I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 156 Instigating the Empress Dowager
"What are you standing there for?" Empress Dowager Gu smiled calmly. "Tingchen, hurry up and thank the Empress Dowager."

Gu Tingchen kowtowed somewhat nervously and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, then turned his attention to Prince Yan: "Prince Yan has deceived the emperor and colluded with Xue Jiu, committing countless crimes. He must be severely punished to appease public anger. Does Your Majesty have any objections?"

Empress Dowager Gu knew that she could no longer save Prince Yan, so she could only agree and say, "Prince Yan is indeed guilty of heinous crimes and cannot be forgiven. Let him be demoted to a commoner and exiled to Qianzhou, where he can fend for himself."

"As Your Majesty says," the Emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the two princes favored by the Empress Dowager have been demoted, he seized the opportunity to express his thoughts.

"I have heard that Prince Yongning has turned the tide this time, using 10,000 Yingzhou troops to resist 100,000 pirates invading the interior. He is indeed a brave and resourceful talent. The situation in the north is critical at present, and I want to transfer him to Lin'an to entrust him with an important task. What does Your Majesty think?"

Empress Dowager Gu could easily see through the Emperor's intentions. He had just appointed his grand-nephew as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, and then immediately wanted to summon Fu Mingchi to Lin'an. It seemed that he had already made up his mind to make that arrogant and unruly brat the Crown Prince.

Prince Qi and Prince Yan were useless, and she couldn't find a suitable candidate for the time being, nor did she know how to refute the emperor. She could only silently look at the Gu family father and son.

Gu An and Gu Tingchen both felt helpless.

Seeing this, the emperor was secretly delighted: "I know that the Empress Dowager has some reservations about Mingchi, but now that the country is in danger, I beg the Empress Dowager to put aside past grievances and welcome Prince Yongning to Lin'an to jointly resist the northern invaders."

Empress Dowager Gu closed her eyes impatiently, showing no intention of agreeing.

Just then, Zhou Fuhai led a messenger in.

"Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, the newly appointed Education Commissioner of Yuezhou, Ji Yunze, has sent back a secret letter."

Zhou Fuhai gestured for the messenger to present the secret letter. The emperor opened it and his face immediately turned cold.

Empress Dowager Gu sensed something was amiss. She took the secret letter, glanced at it, and couldn't help but smile to herself. Then she flew into a rage and said, "How dare Prince Yongning plot a rebellion! The Emperor's ability to judge people is truly extraordinary."

"Your Majesty, please calm down," the Emperor quickly explained. "The people of Yuezhou remember Prince Yongning's meritorious service in protecting the country and went to welcome him. This is only natural. I'm just afraid that Academician Ji is being too sensitive."

"Sensitive?" Empress Dowager Gu carefully examined the contents of the secret letter and said sternly, "Guan Qing was a high-ranking official of the imperial court. Is it reasonable for him to order his subordinates to kill him without authorization?"

Empress Dowager Gu glanced at the emperor with displeasure and said coldly, "This Ji Xuezheng is the top scholar personally selected by the emperor. He has always been fair and impartial. How could he possibly wrong the Prince of Yongning?"

Gu Tingchen stepped forward and took the letter from Empress Dowager Gu's hand. After carefully examining it, he was overjoyed.

I underestimated that bookworm. I tried my best but failed to find any evidence of Fu Mingchi's crimes. I never expected that this bookworm would actually succeed.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Yongning's intentions are surely treacherous."

Gu Tingchen said righteously, "Back when I was inspecting Yuezhou, this man had already mobilized troops to besiege the Zhenfu Shisi without authorization. In order to win people's hearts, he also arbitrarily exempted Yuezhou from taxes for two years. It can be seen that this man has long harbored ambitions and we must be wary of him."

"In this light, it was a mistake to let the young Zhang from the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion lead the Mu family army into the northern border." Empress Dowager Gu immediately ordered, "Gu An, order the generals of all the passes in the north to guard their passes strictly, not to receive the Mu family army, and even more so, not to let the Mu family army enter the country."

The emperor turned pale upon hearing this and cried out in alarm, "In the past two months, Marquis Wuping's army has suffered repeated defeats, losing cities, territories, and countless soldiers. The Mu family army has recaptured several cities as soon as it entered the northern border and is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the northern invaders. The Empress Dowager's move is undoubtedly aimed at annihilating the Mu family army."

"The emperor is truly getting more and more confused as he gets older."

Empress Dowager Gu slammed her hand on the table in anger: "I had reservations when you sent Lady Zhang to the Northern Border, but out of maternal affection, I indulged your reckless behavior. Look at the mess you've made! If Prince Yongning and the Mu family army were to cooperate from within, we wouldn't even need to wait until after your death; we could hand over the entire kingdom of Daye to him today." The Emperor shook his head helplessly, pleading in a sorrowful voice: "Your Majesty, I guarantee with my life that Prince Yongning has absolutely no intention of rebellion. Please, Your Majesty, do not listen to slander."

"Even now, is the Emperor still so stubborn?" Empress Dowager Gu asked, her face turning ashen with anger. "Does the Emperor really want to see his army at the city gates before he will give up?"

Seeing that the Emperor and Empress Dowager were deadlocked, Gu Tingchen's eyes flickered, and he smiled as he advised, "Since Your Majesty trusts the loyalty of Prince Yongning so much, I have a plan. Why not summon Prince Yongning to the capital to confront Ji Xuezheng? If he has no intention of rebelling, then we can just punish the general who killed the court official without authorization."

"As the Privy Councilor says," Empress Dowager Gu said, too lazy to pay any more attention to the Emperor. She stood up abruptly and said, "Gu An, you will personally lead 300,000 troops to garrison the border of Yuzhou. If that scoundrel dares to disobey the imperial decree, we will eliminate him even if it means razing Yuezhou City to the ground."

"Yes, I accept your order."

Gu An glanced at his son with a resentful look, feeling that this scoundrel was becoming more and more unfamiliar to him.

On their way back from leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Gu An suddenly asked, "Why did you incite the Empress Dowager to deal with Prince Yongning?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Father?" Gu Tingchen said unhappily, "Does Father want to see Ji Yuan welcome Fu Mingchi to Lin'an?"

“Even if we were to deal with him, it shouldn’t be at this time,” Gu An said reproachfully. “I think you’re blinded by selfishness now.”

Now that the Empress Dowager had decided to reduce the power of the princes, he could no longer blame his son. He only hoped that Fu Mingchi could prioritize the overall situation and enter Lin'an as soon as possible, so that the danger in the north could be relieved and a war could be avoided.

"Stop pressuring your mother, brother, and sister." Gu An closed his eyes and sighed softly, "Let Caiju and Qiuli come with me to Yuezhou to persuade Wanwan. She will come back."

"Then we'll see if these two lowly maids have the ability."

Gu Tingchen gave a casual reply, but after returning home, he pondered it carefully. He simply had a lock of hair cut from Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji and given it to Caiju and Qiuli, and then sent the two of them off with their father's army.

After Ye Wanshu returned from Yuzhou City, everyone in Taowu began preparing for her marriage.

Seeing the entire Peach Blossom Village decorated with lanterns and filled with a festive atmosphere, she was looking forward to the wedding more than ever before.

With the betrothal ceremony scheduled for tomorrow, she found herself tossing and turning in bed all night.

For some reason, she kept thinking about her aunt, Qingmian, and Tingji these past two days.

She had originally intended to send Tian Fu back to Lin'an to invite her aunt and siblings to come to Yuezhou, but considering the current state of affairs with the Gu brothers, she ultimately gave up on the idea.

I don't know how long I've been lying in bed, but suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Ye Wanshu slowly got up and saw Chunhong leading Chu Yin in.

Seeing that she was wide awake, Chu Yin smiled slightly and placed the soup she was carrying on the table: "Uncle Ji understands you best. He knew you wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully, so he specially asked me to bring you a bowl of calming soup."

"This old man has been acting more and more like a loving mother lately," Ye Wanshu sighed helplessly.

Chu Yin helped her to the table and sat her down, teasing her with a smile, "You should cherish your blessings. Uncle Ji is playing both father and mother roles now, it's not easy for him."

Ye Wanshu pondered for a moment and nodded: "Before, without Father's care, I always felt empty. Now that he stays by my side every day, I feel a little uncomfortable."