Qiu Zeyu then revealed the entire plan that Lan Yamei had told him.
I didn't want to involve her, but now I have no choice. The Emperor knows far more than I expected; it seems the only way to escape unscathed is to behave myself.
After listening, the Emperor asked curiously, "There are such extraordinary women in this world! Why haven't you mentioned them before?"
Qiu Zeyu said somewhat embarrassedly, "I've only known her for a few months. She's beautiful and intelligent, a bit quirky, but kind-hearted and often helps others."
"Now that you mention it, I'd like to meet her. Let's invite her over. Although the Jianghu Token was a misunderstanding, its timing was perfect. If handled properly, it could alleviate my worries!" The Emperor clearly hadn't expected that a woman was involved behind the scenes.
Qiu Zeyu couldn't make the decision for her. From a personal perspective, he didn't want her to get involved in the conflict, so he clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know, but she opened a shop on the main street of Longyang Town and hired many female assistants to sell food. It was by accident that the business became very prosperous because the food was delicious. She does everything herself and is often covered in the smell of cooking oil, which is not very elegant and might offend Your Majesty's eyes. Let's just leave it at that!"
The Emperor, being very clever, simply laughed and said, "Since that's the case, then we'll not meet for now. Once the matter is settled, I will reward you. You, however, will secretly give her a helping hand and help her organize this auction."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Qiu Zeyu accepted the order and was about to leave.
His Majesty spoke again, "There is one more thing. I haven't had much of an appetite lately and I'd like to eat something special. You often walk around the streets; if you find anything good, bring it to me to whet my appetite."
Qiu Zeyu didn't think much of it and said, "I encountered a delicious dish a few days ago that I couldn't stop eating. I'll send it to Your Majesty tonight."
"It's a deal!" The Emperor was overjoyed.
After Qiu Zeyu left, the Emperor said to Liu Xun, "Send five thousand secret guards to ensure the auction proceeds smoothly. I must bring them down!"
When Murong Xingchen returned home, all the elders of the Murong family had gathered, their faces full of worry, not knowing what to do.
Murong Xingchen walked in, clasped his hands in greeting to everyone, and then spoke, "Father, His Majesty also knows about the Jianghu Token."
Murong Feng's brows furrowed even more, and everyone sighed. It seemed there was no escaping it this time! What should the Murong family do? Murong Feng sighed and said, "We really shouldn't have listened to my elder brother back then and searched for that damned secret manual. Now look what's happened, all those years of hard work, and we haven't even gotten the thing, but instead, we've incurred the Emperor's displeasure."
One of the clan elders said, "Jianghu Ling is a real troublemaker. Now we are in a dilemma. We must first tear the troublemaker to pieces, otherwise we will not be able to quell our hatred."
"Stop talking nonsense! Everyone, eat a few more bites of food, the Murong family is doomed! You know, emperors of all dynasties would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free. Although we were only entrusted by Murong Qingyun to find a martial arts manual, the Jianghu Order has put us in a position of treason, and we will probably have no way to defend ourselves," the elder said.
“You’re such a fickle person!” another elder said disapprovingly. “Without Murong Qingyun in the court, do you think the Murong family would be in its current state? Do you think your son could be in charge of a region at such a young age? At this time, you should be thinking more about how to protect the family, instead of saying discouraging things.”
These words sparked a flurry of discussion, but Murong Feng remained silent.
At this moment, he deeply regretted why he had become this arduous clan elder, and why he had tormented his beloved son to the point of being neither human nor ghost. Now that Gu Du Zijun was gone, the governor probably wished nothing more than to raze the Murong clan to the ground. He was filled with remorse and pain, and didn't want to listen to these people's nagging at all.
Suddenly standing up to leave, he felt dizzy. Murong Xingchen quickly supported his father and comforted him, "I have a way to help the Murong family out of this predicament. Father, you might as well give it a try."
Murong Xingchen's voice wasn't loud, but all the clan elders heard it. No one cared about Murong Feng's health; they only pressed, "Tell me quickly, what idea does Chen'er have?"
Murong Feng didn't speak, but helped his father sit down and handed him a cup of tea.
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. One of them quickly changed his expression and scolded Murong Feng, "Don't you know how to take care of yourself? If you get sick again, what will happen to our whole family? We're all here. Let's brainstorm and think of a solution. We can always find a way. Besides, we old folks aren't so bright anymore, and we still have the young ones. Take Chen'er, for example. He's so favored by the Emperor right now!"
Others followed suit.
"Exactly, take good care of your body!"
"The Murong family will surely turn misfortune into good fortune. Let's all work together to find a solution."
Murong Feng was displeased and did not reply. He only said to Chen'er, "Help your father go back to rest."
With his son's help, Murong Feng left the ancestral hall first. Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they all went home.
Back in his own courtyard, Murong Feng asked, "Do you know how important this matter is? I'm afraid the Emperor is already dissatisfied with our family, and this is just a pretext."
Murong Xingchen sat to the left of her father and said frankly, "Father! I think this is also an opportunity to help the Murong family get out of its predicament."
"Oh? How do I do it?" Murong Feng felt much better, and his breathing was much easier.
"Father, you may not know this, but I have been extremely busy lately. It's not because I have many official duties to perform in Lin'an, but because I've been helping His Majesty investigate the counterfeit silver case. Nan Fangnan has been very active recently, with ulterior motives. I was also responsible for the raid on Hua Manlou."
Murong Feng was unaware of these things and was dumbfounded.
"The basic clues in the counterfeit silver case have emerged. It was indeed the Murong family's negligence that caused the court huge losses. Although the counterfeit silver was made by Nanfang Nan's gang, he kept the coin. This is the Murong family's crime! Regardless of who in our family was secretly colluding with the rebels, we should take a stand and proactively assume secondary responsibility in order to appease the Emperor's wrath! You should talk to your uncle about this matter. I await your news as soon as possible!"
Murong Feng was drenched in sweat! At this moment, he could only nod in disbelief.
Murong Xingchen continued, "Furthermore, those three pieces of jade in the family must be crushed immediately, and all those in the family who know about them must be eliminated. As long as the information doesn't leak out, I think the Murong family will be completely safe!"
"Ah! Does that mean we have to kill all the elders?" Murong Feng trembled slightly, knowing that this would severely weaken the entire clan's power.
“Father, it’s a matter of sacrificing a pawn to save the king!” Murong Xingchen continued. “This large family is no longer united. The fact that Qian Mu is in Nanfang Nan’s hands is enough to show that it needs to be reorganized. Now that His Majesty has entrusted these matters to me, isn’t that a reminder to the Murong family that this is our last chance? How we choose is up to us.”
Murong Feng sighed, clenching his fists, and said, "Since it's come to this, there's no point in worrying about anything else. These clansmen are like bloodsuckers; none of them truly care about the rise and fall of the clan. They only think about their own interests, yet they drove your brother to his death. So be it! So be it! Let each look after their own interests! Chen'er, whatever you say, I'll do, as long as we can ensure our family's safety."
Murong Xingchen held her father's hand. She had already come up with a plan on the way here. She would take action tonight; there was no time to lose.
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