Chapter 855: Bloody Locusts
Duan Zhiru's face turned pale and blue because of her blocking, and he wished he could tear Qian Qiyue's mouth apart, while Min San and the other two who were originally angry were also extremely ashamed and angry.
The other guards in the yard all silently took a half step back.
This girl from the Qian family is as fierce as a tiger, and she wields a whip to perfection. And no one knows how such a lady from a noble family learned such amazing martial arts. Many people have died in the attempts to capture her, and no one expected that she is also so good at talking.
But what she said was true. When they were ordered to exploit the Queen's "weakness", their respective masters repeatedly instructed that no matter whether it was the Qian family or the Wenxin Marquis Mansion, they could only be injured but not killed. Qian Baokun's position as the Minister of Revenue could not be moved, and Wenxin Marquis was still leading troops outside.
The Qian family was extremely prestigious in Lingnan, and their foundation was not inferior to that of the aristocratic families in Beijing. Most importantly, the emperor was far away, and if they were forced to turn to the princes or rebel, it would only cause great trouble to the capital.
Therefore, not only can the people of the Qian family not be touched now, they cannot be easily touched even after King Hui ascends the throne. Otherwise, if there are external and internal troubles and clan backlash, the world will really be in chaos.
Seeing Qian Qiyue retorted with just a few words, Duan Zhiru and the others became even more angry and looked like they wanted to kill someone.
Lady Wenxin was also afraid that if she really angered them, Qian Qiyue would suffer a loss if they ignored her. She pulled Qian Qiyue and said, "Alright, why bother arguing with them?"
Qian Qiyue snorted coldly, dragged the wife of Marquis Wenxin and the wife of Mr. Cui to the side a few steps, and then sat down in the corridor.
"That old bastard, King Hui, used to pretend to be so honest, but I never thought he would be so ambitious. If I had known earlier that Aning would kill King Ying, I should have gotten rid of him as well, and he wouldn't have caused this kind of trouble today."
The wife of Marquis Wenxin sighed softly: "Who could have predicted such a thing..."
After Xiao Yan seized power, these royal relatives, except for the initial disturbance where they were dealt with by Xiao Yan, have been very obedient and honest since then. Although it was an accident that they instigated the ministers to force the palace last time, it was also justified. Tang Ning arrested the King of Ying and his family to make an example of them, and these people then retreated wisely.
Besides, if we were to say who among the clan members is most likely to rebel, it would definitely be Prince Ji.
But who could have imagined that Prince Ji, who was most likely to rebel, was so obedient, while Prince Hui, who had been obedient for most of his life and was already old, would become ambitious and join forces with the aristocratic families to force the emperor to abdicate.
If he had revealed even a hint of his true feelings before, the Queen wouldn't have been pushed to this point.
Marquis Wenxin's wife tried to comfort Qian Qiyue. Seeing that she hadn't argued with King Hui's men despite her furious expression, she turned her head and glanced at the other side. "Madam Cui, how are you? Are your injuries serious?"
Madam Cui smiled bitterly, covering her injured forehead and whispered, "It's not a serious injury. Thank you for your concern, Madam."
Qian Qiyue frowned: "It's fine if they arrested me and Aunt Jun, but why did they arrest you too?"
Madam Cui's eyes were filled with bitterness. "When the court was in turmoil a while ago, my brother and I secretly did some things for the Empress. We originally wanted to help her stabilize the court so that the war with Southern Qi could end as soon as possible and allow His Majesty to return to the capital as soon as possible. But who could have imagined..."
She wiped the blood from her forehead with a handkerchief and couldn't help but look at Qian Qiyue and the others.
"Madam Qian, Madam Wenxin, you two have a close relationship with the Empress. Tell me, has something really happened to His Majesty?"
"I'm afraid it's true."
Marquis Wenxin's wife pursed her lips and said, "There has been no news from Southern Qi for a long time. My husband is in the northwest, and the war in the north has not made any progress. The people in the court are already uneasy. If it weren't for the danger to His Majesty, Your Majesty would never have yielded to Prince Hui and his men at this time."
Qian Qiyue's expression was also very grim. "My father said that people from aristocratic families are all old foxes. They won't take risks unless they are sure of victory or have no other choice."
"And when I entered the palace a few days ago, I heard Aning say that although the aristocratic families were very rebellious, she could still suppress them. As long as His Majesty could return from Southern Qi after the great victory at Munan Pass, the aristocratic families would naturally calm down. But now..."
She frowned, and her young and beautiful face was full of worry.
Without Zhang Yang, who had just been arguing with the confidants of Prince Hui's palace, she clenched her fists and whispered:
"Aning said that the aristocratic families are like locusts. They will not let go once they see blood. They are best at taking advantage of every opportunity. Once we retreat, we will be forced to give in step by step. If Her Majesty had not really been in trouble, even if we were captured by King Hui, she would not have issued an edict to hand over power to King Hui."
It is easy to give up power, but difficult to take it back.
What's more, they are a group of greedy people.
The wife of Marquis Wenxin naturally understood this principle, and her voice was a little low: "The people of the aristocratic families have always been cautious. Even if Prince Hui was impulsive, Liang Guangyi and the others would not rebel. Unless they really had something that could threaten the Queen, they would definitely not force the palace to rebel."
Madam Cui opened her mouth with a gloomy expression: "So His Majesty is in trouble..."
Who else could threaten the queen except Xiao Yan who was far away in Southern Qi?
The three of them fell silent. Even Qian Qiyue, who was the most strong-willed and impulsive, lowered her head and lost her sharpness.
Mrs. Cui bit her lips tightly, her face extremely pale.
Wife of Marquis Wenxin felt a little bit reluctant when she saw this. Although the young lady of the Cui family had spoken vaguely just now, she was obviously from a noble family, but she was also captured, and the people who attacked her showed no mercy. It can be seen that what she and her brother from her mother's family helped the Queen to do was probably contrary to the interests of the noble family.
It would be fine if the Queen had the upper hand, but now that His Majesty is in trouble, the Queen is being controlled by the people from the aristocratic families.
As someone who "betrayed" her family and joined the enemy, she will probably not have a good ending.
The wife of Marquis Wenxin is not ignorant. In the current situation, her husband in the Marquis Wenxin Mansion has the military power in his hands, and Qian Baokun of the Qian family holds the power of the Ministry of Revenue. The Qian clan is powerful, but Madam Cui is the only one. She is a daughter who married out, and if she fails to "instigate" her mother's family to surrender to the queen, she may be abandoned at any time. Her mother's family may not necessarily confront King Hui and others for her.
As for the Cui family, she betrayed other families and conspired with the queen without authorization. The Cui clan might also take the opportunity to seize power and abandon her to protect the Cui family.
Mrs. Cui was in a state of no return.
Seeing her nearly faint, Marquis Wenxin's wife spoke softly, "Don't worry too much. The Empress is a woman of loyalty and righteousness, and your mother's family isn't in the capital. Now that the Empress and Prince Hui each have a hostage, she won't let them harm you and will definitely find a way to protect you."
Qian Qiyue also spoke up: "Aunt Jun is right. Aning is only compromising temporarily. She still has the troops in the capital. As long as she asks to protect you, neither the Cui family nor anyone else will dare to harm you."
Madam Cui forced a smile on her face: "I naturally believe in the Queen."
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