Chapter 79 She wasn't afraid he wouldn't bite the hook...

"You don't need to hate me. Otherwise, would you have survived until now?" Jiang Chaosheng's voice was tinged with amusement, hinting at a hint of smugness.

Hengbo, however, felt that this person had gone mad, ignoring the suffering of others under the guise of doing what was best for them, and even complaining that you were not grateful to him.

"As for Ji Heng, he is my son after all. If he wants to be emperor, I will grant his wish."

He seemed to be negotiating, but his words still carried a threatening tone: "Don't cause any more trouble. Although I promised your mother to spare your life, it's enough that I've allowed you to live a wretched life for fifteen years."

Hengbo sneered, then her smile widened, mocking both his hypocrisy and his naivety.

Jiang Chaosheng frowned, but before he could say anything, he sensed a figure rapidly approaching and involuntarily took two steps back.

“Master,” Qingxuzi looked at the person before him, who had not changed much from twenty years ago, and said in a sorrowful tone, “It really is you.”

A few days ago, Hengbo noticed that the person in the palace was acting very strangely towards her. After thinking about it, she felt that it must be related to her mother's death, so she wrote a letter and asked about the old events.

Upon receiving the letter, Jiang Qinglan felt a pang of unease. He immediately made arrangements for matters on the mountain and brought his wife to Yujing.

Jiang Chaosheng was momentarily dazed. "Qinglan, you've gotten old."

Jiang Qinglan smiled wryly upon hearing this: "Master, you always said that my talent is not as good as my junior sister's, and that by the time my junior sister enters the heavens and can preserve her youth, I might have already become a decrepit old man."

"In retrospect, it has come true."

Jiang Chaosheng fell silent upon hearing this.

"But I can't figure it out, I can't understand why?!" Jiang Qinglan's eyes reddened. He used to look like a wise and dignified immortal, but now he looked as sad as a drowned dog on the street.

"Back then, you passed on Jufeng to me and Hengbo to my junior sister, and instructed us to carry on the Jingchun lineage. But you were the first to betray Jingchun! You killed my junior sister with your own hands, and now you want to humiliate the only bloodline she left behind!"

Jiang Chaosheng's expression softened for a moment, but he immediately regained his coldness. "Things have come to this, why say more? If you don't want your junior sister's only child to die at my hands, then take her back to Biyun."

Jiang Qinglan's heart sank to the bottom, and he finally realized that the person in front of him was no longer his and his junior sister's master, nor the Jiang Chaosheng of the past.

He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "It was my incompetence that prevented me from protecting Yu'er. Since that's the case, I, as her senior brother, will avenge my junior sister!"

The Jingchun lineage has a rule against interfering in court affairs, and he has always believed that his junior sister died from power struggles within the court, which is why he has not avenged her all these years.

Having said that, he drew his sword, his eyes both cold and piercing.

Jiang Chaosheng sneered, "I taught you your swordsmanship. You think you can kill me?"

Jiang Qinglan shook her head, "I know I can't kill you, but I can hold out until Ji Heng dies."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaosheng roared, "You're courting death!" But he didn't linger any longer and hurriedly rushed towards the palace.

As soon as he left, Jiang Qinglan's aura visibly weakened, as if she had aged several years in an instant.

Hengbo knew he was sad, but she couldn't offer any comfort, so she could only pat him on the back.

Jiang Qinglan brushed her hand away, turned around and glared at her, "Still so disrespectful!" She's back to her old self, Qingxuzi.

The master and apprentice walked toward the princess's residence, chatting idly.

“He values ​​his son quite a bit.” Actually, Jiang Qinglan was just bluffing him to test Jiang Chaosheng’s attitude towards Ji Heng.

Hengbo nodded and then shook his head.

“I also find it strange. He has always been cold and indifferent. How could he suddenly have a son with someone else?”

Hengbo also found it unbelievable. With Jiang Chaosheng's abilities, how could he possibly allow his lover to be forced into the palace?

Moreover, judging from the situation in the palace today, she didn't think Jiang Chaosheng loved Ji Heng that much. But tonight, he clearly valued Ji Heng's life very much.

This contradiction truly baffled her.

"You're saying Jiang Chaosheng simply wanted Ji Heng to live? Why? Does he want to inherit his son's throne?" Jiang Qinglan now called Jiang Chaosheng by his name, and even considered that if she could return to Biyun Mountain, she would remove her master's name from the list on behalf of her grandmaster.

"I never realized he liked being an emperor so much!"

The two were completely bewildered, and the master and disciple kept long faces the whole way until they saw the person standing in front of the princess's mansion.

Jiang Qinglan coughed lightly, "Your master's wife is still worried about me, I'll go back to my room first."

Hengbo stopped in front of Wen Jie, gesturing for him to enter the mansion first before speaking.

Looking at the figure ahead, Wen Tinglan was at a loss for words. Although Shenxiao had been back in the capital for some time and they had maintained contact, this was indeed the first time the two had met in so long.

Firstly, he had secretly reached some agreement with Princess Mingzhen, requiring him to sever ties with Shenxiao in front of Ji Heng. Secondly, he had already resigned from his official post after the imperial decree ordering him to marry the princess was issued.

Secondly, even though Shenxiao knew that the matter of marrying the princess was an exchange of interests, he was still somewhat afraid of her reaction. He didn't want Shenxiao to be troubled by it, but he also didn't want her to be completely indifferent.

Unable to face her, he could only struggle with his own inner conflict.

However, when he heard about what happened in the palace today, all his worries and anxieties seemed insignificant at this moment. He no longer clung to his own petty thoughts, nor was he bound by Ji Heng's suspicions. He only wanted to rush over as soon as possible to confirm whether she was alright.

The two sat facing each other at a low table.

"Ayu." Wen Jie frowned, looking just like when the naughty little princess was about to do something bad as a child, and the handsome young man stood by with a mature expression, silently expressing his disapproval.

But Hengbo wasn't afraid at all, since he was always one of the accomplices when the adults criticized him in the end.

Seeing her arrogant and fearless attitude, Wen Jie's desperate attempts to advise her ultimately turned into a long sigh, "Fine, now that we've completely broken ties with Ji Heng, I can protect you by your side."

But Hengbo refused.

She shook her head and told him: Tell Ji Zhu to proceed as planned.

Wen Jie suddenly stood up, his face grim: "Ayu, you know perfectly well that Ji Heng won't miss this opportunity to kill you!"

Hengbo calmly poured him a cup of tea and then pressed him back into his seat.

She explained to him: It's alright, he won't let go of this opportunity to re-establish his imperial authority, so he will definitely carry out my execution in a grand manner to intimidate the court officials.

Ji Heng desperately needs the emperor's authority right now, and she's not afraid he won't take the bait.

As long as she isn't executed in private, given her careful planning over the past few days, and with Wen Jie and the others around, she will be fine.

“But you should understand that you didn’t need to take this risk.” Wen Jie still couldn’t agree. Just imagining the torment she might suffer made his heart clench, and he couldn’t suppress his murderous intent towards Ji Heng.

Hengbo lowered her eyes precisely because she understood, and that's why she acted this way.

Of all the ministers in the hall today, nearly half are inclined to defect in order to save their own lives, but not all of those who would rather die than submit want to kill Ji Heng.

Many of them were loyal and upright officials who were willing to die for the emperor when he made mistakes, but that did not mean they wanted to overthrow him and replace him with someone else.

In fact, they are the ones least willing to bear the stigma of rebellion, and the least likely to be controlled by her.

Therefore, she rightfully deserves the title!

He was the ruler, she was the subject; if the ruler commanded the subject to die, the subject had no choice but to die. But what if the ruler wanted to betray the country?

Hengbo chased people away, leaving them to stare blankly at the starry night sky.

“Princess,” Zhu Xi said, draping a robe over her shoulders and pouting, “you have been too kind in the matter of the red rouge.”

Hengbo remained silent, her thoughts drifting back to Changzhou back then. Regardless of the current situation, Yanran was indeed the first person she encountered after descending the mountain who generously extended kindness to her.

She wanted to see what Yanran really wanted, and was willing to give her this opportunity.

...

"Your Excellency," a group of officials, led by the Minister of Rites, sat around a room, and someone asked, "what should we do now?"

The situation is now quite clear: on one side is Ji Heng, who rose to power through the influence of a fox spirit, and on the other side is Princess Shenxiao, who holds the power of the Three Departments.

The Minister of Rites glanced at them, then exchanged a look with the other officials, and finally decided, "We're all old and frail, so let's just pretend what happened today didn't happen, as that person said."

Someone raised an objection first: "But we have already offended the Emperor today. If Princess Shenxiao comes to recruit us, and we refuse, wouldn't we be left with no good outcome?"

At this moment, the Prefect of the Capital spoke up: "I observe that this Princess Shenxiao is a woman of great ambition and will not rashly approach us."

The Minister of Rites nodded. "Princess Shenxiao's advantage lies in her legitimacy. If she understands this, she won't do something that would destroy her own position."

"Then what about us?"

“Wait,” the Minister of Rites and the Prefect of the Capital exchanged a glance, “wait and await the new emperor.”

A few days passed uneventfully, and everything seemed to return to its usual tranquility.

"Your Majesty, Princess Mingzhen requests an audience."

"Zhu'er is back? Summon her in."

"Yes, Princess Xuanmingzhen offered her advice."

“Father,” Ji Zhu bowed, “Mingzhen has returned.”

Ji Heng flipped through the memorial in his hand without looking up. "Did you gain anything from this trip to Zhuzhou?"

Ji Zhu didn't mind being made to kneel like that, and smiled lightly with his head down: "I can't say I gained anything, but I did meet a benefactor."

Ji Heng became slightly interested. "Oh? To be regarded so highly by Zhu'er, you must have some skills."

Ji Zhu raised his head and looked directly into his eyes: "I wonder if the ability to destroy Shenxiao without losing a single soldier is enough to please Father Emperor?"

Ji Heng silently scrutinized her for a long time, his gaze scrutinizing her: "What do you want?" He knew his daughter all too well; she was ambitious and decisive, but she was the type to not act until she saw a tangible benefit.

Ji Zhu didn't beat around the bush with him: "If Mingzhen says he doesn't ask for anything, Father won't believe him. Last time, Father granted Mingzhen the right to sit at the same table as his elder brother."

“Then this time, Mingzhen dares to humbly request,” her eyes filled with determination, “the position of Crown Princess.”

Ji Heng stared at her, his gaze like a viper flicking its tongue, "You certainly have a lot of guts."

Ji Zhu remained unfazed by his mockery and slowly retorted, "If I didn't have the guts, how could I be worthy of being your daughter?"

These words were so uttered that the entire hall fell silent, and the palace servants serving nearby instantly broke out in a cold sweat, ready to face Ji Heng's wrath at any moment.

But to everyone's surprise, Ji Heng, who was being subtly implied, did not get angry. He simply said, "Zhu'er's information network is quite impressive."

"You blind fool, why aren't you offering a seat to my Crown Princess?"

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Author's Note: Mini-Theater:

Little Ayu: Wenjie, give me some of your New Year's money!

Xiao Wenjie looked wary: Ayu, what do you need the money for?

Little Ayu couldn't wait: Hurry up! The old man selling candied hawthorns will be leaving soon.

Xiao Wenjie clutched his purse tightly: The Crown Princess said you can't eat any more candy, or your teeth will rot!

Little Ayu threw a tantrum on the ground: "I want to eat! I want to eat!"

...

"*&…………%@#￥@@&&&!"

Ayu, who had been caught stealing candy, was getting a big bump on her forehead and being scolded by the Crown Princess while licking her lips and savoring the taste: Ah, so sweet.

Little Wenjie looked aggrieved: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's all my fault for not managing my purse properly. Please don't hit A-Yu, punish me instead!"