Chapter 355 Beauty [Two in One]

Liang Fuguo pulled out the golden rag, looked at the words on it, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "This imperial edict is fake."

"What?" Roger was shocked.

They hid for more than ten years, carefully keeping the imperial edict so that they could use it as evidence one day, and never doubted its authenticity.

Because Guo Jie was the chief of the eldest prince's personal guards and was also his confidant. If he had not been instructed by the emperor, how could he dare to betray the eldest prince?

"The Great Seal of the Four Seas and Nine Provinces of the Yin Dynasty is made of ancient divine jade by a master craftsman. It contains the endless dragon energy. Any paper with a seal on it will also have a spiritual mark. Although this piece of silk looks like it came from the palace, it does not have the Great Seal of the Country on it, so it is naturally fake." Liang Fuguo said with certainty.

"This..." Luo Ji's eyes were shocked, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.

Although they had served in the palace for several years, they had never touched the imperial edict with their own hands, nor did they have such high cultivation to sense the subtle spirituality in it, so they did not know about this matter.

If everything is fake and it was all a conspiracy by outsiders, then didn't they make the wrong choice back then?

This matter should have been told to the eldest prince so that he could be on guard early, or it could have been reported to the emperor to punish the traitors... Perhaps nothing would have happened, and there would have been no need to hide for more than a decade.

He didn't know whether to be confused or regretful. He looked at Liang Fuguo blankly, as if he had lost all his strength.

Liang Fuguo added: "Although the imperial edict is false, this old case is still confusing. Except for the few of you who escaped early, no one from that team returned. The truth is yet to be found out. You are the only witness now, and you have been noticed by someone with ulterior motives. It may not be easy to hide your identity, so stay in the Ministry of Justice for now."

"Okay." Luo Ji nodded and asked, "But... if this imperial edict is fake, why would someone chase us? I thought the eldest prince had returned and he thought we betrayed him like everyone else..."

"Perhaps there are some clues in this forged imperial edict that will expose the identity of the person who forged it. They are afraid that this imperial edict will reappear in the world." Liang Yue analyzed: "So it is safer to take back all the evidence in your hands."

"Is that so?" Luo Ji was a little disappointed again.

It seems that he still hopes that the eldest prince can be alive.

"The truth remains to be investigated. Just stay here and rest assured. Your safety can be guaranteed in the Ministry of Justice." Liang Fuguo said.

"Lord Zuo Xiang..." Luo Ji thought for a moment, and then said, "I have another unwelcome request. If you want to live here permanently, can you bring my family with you? Otherwise, I am afraid they will worry about me after being away from home for a long time..."

"Sure." Liang Fuguo nodded in agreement, "Although the inner courtyard of the Ministry of Justice is not big, it is no problem for your family to live there."

"Thank you, Lord Left Prime Minister!" Luo Ji was immediately grateful.

Liang Yue smiled subtly, "Prime Minister Zuo is very generous. Master Luo and his twenty-seven families will be very grateful to you."

Liang Fuguo frowned, "Hmm?"

……

The inner courtyard of the Ministry of Justice was mainly occupied by officials whose crimes were not yet clear or important witnesses who needed protection. The place was indeed not very big. Recently, due to the fight with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, many officials had been detained here, so there were not many empty courtyards.

Liang Fuguo asked the officials of the Ministry of Justice to clear out the space for thirty people to live in, which really gave them a headache.

But this is a small matter after all, not worth the left prime minister's worry. After leaving the courtyard, Liang Fuguo said: "Liang Yue, what do you think?"

"Lord Zuo Xiang, I think there must be something fishy about this matter." Liang Yue continued fluently.

Liang Fuguo rolled his eyes at him and said, "Do I need you to tell me if there's something fishy going on?"

Liang Yue smiled and said, "You said the imperial edict was fake, probably just to appease Master Luo. The imperial edict with the seal of the emperor must be real, but the imperial edict without the seal may not be fake..."

After all, Luo Ji was just a royal guard and was unfamiliar with the rules of officialdom, especially the emperor's methods.

Sometimes, for some orders that were not worthy of being made public, the emperor would send people to deliver the message privately by oral order; and if he needed to gain people's trust and had to have an imperial edict, he would give one without the seal.

In this way, others will act upon the imperial edict after reading it. If the matter is exposed, it can be said that the imperial edict does not have the seal and is fake.

Not every imperial edict will be stamped with the seal of the country.

"But although this one has not been confirmed, I think it is probably fake." Liang Fuguo said, "The eldest prince was young and brave, and his character was very similar to your majesty. He was deeply loved by your majesty. He would never collude with the enemy and betray the country, and your majesty would never have the intention to kill his son."

"Ahem." Liang Yue smiled and said, "There are some things I don't know whether I should say or not..."

Liang Fuguo glared at him again: "Stop keeping us in suspense."

Liang Yue said angrily: "When I was in Princess Fuyang's mansion, I accidentally heard her say something. Of course, I don't know whether it is true or not, but I just heard that if there is any problem, I can go to her to investigate..."

As he spoke, he told her what he had heard about the eldest prince and his stepmother.

Princess Fuyang's bones should have been rotten to the periosteum by now, so she probably wouldn't mind others coming after her for something.

After listening to this, Liang Fuguo was silent for a while, and then he said: "The eldest prince has a strong mind and should not commit such a heinous crime for a woman... But if it is Concubine Ye, it may not be impossible..."

These words made Liang Yue even more curious. What kind of magic did Concubine Ye have that made Liang Fuguo speak of her in this way?

Seeing his puzzled expression, Liang Fuguo said, "In fact, if you look closely at the cause of the war between Yin Kingdom and Yunxiang Kingdom, it was also caused by this woman."

"Yin Kingdom attacked Yunxiang Kingdom in order to snatch Concubine Ye?" Liang Yue asked in surprise.

"Of course not." Liang Fuguo said, "The original name of Concubine Ye is Mo Zhanyan, the daughter of Yunxiang State Prime Minister Mo Yunfeng. She has been childhood sweethearts with Yunxiang State's left general's son Chunyu Fu since they were young, and the two of them had a marriage contract long ago."

“But fourteen years ago, the King of Yunxiang saw the beauty of Mo Zhanyan during a banquet in the palace, and immediately issued an edict to take this girl into the palace. Neither the Mo family nor the Chunyu family could resist.”

"When Chun Yufu was young, he came to Jian Dao Academy to study. His teacher at that time later served as the right prime minister in the court. He was also the teacher of Song Zhili and me, and was the prime minister Shen at that time."

Liang Yue had heard of Prime Minister Shen's name. He was a veteran of three dynasties and was also the right prime minister during the Northwest War. He helped Emperor Mu Bei to manage the government in an orderly manner in the early days of his reign, and his contributions were also great.

After the war, Prime Minister Shen was old, but because there was no suitable successor, Emperor Mu Bei forced him to stay in the position of Right Prime Minister until he was in his seventies. Later, due to illness, he was forced to let him return home, and he died within two years.

He also teaches at the Kendo Academy in his spare time, and many important officials in the court have been taught by him.

However, his son did not serve as an official in the court, but was a childhood friend of Emperor Mu Beidi, Shen Guizang, who was known as "the smartest man in the world."

"In order to take revenge on the King of Yunxiang, Chun Yufu traveled north to Longyuan City and was introduced by Prime Minister Shen to the palace to meet the Emperor."

"He claimed in the palace that day that the King of Yunxiang had found the legendary immortal seed, the Enlightenment Tree, and also presented a fresh Enlightenment Tree leaf."

"Hmm?" Liang Yue's expression was calm, but his heart was slightly moved.

People can lie, but they cannot produce a fresh leaf of the Enlightenment tree. Could it be that this tree really appeared in Yunxiang Country?
"Chun Yufu said that he got this item from the palace of Yunxiang Kingdom. The king of Yunxiang Kingdom robbed his fiancée, so he gave it to him as compensation. Yunxiang Kingdom also secretly cultivated a large number of strong people in the palace, hoping to go north and seize the throne of Yin Dynasty when they have enough foundation one day. He is willing to take the city defense formation map of Yunxiang Kingdom and lead the army to break through Yunxiang."

"And he only needs to capture the capital and take back Mo Zhanyan."

"The battle against Yunxiang Kingdom was not smooth afterwards, partly because the number of Yunxiang Kingdom's strong men was indeed beyond our expectations. In the end, we were able to capture the capital, thanks to Chunyu Fu's guidance."

"But after the battle, Chunyu Fu disappeared, and what happened is unknown."

"Mo Zhanyan was indeed brought back to Longyuan City, but later she was adopted by veteran general Ye Tiankuo and renamed Ye Zhanyan. Not long after, she entered the palace and became Concubine Ye."

Hearing him say this, it is not difficult to guess what happened at that time.

It was simply that Emperor Mu Bei promised Chun Yu Fu that if Yin Chao conquered Yun Xiang Kingdom and the Enlightenment Tree, he would return Mo Zhan Yan to him, allowing the two of them to live together forever.

Maybe it was because the Enlightenment Tree was not found, or maybe it was because Mu Beidi himself was tempted by beauty, in any case, the promise was not fulfilled.

So, according to the rules of the Yin Dynasty, Concubine Ye should have been called Concubine Mo?
How beautiful must a woman be to be able to captivate people of all ages, young, old, and old, from all over the country.

Most of what Liang Fuguo told were palace secrets. The cause of the Yunxiang War had never been circulated in the outside world. It was actually because of the revenge of a southern man.

In this way, the two people aligned the information and pieced together Ye Fei's trajectory.

When Liang Fuguo told him this, his meaning should be that the eldest prince was not a womanizer or a traitor, but if it was Concubine Ye, it was not impossible.

His Majesty does not hate the eldest prince, nor would he kill his son, but if it was because of Concubine Ye, it is not impossible... But after Liang Yue heard this, in addition to satisfying his gossip, he had another thought.

My father and so many soldiers from both countries died in that war. It seems unfair to think that this was the cause of the war.

If you are a little ignorant, you will say that beauty is the root of trouble and put all the blame on women, but if you grasp the essence of the problem...

The ones who really deserve to die are those high-ranking officials who have excessive selfish desires.

As a result, people looked at Liang Fuguo in front of them with even more admiration. They all said that Chen Su was a knife borrowed by Liang Fuguo, and the Ministry of Justice was Liang Fuguo's sharpest knife... and so on.

But isn’t Liang Fuguo also a knife for the common people?

How can we manage the country with these insects?

Just cut it and it's done.

……

At the same time, inside a tavern on Linmen Street.

Da Hu leaned against the doorpost, holding a letter, and said, "The military advisor said that he has gone down the mountain and will arrive at Longyuan City soon."

"Chun Yufu?" Zhu Nanyin frowned slightly, seeming to dislike this person. "What is he doing here?"

"It was said that it was because of the recent disputes in the court of Shendu. It seemed that the left and right prime ministers in the court were in opposition, and the military advisor wanted to get involved." Da Hu summarized after taking a glance.

"I also heard from the people who came to drink a few days ago." Erhu said, "It seems that because of the imperial examination, the left and right prime ministers fought fiercely. Everyone supported Liang Fuguo. I also think he is good. He killed a lot of incompetent officials."

This is also the reason why they chose the tavern as their base.

Who likes to talk a lot?

Of course, it’s the people who drank.

A commoner, after drinking, will act like a seventh-rank official. A seventh-rank official, after drinking, will have the courage of a first-rank official and will dare to say anything when it comes to governing the country.

Although the news you hear is true and false, some of it is always useful.

Zhu Nanyin thought for a moment and said, "Chun Yufu must have come down the mountain to take advantage of this opportunity to help Song Zhili overwhelm Liang Fuguo."

Erhu asked in confusion, "Why? We have been hearing people praising Liang Fuguo for a while now, but we are helping those dog officials to deal with him?"

"Stupid." Da Hu rolled his eyes at him and said, "Liang Fuguo is a good official, and the rest are shit officials. If you were still an ordinary citizen, you would naturally support the good ones. But we are bandits, enemies of the court, so naturally we have to support the bad ones."

"Alas." Zhu Nanyin sighed slightly, "That's true. I heard a while ago that Liang Fuguo went to see Tang Wei with great fanfare. If he gains power, he may re-employ Tang Wei. The people on the mountain are very wary of this."

The only person who nearly brought catastrophic disaster to Bashan in all these years was Tang Wei.

If we were to talk about the person that everyone in Bashan fears the most, the God of War Tang Wei would definitely be number one.

Fortunately, people in the court of Shendu were also afraid of him. They had been suppressing Tang Wei and not letting him lead troops. Once Liang Fuguo dared to use him, Bashan would be the first to suffer.

As an old rival, the people of Bashan knew that Tang Wei was also brooding over that defeat, and he even asked for the title of "Marquis of Bashan".

Erhu raised his head and thought for a long time before he said, "Yes, as an enemy, we naturally have to support the bad guy."

Da Hu glanced out the window and suddenly said, "That kid is back."

"No matter what, it's always a good idea to get on good terms with Liang Fuguo's son first." Zhu Nanyin took out a package from behind her back and said, "I'll go first."

After saying that, she hurried out of the tavern holding the package.

At this moment, a figure on horseback passed by. She took a few quick steps, stepped forward and called out, "Senior Brother!"

"Huh?" The person on the horse in front turned around and it was Liang Yue.

When Liang Yue saw that it was Zhu Nanyin who called him, he became alert, dismounted, and asked, "Madam Boss, what's wrong?"

"Why are you still calling me the boss lady?" Zhu Nanyin smiled, "I already said that we are senior brothers and sisters."

"Junior sister." Liang Yue had no choice but to call her out. He was the youngest in Xuanmen, and he felt a little uncomfortable to suddenly have a junior sister.

"A few days ago, I heard Aunt Li say that she was planning to make you two winter robes. I thought you would not be used to wearing ordinary fabrics. I happened to see the best cloud-patterned phoenix brocade yesterday, so I made one according to your body shape. Wear this, and you won't feel cold even if you go to the Mysterious Sea, let alone Frost North City."

Zhu Nanyin walked forward enthusiastically and opened the package, revealing a robe with exquisite workmanship.

"Junior sister, there's no need for that..." Liang Yue pushed back, "How can I be cold with my cultivation?"

"Oh, I worked so hard to make this. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it in time for you to leave, so I worked overnight." Zhu Nanyin frowned and said, "Just try it on and see if it fits you."

Having said that, he put the robe on him despite Liang Yue's attempts to stop him.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it myself."

Unable to refuse the kind offer, Liang Yue had no choice but to stop her and put on the robe himself to try it out.

You know what, it fits me pretty well.

This brocade contains the spirit of fire. Once it circulates through it, your whole body will feel warm. It is really nice.

But Liang Yue remembered his master's teachings and didn't want to get involved with her too much, so he said, "Junior sister, tell me how much this material is worth, and I will give you the money."

"What did you say, Senior Brother?" Zhu Nanyin said unhappily, "Master asked us to get closer, so I made a robe for you. If you are so distant, I will be angry."

"I'm really sorry." Liang Yue said.

Zhu Nanyin smiled and raised her eyebrows, "Just think of it as your junior sister cheering you on in the battle to capture the city. When the time comes, show off the style of our master!"

After saying that, without waiting for Liang Yue to speak again, she turned around and left.

"Hey..." Liang Yue looked at her graceful back and couldn't catch up to return it, so he turned around and walked home first. He thought that he would leave the robe at home and let his mother find a chance to return it to her.

As a result, after taking a few steps, I looked up and saw a figure in white standing at the entrance of Ping'an Alley. She was very eye-catching.

"Senior Sister Wen?" Liang Yue asked in surprise, "You're back."

"Yes." Wen Yifan seemed to have a faint smile on her face, an expression Liang Yue rarely saw. Then she said, "You look really good in your new clothes."

Yeah.

broken.

Liang Yue looked back and saw that the tavern was only a few dozen steps away. He must have seen the tug-of-war between him and Zhu Nanyin just now.

I feel like it's a tug, but in the eyes of Senior Sister Wen, it's probably just a tug...

He said hurriedly, "She forced me to put it on just now. I said I didn't want it, but she insisted on making me wear it."

Is it true that when the weather gets cold, you are forced to put on more clothes?
Liang Yue suddenly understood some of the ancients.

It turns out that what Master said about not dealing with this junior sister in private was completely correct!

　Good morning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)