Chapter 183 Appointment of a Female Captain, the Truth Behind the Marquis's Assassination
Xie Yao's heart sank and she frowned.
"Why did Madam Hou say that?"
"A few days ago, because I insisted on getting a divorce, the Queen Mother made Li Yu write a letter of divorce in front of Li Yu and me at Ningshou Palace. Then she chose a new woman of marriageable age from the Jiang family to marry him and become the new Marquis's wife."
Jiang Congyan grabbed Xie Yao's hand and glanced at Li Yu, with deep disgust and fear in her eyes.
"But Li Yu disagreed. He told the Queen Mother that he would only lose his wife in this life and would never write a letter of divorce."
She recalled the scene at that time. Li Yu's eyes were red, staring at her stubbornly, with a humble plea in her eyes: "Sister, don't you want me anymore?"
After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, he killed a concubine who had mocked him with a single knife.
Jiang Congyan only felt indifferent.
She really didn't know who Li Yu was showing her affection to.
"A few days ago, I sent my personal maid back to the Jiang family to ask my grandfather and father for help. But the maid saw my father sending Nianxi to Ningshou Palace. She also learned from an acquaintance that the Queen Mother wanted to give her concubine Nianxi the title of County Princess. There is no doubt that Nianxi is waiting to replace me as the next Anping Marquis's wife after my death."
Xie Yao raised an eyebrow. Jiang Nianxi? That was Jiang Congyan's illegitimate sister. In her previous life, she didn't marry Xie Yan or Xie Chengbai, nor did she become a county lord.
Jiang Congyan breathed heavily. "I asked my maid to go back to the Jiang family and ask to see my mother to confirm this matter. Unexpectedly... the next day someone came to report that my maid had fallen and died."
Xie Yao felt that her hands had become cold.
Jiang Congyan insisted on divorce, and Marquis Anping said that as long as she was alive, he would not divorce her, which led to the Queen Mother deciding to get rid of this disobedient niece.
Jiang Congyan tried hard to hold back her tears. Only then did she realize that although she was a county princess, the prime minister's granddaughter, and the wife of the Marquis of Anping, she actually had no relatives.
She just wants a divorce, why is it so difficult?
Her relatives wanted to kill her.
Her husband betrayed her.
The only person she could ask for help was Xie Yao, whom she had only met three times.
Xie Yao lowered her eyes and thought about her past life.
Three days later, on New Year's Eve, Marquis Anping was assassinated.
After Lu Shenyan blocked the arrow for Anping Hou, he actually didn't get any benefits except fame.
The Imperial Eagle Division investigated the assassin of Marquis Anping for a long time, and only concluded that he was a remnant of King Rui.
Someone spread the rumor that the emperor was afraid of Marquis Anping and sent assassins, so the Imperial Eagle Division couldn't find anything.
This rumor put Marquis Anping completely in opposition to the emperor.
Lu Shenyan is the savior of Marquis Anping. He is appreciated by Prime Minister Jiang and the Queen Mother and has openly become a member of the Queen Mother's party.
Behind the scenes, he discovered something was wrong with the assassination after his own reminder, and secretly told the truth to the emperor, who remembered his contribution.
With the help of everyone, Lu Shenyan's official career went smoothly. In just two years, he rose from a commoner to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
This time, Xie Yao learned the truth about the assassination of Marquis Anping in advance.
She could take advantage of the situation and use this incident to gain an absolute bargaining chip for her mother's divorce from Xie Mingan.
But now, according to Jiang Congyan, the Queen Mother is planning to get rid of her?
In her previous life, when Marquis Anping was assassinated, she was fine.
But in her previous life, Jiang Congyan had never thought of divorcing Marquis Anping.
Xie Yao came back to her senses: "Jiang Congyan, if I save you, I need you to betray the Jiang family and the Queen Mother, are you willing?"
Jiang Congyan looked at her and smiled bitterly: "The Jiang family doesn't treat me as a Jiang family member, so why should I treat them as my closest relatives? Unfortunately, words are not enough, the princess won't believe me."
Xie Yao: "I really don't believe you, but whether to save you or not doesn't depend on whether I believe you or not, but on whether you are worthy of my saving."
Jiang Congyan's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly said, "I'm willing to risk my life to prove that I have no intention of deceiving you."
"How are you going to try?"
"The Queen Mother can't kill me in the Marquis' Mansion. That would make Li Yu suspected of murdering his wife, which would damage his reputation. In three days, I will ask Li Yu to take me to Yunhe Tower. The Queen Mother will definitely not let this opportunity go."
Her tone was resolute, with a determination to fight to the death.
"If the princess doesn't believe me, I will have no one left in the world to beg for help, and my life will no longer struggle to survive."
Xie Yao understood what Jiang Congyan meant - she had no way of proving whether her words were true or false, so she could only put herself in danger.
Xie Yao can choose to save him or not.
"I see."
She said this without giving Jiang Congyan an answer.
At this moment, the sound of bells and drums stopped, and the handsome young emperor, dressed in a dragon robe, walked personally to the front of the eldest princess's carriage.
Countless people looked and saw the eldest princess wearing a red and gold palace dress embroidered with a phoenix, with a string of warm Buddhist beads on her wrist. Her phoenix eyes were sharp, her face was beautiful, and she was extremely graceful.
"My sister has finally decided to go home," said the emperor.
The eldest princess glanced at him calmly and said, "It's you who are finally willing to let the Queen Mother's soul rest in peace."
The complaint in these words made the emperor smile awkwardly.
The princess glanced at the people behind him and suddenly spoke in a clear voice, "Where is Xie Yao?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings suddenly became silent.
Xie Yao walked out from the crowd and knelt down to salute: "Greetings, Her Royal Highness the Princess."
The princess stepped past the emperor and helped her up. "I didn't personally congratulate you on your wedding to Prince Jingbei, but I'll make up for it today. I wish you two a harmonious marriage and everything goes well."
Countless whispers were heard, and even the common people were surprised and curious when they saw this.
No one expected that the eldest princess, who had lived in a Buddhist temple for a long time and almost never appeared in public after returning to Beijing, would specially send her blessings to Princess Jingbei as the first thing she did after returning to Beijing.
Old Prime Minister Jiang frowned, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
Marquis Anping's face was even more gloomy, and he looked at her with fear.
Xie Yao and Xiao Yizi thanked the princess together.
When the emperor saw this, the corners of his lips curled up.
He originally wanted to win over the eldest princess and check the empress dowager. Since the imperial sister took a fancy to Xie Yao, it would be easier for him to go with the flow and give Xie Yao a decent treatment.
Maybe, he could even pull the neutral Ruhui into his own camp.
As soon as he thought of this, he raised his voice and said, "Xie Yao, I heard that you once served in the Xihe Camp on the border and were extremely brave and courageous. You also previously taught Li Yu, my disappointing brother, a lesson for my sister and me. I am therefore appointing you as a sixth-rank lieutenant of the Xihe Camp. If there is a battle, you can command 800 female soldiers of the Xihe Camp to support the border troops."
The emperor's clear voice spread all around.
Everyone looked at Xie Yao in shock, while the onlookers showed excitement.
There was a precedent of Queen Mother Xihe leading troops in Dayan, and women could serve in the army as officials. However, despite this, apart from the eldest princess, there had never been any women with official rank.
After Xie Yao returned to the capital, she married the Prince of Jingbei in a grand wedding, was determined to get back her mother's dowry, and beat the Marquis of Anping half to death on behalf of the eldest princess at Chengfo Temple. Her name had long been known throughout the capital.
When the people heard that she was appointed as the captain of Xihe Camp, they were all very friendly to her.
This is the first female captain in the history of Dayan!
The Minister of Revenue opened his mouth and was about to refute, but was stopped by Prime Minister Jiang with a look.
Today is the day when the eldest princess returns to the capital, and no one dares to offend the emperor.
This appointment was unexpected, but also reasonable.
Xie Yao took a step forward, his posture straight and his voice cold, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I, Xie Yao, will definitely live up to your Majesty and the Princess' trust!"
Xiao Yizi looked at the princess beside him, and the smile in his peach blossom eyes deepened.
While everyone was talking, she glanced at the distant side of the imperial road.
There was a team of about ten foreigners, all wearing animal skin coats and with bone daggers on their waists.
It was a Western Rong delegation visiting Beijing. The Western Rong people lived a nomadic life and liked to use weapons and tools made of bones.
In his previous life, Lu Shenyan was hit by an arrow and several darts, one of which was a bone dart.
Xie Yao discovered something wrong with the dart, and thus speculated that the assassination of Marquis Anping was neither caused by the remnants of Prince Rui nor by the emperor.
It was the Queen Mother who colluded with the Western Rong people and staged this drama herself, hoping to make the incompetent and unambitious Marquis Anping completely break with the Emperor.
A faint light flashed in Xie Yao's eyes. This time, she watched the empress dowager courting disaster and took advantage of the situation.
After all, if it weren't like this, how could Lu Shenyan...
Once again, there will be no descendants.
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