Chapter 1235 Secret Collusion
After everything was settled, Yuwen Qian returned to his quiet room hidden deep within the Crown Prince's residence, with only the Crown Princess personally seeing Prince Qi off.
The two hadn't said much to begin with, so they walked out quietly. Just as they were about to reach the gate, Yuwen Cheng looked around and said, "Sister-in-law, I heard that Father Emperor has locked up that Shang Shoufei, is that right?"
Yu Mingyue's face immediately darkened.
Given the chaos caused by the Qianniu Guard and the Xiaowei Army, even if the emperor did not punish the generals of the twelve guards, he could not let the two commanders go. Therefore, he imprisoned Shang Shoufei in the Dali Temple.
This was understandable, but what angered Yu Mingyue was that Su Changjing was not imprisoned, but only fined five hundred gold coins.
To outsiders, both men were loyal to the Crown Prince, and the Emperor's lenient approach was seen as giving the Crown Prince face. However, Yu Mingyue was very displeased. After all, Shang Shoufei was instigated by him, and Su Changjing, as Yu Mingzhu's husband, escaped unscathed in this matter. She had shot herself in the foot and completely lost face.
So much so that even after all these things happened, she didn't go back to the Yu family to discuss it with Yu Dingxing.
When Yuwen Cheng asked her, she simply said, "The people from the Dali Temple also said that it's just for show; they'll release him after a few days."
Yuwen Cheng laughed twice, and as he swayed toward the gate, he said, "Sister-in-law, you were so shrewd before, how come you can't do anything about Second Brother now?"
"..."
"I always thought that the books you read, Sister-in-law, made you know everything."
Yu Mingyue was seething with hatred, but facing this man who was almost the biggest and only remaining pillar of their camp, she could only swallow her anger at being ridiculed and said indifferently, "Then, Third Brother, will your plan really work?"
Yuwen Cheng glanced at her out of the corner of his eye: "Does sister-in-law have a better idea?"
"..."
Yu Mingyue frowned slightly but remained silent.
If it were before, she probably would have thought of another way, but ever since Shang Shoufei was instigated by her to seek revenge on Su Changjing, causing a chaotic battle between the Qianniu Guard and the Right Xiaowei Army at the palace gate, not only did they fail to even scratch the skin of the Twelve Guards General, but they also got the emperor to promise Yuwen Ye that he could take his trusted generals to Luoyang. This made her both indignant and helpless.
This is the emperor showing favoritism and impartiality.
So he said, "There are ways to deal with them, but since you already have an idea, let's see if your method is feasible."
Yuwen Cheng chuckled twice more, then said, "Alright, I hope my elder brother and sister-in-law will lend a hand."
After saying that, he swaggered out the gate, got into his carriage, and drove away.
Yu Mingyue stood at the entrance of the Crown Prince's residence, watching the dust kicked up by the carriage. Recalling his earlier words about "giving more help," she frowned and muttered, "You probably don't understand who is helping whom."
After leaving, Yuwen Cheng soon returned to the Qi Prince's residence, which was not far from the Crown Prince's residence. As soon as he entered, he saw the steward Hu Shan approach him and whisper, "Your Highness, General Su Changjing has come to visit."
"He's here."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cheng wasn't too surprised, but he paused for a moment and asked, "Where did he come in from?"
The steward immediately smiled and whispered, "Your Highness, rest assured, I let him in through the back door. No one saw him."
Yuwen Cheng nodded: "That's good."
After saying that, he strode inside. When he reached the main hall, he saw Su Changjing sitting there drinking tea, dressed in a dark-colored casual outfit that would hardly attract anyone's attention on such a gloomy day. There was also a veiled hat on the table next to him. As soon as he saw him, Su Changjing quickly stood up and bowed.
Yuwen Cheng walked in and waved his hand, saying, "No need for formalities."
Su Changjing immediately said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Yuwen Cheng walked to the front of the hall and sat down. He then looked at Su Changjing's face and saw that there were still two bruises on his face. He then smiled and said, "It seems that you also suffered quite a loss this time."
Mentioning this matter, Su Changjing's face grew even uglier, and he gritted his teeth and said, "The Emperor also fined me five hundred taels of gold!"
Yuwen Cheng said, "Don't feel wronged. Do you want to end up like Shang Shoufei, locked up in the Dali Temple prison and waiting for His Majesty the Emperor to calm down before being released?"
Su Changjing immediately replied, "Yes. I know that I was able to escape unscathed this time because His Highness Prince Qi pleaded on my behalf."
Yuwen Cheng smiled faintly and waved his hand.
Su Changjing continued, "It's a pity that this time we only dampened the arrogance of the Thousand Bull Guards, but failed to bring down the Prince of Qin—speaking of which, the Emperor is too biased. He is clearly the Grand General in charge of the Twelve Guards. With both sides fighting like this, he should be punished for lax governance, but the Emperor didn't utter a single word of reprimand, and even—"
Yuwen Cheng gave him a cold look, and Su Changjing could only swallow the rest of his words.
The hall immediately fell silent, but the silence didn't last long. Yuwen Cheng's sharp voice rang out, as if a knife had pierced the tranquility, saying, "But no matter what, at least this matter has been stirred up."
"..."
"It's just a pity for my sister-in-law. She's helpless now, still stubbornly waiting for me to do something for them, hahahaha."
Su Changjing echoed with a smile, "Yes."
As Yu Dingxing's son-in-law, it would seem natural for him to stand on the Crown Prince's side and have dealings with the Prince of Qi, which is not surprising. But the reason he came here secretly today is because he had been secretly colluding with the Prince of Qi for a long time.
This was for no other reason than that when he married Yu Mingzhu, he already knew that his wife and the Crown Princess were not on good terms. Under such circumstances, if he were to wholeheartedly follow the Crown Prince, he would likely suffer hardship without gaining any merit. After all, the Crown Princess Yu Mingyue was narrow-minded and loved to take revenge for personal reasons. As far as he knew, Lou Yingxiong and Lou Liangdi had both been plotted against by Yu Mingyue.
She can act so recklessly and cut off her own arm even before the crown prince has ascended the throne. Once the crown prince actually takes the throne, how will these people have any chance of survival?
We have no choice but to find another way out.
After laughing, Su Changjing asked again, "I wonder, Your Highness, how do you intend to contribute?"
Yuwen Cheng smiled faintly and told him his plan. Su Changjing nodded repeatedly, but then gradually frowned and said, "But can this really cut off the Prince of Qin's eastward journey?"
Yuwen Cheng said, "This is a drastic measure to cut off the enemy's supply lines."
"..."
"Such a good card, if we don't use it now, won't it just be wasted in our hands?"
Su Changjing nodded. In fact, Yuwen Cheng's strategy in this regard was indeed quite clever, but he was also worried about something else. After all, his secret support for Prince Qi was not to help him push for the crown prince.
So he whispered, "But if we really clear all obstacles for His Highness the Crown Prince, then Your Highness Prince Qi—"
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