Chapter 941: Premarital Pregnancy [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
The female soldiers were not very educated or particularly intelligent.
Some of the characters she knew were learned from the courtesans she spent cleaning the pleasure boats, and some were learned in literacy classes during her spare time after being recruited into the army. She was slow-witted and reacted a little slower than others, appearing rather dim-witted. But on this day, the moment she saw Zheng Yu's token, she had a sudden flash of insight, understanding everything, followed by a feeling of utter despair.
This current "court beauty" is just as intelligent as her sister. They are twins, and alike in every way. If the older sister is so meticulous, how could the younger sister be careless?
Isn't she afraid of being exposed after accidentally killing someone?
How could a corpse be allowed to have objects that could prove its identity?
Even setting aside the fact that she killed the imperial censor, even if Zheng Yu were just an ordinary man, a single life would be enough for the "cougar queen" to repay with her own. If this token falls into the wrong hands and someone follows the clues to her door, does she still think she can live?
The female soldiers couldn't guess the "flower queen's" true purpose.
It wasn't until the "cougar queen" moved her elder sister's grave and buried Zheng Yu in a mass grave that the female soldier began to have some suspicions.
Perhaps because of the female soldier's friendship with her elder sister, the "court lady" did not kill the female soldier to silence her, and even became closer to her after the female soldier helped her with a few small favors. Observing the actions of the "court lady," the female soldier finally realized that the "court lady" was the mole.
A traitor who murdered the Censor-in-Chief.
This fact caused the female soldiers to struggle internally.
She couldn't bear to see her benefactor's younger sister sink into depravity and go astray, but she also lacked the courage to expose her, because the "cougar queen" was a loan shark, and the Jinli County government and the Zhechong Prefecture had been infiltrated. To expose her would be suicide!
The female soldier remained silent and continued to endure it.
Until that Chief Secretary Liu met privately with the Commandant of the Vanguard, during which they mentioned that the King might come to inspect Jinli County.
The Commandant frowned: "Is it because of the missing government rations?"
The captain was unaware that the problem of official debt was far greater.
Chief Secretary Liu sighed: "Yes, most likely. Ever since the ghostly theft of grain occurred, the prefect hasn't had a proper rest for half a month, fearing the royal court's wrath. Losing official grain and being demoted to commoner status is a minor matter; my real fear is that my entire family might be in danger."
Shen Tang had a terrible reputation in Jinli County.
How bad is it?
Even Zheng Qiao was a wise ruler compared to her.
The former only bothers those who are worthless, and never offends those who can bring him value, while Shen Tang offends everyone indiscriminately. His strong support for the poor has made many people unhappy, and coupled with the rebels stirring up trouble, his reputation is utterly ruined.
It's understandable that the prefect was worried that Shen Tang would use his three clans against him; he was so anxious that he became emaciated.
Commandant of the Vanguard: [The ruler is not a tyrannical person.]
The female soldier was promoted to a trusted confidante by the commander.
The two did not deliberately avoid talking about it.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the female soldier was in complete disarray.
After a fierce internal struggle, she finally seized the opportunity while the "court lady" was imprisoned in the Zhechong Prefecture jail during a crackdown on prostitution to secretly switch the two corpses. She had only one thought in her mind—if the king came to investigate and found the censor's body in the grave that should have been the court lady's, he would surely be furious! Was this "court lady" deliberately provoking and humiliating the king?
Or is this just my guess?
The female soldier's heart pounded like a drum; she made up her mind to take the gamble.
If he was wrong, he could secretly switch the two corpses back and save up more money later to build a more magnificent tomb for the censor. But what if he was right?
She looked down at her hands, which were covered in thick calluses.
A thought popped into my head—
If she guesses correctly, it's fine if she doesn't expose herself, but once exposed, her act of secretly switching the bodies will inevitably be seen as betrayal.
Will I die a tragic death like Zheng Yu?
Things didn't go as planned, and things took the worst possible turn.
When the military commander specifically instructed her not to go to Qujiang Lake, the female soldier feigned ignorance: "Commander, why is that?"
The Commandant pointed overhead: "What else could it be? The Ministry of Justice has sent an envoy. At this crucial juncture, don't go near the envoy; the more you say or do, the more mistakes you'll make."
The female soldier nodded in agreement.
Yet, I felt an unprecedented sense of peace within me.
But thinking of her benefactor, she couldn't truly let go of the title of "Queen of Courtesans."
Under the pretext of searching for the pleasure boat, they captured the "Queen of Courtesans" and imprisoned her in the Zhechong Prefecture jail. Secretly grabbing her hand, they stared intently at her: "Stop now. Don't make another mistake!"
The courtesan coldly withdrew her hand, scoffing, "[Stop? Why should I stop? What do you know?]"
The female soldier choked, for the first time in her life regretting not having a silver tongue: "You...you can't defeat the King."
The courtesan raised an eyebrow: [What do you know?]
Female soldier: [I know more than you think!]
"Each serves their own master, and there's no such thing as stopping now. Everything I'm doing is out of loyalty to the emperor." Seeing the female soldier's bewildered and flustered expression, the "cougar queen" laughed. "Furthermore, Shen Youli indirectly caused my sister's death, and she should pay the price. Since you're loyal to her, you can report me to someone and pave the way for your future."
The female soldier took a deep breath; her mind was racing.
How could your sister's death be related to her?
The courtesan said with a sinister expression: "The censor she sent dragged down and caused my sister's death. Isn't that indirect harm? I clearly—I clearly always remembered that pleasure boat. If it weren't for that Shen guy's meddling, how could I have lost contact with my sister?"
The female soldier found it absurd.
Your elder sister feels only gratitude towards the king!
To be released back into the good family and live under the sun again instead of being a ghost—this is a new life that so many courtesans yearn for.
The courtesan replied indifferently, "What does this have to do with me?"
The way he looked at me was as if I were an idiot.
What does it matter if the older sister is grateful to Shen Youli?
This does not affect her political stance.
"You don't think I have to follow my sister's opinion of Shen Youli, do you? I only know that her 'kindness' separated me from my sister by death; the rest is none of my concern." The "cougar queen" still retained some pity, sighing as she said, "After today, I will take my sister away from this place. It's dangerous for you to stay. Do you want to come with me?"
The sisters will never be separated again.
The female soldier's expression changed.
She sternly rejected the courtesan's offer.
Back at my lodgings, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.
Because she knew that the "court beauty" would eventually discover that the body in the coffin had been switched, and after a little thought, she would know who did it.
Given the temperament of a "court lady," she wouldn't be able to survive on her own.
The only saving grace was that the coffin didn't contain Zheng Yu, but rather a pile of stones; the real Zheng Yu was laid to rest in another solitary grave not far away. Otherwise, if the "court beauty" had discovered something was amiss, wouldn't she have ground Zheng Yu's body to dust in her anger?
Thinking that his repeated acts of concealment were tantamount to disloyalty and injustice, he decided to commit suicide after much deliberation, leaving behind a suicide note.
Kang Shi read the suicide note handed to him by Shen Tang and sighed.
"Although he has made mistakes, he has also made contributions, so he doesn't deserve to die."
Shen Tang said, "She said she felt guilty."
Another reason was the "court lady's" revenge.
Kang Shi carefully folded the letter, which was full of typos but also deeply sincere, and smoothed out the creases: "...The mystery was solved in part, but new ones arose. The fake courtesan searched Zheng Yu under the false identity of Chief Secretary Liu, but the real courtesan was brutally murdered that night. So who killed the real courtesan? Did Chief Secretary Liu kill her by mistake?"
How could they possibly hate their own lord?
"That's unlikely. If she really killed someone by mistake, how could she have the nerve to blame me? In my opinion, it was most likely the remnants of the rebel army who did it. If the people of Kunzhou are loyal to me and love me, where would the rebels have any ground to survive? Any unusual movement would be reported and denounced by the neighbors. Unless the people fear me, hate me, despise me, and avoid me like the plague, the rebels will not be seen as a righteous army in their eyes."
This is not the first time such a case of framing someone has occurred.
While the rebels were secretly carrying out poisoning, assassination, burning of crops, and suicide bombings, they were also framing Shen Tang by deliberately creating a series of brutal murders to mislead public opinion into believing that these people had been killed because of their disrespect for Shen Tang's words and actions.
It should be noted that even during Zheng Qiao's reign, when the people cursed him, he did not order the execution of all those who had hurled insults. The common people, unaware of the truth behind it all, only knew that these people had merely uttered a few curses and then died a gruesome death the next day. Who could have done it?
Kang Shi was even angrier upon hearing this.
Shen Tang didn't seem to care much.
These rebels are cowards who bully the weak and dream big; at most, they'll disgust themselves: "...The situation in Kunzhou can't be entirely blamed on the rebels; they don't have that much power. Our neighbor to the north, the Northern Desert, is the biggest instigator."
Over the years, many spies planted in the network have been eliminated.
Some spies were trained in recent years, while others were planted a generation or two, or even three generations earlier. When Gu Chi discovered this, he broke out in a cold sweat. It's not the muscular enemy you fear, but the one with a mind more cunning than a honeycomb.
Kunzhou had not been in her hands for long.
The hidden dangers cannot be completely eliminated in a short period of time.
Shen Tang rubbed her temples: "Being a king is no human being."
While officials get a month or two of vacation throughout the year, she, the ruler, works 996 and 007 every day. If it weren't for her two avatars of literary energy taking turns to exploit her, she would surely be exhausted to death.
Unfortunately, Kunzhou and its neighbors were restless, and the wealth of Jinli County was wiped out by a Ponzi scheme... One piece of bad news after another made her blood pressure soar and her brain explode.
Kang Shi: "We can't let such a huge loss go unpunished."
Shen Tang said calmly, "Once this inspection is over, let's go back to the capital and start preparing for war. The Northern Desert should be getting restless too."
Kang Shi remembered that there was another troublesome fellow in the Northern Desert.
"I wonder how strong that Gong Cheng is now..."
In five years, Gong Cheng has digested countless levels of the "Enlightenment" technique, and now he has reached a new level of strength.
If it is a rank 20 Marquis, it will be very difficult to fight. This means that in a battle between two armies, the Northern Desert army will have a huge advantage in terms of momentum.
Shen Tang said, "I'm not bad either."
Then he paused again, and added another insurance letter.
"Write a letter and ask Gong Xichou to come back."
If one can't beat one, then two against one.
Compared to the outcome of a war, face is insignificant.
"If we can't even suppress Gong Yunchi and Bei Mo, then we, as ruler and minister, should just settle down and manage our little corner of the Northwest for the rest of our lives, and stop dreaming of unifying the continent." Shen Tang said angrily, revealing her true ambition in her words.
Kang Shi smiled and said, "Everything is in accordance with the Lord."
As for writing a letter to Gongxi Chou?
That's not necessary.
Shen Tang asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Could it be that, without her knowledge, Gong Xi Chou, that old tadpole who had been wandering all over the continent looking for his brother and nephew, had returned?
"Hanzhang said that his son Yong'an was in a hurry to marry Gongxilai, and he knelt down, bowed and begged him."
"Kneeling, bowing, and begging? Why is that?"
Because of the psychological trauma left by Qi Shan, it didn't matter to Xun Zhen whether his son liked men or women, the living or the dead, as long as Xun Ding was alive. Besides, Gong Xilai was such a wonderful girl, and Xun Zhen never showed the slightest dissatisfaction. Even after learning about the customs of the Gongxi tribe, he said he would respect his son's wishes.
There are so many people with the surname Xun in the world, and the Xun family won't be wiped out just because Xun Ding married into the family. On the contrary, it's not surprising that someone with Xun Ding's brains would be blind enough to take him in, and the old father has no objection. Literati and scholars live long lives, and rather than hoping that their sons and grandsons will bring glory to the family, it's better to make a name for oneself in history.
so--
Why kneel, bow, and beg?
Kang Shi lowered his voice: "Gongxi Lady has become quite plump."
Shen Tang instantly understood: "Xun Ding is courting death."
If Gong Xichou comes back, won't you beat him to death?
Gong Xilai wasn't covered by the national contraceptive welfare program, but Xun Ding was a brave and courageous warrior; if he wanted to avoid pregnancy, he wouldn't get Gong Xilai pregnant. That kid definitely did it on purpose!
Kang Shi could understand: "After all, Lady Gongxi is just an ordinary person, and her lifespan is different from that of a martial artist. She is already quite old to have children, so it's understandable that she wants to have children. However, Gongxi Chou is not an easy obstacle to overcome."
Shen Tang was speechless: "It's more than just difficult. Before I kill Gong Yunchi, I need to stop Gong Xichou from killing Xun Ding first."
Five years! There was a perfectly legitimate reason for it to happen.
Xun Ding didn't have money for a wedding, but Gong Xilai did.
As the first wave of female martial artists and scholars entered the imperial court and reached marriageable age in the conventional sense, the number of men marrying into their wives' families increased year by year. Marrying into a family was not considered shameful; on the contrary, it became a desirable marriage prospect in the eyes of many aristocratic men.
Given their qualifications and status within the family, if they were to marry and have children normally, unless the next generation produces exceptionally high-quality offspring, they would likely remain as a minor, obscure branch of the family for the rest of their lives, and would probably become poorer and more destitute with each generation.
If one could marry into their family, not only would their status within the family rise, but they would also have a better relationship with their spouse and receive support from their in-laws and wife.
Of course, they initially preferred to marry a woman. But the woman's family wasn't stupid; they weren't willing to marry off their qualified daughters. They only wanted to take in a son-in-law, and if you went too late, you wouldn't even get a chance.
These men who married into the family and their families were initially reluctant to admit it. To save face, they tried to downplay the negative connotations of the term "marrying into the family," which indirectly improved the meaning of "taking a wife." They downplayed the importance of "marrying" and elevated the meaning of "getting married."
Although it only exists in a small area, it is still a good omen.
Xun Ding had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support, yet he still managed to get pregnant out of wedlock. He really wasn't afraid of Gong Xi Chou's fists at all.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Just as she was racking her brains about how to deal with Gong Xi Chou, she suddenly sensed a powerful aura nearby: "Gong Xi Chou?"
You arrived so quickly?
They didn't even give her time to prepare!
The next moment, her expression changed!
No, that's not right—
This aura doesn't belong to Gong Xichou!
Without a second thought, Shen Tang drew her Mother's Sword and charged forward.
|ω`)
My new office chair, which I bought on Singles' Day, arrived (it was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but it's a day early). It took a while to set it up, so my three-in-one chair is ruined today; I only have the two-in-one version now.
I guarantee the three-in-one will be available tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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