bookbashuk Chapter 172 The Most Ruthless Are the Imperial Family
Chapter 172 The Most Ruthless Are the Imperial Family
Chapter 172 The Most Ruthless Are the Imperial Family
"A poor scholar?"
Upon hearing Lin Xiaoniang's address to Wen Yanjing, Sheng Hong's face turned cold: "I was also a poor scholar back then, why did you try to seduce me?"
Lin Xiaoniang also realized that she had lost her mind and blurted out what was on her mind.
"Sir, you've misunderstood. My feelings for you are genuine."
But isn't Mo'er your favorite? It's hard to say whether Wen Yanjing can pass the exam. Even if he does, he'll start with a low-ranking official position and will have to serve as a local official for many years.
"Wouldn't that mean I wouldn't see Mo'er for many years?"
"So you found Liang Liulang for her yourself, and even let her go to the Taoist temple to meet with someone in secret?" Sheng Hong said coldly.
Lin Xiaoniang's face changed drastically, and she said in a panic, "Master—what did you say? I don't understand! Mo'er, she—"
Because Sheng Hong's words came so suddenly, she was completely unprepared, and she didn't know how much Sheng Hong actually knew, so she didn't know how to defend herself for a moment.
When Sheng Hong saw Lin Xiaoniang's expression, the last glimmer of hope in his heart vanished completely.
"You didn't want Mo Lan to marry a poor scholar, did you? Well, the second son of the Gu family has taken a liking to her and is willing to come and propose marriage."
Sheng Hong said, "I was a little worried about this matter, but since you're so materialistic, then let Mo Lan marry that second son of the Gu family."
Lin Xiaoniang was stunned by this series of news. One second she was flustered and didn't know how to explain, and the next second Sheng Hong brought out this good news.
"Master, you're not joking, are you?" Lin Xiaoniang asked.
You'll find out in a few days whether it's a joke or not.
After Sheng Hong finished speaking, he got up and walked out.
"This concubine will see you off, sir!" said Lin Xiaoniang.
"No need!"
Sheng Hong waved his hand, refusing Lin Xiaoniang's offer to see him off.
Upon exiting Linxi Pavilion, Sheng addressed Dong Rong, who was waiting outside, saying, "Have the courtyard sealed off. Without my permission, no one is allowed to have contact with the people inside!"
"Yes!" Dong Rong replied quickly.
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"Mother, what did you say?"
Hearing his mother's words, Wang You was somewhat incredulous: "Gu Tingye proposed to my fourth cousin, and the Sheng family agreed?"
"That's right."
Madam Feng said, "I was also surprised to hear this news. Your aunt said that the second son of the Gu family had taken a liking to the fourth daughter of the Sheng family when he was studying there, which is why he came to propose marriage."
Wang You didn't believe this explanation at all. In the original drama, when Gu Tingye was studying at the Sheng family, he didn't even take a liking to Minglan.
Or perhaps his initial decision to marry Minglan wasn't based on love.
In the original drama, Gu Tingye initially wanted to marry Minglan, but it wasn't because he liked her.
It all started when Zhao Zongquan, after ascending the throne, arranged marriages for his subordinates.
Gu Tingye was unwilling to be betrothed, or rather, he knew that Zhao Zongquan would not betroth him. In order to avoid others noticing, he urgently needed to arrange his marriage.
Why do we say that Zhao Zongquan would not bestow a marriage upon Gu Tingye?
For Zhao Zongquan, bestowing marriages upon his subordinates was a way to solidify his own position.
He betrothed the daughter of the Duke of Ying to Shen Congxing, and betrothed the young Shen to the Marquis of Zhongjing's family.
This is because both of these companies have high prestige and influence within the military.
Only through this marriage alliance can the two families be bound together with Zhao Zongquan.
Zhao Zongquan knew very well that only by controlling the military could he secure his throne.
Such marriages must be arranged between his confidants and powerful families in the court.
However, he was somewhat wary of Gu Tingye.
This wariness stemmed from two reasons: firstly, Gu Tingye initially concealed his identity, and secondly, from the words spoken by the Emperor at that time.
After being rescued, the Emperor told Zhao Zongquan that no one in the Song Dynasty could neglect Gu Tingye or the Gu family.
There's a saying that goes, "Only fame and power should not be entrusted to others."
Originally, Gu Tingye was a loyal subject who had followed the emperor, and although his identity was somewhat concealed, there were reasons for it.
Zhao Zongquan didn't have many trusted confidants, so he naturally relied heavily on Gu Tingye and rewarded him handsomely.
But if the emperor pulls this stunt, and Zhao Zongquan rewards him after ascending the throne, who will Gu Tingye be grateful to?
Although it was Zhao Zongquan who bestowed it, would Gu Tingye feel that Zhao Zongquan's generous reward was influenced by the Emperor's words and thus feel grateful to the Emperor?
The saying "a new emperor, a new court" perfectly illustrates this point.
After an emperor ascends the throne, he will inevitably replace his confidants with many others. Even if he doesn't have many confidants, he will still promote some people and gradually eliminate the old ministers who hold high positions in the court.
It's simply a matter of speed.
Not only are the people he promotes easier to use, but more importantly, he is the one who gave them the official positions, so the people he promotes are naturally loyal to him.
With such concerns, Zhao Zongquan could not fully trust Gu Tingye.
If a marriage were arranged between Gu Tingye and a powerful family in Bianjing at this time, Gu Tingye would easily side with the powerful family in Bianjing.
He doesn't have a suitable candidate to tie Gu Tingye down.
However, Zhao Zongquan bestowed marriages upon his subordinates. Gu Tingye was also his confidant in the eyes of outsiders. Gu Tingye was not married. If he did not bestow a marriage upon him, what would others think?
Gu Tingye was aware of this, so he deliberately pretended to be afraid of being betrothed and was arranging his own marriage early.
Moreover, he cannot marry a woman of equal social standing to the Gu family, as Shen Congxing would still be wary of him.
She even asked Empress Shen to help organize a polo match and invite Minglan to participate.
He really wanted to see Minglan; there was no need for such a complicated process.
There are many ways to get Hualan to come out of the city.
His purpose in doing that was to tell others that he had gone to great lengths for a woman and that he genuinely loved her.
This way, no one would have any wild ideas, and it also indirectly informed Zhao Zongquan.
Otherwise, Zhao Zongquan wouldn't have many people he could use for marriage alliances, so why would he let Gu Tingye go?
Even if Gu Tingye didn't want to be forced into marriage, how could he let him have his way?
He put in so much effort and took so much time to marry Minglan.
If Zhao Zongquan truly wanted to grant a marriage, he would have done so long ago.
But Zhao Zongquan just watched his performance and showed no sign of bestowing a marriage upon him.
This is not a conspiracy theory of Wang You, as can be seen from the later borrowing of the imperial seal.
The imperial seal was something the emperor needed to handle military and political affairs; only when the imperial seal was affixed could an imperial decree be valid.
The Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtain, controlling the imperial seal. Zhao Zongquan, without the imperial seal, had no way to wield power.
Han Zhang was the Grand Chancellor, assisting the emperor in handling state affairs.
According to the authority of the prime minister in ancient times, imperial edicts only became effective after the emperor affixed his imperial seal and the prime minister signed them, rather than simply being effective upon affixing the imperial seal.
Han Zhang, the chief minister, has every reason to borrow the imperial seal. Why would Gu Tingye, a military general, need to get involved?
It should be noted that Gu Tingye had never held a formal position before this.
With Zhao Zongquan's help, he joined the army, also using a false name.
But he can get involved in things like borrowing the imperial seal.
The problem is that the Empress Dowager still trusts him.
This is enough to show that the Empress Dowager regarded him as one of her own, rather than as Zhao Zongquan's confidant.
Gu Tingye ultimately took the blame, which was also a way of severing ties with the Empress Dowager's side and dispelling Zhao Zongquan's doubts.
Gu Tingye cannot marry someone of equal social standing. He needs to return to the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion to settle old scores and deal with his ruthless stepmother, Lady Qin.
He also needs a wife who is capable, calm, and capable of managing the household affairs and dealing with family disputes, so that he can work hard outside without any worries.
In their many chance encounters, Minglan's intelligence, clear-headedness, and dignified demeanor were exactly what he needed.
He knew about Minglan's living environment and had witnessed Minglan's quick wit in stopping Molan at Guangji Temple and helping Yu Yanran.
This even includes Minglan's schemes against Lin Xiaoniang and her daughter in order to avenge her mother.
Minglan is able to handle Lady Qin, and her humble origins allow Zhao Zongquan to feel at ease.
These are the key factors that led Gu Tingye to marry Minglan.
Despite his initial pleasantries, Minglan said the Gu family was too murky for her to handle.
Gu Tingye promised that he wouldn't leave her to deal with things alone, and also said that he would move to Orange Garden after they got married.
In reality, on the very first day, he left Minglan to deal with Madam Qin and the women of the Gu family.
Although she stood up at the crucial moment, Minglan's actions in rebuking Madam Qin and the other women in the Gu family made him happy for a long time.
Of course, it cannot be denied that Gu Tingye later fell in love with Minglan, but at the beginning, Gu Tingye only had scheming.
Gu Tingye's marriage to Minglan was all calculated, so what about his marriage to Molan?
Now that Gu Tingye has no needs that would put Zhao Zongquan at ease, his core need is to deal with Xiao Qinshi.
Is Ke Molan capable of dealing with Xiao Qinshi?
the answer is negative.
This isn't Wang You being from God's perspective; judging solely from Mo Lan's performance at school, she couldn't handle it.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Lin Xiaoniang and Manniang seem to have very sophisticated methods.
Ultimately, the two were just lucky; Man Niang met Gu Tingye when he was emotionally vulnerable.
At that time, Gu Tingye was troubled by the fact that his biological father had caused the death of his mother, and he didn't know how to face it, so he chose to run away.
Feeling vulnerable and far from home, Manniang appeared at this time.
Lin Xiaoniang's methods were not particularly sophisticated; in the end, her only advantage was her ability to manipulate the Sheng family, which allowed her to live such a comfortable life in the Sheng household.
And then I ran into a stupid old lady like Madam Wang.
If he were any more capable, he would have died countless times over by now.
Mo Lan is even worse than Lin Xiao Niang. In the original drama, she married Liang Han, and not only did Liang Han find out that she had caused the death of Chun Ke's child, but she also couldn't even manage her own maid.
Wang You didn't think Gu Tingye would be unable to tell the quality of the black orchid.
If that's the case, why is Gu Tingye still so determined to marry Mo Lan?
After thinking for a long time without any results, he gave up trying.
Anyway, he didn't have a good impression of Mo Lan, and he didn't care whether Mo Lan lived or died after marrying into the Gu family.
Meanwhile, the Imperial City Guards who were sent to arrest the merchants who had funded the Prince Chong have returned.
The amount of money seized was even more than that of the merchants in Bianjing (Kaifeng).
Wang You was initially surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood.
Although Bianjing was the capital of the Song Dynasty, it was precisely because of this that there were too many high-ranking officials and nobles.
On the contrary, the merchants in Jiangnan were more prosperous than those in Bianjing, both in terms of their lives and their profits.
The amount of money seized was almost equivalent to 30% of the annual tax revenue of the Song Dynasty.
The court's financial difficulties were immediately resolved, and it even became wealthy.
It's enough to not only collect autumn taxes, but it could even start a war.
Wang You was very worried that the government would resolve its financial difficulties and therefore not take action against those officials.
However, he underestimated the emperor's cunning. Those officials wanted to intimidate him before he ascended the throne, so how could the emperor let them off so easily?
On this day, Wang You was at home when a palace official came to his door and summoned him to the palace.
When Wang You arrived at Longtu Pavilion, Yu Xingzhi was already there.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince!" Wang You bowed deeply.
"No need for formalities!"
The official waved his hand and said, "Now that those merchants have been dealt with, it's time to take action against those civil officials who helped the rebellious king."
Yu Aiqing said she had already investigated and found out the truth, so why hasn't Wang Aiqing taken any action yet?
"Return to your majesty!"
Wang You bowed and said, "The late emperor reigned for over ten years and never killed a civil official."
If civil officials were to be moved at this time, it would inevitably cause a huge uproar.
"What's wrong?"
The emperor's face darkened and he said, "They are involved in a rebellion, so I cannot touch them."
If the civil officials in the court rebel again, should I abdicate and hand over the throne to a more capable person?
"I had no such intention."
Wang You said, "In any case, treason is a serious crime. My idea is that Your Majesty should first consolidate control of the military. Only in this way can we prevent any unforeseen events from occurring."
"I know what I'm doing. You just need to do your job."
The Emperor said calmly, "Arrest them if they should. Interrogation takes time. I'd like to see what they'll do for a bunch of traitors!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Wang You replied.
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction and said, "The construction of the Princess's residence will take quite some time, so I have temporarily converted the original Prince Yong's residence into the Princess's residence."
"I will bestow a marriage upon you and the Princess on a chosen day. My promise to you still stands. Do not disappoint me."
"Your Majesty, I thank you!"
Wang You breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"Go!" the official said, waving his hand.
"Your Majesty, I take my leave!"
Wang You and Yu Xingzhi bowed and withdrew.
"Father, what Ziqian said makes sense."
Zhao Sheng said, "I suggest that the Western Suburbs Camp be reorganized, so that the generals of the Western Suburbs Camp can be adjusted."
"Your uncle is to take charge of the Palace Guard, so he cannot take up a post at the Western Suburbs Camp."
The Emperor pondered, "Even if I reorganize the Western Suburbs Camp, where am I going to find so many trustworthy people to command the troops?"
"Just promote them randomly."
Zhao Sheng said, "After the adjustments, although we can't completely control the situation, no one dares to act recklessly."
"Um."
The official nodded slightly and said, "What you say makes sense. However, the Duke of Ying has a high prestige in the army, so we must win him over. With his support, things will be much easier."
"The Duke of Ying is loyal and devoted. Father only needs to inform him in advance, and he will naturally support Father," Zhao Sheng said.
"Who knows how much of his loyalty is genuine?"
The Emperor shook his head and said, "This is still not enough to guarantee safety. I want to make his daughter the Crown Princess!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I already have a Crown Princess. Deposing the Crown Princess at this time would have too great an impact."
He got married a few years ago, and now his son is two years old.
Although my relationship with my wife isn't particularly deep, it's still pretty good.
He was still reluctant to abolish the position of Crown Princess.
The Emperor said quietly, "The Crown Princess has never been in good health."
"The Crown Princess—"
Zhao Sheng originally wanted to say that the Crown Princess had always been in good health, but he suddenly understood what his father meant and looked at his father in disbelief.
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