Does he look like you, or like me?
If you listen carefully, you can hear the tremor in the voice.
Su Wanwan sniffed, her throat tightening slightly: "Your eyes and nose are like mine."
Lu Xingjian blinked hard and smiled.
"That shouldn't look bad."
"Um."
He paused, picked up the wooden doll, turned and left, leaving behind only one sentence.
"Go to sleep early, leave the rest to me."
Su Wanwan watched his figure disappear through the door in silence.
He Ying entered with a worried expression. "Your Majesty, did you and the Emperor quarrel again?"
Su Wanwan was still in a daze and casually responded.
Lu Xingjian's emotions were too much just now, which made it a little hard for her to process.
He Ying was extremely anxious: "You should coax the Emperor to stay and get pregnant as soon as possible. Otherwise, that concubine will eventually climb all over you and show off."
Su Wanwan was exhausted, but she had no intention of resting. "Go and call Zhang Zhong over."
He Ying frowned and left.
The Empress completely misses the point.
Su Wanwan's mood grew increasingly heavy.
Previously, she was only thinking about how to deal with Lu Xingjian, but now she realized that many people had heard her and Yan Ge'er's shouts on the canal.
Although not everyone knew her identity, some of Lu Xingjian's guards could recognize her voice.
The guards are one thing, but the most pressing issue now is dealing with the treacherous White Lotus sect members.
She shouldn't have let Lu Xingjian leave; she should have discussed a more comprehensive way to resolve this matter.
Zhang Zhong arrived quickly and immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "This servant deserves death for causing Your Highness to be in danger. I beg Your Highness to punish me!"
Su Wanwan was indeed a little disappointed in Zhang Zhong, but she still gave him a chance.
"I will give you one more chance. No matter what method you use or what price you pay, wipe out the White Lotus sect members in the capital region."
Zhang Zhong looked up at Su Wanwan with a horrified expression and disbelief.
Su Wanwan said calmly, "I have plenty of money here, you can allocate it as you like. I only want the White Lotus Sect members, I don't care if they live or die."
Zhang Zhong swallowed nervously.
Money alone can get things done, even without people.
Money makes the world go round.
Zhang Zhong's mind raced:
“This servant is originally from Bazhou. I can contact the local powerful families in Bazhou and offer high rewards for capturing members of the White Lotus sect. The reward for capturing an ordinary believer is 100 taels of silver, for a deacon it is 1,000 taels of silver, and for an elder it is 10,000 taels of silver.”
Su Wanwan nodded: "I'll only give you ten days."
"If there are any outstanding individuals, we can recruit them and use them for our purposes. In the future, we will recommend them for official positions."
A generous reward will surely attract brave men.
She was in such a hurry that these White Lotus Cult members would only care about escaping and not about anything else, so she deliberately added a deadline.
Zhang Zhong obeyed the order and quickly went to handle the matter without the slightest delay.
If he messes things up again this time, I'm afraid the Empress will never use him again.
Su Wanwan rubbed her tired brow and wrote another letter, handing it to Heying so she could deliver it to the Pingjiang Marquis's residence that very night.
...
Madam Yuan, the wife of the Earl of Pingjiang, and Chen Qiong, the Earl of Pingjiang, looked grave upon seeing Su Wanwan's handwritten letter.
The letter boldly proclaimed: "Suppress the White Lotus Rebellion and I will appoint you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Canal."
Full of doubt, Madam Yuan asked Heying, "Why did Her Majesty the Empress become enemies with the White Lotus Sect?"
He Ying then recounted the assassination attempt on Su Wanwan earlier that day.
She added, "Her Majesty said there is a ten-day limit."
Chen Qiong's pupils contracted slightly, and her heart pounded.
This is why Empress Su wanted them to pledge their loyalty.
Yesterday's visit was merely a trial balloon, a way to gauge their intentions; today, we're going to get straight to the point.
He Ying didn't linger: "Her Majesty said that if the Earl is interested, he can bring his men to find her."
After seeing He Ying off, Yuan and Chen Qiong looked at each other in bewilderment.
They can also choose to ignore it.
However, it is probably impossible for him to follow in Empress Su's footsteps and seek an official position in the future.
"Mother, could this be a trap?" Chen Qiong asked nervously.
"Emperor Taizu of the Great Liang Dynasty has decreed that the empress dowager must not interfere in politics. If we present this letter to the court, I'm afraid Empress Su's position will be in jeopardy."
Madam Yuan looked at the letter and sneered: "That's their shrewdness. They've handed you leverage, now it's up to you to decide what to do."
He then sighed, "Do we even have a choice?"
Chen Qiong's face darkened slightly, and she hesitated: "How about we go through Liu Jin's connections and spend more money to bribe him?"
Madam Yuan waved her hand: "Haven't you bribed enough? Liu Jin has a huge appetite. You've already thrown in 100,000 taels of silver. Is there any definite news?"
"You decide for yourself whether you want to stay at home as a wealthy idler or plan to enter officialdom and seek a position."
Chen Qiong was very attached to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Canal.
“Our Chen family started out as the Grand Canal Transport Commander. If I miss the opportunity to take up this position again, I will be ashamed before our ancestors.”
Moreover, it's a very lucrative position, and the temptation is just too great.
After a long silence, Chen Qiong decided to take the gamble.
"I refuse to believe that we can't handle a mere White Lotus Sect in just ten days."
...
Zhang Zhong is a man of action. Through the Liu brothers, he found their master—Master Zhang Mao, the grandmaster of martial arts in Bazhou.
Old Master Zhang couldn't have asked for it more.
The White Lotus Sect stormed into Bazhou with an overwhelming attitude, refusing to acknowledge his authority and even brainwashing his disciples to join the sect. This matter had long been a thorn in his side.
The martial arts manhunt order quickly swept through the entire Bazhou region, even alarming surrounding areas like Hejian.
When the crowd escorted the White Lotus sect members to receive their first sum of real gold and silver, the ordinary people were also stirred up and eager to try it out.
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