"Brother, you know that the imperial palace is the center of power, don't you?" Yuan Yuhan looked at Yuan Yerui with a bewitching look in his eyes. His deep eyes made it hard to tell what was on his mind.
"What do you want to say, Brother Emperor?" Yuan Yerui squinted his eyes. He wasn't intimidated by the aura emanating from Yuan Yuhan.
"What this king wants to say is..."
Yuan Yuhan whispered a few words into Yuan Yerui's ear. Yuan Yerui's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Yuan Yuhan. "Why?" He never expected Yuan Yuhan to have such thoughts.
Just now, Yuan Yuhan had quietly said into Yuan Yerui's ear: Do you want to ascend the throne? He could help.
"Why so many questions? Just tell me if you agree or not!" Yuan Yuhan looked at Yuan Yerui impatiently. What a troublesome kid with so many questions!
Judging from the way Yuan Yuchuan handled things, trouble was bound to come sooner or later. When dealing with the ministers, he lacked the majesty he had as the crown prince. All day long, he was either trying to win someone over or beheading someone. Sooner or later, he would be deposed. It would be better to cultivate a successor right now.
Yuan Yerui stared at Yuan Yuhan for a long time. Finally, he agreed. "I agree, but I want to know your purpose for doing this."
"What purpose could this king have? All I want is a wife, children, and a warm home. I don't want to get involved in anything else." Yuan Yuhan stretched his waist and waved at Mu Fengqie in the distance.
"Have you finished talking?" Mu Fengqie walked over after seeing Yuan Yuhan's gesture.
"Yeah, we're done. This kid is not bad. Fengqie, you should teach him well." He could just pick up the spoils at the end.
After sending Mu Fengqie back to the palace, Yuan Yuhan left. He was going back to accompany his wife.
On this side, Yuan Yuchuan and the Grand Empress Dowager had a quarrel and reached a result. The Grand Empress Dowager openly defied the imperial edict and was confined to the Cixi Palace for three months.
It was said that when the Grand Empress Dowager left that day, the emperor's study was in a complete mess. There was hardly a place to stand. The maids spent a long time cleaning it up before it returned to normal.
"Little Li, do you think I'm too merciful?" More and more people didn't take him seriously. Especially this Grand Empress Dowager. This incident was clearly an open confrontation with him.
"Your Majesty, this servant thinks that appropriate cruelty can intimidate people." A glint of harshness flashed in Little Li's eyes. When his master was still serving the late emperor, he had told him this and had also assisted the emperor in this way.
It had to be said that Little Li's words really hit the nail on the head with Yuan Yuchuan. He was just looking for an excuse to deal with these insolent people. Now that someone shared the same view as him, it meant that his idea was right.
"Little Li, pass on my imperial edict. Lord Chen, the vice - minister of the Ministry of Works, is guilty of embezzlement and bribery. The evidence is conclusive. Considering his years of service in the court, his family property will be confiscated, and he will be exiled. He is never allowed to enter the capital again."
Yuan Yuchuan took out the evidence he had collected long ago and sent people to confiscate Lord Chen's property. Lord Chen was caught off guard and was completely dazed.
He didn't come to his senses until he was in the prison. He shouted that he was innocent. What he had done was clearly ordered by the emperor. Why was he the one being accused of embezzlement and bribery in the end?
On the day Lord Chen was exiled, the common people in the capital came to watch. Everyone was holding a vegetable basket. When they saw Lord Chen and his entourage come out, they threw vegetable leaves at them desperately.
"Damn corrupt official, go to hell!"
"What kind of parent - official!"
"Spit!"
One curse after another came over. Lord Chen stared blankly in the direction of the imperial palace. The light in his eyes gradually faded away, leaving only a pool of stagnant water.
"Yuan Yuchuan, I curse you to die a bad death. One day, you will be deposed. Hahaha..." Lord Chen laughed maniacally, as if he had gone crazy.
"All those who follow the emperor will die a bad death and will be punished!" After saying that, Lord Chen rushed towards a pillar and hit it hard. Immediately, his head was bleeding.
The on - looking common people scattered like frightened birds. The guarding soldiers immediately went into the palace to report to the emperor when they saw this situation. After hearing this, Yuan Yuchuan paused for a moment with the pen in his hand, then waved the messenger away expressionlessly.
He didn't expect Lord Chen to be so stubborn. He had originally planned to arrange a good life for Lord Chen and his family secretly after they left the capital. Now it seemed that it was unnecessary.
After hearing this, the royalist party was in an uproar. Everyone knew that Lord Chen was the most loyal to the emperor. They simply didn't believe that he was accused of embezzlement and bribery. But they couldn't refute the evidence presented by the emperor. For a moment, everyone was in a state of confusion.
On this side, Jing Xunce had led an army of ten thousand and fought a battle with the people on Wupian Mountain. No wonder Wupian Mountain was so difficult to conquer. These were not ordinary bandits.
What bandits would be so well - trained that they could rival the soldiers in the army? Moreover, with Wupian Mountain being easy to defend but hard to attack, and with General Zhang causing trouble, it was really a tough problem.
"Mu Nan, how's the situation now?" Jing Xunce rubbed his temples with a headache.
"Master, our military rations are almost used up. We need to report to the court. The current rations can only last for half a month." And this was only under the condition of strict frugality.
"Okay, I see. You tell the military doctors to take good care of the wounded soldiers. Try to use the best treatment for them so that they can recover quickly." Although the casualty situation on Jing Xunce's side wasn't serious, the wounded soldiers were all severely injured and had to stay in bed.
"Yes, this subordinate understands. Master, what should we do about General Zhang?" Mu Nan was full of anger when he mentioned this. General Zhang was good at nothing but giving blind orders. When things went wrong, he would shift the blame onto their master. It was really too much!
"You go and keep an eye on him personally. If he shows any signs of trouble, don't be polite to him. Just take action!" Jing Xunce was also very tired. General Zhang was a rascal.
"Yes, this subordinate will go right away." Mu Nan left after receiving the order.
Jing Xunce sat alone in the tent. The figure of Mu Fengqie appeared in his mind. When he left, Qier was already pregnant. He didn't know how she was now and if the baby in her belly was causing trouble.
If Jing Xunce knew that Mu Fengqie had been taken into the imperial palace by Yuan Yuchuan after he left, he would definitely be so angry that he would want to kill someone.