Chapter 700 Everyone Treats Empress Jiang as a Hypothetical Enemy
At the Fourth Prince's residence, Zhang Yurou also received news that Empress Jiang had left the palace and rushed to find Xie Yang, tentatively asking, "Your Highness, what are you planning to do by having someone monitor the Empress?"
“She is Xie Shang’s weakness,” Xie Yang said. “To deal with Xie Shang, we must first deal with Jiang Fenghua. To deal with her, we must first understand her. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemy can we find her weaknesses.”
Zhang Yurou was puzzled, even somewhat disdainful. Jiang Fenghua was too casual about becoming empress. The dignified empress could leave the palace whenever she wanted, living such a free life.
She said, "What do I know about her? I don't see anything special about her. She's just relying on the Emperor's power. If there's a weakness, it's the Jiang family." Does Xie Yang also like Jiang Fenghua?
"What ability does a woman have to uproot a great general's mansion, making Consort Su and Su Xuan determined to kill her, and ultimately they both died at her hands? I am very curious about how she did it."
Seeing the admiration in Xie Yang's eyes for Jiang Fenghua, Zhang Yurou felt resentful. "She's just a woman. Even if she's capable, could she have become emperor? How is it all her achievement? Maybe it was the emperor himself..."
Xie Yang said coldly, "She is a woman, and you are a woman too. What can you do? You're still not giving up on Xie Shang, aren't you? If you had even a fraction of Empress Jiang's brains, Xie Shang wouldn't have ignored you."
Zhang Yurou was furious. "Xie Yang, how... how dare you say that about me? I'm no good at anything. Why did you come to my house to ask me to marry you back then?"
Xie Yang glared at her, "So you're the talented woman of Shengjing? I didn't expect you to be just a fake one. All those articles of yours were written for you by your cousin Zhang Yumo, weren't they! You couldn't write a poem for the Lantern Festival without Zhang Yumo's help. You would have lost all face!"
Duke Zhang is a man of prestige, and marrying a daughter of the Zhang family would at least ensure a good reputation. Little did he know that Zhang Yurou's reputation was all a self-directed act, and all these years he could only cooperate with her and try his best to maintain the image of the Fourth Princess.
Zhang Yurou was so angry that her face turned red. "I...you...we're both the same. How much better are you? The Fourth Prince is cowardly, weak, incompetent, and useless. These are just other people's opinions of you. If you could fight like the Emperor and win honor on the battlefield, you wouldn't have been so mediocre all this time, and even be looked down upon by your father..."
"Slap." Xie Yang slapped Zhang Yurou across the face, a fierce glint in his eyes. "I'll show you what I'm capable of."
Her eyes were filled with disbelief. This was the first time Xie Yang had hit her, the first time she had seen his fierce side.
She used to laugh at Luo Ziqiong for being beaten by the Second Prince, wondering how someone as feisty as Luo Ziqiong could not win. Now she realized that it was harder than climbing to heaven for a woman to beat a man.
Zhang Yurou is usually quite formidable in front of Xie Yang, and she even manages to keep his concubines in check. But now, she can't even fight back and can only passively take the beating.
Xie Yang cursed, "You slut, you think you can seduce Xie Shang looking like that? Do you think he'll even bother with you?"
Zhang Yurou suddenly had a jade pendant on her body. Xie Yang recognized it as the jade ornament that Xie Shang always wore, but now it was hanging on Zhang Yurou.
He ripped the jade pendant off and threw it on the ground, saying, "This belongs to Xie Shang, how did it end up on you?"
When Zhang Yurou saw the jade pendant shattered, she was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face. At this moment, she was truly afraid and dared not confront Xie Yang. She explained, "This was given to Yi'er by the Emperor. I was just keeping it safe for her."
"I don't care what filthy thoughts you have in your heart, but keep them to yourself. You are now the Fourth Prince's Consort, don't disgrace the Fourth Prince's Mansion," Xie Yang said in a deep voice.
Zhang Yurou felt a sharp pain in her cheek and was too frightened to utter a single word. Xie Yang wanted to rebel and seize power; what right did he have...?
Xie Yang seemed to know what she was thinking and warned her coldly, "Your Zhang family is now in the same boat as me. For the sake of your Zhang family's wealth and glory, you'd better be a good Fourth Princess and a good daughter of the Zhang family."
Zhang Yurou was stunned. He meant that the Zhang family also supported Xie Yang. Why hadn't she heard her father say that?
"You continue to befriend Zhang Yumo, and whatever method you use to cultivate a good relationship with the Jiang family."
After Zhang Yurou left, Xie Yang's confidant quietly entered and said, "Your Highness, Minister Shu has sent a message to request a meeting with you."
Xie Yang sat at his desk with his eyes closed, resting. He said, "It's not time yet. Please wait patiently for my instructions, Minister Shu."
The confidant said, "Minister Shu has already made an appointment with the Prince many times. It's not good for the Prince to keep refusing to see him."
Xie Yang said, "The safest thing right now is to keep quiet. I can't take that risk. Wen Yu, go and contact the Bai family. Tell the Bai family's daughter to keep Jiang Jinyan occupied. If we want to deal with Empress Jiang, we have to start with the Jiang family."
Wen Yu replied respectfully, "Yes."
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On the other side, Jiang Fenghua took Hongxiu to Jishantang. Hongxiu said, "This place was originally called Lingyun Manor. It was the brainchild of the Empress and Master Tan. Many of our businesses are related to the manor. Later, it was renamed Jishantang. Now it is a public relief center."
Hongxiu had been helping Jiang Fenghua and Lin Yu manage their accounts, and Jiang Fenghua had no idea how rich she was until she told her.
Jiang Fenghua finally understood that she really couldn't live without Hongxiu. Even if she wanted Hongxiu to get married, she would still have to live in the palace like Lianye, because Lin Feng also lived in the palace.
She couldn't bear to let Hongxiu suffer in the Cheng family, such a large family. This matter could only be dealt with slowly after returning to the palace.
"Later, this servant will take Your Highness to Xiangya Pavilion, a restaurant run by Miss Lin Yu, which is quite successful."
They met Luo Ziqiong and Helan Jue at Jishantang. The toxins in their bodies had been completely cleared, which meant that Helan Jue's prescription was effective. Doctor Mei had already started using this prescription to treat other poisoned patients, and the results were good.
Jiang Fenghua said to He Lanjue, "On behalf of the people, I thank Young Master He Lan."
“I didn’t do anything, Your Highness, there’s no need to thank me.” Helan Jue looked at Luo Ziqiong, “It’s all thanks to Miss Luo for helping with the medicine testing.”
Luo Ziqiong said, "It's all thanks to Young Master Helan. I was just trying to save my life. I haven't thanked Young Master Helan yet. Thank you for saving my life."
He Lanjue said, "Miss Luo, please don't say that. I don't know if it will work or not. It's just that you were lucky."
"No, it's really me who needs to thank Young Master Helan..."
Seeing the two thanking her repeatedly, Jiang Fenghua quickly said, "If you put it that way, I should thank you both. If it weren't for you, so many lives would be in danger. Thank you, Miss Luo, and thank you, Young Master Helan."
The two quickly replied, "We wouldn't dare..."
Jiang Fenghua suddenly laughed, "Alright, let's stop thanking each other. Jishantang is saved, so I'll treat you to a meal."
Luo Ziqiong said, "Let's go to my restaurant! It's not far from here, and I'll treat you to a meal."
During the time Luo Ziqiong was at Jishantang, her maid would also come to report on the restaurant's business; without her overseeing it, the restaurant's business was very poor.
Michelle Reis's parents originally disagreed with her staying in Shengjing, but she insisted on staying. People gossiped about her, and she had no intention of remarrying, so she became more and more at ease with the gossip.
As soon as I arrived at the restaurant entrance, I heard a noisy commotion inside, with plates and bowls being smashed.
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