Lin Hui actually saw through the expression on the Marquis of Nanyang's face, which he thought he had concealed very well.
However, he didn't point it out.
If the Earl of Nanyang truly intends to use this matter to sow discord between His Majesty and his Anguo Duke's Mansion, then he is only courting death.
After all, the emperor should know better than him that the one impersonating the young master of the Duke of Anguo's mansion must be His Highness the Crown Prince and several other princes.
His Majesty has always been protective of his own and biased. If the Earl of Nanyang dares to try to outsmart him, he'll probably suffer a terrible fate, if not die.
Once the top ten were determined, the emperor was the first to see the rankings.
The three characters 'Xie Shaoling' were so conspicuously displayed in his eyes that he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen them.
The rewards for the top ten had been decided long ago. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, even if the emperor didn't want to reward them, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and reward them.
As for Xu Jingjing getting tenth place, the emperor wasn't too surprised. After all, that woman had actually been on the battlefield, and her skills were far from just fancy moves.
After the rewards were distributed, the trip to the imperial palace came to an end. After lunch, the carriages began to return to the capital.
The golden rice fields we saw on our way here had all been harvested by the time we returned, leaving the fields bare and desolate in the autumn.
Autumn is almost over, and winter is coming.
In the novel, during that harsh winter, all the men of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion died on the battlefield.
The emperor cut off his own fangs, and Dayuan became a toothless tiger. Even if its fate was not yet over, it could only be slaughtered by others.
However, Xie Shaoling is currently in the capital, and the other two young generals of the Xie family have also been recalled to the capital. The emperor still regards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion as a major threat, but without the instigation of powerful families, he probably does not have the determination or opportunity to put the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to death.
But they cannot let their guard down until this winter is over.
The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and the Northern Frontier absolutely cannot be allowed to go wrong, and Ye Jingchen has no intention of cleaning up the mess left by the emperor.
Upon returning to the capital, as Ye Jingchen entered the city, he seemed to spot the carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the crowd.
Later he learned that the emperor, who was so petty, had already issued an edict before Xie Shaoling's two younger brothers returned home, ordering them to immediately take their families to Yangzhou and Yongzhou to assume their posts after returning to the capital.
As luck would have it, they set off on the very day the imperial carriage from the Western Hills Palace was returning to the capital.
Xie Shaoling, riding on horseback, had the good fortune to meet his younger brother, who was just about to leave the city. Xie Chang'an, who was riding with his father, was also meeting his two uncles for the first time in both of his lives.
Unfortunately, they could only exchange a glance from afar in the crowd, without having a chance to speak, before they had to part ways again.
"If we could meet a king who doesn't suspect us, our whole family could gather in the northern frontier, fight against the northern barbarians, and protect the Great Abyss. I don't know how happy we would be!" When no one was around, Xie Shaoling said to Xie Chang'an with a wistful expression.
If he stayed in the capital, Ye Shengping would never dare to use him. With nothing to do all day, he was worried that his gun would rust over time!
"Father doesn't think much of Ye Jingchen? Why not wait until he comes of age and force Emperor Shengping to abdicate? Father will still be strong enough to wield a gun then, so he can go to the Northern Frontier and bring back Grandfather to enjoy his old age?" Xie Chang'an said expressionlessly.
This was the first time he had ever seen his father so quiet.
"Outrageous!" Xie Shaoling immediately slapped Xie Chang'an and cursed.
But he laughed after he finished cursing.
In any case, there is still hope.
It's better than having no hope at all!
After returning to the capital, life went back to normal.
After encountering two assassins, Ye Jingchen realized the dangers of this world and completely gave up the idea of taking the princes and princesses out of the palace to observe the lives of ordinary people when they were still young.
The emperor had been investigating the origins of those two groups of assassins, and eventually the investigation led back to the Jiang family.
Following those clues, they destroyed many of the Jiang family's hidden agents, but they still couldn't find out where the Jiang family members who had fled from Jizhou County were hiding.
The powerful families were like centipedes, never truly dying. After going into hiding, they acted with even more recklessness, which only made them more disliked by the emperor.
During this period, nothing major happened in the capital. The only thing that caused a ripple was that the emperor stripped the Nanyang Earl's family of their title.
Since returning from the Western Hills Palace, the Earl of Nanyang has joined forces with several other noble families to openly and secretly sow discord between the Emperor and the Duke of Anguo's family, praising how outstanding their young master is.
The emperor had always known that the outstanding young men the Earl of Nanyang was praising were his own children. At first, he thought the Earl of Nanyang was genuinely praising him and was quite pleased.
However, after the Earl of Nanyang persisted in praising him several times and hinted that the Duke of Anguo's mansion might have rebellious intentions, he finally realized the Earl of Nanyang's "good intentions".
After that, he found a pretext to strip the Nanyang Earl's family of their title, and the other noble families who had followed suit were also given different punishments.
This incident further elevated the status of the Duke of Anguo's mansion in the eyes of the court officials and nobles, and in the emperor's eyes as well.
Because of this, the emperor specially summoned the heir and his wife of the Duke of Anguo's mansion to the palace, allowing Ye Jingchen to meet his uncle and aunt whom he had never met before.
It's often said that a nephew resembles his uncle, and that's certainly true.
Upon seeing the heir of the Duke of Anguo, Ye Jingchen felt as if he were seeing a grown-up version of himself reflected in a bronze mirror.
His uncle, who was not his biological uncle, had a gentle and refined demeanor, giving people a feeling of warmth and comfort, and making them instantly likeable.
His facial features are not aggressive, unlike Xie Shaoling's flamboyant appearance, but they do not give people a sense of weakness at all. If you really have to describe him, the word 'mature and steady' would be more appropriate.
Although the emperor bestowed the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion upon Xie Shaoling four times at the Western Hills Palace, he did not grant Xie Shaoling any official position upon returning to the capital, as if he had forgotten about him. The court officials were unsure of the emperor's intentions and dared not act rashly.
Xie Chang'an, however, gave Ye Jingchen a pleasant surprise.
He had someone steal the Wang family genealogy, made a copy, and used this genealogy to find information on all the Wang family's married-out daughters.
The Wang family genealogy is very thick, and with the various notes on it, it's even thicker.
Ye Jingchen spent several days looking at this family tree. After finishing it, his mind was a mess. Fortunately, he firmly believed that a bad pen was better than a good memory, and he managed to write down important information while reading.
The royal family's in-laws are like a net, spreading throughout the Great Abyss and closely connecting all the gentry of the Great Abyss.
To destroy this network, we must not act rashly. We must start from the smallest details, and without arousing the Wang family's suspicion, slowly find the loopholes and weaknesses in the network, and then destroy it little by little.
It just so happens that we need to find some things and people to keep the emperor busy. Only when he is busy will he not have time to think about framing loyal officials and cutting off his own arm!
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