"What? Show it to me right now!" Shen Lang, who had only three-tenths doubted before, now had five-tenths doubt.
Xue Yuan made a firm promise and quickly stepped forward to present the letter.
He had already seen it, and it was indeed Yan Mu's handwriting. It was just a pity that he hadn't gotten the lower half with the seal.
While handwriting can be forged, forging a seal is much more difficult.
However, even just this first half of the letter could cause Yan Mu some trouble. Moreover, he was forced into it because Yan Mu had foolishly discovered that he was raising a private army.
Rather than waiting to be killed, it is better to take the initiative.
Shen Lang, of course, recognized Yan Mu's handwriting. That's why he flew into a rage after only a few glances at it. "What a fine Yan Mu! Have all the good I've done for him over the years gone to waste?!"
"Your Majesty, it's nothing new that Marquis Yan's achievements are so great that they threaten the emperor's position and that he is arrogant and disrespectful to everyone else!" Xue Yuan added fuel to the fire.
Shen Lang was not a patient emperor. In fact, he was young when he ascended the throne at a young age, but the Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtain and controlled the government. Therefore, he was very wary of ministers having too many merits.
There is suspicion that he has overshadowed his prestige and may replace him.
He immediately issued an order: "Guards! Summon Yan Mu to the palace at once! I want to see what his explanation is!"
Having achieved his goal, Xue Yuan decisively cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I can lead the Xingwu Guard to invite Marquis Yan into the palace. The Yan family has more than 500 soldiers. If Marquis Yan disobeys the imperial decree, we will have a way to deal with it."
After pondering for a moment, Shen Lang nodded in agreement.
Xue Yuan could barely suppress the smile on his lips. Before leaving, he asked Shen Lang, "Your Majesty, if Marquis Yan truly disobeys the imperial decree, what should I do?"
Shen Lang hesitated, "Uncle, could it be that the Marquis of Yan really intends to rebel?"
"That was the choice of Marquis Yan, how could I know? I only hope that Your Majesty will make a decision. If the Yan family army really rebels, Tongzhou is the closest to the capital, and the threat to Your Majesty is self-evident. Yan Mu is also the commander-in-chief of the Yan family army, holding the military seal of 200,000 troops. If a war really breaks out, I'm afraid that even the Xingwu Guard, the Imperial Guard, and the Imperial Forest Guard combined would not be a match for them."
Xue Yuanke is so good at understanding Shen Lang's psychology!
He experienced a betrayal when he was young and almost lost his life. Now, he sometimes recalls the fear and terror of that time in the middle of the night.
In particular, in order to force him to show himself, the Prince of Pingnan seized 300 children of similar age from the people of the capital and killed one of them every incense stick's time, so that he would bear the reputation of a weak monarch and be accused of unjust acts.
Even after his cousin Dingfei went out in his place, the Prince of Pingnan was further enraged after discovering he had been deceived. He slaughtered all 300 children, leaving the imperial city stained with blood and piles of corpses!
For Shen Lang, this was nothing short of a haunting nightmare.
Therefore, his legs went weak as he leaned on the dragon throne, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and he said, word by word, "If Yan Mu really dares to defy the imperial decree, Uncle, do not give the enemy a chance to breathe. The entire Yan family will be killed without mercy!"
Xue Yuanzhi, beaming with pride, held the imperial edict and rushed straight to the Yan residence without wasting a moment.
At that time, the entire Yan family was busily preparing for tomorrow's coming-of-age ceremony.
After waiting for twenty years, his only son finally grew up and could stand on his own. Yan Mu stood in the ancestral hall, looking at his late wife's memorial tablet, and felt a sense of relief.
“Madam, our son has grown up. He’s grown into a very handsome and kind man, just like you. And after his coming-of-age ceremony, he will be getting married. His fiancée is a very good girl, and she will definitely take good care of Yanling for us.”
As she spoke, her eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.
Her gaze shifted slightly to her elder sister's memorial tablet, and a hot tear slid down her cheek. "Elder sister, I've found your Dingfei. That child isn't dead. Although he must have had a hard time these past few years, it's good that he's alive."
Tomorrow, I've specially invited him to be the officiant for Yan Ling. This way, even though Ding Fei's identity isn't yet convenient to reveal, in our Yan family, he will always be the eldest sister's son, Yan Ling's elder brother!
The candlelight in the mourning hall flickered dimly, and all the memorial tablets were silent. But Yan Mu seemed to see the two most important women in his life, smiling and waving with peace of mind...
Yan Mu walked out of the mourning hall and asked the official, "How is it? Has Yan Ling returned?"
The Emperor shook his head, a hint of worry appearing on his joyful face: "Logically speaking, the place the young master went to isn't far. If things went smoothly, five or six round trips would be enough. Why—"
Before the steward could finish speaking, the gatekeeper rushed in to report: "My lord, something terrible has happened! The Duke of Dingguo has led two squads of Xingwu Guards straight towards our Yan residence, looking very aggressive. I'm afraid they have ill intentions!"
In recent years, the open and covert struggles between the Yan and Xue families have become increasingly fierce. No one could have predicted that these two once-powerful and closely related families would turn out like this. The trigger was Xue Yuan's heartlessness and indifference to the lives of his wife and children.
"Xue Yuan? What's he doing here at this time?"
Yan Mu had a bad feeling and quickly headed towards the hanging flower gate. He wasn't worried about anything else; he had truly experienced Xue Yuan's schemes and plots over the years. However, Yan Ling hadn't returned home after several days, and Yan Mu feared that the Duke of Dingguo would resort to his old tricks and send people to cause trouble.
As soon as Yan Mu arrived, he saw Xue Yuan's imposing aura.
"I have come here today by imperial decree. Anyone who dares to obstruct me is tantamount to disobeying the imperial order and will be killed without mercy!"
"The Duke of Dingguo is quite arrogant!" Yan Mu sneered.
Xue Yuan raised his hand, signaling those who were banging on the door to stop, as a way of giving Yan Mu face. After all, Yan Mu was his former brother-in-law, and as a Duke, he was a man of principle, always trying to be polite before resorting to force. However, he was actually looked down upon by a roughneck like Yan Mu. Back then, he was clearly the brother-in-law, yet he had to swallow his pride and endure Yan Mu's lectures!
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