Chapter 90 She herself is the whole family
Prince Rui's right eyelid has been twitching non-stop since this morning.
I have a feeling that something big is about to happen.
Hearing that Chao Li had returned to the palace, I was worried that she would help Zhou Chuanxing find out the truth. I consulted with the Empress and the Dowager Consort, and made sure to keep the mouths of the two beauties and the family of the Virtuous Consort shut.
Prince Rui's maternal uncle, Yao Yuehai, has taken office as the new Minister of Revenue.
He's a scoundrel who can barely read and spends all his time in brothels.
Suddenly becoming the Minister of Revenue, he wished he could treat the national treasury as his own, and only cared about raking in silver.
In less than three days, Zhou Chuanxing had taken half of his accumulated wealth back with him.
Even Prince Rui couldn't stand it anymore.
“Uncle, can you take it easy? You’re just lining up the house with money. You need to do the accounting properly. You’ve gone too far. I can’t keep this from everyone else.”
Yao Yuehai waved his hand and said, "I'm doing this to pave the way for you. Otherwise, what would I do with so much money?"
He didn't tell his good nephew that yesterday he bought ten beauties in one go, spending 300,000 taels of silver.
If Zhou Chuanxing heard that the money he had painstakingly saved had been squandered by Yao Yuehai, he would be furious.
Prince Rui was usually a nice guy who cultivated good relationships everywhere. Now that he was suddenly regent, he couldn't be too demanding of his own people.
Even though she knew her uncle was going too far, she could only endure it.
When I came over at noon to pay my respects to the Emperor, I saw Zhou Chuanxing standing guard at the door wearing iron chains, and I couldn't help but rush over and make a few sarcastic remarks.
Despite the cold weather, Zhou Chuanxing was only wearing a thin linen undershirt.
The neckline was ripped open, revealing a large expanse of bare skin.
Prince Rui pulled up his collar and breathed out, saying, "Second brother, are you cold? How about I give you my coat? It's snowing heavily and freezing cold. I'm sorry to see you freezing."
Zhou Chuanxing stood tall like a pine tree, remaining calm and piercing in the face of Prince Rui's provocation, showing no sign of anger or resentment.
Prince Rui mocked for a long time, but Zhou Chuanxing didn't react at all, which was really boring.
He patted Zhou Chuanxing on the shoulder and hissed, "It's so cold, I'll go inside first."
Zhou Chuanxing has been holding the fort at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation for four days.
The amount of clothes they give us is decreasing every day.
I still have a bra today, but I'll probably be going naked tomorrow.
He didn't care about himself; after all, he was made of steel and could withstand any damage.
What's heartbreaking is that all the talented and ambitious people he had worked so hard to promote were replaced by Prince Rui.
That's something he discovered after putting in so much effort.
The future prosperity of the Great Zhou Dynasty will depend on them.
Now that they have all been replaced, what will become of the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Fortunately, Prince Duan and Chu Yanqing got married. Miss Chu is intelligent and wise, and no matter who becomes emperor in the future, she will be able to protect herself.
My younger sister is marrying into the Li family. The Li family has a righteous family tradition, and Li Ce is an upright and honest official. Li Zhengyan is a kind and virtuous man. He will definitely take good care of my younger sister for the rest of his life.
The only thing he couldn't let go of was the little girl.
I haven't seen him for several days, I wonder how worried he is.
Although she is gradually integrating into normal life, she has not been in contact with the outside world for very long. Without his protection, how can she protect herself?
It's all his fault for not thinking things through and not making a plan for her to get out unscathed.
After meeting with the Emperor, Prince Rui came out and continued to provoke Zhou Chuanxing.
"Second brother, where exactly is your male concubine hiding? I'm really curious. This king... this regent searched the entire city, but I couldn't catch him."
Second brother, do you think he has already betrayed you and fled the capital?
Maybe she's already found someone new.
Thinking about it this way, second brother, aren't you very disappointed?
"Fourth Brother, don't go too far in your actions, or you'll suffer the consequences."
Chao Li and Chu Yanqing came to see the Emperor together.
Chao Li couldn't stand seeing his fourth brother's petty success and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.
Prince Rui did not want to offend Chao Li, after all, she was the Emperor's only sister.
His gaze fell on Chu Yanqing, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"I never expected my third sister-in-law to be so beautiful. My heart is beating faster than usual."
He had heard the gossip about Zhou Chuanxing and Prince Duan vying for Chu Yanqing.
He deliberately spoke frivolously in front of Zhou Chuanxing, hoping to provoke him and get the emperor to impose a harsher punishment.
Chu Yanqing glanced at Zhou Chuanxing before speaking, "Your Highness Prince Rui, I am your sister-in-law. Even if you are interested in me, you cannot take me away from Prince Duan."
Prince Rui felt that Chu Yanqing's words had a deeper meaning.
Could it be that he's secretly fallen for her since he started acting as regent?
He had already secretly made advances towards the Empress, and if he could win over his second and third sisters-in-law, his life would be complete. "Third sister-in-law, I don't understand. How can I snatch you away from my third brother?"
Chu Yanqing scoffed, "Let's talk about that when you become emperor."
After speaking, she pulled Chao Li into the hall, saying, "Let's go."
Prince Rui deliberately provoked Zhou Chuanxing, "Have you seen it? My dear second brother, the woman you like has already started to extend an olive branch to me."
Zhou Chuanxing immediately saw through Chu Yanqing's thoughts.
It was clearly a provocation urging him not to sit idly by and wait for his doom.
He and the emperor were born of the same mother, and he had sworn that no matter what happened, he would protect his brother's vast empire.
He would never betray his vow.
Killing the Grand Tutor without authorization was indeed a violation of the imperial edict, and he deserved even the harshest punishment.
"boom--"
Suddenly, a deafening roar came from afar, followed by a huge plume of smoke slowly rising into the air.
Soon, a strong smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Zhou Chuanxing frowned; it seemed the red-coated cannon had been fired.
Could it be that Ambassador Liu was conducting experiments at the Ordnance Bureau?
However, the red-coated cannons were too powerful, so previous experiments were conducted outside the city.
Or perhaps after the fourth brother became regent, he sent someone to the Ordnance Bureau but failed to ascertain the power of the Red Coat Cannon, resulting in a miscalculation.
But the place emitting smoke looks a bit like Prince Rui's residence...
"Thump—"
"Thump—"
"Knock knock knock—"
Today was quite lively.
The sound of the red-coated cannons had barely stopped when the Dengwen Drum suddenly sounded.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, the number of times the petition drum has been sounded can be counted on one hand.
The emperor, who had just heard the cannon fire and was feeling uneasy about what was happening outside, heard the sound of drums and asked in surprise, "Who is beating the drums? Bring them in."
The one beating the drum was none other than Chu Yannuo, who had been riddled with holes by everyone in the martial arts world since last night.
He nearly lost his life at noon today, fleeing all the way into the Ministry of Revenue, where he ran into Sun Qingzhao who was leaving.
"Sun Qingzhao, have you seen my cousin?"
Sun Qingzhao's eyes lit up, and a plan came to mind.
"It may be difficult for Prince Chu to find his cousin, but I have a plan."
Chu Yannuo frowned: "What method?"
Sun Qingzhao: "Miss Tang is determined to go back to the Prince of Qin. Even if you force her to return, her heart will not be with you."
Chu Yannuo knew that Sun Qingzhao was cunning and worried that he might come up with some bad ideas, but she couldn't help but be curious and wanted to hear them.
"Then what's your solution?"
Sun Qingzhao chuckled inwardly: "Appeal to the emperor! As long as we force the King of Qin to agree to let Miss Tang leave, Miss Tang will definitely resent being abandoned and will no longer trust the King of Qin. Where else can Miss Tang go if she doesn't return to the Chu family?"
The idea was a bit bad, but Chu Yannuo really had no other choice.
"Let me think about it."
After two hours of deep thought, Chu Yannuo decided to strike the Dengwen Drum.
After the emperor regained consciousness, things became more and more lively each day.
People are even beating the petition drum.
He was also curious about what kind of enormous injustice had occurred.
"Your Highness, you preside over the trial. I'd like to hear your opinion."
Chu Yannuo was quickly taken to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Upon seeing Zhou Chuanxing wearing iron chains at the door, he couldn't help but curse, "Pah—a despicable, shameless, ungrateful scoundrel."
His father had saved the lives of Zhou Chuanxing, Zhou Chuanjin, and Chao Li.
Zhou Chuanxing actually stole his woman; that's not being ungrateful.
No wonder Zhou Chuanxing wanted to send him to the northern region when he was doing so well as the Vice Minister of Revenue.
This was a deliberate act to separate him from his cousin, so he could take advantage of the situation.
They even kindly tried to arrange a marriage between him and the Duke of Wei.
At the time, I thought Zhou Chuanxing was being grateful and intended to promote him.
Looking back now, it's clear that Zhou Chuanxing was setting traps for him at every turn.
Even his wedding date with Wei Minxian was set by Zhou Chuanxing.
Otherwise, why would he have married her so quickly?
What a disgrace!
What a disgrace!!
When Chu Yannuo beat the drum, Zhou Chuanxing easily connected the matter to his own experience.
He didn't care if Chu Yannuo stepped on his foot again; he was worried about the little girl.
Unable to resist any longer, he stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, only to be stopped by the Emperor immediately.
"You beast, get out here!"
Zhou Chuanxing could only quietly leave.
Fortunately, Chu Yannuo's voice was loud enough that he could hear every word clearly.
"Your Majesty, I have filed a complaint against the Prince of Qin."
The Emperor was suspicious. The Chu family was Zhou Chuanxing's savior, so how could these two people have a falling out?
What are you suing him for?
Chu Yannuo: "Your Majesty, I accuse him of imprisoning a young girl and subjecting her to inhumane torture."
The emperor laughed at these words.
He looked towards the door and said, "Get in here and let me see how many more surprises you have in store for me."
Zhou Chuanxing wished he could peel off Chu Yannuo's skin.
His eyes, deep and cold as water, were fixed on Chu Yannuo.
As the heir of a marquis's mansion, Chu Yannuo considered himself to have seen the world, but even he couldn't help but feel a chill when faced with Chu Yannuo's cold eyes.
But he couldn't back down.
“My cousin has mental problems. How can you, as a prince, imprison her?”
Next, he presented his demands to the emperor.
Finally, he said, "I beg Your Majesty to grant my request and order the Prince of Qin to release my cousin."
The Emperor knew about the Tang family girl.
"The youngest daughter that Imperial Censor Tang sent to your Chu family to raise back then?"
Chu Yannuo: "Yes."
The Emperor waved to Zhou Chuanxing, signaling him to come closer.
"Tell me, do you prefer men or women? How come Prince Rui accused you of keeping male lovers, and Prince Chu accused you of abducting women?"
Zhou Chuanxing had nothing to say.
“Miss Tang comes and goes as she pleases; the Crown Prince of Chu’s accusation against me is completely unfounded.”
The Emperor grew increasingly curious: "How did the Tang family girl end up living in your Prince Qin's residence? Does she really have mental issues?"
Prince Rui's mind was racing.
Didn't they say that my second and third brothers both liked Chu Yanqing? How did they end up getting involved with Miss Tang?
By the way, when Han Xi swindled him out of 500,000 taels of silver, he went to the Prince of Qin's mansion to demand justice.
At that time, my second brother was accompanied by a woman in yellow with a mask on; she must have been Chu Yannuo's cousin.
Could it be that my second brother is in love with that idiot from the Tang family?
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
Suddenly, Eunuch Xi staggered into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Prince Rui, unable to find an opportunity to show off, reprimanded with a stern face: "What are you doing, being so rash? Is the sky going to fall down?"
With a mournful face, Eunuch Xi said, "The sky of the Great Zhou Dynasty will not collapse, but the sky of Prince Rui's mansion will."
Prince Rui was startled and jumped up from his chair. "What did you say?"
Eunuch Xi: "Prince Rui, you should go back and take a look. Someone bombarded Prince Rui's mansion. It's probably razed to the ground by now."
How could Prince Rui believe that he was perfectly fine when he left home that morning?
But I haven't been home for most of the day, so I've lost my home?
"Impossible, Eunuch Xi, this is no joke. Who would dare to touch my Prince Rui's mansion? Does she have a death wish?"
Even if she didn't want to live anymore, she was willing to abandon her entire family?
The old man said helplessly, "There is no more family. There is only one orphan girl. She is her own family."
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