Chapter 195
Seeing Huo Shanrong's obviously shocked expression, everyone was curious about who the visitor was and why he appeared in this county mansion.
Uncle Mo walked aside, glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked at Huo Shanrong and sneered, "Sure enough, cruel people are worse than beasts."
After saying this, he retracted his gaze and bowed to the seated Sect Master Zhou, saying, "Second Commander of Muyun Village, former deputy commander under the command of Wuling Fu Taishou, now under the command of the County Lord, Mo Geng, I pay my respects to the County Lord."
When the identity was revealed, everyone was shocked.
Sect Leader Zhou: "Stand up."
Uncle Mo stood up, exchanged glances with Fu Wei, and then looked at Huo Shanrong who was still in shock.
"Twenty-three years ago, you colluded with treacherous officials and framed Governor Fu for collaborating with the enemy. You even attacked us while we were on the march, sending men to ambush us. Fortunately, the County Lord came to our rescue and we were able to escape."
Upon hearing this, Huo Shanrong looked towards Sect Leader Zhou.
Sect Leader Zhou said calmly, "How dare I form an alliance with someone so vicious?"
After saying this, he turned his head and calmly looked at his wife, whose face was slightly pale. He said, "I haven't told you these things, but you, on the other hand, teamed up with the Gu family and took the initiative to form an alliance with Wuling. What benefits did Wuling give you, what promises did he make to you that you would take the risk of executing him first and asking for his permission later?"
The Duke's wife's face was tense, she suppressed her panic and spoke stiffly, "I only formed an alliance with Wuling for the sake of Yuzhang. I never knew Huo Shanrong was such a villain. If I had known, I would never have formed an alliance with him."
Sect Leader Zhou suddenly nodded and said "Oh", obviously not believing it.
Huo Shanrong miscalculated. He glanced at Mo Geng, then at Sect Leader Zhou, and finally showed a bit of confusion.
"The suzerain actually believed the words of a subordinate who had once been a traitor to the enemy, and did not trust the allies who were willing to support the suzerain with all their strength?"
Sect Leader Zhou tapped the table with his fingers, looking into his eyes calmly without saying a word, yet he was able to put immense pressure on him.
His eyes seemed to see through Huo Shanrong.
After a long while, he said, "I am still the master of Yuzhang, but I did not personally sign the alliance with Wuling, so it cannot be considered an alliance, and the alliance is now invalid. Wuling is a guest today, and I will not use force. After this Yuzhang, Wuling and Yuzhang will have no more connection."
"Someone, show the guests out."
After saying that, he looked directly at Huo Shanrong and said, "When you leave, take the body with you. Don't dirty the Duke's Mansion."
Huo Shanrong clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and turned away suddenly.
Fu Wei looked at Huo Shanrong's back for a moment before looking away.
Soon someone came up and washed the blood off the ground.
During this time, no one dared to breathe.
The actions of the Lady of the County Duchess, the Crown Prince, and the Lady of the County Duchess's maternal family were undoubtedly exceeding their authority, and no one dared to speak out first and bring bad luck upon themselves.
After a moment, Sect Master Zhou walked down the stone steps, came to the box containing the Hanxue Gun, reached out and picked up the Hanxue Gun.
Sect Master Zhou was nearly sixty years old, but he lifted the dozens-pound Red Tassel Spear with ease. After shaking it a few times, he sighed, "It's indeed a good spear."
Then he threw it to Fu Wei: "Come on."
Fu Wei had no time to think about it and hurriedly took it. After receiving it in his hands, he said, "This Hanxue Spear, this humble official will not accept it."
Sect Master Zhou clapped his hands and said, "Keep it. It was originally prepared for you by your father...your biological father. The one he prepared for your eldest brother was a black iron spear, and yours is a cold iron spear."
Fu Wei was stunned and looked at Fu Zhen with surprise on their faces.
Uncle Mo said, "The Duke of the County had his eye on this spear a long time ago, but it was ultimately obtained by Lord Fu. He had originally intended to give it to his newborn son as a coming-of-age ceremony, but he never had the chance to personally hand it to him. But it was fate that ultimately it became his weapon."
As he spoke, he looked at Fu Zhen and said, "The eldest son's is the Black Cloud Spear. It was previously lost during a house raid and its whereabouts are unknown. Later, I found it on the black market and bought it. Before, I couldn't reveal my identity, so I didn't return it. Now there's no need to hide it anymore. I brought it with me when I came to Yuzhang, and I'll give it to Madam when I visit her later."
After a brief reunion, we returned to the main topic.
Sect Master Zhou returned to his seat and said calmly, "Besides the celebration banquet today, there's another matter. The Crown Prince made a grave mistake by executing Wuling first and then reporting to the emperor, nearly disrupting the alliance with Pengcheng. I'm stripping him of his title of Crown Prince today. When he truly recognizes his mistakes and has made meritorious contributions, we can discuss his eligibility to inherit the title."
Prince Zhou seemed to have expected this day to come, but he was not surprised at all. He just kept a straight face and continued drinking.
It was the wife of the Duke who reacted the most. She suddenly stood up and raised her voice unconsciously: "No! Duke, you can't do this!"
Sect Master Zhou looked at her indifferently: "I can."
The Duke's wife hurriedly explained, "This isn't Sanlang's fault. I was the one who made all the decisions. I was the one who forced Sanlang into an alliance with Wuling."
Sect Master Zhou said coldly, "If he can't control his mother and maternal family, then he's not fit to be the Crown Prince."
Prince Zhou paused as he lifted the wine glass, then drank the entire glass in one gulp.
Yes, he couldn't even control his own mother and uncle. He was dragged into the quagmire again and again, unable to climb out of it. It would be better for him not to be the prince.
Sect Leader Zhou glanced at the Gu family. The eldest brother-in-law of the Gu family felt guilty and had to lower his head.
He withdrew his gaze from his brother-in-law and looked at his wife: "I am not completely ignorant of what you have done. Not to mention the distant ones, I also know all about the people you have placed around Erlang."
In Lingnan, Captain Ji, who had targeted Fu Wei many times, took the initiative to confess after the Lingnan army returned.
The Duchess's wife staggered and collapsed to a seat.
Sect Leader Zhou turned to the crowd and said, "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself today. I guess you're not in the mood to drink anymore, so please disperse."
After saying that, he left, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.
Uncle Mo and Fu Wei said, "We'll visit again tomorrow."
Having said that, he also left with Sect Master Zhou.
Fu Wei turned around and faced General Li of Pengcheng, bowing and saying, "I apologize for the poor hospitality we received from Yuzhang today."
General Li waved his hand and said, "I watched a play. It was more interesting than the dancing girls. It can't be considered as poor hospitality."
Seeing that Yuzhang and Wuling had a falling out today, it can be regarded as a sign of sincerity to Pengcheng.
It was quiet for a long time, and no one dared to approach the Lady of the County Duke and the Crown Prince, not even the people from the Gu family. In the end, in order to protect themselves, they had to disperse.
Yu Ying and Fu Wei got on the carriage. There were two carriages when they came, but Luo, her sister-in-law, and the children left first, so Fu Zhen also rode in the same carriage.
Inside the carriage, Fu Zhen exhaled a foul breath and spoke, "I used to hate Huo Minzhi, and I hated his cruelty. But today, I only feel pity for him."
"He thought he could live a life of wealth and glory by returning to his biological father, but he didn't expect to be exploited all the time. His biological father would not hesitate to push him out as a scapegoat for personal gain, and he would even kill him for personal gain without hesitation."
"Today I have truly witnessed Huo Shanrong's terrifying face."
Fu Wei no longer had any feelings for Huo Shanrong when he wanted to kill him.
He had no feelings for Huo Minzhi, so he didn't feel anything, but he knew that his mother had treated him as her son for twenty years.
Even though Huo Minzhi had done many evil things and his mother hated him, how could she not feel sad at all when she saw him die with her own eyes today?
Fu Wei said to Yu Ying, "When you go back, have a good talk with your mother."
Yu Ying nodded.
After a long silence, Fu Zhen asked Fu Wei, "Yuzhang and Wuling have broken off relations. Can you guess who Wuling will turn to next?"
Fu Wei lifted a corner of the curtain, looked outside, and spoke slowly: "He never intended to form an alliance with Yuzhang. The alliance was just an excuse. He wanted to be the oriole behind the mantis. When Yuzhang really took over the world, the first thing he would do was to replace it."
Fu Wei lowered the curtain and turned back to look at his brother: "Today, Yu Zhang broke with Wu Ling in public. He betrayed his previous master twice. Anyone who dares to form an alliance with him will only use Wu Ling as a vanguard. Huo Shanrong will understand this, so he will not take the initiative to seek an alliance with others. Instead, he will wait for others to form an alliance with him. Only then will he be the one sitting in the main seat."
"But who would dare to form an alliance with such a ruthless person like him?"
Yu Ying said, "People with similar ideals."
Fu Wei smiled at her and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, it's the old Liang Dynasty. The old Liang Emperor was cruel and merciless, and there were more treacherous ministers than just the one currently in power."
"No matter who they are, both of them are just digging their own graves."
*
After returning home, Yu Ying took a prescription of calming medicine from the family pharmacy and brewed a pot of calming tea, and asked her sister-in-law, Fu Ning and Fu An to drink a bowl.
Fu An refused.
Fu An had no feelings for his former uncle, so he was not frightened.
After all, he is a grown-up boy, so he can just not drink.
Yu Ying took the calming tea and went to Luo's room, and came out a moment later.
Back in the house, Fu Wei asked, "How is my mother?"
Yu Ying: "I drank some calming tea and rested. I think my mother is just upset because she saw Huo Minzhi die before her eyes. She will be fine after a while."
Fu Wei nodded: "That's good."
Yu Ying sighed, then said, "Fortunately, Yuzhang and Wuling have dissolved their alliance. This makes the alliance with Pengcheng even more certain."
Fu Wei: "Looking at General Li's expression today, he is indeed satisfied."
Having said that, Yu Ying asked, "At the banquet today, I heard that the Duke of the County was interested in forming a marriage alliance with the Prince of Pengcheng. Is that true?"
Fu Wei poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her, saying, "That's exactly what I meant."
"Marriages between aristocratic families are common, and I can't persuade them."
Yu Ying took it, was silent for a moment, and said, "If we want a marriage, it will be Miss Zhou Liu."
Fu Wei picked up his own glass of water and said, "Miss Zhou Liu is a concubine's daughter. She won't marry the eldest son of an aristocratic family, only the second-in-command. And the second-in-command of an aristocratic family is more likely to indulge in feasting, drinking, and having many wives and concubines, and only show a little respect to his wife."
"And as the hegemon of King Pengcheng's faction, his legal wife has earned more than just respect from everyone. From my brief encounter with him, I can sense that King Pengcheng respects and loves his family, and is certainly not one for beauty."
Fu Wei raised his eyes and said to her, "The former didn't have a good life in the backyard, and was often the one who suffered the most. And the latter..." After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you can look at it with an open mind, you will have a very good life. If you can't, you will probably have a similar life."
Yu Ying: "What do you mean by can't let go?"
Fu Wei pursed his lips and said, "Prince Pengcheng is not a handsome man, and he carries a lot of pressure on his body. For a woman, he is definitely not the ideal husband she would expect."
Yu Ying was silent for a moment, feeling conflicted. "I wanted to remind Sixth Miss and her aunt, but after hearing what you said, I don't know whether I should remind them or not."
Fu Wei: "Even if it is mentioned, some things are difficult to change. In large families, the marriages of concubines' sons and daughters are usually decided by the mother-in-law. If not, it is decided by the Zhou clan leader. Miss Zhou Liu has her biological mother and younger sister in the Zhou family, so she will not make any rash decisions."
Yu Ying felt a suffocating feeling in her heart. After a long while, she said, "If Miss Zhou Liu finds me one day, I think I won't just sit there and watch."
Fu Wei raised his hand and touched her cheek: "Then we will see what choice she makes. If she is really determined not to agree, we will do our best to help her. If she is still undecided, no one can help her."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
