Chapter 42 - Chapter 42: Counterattack Yu Zhongcheng
Chapter 42: Counterattack Yu Zhongcheng
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“What? So now it turns out that your master is helping me?” Yu Yunxi asked coldly as her eyes burned with anger.
“Princess Consort… ‘ Jiang Ying was very anxious upon hearing those words.
“I didn’t expect you to cover for your master to this extent,” Yu Yunxi said expressionlessly before she closed the door.
Jiang Ying did not have a chance to explain himself; Yu Yunxi did not want to listen at all. He did not expect that Yu Yunxi would hate Feng Yili to this extent.
Feeling helpless, he could only kneel in front of the door and said, “Princess Consort, I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
After apologizing, Jiang Ying rose to his feet and left the courtyard.
“County Princess?” Qian Jiao called out worriedly.
Yu Yunxi’s expression was icy as she flipped through the booklet in her hand.
The booklet was the one given by Jiang Ying earlier. It recorded all of Yu Zhongcheng’s hidden wealth. Her hand suddenly paused, and she quickly turned to Qian Jiao and asked, “Qian Jiao, do you still remember whom Godfather said the country would send out every time there was a disaster in the country of Tianxia?”
Qian Jiao said solemnly, “I remember. It’s Yu Zhongcheng.”
“That’s right. However, the victims of the disasters still didn’t have clothes to cover their bodies and food to fill their stomachs even though the imperial court sent out so many relief funds,” Yu Yunxi muttered to herself. This was also the reason why her godfather was so disappointed in the imperial court.
“County Princess, you mean…”
Yu Yunxi’s eyes flashed fiercely as she said, “Someone has been embezzling the funds.
Yu Yunxi flipped to the last page of the book and saw the last marked place was Minzhou.
Upon seeing this, Qian Jiao quickly said, “County Princess, there’s a flood in
Minzhou now. It’s because of this that Young Master has yet to return to Xinan.”
Yu Yunxi closed the book and asked solemnly, “How long does it take to go back and forth between the capital and Minzhou?”
Qian Jiao thought about it for a moment before she said, “With good horses, we can travel back and forth in half a day.”
“How many people do we have in the capital?” Yu Yunxi continued to ask.
Qian Jiao gestured with her hand.
Yu Yunxi gestured for Qian Jiao to come over before she said, “Contact Qian Mei and ask her to send someone to Minzhou as soon as possible. They have to bring back what we want tonight. Also, ask our people in the capital to go to these places.”
As Yu Yunxi gave Qian Jiao her instructions, Qian Jiao’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. She could not hide her excitement as she said, “I understand, County Princess!”
Yu Yunxi clenched her hands as she watched Qian Jiao rush away. She lowered her head and murmured, “Feng Yili, this is the last time I’ll trust you. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
At night.
In a large hall.
Everyone, apart from Yu Yunxi, was present.
When Yu Zhongcheng returned, he frowned and swept his gaze across everyone before he asked, “I heard that someone from the Ministry of War came today. What happened?”
Old Madam Zhou hit her cane on the ground and said indignantly, “I’ve already told you that we should get rid of that scourge a few days ago. Look what happened now! Not only did she almost kill Pinghua, but the people from the Ministry of War also caused a ruckus in the house today because of her!”
Yu Zhongcheng immediately asked Yu Wanrong, “What? Wanrong, didn’t you ask for the Prince Regent’s help to resolve this matter?”
A resentful expression appeared on Yu Wanrong’s face upon hearing these words, and she remained silent.
Instead, Concubine Deng replied in a strange tone, “Prime Minister, let’s not talk about this anymore. Originally, Lord Huang from the Ministry of War came to help us, but all of a sudden, the Young Marquis of Marquis Luo ‘s Residence rushed over and said that Lord Huang acted with the Prince Regent’s permission. We were happy for nothing!”
All these years, Madam Chen relied on her status as the legal wife to bully the concubines, after all. Now that Yu Wanrong had embarrassed herself,
Concubine Deng naturally would not let go of the opportunity to mock her.
“Concubine Deng!” Madam Chen called out, gritting her teeth as she stared at Concubine Deng viciously.
“Enough! Did Yu Yunxi do something again? Go and summon her here!”
Yu Yunxi felt that the matter was all Yu Yunxi’s doing and wanted to settle the score with her.
“No need. I’m already here.”
At this moment, Yu Yunxi walked in with Qian Jiao. Her clothes were simple and elegant, and she only wore a bamboo green hairpin on her head. However, her bearing and temperament could not be ignored.
“Vile creature, what did you do today?” Yu Zhongcheng scolded immediately.
Yu Yunxi acted as though she did not hear him as she slowly walked to a seat and sat down. Then, she said nonchalantly, “Qian Jiao, I’m thirsty.”
“Yes, County Princess. I’ll pour you some tea,” Qian Jiao said before she quickly poured her a cup of tea.
The duo completely ignored the people in the room.
“Yu Yunxi, do you have any respect for me at all?!” Yu Zhongcheng said angrily.
Yu Yunxi’s hand holding the teacup paused as she looked up and asked tonelessly, “What do you mean, Father? How can you say that?”
Yu Zhongcheng was further infuriated by Yu Yunxi’s indifferent tone. He gritted his teeth as he continued to berate her, “I order you to go to the Ministry of War immediately to clean up the mess!”
In fact, Yu Zhongcheng had his own way to deal with Yu Yunxi’s dowry and escape unscathed. However, this matter had dragged on for too long, and it was inevitable that his enemy would make a big fuss about this and harm him.
“Oh, you’re talking about the dowry, Father? I actually wanted to discuss this with you,” Yu Yunxi said as she set the teacup down and looked at Yu Zhongcheng meaningfully.
At this time, an energetic voice rang from outside the hall.
“The Prime Minister’s Residence is so lively today! Did I come at the wrong time?”
Soon after, a man in his fifties wearing an official robe walked in.
Yu Zhongcheng’s expression changed immediately. He took a brief moment to brace himself before he asked, “Imperial Censor Yang, what are you doing here?”
At this moment, a servant of the Prime Minister’s Residence rushed into the hall and said anxiously, “Prime Minister, this… this person barged into the residence… I… I…”
“You ignorant thing! He’s the Imperial Censor, Lord Yang,” Yu Zhongcheng roared at the servant. After that, he turned to Yang Qiang and said politely, “Lord Yang, my servant was ignorant and had been rude to you.”
Although Yu Zhongcheng was smiling on the surface, he was extremely furious inside. After all, in his eyes, Yang Qiang relied on his status as an Imperial Censor of the Censorate to create stumbling blocks for him in the court.
Clearly, Yang Qiang was deliberately making things difficult for him because Yang Qiang was part of the First Prince’s faction.
Yang Qiang smiled hypocritically and said, “No, I came unannounced after all.”
Then, Yang Qiang shifted his gaze from Yu Zhongcheng to Yu Yunxi who was sitting at the side.
“Yu Yunxi greets Lord Yang,” Yu Yunxi said softly as she slowly rose to her feet. There was nothing wrong with her etiquette at all.
Seeing the small interaction between Yang Qiang and Yu Yunxi, Yu Zhongcheng’s eyelid twitched, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart. In an attempt to probe the reason for Yang Qiang’s visit, he called out, “Imperial Censor Yang…”
However, Yang Qiang did not wait for Yu Zhongcheng to finish speaking before he said, “I really didn’t want to disturb you so late at night, but I heard that
Lord Yu hid a lot of money…”
The smile on Yu Zhongcheng’s face vanished immediately as he said stonily, “Imperial Censor Yang, what do you mean by this?”
“Prime Minister Yu, please don’t be angry. I don’t think you’re such a person. You’re an upright person, someone who’s dedicated to the court and the people,” Yang Qiang said, “However, as the Imperial Censor, I have to deal with this kind of thing. I don’t want this rumor to reach the Emperor’s ears so I want to investigate this matter first to prove your innocence. At the very least, when the Emperor asks about this matter, I can also help speak on your behalf.”
Yang Qiang spoke very earnestly. It was as though he was doing this for Yu Zhongcheng’s good..