Chapter 326 They Finally Turned Against Each Other
The King of Yue was stunned by Consort Lin, who should now be called Consort Lin the Dowager.
He covered his face and looked back at his mother in disbelief.
"Mother, why..."
Consort Lin took a letter from her bosom and threw it directly at his face.
"Look at yourself! You're a useless piece of trash who's good for nothing and good for making things worse!"
She glanced up at the men following behind her, and they quickly lowered their heads and left.
The King of Yue picked up the letter from the ground; the cover read "Letter of Divorce".
"A divorce agreement? Shu Mingyue wants a divorce from me?"
He quickly opened the letter, which accused the King of Yue of disregarding the dignity of royalty by frequenting brothels.
As a member of the royal family, Princess Yue felt deeply humiliated.
Since the King of Yue disliked women, in order to preserve the reputation of the Shu family and even all scholars in the world, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree to a divorce.
The King of Yue turned pale instantly and looked at his mother in horror.
Consort Lin revealed a mocking smile.
"You've grown quite bold, haven't you? Keeping male prostitutes on the side behind my back, huh?"
"Mother! This is all nonsense!"
Ever since his mother learned of his hobby, she had strictly forbidden him from keeping these things.
Born into royalty, he was simply not allowed to have such a preference.
It was only when the Yuan family tried to win him over that he visited Liuxianlou and, with their help, managed to support a few people.
But why was Shu Mingyue being raised in the inner quarters? How did she find out?
"You still don't know? When Luo Zicheng held court after the New Year, he asked His Majesty for an imperial decree to divorce you!"
If His Majesty hadn't been worried about affecting your uncle, he would have stripped you of your title long ago! And you still don't know!
Consort Lin's chest heaved violently; she wished she could slap her son to death!
"We are both princes, so why did I give birth to such a useless child like you!"
You can't even keep your own princess in check! Tell me, you sent Luo Zicheng to beg His Majesty to grant Shu Mingyue a divorce?
Where in the world would any scholar still believe you? All my years of planning have been ruined by you!
"Mother, something must have gone wrong with the Yuan family. Your son needs to..."
"Useless! I already know that the Yuan family ran into trouble last year."
He found a scapegoat to cover it up, and before the New Year, he had someone kill those people.
The killing attempt failed, and the people escaped! They've already fled to the capital! They've already filed a complaint with the emperor, and you're still completely in the dark!
After receiving Shu Mingyue's letter of divorce, Consort Lin immediately sent people to investigate the matter.
When the late emperor suddenly passed away, the concubines in the harem who had no children were sent to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Consorts who had children would go to the imperial palace in the capital for a period of quiet contemplation with the Empress Dowager.
After the Empress Dowager passed away last year, these concubines each occupied a palace and did not have much contact with each other.
But since she was a concubine, the emperor naturally sent people to protect her.
It's called protection, but it's actually surveillance.
She could only change into a palace maid's clothes and sneak away.
Unexpectedly, the people she sent to investigate the Yuan family returned, while her foolish son remained completely unaware!
"Mother, what should we do now?"
His face turned ashen, and he hurriedly asked.
"You vehemently deny it, so who would dare implicate you? The only problem lies with the Yuan family! The murderer was Yuan Shuchang."
The people you killed were also from the Yuan family's Liuxianlou restaurant. If you just pin everything on the Yuan family, what are you afraid of?
Consort Lin glared at him with exasperation.
"As expected of Mother Consort, I understand, I'll go and do it right away!"
Just as the King of Yue was about to turn around, he was stopped by a furious rebuke from Consort Lin.
"By the time you arrive, it will be too late! I have already sent men to arrest Yuan Shuchang."
"Mother, who did you send?"
The King of Yue found it strange; wasn't the man surnamed Chen still recovering from his illness?
"If you want the Yuan family to bear this reputation for you, what other way is there besides bringing them to justice? Of course, it's to have the Censorate impeach them!"
Consort Lin took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was her own child.
"Does your mother also have connections in the Censorate?"
The King of Yue had never heard of this.
"Qi family, didn't you do something for Qi Ling last time? I'm using that to threaten the Qi family into doing things for me."
This son does a good job at these shady things.
With leverage over the Qi family, her troubles would be much less.
"Thank you, Mother!"
The King of Yue immediately felt that taking that slap was worthwhile.
With each slap, the troubles were resolved by the Empress Dowager.
Consort Lin pinched her brow, feeling a headache coming on.
"If you were even a little smarter, why would I be so exhausted?"
She really felt that perhaps her son was frightened by the Prince Qi's rebellion during her pregnancy, which caused him to be born with mental problems.
Otherwise, she wasn't stupid. The late emperor was considered precocious when he was still a prince, so how could she have given birth to such a stupid son?
"Mother, what about Shu Mingyue?"
He didn't love this woman, but he couldn't let a family with no official position trample on his face!
"Once the Yuan family is dealt with, it will be seen that Luo Zicheng was deceived by villains and slandered the royal family. It's not impossible that the youngest son of the Shu family will not only fail to become the top scholar, but also have his academic qualifications revoked!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Consort Lin's eyes.
Linjia Village at this time.
The news that Yang Jingyan, as an imperial censor, was going to Xuyang Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the Yuan family case had already been delivered to Yunxuan.
Yunxuan burned the letter and looked up at Lu Xun.
"Everything is going according to plan."
Xu Yiyan brought over a box and opened it.
"Everything is here. This is an improved crossbow. What do you think?"
Lu Li took the crossbow he was handed and held it in one hand.
"So light, is that enough force?"
"The strength is definitely not a problem, but the distance is certainly not as far as with a bow. Would you like to give it a try, Young Master Lu?"
Faced with Lu Li's doubts, Xu Yiyan was no longer as timid as before.
He and Lu Xinnian had tried countless times.
Even Lu Xinnian, a woman who is completely powerless, can achieve the desired effect.
Lu Li is absolutely fine.
"good!"
Lu Li pushed open the window facing the back mountain and jumped out.
After landing and rolling once, he jumped up and shot directly at a tree on the mountain!
"Whoosh!"
"Thump!"
The arrow struck the tree with pinpoint accuracy, penetrating deep into its trunk!
"Amazing!"
This is much easier than his bow!
"This is a modified version based on the powerful crossbows of Yanbei, as recorded in the book, and its power surpasses that of Yanbei!"
Xu Yiyan said confidently.
"My third uncle is amazing!"
Yun Zhao looked at Xu Yiyan with bright, sparkling eyes.
Xu Zhenbang was even more surprised and picked up a crossbow, looking at it over and over.
"If this crossbow could be equipped on the cavalry of our Great Zhou army, wouldn't its power be greatly increased?"
As the garrison commander, no one knew better than him where the Great Zhou army lagged behind.
In the past, the Great Zhou Dynasty was powerful, and the court valued civil officials over military ones.
This has also led to a gradual decrease in the government's treasury spending on military pay.
In addition, corruption within the imperial court has become increasingly serious in recent years, making this situation even more pronounced.
When his father suddenly brought up military matters, Xu Yiyan instantly lost his momentum.
"Father, these are just some of my clever ideas, not enough to warrant serious consideration by the military."
"That's not how it works. But this is just my idea right now. To actually use it on the battlefield..."
It still depends on the specific battlefield. Alright, grab your things and let's go.
Xu Zhenbang did not force his son; he simply put the crossbow back.
Xu Yiyan breathed a sigh of relief and handed a small crossbow to his niece.
"Zhao Zhao, be careful!"
This is a self-defense weapon he specially prepared for his niece; it is more powerful than a hidden blade.
Yun Zhao accepted the specially made crossbow and nodded happily.
"Don't worry, Third Uncle!"
Holding the crossbow, Yun Zhao bid farewell to his family and then followed Lu Xun onto his horse.
After the New Year, Yun Zhao had grown quite a bit taller.
There's still some distance to Xuyangzhou, making it unrealistic for her to ride a tiger for an extended period.
But she had just learned to ride a horse and couldn't keep up with the speed, so the Lu Xun simply took her there.
After bidding farewell to his parents, Yun Zhao left with the tiger and leopard, and the group sped towards Xuyangzhou.
"elder sister!"
Yun Huaijin stood unsteadily in front of Xu Qingyi, staring at her sister's departing figure, reluctant to leave for a long time.
Waaaaah! His poor sister!
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