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

Chapter 200 Taking Ji Yuan to the City

Empress Dowager Gu's face was gloomy, and she was extremely annoyed at this moment.

"If you had listened to me back then and sent that girl from the Ye family to the northern border for a political marriage, none of this would have happened."

Empress Dowager Gu slammed her fist on the table in anger: "As long as we can stabilize the situation in the north, we can deal with Yuezhou with peace of mind. But you insisted on going your own way. Now we have lost both our wife and our army, and ended up with nothing."

“Now that things have come to this, what’s the use of saying all this, Aunt?” Gu Tingchen said angrily. “Even if the entire city of Lin’an is destroyed, I will never allow Wanwan to go to the northern border for a marriage alliance.”

After saying this, he immediately ordered Liu Zhang: "Strictly guard all city gates and arrest all the families of soldiers according to the roster. Anyone who dares to follow Fu Mingchi in opposing my Gu family shall be executed along with their entire family."

"Your subordinate obeys," Liu Zhang replied and left.

Gu Tingchen had already noticed that Wanwan had developed a protective feeling towards her heartless father. Since that was the case, he wanted to see whether she would choose that bastard Fu Mingchi or her biological father this time.

"Guards, seize all the court officials outside the palace. No one is to leave the palace without my permission."

After giving his instructions, Gu Tingchen personally led his men out of Cining Palace.

Empress Dowager Gu was very anxious. If things continued like this, the entire city of Lin'an would surely be filled with complaints.

"Zhou Fuhai, where is Gu An?" Empress Dowager Gu asked urgently.

Zhou Fuhai raised an eyebrow: "Empress Dowager, the Duke of Rongguo heard about the incident at Yangxin Hall as soon as he entered the palace, and he has already rushed there to collect the body of the eldest son."

"Such a disobedient scoundrel, his death is no loss, what's there to grieve over?" Empress Dowager Gu sighed softly, "Quickly summon him to see me."

As Zhou Fuhai turned around, he saw Gu An solemnly carrying Gu Tingzhou's body as he slowly walked in.

Empress Dowager Gu was startled: "Gu An, are you crazy? How could you bring this wretched child's corpse into my palace?"

"Aunt, he is my son."

Gu An looked at Gu Tingzhou, whose face was no longer recognizable: "You watched these brothers grow up. When Xie was alive, she pitied you for having no children and treated you with the same filial piety as her own mother. In my early years, I was leading troops outside the capital. Although you were the Empress Dowager in Beidu, that vixen Consort Qin relied on the late Emperor's favor to bully and harm you every day. Every time, it was Xie who risked her life to enter the palace to save you. How could you just stand by and watch her own flesh and blood kill each other?"

"How could I have wanted to see those brothers fight like this?" Empress Dowager Gu said with a face full of anger. "Your rebellious son has imprisoned me in this Cining Palace. How could I possibly stop him?"

"If it weren't for his aunt's insistence on ruling as emperor and forcing Wanwan to go to the northern border for a political marriage, how would he have had the opportunity to seize power?"

Gu An looked at her with bloodshot eyes: "My aunt has been assisting in the administration of the court for decades, yet she is still unclear about the situation in the north. How could the wolfish ambitions of the northern bandits stop their southward invasion because of our dynasty's compromise and concession?"

"Now that things have come to this, what's the point of saying all this?"

Empress Dowager Gu was also somewhat annoyed and advised in a deep voice, "Gu An, you are the person I rely on most, as well as the entire Gu clan. I order you to quickly pull yourself together and absolutely not let that scoundrel Fu Mingchi enter Lin'an."

“Aunt, the situation is hopeless. I beg you not to continue down this wrong path.” Gu An advised, “Now is the time to order the entire court to work together to resist the northern invaders.”

"You scoundrel!" Empress Dowager Gu roared, "Do you know what you're saying? If it weren't for me, the Great Ye Dynasty would have perished thirty years ago. How can I hand over the empire I've protected for decades to others?"

“Even though Prince Yongning is of Emperor Taizong’s blood, he also has the blood of the Fu imperial family flowing in his veins. Why can’t he inherit the throne?” Gu An asked. “Does Aunt really want to watch the empire crumble before she will repent?” “As long as I have a breath left, I will never allow the deposed emperor and that scoundrel from Yuezhou to have a chance to rise to power.” Empress Dowager Gu’s eyes were resolute. “I order you to go to the city immediately and win over the hearts of the people.”

"Your subject is unable to comply."

Gu An picked up Gu Tingzhou's body and resolutely stepped out of Cining Palace.

"This is outrageous!" Empress Dowager Gu exclaimed angrily, slamming the teacup on the table down.

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Zhou Fuhai advised from the side. "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to find a way to prevent Prince Yongning from entering the city."

Empress Dowager Gu snorted coldly: "Fu Mingchi has stormed into Lin'an alone. He must be very concerned about that girl from the Ye family. You must immediately have Prince Dao'an bring Ji Yuan to the city and have him persuade Fu Mingchi to hand over Princess Jinghe and return to Yuezhou. Otherwise, today will be Ji Yuan's death day."

Zhou Fuhai hesitated, "Your Majesty, Ji Yuan and Princess Jinghe are not close."

"Even if they're not close, they're still father and daughter bound by blood." Empress Dowager Gu smiled faintly, "I don't believe that this girl would rather bear the stigma of being unfilial for a wild man."

Zhou Fuhai thought about it and found it quite reasonable, so he immediately agreed and left.

Outside Lin'an City, in a tent by the Chao River, after Fu Mingchi left, Ye Wanshu sat up from the bed again.

Thinking about her concerns, she hurriedly called Yan Jin in: "General Yan, how many troops do you have left?"

"There are less than two thousand men left, including several hundred wounded soldiers," Yan Jin answered truthfully.

"Lead a thousand men and hurry back to Yuezhou to escort the Dowager Consort and everyone to Qizhou," Ye Wanshu instructed. "You must get back as soon as possible."

Yan Jin looked puzzled: "Your Highness, His Highness asked me to stay and take care of you and General Zhu. What am I supposed to do back in Yuezhou now?"

“Gu Tingchen has the Imperial Seal and the Empress Dowager in his hands. If he cannot defend Lin'an, he may have to take desperate measures.”

Ye Wanshu reminded him, "Don't forget that there are still 300,000 imperial troops in Huizhou and Yezhou. The garrison commander of Huizhou is a relative of the Gu family. If he flees to Yuezhou, mobilizing the 100,000 troops stationed in Huizhou will be no problem."

Her reminder made Yan Jin frown deeply: "At present, apart from the 50,000 troops stationed in Qizhou, the other counties and prefectures in Yuezhou are undefended. If Gu Tingchen really takes the risk, then Yuezhou will surely be engulfed in bloodshed."

"Therefore you must get back as soon as possible, and do not let anyone notice." Ye Wanshu thought for a moment, "On your way back, send someone to tell Chief Secretary Zhao to lead men to reinforce Yuzhou and make sure to hold Yuzhou City."

Yan Jin sighed softly: "The Princess Consort is unaware that His Highness punished the Eldest Princess when he left Yuezhou, and I'm afraid she is unwilling to come to the aid of Yuzhou."

"It's alright." Ye Wanshu pursed her lips slightly. "Have someone deliver the letter to General Yu Bai, and then have him present it to Chief Secretary Zhao in person. I know Chief Secretary Zhao's character. He has managed Yuezhou for the Yongning Prince's Mansion for more than ten years and has governed Yuezhou in an orderly manner. He would never stand by and watch the people under his jurisdiction be slaughtered and trampled on."

Yan Jin nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at her with a hint of worry in her eyes: "Second Miss Ji and the people from the Prince Qi's mansion..."

"Don't worry about them, I have my own way of handling them," Ye Wanshu said, then urged him to set off quickly.

After all, if he wanted to lead his men back to Yuezhou without anyone noticing, he had to return via the original route, which would probably not be as smooth as taking the official road.

After Yan Jin and his men left, Ye Wanshu was pondering the current situation in Lin'an City when she suddenly saw Ji Ningxi barging in with her guards.