Li Xinyue covered her mouth and let out a snort of laughter. Although it was a bit unkind to scold others like this, it was truly satisfying.
After she stopped laughing, she glanced at Chu Junyi.
Chu Junyi gave her a gentle smile. His just and solemn eyes were always filled with endless tenderness for her.
Li Xinyue felt her face flush, yet couldn't help the corners of her mouth curving upwards.
After that, under Chu Junyi's forceful suppression, all the members of the Wei Clan who had colluded with the Eldest Princess were taken away.
The group set off again. Chu Junyi requisitioned the Wei Clan's carriages as prison wagons and also asked the county yamen for several more. He almost took all the prison wagons in the county yamen before barely managing to fit all the members of the Wei Clan.
The county magistrate of this county saw off the two big shots with tears in his eyes. As they were leaving, he almost blurted out, "Don't come again."
Li Xinyue gave him a sidelong glance, and the county magistrate swallowed back that sentence.
Li Xinyue smiled in satisfaction. "Lord Jia, do your job well. I see that you have an auspicious face. Your future is bound to be bright."
Flattered by Li Xinyue's words, Lord Jia's eyes sparkled. He even wished he could go and buy a few more new prison wagons to send to them.
The night wind blew, and the group set off back to the capital.
Li Xinyue was sitting in Chu Junyi's arms on a horse, while her own horse was given to another young man.
Only then did Li Xinyue notice that among all the arrested members of the Wei Clan, only this one was given special treatment by Chu Junyi. He didn't have to be crowded into a prison wagon with the others, and he wasn't even wearing fetters.
She looked at Chu Junyi curiously.
Chu Junyi looked down at her, smiling gently. "This Wei Jingren is smart and sensible. He will surely be able to assist me in the court in the future."
Li Xinyue nodded.
He really needed his own power to compete with the various factions in the court.
But there was something strange about it.
"Is he of the same generation as the Eldest Princess's husband?"
Chu Junyi knew what she was thinking and let out a chuckle. Then he hugged her tighter lovingly. "Yes. He's the thirteenth cousin of the Eldest Princess's husband. Technically, he's our elder, but he's actually two years younger than us. Isn't it quite interesting?"
Li Xinyue, "..." She found it a bit hard to accept that someone younger than her was her elder. She always felt like she was being taken advantage of.
"Oh, right. I've already gathered the connections of the Wei Clan. These people aren't good at martial arts, but they're excellent at gathering information.
It'll be useful to keep them. Do you still need them in your Chu Mansion? How about settling them there?"
"Okay. I'll listen to you."
Li Xinyue's heart softened, and she couldn't help letting her imagination run wild.
The evening wind on her face felt a bit hot. The heat of summer persisted into autumn. The sky was gradually darkening, but the clouds near the sun were still glowing red.
Under the afterglow, the mighty procession accelerated.
The night market in the capital was about to start. In the streets and alleys, in the restaurants and taverns, the sounds of singing and dancing, the cries of peddlers, and all kinds of hubbub filled the air.
A guest in a room on the second floor of a certain restaurant was annoyed by the noise. He closed the window heavily, then his eyes turned fierce. Looking nervously at the people at the table, he said in a hushed voice, "I'm sure you all know why I've gathered you here today."
"That Chu Junyi is really a good dog in front of the emperor. He bites whoever he wants. He even brought down the Eldest Princess. Let alone the few of us."
The several lords who were named didn't dare to nod. After all, they all knew what was going on when they got together.
Nodding would mean admitting that they indeed had an unspoken relationship with the Eldest Princess. They were all people who cared about their reputations. How could they admit it openly? But deep down, they were actually very scared.
One of the lords, out of nervousness, got angry. "Oh, Lord Zhu. Just say what you have to say. Why be so mysterious?"
"Exactly." Why did he have to make them admit their relationship with the Eldest Princess before he would continue? It was a bit embarrassing.
"Fine. Then I'll continue. Gentlemen, I'm sure you can all guess who the masked man who sent us the message that night was working for, right?
Chu Junyi knows about our affairs with the Eldest Princess. Sooner or later, he'll turn his guns on us.
Why didn't he bring us down along with the Eldest Princess? It's just because he's afraid that the few of us will unite and catch him off guard.
So, we have to crush him before he grows too powerful."
When Lord Zhu said the words "crush him", his face became distorted, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
The several ministers looked at each other and silently agreed with his words.
But killing Chu Junyi was no easy task. Judging from his many narrow escapes, his martial arts were extraordinary.
Moreover, how to kill him, where to do it, all these needed to be carefully planned.
So, the private room fell into silence.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Someone was arguing outside their private room.
"Woo... Aunt Chang, I really can't do it. I can't go on. Please find me another patron. He... he... he's a pervert!"
The lords heard the sound and looked over. Outside the door, there were two figures, one tall and one short, a man and a woman, standing there arguing.
The woman called Aunt Chang angrily waved her handkerchief. "So what if he's a pervert? As long as he has money, that's enough. Besides, weren't you doing the same thing in the Eldest Princess's mansion before? Now, you just have to replace the Eldest Princess with a man, and you can't do it?"
"If you can't do it, that's fine. Pay me ten times the compensation!"
As soon as Lord Zhu heard the words "Eldest Princess", he immediately opened the door and went out.
The other lords put down their wine cups and chopsticks and all turned to look.
"What's going on?" Lord Zhu looked at Aunt Chang and took out a silver ingot and handed it to her.
Aunt Chang took the silver ingot and bit it. After finding it was real, she immediately beamed with joy. "It's nothing serious. A guest picked the green card of my Qing'er. Who would have thought that the guest had some special fetishes, which scared him. I'm just scolding him."
"But this is a restaurant. This..."
"Oh, sir, you're really funny. So what if it's a restaurant? Can't people do that kind of thing in a restaurant? Then what's the use of the private rooms?"
Lord Zhu was rendered speechless. After thinking about it carefully, he realized she was right.
However, this young male prostitute gave him an idea.
Since they couldn't kill Chu Junyi, annoying him would be good too.
It was said that this Prince Consort Chu was extremely fond of Princess Yuanyang. If Princess Yuanyang had another handsome man in her arms, he would have no time to deal with government affairs.
If, after a while, Princess Yuanyang dumped him, and he lost the princess's favor and the emperor's protection, wouldn't that be a great opportunity for them to attack him together?
Thinking of this, Lord Zhu spent a lot of money to buy this young male prostitute.
The young male prostitute was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.
Lord Zhu said, "Don't be in a hurry to thank me. I saved you because I need you to do something for me."
...
At this time, Li Xinyue and the others had already entered the capital. The mighty procession and the prison wagons passing through the street startled the people. So, the originally bustling and lively street instantly fell silent. Everyone subconsciously stepped back, afraid of getting involved.