Just as dawn broke, Jiang Yu was jolted awake from her sleep, gasping for breath.
"Your Highness, did you have a nightmare?"
Jiang Yu calmed her breathing and then shook her head. "Perhaps it's because I haven't slept alone for so long, I'm not used to it anymore."
"The Emperor Emeritus has been at Fengshan for three or four days, and he should be here by now."
While wiping Jiang Yu's sweat with a handkerchief, Ling Mama spoke softly.
"What you said in your letter last time still weighs heavily on my heart like a boulder," Jiang Yu sighed. "For you to be so cautious, it must be extremely dangerous."
She was terrified.
"Your Highness, please don't worry. Miss Qin and Miss Sun will be entering the palace soon after they rest for a while."
Today, Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu will come to the palace to pay their respects to Jiang Yu. It was the two of them who took the initiative to request an audience, and Jiang Yu did not refuse them as she had before.
"I wonder what they're up to by requesting an audience with me at this time."
Jiang Yu closed her eyes, but the worry in her heart prevented her from taking a nap.
Therefore, Jiang Yu's spirits were somewhat low when she saw Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
"Don't stand on ceremony. I just visited you a few days ago, and I didn't expect that you would want to come to the palace to see me again so soon." Jiang Yu said meaningfully, "What is the matter?"
"It's nothing serious, just that my father wrote to us asking us to spend more time talking with the Empress Dowager."
Sun Shu spoke softly, "Father specifically instructed that our arrival here is the link between Dayu and the aristocratic families. Since we are a link, we must fulfill the role of a link."
"link?"
Jiang Yu laughed out loud, "Miss Sun, I don't quite agree with what you're saying."
Seeing Sun Shu's smile freeze, Jiang Yu spoke again, "You two came under the pretext of a marriage alliance, but whether or not the marriage will actually take place will have to wait until two years later."
"It's not that I dislike you, but I'm afraid of tarnishing your reputation."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Qin Ke'er and Sun Shu reluctantly accepted Jiang Yu's "kindness" and fell silent after leaving the palace.
"Sister Shu, it seems my father was right. Da Yu's attitude towards the aristocratic families has indeed changed."
Upon hearing this, Sun Shu also looked serious, "We must tell our family and make plans as soon as possible."
They didn't know why they received a letter from home, asking them to probe the current attitude of the Great Yu towards aristocratic families.
It's worth a try, and it really has changed a lot.
On the other side, Jiang Yu lay on a recliner, pretending to doze off.
Test her attitude?
Then she made her stance clear.
......
The events in Fengshan Village quickly spread throughout Chongqing, causing a huge uproar.
All officials associated with Fengshan were dismissed and investigated by Gu Qingyan's orders, which implicated the prefect. Gu Qingyan was clearly furious, and many mansions were razed to the ground.
For a time, everyone in the court felt insecure and even consciously kept their distance from the powerful families.
"I never knew that there were people in my Great Yu who were suffering like this." In the court, Gu Qingyan's cold voice made everyone tremble. "The Emperor has ordered officials in various regions to investigate the tunnels. Prime Minister Zhuo, I appoint you as Imperial Commissioner to personally inspect the regions outside the capital and supervise the local officials."
"I grant you the right to execute first and report later."
"I obey the order."
Gu Qingyan glanced around, then spoke in a deep voice:
"The Great Yu I desire is a Great Yu where the people live in peace and prosperity. Anyone who bullies the people of Great Yu is an enemy of Great Yu." The young man's voice pierced the hearts of everyone. "Great Yu is determined to eradicate them."
Gu Qingyan's words were relayed verbatim to the aristocratic families.
The Qin family.
"Father, what should we do?" Qin Zheng asked anxiously, his face flushed. "How did we find Feng Shan...?"
"Of course you would."
The Qin family patriarch said irritably, "These things were destined to be exposed when Jiang He was sent out of the capital."
"That......"
"The best course of action now, Zheng'er, is for you to personally go to the Sun family and discuss with them how to deal with the Dayu offensive." The Qin family head clenched his fists. "This also shows Dayu's attitude; they are determined to be enemies with the aristocratic families."
"Remember, the most important thing is that it's authentic!"
Qin Zheng nodded upon hearing this and immediately left the Qin residence.
When Qin Zheng arrived at Lingping, Gong Liusheng also arrived. "Brother Gong, it seems we have the same purpose for coming here."
"Brother Qin, let's hurry to the Sun family."
The matter of the underground involves arrangements made by several generations of a prominent family.
The atmosphere at the Sun family's residence became tense for a time.
"Aren't you curious why Jiang He was inexplicably sent out to investigate those places?"
A shadow crossed Sun Cai's eyes, and he found Feng Shan with such precision.
"Brother Sun means..."
"The three of us will definitely not leak information about the iron ore and rare earth resources, and the Pei family probably wouldn't dare... only the Yun family..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Zheng suddenly stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "It was Yun Zhi. It must have been Yun Zhi who betrayed us."
"Yun Zhi knows all the details of the authentic territory. If he continues to reveal these things to Dayu, the consequences will be unimaginable..."
Gong Liusheng gently twitched his slender fingers. "I do have a way."
Under the watchful eyes of Qin Zheng and Sun Cai, Gong Liusheng slowly spoke, "Put all these things on the Yun family."
"Put it on the Yun family?"
"Yes, the tunnel was dug by Yun Zhi. As for the missing items, they have no evidence to implicate us, so they're making the Yun family the scapegoats."
The fact that Gong Liusheng, who appeared harmless on the surface, uttered such a sinister plan sent chills down the spines of both Qin Zheng and Sun Cai.
"But Brother Gong, didn't your elder brother marry a girl from the Yun family?"
"It's alright."
Gong Liusheng twitched the corner of his mouth. A woman, locked in the courtyard, cut off from outside news.
"In that case, we'll do as Brother Gong says."
......
The Pei family.
"Father, were you aware of the existence of underground tunnels within the territory of Dayu?"
Pei Zhi frowned as she looked at the letter in her hand, which described the events that had occurred in Da Yu.
"Sigh, those families have always looked down on our Pei family, so why would they include us in something that's beneficial?" Pei Jian pretended to sigh, but actually, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.
It must be said that those companies really helped him out of his immediate predicament and drew away everyone's attention.
So far, Da Yu has not taken any action against the Pei family, presumably because Chen Ping would rather die than confess.
Thinking of this, Pei Jian's mood improved even more.
“Father, aren’t we wronged? We’re being blamed for things we didn’t do.”
“Azhi, if you trust your father, then remain still.”
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