Chapter 217 Undercurrent
There was a hot stove burning in the room, and the couch was covered with a thick velvet blanket. The cold wind outside the window, perhaps because it was late at night, blew against the window, causing the window frames to creak.
In such a climate, Xie Rongying felt somewhat light-hearted and at ease.
Perhaps the memory of being in misery, helplessness and old age was too profound, or perhaps the pain of the wound made her more aware of what she was doing. When she heard the "worry" words from King Wei when he left, she sighed.
He is a favored child in the eyes of others, but also a "useless" person in the eyes of others.
The previous emperor passed away, leaving behind this orphan and a widowed mother.
The King of Wei went from trusting his uncle to having his throne taken away and falling out with his uncle, and even becoming a thorn in his uncle's side. I think only the King of Wei himself knows what he went through along the way.
Although Xie Rongying had little contact with King Wei, just from these few contacts, it could be seen that King Wei and the Empress Dowager were not of the same mind.
Even though the mother and son have the same goal.
And what the Queen Mother did was not discussed with the King of Wei.
From this point, it can be seen that the Empress Dowager does not trust her son.
Perhaps there is still an unresolved knot between this mother and son.
The sound of the wind outside the window became a little softer, and Xie Rongying fell into a deep sleep as her thoughts drifted away.
Zhao Yu, who left Kaifeng Prefecture, closed his eyes and rested in the carriage.
At this time, Chang Ning's voice sounded outside the carriage: "Master, are you going to Changle Tower, or going directly back to the palace?"
"Changle Tower."
The carriage was moving much faster than before.
Zhao Yu opened his eyes and felt somewhat pleased when he thought about the current situation in Bianjing.
The situation in Bianliang, which was under the control of Emperor Ren De, has now been torn into a crack.
Now is the perfect opportunity for both Emperor Ren De and Zhao Yu to attack each other.
As for who wins and who loses, it depends on their own abilities.
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the side door of Yongle Building.
After Zhao Yu got off the carriage, the side door was already open. As he walked in, the gatekeeper quickly closed the door again.
Chang Ning followed closely behind him.
When they arrived at the courtyard west of Changle Tower, the people in the right wing heard footsteps in the courtyard and immediately got up and opened the door. When they saw Zhao Yu, who was supposed to be in Kaibao Temple, appear here, surprise flashed in their eyes.
"Young Master?" Yun Cheng, wearing his outer robe, walked towards Zhao Yu. "Didn't you say you wouldn't be returning to Bianjing for half a month?"
"I'm back early." Zhao Yu said as he walked towards the main house.
Seeing this, Yun Cheng put on his outer robe and followed Zhao Yu's footsteps: "Do you know what happened in Bianjing?"
Zhao Yu hummed.
Yun Cheng sensed the chill lingering from Zhao Yu and said, "I never thought the young lady of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion could truly push the situation in Bianjing to this point. I really underestimated her. However, this situation is both good and bad for you and the one in the palace."
"Emperor Ren De will definitely seize this opportunity to divert the evil away and eliminate you at the same time."
Zhao Yu walked into the main house with a gloomy face. He naturally knew that Emperor Ren De would definitely not give up this opportunity.
"But we have a good opportunity right now." Yun Cheng watched Zhao Yu sit down in the main seat and said, "The Concubine Chen has gained the trust of Emperor Ren De over the years. As you said before, we should start with the Concubine Chen."
"Emperor Rende knows about the relationship between Concubine Chen and Shangguan Yan, but he doesn't know much. Concubine Chen also has ambitions. What do you think about starting with Concubine Chen?"
Zhao Yu looked up at Yun Cheng, his dark eyes seemed to reveal a trace of contempt, and there was a hint of smile on his lips: "The Concubine Chen and Emperor Ren De should trust each other at the moment. Instead of starting with the Concubine Chen, it is better to start with the Crown Prince."
When Yun Cheng heard the word "Crown Prince", his long, slanted peach blossom eyes were filled with smiles: "Crown Prince?"
Zhao Heng is a man of courage but no strategy. Due to his status and position, he seems to have the will but not the ability to do things.
But if the situation is like this now, the Crown Prince will certainly be more anxious than Emperor Ren De to come forward and deal with the King of Wei.
After all, in the eyes of everyone, the one who targeted King Wei over the years was only the Crown Prince, not Emperor Ren De.
In recent years, Emperor Ren De has played the role of restraining the turbulent situation between King Wei and the Crown Prince.
"Emperor Ren De has been pretending to favor you in front of the court officials for years, and has repeatedly scolded the Crown Prince. But everyone knows that without Emperor Ren De's permission, there's no way the Crown Prince would be so arrogant in front of you." Yun Cheng has also been holding a grudge against the Crown Prince for years: "It's best to start with the Crown Prince."
Zhao Yu lowered his eyes and leaned back in his chair, a trace of fatigue on his face.
"There's no news of the Empress Dowager in Yanfu Palace." Yun Cheng mentioned the Empress Dowager, with a hint of worry in his eyes: "I always feel that Emperor Ren De has placed the Empress Dowager under house arrest, and in the end, it is also to threaten you."
Zhao Yu chuckled: "It's not the time to threaten me yet."
Not to mention that the old ministers are quite dissatisfied with the fact that the Empress Dowager is under house arrest. Just looking at the power that the Empress Dowager has cultivated over the years, Emperor Ren De will not take action against her for the time being.
"The next step for Emperor Ren De should be to instruct the Crown Prince to pursue me while he is dealing with the Queen Mother in the palace." Zhao Yu's eyes were cold when he said this.
"Given the Empress's current situation, how long can she deal with Emperor Ren De?" Yun Cheng raised his eyebrows and asked seriously.
Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and said, "My mother has never believed me all these years. Now she has no intention of seeing me in Yanfu Palace. I think she blames me for what happened this time."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Over the years, he has maintained a good relationship with the old ministers. Although the Shi family's affairs were plotted, Emperor Ren De still cannot forcefully resolve the matter with my mother. Emperor Ren De still has some concerns, but he will not give up the opportunity to kill us mother and son."
In the eyes of Emperor Ren De, the current situation is an excellent opportunity to deal with the Empress Dowager and her son.
The father and son, Emperor Ren De and the Crown Prince, will also try their best to pin down the Empress Dowager and her son so that they will never be able to turn over again.
"Can the Empress still contact the old ministers?" Yun Cheng asked. "The Emperor Ren De should not allow the Empress to have any chance to contact the old ministers."
"So, my chance has come," said King Wei.
Because the Empress Dowager did not trust the King of Wei at all, she had also informed the court officials that whenever the King of Wei had any instructions for the old ministers, they had to report to the Empress Dowager.
Over the years, the King of Wei has not only been suppressed by Emperor Ren De, but also by the Empress Dowager.
This is also the reason why Zhao Yu turned a blind eye when Xie Rongying teamed up with Concubine Chen to use Shi Yang to deal with the Empress Dowager.
Only when the Empress Dowager is restrained by Emperor Ren De, Zhao Yu will have no worries and can he give it his all in dealing with Emperor Ren De.
"Following this incident at the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion, Emperor Ren De will quickly clamp down on any court officials who have come close to the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion, and these officials will undoubtedly be veteran officials who have served under the Empress Dowager."
When Zhao Yu said this, Yun Cheng's face turned cold.
Emperor Ren De wanted to use the same trick again. After the crime of treason against the Yongyi Marquis was confirmed, he would also drag the court officials that Emperor Ren De wanted to deal with into the matter.
However, most of the court officials who approached the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion were new officials promoted by Emperor Ren De. The only court official who approached the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion...
"Your Highness, are you saying that the next person Emperor Ren De wants to deal with is the Privy Council's secret envoy, Zou Xingzhen?" Yun Cheng's voice trembled when he said this.
"Emperor Rende has been furious at court these past two days over the collusion between the Yongyi Marquisate and Shangguan Yan, and he's repeatedly summoned Secret Envoy Zou." Zhao Yu leaned back in his chair, his expression slightly gloomy. "I can sense Secret Envoy Zou's concern between the lines of the secret letter he sent me. Emperor Rende is extremely suspicious now, and he probably wants to use the Yongyi Marquisate as an example to others, and also to drag others into the water. As the head of the Privy Council and someone with some connections to Qin Shiyuan, Zou Xingzhen would naturally be targeted by Emperor Rende."
"Although Secret Envoy Zou has had some friendship with Qin Shiyuan over the years, he used to be a close confidant of the late emperor, and they have served different masters over the years. Emperor Ren De wants to take this opportunity to eliminate the person who poses the greatest threat to him in the hands of his mother."
——
The next day.
As expected, the city of Bianjing was covered in snow again, and a group of people from the Dongchang Marquis Mansion also came to Kaifeng Prefecture.
Jiang Zhulan brought her son Shen Chengli to visit Xie Rongying, but to her surprise, Yan was also there.
However, considering that Xie Rongying was so seriously injured, it was not surprising that Yan appeared.
"Rongying just fell asleep again. If she knew you came to visit her, she would be very happy." Old Madam Xie looked at Jiang with a kind face, and her eyes looked at Shen Chengli who was sitting next to Jiang.
Sometimes the intentions between clans are too obvious. Before, the Jiang family had intended to marry into the Xie family.
But he was still one step slower than Jiang.
I think Jiang also heard that the emperor had graciously allowed Xie Rongying and Qin Junyi to divorce.
"Rongying is blessed with a long life. From now on, there will be no more misfortunes." Jiang liked Xie Rongying from the bottom of her heart: "In this life, it is inevitable to experience some things. After going through them, everything will go smoothly."
These words naturally touched Mrs. Xie's heart. She smiled and said, "Yes, Rongying will definitely have smooth sailing from now on."
Yan, who was sitting on the other side, glanced at Shen Chengli a few times, but had no intention of speaking. However, she understood the intention of Jiang, her former friend, who came today.
Sure enough, the next moment Jiang asked about Xie Rongying and the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion.
"I heard from my lord that Lord Xie went to the emperor's house and directly wrote a letter of divorce with Qin Junyi?" Jiang asked.
Mrs. Xie's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but her tone was filled with melancholy. "Yes, Rong Ying and Qin Junyi are divorced."
When Old Lady Xie announced that Xie Rongying and Qin Junyi were getting divorced, Yan looked at the expression of her son beside Jiang.
Although Shen Chengli was steady, the strange look that quickly flashed in his eyes was still caught by Yan.
"A divorce is a good idea. Qin Junyi is not a good man. I know a lot about Qin Junyi. Lord Xie shouldn't have agreed to this marriage in the first place." Jiang's tone was full of concern for the younger generation. "Given the current status of the Xie family in Bianjing, Rongying should choose her own marriage. Choose someone she likes and who likes her."
Old Madam Xie smiled meaningfully. "That's true, but from now on, Rongying's marriage will be decided by me. You all know the Xie family motto. Rongying is the only child of the eldest son. From now on, Rongying's husband will definitely come to the Xie family as a son-in-law, and any children will have to take the Xie family name."
Sure enough, after hearing what Mrs. Xie said, the smile on Jiang's face froze.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xie had no intention of letting Xie Rongying marry out again.
After a moment, her expression returned to normal: "Old Madam is right. From now on, it will be easier to find a husband for Rongying. It is also possible to kill the father and keep the son."
Seeing that Madam Xie was still planning to discuss this topic in depth, Yan immediately said, "Madam, I haven't seen Zhu Lan for a long time. I want to talk to her alone."
How could Mrs. Xie not know what Yan meant?
Jiang's meaning was so clear that if she simply refused, it would inevitably damage the relationship between the Dongchang Marquisate and the Xie family.
She smiled and said, "I only talked about Rongying. I forgot that Zhu Lan cared about Rongying so much because of your good relationship."
As she spoke, Mrs. Xie stood up and said, "I'll go see Rongying, you two chat."
Yan stood up and bowed, watching Old Madam Xie and her people leave the room.
Jiang also said to her son beside her, "Aren't you worried about Rong Ying's injury? Go and check on her with the old lady?"
Shen Chengli stood up and said, "Then my son will go first." As he spoke, he bowed to Yan.
Mrs. Xie walked out of the room and listened to Jiang's words and sighed inwardly.
It’s not that she looks down on the boy from the Shen family, but she knows that her granddaughter Xie Rongying probably won’t think about getting married for the time being.
What's more, Bian Jing is in trouble now, and if others know that the Xie family and the Shen family are planning to form an alliance.
The Xie family is afraid that they will be pushed to the forefront of another storm.
"Old lady." Shen Chengli had already walked to the old lady's side at this time: "I just went to take a look and will not disturb Rongying."
"You're so thoughtful." Old Madam Xie glanced sideways at the tall, handsome young man beside her, but ultimately didn't say anything decisive. "You and your father must have been quite busy these past two days, right?"
Dongchang Marquis Chen Yun arrested the entire Yongyi Marquis family, and the task of tracking down Qin Junyi naturally fell on Chen Yun.
As Shen Yun's son, Shen Chengli should be very busy these two days.
"Yes, I'm quite busy." Shen Chengli lowered his eyes and answered obediently.
Madam Xie asked again, "Still no news on Qin Junyi's whereabouts?"
"No." Shen Chengli was also puzzled. "I heard from the emperor that Qin Junyi was last seen in the imperial palace, but there is no trace of Qin Junyi in the palace. This means he must be in Bianjing City. However, most places in the city have been searched, but there is still no trace of Qin Junyi. Even the people are watching this matter closely. The strange thing is that Qin Junyi seems to have disappeared in Bianjing."
Like a wild goose passing by, it leaves traces behind. After searching everywhere, there was no news about Qin Junyi, which was very strange.
Just as Shen Chengli expressed his confusion and Madam Xie was also puzzled, Qi Zhan appeared from the courtyard gate and walked forward quickly.
"Madam, the Empress Chen and the Crown Prince are here to visit the young lady." Qi Zhan's face looked a little strange.
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