Chapter 380 - 380 At My Mercy
380 At My Mercy
At this point, he looked up at Yu Youyao.
The little girl looked at him in shock. Zhou Linghuai felt his ears heat up.
Yu Youyao asked in a daze, “So, no one has seen Cousin’s true appearance in the past?”
Zhou Linghuai shook his head. “I just haven’t seen many people.”
Yu Youyao thought for a moment and understood. “Cousin Zhou’s health hasn’t been good since he was young, and he lives in seclusion. Not many people have seen him. You’re about the same age as him, so you just need to disguise your more obvious characteristics a little. Moreover, you’re friends with him, so you know a lot about Cousin Zhou. If you leave Youzhou and enter the capital, no one will notice. Moreover, Cousin has been staying in the residence and rarely goes out. If you don’t see many people, the risk of being seen through will be greatly reduced.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. “That’s not really it. From the moment I entered the capital, the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence was like a fish on my chopping block, at my mercy. Why should I worry about my identity being exposed? The reason why I borrowed Zhou Linghuai’s identity was just to make things more convenient.”
Yu Youyao was a little unhappy. “Then why didn’t Cousin tell me earlier?”
Zhou Linghuai’s expression froze for a moment before he lowered his eyebrows. “I still have the reputation of a traitor. I’m worried that I’ll scare you.”
This was only one aspect.
Yu Youyao looked gentle and sweet, but she was actually very guarded. He was worried that if Yu Youyao found out about his identity before the time came, she would refuse to get close to him.
Yu Youyao pouted but did not refute. However, she could not help but mutter, “I don’t dislike Cousin. How can I be frightened? Hmph!”
Zhou Linghuai smiled and said nothing.
Yu Youyao thought of the Marquis of Weining’s Residence and asked, “Cousin, the Marquis of Changxing is a direct descendant of the Marquis of Weining. The Marquis of Weining is also involved in the Marquis of Changxing stealing the military power of Youzhou. Why don’t you take this opportunity to bring him down?”
The Marquis of Weining was the main culprit. The emperor’s punishment for the Marquis of Weining was simply too light.
Zhou Linghuai said calmly, “The Marquis of Weining is a new noble. He was promoted by the emperor in order to balance the conflict between the two factions in the imperial court and threaten the imperial power. It’s not so easy for him to fall. If we target the Marquis of Weining, it will instead arouse the emperor’s suspicion. He will think that it’s a conflict in the court and the court is deliberately target him. The emperor will protect the Marquis of Weining instead.”
Yu Youyao pursed her lips. “No wonder Imperial Consort Lu dotes on her so much.”
Zhou Linghuai continued, “The Marquis of Weining’s family is intertwined and closely related to the emperor’s interests. If the emperor doesn’t want to touch the Marquis of Weining, no one can touch him. Whoever touches the Marquis of Weining will be against the emperor’s interests.”
Unless the emperor wanted to touch the Marquis of Weining himself.
Yu Youyao looked thoughtful. After a while, she said, “Back then, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Region, the Marquis of Weining indulged his generals and persecuted his relatives. He couldn’t escape punishment. Moreover, after King You died, it was the Marquis of Weining who recommended the Marquis of Changxing to guard Youzhou. Now that Ye Hanyuan has reported the Marquis of Changxing for ten crimes, the Marquis of Weining still can’t escape responsibility. The emperor will definitely be furious…”
Zhou Linghuai smiled but said nothing.
Yu Youyao’s train of thought became clearer and clearer. “Cousin’s spearhead isn’t directed at the Marquis of Weining, but killing the Marquis of Changxing is undoubtedly crippling the Marquis of Weining’s right arm first, causing his vitality to be greatly damaged. It also makes the emperor dissatisfied with the Marquis of Weining. Once a crack appears between the emperor and the subject, the crack will become bigger and bigger. One day, the crack will become an abyss, and the Marquis of Weining won’t be far from death. I know that this is a scheme. On the surface, the Marquis of Weining has escaped, but in fact, Cousin’s butcher’s knife is already on his neck.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded and chuckled. “Although King You is dead, the dignity of the royal family can’t be provoked. The Marquis of Changxing’s actions are undoubtedly crossing the line. The emperor can tolerate the court officials forming cliques and taking bribes, but he can’t tolerate anyone provoking the dignity of the royal family. After all, they were able to attack King You yesterday, so it’s hard to guarantee that they won’t attack him, the ruler of the country, one day. The emperor’s anger isn’t something that the Marquis of Changxing can calm down. Anyone related to the Marquis of Changxing can’t escape.”
The emperor was unwilling to touch the Weining Marquis Residence now because there were too many implications.
However, in fact, the Marquis of Weining had already violated the limits of his family background. He was already on thin ice. If he took a wrong step, he would shatter into pieces.
Yu Youyao sighed. “Cousin, that’s not all!”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. “The wicked will be punished by the wicked. Since you can watch the dogs fight, why dirty your hands yourself?”
He only needed to sit on the sidelines and reap the spoils later. When the time was right, he would give the Weining Marquis Residence a fatal blow. It was fine if he did not make a move, but once he did, he wanted to uproot Imperial Consort Lu’s family and leave no future trouble.
This was in line with his style.
Yu Youyao was stunned for a moment before she reacted. “Cousin, you mean the cabinet? That’s true. The cabinet doesn’t get along with the Marquis of Weining’s faction. Now that the Marquis of Weining’s Residence has lost power, the cabinet will also take this opportunity to suppress the Marquis of Weining.” She frowned. “But this way, the cabinet struggle will become more and more intense, and the court will become more and more tense.”
The imperial court was in chaos. Was it still far from world chaos?
This was her cousin’s goal.
Her cousin held the black and white chess pieces and pushed the chess game forward to get justice for King You. This was only a part of his chess game. How could a mere Marquis of Changxing and the Marquis of Weining calm the hatred in his heart?
She remembered that in the General History book that her cousin had given her previously, there was a sentence that described Ghost Valley. “With a smile, the world will prosper, and with anger, the world will perish.”
Only by spinning the universe and doing the opposite could the anger in her cousin’s heart be appeased.
Yu Youyao was a little frightened and did not dare to think too much about it. She quickly changed the topic. “When do you plan to deal with the Weining Marquis Residence?”
Just because she wasn’t taking action for the time being didn’t mean he wouldn’t attack forever.
To be able to ask this, it was obvious that she knew him very well. Zhou Linghuai smiled. “There’s no hurry. I still have use for the Marquis of Weining’s Residence. Let’s wait a little longer.”
From her cousin’s attitude, it was obvious that he had already set up a trap and was just waiting for the time to come.
Yu Youyao was a little curious. What kind of genius was so unpredictable that he could make every step of the court develop in the direction he had planned?
However, Yu Youyao did not ask.
At the thought of how hard her cousin had worked to set up the overall situation all these years, Yu Youyao suddenly said, “Cousin, you’ve suffered all these years.”
Zhou Linghuai suddenly pursed his lips.
Then, she remembered that her father had later won many battles, but he always had to train in the military camp until he was exhausted before returning home.
Once, he asked, “You’ve already become a famous war god. Why don’t you take some time to accompany your mother? Aren’t you tired after training for so long every day?”
His father glared at him and recited a poem for the first time, “If two people are in love with each other, why should they be greedy for happiness during the day and night?”