"It's easy for Lord Chu to say. The officialdom is like a quagmire. Once you get stuck in it, it's hard to extricate yourself.
When I was young, I was also as ambitious and high - spirited as you.
But later I found that if I didn't go along with them, I would be squeezed out. I simply had no control over myself.
If I were also a son - in - law of the royal family, relying on the royal clan, I could be as tough as you."
"Ridiculous!" Chu Junyi tightened his fists. The wind on the lake blew against his body, making his clothes flutter slightly and outlining his stalwart figure. He turned around and faced Lord Wang directly, refuting him righteously. "You couldn't resist the temptation and went astray. Whom can you blame? With your character, even if you were given the throne, you might not be able to be fair to the world!
Even the emperor has to consider the opinions of the powerful aristocratic families and high - ranking officials!
But has the emperor ever bowed to them?"
Lord Wang was stunned. After a long while, he lowered his head and said regretfully, "If someone had given me a piece of advice back then, maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this today."
"Lord Chu, you're a good official. I hope you can carve out a new world for the Great Yan Dynasty and its people."
He raised his hands, waiting for the handcuffs of the law to be put on him.
Chu Junyi sighed with mixed feelings and then turned to order the boatman to dock and get off the boat.
Lord Wang's son and wife were in tears. They still didn't know exactly what crime Lord Wang had committed.
In the end, all the important court officials related to the Eldest Princess, including Lord Zhu and Lord Wang, were brought to justice.
However, since the number of people involved was too large, beheading all of them would not only leave many vacancies in the court but also be a cruel massacre. Moreover, it was easy to force some officials to rebel.
When Chu Junyi talked to the crown prince about this matter, he suggested abolishing the punishment of exterminating the nine clans and only holding the individuals accountable.
The crown prince agreed and immediately proposed it in the court.
Surprisingly, the proposal was unanimously passed.
From then on, there was no longer the punishment of exterminating the nine clans in the Great Yan Dynasty, and this matter came to an end.
The autumn wind was blowing gently, and the sound of the zither was melodious. The crown prince held a banquet in the Eastern Palace.
The servants scurried through the corridors and alleys like a flowing stream, carrying all kinds of snacks, tea, and fruits.
There were cheerful laughter and pleasant conversations in the mansion. The comfortable life made everyone squint their eyes in contentment. But suddenly, they opened their eyes wide and looked in the same direction in horror.
Li Xinyue and Chu Junyi walked slowly under the looks of people who were eager to avoid them.
"Dear sister, brother - in - law."
"Dear brother." Li Xinyue lowered her eyelids and curtsied to the crown prince properly.
So did Chu Junyi.
The crown prince walked over with a heavy heart. Since there were still some matters to be resolved, he pulled Chu Junyi aside and then asked Li Xinyue for permission. "Dear sister, you won't mind if I borrow the son - in - law for a while, will you?"
Li Xinyue, "… I don't mind."
The others looked over curiously, all speculating what the crown prince wanted to talk to the son - in - law about. But they didn't dare to make random remarks and could only hold their curiosity secretly in their hearts.
Here, the crown prince hurriedly led Chu Junyi to a pavilion to talk.
"Regarding the drought in the north. I have an unpublished list in my hand, which involves nearly eighty officials, big and small. The leading official on the list has a close relationship with the Yin family.
The Yin family pushed that official out early to protect themselves.
But they swallowed up the harvest of tens of millions of common people.
I want them to spit it all out!" At this point, the crown prince turned around and seriously patted Chu Junyi on the shoulder.
The implication was that he wanted Chu Junyi to handle this matter.
Chu Junyi looked at the hand on his shoulder. His eyes flickered. After a long while, he took on this important task.
"Moreover, regarding the vacant official positions, I was thinking..."
...
Li Xinyue looked over, and those curious looks quickly withdrew. Then she walked around boredly.
Unexpectedly, she overheard a quarrel by the inner lake.
"I've thought it over. Since we're not suitable for each other, we'd better get divorced as soon as possible. You go back to the palace, and I go back to the Marquis's Mansion. We'll part ways and each find our own happiness."
"You're dreaming! Then I'll be at a great loss! If we get divorced, you can marry again after the divorce. But what about me? Who will I marry!"
"You crazy woman! If we don't get divorced, you think I'm useless. If we do get divorced, you think it's a loss. So what do you want? Do you want to fly to the sky!"
Li Xinyue's eyebrows twitched. This voice... was familiar.
Sure enough, when she took a peek, it was really the Young Marquis Xia and Li Xinrong.
Li Xinrong stamped her feet angrily. "What else can I want? I just wish all of this had never happened. Can you do that? If you can make everything go back to the beginning, I'll divorce you and set you free. Can you? Can you!"
"I can beat you up!" The young marquis clenched his fists in anger.
Li Xinrong was so frightened that she stepped back again and again. But in this retreat, she directly stepped back to the lakeside. One more step and she would fall into the lake.
The young marquis quickly tightened his fists and stepped forward to pull her.
But he pulled too hard, causing her to stumble forward and fall into his arms. He himself also took several steps back before barely standing still.
The young marquis's heart was pounding wildly, and so was Li Xinrong's. A sense of relief after surviving a disaster spread in their hearts.
Then, Li Xinrong was stunned. She couldn't even remember where they had stopped arguing. Instead, she stared blankly at the "good - for - nothing" in front of her.
It seemed that he wasn't that unpleasant to look at, nor was he as ugly as she thought. He was just a bit inferior to Murong Xiu.
The young marquis Xia blushed under her stare. Although he hated this annoying girl, he still felt embarrassed being stared at like this for the first time.
Li Xinyue's expression changed from shock to understanding. Then she raised the corner of her mouth, wanting to laugh but holding it back.
She never thought that Xia Chengjie could be so manly. This was a far cry from the time when she went to the gambling house to rescue him!
As Li Xinyue was smiling, her gaze fell on the landscape tree where she was hiding. After staring for a while, she threw a leaf at the two of them.
Didn't this Xia Chengjie know martial arts?
He did, right?
She thought hard. She didn't want to ruin the moment instead of helping with the hero - saving - beauty scene. That would be a great sin for her.
Fortunately, Xia Chengjie caught the leaf with only 30% of her strength.
Li Xinrong, who was leaning in his arms, was stunned. Her eyes sparkled uncontrollably.
The more Xia Chengjie was stared at by her, the more embarrassed he felt. His heart started to pound uncontrollably, and he also forgot where they had stopped arguing.
However, if this girl could always be as gentle as she was now, it might not be unacceptable.
Li Xinyue thought their bickering was just like that of children. It was really something!
Since she was idle anyway, she decided to be a good Samaritan to the end.
So she took out a silk handkerchief to cover her face, leaped forward, and struck a palm at Li Xinrong. To make sure Xia Chengjie could catch it, she slowed down her attack.
Unexpectedly, Xia Chengjie responded quickly and could even fight her for a few rounds.
Not only was Li Xinrong shocked, but Li Xinyue was also. She had thought his martial arts were just for show, but it turned out he was much better than she had imagined.
Maybe if she hadn't gone to the gambling house to rescue him back then, he wouldn't have died.
This cunning fox!
Li Xinyue couldn't help but increase the strength of her palm and aimed directly at Li Xinrong.
Li Xinrong was so frightened that she stepped back again and again and was suddenly pulled into a pair of arms.
After pulling her away, the young marquis Xia pushed her out.
"There's an assassin! Go and call for help! Leave this to me!"