Chapter 325 I'm afraid the Lingnan region won't be able to withstand it.
Prince An looked at the weeping Marquis of Qiyang, his face expressionless. A family rotten to the core is doomed to perish sooner or later. Generation after generation of Marquises of Qiyang have strayed from the right path, gradually lowering their moral standards. Now, the current Marquis of Qiyang is even capable of sending his wife to another man's bed. Such a family has no reason to exist.
Unfortunately, the prime minister was cunning and left no evidence.
After questioning Marquis Qiyang further, and seeing that he had nothing more to confess, Prince An ordered him to be taken away. He then checked the time; it was already midnight. He hesitated for a moment, then picked up a pen and wrote a letter, sending it to the Duke of Chu's residence. He feared Jiang Yu was still waiting for news.
Jiang Yu was indeed waiting. Although she had entrusted the protection of Marquis Qiyang to Prince An, she had also sent secret guards to the Marquis's residence. Therefore, she already knew about the Marquis's near-death experience and the death of Zhang Fengtian, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. What she was waiting for now was the outcome of Prince An's interrogation of Marquis Qiyang.
"Lord Duke, a letter from Prince An." Xia He handed over a letter, which Jiang Yu quickly read through. After pondering for a while, he stood up and said, "Take a bath."
She got up and walked towards the bathroom, pondering her next move. The Marquis of Qiyang had confessed that the Prime Minister was the one who truly instigated him, but there was no evidence. Although the Emperor harbored some dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister, their years as ruler and subject meant the Emperor's trust in him wouldn't vanish overnight.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister has cultivated considerable influence in the court over many years. Impeaching him without solid evidence would only ignite a conflict between them. However, now is not the time for them to engage in open warfare.
She took off her clothes and lay down in the warm bath. The faint floral scent filled her nostrils, calming Jiang Yu's mind. She closed her eyes, enjoying the tranquility. However, this peace didn't last long before her mind began to work again.
Now that it has been confirmed that the Prime Minister harbors rebellious intentions, and that his current target is Prince Rui, it means that the Prime Minister knows some information about the firearms Prince Rui has developed. Those firearms are their trump card, and they will absolutely not allow anyone to destroy them.
Therefore, they couldn't let the Prime Minister get too carefree, nor could they be too passive; they had to cause him some trouble. She thought of the Prime Minister's eldest grandson being childless, which led to the death of a physician. She hadn't originally intended to use this matter against the Prime Minister, but now it seemed she had to make use of it.
"Lord Duke, the water is a bit cold." Dong Shuang's voice rang out. Jiang Yu opened his eyes, got up, and wrapped himself in a bathrobe. Dong Shuang and Xia He hurriedly came over to serve him.
Jiang Yu leaned against the couch with her eyes closed. Xia He had a maid bring over a censer, and she and Dong Shuang dried her hair together. Seeing that Jiang Yu's eyes were closed and she seemed to be falling asleep, the two of them moved even more gently.
Once her hair was dry, Xia He noticed that Jiang Yu's breathing was somewhat deep and even. She gently nudged her, "Your Highness, your hair is dry, go to bed."
Jiang Yu opened her eyes, getting up somewhat groggily; she had truly been asleep. Xia He and Dong Shuang quickly helped her into bed, covered her with a blanket, and then tiptoed out.
Standing on the porch outside the door, Xia He said to Dong Shuang, "There's an early court session tomorrow, and the Duke will be getting up soon, so let's not sleep in."
Dongshuang nodded, "I'll go to the kitchen in a bit and watch them make breakfast."
"I reckon the Duke won't have much of an appetite, so just make something light," Xia He instructed.
Dongshuang nodded again, "Alright, then have the kitchen prepare the Duke's meals after he returns to the mansion."
Xia He replied, "The Duke has other matters to attend to after court and won't be returning to the manor immediately, so there's no need for the kitchen to prepare anything."
Prince An arranged to meet Jiang Yu after court.
"good."
.........
Jiang Yu could sleep peacefully for over an hour, but Prime Minister Pei Chengkun was destined to be sleepless tonight. At this moment, his study was brightly lit, and a man in black knelt on one knee, reporting:
"...Zhang Fengtian was dealt with. When Marquis Qiyang went to make contact, he was followed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so our men failed. However, Xiong Er committed suicide by swallowing poison, leaving no evidence."
Pei Chengkun listened to these words, but his aged face remained expressionless, as if everything that had happened tonight was within his expectations.
"Has the heir apparent of the Marquis of Qiyang received the letter?" he asked.
"Received," the man in black replied. "The heir of the Marquis of Qiyang went to the Prince of An's residence as soon as he received the letter, but he was captured with his mouth covered as soon as he made a commotion."
Pei Chengkun hummed in agreement. "To be able to cause some trouble right under the noses of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is quite an achievement. And then what happened?"
"Later, the heir of the Marquis of Qiyang was beheaded with a single blow at the gate of the Prince of An's residence," the man in black replied.
"Ha! This is a show of force for me." Pei Chengkun sneered, then asked, "Where is Marquis Qiyang?"
The man in black shook his head. "Since being taken into the Prince An's residence, Marquis Qiyang has not come out again."
Pei Chengkun remained silent for a moment after hearing this, and then the man in black with the white hand left. His eldest son, Pei Han, sitting opposite him, asked, "Will the Marquis of Qiyang betray us?"
“He must have confessed.” Pei Chengkun said with a solemn expression, “I didn’t expect Prince An to be such a decisive person. He killed the heir of the Marquis of Qiyang without hesitation.”
Pei Hanming's expression was also very solemn. "Will you be impeached at tomorrow's morning court?"
Pei Chengkun remained silent for a long time before saying, "Notify those people to prepare for my impeachment tomorrow."
"Yes." Pei Hanming stood up, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Who do you think will impeach you?"
“The Duke of Chu and the others,” Pei Chengkun said thoughtfully. “There’s no one else but them.”
Pei Hanming nodded after hearing this, then went out to instruct his trusted confidants to inform the officials affiliated with the Prime Minister's office to prepare for Pei Chengkun's impeachment the next day. When he returned, he saw Pei Chengkun pacing back and forth in his room.
Pei Hanming didn't dare sit down, standing solemnly to the side. After a while, he looked at Pei Chengkun pacing back and forth and asked, "Father, how do you think the Emperor will react?"
Pei Chengkun stopped and sighed, saying, "I don't know, but they have no evidence. Even if the Emperor suspects me, there's nothing he can do."
"I think the price of this test was too high," Pei Hanming said with regret.
Pei Chengkun glanced at him, walked to a chair and sat down, saying, "If we don't test him, how will we know how important Prince Rui is? How important are the things he has researched?"
"But what can we do even if we know? The Heavenly Crafts Bureau is like an ironclad fortress; we can't find any information about it, and we don't know just how powerful the things Prince Rui has researched really are."
“It’s definitely stronger than all the weapons our soldiers are using right now.” Pei Chengkun’s voice was weary. “I’m just afraid we won’t be able to defeat them in Lingnan.”
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