flstandardbreds Chapter 157 What a wonderful example of letting things take their natural course!
Chapter 157 What a wonderful example of letting things take their natural course!
Long San looked utterly dejected. They had finally managed to get that old geezer Zheng Sihan to make the dragon robe, but it seemed...
"It seems we'll have to put our search for the matter of Duke Wu's private possession of the dragon robe on hold."
Today's commotion has probably alerted the enemy.
"My lord, shall I make a trip to Lingwu Village?"
If it really is that guy Long Er, he needs to find out for sure.
Emperor Shengde raised his hand: "No need. The grain supplies are lost, Long Qi is still unconscious, and we haven't found the hand lurking in the shadows yet."
It's best if all of you stay in the palace for now; I just want those people to know.
I know nothing of what they've done. I'm waiting, waiting for them to report to me.
His voice was deep, cold, and chilling, carrying an inviolable and domineering power that inspired fear.
After saying that, he turned and laughed, "Long Er isn't stupid after all; he knows to look for her. It seems the border is saved."
Changsun Lan sat up straight, her face full of curiosity: "Is this what the Imperial Tutor and Abbot Jingkong meant by turning danger into safety, a close call without real harm?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Shengde's gaze was sharp and profound, and at this moment his imperial aura was as majestic as a mountain: "The Imperial Tutor and Abbot Jingkong, through their combined efforts, have deduced that this includes the snow disaster in the east."
Hehe, those two told me to let things take their course!
The heart says, "What a wonderful way to go with the flow!"
If it weren't for their words, he would have summoned the couple to the capital long ago.
Abbot Jingkong said that the time is not yet ripe, and if we forcibly change all of this, there may be other variables.
If things go wrong, it could cause chaos and trigger another war. He couldn't afford to gamble, and he didn't dare to.
His ten years of hard work have just begun to show promise; he can't let those people ruin everything.
Just as everyone was deep in thought, Helian Shuo, that idiot, said something completely out of the ordinary: "You mean the same thing, but why doesn't it taste as good as what that girl makes?"
Hua Yunshu, who had been silent all along, kicked him and said, "Shut up!"
Is this the time to talk about food?
Even if the emperor is your uncle, he can't be this presumptuous. You're such a scoundrel with no sense of propriety whatsoever.
Emperor Shengde looked at Helian Shuo, his imperial aura sweeping over him like a whirlwind, and said in a sinister tone, "Are you showing off to me?"
Helian Shuo trembled at his imposing aura and immediately waved his hand, "No, no, it was me, I had a foul mouth."
Emma, serving a ruler is truly like serving a tiger. Even my own uncle is no match for him. This aura can intimidate anyone.
He backed down...
At this moment, a bodyguard suddenly appeared like a ghost, knelt on one knee, and the others sat down instantly.
When Emperor Shengde saw him, a stern look appeared between his brows, and he said coldly, "Speak."
That imperial majesty and authority immediately surged forth; his face changed so quickly!
The guard lowered his head and recounted everything that had happened at the Duke of Wu's mansion.
After he finished speaking, Emperor Shengde raised his hand, and the guards stood up, bowed, and disappeared instantly.
Hua Yunshu scoffed: "Zheng Sihui must be feeling pretty good about being cuckolded by his own nephew this time!"
Zheng He? Well done! Good riddance! Good riddance indeed.
If it weren't for his interference back then, would my cousin have been away from Beijing for so many years?
And that woman, who was materialistic and greedy, immediately broke off her engagement and married Zheng He when she saw that the Lu family was in trouble, fearing that she would be implicated.
My cousin was a handsome and distinguished man, a prominent figure in his day, yet he was insulted by that despicable couple.
Ha! Karma always pays off!
Helian Shuo pouted: "What a mess."
The nephew sneaked into his uncle's wife's room; Zheng He really doesn't have any dietary restrictions.
Long Yi glanced at Helian Shuo again with his deep eyes, suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, and lowered his head.
Long San looked shocked: "Is that thing really that powerful? It actually blew Zheng He's limbs apart?"
It's hard to imagine that with his death, his wife's heart will probably start to stir again.
Thinking about it, he glanced at Hua Yunshu and realized that this troublemaker was in for some fun.
But he really wanted to see what that miserable state looked like, what it would be like to have only limbs left after losing half a body.
Zheng Sihui's concubine's body, except for her head, was fried into a pile of mangled flesh, yet still connected? I'm really curious.
I'm so itchy!
Emperor Shengde's eyes flashed with a cold light as he looked at Hua Yunshu: "Send a message to Yuxuan (Lu Yunqing's courtesy name) to tell him to be on guard."
He's still the county magistrate, so you'd better not reveal his whereabouts.
Hua Yunshu put away his roguish demeanor, stood up and bowed: "Very well, I will certainly convey your message."
I really need to talk to my cousin about this, otherwise that madman will definitely come looking for him once he finds out where he is.
However, it's time for him to play a cat-and-mouse game next.
If he doesn't get back a thousand times the amount of money that woman extorted from his cousin, how can he be worthy of being called a "devil incarnate" for so many years?
Emperor Shengde reached out and touched his chin, looking at Hua Yunshu with a complicated expression: "Ziyu, you... never mind, it's better not to let your aunt know."
His great-aunt disliked her descendants getting involved in court affairs, and he also knew the hardships she had endured to survive those perilous times.
However, this cousin got involved very early on; he even knelt before him and begged him.
The deaths of Aunt Xiyan (Lu Yunqing's mother) and his maternal grandfather were both orchestrated by Duke Wu.
His father and uncle both worked at the Hanlin Academy's editorial office, and his mother was also depressed because of his maternal grandfather's death.
In the end, it was Aunt Qinghe who kept her in her backyard tending to the flowers and plants year-round, and she didn't associate with the noble ladies in the capital.
Afterwards, they talked about some other things, and when it was time for court, they went their separate ways.
……
At this time, the Duke of Wu's household was extremely lively, and the wife of the Duke of Xiao, Lady Tao, was mourning the tragic death of her son.
She cried so hard it was heartbreaking.
Xie Ruyue pretended that she had lost all interest in crying, that this bastard was finally dead.
He even died in his own uncle's concubine's room. Haha, there weren't enough women in this backyard for him to play with.
It truly proves the saying: a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a prostitute, and a prostitute is not as good as a stolen affair.
Her unintentional sneer was seen by one of Zheng He's concubines, who then seized the opportunity to speak.
I told my mother-in-law that when my sister saw her husband die so tragically, she not only didn't feel sad or cry, but she even secretly laughed.
As soon as she said this, everyone looked at Xie Ruyue.
I noticed that there wasn't a single tear in the corner of her eyes, just a little red, but not the kind of redness that she seemed about to cry; it was more like she was deliberately rubbing her eyes.
The sisters-in-law, who were already dissatisfied with the third wife, took the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.
Some people are saying she's been hoping Zheng He would die all along...
As various criticisms and accusations were leveled, the labels attached to him became increasingly outrageous.
Xie Ruyue has been married to Zheng He for many years and has only given birth to two daughters. Of the more than ten women in her harem, none of them are pregnant.
Zheng He was already out of favor in the Duke of Wu's mansion, and he was the second legitimate son of the minor Duke Zheng Lu Nian.
Because Zheng Lu Nian was known for spoiling his wife and children, their branch of the family had many members, including legitimate sons and daughters, as well as illegitimate sons and daughters, totaling more than twenty.
Zheng He was usually good at pleasing Tao, since the eldest son's branch and the youngest son's branch already had several grandsons, so he didn't really care whether he had any more.
They don't care, but how could their sisters-in-law not care? Their expenses are usually higher than all of theirs.
Furthermore, Xie Ruyue is prettier than her sisters-in-law, and this woman is jealous of those who are prettier and more powerful than herself.
Now that Zheng He is dead, how could they not kick him while he's down?
Xie Ruyue saw that everyone was criticizing her, and in the end they even said that she was not of one mind with the Duke's Mansion and was thinking about others.
She lost her temper and retorted to each of them without holding back, seemingly determined to confirm everything.
Her retort angered everyone, and the courtyard immediately turned into a marketplace.