Chapter 102: Secret

  Second update! End of month, seeking pink!

  Xu Xiujin listlessly waved his hand, "You're really boring! It's about your brother's lifelong matter, but you don't care at all!"

  "What?" Xiao Xi finally had a reaction.

  Xu Xiujin was delighted, and smiled: "I said that the woman I chose is not ordinary, she's really fierce! You say that the Empress Dowager is heartless, but in order to protect the royal family, she didn't even spare a 10-year-old child, her own grandson! But she actually looked at Lin Si with different eyes, not only did she make her a county mistress, but also wanted to help her get married!"

  As for Xiao Ming, Xiao Qi's face didn't look good either. He thought that if he hadn't been one step ahead of Xiao Ming back then, the one whose face and body were burned by fire would be him now.

  Being in the imperial family's favor has never been a blessing, but rather an ominous curse that hastens one's demise.

  Xu Xiujin continued, "Do you know who she's going to marry?"

  Xiao Qi was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk.

  Fortunately, Xu Xiuren didn't expect him to respond and continued on his own: "The Crown Prince's son, the Empress Dowager wants to marry her off to the Crown Prince's son! Didn't see that coming? Such a great thing fell into Lin Si's lap! You should know, among these princes, except for your father being unmatched, the Crown Prince is the most carefree, although also the most useless. But he'll never have to worry about food and drink his whole life. If Lin Si marries him, she'll be a noble and dignified princess consort, and if the Crown Prince raises her up, she'll become a dazzling queen!"

  The fief of the Lord of Duan was far away in Longxi, with a harsh climate and environment. Generally, no aristocratic family would be willing to marry their daughter off to such a distant place. Therefore, when the Empress Dowager bestowed marriage on Lin Si, no one expressed any objection. After all, Lin Si was also the legitimate daughter of an aristocratic family and had now been appointed as the Countess, so it wasn't considered a mismatch at all.

  But they don't know this. This seemingly losing marriage will be the happiest in the future.

  The Lord of the End has no disputes with the world, is content with his lot, and can spend his whole life as a peaceful prince, as long as his descendants do not squander their inheritance, this protection will be enjoyed for generations to come.

  Those seemingly wealthy and powerful princes are either being used or feared by the emperor. For now, they may seem to be enjoying their luxurious lives, but once the struggle for the throne erupts, they will inevitably be implicated and affected. At that time, it's not just a matter of whether they can continue to enjoy their wealth and glory, but even whether they can keep their lives.

  At least, if Xiao Yi Rong ascended to a high position, he would not let those who posed a threat to him live!

  The empress dowager is not a fool, she must have thought of this too. She wants Lin Si to stay away from disputes and live the rest of her life in peace, but she can't bear the thought of her marrying into a humble family with low social status, which would put their future descendants at a disadvantage.

  So Duandun Wang Shizi is really a rare good candidate!

  I understand, but I am really surprised.

  What charm does this forest have?

  "Are you not very curious?" Xu Xiujin raised an eyebrow, leaning in close to him. His eyes were full of enticement, "I know why, do you want to know? If you want to know, then beg me, and I'll tell you."

  Xiao Xi disgustingly stretched out a finger to block his face, which was getting closer and closer. Coldly spitting out a few words, "Love or not." Suffocate you!

  Xu Xiujing shook his head in disappointment, "Alas. I've exhausted my Xu family connections to investigate and finally found a lead, and used my clever mind to guess the general idea, but you don't even want to listen!" He looked like he was in pain.

  Xiao Qi: "......"

  Xu Xiujin sighed again, "Alas, what a pity! What a pity!"

  Xiao Qi said: "......"

  Xu Xiuren began to ramble, "It's really hard to be a human being these days. You say, for your sake I'd do anything, go through thick and thin, offend the whole world, and do everything you don't want to do. But in the end, that person doesn't even appreciate it. Tell me, is there anything more pathetic than this?"

  Xiao Qi: "...... You say it!"

  Xu Xiujin immediately put away his painful expression, grinned at Xiao Qi, and changed his expression as quickly as a Sichuan opera actor changing masks, leaving people amazed.

  "If I tell you, you'll understand why Lin Si made the empress look at him differently, and...you will definitely shift your target." Xuxiu said mysteriously.

  Xiao Xi impatiently glanced at him and said, "If you continue to talk nonsense, I don't want to listen."

  "I'm Xu Jia Bao, a well-known figure nationwide. I suppose you're aware of it, so there's no need for me to elaborate. I admit that I have some interest in Lin Si, so I paid more attention to her. Later, I found out that the Empress Dowager's attitude towards her was very unusual. After repeated inquiries, I finally learned that she is not the daughter of Lin San Niangzi. If I'm not mistaken, she should be the child of Crown Princess Wan and Lin Chen."

  Xiao Qi was speechless, but his words had a profound impact on her.

  Lin Si, she actually...

  "Are you sure this news is reliable?" Xiao Xi pondered, if this news was true, then he could really start making plans from Lin Si's identity.

  Xu Xiuren patted his chest and guaranteed, "Absolutely no false words. My investigator found out that fourteen years ago, the Emperor took the wife of the young Prime Minister at the time, who was as beautiful as a flower. In the same year, Lin Chen got married, and one year later, his wife gave birth to a stillborn child. In the same year, Lin Chen's wife Liu gave birth to a premature baby three months early, and the day she gave birth to a stillborn child was only five hours different from that of Empress Yan."

  "Young Prime Minister?"

  "Yes, just like your brother, he was a famous young genius at the time. At 15 years old, he took the top spot in that year's imperial examination and was personally appointed to the Imperial Cabinet by the Emperor. Three years later, he was promoted to Grand Chancellor by the Emperor. But who knew it would be short-lived? He quickly disappeared from public view, and even his true identity became unknown. It is said that those who were aware of the situation at the time either had their voices silenced or were banished from the capital. Xu Ying, a prominent official in the Imperial Cabinet, was also wrongly imprisoned and died with grievances during that time. Oh right, Xu Ying was precisely the birth father of Consort Wan. Although on the surface it seemed like the He family's doing, it's hard to say whether it wasn't related to this secret."

  Grand Minister Xu Ying was a self-made man without any family influence, relying solely on his own abilities to rise to high office and assist the Emperor in making plans and resolving many court disputes.

  As the saying goes, "the bird that sticks its head out gets shot", Xu Ying was such a formidable character that there were many people who wanted to win him over or impeach him. At that time, He Yun, the birth father of Consort Zheng, wanted to recruit him as a military strategist, but unexpectedly, Xu Ying was not tempted by wealth or power and stubbornly stuck to his own views, refusing to be used by He Yun.

  He Yan, in a fit of anger, designed to frame Xu Ying. At that time, He Yan's power was great in the imperial court, and even the emperor wanted to protect him but had no way. Later, Xu Ying was impeached and imprisoned, and died with resentment.

  After that, the emperor took advantage of this matter and spent five or six years promoting Dong Chengxiang and several new aristocrats to slightly suppress the power of the He family and move them to the northwest.

  This matter did indeed involve many people back then, but at that time he was only four or five years old, and all day long he thought about how to get the queen mother and king father to care more about him, where would he have the energy to pay attention to those things?

  Afterwards, these matters were sealed off and no one in the imperial court dared to mention them again.

  He knew so much because Xiao Wangye had inadvertently mentioned it to him before.

  But hearing what Xiu Jian said, this matter is not just a so-called court struggle, but also involves women?

  "Your scouts found out that the young assistant minister is Lin Chen, and Lin Chen's wife at that time is now Empress Wan in the palace?" Xiao Qi wasn't disbelieving, after all, Xu family village's intelligence network was famous for being professional and reliable. As long as it was information that existed in this world, no matter how you blocked it, they could find it out for you by any means necessary.

  But this news is really too shocking.

  Wanfei's father was Xu Ying, who had previously married Lin Chen.

  So, Lin Chen and Xu Ying are in-laws. When Xu Ying got into trouble back then, Lin Chen also withdrew from the imperial court.

  Xiao Qi thought of this and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  This is the love of an emperor!

  The emperor, for her sake, did not hesitate to offend the court officials, yet intentionally allowed her father to be imprisoned and framed the He family, able to save but choosing not to, thereby isolating those who knew about these shady dealings from the center of power, and also grasping the handle to expel the He family from the capital.

  Thus, Wan Fei became the woman everyone despised as a femme fatale, while the Emperor, with his hypocritical favoritism towards her, rose to power and solidified his position.

  Such pampering is better off without!

  "Yes, as for Lin Zhao's identity, it was just my guess." Xu Xiujing said, and then wondered: "Although I've investigated these things, I still find it strange. Logically speaking, if the Emperor did something that violated moral principles and ethics, the Jian'an Marquis Manor, a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, wouldn't have been able to swallow their anger in silence. If you say it was for Qingfei's future prospects, but Qingfei had already given birth to three princes at that time, and after Wanfei's incident, she didn't seem to be more favored."

  Xiao Xi had calmed down his emotions, and upon hearing this, a cold smile played on the corner of his lips. "Is there such thing as unprovoked weakness in this world? You think that the Jian'an Marquis Manor hasn't gained anything, but can you see these benefits with your naked eye? Look at the downfall of those old aristocratic families in recent years. Which one wasn't either expropriated or fallen into disfavor? The imperial court is filled with rising new nobles, and the Emperor urgently needs to cultivate his power. How could he tolerate the existence of family forces harboring dissenting thoughts?"

  The Jian'an Marquis Manor has made great contributions to the emperor in suppressing various forces, how can the emperor abandon them after crossing the river? Moreover, supporting a family that is not a major threat to him to rise to power is indeed not a big deal.

  Xiao Qi said, taking a sip from the teacup on his desk, and continued in Xu Xiuren's serious and sincere gaze: "It's really rare for a family like Jian'an Houfu to still be prosperous now. Unless they have real talent and ability, such as the Empress Dowager's external family, Zhen Nan Bo Fu. But since Old Man Lin passed away, Lin Kun has been useless, and after all these years, he is only a fifth-grade official, with his power being stripped away. The possibility of an outer relative interfering in politics is really too small. Even the He family doesn't want to get involved, otherwise why would we want to get close to Lin Wu?"

  The emperor uses women to consolidate his rule, but isn't he also using women to gain power?

  But can he regret it? No, he doesn't regret it at all.

  Xiao Wang Fu taught him that success requires stepping on others' corpses, and a person's value also lies in their ability to be used.

  Otherwise, it will be abandoned like a worn-out shoe, and when the time comes, it will die without closing its eyes, and its bones will be gone.

  This reality cannot afford him to be soft-hearted and regretful!