Chapter 85: Thankfully, We Have You (3)
When she walked far, Yu Xingyong dismissed the servants before he said, “Prince, there’s no need to act impulsively. How could the Emperor not know how the people within the eastern palace are cruel and sinister? Our Yu Family and Prince are closely related to one another. We are connected and the fact that the Emperor bestowed this residence with rewards shows that he is already getting tired of the Crown Prince.”
Cheng Shizhao punched the table and said, “How could I not know? But how can I endure Xingzhi being the scapegoat when I am clearly their target?”
“Father is an honest and considerate man.” Yu Xingyong squinted his eyes. “But I, Yu Xingyong, isn’t easily bullied. Since they dare to touch my fifth brother, I won’t let their family off so easily!”
Cheng Shizhao extended and shook hands with Yu Xingyong. He said in a low voice, “Elder brother, f*ck him!”
Yu Xingyong moved closer and said in Cheng Shizhao’s ears, “We need to get rid of Lin Yuanmao first. That way, the eastern palace would lose its trusted aide.”
Winter was approaching and the official, Wang Hui, reported, “The grand secretary and the Crown Prince’s teacher, Lin Yuanmo and his wife, as well as the Princess Consort, had cursd the Emperor and wanted the Crown Prince to become the Emperor.” This was treason and a treacherous crime.
The Emperor was furious and issued an imperial decree for Lin Yuanmao to ride the jail cart to the site where he would be beheaded while his wife was to be decapitated. When their son, Lin Bingren, heard of this, he fled as the officials received orders to capture him. At the same time, the Princess Consort was caught as well. (Someone accused the Lin couple and the Princess Consort for cursing the Emperor and wanting to make Crown Prince succeed the throne. When the Emperor found out, he was infuriated and issued an imperial decree to behead him on the streets, in front of the public. Their son, Lin Bingren, had ran away and the Princess Consort was also captured.)
The Crown Prince was terrified and entered the palace barefoot, weeping bitter tears by the Emperor’s feet. When the latter found out the Crown Prince had no other intentions, he let him go.
Right now, in State Duke Residence, the State Duke — Yu Guosu — and his Lady were paying respects to the great grandmother.
Lady Guo heard that Lin Yuanmao was going to be beheaded today and this helped to vent her anger. She spat at the ground happily.
“That villain has tried to harm my Wu Lang numerous times and he deserved this. What a pity that the other boy got away from this punishment.”
The great grandmother nodded and said, “In our Yu Family, we will definitely take our revenge and repay favors. Xiaoxiao had saved Xingzhi twice, so how long do you guys plan on prolonging their wedding?”
Lady Guo’s face turned red and she coughed, avoiding her gaze. “Wu Lang is a Marquis now and he would be everyone’s laughing stock if he married the daughter of a businessman. From this daughter-in-law’s perspective, he can just take Xiaoxiao in as a high-ranking concubine. Plus, Xiaoxiao is a reasonable person, so she…”
“Pah at your nonsense excuse. You dare to look down upon the daughter of a businessman? Don’t you remember when you married Gou Dan and also looked down upon his status since he came from an ordinary family?”
Lady Guo’s face flushed and she stood up.
Yu Guosu consoled, “Mother, how could my virtuous Lady mean this?”
The great grandmother pointed at the State Duke and scolded, “Every day, you keep on mentioning this “virtuous Lady.” When you were an official back then, there were many wealthy and noble families who wanted to make connections with us through marriage but Guo Family’s young miss was on your mind the entire time ever since you saw a glance of her at the temple. You begged this mother to be your matchmaker and help you guys get together.”
Yu Guosu’s face was red and he tugged at the great grandmother’s sleeves, saying, “Mother, leave some face for this son and stop mentioning about past events.”
The great grandmother was enjoying the storytelling, so she ignored him.
“At that time, I had went over to sneak a look only to see this Lady Guo with a sharp face and skinny figure. She was delicate and exquisite, not my ideal type at all. But what could I do? Recalling how my son who was an official had begged me endlessly, I couldn’t bear to see you being upset, so I allowed you to have your way. After all, didn’t you still marry her despite my protest? Now that you guys are parents, you don’t care about your son. Don’t you see how Xiao Wu would even sacrifice his life for Lady Zhou?”