"With the death of the Grand Supervisor, the backbone of the Eastern Depot is gone!"
Two young eunuchs were whispering to each other when they happened to meet Prince Yu who had come to the palace to attend to the ailing emperor. Today, the emperor was in a much better complexion.
When talking to Zhongli Mingye, he was full of wisdom in every word.
"Ye'er, I've asked the Inner Court to arrange your wedding."
"Thank you, Father, for your concern." Zhongli Mingye didn't show any joy on his face because of the emperor's concern. Over the years, he had long since learned not to show his emotions. There was only suspicion left between their father - son relationship.
The emperor was dissatisfied with his attitude. "You're about to get married, but there's no sign of joy on your face."
Zhongli Mingye gave a faint smile. "Father, I've already prepared the betrothal gifts. The Inner Court is in charge of the harem. It shouldn't trouble itself with my wedding." What he meant was that the world belongs to you, and so does the harem.
The emperor looked at him thoughtfully and then smiled. This son had always been scheming and never showed his emotions.
Except for caring about Song Jinyu, there was not a single flaw in him.
"How is Miss Song of the Song family..." He had a very good impression of Song Jinyu, except that her family background was a bit low.
However, a high - ranking family background might bring some unnecessary troubles, which was not good either. For example, Prince Cheng had married the princess of Prince Duan'an, but now he even had the thought of treason.
Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in the emperor's cloudy eyes.
"She's fine... A few days ago, she even prepared three ginsengs of purple variety for me, hoping that Father would recover soon."
The emperor felt very relieved. Among his sons, Zhongli Mingye was the most steady and never caused any trouble.
As soon as Prince Yu came out of the palace, he happened to see Prince Duan'an.
Was the emperor summoning him to the palace today? He shook his head helplessly. At present, the emperor couldn't kill Yu Huai. These days, he had been worried and couldn't help feeling tired.
Fortunately, Song Chuyu had entered the capital. He came to the palace today just to report this matter to the emperor. The Tiger Ben Camp belonged to the emperor.
Now, perhaps he could take this opportunity to take over the Yu Family Army.
The situation in the capital was extraordinary. Everything was under the emperor's control. He just wanted to see what his sons would do.
Since Prince Yong got married to Princess Soli, he had been staying in his fief. Although he had come to the capital to attend to the ailing emperor, he had made no move.
It must be the instruction from Concubine Mei.
Among the princes, Prince Yong's mother had the lowest status, so he never dared to covet the throne.
Even so, he was still squeezed out to a remote place by the crown prince. Zhongli Mingye, Prince Yu, saw it very clearly. Song Chuyu's entry into the capital seemed to be his own arrangement on the surface, but in fact, it was the emperor who had mobilized behind the scenes.
He just didn't want to make it too obvious, but this also made the crown prince hate him even more.
"Have someone keep an eye on Grand Tutor Shen."
After this incident, Prince Cheng's power had been greatly hit. It was not impossible for the crown prince to pursue the victory. Even though as the crown prince, his ability was very lacking, but as long as he was the crown prince, he was the legitimate crown prince of the Daxia Dynasty.
Prince Duan'an came out of the palace soon after he went in.
When he came out, his face was ashen and his steps were unsteady. He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds covered the sun. A heavy snow was brewing in the clouds.
"What a good move of retreating to advance!"
Yu Huai had underestimated the emperor. To be exact, he had overestimated Zhongli Shuoyi. This time he came to the capital, not only had he exposed his ambition and made the emperor more suspicious of him,
but he had also put his daughter in danger.
When Liao Zhengye died, he knew that the plan would not succeed. So, he quietly arranged for his men to retreat gradually. In the process, Yu Huai unexpectedly found the Tiger Ben Camp. Song Chuyu had surrounded them silently.
There was no way out!
Fortunately, the emperor was still willing to summon him. The stability of the southern border still needed the Yu Family Army and the Prince Duan'an's Mansion. Although he had no son, he had a powerful nephew.
He was able to get out of this situation unscathed today all because of this. The old emperor took back the military power of the Yu Family Army, but left the Prince Duan'an's Mansion.
He also left his nephew.
Looking up at the sky, Yu Huai had the intention to retreat. Maybe this was just a trap from the beginning, from the imperial marriage of Prince Cheng to the emperor's critical illness.
Step by step, he was led into the trap, resulting in the military power of the Yu Family Army being taken back. From now on, the Prince Duan'an's Mansion was just an empty shell.
Yu Huai's movements in the palace couldn't be hidden from others.
After Ming Ruyi got the news, he couldn't help feeling very disappointed. "He's supposed to be a hero, but he's so spineless?"
He was happy to see the emperor lingering on the sickbed. He knew that Prince Cheng couldn't succeed in his treason, but he still secretly promoted this matter.
Unexpectedly, Liao Zhengye had committed suicide.
Who would be the next one?
"Your Highness, Prince Duan'an grew up with the emperor." The counselor below was choosing his words carefully.
"I've come to the capital in vain!"
"However," Ming Ruyi suddenly raised his eyebrows, looking a bit complacent. "It's not a waste of this trip since I got that news."
Liao Zhengye was really something for cuckolding the emperor... It was just a pity that Zhongli Mingye didn't expose the matter as he had expected.
Otherwise, there would be a good show to watch. As long as it could make the emperor feel bad, Ming Ruyi would feel extremely happy doing it.
As soon as Xing Jian walked into the study, Zhongli Mingye was packing up a painting. "Pack up and we'll return to Liuzhou City."
"Your Highness, it's almost the New Year..."
"Father has approved my return to Liuzhou City to prepare for my wedding!" There was no hesitation in his eyes. As long as he stayed in the capital for one day, he would be an eyesore to some people. Concubine Shu would also be in more danger. This time when he returned to Liuzhou, he had arranged many people to secretly protect Concubine Shu.
Fortunately, the emperor didn't keep him. During the New Year, there happened to be a snow disaster. He asked the emperor for permission to leave on the pretext of returning to Liuzhou to relieve the disaster.
"Jinyu is still waiting for me!"
Just thinking of her made him extremely happy.
He left all the messy things in the capital behind and only the smiling face of the young girl remained in his mind.
In a few months, she would become his princess consort. They would be together day and night, and he would protect her all the time.
He wondered what she was doing.
Was she reading a storybook? Or was she causing trouble again? After she got married, he would definitely watch over her well. He would tie her tightly by his side so that no one else could look at her.
The girl he was missing was teasing Ling Yu in a warm bedroom.
"How cute!"
"After you get married, you should also have a baby soon." Mrs. Xiang looked at Song Jinyu with a smile.
Song Jinyu blushed for no reason and said shyly, "Who wants to have a baby..." She got up and looked out of the window. The sky was overcast. Was there going to be another heavy snow?
This snow disaster had a very wide - reaching impact. Fortunately, her father had made many preparations, so there weren't too many refugees in Liuzhou City.
These days, the major families in Liuzhou City had launched an activity of giving out porridge. They had also donated quilts and other warm clothes. Song Jinyu had someone move out several yards at the foot of Minshan Mountain to take in the refugees.
Her father had distributed the seeds for the spring sowing of the next year for free and had also exempted the taxes for three years in order to revive the vitality of Liuzhou. For a while, the good name of "Lord Song, the Just" had spread throughout Liuzhou City.
She said to Mrs. Xiang, "I received a message from the prince a few days ago. Brother will come back later."
She didn't know why the emperor had kept Song Chuyu.
And Zhongli Mingye didn't even plan to spend the New Year in the capital. What was the reason for this?
However, she was still very happy. Now, his figure filled her heart. The snow outside was getting heavier and the official road was slippery.
Would the sky clear up when he came back? She couldn't help feeling worried. Song Jinyu left Mrs. Xiang's room and stepped on the white snow.
Niaoniao held an umbrella for her. She suddenly got a playful mood. She made snowmen of different sizes and put them by the roadside.
"Miss, be careful not to catch a cold."