In addition to this, the rumors circulating around the capital about her beating a foolish ruler created a terrible influence.
As an organization meant to govern the imperial family, the imperial family’s manor had no choice but to make a statement, “Though Princess ZhenJiang’s status is noble and has made many great contributions, she has violated our Eastern Ling’s laws. First, she hit His Majesty. Second, she destroyed imperial gifts. Though this lowly official knows, this lowly official does not dare detain the princess without authorization. Would the cabinet please provide some instructions.”
“Naturally, she should be detained.”
“There’s no need to detain her.”
Yin Shuo and Chen GeLao spoke at the same time, but what caused everyone to be shocked was that Chen GeLao was the one to say that she should be detained, while Yin Shuo had said that there was no need.
The two were on the wrong sides, right?
Was it not Yin Shuo who usually liked to oppose Marquis Gu’s Manor? Why would Chen GeLao agree to detain Princess ZhenJiang? Did he not get along very well with Lord Marquis Gu?
After speaking, they exchanged a glance. As the leader of the cabinet, Yin Shuo had more right to speak than Chen GeLao, but the other cabinet ministers followed Chen GeLao’s lead, thus the two were almost neck and neck.
Yin Shuo smiled, “Senior minister Chen has seniority. Let’s have senior minister Chen explain the reasoning for detaining the princess first.”
Chen GeLao had been able to guess Yu Fu’s intention. He had been on the receiving end of Yu Fu’s benevolence, thus it was natural for him to accommodate Yu Fu’s wishes. He said: “Though Princess ZhenJiang has made many contributions, wise rulers make clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, and neither must be ignored. Contributions should be rewarded, and bad actions should be punished. If giving His Majesty a beating does not merit punishment, then what dignity does the ruler have? I think that even Lord Marquis Gu would agree with this lowly official’s opinion, right?”
Naturally, Gu HuaiJiang could not tear him down, “As the princess’ adoptive father, it was a result of this marquis’ not teaching her well enough. Senior minister Chen is right. When you do something wrong, you should be punished. Would the imperial family’s manor please detain the princess. This marquis will not oppose that idea.”
The two worked in perfect harmony, and quite a few of the officials that did not understand the truth of the situation were very moved. They praised Gu HuaiJiang for his selflessness.
Yin Shuo took a step forward, “This official admires Marquis Gu’s willingness to sacrifice your kin, but this official still believes that what princess did does not merit being detained.”
“Why is that?”
Yin Shuo detailed the events: “First, princess made a contribution by protecting His Majesty. The life that she protected was His Majesty’s. If princess is punished, I fear that it could chill the hearts of the loyal soldiers, and they will no longer dare to protect His Majesty to the fullest extent of their abilities. Second, why was His Majesty given a beating by the princess? Why did senior minister Chen not mention it earlier?”
He had a faint smile on his face, but his tone was quite aggressive, “Does senior minister Chen not know the reason, or did you deliberately not say the reason?”
Chen GeLao frowned, while senior minister Wang quickly said from behind him: “This sort of reason is difficult to bring up in court, so it’s fine to not bring it up.”
Yin Shuo said: “Right, it is indeed difficult to bring up in court. His Majesty did something that could not be mentioned in court, thus he was beaten by the princess. My fellow ministers would previously send in countless letters saying His Majesty is being frivolous in one way or another, so why is it my fellow ministers are not happy now that he has been taught a lesson by the princess?”
“Yes, the way in which princess taught this lesson is a bit extreme, they are still siblings. If the late emperor or late empress gave His Majesty a beating to teach him a lesson, would my fellow ministers believe that they should be punished?”
Senior minister Wang said: “Y-you’re relying on sophistry. No matter how noble princess’ status is, she cannot be compared with the late emperor or late empress!”
Yin Shuo took his time and said: “Indeed, they cannot be compared; however, as long as it can help keep our ruler on the righteous path, everything else is secondary. Furthermore, His Majesty does not even feel that princess did anything wrong. On the contrary, he rewarded princess. Do my fellow ministers have anything else to add?”
Gu HuaiJiang heard his tone and knew that he understood what Yu Fu intended. That was why he would do everything that he could to stop Yu Fu from being punished.
This person’s mind was too profound to fathom. It was as if nothing could escape his eyes.
It was quite something for a young man in his early twenties to be able to do something like this. It was just a pity that this person was set on doing bad things…
Yin Shuo saw that nobody had anything else to say, he stepped to the side and picked up another scroll, “Right now, the most pressing matter is not something internal. Instead, it’s external. Would everyone please take a look at the secret report from Western Kun.”
When Western Kun was brought up, everyone immediately became alert. It was as if they could smell the flames of war.
The report was first handed down from the cabinet ministers to Gu HuaiJiang without any reservations. Gu HuaiJiang opened it up and took a look. It was a secret report from a spy in Western Kun’s capital, and it said that Western Kun was preparing to attack Eastern Ling once more.
It had been less than a year since Western Kun’s grand army had left. Why had they come again?
All of the officials were stunned, and one expressed their disbelief, “Where did this report come from? It must be fake, right? When Lord Marquis Gu set out for battle the previous time, he eliminated over 200 thousand of Western Kun’s troops. Where would Western Kun get the manpower to assault our Eastern Ling’s borders? At the very least, it would take them ten years to recover!”
Gu HuaiJiang was also in disbelief.
During the last battle between the two countries, for the sake of obtaining a longer-term peace, Gu HuaiJiang had crossed the border to eliminate Western Kun’s main force, and he was nearly reprimanded in court because of this.
Based on his experience from fighting against Western Kun’s army over many years, Western Kun definitely did not have the military power to attack Eastern Ling once more.
Yin Shuo could not help but say: “This spy is the most reliable spy that we have in Western Kun. It won’t be wrong. Western Kun is indeed afraid of Marquis Gu’s might, but our Eastern Ling has recently enthroned a new ruler, and the situation in court has not yet stabilized. For them, this is the best opportunity to strike.”
Gu HuaiJiang said: “After last year’s battle, Western Kun left with just over a hundred thousand troops. Where would they get the manpower? Could it be that Emperor Kun intends to transfer all of the defenders on his borders and capital to attack us?”
Yin Shuo looked at him profoundly and then smiled and said: “I don’t know about that point. Does Marquis Gu believe that this report is fake?”
Gu HuaiJiang paused for a moment. He did indeed have his suspicions.
But even if he suspected that the report was fake, they could not sit around and do nothing. As long as there was a one in ten-thousand chance of it being real, they would need to mobilize their forces.
Yin Shuo said: “His Majesty has made a decision on this matter. Regardless of whether it’s real or fake, we must send a general from the capital to defend the border. Lord Marquis Gu, what do you think?”
Gu HuaiJiang did not know whether this was real or fake, nor did he know if Yin Shuo had some ulterior motive, but leaving the capital to go to the border might not be a bad idea.
When away, the general would not need to wait for orders from the ruler, and as long as they could find a way to bring Yu Fu to the border, even if Ning ChengZhi refused to give up, he would be powerless to do anything about it.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “Since His Majesty has ordered it, this marquis will not hesitate to move out.”
“Lord Marquis Gu has misunderstood.”
Yin Shuo smiled and said: “His Majesty means for the eldest young sir to go on this expedition. All other members of Marquis Gu’s Manor must remain in the capital, and none are permitted to leave.”
Gu ShuBai had already reached the age where he could be independent. Gu HuaiJiang could feel completely at ease with having him go on his own, but Ning ChengZhi specifically naming him made the situation appear quite odd.
“This is clearly a go at eldest brother. His Majesty is definitely trying to harm eldest brother because he couldn’t marry little Yu Fu!”
Once the decree reached Marquis Gu’s Manor, a commotion broke out. No matter what was said, they did not want Gu ShuBai to set out on his own. Gu JiuGe picked up the scroll and read through it, “As I see it, this report is fake. We all know very clearly whether or not Western Kun has the power to sustain another war. There must be some sort of conspiracy here!”
“That’s right, eldest brother. You absolutely must not go!”
What conspiracy was this? It was clearly a scheme to put Gu ShuBai in danger.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “Alright, stop shouting. Regardless of whether it’s a conspiracy or whether it’s real or not, as long as there is a possibility of a battle breaking out on the border, the Gu family’s army cannot hesitate. Emperor Kun’s plans are profound, and his ambition is even greater. It’s possible that he has transferred troops from somewhere else, or he has assembled all of his country’s troops for this attack. It’s hard to say.”
Yu Fu said: “Even so, why have eldest brother go on his own? It must be because I rejected His Majesty. No, I absolutely cannot let them succeed!”
“Little Yu Fu, what are you planning?”
Everyone was worried that she might do something reckless in her panic. Yu Fu had always been composed, but she pushed Gu Yi’s hand away, “Don’t worry. I won’t go into the palace to seek out His Majesty. Even if I did, it would be pointless. His Majesty is currently furious, so he probably won’t be willing to listen.”
“Then what do you plan on doing?”
Yu Fu suddenly curled her lips into a faint smile, “Right now, the most pressing matter is to find out if this report is real or not. If it’s real, it must be dealt with properly. If it’s fake, we deal with it another way.”
Everyone had been wanting to ask her how they would determine if it was real or not, but they heard Gu ShuBai say with a smile: “Are you going to ask the Deity of Medicine to step in? Immortals Valley’s disciples are spread across the entire continent. If you want to find out the truth about something, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Everyone felt suddenly enlightened. Right, with Immortals Valley, was there any concern about finding out the truth of this matter?
Investigate the Espionage (Part Two)
“Your Majesty, this consort was wrong. This consort doesn’t dare do it again!”
A woman in a plain palace dress staggered along the palace path, as ornaments fell from her body. There was a certain desolate feeling to this scene.
She ran at the front, while a large group of palace servants chased after her, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, stop running. His Majesty doesn’t want to see you!”
“Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that you are not allowed out for half a year. You are opposing his decree!”
Imperial Consort Li insisted on continuing to run forward. After passing through this long corridor, she would arrive at his palace. No matter what, she had to plead for lenience.
Because of a bowl of chicken and velvet antler soup, Ning Chengzhi wanted to have her stay shut inside for half a year. With her beauty, how could she give up on this opportunity so easily?
Hearing the commotion, some palace servants up ahead stopped Imperial Consort Li from advancing, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, you absolutely cannot continue forward and disturb His Majesty!”
Imperial Consort Li stopped in her tracks and fiercely glared, “Move aside! You lowly servants dare to stop this One? This One is the inner palace’s noblest consort. Do you know that?”
The palace servants looked at each other.
With Imperial Consort Li’s status, it was indeed difficult to offend her, but His Majesty’s decree could not be unenforced!
Seeing their expressions slightly change, Imperial Consort Li took advantage of the situation and said: “His Majesty only sentenced this One to remain inside to reflect. This One has come to ask for lenience. Everything will be fine. If you don’t allow this One to go, when this One regains imperial favor, this One will come for your skins!”
The palace servants that were easier to scare hastily moved to the side and then tugged on the hems of the palace servants that were still blocking the path, “Let’s just let her through. Her Highness Imperial Consort Li came from the second prince’s manor. A day as a wife leads to a hundred days of love, much less how many years they’ve been together!”
The remaining palace servants had no choice but to step aside. Imperial Consort Li lifted the hem of her dress and rushed toward the palace.
“Your Majesty, this consort was wrong and begs Your Majesty to forgive this consort!’
Ning ChengZhi was rudely awoken from his dream and shuddered, suddenly hearing the shrill cry of a woman’s voice come from outside of the palace.
He moved, and the wounds that Yu Fu’s attack had left started to hurt. They hurt so much that he opened his mouth but could not speak. Eunuch Chi quickly entered the hall and saw that he was already awake. He quickly reported: “Your Majesty, Her Highness Imperial Consort Li is removing her jewelry to apologize for her wrongdoings.”
“Removing her jewelry to repent again, does she know when to stop?”
He adjusted his position on the bed and suddenly remembered that he had sent Eunuch Chi out in the morning to deliver gifts to Marquis Gu’s Manor. He hastily said: “Have all of the gifts been given to Yu Fu?”
Eunuch Chi’s hair immediately stood on end, fearing that something was about to happen.
Ning ChengZhi would always ask this question. He could not escape, thus he decided to just report the truth.
He bowed and said: “Replying to Your Majesty, they have all been delivered, but…”
“But what?”
“But princess said that she did not like them, and she… she smashed two of them in front of this servant.”
Ning ChengZhi was stunned. He had given so many gifts to Yu Fu in the past, yet he had never heard of her not liking them. Could it be that even though she was rewarded rather than punished, she was still unhappy?
Eunuch Chi closed his eyes and resignedly said: “Also after this servant left, she ordered for all of the gifts that Your Majesty gave her to be smashed and then tossed out of Marquis Gu’s Manor for the citizens to discuss.”
“What?!”
Ning ChengZhi became furious. Eunuch Chi had already prepared himself for this, dropping to his knees, “Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please calm down!”
Ning ChengZhi covered the injuries on his face, “Why would she do this? Did she say anything else?”
Eunuch Chi listed out the reasons, “Princess said that the ones who protected Your Majesty were the eldest young sir and the third young sir, thus she should not be the one to receive Your Majesty’s reward. She also said that she should be punished for having hit Your Majesty. For the sake of being punished, she smashed those treasures in front of this servant. This servant knows that Your Majesty loves princess, so how could this servant dare to do anything to princess? This servant was thinking of reporting this upon returning, but Your Majesty was sleeping…”
“Enough!”
Ning ChengZhi’s roars were as loud as thunder, “It’s Gu ShuBai again. She only has room for Gu ShuBai in her heart. She must be annoyed that We did not reward Gu ShuBai! No, even if that was the case, there would be no need for her to smash those things…”
He suddenly realized something, and his expression became desolate.
“We understand. She does not want to accept Our kind intentions and does not want to be appointed empress by Us. She smashed those treasures and threw them out in front of Marquis Gu’s Manor to infuriate Us and make Us give up on her.”
Your Majesty, this consort doesn’t dare do it again. Your Majesty, please forgive this consort!”
Imperial Consort Li’s annoying voice could be heard once more. Ning ChengZhi’s heart was already filled with anger. Hearing Imperial Consort Li’s voice just made him angrier. Without any concern for the pain coming from his facial injuries, he shouted, “Who allowed this woman to come to Our bed chamber? Didn’t We tell her to remain inside to reflect? Who allowed you to let her in?!”
Eunuch Chi quickly stood up from the floor, “Yes,this servant will go and chase her out immediately!”
Ning ChengZhi lay back down in bed and closed his eyes. Thinking of how rude he had been toward Yu Fu last night, it was all a result of Imperial Consort Li’s petty plans. He hated her so much that his teeth itched.
It would be one thing if she was like this on an average day, yet it just had to happen when he was with Yu Fu. The end result was that he received a beating. He could not vent his anger on Yu Fu. He could vent it on Imperial Consort Li!
Shortly after this, he heard Eunuch Chi’s voice, “What are you all standing around stupidly for? Quickly take Imperial Consort Li back! His Majesty still hasn’t recovered from his injuries. If you disrupt His Majesty’s recovery, I’ll see which one of you can bear the burden of that crime!”
Imperial Consort Li remained on her knees and cried. Seeing Eunuch Chi stand in front of her with his arrogant bearing, she instantly lost her composure, “Stand aside for this One. Even if this One must be chased away, it must be His Majesty who chases this One away. What can you be considered?”
Eunuch Chi was stunned, and his expression immediately became twisted.
He had already been made to suffer at Yu Fu’s hands at Marquis Gu’s Manor. Yu Fu was a princess, and she was viewed as a treasure by all. It was one thing if he suffered from that, but he did not think that he would also need to suffer from dealing with Imperial Consort Li after returning to the palace.
What could he be considered, and what could Imperial Consort Li be considered?
Eunuch Chi sneered, “Your Highness Imperial Consort Li, this servant advises you to go back. You did something inappropriate and caused His Majesty to lose face. His Majesty currently does not want to see you, so why must you make a mockery of yourself?”
Imperial Consort Li was unable to see the situation clearly. She thought that she was the noblest lady in the inner palace and shouted at Eunuch Chi: “As long as this One sees His Majesty, His Majesty will surely change his mind. There’s no need for a servant like you to speak!”
Do not speak of height in front of dwarves. With Imperial Consort Li repeatedly speaking of servant this and servant that, everyone below Eunuch Chi felt uncomfortable.
Eunuch Chi thought quickly and suddenly started smiling, “That’s right. His Majesty does not have an empress, thus Your Highness Imperial Consort Li is the noblest lady in the inner palace. Thinking back to the late emperor’s inner palace, wasn’t it Imperial Consort Xian who managed it for many years?”
Imperial Consort Li smiled with delight, “It’s fine as long as you know. Back then, Imperial Consort Li was not even afraid of His Majesty and Princess DanYang. The position that she occupied back then is the same as the one that this One currently occupies. Do you still dare to stop me?”
The corners of Eunuch Chi’s mouth twitched into a smile, waving for the palace servants to stop Imperial Consort Li. He then entered the hall to report to Ning ChengZhi, “Your Majesty, Her Highness Imperial Consort Li said that she occupies the same position as Imperial Consort Xian did back then and that this servant does not have the right to stop her. She wants Your Majesty to personally stop her!”
“Impudence!”
Ning ChengZhi suddenly opened his eyes. Imperial Consort Li was so stupid that she would take the pot that did not have boiling water. Despite clearly knowing that when he was still just a prince, he hated that the eldest prince had Imperial Consort Xian helping him, she still compared herself to Imperial Consort Xian.
Back when Imperial Consort Xian had control over the inner palace, it was because Ning ChengZhi’s birth mother, the empress, passed away early. Was she trying to curse Yu Fu?
He had run out of patience. Picking up the incense burner next to his bed, he walked out, “Hand down Our decree. Imperial Consort Li is to be demoted to Concubine Li, and she is to remain under house arrest to reflect on her actions for half a year. If We see her again, she will be demoted to the rank of talented lady!”
He said this while enduring the pain from his injuries. Even those outside of the hall could hear his voice.
Being too far away, Imperial Consort Li could not clearly hear what he had said, but she felt that the situation did not seem too good. It seemed to be going against her.
Not long later, Eunuch Chi strutted out from inside the hall, “In accordance with His Majesty’s decree, Concubine Li is to return to her palace. If she dares to come out on her own to see His Majesty again, she is to be demoted to the rank of talented lady!”
Concubine Li?
Imperial Consort Li’s eyes rolled back. Unable to bear the weight of the situation, she passed out. The servants quickly rushed forward to support her.
Eunuch Chi sneered and regretted that he could not kick her a few times. He then turned around and returned inside the hall, quietly muttering, “Shit.”
…
With the conclusion of the Lantern Festival, the seal on the court was lifted. Ning ChengZhi’s appearance was still pretty bad, thus he left the court to be handled by the cabinet.
As everyone expected, there was a decree making Yin Shuo the leader of the cabinet. Occupying the position above the other officials, he led the officials in court.
After taking the medicine that Yu Fu had given him, Chen GeLao had already recovered, and he returned to court as everyone had expected.
Ji DaoGong continued to claim to be ill and could not get out of bed, thus his court affairs were temporarily handed to his eldest son, Ji XuanXian. After the seal was lifted, the first topic worthy of discussion was the shattered remains of the imperial gifts in front of Marquis Gu’s Manor.
It was said that not even the yellow labels had been removed, thus anyone who saw them could tell that they were imperial gifts. Ning ChengZhi’s desire for Yu Fu and Yu Fu’s rejection of him were both abundantly clear.
In addition to this, the rumors circulating around the capital about her beating a foolish ruler created a terrible influence.
As an organization meant to govern the imperial family, the imperial family’s manor had no choice but to make a statement, “Though Princess ZhenJiang’s status is noble and has made many great contributions, she has violated our Eastern Ling’s laws. First, she hit His Majesty. Second, she destroyed imperial gifts. Though this lowly official knows, this lowly official does not dare detain the princess without authorization. Would the cabinet please provide some instructions.”
“Naturally, she should be detained.”
“There’s no need to detain her.”
Yin Shuo and Chen GeLao spoke at the same time, but what caused everyone to be shocked was that Chen GeLao was the one to say that she should be detained, while Yin Shuo had said that there was no need.
The two were on the wrong sides, right?
Was it not Yin Shuo who usually liked to oppose Marquis Gu’s Manor? Why would Chen GeLao agree to detain Princess ZhenJiang? Did he not get along very well with Lord Marquis Gu?
After speaking, they exchanged a glance. As the leader of the cabinet, Yin Shuo had more right to speak than Chen GeLao, but the other cabinet ministers followed Chen GeLao’s lead, thus the two were almost neck and neck.
Yin Shuo smiled, “Senior minister Chen has seniority. Let’s have senior minister Chen explain the reasoning for detaining the princess first.”
Chen GeLao had been able to guess Yu Fu’s intention. He had been on the receiving end of Yu Fu’s benevolence, thus it was natural for him to accommodate Yu Fu’s wishes. He said: “Though Princess ZhenJiang has made many contributions, wise rulers make clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, and neither must be ignored. Contributions should be rewarded, and bad actions should be punished. If giving His Majesty a beating does not merit punishment, then what dignity does the ruler have? I think that even Lord Marquis Gu would agree with this lowly official’s opinion, right?”
Naturally, Gu HuaiJiang could not tear him down, “As the princess’ adoptive father, it was a result of this marquis’ not teaching her well enough. Senior minister Chen is right. When you do something wrong, you should be punished. Would the imperial family’s manor please detain the princess. This marquis will not oppose that idea.”
The two worked in perfect harmony, and quite a few of the officials that did not understand the truth of the situation were very moved. They praised Gu HuaiJiang for his selflessness.
Yin Shuo took a step forward, “This official admires Marquis Gu’s willingness to sacrifice your kin, but this official still believes that what princess did does not merit being detained.”
“Why is that?”
Yin Shuo detailed the events: “First, princess made a contribution by protecting His Majesty. The life that she protected was His Majesty’s. If princess is punished, I fear that it could chill the hearts of the loyal soldiers, and they will no longer dare to protect His Majesty to the fullest extent of their abilities. Second, why was His Majesty given a beating by the princess? Why did senior minister Chen not mention it earlier?”
He had a faint smile on his face, but his tone was quite aggressive, “Does senior minister Chen not know the reason, or did you deliberately not say the reason?”
Chen GeLao frowned, while senior minister Wang quickly said from behind him: “This sort of reason is difficult to bring up in court, so it’s fine to not bring it up.”
Yin Shuo said: “Right, it is indeed difficult to bring up in court. His Majesty did something that could not be mentioned in court, thus he was beaten by the princess. My fellow ministers would previously send in countless letters saying His Majesty is being frivolous in one way or another, so why is it my fellow ministers are not happy now that he has been taught a lesson by the princess?”
“Yes, the way in which princess taught this lesson is a bit extreme, they are still siblings. If the late emperor or late empress gave His Majesty a beating to teach him a lesson, would my fellow ministers believe that they should be punished?”
Senior minister Wang said: “Y-you’re relying on sophistry. No matter how noble princess’ status is, she cannot be compared with the late emperor or late empress!”
Yin Shuo took his time and said: “Indeed, they cannot be compared; however, as long as it can help keep our ruler on the righteous path, everything else is secondary. Furthermore, His Majesty does not even feel that princess did anything wrong. On the contrary, he rewarded princess. Do my fellow ministers have anything else to add?”
Gu HuaiJiang heard his tone and knew that he understood what Yu Fu intended. That was why he would do everything that he could to stop Yu Fu from being punished.
This person’s mind was too profound to fathom. It was as if nothing could escape his eyes.
It was quite something for a young man in his early twenties to be able to do something like this. It was just a pity that this person was set on doing bad things…
Yin Shuo saw that nobody had anything else to say, he stepped to the side and picked up another scroll, “Right now, the most pressing matter is not something internal. Instead, it’s external. Would everyone please take a look at the secret report from Western Kun.”
When Western Kun was brought up, everyone immediately became alert. It was as if they could smell the flames of war.
The report was first handed down from the cabinet ministers to Gu HuaiJiang without any reservations. Gu HuaiJiang opened it up and took a look. It was a secret report from a spy in Western Kun’s capital, and it said that Western Kun was preparing to attack Eastern Ling once more.
It had been less than a year since Western Kun’s grand army had left. Why had they come again?
All of the officials were stunned, and one expressed their disbelief, “Where did this report come from? It must be fake, right? When Lord Marquis Gu set out for battle the previous time, he eliminated over 200 thousand of Western Kun’s troops. Where would Western Kun get the manpower to assault our Eastern Ling’s borders? At the very least, it would take them ten years to recover!”
Gu HuaiJiang was also in disbelief.
During the last battle between the two countries, for the sake of obtaining a longer-term peace, Gu HuaiJiang had crossed the border to eliminate Western Kun’s main force, and he was nearly reprimanded in court because of this.
Based on his experience from fighting against Western Kun’s army over many years, Western Kun definitely did not have the military power to attack Eastern Ling once more.
Yin Shuo could not help but say: “This spy is the most reliable spy that we have in Western Kun. It won’t be wrong. Western Kun is indeed afraid of Marquis Gu’s might, but our Eastern Ling has recently enthroned a new ruler, and the situation in court has not yet stabilized. For them, this is the best opportunity to strike.”
Gu HuaiJiang said: “After last year’s battle, Western Kun left with just over a hundred thousand troops. Where would they get the manpower? Could it be that Emperor Kun intends to transfer all of the defenders on his borders and capital to attack us?”
Yin Shuo looked at him profoundly and then smiled and said: “I don’t know about that point. Does Marquis Gu believe that this report is fake?”
Gu HuaiJiang paused for a moment. He did indeed have his suspicions.
But even if he suspected that the report was fake, they could not sit around and do nothing. As long as there was a one in ten-thousand chance of it being real, they would need to mobilize their forces.
Yin Shuo said: “His Majesty has made a decision on this matter. Regardless of whether it’s real or fake, we must send a general from the capital to defend the border. Lord Marquis Gu, what do you think?”
Gu HuaiJiang did not know whether this was real or fake, nor did he know if Yin Shuo had some ulterior motive, but leaving the capital to go to the border might not be a bad idea.
When away, the general would not need to wait for orders from the ruler, and as long as they could find a way to bring Yu Fu to the border, even if Ning ChengZhi refused to give up, he would be powerless to do anything about it.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “Since His Majesty has ordered it, this marquis will not hesitate to move out.”
“Lord Marquis Gu has misunderstood.”
Yin Shuo smiled and said: “His Majesty means for the eldest young sir to go on this expedition. All other members of Marquis Gu’s Manor must remain in the capital, and none are permitted to leave.”
Gu ShuBai had already reached the age where he could be independent. Gu HuaiJiang could feel completely at ease with having him go on his own, but Ning ChengZhi specifically naming him made the situation appear quite odd.
“This is clearly a go at eldest brother. His Majesty is definitely trying to harm eldest brother because he couldn’t marry little Yu Fu!”
Once the decree reached Marquis Gu’s Manor, a commotion broke out. No matter what was said, they did not want Gu ShuBai to set out on his own. Gu JiuGe picked up the scroll and read through it, “As I see it, this report is fake. We all know very clearly whether or not Western Kun has the power to sustain another war. There must be some sort of conspiracy here!”
“That’s right, eldest brother. You absolutely must not go!”
What conspiracy was this? It was clearly a scheme to put Gu ShuBai in danger.
Gu HuaiJiang said: “Alright, stop shouting. Regardless of whether it’s a conspiracy or whether it’s real or not, as long as there is a possibility of a battle breaking out on the border, the Gu family’s army cannot hesitate. Emperor Kun’s plans are profound, and his ambition is even greater. It’s possible that he has transferred troops from somewhere else, or he has assembled all of his country’s troops for this attack. It’s hard to say.”
Yu Fu said: “Even so, why have eldest brother go on his own? It must be because I rejected His Majesty. No, I absolutely cannot let them succeed!”
“Little Yu Fu, what are you planning?”
Everyone was worried that she might do something reckless in her panic. Yu Fu had always been composed, but she pushed Gu Yi’s hand away, “Don’t worry. I won’t go into the palace to seek out His Majesty. Even if I did, it would be pointless. His Majesty is currently furious, so he probably won’t be willing to listen.”
“Then what do you plan on doing?”
Yu Fu suddenly curled her lips into a faint smile, “Right now, the most pressing matter is to find out if this report is real or not. If it’s real, it must be dealt with properly. If it’s fake, we deal with it another way.”
Everyone had been wanting to ask her how they would determine if it was real or not, but they heard Gu ShuBai say with a smile: “Are you going to ask the Deity of Medicine to step in? Immortals Valley’s disciples are spread across the entire continent. If you want to find out the truth about something, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Everyone felt suddenly enlightened. Right, with Immortals Valley, was there any concern about finding out the truth of this matter?
