Chapter 97 Ayin, you bully me
Zong Zhengxiao turned his head away, like a child throwing a tantrum, "I'm in a bad mood and don't want to talk."
Rong Yin blushed, "Are you still thinking about what happened last night? But it was you who was wrong first, so I punished you. What happened last night has already been settled. When will it be time to start a revenge war, Your Majesty?"
Zong Zhengxiao said aggrievedly: "You have gone, but I haven't."
"So what do you want?" Rong Yin asked, "How about you punish me like I punished you last night?"
"What's the point? I just want to be with you, Ayin." Zong Zhengxiao hugged Rong Yin and buried his face in his shoulder, like a pitiful big puppy.
Facing Zong Zheng Xiao like this, Rong Yin couldn't bear to be cruel. She immediately touched his head and said, "Don't be sad. Next time, I'll listen to you no matter what position I use, okay?"
Zong Zheng Xiao: "Really?"
Rong Yin: "More real than pearls."
Zong Zhengxiao raised his head, no longer showing any sadness on his face, his eyes were filled with the joy of having succeeded in his plan, "I knew you were the best, Ayin."
Rong Yin: “…”
He jumped into the fire pit again while sober. Looking at Zong Zheng Xiao's expression, he would be burned to death next time.
"Okay." Rong Yin sat up straight and looked at him. "Now can you tell me about your and Li Chu's plan?"
Zong Zhengxiao smiled broadly: "Of course you can."
Rong Yin nestled into Zong Zheng Xiao's arms, holding his hand and playing with it while listening to what Zong Zheng Xiao said.
"Li Chu came to me the other day and said that since it was already a foregone conclusion that he was leaving the capital, why not use this opportunity to set up a trap for the Cui family before he left..."
Li Chu knew very well that the Cui family must be resentful of him because they agreed to so many conditions in order to let him take his aunt back. Given the vengeful character of the head of the Cui family, the Cui family would definitely take action against the Li family once he left the capital.
Therefore, before Li Chu leaves, he must get a guarantee that the Cui family will not only not target the Li family, but will also be willing to protect the Li family.
Because Zong Zhengxiao had promised Li Chu that he would protect the Li family when Li Chu left Beijing, this way, there is double protection to reassure Li Chu, and it can also prevent the Cui family from harming the Li family and causing trouble for Zong Zhengxiao, and it can also further cover up the fact that Li Chu has already joined Zong Zhengxiao.
Li Chu used the undercover agents he had planted around his uncles and aunts to deceive them, saying that something happened to his aunt in the Cui family. Li Chu received benefits from the Cui family, so he brought the person back and buried her in the name of the Li family.
If the Cui family came out at this time to throw dirty water on Li Chu, accusing him of deliberately killing his aunt and taking human life lightly, Li Chu would not dare to offend them and would have to swallow the bitter fruit himself.
When the time comes, they will spread rumors that he harmed his father, brother, and aunt out of jealousy. Even if there is no evidence to arrest him and put him in jail, his reputation will be ruined, and his uncles will have reason to oppose him becoming the head of the family.
Once Li Chu falls, won't the entire Li family belong to them?
After hearing the plan from the undercover agent, the uncle and aunt thought that it had a great chance of success, so they followed the agent's instigation, quickly brought the aunt's brother and sister-in-law over, and lured them to work for them with huge sums of money.
This led to the bustling scene at the gate of Li's mansion that day, and also explained Rong Yin's doubts about why there were so many onlookers and why the Li family ignored the commotion, because this was Li Chu's deliberate plan.
This morning in the court, Zong Zhengxiao and Li Chu were acting together in order to deceive the aristocratic families, especially the Cui family, and make the head of the Cui family think that Li Chu suffered all these misfortunes because of his Cui family.
Because Aunt Li died because of the Cui family.
Is the result of the plan as predicted by Zong Zhengxiao and Li Chu?
Subsequent facts proved that they succeeded.
After the court sessions that day, Li Chu was ordered not to attend court sessions for the time being and to stay at home to cooperate with the investigation.
Doing this may seem like Zong Zhengxiao is bullying Li Chu in disguise, but in fact it is to give him more time to supervise the plan to proceed smoothly.
Because the evidence of Li Chu's murder of Li Ao and Patriarch Cui had been cleared up by him long ago, and Zong Zhengxiao's people deliberately let them off, the officials investigating the case did not find anything in this matter.
But there is a story about the cause of my aunt's death. The doctor in the Li Mansion who treated my aunt was locked up. No matter how he was interrogated, his answer was that my aunt unfortunately passed away due to a cold that caused lung heat. It was not at all like what my aunt's brother and sister-in-law said, that there was another cause of death.
There is nothing wrong with Li Chu, but it is different with Cui's family.
Zong Zhengxiao had known about the affair between his aunt and Mr. Cui for a long time, which was like looking for a problem with an answer. In addition, Zong Zhengxiao's people investigated seriously, and it didn't take long for them to find solid evidence that his aunt had lived in the Cui family for a period of time before her death.
The head of the Cui family was panicked. It was obvious that the person they were investigating was Li Chu, so why was all the criticism directed at him?
Within a few days, the news that my aunt and Mr. Cui were having an affair could no longer be concealed.
If this news breaks through the circle of power and spreads throughout the world, the Cui family will lose all their reputation.
I thought the matter was over with my aunt's death, but I was struck back unexpectedly.
The head of the Cui family had a face as cold as ice all day long. Young Master Cui was once again punished to kneel in the ancestral hall. This time, no one could persuade him, so the head of the Cui family went straight to the family punishment. From then on, he completely hated this eldest son in his heart.
The second young master Cui stayed quietly in his own yard these days. He didn't have to come up with any tricks. He could just watch the Cui family panicking and worrying. However, he had sweet dreams every night and even gained a few pounds.
When he was suffering alone, he was desperate and angry. When his whole family was suffering like him, he began to enjoy the feeling of being devastated and dying together.
When the head of the Cui family fell into endless anxiety and was ready to force Li Chu to take all the responsibilities for his aunt's death, otherwise their Cui family would be in trouble and he would drag the Li family into the water, Li Chu took the initiative to come over.
Li Chu said, "Uncle, Zong Zhengxiao finally got this opportunity, and he will definitely investigate thoroughly. Then neither of our families will be able to escape, especially the Cui family. I believe that you, uncle, will not be willing to watch the Cui family's century-old reputation destroyed because of a woman, right?"
Patriarch Cui looked confused: "What do you mean, nephew?"
Li Chu looked at the head of the Cui family and said, "I can probably guess what method my uncle will use to solve the problem in the end. I came here today just to exchange the safety of the Cui and Li families at the lowest price."
"What have you thought of?" The head of the Cui family didn't care that her original idea was seen through by Li Chu. Aren't all of them like this anyway, calculating everything and their alliances just to protect their own interests.
Li Chu's expression suddenly became very solemn. He said in a serious tone, "Before I tell you the plan, I want a promise from your uncle. If anything happens to me, your uncle will never attack the Li family, and will protect the Li family from being disturbed by others. As long as your uncle swears to do these things, I will definitely guarantee that Zong Zhengxiao's knife will not fall on the Cui family this time."
In the eyes of Patriarch Cui, Li Chu knew that he would use the Li family as a shield, so he simply proposed it himself and could also use it to get a few demands.
The current situation does not allow Mr. Cui to refuse. Instead of shirking responsibility and fighting with the Li family to the death, he will let Zong Zhengxiao's family take advantage.
It would be better to give up some small profits and get a docile scapegoat, so as to get the Cui family out of this incident more cleanly. Why not do it?
The Cui family head pretended to be kind and said, "Since it is your nephew's request, if I don't agree, I will be letting you down. I swear, as long as you take the blame for this incident, if anything happens to you, I will not attack the Li family, but will protect the Li family and prevent others from bullying the Li family. If I break my oath, the Cui family's century-old foundation will be destroyed in one day."
The Cui family is what the head of the Cui family cares about the most. When he made this oath, at least his attitude was very correct.
Seeing this, Li Chu no longer concealed his intention and told it out.
He would admit that there were indeed other reasons for his aunt's death, but he would not link it to the miscarriage. Instead, he would portray it as an unfortunate murder caused by a family feud.
The reason why the Li family said that the aunt died of illness before was because Li Chu was afraid that others would say that he couldn't even handle the affairs of the inner house, so how could he manage the entire Li family, which would cause trouble for him to ascend to the position of head of the family.
He had already fabricated the evidence, and Zong Zhengxiao's people would definitely not be able to see the flaws.
Li Chudu had already confessed his guilt, so Zong Zhengxiao's people had no excuse to continue the investigation.
After hearing Li Chu's plan and knowing that the Cui family was about to get out of trouble, the head of the Cui family showed a relieved expression on his face.
At the same time, he also felt a rare sense of guilt towards Li Chu. Although he was more relieved, what Li Chu wanted was his guilt, even if it was just a tiny bit.
After all, it is a luxury to find some human emotions from these cold-hearted and calculating people from the aristocratic families.
Soon, the news that Li Chu had submitted evidence and confessed his guilt spread throughout the government and the country.
Li Chu said that the aunt had a conflict with another concubine. The two of them quarreled frequently, and the concubine, in a fit of rage, bribed the maidservant around the aunt and poisoned her.
Now, no one knows where the concubine and the maid have fled to, and the people in the Li Mansion are looking for them. Now that he has told the truth, the task of finding them has been handed over to the government.
In the eyes of others, Li Chu deliberately ran away to take the blame in order to protect the Cui family.
But the fabricated evidence was conclusive, and Zong Zhengxiao had no choice but to admit it even if he wanted to. He originally thought he could deal a heavy blow to the Cui family, but in the end he was intercepted by Li Chu. No one would be happy about this.
Everyone agreed that Zong Zhengxiao would severely punish Li Chu, and the result was as they expected.
Zong Zhengxiao announced in the court that Li Chu had deceived the emperor because of his improper management of the household and concealed the real cause of his aunt's death at the beginning. He was punished for multiple crimes and was dismissed from his current position and demoted to southern Fujian. He would never be allowed to return to Beijing in this lifetime unless summoned by the emperor.
Not only was he transferred away from the capital, he was also not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict. This was tantamount to sentencing Li Chu to death, which was simply the most tragic of circumstances.
Before Zong Zhengxiao finished his words, Li Chu fainted in front of all the civil and military officials, and was finally carried out of the hall.
Patriarch Cui did not expect Zong Zheng Xiao to be so cruel. This essentially ruined Li Chu's future.
After all, in the eyes of Patriarch Cui, Li Chu is still on their side. If Li Chu is destroyed, it will be a huge loss for their family.
Thinking of the reason why Li Chu took the blame, Patriarch Cui felt a little more guilty.
After Li Chu returned home, he fell seriously ill, but Zong Zhengxiao ignored his condition and required him to leave for Minnan to take up his post within half a month.
Even though she knew that her son and the emperor were acting, when she looked at her son's haggard face and thought of the hardships in southern Fujian, Madam Li couldn't help crying until her eyes were swollen.
This scene, seen by the people of the aristocratic families, added another layer of protection to Zong Zhengxiao and Li Chu's already flawless plan. No one would have guessed that all this was just a conspiracy by the two against the Cui family.
Even as things have developed to this point, the uncles and aunts of the Li family are still complacent, thinking that their trick has worked.
Once Li Chu leaves, the entire Li family will be taken over by them.
My aunt's brother and sister-in-law, holding the large sum of money given by my uncle, were grinning from ear to ear and began to think about how to spend the money.
As for reburying their "unjustly dead" sister, they had never even thought about it. After coming to the capital for so long, they had never even visited their aunt's grave once.
Because they didn't care about my aunt in the first place.
My aunt's parents died early, and she grew up with her brother and sister-in-law. Her brother and sister-in-law thought it was expensive to raise her, so they hated her to the core. As soon as she came of age, they planned to sell her to a rich man as a concubine and then put the money into their own pockets.
My brother and his wife were businessmen. Once they went to the capital to purchase goods and took my sister with them as a servant, asking her to look after them along the way.
Unexpectedly, because of her outstanding appearance, the younger sister was noticed by the away head of the Li family, who spent a lot of money to buy her. He also gave a sum of money to my brother and sister-in-law, threatening them not to come to the capital to disturb my aunt again, otherwise they would be killed.
The brother and sister-in-law ran away in shame. If the uncles and aunts of the Li family had not said that their aunt had died and the head of the Li family was paralyzed in bed and couldn't even speak, they would not have dared to take the risk to come to the capital.
However, just like doing business, this time their acting is also high-risk and high-reward. The bonus given by the uncles and aunts of the Li family is more than they can earn even if they do business for several years.
But what my aunt's brother and sister-in-law didn't know was that even though the head of the Li family was paralyzed, his initial threat was still effective, and someone would judge the two people who broke their promise on his behalf.
So before Li Chu left Beijing, his aunt's brother and sister-in-law died tragically in the small courtyard they rented. Their heads were chopped off, and all the money in the house was swept away.
It was said to be a burglary, but no one saw the murderer, and no one came to the defense of the two of them, so this was destined to remain an unsolved case.
As for the uncles and aunts who came to Li Chu to show off their power after he fell ill and were waiting to take over the Li family as soon as he left, they were all given non-fatal warnings.
One woke up in the morning and found a knife stuck in the bed, another got drunk and fell into the water for no apparent reason and nearly drowned, another was put in a sack and beaten at night and will probably have to stay in bed for several months before he can get up...
In short, those who coveted the position of head of the Li family had the worst luck during this period.
After receiving the news of the death of my aunt, brother and sister-in-law, these people were even more frightened. They knew that Li Chu was taking revenge on them, and that the Cui family might be helping him.
After being threatened, several people behaved themselves, at least they stopped going to Li Chu and bothering him.
The smart ones, knowing that the Cui family is the largest now, think about currying favor with the Cui family in order to gain their support and take the position of head of the family.
However, the Cui family rejected them all, on the grounds that the current head of the Li family is still Li Chu's father, and as long as he is alive, the head of the Li family will never change.
In fact, it was the head of the Cui family who did the killings and teaching the uncles a lesson. It was a compensation to Li Chu and also a way to vent his anger.
If it weren't for these uncles' meddling, the cause of my aunt's death would not have been brought up again, and their family would not have ended up like this.
Although Li Chu took all the responsibility alone, the news that Master Cui and his aunt had colluded with each other still spread among the people.
Although these were just groundless rumors, they still had an impact on the Cui family.
If it weren't for these uncles, this could have been avoided, so even though he didn't take their lives, the head of the Cui family still took severe revenge on them.
Before leaving Beijing, Li Chu took his mother to visit the head of the Cui family. With a sickly face and tears in his eyes, he begged the head of the Cui family to help take care of the head of the Li family and Madam Li who stayed in Beijing, and he kowtowed to the head of the Cui family.
Patriarch Cui was put on the spot and had to agree even if he didn't want to, and he had to do it in front of Patriarch Chen and several other small patriarchs.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Patriarch Cui vowed to protect the Li family and prevent anyone else from attacking the Li family, which actually offended the people from other families.
Your Cui family owes the Li family anything, but we don't. The Li family has such a big piece of meat pie, but you don't want to eat it, and you don't allow us to eat it either. You are simply too overbearing.
Before Li Chulin left, he looked at the several family heads with different expressions, his eyes filled with sinister smiles.
"Li Chu has been gone for more than a month, so he should be arriving in Minnan soon."
In the Silver Shark Garden, Rong Yin was pruning flower branches and chatting leisurely with Zong Zheng.
Zong Zhengxiao arranged the branches that Rong Yin had cut and replied, "It should be ready soon."
Rong Yin: "Ji Xie is looking for grain in several places along the coast. When Li Chu arrives, he can take him everywhere. I don't know if Ji Xie can control him."
"Don't worry, Ayin. Li Chu is not a simple man, and Ji Xie is not a good person either. He followed my Zong Zheng family to fight in many battles. If he didn't have some skills, he would have died on the battlefield. How could he have the chance to act stupid and funny in front of you and me?"
"That's right." Rong Yin nodded and asked, "You promised Li Chu that if he and Ji Xie found potatoes and sweet potatoes together, you would transfer him back to the capital. Will you really keep your promise?"
Although Zong Zheng Xiao believed in Ji Xie's ability, he didn't want Li Chu to act too much and delay Ji Xie's work, so he gave him a little hope to prevent him from getting carried away and causing trouble for Zong Zheng Xiao.
Zong Zhengxiao smiled: "I'll consider this issue after he finds me."
Rong Yin looked at him and said, "You said you would think about it later, but you have already planned it in your mind. You still want to pretend in front of me. Don't I know you?"
Zong Zhengxiao approached Rong Yin with a smile and kissed him on the cheek, "Ah Yin, you are truly my soulmate."
"Hmph, stop the sweet talk." Rong Yin said this, but her face was full of secret joy.
Looking at Rong Yin's lively expression, Zong Zheng Xiao felt itchy. He reached out and snatched the scissors from Rong Yin's hand and put them aside. He then hugged him to sit on the table, held his face and kissed him.
Feeling Zong Zhengxiao's vigor, Rong Yin hummed while taking a breath, "No in broad daylight."
Zong Zhengxiao said in a hoarse voice: "Why not? We are in the house, there is no one else here, Ayin can let herself go."
Rong Yin pushed Zong Zhengxiao away, wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, and said seriously: "I just want to finish my flower arrangement job now, I don't want to be your vase, so you can only kiss, not do it."
Zong Zhengxiao curled his lips, but before he could say anything, Rong Yin predicted: "It's no use pretending to be pitiful."
Zong Zheng Xiao: "...Okay."
Zong Zhengxiao let Rong Yin go, and while helping Rong Yin arrange the flowers without complaint, he waited for his excited brother to calm down.
After half an hour, a vase filled with spring flowers was placed on Rong Yin's desk. He patted the crumbs on his hands and nodded with satisfaction: "It's really beautiful. It's worthy of the craftsmanship I spent several days learning."
Rong Yin went to talk to Ning Yue a few days ago and found that the bouquets in her vases were very beautiful. The color and type were just right, the depth of the colors was appropriate, and the height of the designs had their own characteristics whether observed from a distance or close up.
He suddenly felt excited and thought that spring was the time when flowers were in full bloom, so he asked Ningyue to teach him the art of flower arrangement.
It is definitely impossible to become a master or learn thoroughly in just a few days, but Rong Yin practiced diligently and achieved good results. At least he is very satisfied with it.
Zong Zhengxiao stood by with his hands folded, looking at the happy Rong Yin, his tone full of jealousy, "I was wrong just now, Ayin and I are not soulmates, you and the one from Qingqiu Pavilion are."
Whenever Zong Zhengxiao gets jealous, he likes to call Ning Yue "the one from Qingqiu Pavilion".
Rong Yin was a little amused: "What's there to be jealous about? You clearly know that Ning Yue and I are just friends."
Zong Zhengxiao was still jealous and said in a weird tone: "Yeah, we are just friends."
Rong Yin rolled her eyes and said deliberately, "In fact, I not only learned flower arrangement from Ning Yue, but also learned some other things. I wanted to show you after I got good at it, but since you don't want me to go find her, then I won't learn it anymore, and I won't show it to you."
When he said this, Zong Zhengxiao's curiosity was indeed aroused.
"What else did you learn from her?" Zong Zheng Xiao asked.
"Nothing." Rong Yin's tone was not only serious, but his heart was also calm. Zong Zhengxiao couldn't even cheat to listen to his inner voice.
"Ayin." Zong Zhengxiao hugged Rong Yin from behind, put his chin on his shoulder, and said in a soft voice, "Tell me, I won't be jealous if you tell me."
Rong Yin smiled wryly: "You can continue to be jealous. I'm not the one who's feeling bad anyway."
"Ayin, my dear Ayin." Zong Zhengxiao turned from a jealous person to a coquettish person, rubbing Rongyin's face non-stop, "I know Ayin loves me the most, she definitely won't have the heart to let me guess all the time, right? My dear wife, just tell me."
Rong Yin turned her head and looked at him: "Then when I go to see Ning Yue in the future, will you still say sour words to me?"
Zong Zhengxiao: “…”
As long as he loves Rong Yin, he will never stop talking about it.
"It's hard to change one's nature." Rong Yin made his comment, and then said: "I will definitely show you when I have learned it, but I can't guarantee how long it will take. Your Majesty, just wait patiently."
Zong Zhengxiao almost cried: "Ayin, you bully me."
"You're right. I want to bully you." Rong Yin teased him, "Is Your Majesty unhappy? Will I be beheaded?"
Zong Zhengxiao said in an ambiguous tone: "Of course not, how could I hurt A Yin?"
Rong Yin: “…”
Bad feeling.
The next day, Rong Yin went out of the palace to inspect the store and found that the staff and customers kept looking at him secretly. Rong Yin was full of questions and found Lu'e and asked, "Why do you keep looking at me? Is my face not clean?"
Lu'e shook her head, wanting to laugh but not daring to. She raised her hand and pointed at Rong Yin's neck, whispering, "Master, the marks are so obvious."
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