Chapter 538
~ THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOYALTY AND DEVOTION TO DEATH ~
After Yue Wang finished the noodles, he contentedly finished all the broth and propped his head on one side. From time to time, he would stretch out his hands to mess up a few pieces of embroidery, causing Mu Yunyao to stare at him.
When he stretched his hand again, Mu Yunyao immediately pressed his palm down. “Stay by the side and wait peacefully, don’t move recklessly.”
Yue Wang seized the opportunity to grab Mu Yunyao’s finger, pull it to his lips, and kiss it. He was finally satisfied in his heart, “Yunyao, embroidery hurts your eyes, so there’s no need to embroider things for me especially.”
Mu Yunyao smiled as she shook her head. “It’s a pleasure for me to be able to make clothes and accessories for my beloved personally. Besides, making clothes for you alone won’t take long, and it won’t hurt my eyes.”
The sweetness in King Yue’s heart grew thicker. He walked to Mu Yunyao, sat beside her, put his hand around her, and said. “Yao’er, it’s already May.”
“Well, what happened in May?”
“Less than half a year is left until our agreed-on one-year deadline. Do I need to start preparing the betrothal gifts?”
Mu Yunyao was startled, then suddenly broke into a smile. “Then you have to prepare a lot. After all, I’m the Grand Princess’ granddaughter now. If I don’t have enough betrothal gifts, Grandmother definitely wouldn’t agree to you.”
“That’s not good. Then, I’ll take care of it.”
“Alright, when the time comes, I’ll treat you well as a husband.” Mu Yunyao couldn’t stop laughing.
Yue Wang’s arm wrapped even tighter around Mu Yunyao’s waist, and a bright smile surfaced in his eyes, “Then, please take more pity on me, my wife.”
“Haha, alright, this Princess has promised you.”
The two people laughed for a long time, and the embroidery thread placed beside the soft couch was all messed up. After the teasing, Yue Wang went to the side to read the book, while Mu Yunyao started to fiddle with the embroidery thread again. Although the two did their things in silence, a sense of warmth and tranquility lingered around them.
In the Imperial Palace, the Emperor looked at the boxes of silver taels in the middle of the hall. He was filled with rage as he asked, “Which beggars were these silver seized from?”
Shen Binghuai hurriedly replied, “Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s Zheng Shi.”
“The beggar has thousands of silver hidden in his body...” The Emperor couldn’t help but sneer, and the flames of rage in his heart were burning.
Towards the end of his life, he could feel his physical weakness. However, the more he was like this, the more he wanted to control everything within his grasp. He was still the Emperor who could plan strategies. But now, some people treat him as a blind person, allowing the beggar to hide the tax silver and bring it to the Capital. Yet, they were doing this right under his nose!
“Shen Binghuai, you don’t need to care about this case. I will get someone to investigate it clearly.”
“Yes.”
After Shen Binghuai left, the Emperor removed the jade pendant from his waist and said in a deep voice, “Wei Yi.”
A black-robed guard soundlessly appeared in the hall. “Your subordinate is here.”
“Take the Dragon Pendant. I want to know all the details of this matter.”
“Yes.” Before his voice faded, there was no figure of Wei Yi in the hall.
Xu Li lowered his head and waited for Wei Yiyi to step back before he heaved a sigh of relief.
He had heard earlier that the Dragon Pendant on the Emperor’s waist could mobilize the shadow guards. However, he had been with the Emperor for quite some time and had never seen the Emperor use it before. When he first saw Wei Yi, he felt that the person before him was as fleeting as a ghost. The look in that person’s eyes was even more gloomy and cold as if they lived in a world of corpses and seas of blood. It caused chills to run down one’s spine.
In the Grand Princess’s residence, right after Qu Mama removed the teacup, the Grand Princess heard the soft cry of a bird outside. Her expression turned cold as she ordered her maidservant to withdraw while she opened the window.
Not long after, a figure dressed in black entered the room through the window without disturbing the people around him.
“This servant greets Mistress.”
Grand Princess Yi De slowly raised her eyes. “Wei Yi … I am no longer the master of the shadow guards. Your master is the Emperor.”
“There is an iron law in the shadow guards. They are loyal to the Emperor and will die for the Grand Princess.”
“Forget it. After so many years, the Emperor has finally used you. It can also be considered good fortune for the shadow guards. Don’t lose your father’s face. In addition, you must control the proportion of the investigation properly. Once you find out the truth about the case, you can stop the investigation. Don’t get involved in anything else, understand?”
“Yes, this servant accepts the order.”
“Go on.”
A moment later, Qu Mama closed the window and stood by the Grand Princess’s side while bowing. “It was surprising that the Emperor used the shadow guards.”
“Since Your Majesty is old, many things are beyond his power. It’s about time for him to need someone’s help. How is the situation in the Palace?”
“Imperial Concubine Li has suppressed Imperial Concubine Zhen. Now that it was difficult to support her alone, she has found Imperial Concubine De and wants to rope her in to assist Jin Wang. Imperial Concubine De is hesitating, but Su Yuyi ….”
“What happened to Su Yuyi?”
“Imperial Concubine Li secretly had someone feed Su Yuyi pseudo-pregnancy grass and secretly instructed the Imperial Physician to adjust the pulse.”
Grand Princess Yi De sneered. “Despite numerous attempts at cleaning, the Palace continues to be very filthy. The knot in Imperial Concubine De’s heart for so many years was that she had no children, so she was attracted to the courtship of Imperial Concubine Zhen. However, if Su Yuyi could give birth to a child, she could adopt the child and raise him. Imperial Concubine Li was aware of this, so she started to work on Su Yuyi to disrupt the alliance between her and Imperial Concubine Zhen.”
“Grand Princess, do you need me to suppress the harem?”
“The harem is filled with dense Yin Qi. We can’t suppress them, so let them go.”
“Yes.”
In Jiangnan, the construction of the river wall came to an end, so Qi Yun sent another report to the Capital.
When the Emperor received the report, he immediately summoned Ling Wang and Jin Wang back to the Capital without hesitation.
When Mu Yunyao heard this news, she gently put down the flower shears in her hands and arranged the hibiscus flower in the Spring Bottle Magpie Dengmei. “Magpie Dengmei, what a good omen! Jin Lan, send it over to Mother.”
“Yes, Miss.”
After receiving the order to return to the Capital, Ling Wang was thrilled and immediately ordered his men to start packing.
Jin Wang looked hesitant. “Lord Qi, the river wall is at a critical moment. If I leave now, will you be able to handle it by yourself?”
Qi Yun had a new respect for Jin Wang these days. Who would have thought that, as a dignified prince, Jin Wang would be able to put down all his airs and soak in the river for an entire day, even personally helping the river workers transport the sand and stones several times, “Your Royal Highness, you don’t have to worry too much. The weather has been excellent over the past few days. It hasn’t rained in quite some time, and the river has been cleaned up. You should return to the Capital to take a well-deserved break after a long work day.
“Let’s do it this way. Although Imperial Father has already given the order, he doesn’t care about delaying for a day or two. The cutting and straightening of the Linjiang River are at a critical juncture. I will head back to the Capital when the river bank is fully excavated. If everything goes well, I can help Lord Qi ask for credit.”
“No way, the idea of cutting bends and straightening was inspired by Princess Wenxian. But later on, the successful completion of river cutting and straightening was all thanks to the people and the river workers, so I would never dare to claim credit for it. However, I think His Royal Highness Ling Wang has already started to pack up his luggage. It would be best if you left together with him.
“It’s fine.”
After Ling Wang heard the news, he coldly snorted and mounted his horse. As he was about to leave, he coincidentally met Jin Wang, who had just returned to the residence: “Third Imperial Brother, you will continue to gain fame here. I will leave first and wait for your good news in the Capital.”
“Then I wish Eldest Imperial Brother a pleasant journey.”
When Jin Wang walked into the courtyard, Ling Wang mocked in a low voice, “Lowly people can only use some common methods. Do you think that by using such a despicable method, you can control the entire situation? Wishful thinking!”