Chapter 167
Chapter 167
“The two countries wanted to have marriage relations with the Eldest Princess and... the Emperor?!” Xia Yuqing stared with a pair of big eyes. She turned to look at Feng Tingye in amazement with an expression that stated “you are immoral, causing trouble without reason before meeting me.” You actually had a past lover before me!?
Feng Tingye was dumbfounded by Xia Yuqing’s little stark eyes. He reached out and knocked Xia Yuqing’s head, “What are you thinking? The eldest princess of Shu is Yun Xi’s aunt, there’s an entire generation difference, how could the person she wants to marry be Zhen?”
“Hmm, don’t hit me!” Xia Yuqing held her aching little head and shrank back. She gave Feng Tingye a wronged look with disdain, “Second Brother is also Xiao Xi’s Royal Uncle, he is also one generation before us, but isn’t he still my Second Brother?”
“...Your Second Brother is a special case. The Eldest Princess is in her thirties, nearing forties this year. She is almost as old as my Royal Mother, how can she marry Zhen?”
Xia Yuqing was startled, and became more surprised: “If it isn’t Your Majesty, then who??! “
“Back then, the one Fourth Royal Sister wanted to be with isn’t the one in front of you, but the King Ye at the time. That is, the father of your husband. Junior Sister’s..... father-in-law.”
“!”
The person that the Eldest Princess wants to be with is her Father-in-law whom she never met? F*ck, it turns out that this Eldest Princess didn’t want to steal her man, but wanted to steal a man from her gentle and demure, dignified and elegant Royal Mother! Fortunately, the marriage was unsuccessful back then. If it succeeded, with such a cruel woman entering the harem and the empress dowager being so gentle, she would have definitely been bullied and her life would not be as easy as it is now. Just because of this point, she will have to give a few likes to her Father-in-law whom she has never met!
“Royal Aunt wanted to marry King Ye’s Father? How could it be... Five years ago, Royal Aunt was clearly with her husband. It was not until the death of my uncle due to illness four years ago that Aunt... How could it be possible for her to get married with King Ye at that time?” Yun Xi was surprised when she heard this. She felt that the fright she had received in her lifetime was not as much as that of this day.
“Xiao Xi, some things in the Royal Family are very complicated. Five years ago or even five years later, you are still too young. There are many things your <other does not want you to contact too early. Fourth Royal Sisters’ things was one of them. In fact, as early as six years ago, Fourth Sister and Fourth Brother-in-law had already separated.”
“Separated?!” Yun Xi was completely stunned, her head was blank, she didn’t know what to do.
Tsk tsk tsk... Xia Yuqing couldn’t help but exclaim after listening to the conversation between the two of them. Fourth Royal sister, Fourth brother-in-law? The Eldest Princess had actually been married before?! But that’s right, being so old, there is no reason to stay in her boudoir and become a lonely old aunt, right?
Ah, this is not the point. The point is that the princess actually came to Ye Kingdom to find her second love? As a result, because she was no longer in perfect shape, she was tragically returned, causing her face to be lost? As a princess, her self-esteem was severely destroyed. She thought that her Father-in-law who had never seen her looked down on her, and from then on she hated him and the entire country of Ye. In the end, even at the expense of using her own homeland, she wanted to destroy Ye Country to compensate for her broken glass heart? !
Shoot, what kind of snake-like patient with a distorted mind was she?! Requesting help! Go home and take medicine, don’t give up treatment!
Yun Zhongyue didn’t know that their conversation had opened Xia Yuqing’s mind, leading her into a ditch infinitely.
STOP!!!!!!
After a brief shock, Yun Xi came back to her senses. She asked with some difficulty: “Why did Royal Aunt and Uncle... separate? They were so... so affectionate before, so why?”
She always thought that before the death of her Uncle, Royal Aunt and Uncle had always lived happily together. Even if Uncle died of illness, Aunt would have never married another. She thought... But today someone told her that all the facts she knew were false!?
“I’m not sure about this. In fact, there are very few people who really know the reason for this. After all, this kind of thing is not very glorious for the royal family. However, there is one thing I know. The person who proposed the separation was Fourth Sister, and Fourth Sister was also the one who proposed the marriage to Ye. She stated she would not marry another, only King Ye.
“...” D*mn, this princess is going for her second love, but why is her demand so strong? She deserves to be rejected if she is so selective. Moreover, it sounded like she fell in love with her Father-in-law whom she had never seen. So, in order to marry her Father-in-law, she deliberately separated from her original partner to marry to the Ye Kingdom? How badly did she want to get married?!
No, that’s not right! She is eating from a bowl, but looking at the pot. She wanted to grab another’s husband to be their mistress, right? Wouldn’t this kind of person be caught and immersed in a pig cage in ancient times (common capital punishment for affairs)? Xia Yuqing has been messed up by the Princess situation.
“Why did she want to do this?” Yun Xi became more and more confused. With her status, although she had already married, if she wanted to find a good partner in Shu, it would not be difficult for her to find a good man. Why did her Aunt insist on marrying King Ye soon after the separation? Then after being rejected why did she hate the kingdom of Ye so much that she even wanted to destroy the kingdom of Ye at the expense of the Kingdom of Shu?!
Yun Zhong Yue seemed to see through Yun Xi’s thoughts. He smiled: “The reason why Fourth Sister would go all the way for this is definitely because there is some history between her and Ye Country. It’s just unclear whether this has to do with Ye Country as a whole or Ye Country’s royal family.”
When Yun Zhongyue said this, Feng Tingye seemed to think of something. His face darkened for a moment, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly condensed.
Xia Yuqing clearly felt the chill spreading from Feng Tingye’s body, and couldn’t help reaching out and pulling at his sleeve.
Feng Tingye was startled. He realized that he had lost control for a moment. He touched Xia Yuqing’s head in a consoling manner, but the flash of darkness had fallen in Yun Zhongyue’s eyes. It was somewhat intriguing.
“Ahem...” Yan Ran was the first to notice the abnormality in the surrounding atmosphere. He coughed slightly, attracting everyone’s attention to himself.
“Speaking of this, five years ago, wasn’t it the year Xiao Tangtang went with Wen Zhong and his Father to the army?”
He Wenzhong scratched his head unclearly: “En, en, my Dad later said that Zitang took care of him on the battlefield. Zitang was really impressive.”
“...” Took care of? Is it the kind of “care” in which he ran around on the battlefield and almost led his soldiers into a ditch? Yan Ran twitched, thinking with a speechless expression on his face.
The few people were taken aback. Their gazes turned. They all moved to Shao Zitang on the side. Leng Ruofeng’s next sentence was like a bomb that fried them up until they were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside: “Moreover, it was the elite soldiers of the two opposing sides.”
“The reason for the war between the two armies at that time seemed to be the failure of the marriage and the collapse of the alliance.”
“!” The words of Leng Ruofeng and Yan Ran quickly passed through Xia Yuqing’s mind. This made her recall a very old memory. She seemed to have heard someone say...
“When Royal father was still on the throne, the Kingdom of Shu hoped to promote an alliance between the two countries. They knew well that Royal Father and Royal Mother were so affectionate that they couldn’t tolerate anyone to intervene, yet they insisted that their Shu princess be put into Royal Father’s harem. Royal Father politely refused and proposed to allow Royal Uncle to be the marriage partner. However, Shu had impure motives. Grabbing these words, they argued that Royal Father looked down on Shu, causing chaos at the border.”
At that time, she thought that the one who wanted to make peace with Ye was just the princess from Shu and how all the attention was focused on Xiao Shangshu for being a directions id*ot, killing all quarters in their barracks, and angering the General to vomit blood. She thought it was because this incident was turned into a joke. Now thinking about it, why does it feel like...
D*mn it! So cruel! Ah, this is basically a bloody battle caused by the frustration of a woman’s self-esteem!
Yun Xi and Yan Tingfang were also shocked when they heard these words. They moved their gaze to Yun Zhongyue’s body in unison.
“Your brains turn really fast.” Yun Zhongyue smiled on purpose, but everyone present felt a bit suffocated from his imposing attitude in his eyes, “That’s why I said that this was the root cause of everything. Miss Yan had mentioned that there was a period of time before the accident that Prime Minister Yan always went out early, returned late, and was very worried. In fact, the so-called conflict between Ye and Shu at that time should have been the marriage coming to nothing.”
Yan Tingfang’s expression changed slightly. Yun Zhongyue continued: “At that time, the proposal of Shu was rejected, so the court was divided into two factions at once. The faction headed by Prime Minister Yan advocated calming people down and not wanting to hold Ye Kingdom accountable. The other faction headed by Third Brother thought that the action of Ye Kingdom offended the emperor of the Shu Kingdom and advocated war. The two sides were arguing constantly, and Royal brother was also a little hesitant.”
“What happened then?” Xia Yuqing asked curiously. Isn’t this too dramatic? Just one marriage can provoke so many minor trifles!
“At this moment, Prime Minister Yan’s situation happened. The faction having Prime Minister Yan as their leader, lost their pillar, thus the situation fell towards Third Brother’s side. This was especially the case, since at that time, Prime Minister Yan was accused of colluding with Ye Kingdom. The emperor was quite furious. He even invited Old General Ji Lu to lead the troops to Ye Kingdom. He just never expected that General Ji would eventually be defeated, vomit blood and die. Thus, ever since, the two countries have always had a bad relationship. They have not met in a few years. If it weren’t for this time, Xiao Xi’’s accident, and meeting Junior Sister, I don’t know how long the two countries would have been hostile for.”
Yun Zhongyue said these words and the inner hall fell into a terrifying silence again, until...
“Prime Minister Yan probably didn’t know this even when he died, but it was precisely because of his death that everything was pushed to the cusp of the storm, and went out of control.” Feng Tingye let out a faint sigh. This successfully made Yan Tingfang, whose eyes were reddened on the opposite side, tremble all over. Her eyes drooped down and constricted, an inconceivable hatred rose in her eyes.
“Killing people, concealing one’s own evil deeds, taking advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit, planting traps, framing others, removing the obstacles in one fell swoop, and finally fanning the flames and pushing all the contradictions to Ye Kingdom. This plan was flawless, this woman is really not a simple character. Everyone played into her hands unconsciously...” Shao Zitang sneered, his eyes full of violent calculations.
“!” F*ck, cruel, how cruel! So Confucius’s words still have a certain truth. It is difficult to raise a woman and a villain. Because of one rejection, she did such an unreasonable thing? How crazy is this woman!?
Xia Yuqing patted her little heart with lingering fears. She was secretly glad that she had transmigrated to Ye Kingdom. If the coordinates were not selected properly and she fell to Shu Kingdom, she was afraid that she would not have been able to meet the Ultra Seme Lord and would have been abused into dregs!
“So, this is actually a tragedy caused by a marriage rejection?” Xia Yuqing asked tentatively, looking at the solemn faces of everyone.
With a flash, everyone’s gaze gathered on her like a searchlight.
“...” Okay, I courted disaster again.
“No matter what reason the Eldest Princess did this for, it is a fact that she colluded with Xue Country and is a traitor. It is also a fact that she murdered my Father and harmed my whole family. She cannot roam free after this, we cannot allow her to do more harm for her own selfish desires. ”
“So, what is Miss Yan planning to do?” Shao Zitang glanced at her.
“King Ye just said it. The memorial my Father wrote back then is probably still in the hands of the Third Prince.”
Shao Zitang sneered, “Are you planning to go back to Shu to steal the memorial?”
“If you are really planning that, I advise you to give up this thought as soon as possible.” Yun Zhong Yue heard the conversation between the two and also inserted a sentence in.
“Sixth Prince?!” Yan Tingfang looked at Yun Zhongyue incredulously.
“Third Royal Brother had long been questioned since the last time he conspired to rebel. Even if the memorial was still in his hands and was not destroyed, who knows where it ended up now. Moreover, even if the memorial is still there, going at this moment is tantamount to throwing yourself into a trap. Even if you get the memorial, you will never get out, let alone expose Fourth Sister with that memorial. Most importantly, I don’t think that just a memorial can threaten my Fourth Sister’s status in Shu.”
Yun Zhongyue’s words were tantamount to completely cutting off Yan Tingfang’s last ray of hope. Yan Tingfang was deeply shocked. She took two steps back, biting her lips. She said in a frustrated voice: “So I don’t have any hope anymore? I can only watch the enemy who killed my family get away with it? I can’t do anything?”
The people on the side looked at Yan Tingfang’s appearance, it was unbearable.
Yun Zhong Yue looked at Yan Tingfang in despair, then he chuckled twice and faintly spat out: “No, maybe there is another way.”
“What?” Yan Tingfang froze and turned sharply. Looking at Yun Zhongyue, everyone on the side also pricked their ears.
“Xiao Xixi came to Ye this time because Royal Sister-in-law asked you to pick her up in person right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s right, then did you not think about why Imperial Sister-in-law would risk revealing your identity at this time, to let you greet Xiao Xi in person, instead of continuing to hide your identity with the help of others?”
“This...” Yan Tingfang was not stupid. With Yun Zhongyue reminding her, she naturally discovered the unusualness of this...
“I think Imperial Sister-in-law hopes that you can get to know Junior sister through Xiao Xi, and then seek further help from Ye Kingdom.”
“Through me to seek help from Ye Kingdom?” Xia Yuqing was startled. She pointed to herself confused. How do these messy facts involve me?
Yun Zhongyue looked at Yan Tingfang, who was a little surprised, and smiled: “You two, master and servant, are alone. Even if Imperial Sister-in-law is behind you helping, it is impossible to easily shake the status of Fourth Sister in the Kingdom of Shu. Since that is the case, you can only rely on the power of other countries, and Ye Kingdom is the best choice amongst them. That is because this is where everything started. I think...this is the purpose of Imperial Sister-in-law sending you here.”
“The Empress, she... ...” Yan Tingfang was completely stunned, a little lost.
“Then now... if you don’t help, Ye and Shu’s two countries would likely be instigated and start fighting again! What are you going to do, Your Majesty King Ye?” Yun Zhongyue had a sly look on his face. Turning his head, he looked at Feng Tingye, who was holding Xia Yuqing silently not far away.
“...”
The breeze was gentle and the shadows of the trees swayed. The birds outside the window fluttered their wings and quickly left the branches they perched on. All of this seemed to indicate that something was beginning to change in an unpredictable direction.
A few days after the secret meeting in the palace hall, there was no substantial change in Xiefang palace. It was still the same as before, it was still very lively, like now...
“Ahahaha, don’t move, don’t move. Junior Sister, get them to stop. I’m going to be tickled to death, ahhahaha...”
Early in the morning, there was a strange burst of laughter from Xiefang palace, which caused a group of palace people to stop and watch. After seeing the scene not far away, they quietly turned around and continued to do their own tasks.
In the middle of the hall of Xiefang palace, Cui Er and Li Yuan both held one hand each of Su Wuduan, making it impossible for him to move. In front of him, Lu Rui raised a feather duster and used it to tease him. The feathers on the feather duster constantly brushed the skin of Su Wuduan, making Su Wuduan get goosebumps. He was out of breath laughing.
“Senior Brother, it is fine that you knew the identity of Second Brother but how could you not tell us that you discovered Second Brother’s trace in Xia Country? You didn’t even say a word. Were you taking us as a joke the entire way? Lu Rui, tickle his nose.” Xia Yuqing ordered while sitting and drinking hot tea. She watched the few people torment Su Wuduan, wishing for the whole world to be in chaos.
Lu Rui obediently stretched the feather duster underneath Su Wuduan’s nose. Su Wuduan couldn’t help but sneeze again: “Ahh... stop, stop, it was me who was wrong. It was me that was wrong, just forgive me. Just let this go once, I really didn’t mean it. It was Second Junior Brother... Second Junior Brother wouldn’t let me say it.
“So if Second Brother won’t let you say it, you won’t? Why didn’t I know that Senior Brother would listen to Second Brother’s words like this? And if he is your Second Brother, am I not your Junior Sister? Alas, nowadays, Junior Brother is better than Junior Sister! Next time, I’m going to go to Masters to let him know that Senior Brother is partial to Second Brother. This really hurts your Junior Sister’s heart.”
“...Junior Sister, don’t tattletale.”
“Senior Brother, you can know things and do nothing about it, so, why can’t your Junior Sister tattletale?”
Listening to Xia Yuqing’s words, Su Wuduan’s face turned into an overturned soy sauce bottle, it was so colorful. A moment later, he begged for mercy with a bitter face: “Junior Sister, based on the fact that Senior Brother has been with you for a long time, even if there is no credit, there is hard work, just let Senior Brother go this time!”
“Been with me? You’re a drunkard not interested in alcohol (have ulterior motives). Lu Rui, continue!”
“Again!? Ahahahaha...”
Everyone listened to the strange and happy laughter from the hall. After an hour, Su Wuduan appeared as if he was fished out of water. He was sweating profusely, limp on the ground, spread out in a large font, and panting hard, “Have.... Having grown so big, this is the first time I discovered that laughter can be so tormenting. It is more uncomfortable than crying!”
After speaking, he took a deep breath of grief and indignation. Gameover.
“...”
After resolving the traitor, Xia Yuqing began to look for the culprit: “Where did Second Brother go these days? Did he escape in fear of punishment?”
“Junior Sister, are you taking advantage of my absence to say bad words about me?”
Xia Yuqing heard a familiar voice from above her head. In the next second, a black shadow swished from before her eyes and flashed past.
“Niang Niang, your almond cake!” The little palace lady who was waiting on the side exclaimed. Xia Yuqing turned her head abruptly and faced the person who looted the small dish.
“D*mn little thief, stealing food as soon as you come back, where did you go?!” Before Xia Yuqing could react, she heard Lu Rui scream, seized the feather duster, and chased him out.
“Go, let’s follow and watch!” Xia Yuqing was so excited that she wanted to follow and watch the excitement, but was stopped by the sound of a pipa from the side hall, “Hey, who is playing the pipa?”
“Reporting to Niang Niang, it seems to come from where Miss Yan lives.” Cui Er carefully distinguished the source of the sound and whispered back.
“It came from Miss Yan?” Xia Yuqing suddenly remembered that when she was in Ying Chun Yuan, she heard Young Master Shen say that Yan Tingfang’s pipa was very good.
“Let’s take a look.”
As soon as Xia Yuqing walked to the door of the side hall, she met Yun Xi and Ruixia standing by the door.
“Qing Jiejie.”
“What are you doing here? Why don’t you go in? Is Miss Yan playing the zither inside?”
“Well, at this time... Yan Jiejie probably doesn’t want anyone to go in and disturb her.”
“Huh?”
Ruixia could see Xia Yuqing’s suspicion, so she explained: “Miss’s pipa skills were taught by Madam. In these years, as long as the lady is in a bad mood, she will play the song taught by her for comfort.”
“Oh, it turned out to be like this. I’m really good at playing, so I wanted to play an ensemble with her. Xiao Yuan, you go...”
“!” When Xia Yuqing wanted to play the zither again, everyone on the side instantly pulled the alarm.
“Ah, that... Qing Jiejie, Miss Yan is in a bad mood right now. If you rashly go in and play with her, she will be unhappy.”
“Ah, is that right?”
“Tha, that’s right!” Li Yuan kept nodding her head, winking at the people beside her. The people beside her were startled, and immediately agreed with her. This was considered as temporarily dispelling Xia Yuqing’s thoughts.
The sound of the pipa was scattered, like drops of water accidentally falling from a plate. It made bursts of clear and pleasant sounds. Flowing out of the room, sometimes it would be very sentimental, sometimes it would be like a beating drum for war, then sometimes it was like the echo of an empty valley. This made the people who walked by the palace can’t help but stop and listen; including the young man who accidentally passed by outside the hall.
Shao Zitang paused his feet. He stood there and listened quietly for a while. He seemed to understand something, then turned and left without saying a word.
“Listening to the sound of the pipa, I suddenly feel very sad. Yan Jiejie must still be worried about the emperor’s affairs. I don’t know if the emperor will agree to help. Qing Jiejie, you are the closest to the emperor. Do you think the emperor will help?”
Xia Yuqing looked at Yun Xi’s expectant gaze and shook her head silently: “Only the emperor knows this. But speaking of which, the emperor disappeared early this morning. I don’t know where he went at all.”
“Reporting to Niang Niang, Master Shangshu went to the palace to find the emperor this morning, and then the emperor went to go find the empress dowager.”
“Huh, to Royal Mother ? Why did he go to Royal Mother?”
In Cining Palace, incense lingered, while the crisp percussion sound echoed rhythmically in the side hall.
Suddenly, the door of the side hall was pushed from outside. The movements of Zhang Sunshi’s hand stopped. She turned her head and glanced at the person entering the door, with surprise on her face: “Ting Er, why are you here at this time? The people outside didn’t report anything.”
“It’s your son who told them not to report it. Royal Mother, your son has something to ask you.”
It’s rare to see Feng Tingye’s serious expression, so Zhang Sunshi was taken aback and wondered: “What’s the matter?”
“Royal Father’s death...... is it related to the Shu Princess?”
“! “