bullyxtreme Chapter 564 He won't leave until the struggle for the throne is settled!
Chapter 564 He won't leave until the struggle for the throne is settled!
Mu Yun Chu couldn't help but raise his hand to touch the top of Gu Qing Yue's hair. It was soft, smooth, and warm to the touch. Some of the resentment and grievances in his heart gradually turned to dust and dissipated.
"Therefore, Father Emperor ordered us to get married as soon as possible, and to leave the capital for Lizhou within three months of the marriage, and not to return without being summoned."
"what!!"
Is the old emperor just using me and then discarding me?!
He admired Mu Yun Chu's military leadership and martial arts skills, and asked him to shield him from the open and covert attacks of the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince.
Then, hurry up and go guard the frontier. If they are disobedient or make any disturbances, accuse them of rebellion or fabricate other charges and wipe them out on the spot.
The more Gu Qingyue thought about it, the more convinced she became that this was indeed the case.
Although she might be overthinking it, she just felt that this was exactly what the old emperor was planning!
"So, you plan to return to Lizhou after dealing with your brothers?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Yun Chu narrowed her eyes, her expression gradually turning cold. "Of course not."
He certainly wouldn't leave so easily.
He won't leave until the struggle for the throne is finally settled!
If the Emperor softens his heart and allows the Fifth Prince to become the Crown Prince, then he and Gu Qingyue will face considerable trouble.
He absolutely will not allow this to happen!!
The Fifth Prince, Mu Yunjing, would naturally not let Mu Yunchu and Gu Qingyue off so easily.
At this time, in Prince Jing's residence.
Mu Yunjing's men sent to Jiangnan to track down Gu Qingyue all failed miserably and none of them returned, which naturally infuriated him!
"Someone, hasn't Pei Qi returned yet?"
Those who went to Jiangnan did not return, and even Pei Qi, who went to Nanzhao to participate in the Heavenly Sacrifice and take care of Mu Yun Chu, disappeared.
Mu Yun Chu has been back in the capital for quite some time now, and she is about to marry Gu Qing Yue. He certainly won't stand idly by.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, not yet."
"Never mind him for now. I heard Gu Changling is back. How did you find him? Where has he been these past few years? Have you found out?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we haven't found out yet. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is now completely united, and the people we sent out haven't gotten any useful information."
'Bang!' A teacup was smashed heavily on the ground!
"A bunch of useless trash! What's the point of keeping you around! You can't even handle one thing properly!"
Mu Yunjing's mood has been terrible these past few days, mainly because the old emperor, despite being ill, has refused to see him!
This would have been absolutely impossible before!
Could it be that Father Emperor has found out something?
Prince Jing's sudden outburst startled everyone in his residence!
The usually gentle and refined Prince Jing, as warm as jade, would never even raise his voice to his servants, let alone throw a cup in a fit of temper.
The last time I got really angry was when Prince Li and Gu Qingyue were betrothed.
Apart from that one time, no one had ever seen Prince Jing act like this before, and for a moment, everyone was silent.
"Go and fetch Mr. Zhang and Lao Liu!"
He needed to consult with his advisors and sixth brother about countermeasures. They had been doing many things very secretly, so why had their secrets been repeatedly leaked to their father in the past few months?
Therefore, he has lost many of his associates in many places, especially the prefects of the three prefectures in Jiangnan, who were all dismissed from their posts, demoted, or executed.
lost heavily!
Was it the Crown Prince or the Third Prince who did it?
He became increasingly frustrated the more he thought about it!
Early the next morning, an unexpected imperial edict arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Naturally, Gu Changling was summoned to the palace for an audience.
Seeing Gu Changling leave with the eunuch, Gu Qingyue felt a little worried.
"Don't worry, Father will be alright."
The brothers standing behind her, watching Gu Changling leave together, had solemn expressions in their eyes.
Even if they say that, how could they not really be worried?!
Even if the imperial decree doesn't come, Gu Changling will definitely have to go to the palace this morning.
After all, he had disappeared when he went on the expedition and only returned to the capital after sixteen years. He had to give the old emperor an explanation.
For the entire morning, Gu Qingyue and her brothers gathered in Qin Shi's house.
Qin paced back and forth in the room countless times, her hands and feet icy cold with nervousness.
Helpless, Gu Qingyue stepped forward and pulled Qin Shi to sit down.
"Mother, don't worry, Father will be fine. He was summoned to the palace by imperial decree, what could possibly happen to him?"
Looking into Gu Qingyue's determined eyes, Qin nodded and sat down at the table.
"Little sister, our secret guards sent word this morning that they saw the Sixth Prince, Prince Sheng, rushing to Prince Jing's residence last night."
Seeing that his mother's mind had calmed down, Gu Yuanjin spoke.
As soon as Gu Qingyue and her group returned, they dispatched a large number of secret guards to secretly monitor the various princely residences and the mansions of important officials.
It's not about doing anything extra, it's just about taking precautions.
Gu Qingyue could not tolerate any major event happening at this critical juncture, without her knowing the reason.
She felt uneasy.
"Really? It seems that Prince Jing can't sit still anymore. Well, it's good that everyone is taking action so that we can find clues." Gu Qingyue thought for a moment and nodded.
Gu Yuanjin nodded in agreement; he thought so too.
He was well aware of the situation in the capital, and he just hoped that it wouldn't ultimately implicate the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
He never told anyone that the Prince of Kang had sought him out before he went to Lizhou.
It's likely that no one in the entire capital has noticed what the 'impaired' Prince Kang is doing.
The fact that Prince Kang is now completely free to move and has regained his skills is probably only known to Prince Kang, Prince Li, and a few people from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Gu Yuanjin naturally knew that this was thanks to his younger sister.
Therefore, the current chaos in the court is probably partly due to the covert machinations of Prince Kang.
It must be said, their methods were exceptionally clever.
Think about the current situation in the imperial court; the confrontation between the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince has almost become public knowledge.
It is said that a few days ago, during a court meeting, the old emperor was carried to the Golden Palace.
Despite knowing that the old emperor was unwell, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue argued fiercely over the flood control dikes, which angered the old emperor so much that he vomited blood.
The Ministry of Works was under the control of the Third Prince, while the Ministry of Revenue had long since pledged allegiance to the Fifth Prince.
Mutual obstruction and difficulty in making decisions on many important matters have become the norm in the court these past few months. If this continues, the Great Chu may not be far from internal strife.
They should also start preparing for what might happen next; they can't rely solely on the protection of their father and grandfather.
"Mother, you should rest first. We need to discuss some things. Don't worry, I've already sent someone to wait at the palace gate for Father. He'll report back as soon as possible if anything happens."
Gu Yuanjin's gentle voice reassured Qin Shi, and hearing that there were arrangements in place, she felt a little more relaxed.
The first thing Gu Yuanjin did after the siblings sat down in the study of Jinfeng Garden was to recount what he had found out the night before.
Everyone was shocked!
Has the imperial court really become like this?
After listening, Gu Qingyue calmly recounted the news brought by Mu Yun Chu, covering everything except for the matter concerning his mother.
After a long silence, Gu Yuanjin spoke.
"No matter how the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion tries to back down, it is inevitable that it will be passively drawn into this turmoil."
The old Duke repeatedly backed down and avoided the princes' attempts to win him over, trying to hide the Duke's mansion, but this was unrealistic.