Chapter 1231 His Majestic Wife!
The two exchanged another glance, but this time they didn't argue. Instead, they kowtowed to Yuwen Yuan to apologize, then got up and slowly withdrew.
As soon as the doors of the Liangyi Hall closed, the two immediately stood on either side with cold faces.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
Upon hearing this, Shang Shoufei turned his head and saw Su Changjing coldly say, "Do you think you can suppress me just because you're the Crown Princess?"
Shang Shoufei sneered: "So you really think you can hold onto this position just because of your father-in-law?"
Su Changjing glared at him: "What did you say!?"
Shang Shoufei said, "Which of these twelve generals doesn't have some military merit? Only you, I'm afraid you've never even held a sword. It's already a great honor for the Duke of Wushan to appoint you as the Right Valiant Guard General. Look at yourself, can you even lift a knife or raise a sword?"
Su Changjing's face turned ashen with anger, and he suddenly sneered: "Then what military achievements did you make when you followed the King of Qi into battle, wielding a sword and a knife?"
"you--"
Shang Shoufei's face also darkened.
He did indeed accompany Yuwen Cheng on the expedition to Luoyang, but Yuwen Cheng himself had no military achievements. It was only because Yuwen Yuan wanted to suppress Yuwen Ye that the credit for capturing Luoyang was barely attributed to him, and he was given the title of General Zhenbei. This was already the limit. Almost none of the soldiers under his command received any major rewards. Shang Shoufei's current title of General Zuo Qianniuwei was obtained by the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi together, and it was not a reward for military merit at all.
Seeing Shang Shoufei speechless, Su Changjing became even more smug and said, "The Crown Princess is not the Crown Prince, much less the Emperor. What do you think she can promise you, or give you?"
Shang Shoufei was speechless, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, "If you're so capable, then tell your backer not to rely on the Crown Princess!"
The two men outside the main hall glared at each other, while inside the hall, all was silent.
The heat emanating from the five furnaces made the entire hall feel like a sweltering summer day. Yuwen Ye had only been kneeling for a short while when his clothes were soaked with sweat, but there was little sweat on his face. Perhaps because his expression and gaze were very calm, he even appeared quite cold.
After an unknown amount of time, a heavy sigh echoed through the quiet hall.
Yuwen Ye hurriedly raised his head and met those familiar, always strong and fearless eyes. But at this moment, those eyes seemed somewhat cloudy. The courage that was once so full of vigor had been eroded by the years and illness, and had faded considerably.
Yuwen Ye murmured, "Father..."
But Yuwen Yuan looked at him calmly, his imposing manner from when he was about to punish him gone. When he spoke, there was a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Do you still see me as your father?"
Yuwen Ye asked, "Father?"
Yuwen Yuan then asked, "Do you still see me as the emperor?"
Yuwen Ye hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your subject dares not."
Yuwen Yuan tried to get up, but the sharp pain he had just experienced had exhausted most of his strength. He couldn't stand up immediately, so he could only support himself on the table with one hand, barely managing to sit upright, looking neither too old nor too weak. He then said, "I am old, but I am not senile. Your stunt is simply to make me understand that even if I could give these people to others, no one could control them. Only you, only those who obey you, can. Is that right?"
Yuwen Ye lowered his head and did not respond.
Yuwen Yuan was indeed not so old and senile that he couldn't see through this move. It was just a tactic used by both sides, just like his expansion of the Twelve Guards and Yuwen Yuan's plan to remove his right-hand men.
Yuwen Yuan said, "I just didn't expect that you would let the Qianniu Guard and the Xiaowei Army fight at the palace gate in order to protect Shen Tu Tai, and you would even suppress the people of the Ministry of Revenue in order to protect Pei Xingyuan."
Yuwen Ye kept his head down and didn't move, but his brows furrowed slightly.
Ministry of Revenue... Vice Minister Tao He?
He thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Your subject does not understand."
"Don't you understand?"
Yuwen Yuan sneered, picked up a document from the table and threw it in front of him: "Tao He suddenly came to me to say that he was ill, that he had contracted a serious disease and wanted to return to his hometown of Luoyang to recuperate."
"..."
"The two vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, one is to be transferred to Luoyang by me, and the other is to return to Luoyang to recuperate. Who will be left to do the work in my Ministry of Revenue?"
"..."
"Is this how you choke me?"
Yuwen Ye did not reach out to pick up the document that had fallen in front of him, but after seeing the words "Please take a break" on it and hearing Yuwen Yuan's words, he understood.
The highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue is the Minister, but this position has never done any real work. It only oversees the overall situation and reports the court's financial affairs to the emperor at the beginning of each year. These important matters are to be handled by the two Vice Ministers on the left and right. Now that Yuwen Yuan is going to transfer Pei Xingyuan, the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, although Tao He, the Left Vice Minister, will be busier than before, as long as there are enough people, the duties of the Ministry of Revenue will not be affected.
But if the Left Vice Minister were to feign illness, the entire Ministry of Revenue would be completely paralyzed.
In Yuwen Yuan's view, this meant that they were forcing him to change his mind.
Yuwen Ye immediately replied, "Your subject dares not."
"You don't dare?"
Yuwen Yuan's eyes grew colder, and his tone became even harsher. He said, "Do you think I don't know that ever since the Tao He and Wei Wenzhuo families were fighting over that alley when they were building their houses, and Shen Wuzheng mediated, the families have been in close contact. Just a few days ago, Shen Wuzheng went to the Tao family, and Tao He closed his doors and claimed to be ill. Even Consort Tao asked me to allow her to leave the palace to visit him. And today, Tao He suddenly came to me to claim illness. What do you think is the reason?"
Yuwen Ye lowered his head even further.
Only at this moment did a glimmer of understanding appear in his eyes.
Just as they were leaving, Shang Ruyi was being dragged along by Xiao Yuangan, and only managed to whisper one sentence to him. Besides Su Changjing's name, he also heard another name—Tao He.
So that's how it is...
Whether it was Shen Wuzheng who stepped forward, or Shang Ruyi who used Tao Wanyin as a front, Tao He had already sided with him.
Although Luoyang was not the capital of the Great Sheng Dynasty, as the eastern capital built by Chu Yang for more than ten years, its wealth and prosperity were unmatched by other cities. In fact, compared to Chang'an, which was located deep in Guanzhong, Luoyang had more developed transportation and more prosperous commerce. Putting aside the idea of directly profiting from participating in the power struggles of the court, becoming an official there, especially an official in the Ministry of Revenue, would be a very desirable position.
Therefore, Tao He's move was not only about taking sides in the struggle between the King of Qin and the Crown Prince and betting on his own future, but it was also in his own best interest.
But all of this happened so suddenly that even Yuwen Ye was somewhat at a loss.
He hadn't expected Shang Ruyi to act so quickly.
It really is his, Majestic Lady!
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