Chapter 303 With troops at your disposal, success is assured.
Everyone was startled and quickly turned their heads away.
The speaker was none other than their commander, Wang Shaoji, the Right Guard General.
He sneered and said, "The people who really caused you brothers to be stabbed, exiled, and have your homes confiscated are still doing well, while you only think about causing trouble for these Jiangdu Palace guards who will never amount to anything. Is that useful?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
One of the guards cautiously asked, "General, tell me—who is the one who truly harmed us?"
Wang Shaoji glanced at him.
Following behind him, another adjutant, Fu Jiang, immediately said, "You don't know yet, do you? Actually, the moment the incident broke, the general went to see His Majesty to request punishment for the Jiangdu Palace garrison, and His Majesty had initially agreed. But—"
Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly asked, "But what?"
"However, some people dissuaded His Majesty."
Who is it?
Wang Shaoji glanced at them, then slowly said, "It is that one—the young mistress of the Yuwen family, Shang Ruyi, who is hidden deep in the palace by His Majesty and is deeply favored."
"..."
"It was because of her that His Majesty did not punish the guards of Jiangdu Palace, but instead severely punished our Imperial Guards."
Upon hearing the name, the Imperial Guards all frowned.
They weren't actually that interested in this woman. Although the fact that the emperor had carried her, who was injured, all the way back to the government office in front of everyone in Yanmen County had excited them and they had talked about it in a rather lewd way, after the emperor cut out the tongues of a few people, they were made an example of and no one dared to mention it again. As time went by, they gradually forgot about it.
This time, this woman, who clearly did not go south, suddenly appeared in Jiangdu Palace and was "kept in a golden house" by the emperor, placed in the inner palace. Everyone started gossiping about her again, but what they talked about was nothing more than romantic affairs.
But now Wang Shaoji tells everyone that it was because of her that the emperor ordered the punishment of the Imperial Guards.
Immediately, someone angrily said, "Damn it, what is that woman? How dare she spout nonsense in front of the Emperor, causing our brothers to be beheaded, have their homes confiscated, and be exiled."
"She is the young mistress of the Yuwen family, and the Yuwen family has never gotten along with us."
"That's right, haven't the Yuwen family caused us enough trouble already?"
Seeing everyone cursing and swearing, Wang Shaoji and Fu Jiang exchanged a glance, and Fu Jiang continued, "Not only that, but when we were on patrol, we also saw that the young mistress meeting with the deputy commander of the Jiangdu Palace garrison. The two of them were secretly talking about something, and they seemed to know each other very well."
Upon hearing this, everyone became even angrier.
"So, she deliberately favored the garrison of Jiangdu Palace!"
"With a woman like her by the Emperor's side, how can we Imperial Guards live in peace?"
...
Seeing that everyone's anger was growing and they were cursing at Shang Ruyi, Wang Shaoji smiled coldly and turned to leave.
Under the cover of night, he returned to his residence. Just as he was about to go to his room to rest, he noticed that the light was still on in the study next door. After thinking for a moment, he pushed open the door and went in.
He didn't come to this study often, and he wasn't used to the strong smell of ink in the room, because he had never liked reading since he was a child. However, as if to make up for his frivolous habit, there was someone by his side who loved reading from childhood and practically grew up surrounded by books.
At that moment, upon hearing the sound of him pushing open the door, the person sitting in front of the candlestick, holding a book, slowly raised their head.
The flickering candlelight illuminated a face that bore a striking resemblance to Wang Shaoji's, with the same high cheekbones and slanted eyes. However, this person appeared more scholarly than Wang Shaoji, and due to his haggard expression, he seemed gentle and harmless, making him easy to trust.
He was Wang Shaoji's brother, Wang Shaoqiu, the Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat.
Although the two were born of the same mother and had a good relationship, Wang Shaoqiu was weak and sickly from childhood. Compared to his elder brother, who earned military merit after a few years in the army, was promoted to general, and became the emperor's confidant, his career path was very bumpy. Because of his weak health, he was unable to serve in the army. He had worked in the Ministry of Rites for a few years before taking leave due to illness. It was not until recently that his health improved and he entered the Secretariat. This time, he was able to successfully accompany the emperor south.
He said, "Brother, you're back."
Upon seeing him, Wang Shaoji smiled slightly and walked over, saying, "Your method is indeed useful."
"oh?"
Wang Shaoqiu, who had been about to continue reading, looked up from his book upon hearing this. He saw Wang Shaoji excitedly say, "I only mentioned it to my men, and now they're all venting their anger on that Shang Ruyi."
"..."
"Hmph, this bitch has embarrassed me several times before. This time, I can't let her continue to act so arrogantly."
"..."
"While Yuwen Ye is away, I'm going to teach her a lesson!"
Wang Shaoqiu glanced at him, then lowered his head slightly and said, "Brother, if you can only see one woman, if you only think about arguing with one woman, then your path will not be long."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shaoji frowned: "What do you mean?"
Wang Shaoqiu paused for a moment, closed the book, slowly put it down, and then looked up at him: "I asked you, brother, to incite the discontent of the Imperial Guards, not just so they could deal with that Shang Ruyi. That woman is nothing but a pawn; whether she lives or dies is only good for making you happy, brother. She has no value or meaning whatsoever."
Wang Shaoji frowned even more: "If it's not to deal with Shang Ruyi, then—who else are you going to deal with?"
Wang Shaoqiu looked up at him, a cold glint in his long, narrow eyes.
A sense of unease rose in Wang Shaoji's heart. Although he was known as a frivolous young master and liked to bully the good and even frame loyal officials in the court, his evil deeds were limited to that. In fact, he had always known that his brother, who looked weak and harmless, was more ambitious than anyone else. In fact, his brother was even more cunning and ruthless than him.
However, he never saw blood on his hands.
Hearing his words now, Wang Shaoji vaguely felt that his purpose in having him say those things to provoke his subordinates was not so simple.
So he asked again, "What else do you want to do?"
"..."
Wang Shaoqiu did not answer him immediately, but looked at him in silence for a long time before asking, "Brother, do you want to stay in Jiangdu forever?"
Wang Shaoji immediately replied, "Of course not."
"..."
“Our family is in the north. We moved from Daxing City to Dongdu before, which already caused some damage. This time, we came to the south and are unfamiliar with the place. If we stay here, it will only cause more damage, and we will become helpless and lonely ghosts!”
"..."
"Besides, those gentry in the south have always wanted to compete with us for power, and we can't let them have their way."
"Let me ask you again, brother, you don't want to stay in Jiangdu, but what do you think His Majesty thinks?"
"His Majesty?"
Mentioning this, Wang Shaoji's face darkened again: "Now he just hides in the inner palace every day drinking and practicing swordsmanship, and he's also doing some shady things with that vile woman. He has no intention of going back to the North."
"Then, elder brother, would you dare to advise His Majesty to return to Luoyang?"
"The previous Ji Nayan, and those from the Ministry of Rites, were either killed or demoted. Who would dare to go?"
Wang Shaoqiu nodded: "That's right."
Wang Shaoji was taken aback: "What's right?"
Wang Shaoqiu said, "We can't persuade them; we can't keep them. So what is the only thing we can do now, what should we do? Don't you understand, brother?"
"..."
“Brother, in times of chaos, soldiers are the most valuable asset. This is not only because soldiers can protect us in war, but more importantly, because having soldiers at our disposal can help us achieve our goals at crucial moments.”
Wang Shaoji stared at him blankly. After a while, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he immediately understood.
"You, you want to—"
Wang Shaoji was both shocked and frightened, and almost jumped up. He didn't dare to say another word, swallowing it back down, and looked at Wang Shaoqiu with a terrified expression.
He pointed a finger at Wang Shaoqiu, his fingertip trembling, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say in a hoarse voice, "You, how dare you!"
Just then, Wang Shaoqiu suddenly asked, "Who?"
Wang Shaoji was startled again and hurriedly looked behind him, only to find that he hadn't closed the door when he came in. A slender figure flashed past the door and slowly walked in.
The beautiful woman was dressed in a green dress, her lotus-like steps graceful. Although she had only walked a few steps, her slender waist swayed captivatingly, and a refreshing fragrance wafted in the breeze. Although Wang Shaoji had just been terrified and was covered in a cold sweat, he was somewhat infatuated with her at first sight.
This beauty was none other than his concubine, Lüxiao.
The beautiful woman walked in slowly from outside, smiling as she said, "Second Young Master, you have excellent hearing. I've only just arrived and you've already heard me."
Wang Shaoqiu frowned: "What are you doing here?"
Green Silk smiled and glanced at him, then looked at Wang Shaoji beside her, pouting and saying aggrievedly, "I was waiting for you in the room, young master. Just now, I finally heard your footsteps, but you wouldn't come back to the room. I thought some vixen had bewitched you, but luckily when I came over, it was the second young master."
Wang Shaoqiu wasn't good at dealing with women, so he just frowned and stopped talking.
Upon seeing her, Wang Shaoji felt a surge of heat throughout his body. He didn't bother to say anything more to his brothers and rushed forward to embrace her. After a few playful exchanges, he turned back and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I have to get back to work."
After saying that, he took Green Silk back to his room.
Soon after, some unpleasant and offensive sounds came from the darkness.
Wang Shaoqiu sat in his study, quietly looking at the book in his hands, but he didn't turn a single page until late at night.
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