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

Chapter 164 Three Things

A bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky, illuminating the surroundings with exceptional clarity. Ye Wanshu silently watched Fu Mingchi stagger down the city wall, his figure as desolate as the autumn wind, a sight that evoked a deep sense of sorrow in one's heart.

Suddenly, a raindrop landed on her face. It was a hot summer day, but the raindrop felt refreshingly cold.

Before long, a torrential downpour began, and the torches held high outside the city were instantly extinguished by the rain, leaving only a dark sky visible.

Lightning flashed intermittently across the sky, and Fu Mingchi could be vaguely seen being helped by Yan Jin and Yu Bai to mount his warhorse and turn away.

As the figure gradually disappeared into the depths of her vision, Ye Wanshu's breath hitched, her heart ached, and tears finally streamed down her face.

Ji Yunze quickly found an umbrella and held it over her head. Looking at her palms stained with blood, he felt a pang of heartache.

She handed the umbrella to a soldier standing nearby, who quickly tore off a clean piece of cloth from his clothes and wrapped it around her body, layer by layer.

"Princess, let me help you back to treat your wounds."

As soon as Ji Yunze finished speaking, Ye Wanshu coldly pushed her away and walked down the city wall on her own.

Ji Yuan saw everything. Although Ji Yunze was not as good as Prince Yongning, he genuinely cared about his daughter. Now that things had come to this point with Prince Yongning, there was probably no way to turn things around.

Remembering Fu Mingchi's earlier reminder, Ji Yuan figured that when he returned to Lin'an this time, Empress Dowager Gu would arrange a marriage between his daughter and Ji Yunze. If he took the initiative and quickly arranged the marriage between his daughter and Ji Yunze, Empress Dowager Gu would not be able to bring it up again.

Silently walking to Ji Yunze's side, Ji Yuan first comforted him, "Yunze, Wanwan didn't mean to ignore you, don't take it to heart."

Ji Yunze quickly shook his head: "This humble official understands, Your Excellency the Grand Secretary need not say more."

Seeing the two walking so intimately, Gu An felt extremely displeased.

Fortunately, I had already spoken with Ji Yuan. Someone has to take the blame for this dispute with the Prince of Yongning’s mansion. We can’t really turn against the Prince of Yongning with weapons.

“Ji Xuezheng, this time you almost caused a major disaster because of your mistake alone. Tomorrow you will also come back to Lin'an with me to report on your duties,” Gu An said bluntly.

Ji Yunze's face turned cold: "What does the Duke of Rong mean? The Prince of Yongning ordered his generals to assassinate an important court official. There are witnesses and physical evidence. I was merely reporting to the court impartially. What wrong have I done?"

"Witnesses and evidence?" Gu An smiled. "According to your memorial to the Emperor, this matter was the evidence of Princess Qi Ning's search. The Empress Dowager is biased and believes everything she hears, but I think there are many doubts. Princess Qi Ning is the aunt of Prince Yongning. How could she harm her own nephew?"

“This is absolutely true,” Ji Yunze argued. “If the Duke of Rong has any doubts, he can escort General Yu Bai, who serves Prince Yongning, to Lin’an for questioning, and ask Princess Qining to confront him in court.”

"What a joke! You think I'd send you to Yuezhou to arrest the commander-in-chief and take away the princess from the royal palace just because of a single word? Are you hoping for chaos to break out in the world?"

Gu An was too lazy to argue with him any further and said solemnly, "There is no room for discussion on this matter. If you have any complaints, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager will make a decision when we return to Lin'an."

After saying that, she rolled her eyes at him and immediately turned and left.

"Duke Rongguo, are you perhaps showing favoritism to Prince Yongning?" Ji Yunze shouted. "Your humble servant can immediately go to Yuzhou to invite Princess Qining here."

Ji Yuan quickly coughed lightly and whispered, "Yunze, you're taking this too seriously. The matter of reducing the power of the vassal states is no child's play. You should understand His Majesty's good intentions. Right now, the predicament of the Great Ye Dynasty is in the north, not in Yuezhou."

Ji Yunze's face was full of resentment: "But, Your Excellency..."

Ji Yuan immediately waved his hand: "Alright, Yunze, even if it's for Wanwan's sake, you shouldn't be so stubborn. Your uncle doesn't want to see her get hurt again."

Patting him on the shoulder, Ji Yuan said earnestly, "His Majesty has always intended to arrange your marriage with Wanwan. Listen to your uncle, just be patient for now. Once this storm has passed, your uncle will ask His Majesty to reinstate you."

After saying that, Ji Yuan also left quickly.

Ji Yunze stood in the rain, feeling utterly lost. This court was already riddled with problems; without destruction, there could be no construction. Only by completely eliminating the Gu family's influence and the Yongning Prince's Mansion could the world finally have peace.

Thinking of the suffering he and Wanwan had endured, he gritted his teeth and secretly vowed, "Wanwan, no matter how difficult the road ahead may be, I will protect you and never let anyone hurt you again."

As Ye Wanshu descended the city wall, Chunhong and Xingtao rushed over with umbrellas to hold them up for her.

Seeing the girl's hands covered in blood, the maids were heartbroken. Caiju and Qiuli, protecting Qin Chulin, led the way while complaining, "That Prince Yongning is too cruel. How could he hurt Miss Biao like this?"

Ye Wanshu walked forward absentmindedly, remaining silent the whole time.

She knew that once news of what happened today reached Lin'an, Gu Tingchen would no longer try to make things difficult for Fu Mingchi.

Having come this far, she doesn't expect Fu Mingchi to forgive her, but she is determined to choose a wise ruler for the future of Daye.

In this way, not only her, but also all the people of the world can truly live a peaceful and stable life.

Looking at the entire imperial clan, perhaps only Fu Mingchi is willing to risk his life for the common people.

"Fu Mingchi, I will definitely help you take control of Lin'an smoothly."

Having made up her mind, Ye Wanshu went to the guest room prepared by Caiju and Qiuli, changed into clean clothes, and then Ji Yuan brought the military doctor to bandage her wounds.

Seeing his daughter's disappointed look, Ji Yuan first dismissed everyone, then pulled her to sit down at the coffee table.

He poured her a steaming cup of ginger tea and handed it to her, gently instructing, "Wanwan, drink some ginger tea to warm yourself up so you don't catch a cold."

Ye Wanshu nodded, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.

Seeing that she was still absent-minded and lost in thought, Ji Yuan slowly said, "Wanwan, your father thinks Yunze treats you quite sincerely."

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Wanshu already guessed what her adoptive father wanted to say: "Father, my affair with Young Master Ji is over. I suppose my love life is destined to be bumpy, so let's not drag others down with us."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan's eyes darkened slightly, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"It's all because your father failed to protect you," Ji Yuan said, filled with self-reproach.

Ye Wanshu shook her head: "Father, why blame yourself for these things? As I said before, my only wish upon returning to Lin'an this time is to clear the world for His Majesty."

Ji Yuan sighed: "How easy is it to do this?"

"It's all up to human effort," Ye Wanshu said. "This time when I return to Lin'an, I want to ask Father to do three things. My uncle will be withdrawing his troops and returning to Lin'an tomorrow. How to deal with the Mu family army will definitely be a thorny issue. The Mu family army is brave and can be used by His Majesty. So the first thing is to ask Father to submit a memorial to His Majesty and ask him to issue an edict allowing the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis to lead the Mu family army to retreat to Xiling Pass to cultivate and reclaim wasteland."

Ji Yuan's eyes lit up: "Gu An's actions today clearly show that he does not want to fight against the Yongning Prince's Mansion. However, the Mu family army is unlikely to be of great use at the moment. Although Xiling Pass is located in a remote area, if the Mu family army can retreat here, it can be considered that they have found a place to stay."

“Sometimes lying low isn’t a bad thing,” Ye Wanshu pondered. “But I don’t think Empress Dowager Gu will agree easily, so I think Father should immediately petition His Majesty after returning to Lin’an to implement the marriage alliance.”

Ji Yuan was stunned: "Wanwan, you should know that once the marriage alliance is established, Empress Dowager Gu will definitely send you there."

“Even if Father doesn’t bring it up, someone will still advise us. Rather than waiting to die, we should take the initiative,” Ye Wanshu said. “In this way, we can create discord between Empress Dowager Gu and Gu Tingchen, and also give me the opportunity to get closer to Empress Dowager Gu.”

Ji Yuan was completely confused: "Why does Wanwan want to get close to Empress Dowager Gu?"

Ye Wanshu smiled coldly: "Since Empress Dowager Gu is so reluctant to give up her power, I should advise her to take it a step further."

Looking at Ji Yuan, she slowly said, "Let her sit on the dragon throne."