Ma Ang frowned. "Your sister has already returned to the capital with Steward Li. Don't cause any more trouble."
In the end, he couldn't suppress his anger and gritted his teeth, saying:
"Assassinate the Empress? How dare you?! It's a miracle the Emperor didn't confiscate your property and throw you in jail!"
Maggie still couldn't believe it:
"Impossible! I'm carrying the emperor's child! Brother, the emperor would never marry me off!"
Ma Ang's face was grim, and he was barely suppressing his anger.
His sister was incredibly stupid to assassinate the empress in front of everyone.
I don't know who instigated them to do such a daring thing.
Moreover, given the gravity of Maggie's mistake, it's a miracle she survived.
Why don't you hurry up and get married to avoid trouble, or are you waiting to settle scores later?
Soon, an imperial decree from the palace arrived, bestowing the marriage upon them.
Maggie's heart was broken.
But a sliver of hope remained.
It wasn't an imperial decree bestowing a marriage upon me; the Emperor had no intention of granting me a marriage.
He must have had no choice.
Even so, the Ma family still sent her off in a bridal sedan chair, embarking on the long journey to Yansui.
Meanwhile, news emerged that border reserves were being re-examined.
Ma Ang could no longer sit still.
He disregarded the defense of Dushi Camp and rode to Datong to discuss countermeasures with his superior, Wen Gong, the General of Datong.
At this critical juncture, he was genuinely afraid that the palace would find a pretext to wipe out the Ma family.
Even now, he is unaware that the assassination attempt on the Empress involves Wen Shuyi.
Wen Gong was much calmer: "What's there to be afraid of? Didn't we already investigate last time? The tone from the Duke of Baoguo's mansion was reassuring."
Ma Ang was still uneasy. "Since we've already checked, why do we need to check it again?"
Wen Gong looked hesitant; the thoughts in the palace were beyond the comprehension of border soldiers like them.
"I recently submitted a memorial requesting commendation, and also to test the court's attitude."
Their achievements were not significant, and if the palace had any objections or dissatisfaction with their border troops, it would likely reject their proposal.
Not long after, the order for promotion was issued.
Wen Gong, Ma Ang, and others were each rewarded with five taels of silver and a set of fine silk. Some received a raise of one rank, while others were promoted one rank, bringing the total number of people to one hundred.
The person who was promoted had only recently been transferred to the Datong border army and was considered a confidant of the emperor, making everyone extremely envious.
The emperor's act of sending down abundant rain was actually a ploy to promote his trusted confidants.
They actually benefited from it.
Moreover, both Datong and Xuanfu issued silver for horse purchases.
Of these, Datong had a total of 30,000 taels, while Xuanfu had only 17,000 taels.
The uneasy hearts of the border generals in Datong were put at ease.
The Emperor truly values the border troops of Datong.
Ma Ang was relieved.
But something still felt off.
How could Maggie be so foolish as to attempt to assassinate the Queen in public, ruining a winning hand?
If she had just behaved herself and given birth to her child safely, she wouldn't have to worry about not having wealth and honor.
Someone must have been instigating this behind the scenes.
He sent his trusted confidants to conduct a thorough investigation of the Ma family's newly acquired residence in the capital.
...
Lu Xingjian also had people carefully investigate Ma Ji and Wen Shuyi's whereabouts.
Ma Ji did not enter the palace with Wen Shuyi, but was secretly led into the palace by someone with ulterior motives while dressed as a palace maid.
When she entered the palace, she presented her identity as a palace maid serving as the Palace Supervisor.
After being severely tortured, the current head eunuch of the palace guard vehemently denied having been involved in the matter.
The eunuch who led her into the palace had no background and had died quietly on the day of the incident.
Lu Xingjian narrowed his eyes.
After several rounds of purges, there are not many forces left in the palace that can still operate so smoothly and without leaving a trace.
Moreover, their chosen target was the empress, not the emperor, which immediately narrowed down the scope considerably.
He immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the Jia character library.
The investigators no longer needed to be from the palace; instead, experienced accountants were drawn directly from various prefectures and counties in Beizhili.
This caught everyone off guard.
Has the Emperor gone mad? Isn't he afraid of causing a huge mess?
But this time the emperor was personally overseeing it, and no one could fake the accounting and inventory of the Jiazi Treasury.
Officials involved in the case, both inside and outside the government, were in a state of panic, running around frantically trying to find remedial measures.
Nobody wants to lose their job and have their whole family imprisoned!
Many people started to have crooked ideas, intending to stir up trouble and make the emperor afraid to investigate the corruption case of the Jiazi Treasury.
They instigated the Censorate and the Six Ministries to exacerbate the impeachment of the border army for corruption, to impose heavier charges, and to demand double compensation for any corruption found, as well as punishment for all officials, up to the governor.
...
It was late at night.
In the study, Lu Xingjian was still holding a memorial with his brows furrowed. When Su Wanwan came in, he simply told her to go to sleep first.
"Get some rest, don't stay up late." Su Wanwan glanced down at the memorial in his hand.
Lu Xingjian threw down the memorial in his hand, leaned back in his chair, rubbed his temples wearily with one hand, and pulled Su Wanwan onto his lap with the other.
"How have you been these past few days? Is your stomach still hurting?"
His voice was tired but gentle.
Su Wanwan lowered her eyes and placed her hand on her abdomen: "It's okay."
These past few days, Lu Xingjian has forbidden her from leaving Kunning Palace and has ordered her to rest in bed as much as possible.
Her eyes flickered, and she said, "I heard that Maggie miscarried on her way to her wedding."
By supporting Liu Qi and his gang, they've become much better informed about what's going on outside.
Lu Xingjian's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again. After a long while, he let out a cold snort:
"She got off too easily."
Four simple words, yet brimming with murderous intent.
Su Wanwan paused slightly.
He now feels absolutely no pity for Maggie.
Maggie herself destroyed the last bit of pity he had for her.
Her slender fingers touched his brow and gently massaged it.
"Don't be impatient."
If a woman carrying the child of a dragon is left to wander outside, and is exploited by someone with ulterior motives, it will definitely not be a small matter.
If things escalate, someone might raise an army under the banner of "serving the emperor and purging corrupt officials," attempting to install the young prince on the throne.
If Maggie were smart, she would have drunk the abortion pill to save herself.
Unfortunately, she didn't.
Just like myself back then.
This is also why Su Wanwan risked her life to hide her pregnancy and childbirth, and resolutely refused to reveal Yan Ge'er's true identity.
Maggie had no intention or vision to hide her pregnancy; instead, she flaunted the "dragon offspring" in her belly.
They were practically walking sitting ducks.
Lu Xingjian didn't keep a close eye on Ma Ji; instead, he sent her far away, giving others a chance to get close.
Why?
Of course, it depends on who is foolish enough to jump out and expose their ambitions.
Now is the critical moment to restart the inspection of the nine border regions. If Ma Ji is punished for the crime of assassinating the empress, and the Ma family incites the border troops to cause trouble, all the previous efforts to appease the border troops will be in vain.
It would be better to remain still and wait for the right opportunity.
Let them bring this upon themselves, let them bring about their own utter destruction.
The art of imperial manipulation was used to its fullest extent even on a small woman like Ma Ji.
What about him?
Su Wanwan's eyes were a little dazed.
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