Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 163

After seeing Consort Liu off, Xie Jiu casually asked about matters of state in the court.

Qingfang watched closely and said that the morning court session went smoothly. Last night, Dajing had the upper hand at the palace banquet. Starting today, they would begin to discuss some contracts between the two countries with the people of Xichi.

"His Majesty still entrusted the matter to the master and the young master, and also assigned someone else. Your Highness, can you guess who it is?"

"Who is this person, acting so mysteriously?" Xie Jiu looked up. "Does this have anything to do with me?"

Qingfang thought for a moment, then nodded and shook her head, "There is some connection, it's Zhou Zhiqing."

This surprised Xie Jiu a bit.

“Zhou Zhiqing,” Xie Jiu chuckled. “He was inconspicuous before, but now he has suddenly risen to prominence and been promoted by the Emperor. I’m afraid Wu Qingchan will have even less of a place in his household.”

It's quite obvious. The Zhou family elders were already dissatisfied with Wu Qingchan, and now that their son is at the peak of his career, having such a wife is bound to hold him back.

Even though Zhao Xingjin was the emperor, he was still criticized by the censors for marrying Xie Jiu, who had been married before. So it would be even more difficult for Zhou Zhiqing, a lowly Hanlin Academy scholar with no powerful backing, to do so. If they knew that he had a wife who was the wife of a disgraced official, they would definitely use that as a pretext to make trouble.

Qingfang felt relieved. "She insulted the Empress with those words back then, and now that she's in this situation, she knows the bitterness of entrusting herself to the wrong person. She deserves it."

Upon hearing these words, Xie Jiu slightly lowered his eyes, his emotions unreadable.

"Alright, let's not talk about her anymore. There's really no deep-seated grudge between us. As for Wu Que, I've been so busy lately that I haven't even thought about him. How's he doing at Jinming Tower?"

When the topic was brought up, Chunrong immediately began to speak.

She's the one keeping an eye on most of the news outside.

"At first, he naturally refused, but since he had already been sold, he had no choice but to accept it. After going in, he made too much trouble and was first beaten up and then thrown into the water dungeon in Jinminglou, which was used to train people, and locked up for three days. After he came out, he even mentioned that his brother-in-law, Zhou Zhiqing, was an official in the court. However, the owner of Jinminglou knew the Xie family and the Empress better, so he was not afraid of him."

"Later, he played tricks and injured a customer, which angered the boss. In a fit of rage, the boss gave him muscle relaxant powder and those drugs that are commonly used to discipline people in brothels, and forced him to take customers. Now, he has taken a alias called Yu Jun."

Xie Jiu laughed upon hearing this.

He immediately asked, "He does have some martial arts skills, so how come he was so useless and easily subdued?"

"How would Her Majesty know the methods those brothels use to train people? No matter who you are, as long as you don't die, they'll subdue you. They have plenty of tricks up their sleeves," Chunrong said in a low voice, suppressing a laugh.

But after saying that, she added...

"However, he has now started taking clients, and it seems that he has done some harmful things through his patrons."

Xie Jiu turned her head. "What do you mean?"

“The information is not accurate, but it should be him. There is a dilapidated temple in the suburbs of Beijing where some unregistered vagrants live. They come to the city during the day to make a living and gather there at night. Not long ago, the dilapidated temple caught fire at night and burned very badly. It seems that all the people inside were burned to death. The person who sold him to Jinminglou lives in there,” Chunrong said.

Although there is no evidence that the fire was set by someone, the fact that everyone in the temple was burned to death and no one escaped is quite strange and seems abnormal.

Xie Jiu frowned. "What a disaster! Have someone investigate this matter thoroughly. Find out who is behind it and whether Wu Que is involved."

Chunrong immediately nodded in agreement.

"I wonder how the New Year will be celebrated this year. The people of Xichi will be staying for quite a while, so there's bound to be a lot of excitement." Xie Jiu looked out the window. "It's already December, and there's still no snow. It's just constant wind, giving me a headache." Qingfang also looked at the sky. "The sun was shining this morning, but now it's all gloomy. Your Majesty has been so busy and tired lately, and speaking has taken a toll on you. Why don't you go inside and get some rest? Anyway, the Emperor is meeting with the people of Xichi today, so he probably won't summon you."

Hearing her say that, Xie Jiu did indeed feel tired, so she nodded.

outside the palace.

Inside the meeting hall, the entire delegation from the Western Chi Kingdom gathered at Gao Sui's residence.

Zhao Zaiyan frowned. "I have repeatedly told you not to offend Xie, the favorite concubine of the Emperor of Dajing, but you just wouldn't listen. You have your own prejudices, but this is Dajing. You have to keep your thoughts to yourself. That woman is not a concubine of Xichi Kingdom, so why bother with her? Now look what happened. You've offended her, and now you're suffering setbacks everywhere you go!"

The resentment in his words was quite obvious.

Shangguan Yi naturally understood that the person being referred to was him, and he immediately became displeased.

"What do you mean? Are you saying I did something wrong? You're good at playing the good guy, always smiling obsequiously at the palace banquet, making us look like we're easy to bully, like we're here to beg for peace. It makes the Emperor of Dajing look down on us. Who is he? A traitorous minister who usurped the throne, and he still dotes on this divorced woman. He's simply a tyrant and a vixen. Dajing is doomed sooner or later. Why bother being polite to them!"

Gao Sui sat in the main seat, watching the two argue more and more fiercely, and his face gradually darkened.

"enough!"

All that could be heard was Gao Sui's sharp shout.

"Your own people have only just arrived in Dajing and you're already fighting amongst yourselves like this. If word gets out, you'll become a laughingstock. You all have such sharp tongues, why didn't you show your skills in the palace earlier? Now you're all so energetic. What, are you two only good at bullying yourselves? What did I, Xi Chi, send you here for?!"

Although he was young, he was very authoritative, and his words immediately silenced the crowd.

Shangguan Yi flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and returned to his seat. Zhao Zaiyan also took a deep breath and lowered his eyes.

Seeing that they had all calmed down, Gao Suicai spoke again.

"Both of you are loyal subjects of Xichi and are doing this for the good of Xichi. However, we must be mindful of our methods. This is not our territory, so we must be more tactful and yield when necessary."

"I know that you, Lord Shangguan, have met with Emperor Hui a few times in the past, but this place has now been changed to the Great Jing Dynasty. The emperor is Zhao Xingjin, and the reign title is Qianyuan. He is not that cowardly and useless Emperor Hui. If you, Lord Shangguan, still want to put on airs, it will definitely not work."

"That Xie woman you look down on happens to come from a prestigious family in Da Jing. Her father is the current Grand Secretary. Just this morning, Xie was already made a concubine with the title of Jin. It's clear that the Emperor of Da Jing favors her. Her father and brother are the people responsible for liaising with us this time. Do you think it will make our progress smoothly if you oppose her and repeatedly ridicule and belittle her?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yi calmed down a bit. After all, he was an old hand who had been in the officialdom for many years, and he could still distinguish between what was important and what was not. He had been too arrogant and conceited before.

So he said in a deep voice, "Does Your Highness mean that we should try to please this Consort Jin?"

"Of course we have to put in the effort," Gao Sui said calmly.

Then he looked at Zhao Zaiyan.

"Lord Zhao, being cautious is a good thing, but we can't be too timid, or it will make us seem weak and vulnerable."

"Yes, I understand." Zhao Zaiyan nodded.

The two middle-aged men seemed to treat Gao Sui, a fifteen-year-old boy, with great respect.

"Alright." Gao Sui stood up. "Pack some things and accompany me to the Xie family this afternoon to pay respects to the late Chief Minister Xie's wife."