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墨書 Inktalez
Since the moment he suspected where the problem lay, Xuanyuan Rui had fallen ill and stayed away from court, which meant the emperor's marriage decree could not be issued and had to be postponed indefinitely.
After claiming illness, Xuanyuan Rui remained holed up in the General's residence, unable to meet with Qing Luan. They lacked the courage to meet in secret, fearing surveillance by the palace's skilled enforcers, which would lead to complications.
He feigned illness convincingly, but they had long since agreed that members of the Azure Phoenix Sect would investigate the Huang Residence and monitor Prime Minister Huang, while Yun Yiqing would bribe the eunuchs close to the emperor.
The emperor was aging, and it was only a matter of time before the crown prince ascended to the throne. The crown prince was allied with Yun Yiqing and Xuanyuan Rui; although they appeared distant on the surface, with Yun Qingyang involved, this matter remained a secret.
Everything was unfolding in the shadows, waiting to see whose steps would be quicker.
"That old rascal Prime Minister Huang is truly cunning," Qing Luan complained after ten days of surveillance. "He's acting far too obediently. Every day he's either in the palace meeting with the emperor or holed up in his study at home, rarely seen by anyone. The person he sees most is his grandson Huang Pinyan... Ever since that assassination attempt on me failed and Su Yuanhang went missing, Huang Pinyan has also become compliant. He doesn't even bother with Tianxiang Restaurant anymore. How are we supposed to find any evidence?"
The initial enthusiasm had faded, leaving only exhaustion and confusion, as if all hope had vanished, filling her heart with disappointment.
"Take it slow," Yun Yiqing reassured her, fully aware of the pressure she felt.
"It can't wait..." Qing Luan looked at her helplessly. "Xuanyuan Rui can’t pretend to be sick forever. If we don’t find evidence soon to take down that old fox Prime Minister Huang, in the end, either Xuanyuan Rui will rise up against him or become a pawn of the emperor... No matter what happens, it won't be what we want!"
Xuanyuan Rui had no reason to rebel, nor did he desire it. After all, he had always been dedicated to protecting the country; suddenly leading a rebellion would only cause chaos among the people and make them vulnerable to invasion by other nations. Thus, a peaceful resolution was ideal.
Just as Qing Luan grasped this truth, not long after she had spoken with Yun Yiqing, someone from the General's residence arrived with news: The emperor had issued an edict stating that regardless of whether Xuanyuan Rui was truly ill or not, he was to marry on the eighth day of next month.
"Pah! What nonsense about a wedding bringing joy! The emperor must have guessed that Xuanyuan Rui is faking illness but couldn't confirm it, so he's using this wedding as a means to force him into submission!" Qing Luan dismissed the messenger irritably.
Neither she nor Xuanyuan Rui wanted this marriage to happen. To say they harbored an irreconcilable hatred for the Huang family and would compromise because of one word from the emperor was simply impossible.
"The emperor has protected Prime Minister Huang," Yun Yiqing observed as she watched Qing Luan gradually lose her composure. A strange smile crept onto her lips while her eyes remained exceptionally calm, and her words were unusually cold.
"Uh!?" Qing Luan turned back just in time to catch Yun Yiqing's peculiar expression and rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "What are you thinking? Your expression is terrifying."
Ever since Yun Yiqing's identity was confirmed, she had restrained her charm and transformed into an untouchable princess. Thus, this expression made others involuntarily shiver.
"I was thinking, I finally get to see you in such a defeated state," Yun Yiqing said with a mischievous smile, enunciating each word. "From the moment I met you until now, this is the first time I've seen you lose your composure like this... Do you remember our first encounter? You disregarded my status as a widow and tried your best to befriend me. I was curious back then about how a girl could be so indifferent to the taboos surrounding widows. Although I wasn't truly a widow, your sincerity moved me, which is why I followed you..."
Qing Luan blinked, puzzled by what she meant—was it praise or criticism!?
Why didn't she understand?
Seeing Qing Luan's bewildered expression, Yun Yiqing chuckled. "Ah, when you're concerned, you become flustered. Qing Luan, if you treat Xuanyuan Rui as just another person, as a stranger, you'll find a calm way to interact and resolve things instead of being like an ant on a hot pan, restless and anxious!" While she wanted to see Qing Luan's human side, she didn't want her to lose her rationality.
One careless move could lead to irreparable consequences.
Concern leads to chaos... Since her rebirth as Zhu Qingluan, she had been unsure if she had ever truly cared about anything deep down. She had merely lived numbly, using the guise of revenge to establish a Commercial Kingdom. For her, hatred wasn't that profound; once she dealt with Huang, everything would settle.
However, after meeting Xuanyuan Rui, she realized that in this entire affair, she wasn't the protagonist but merely a minuscule supporting character. She was certain that without her rebirth, any girl from the Chen Family could have taken her place as that pawn.
Upon learning about Xuanyuan Hui's cause of death, she suddenly understood where her anger stemmed from—Huang Family members treated lives as mere weeds! For them, one dissatisfaction could dictate another's life or death. The one who granted them such power was none other than Xuanyuan Rui's most respected and beloved maternal grandfather; how could anyone accept that?
The business world is like a battlefield; while it can be exhausting, it pales in comparison to the betrayal of loved ones.
Yun Yiqing noticed Qing Luan staring silently into the distance, her eyes swirling with various emotions. With a soft sigh, she said, "When the Emperor favored Prime Minister Huang the most, he also controlled his finances and kept him in check. Now that Xuanyuan Rui holds military power, if he were with you, both wealth and power would be in his hands; the Emperor would never tolerate that!"
"Xuanyuan Rui is so loyal to him; how could he...?" Qing Luan faltered when meeting Yun Yiqing's gaze.
If the Emperor trusted someone, then Yun Yiqing's father wouldn't have died, Xuanyuan Hui wouldn't have died either, and Xuanyuan Rui wouldn't have been involved at all.
What they couldn't do was something the Emperor would definitely carry out if anyone threatened his Nation or his control.
But with such malicious schemes happening repeatedly—didn't anyone notice?
Perhaps no one did; each person's cause of death was different; they could only blame their misfortune.
"Qing Luan, don’t laugh at me for saying this: my days as a widow outside were the most comfortable and carefree for me. I would rather everyone forget me and see me as your Sister Yun than return to the palace as Yun Yiqing in your eyes... There are too many truths there that I don't want to face. I'm avoiding them because I'm afraid the truth will be cruel and unbearable..." The pain and struggle within her heart were unknown to anyone. By sharing it with Qing Luan now, she hoped to help her face things calmly—even if in the end they couldn't change anything and she couldn't be with Xuanyuan Rui.
After taking a breath, she continued, "I have struggled for a long time, hesitated, suffered, and even concealed my identity to escape. But no matter how secretive one tries to be, the heavens are watching. Eventually, there will be leaks. Perhaps the Emperor has sensed something and wants to keep Xuanyuan Rui under control!"
"Why keep him under control? Isn't it more straightforward to kill him?" Qing Luan asked, puzzled.
If they were to act directly, they could at least justify their actions. Worst case, they could flee to another country and live without worrying about the Emperor's whims.
"Hmph," Yun Yiqing scoffed mockingly, her sarcasm evident. "They've already killed two; what good would killing him do? Hmph, if they kill Xuanyuan Rui, who will lead the charge against the enemies?"
"..." Qing Luan was speechless but understood Yun Yiqing's point.
The luck of that dog Emperor was extraordinary. After the death of Yun Yiqing's father, Xuanyuan Hui emerged. After Xuanyuan Hui's death, there was Xuanyuan Rui. Each one was a fierce warrior on the battlefield, making it difficult for enemies to mobilize their troops. Now that there was no one to replace Xuanyuan Rui, the Emperor dared not take drastic measures and could only restrain him.
If Xuanyuan Rui were to die, the northern territories would surely fall into someone else's hands within a month.
"At first, I thought about how to help the nation prosper and strengthen its people. Now that I think about it, when I proposed planting grain in the north, the Emperor refused because he feared I would win the people's hearts and make him lose theirs as an emperor. So he doesn't care if the people in the north starve!" After realizing what kind of person this Emperor was, Qing Luan felt utterly disheartened.
A selfish emperor who only cares about his own reputation and fame is the worst for the common people.
"Fortunately, you sent Fu Tianlin to the north; that counts as a good deed," she acknowledged. Knowing that Qing Luan still worried about the situation in the north, she understood that sending Zhu Family and Fu Family members there was for the sake of the people.
"Sigh!" Qing Luan sighed heavily, feeling no joy at all.
If bringing down Prime Minister Huang was so exhausting for her, how much more difficult would it be with an emperor—the highest ruler?
"Let nature take its course!" Yun Yiqing didn't know what else to say and could only offer this form of comfort.
Huang Family.
"This Xuanyuan Rui is bound to become a disaster if left unchecked," Prime Minister Huang thought anxiously upon learning that the Emperor had sought such a prominent figure to restrain Xuanyuan Rui. Logically speaking, Xuanyuan Rui should have been eliminated long ago; however, he remained because there was no one to replace him.
"If the Emperor doesn't take action, we naturally can't either. Otherwise, if we're caught with evidence against us, it wouldn't be enough to warrant our deaths along with our entire clan," Huang Pinyan felt uneasy as well, sensing that this marriage arrangement wouldn't be so simple.
The emperor was such a cunning and treacherous person, allowing these two families to be tied together. But with the imperial decree issued, no one could change it.
"Sigh, if only there were someone more capable in battle than Xuanyuan Rui, perhaps the emperor would have made the decision to eliminate him. Unfortunately, General Bu is dead; otherwise, he would have been a viable option!" If only I had saved General Bu, I wouldn't be in such a passive position now.
"Grandfather, let's not dwell on the past. Letting Jing'er marry him is not a big deal; we can act later, and no one will suspect the Huang Family." Losing one girl to save the entire Huang Family is worth it.
"It has to be this way!"
The emperor's decision placed both the Huang Family and Xuanyuan Rui under immense pressure, filled with dissatisfaction yet deeply suppressed... This was a contest among three parties to see who would crack first.
"I absolutely refuse to marry Huang Jing'er," Xuanyuan Rui protested vehemently to Qing Luan, refusing to compromise.
Seeing him approach her with such intensity, Qing Luan felt wronged: "If you won't compromise, are you planning to lead a rebellion or something!?"
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This story is nearing its conclusion, just in the next couple of days...
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