He didn't even know who he was cursing.
All of Yun Huan's efforts against Yun Lie over the years have been in vain, failing to make a ripple. These repeated setbacks have completely defeated Yun Huan.
Among the five princes who had already established their own residences, everyone thought that Prince Zhao, Yun Lie, was the weakest target. That's why Yun Huan kept his eyes on Yun Lie, intending to step over his corpse before moving up.
But over the years, Yun Lie has been impervious to all attacks. Now, when he thinks of Yun Lie, he feels like a gambler who has lost everything.
He wouldn't be so desperate and frantic if he had lost to Yun Chi, Yun tide, or even Yun Pei.
Why did it have to be Yun Lie, the most inconspicuous person since childhood?
Yun Lie, who was looked down upon by everyone, even his own birth mother thought he was inferior to others in every way.
Yun Lie, who had no one to rely on but rose from nothing to have everything by his own efforts!
"What makes him so special?!" Yun Huan's eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged on his forehead. He was no longer the handsome young man he usually was.
For some reason, he had a vague sense of crisis, as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Please calm down, Your Highness," the terrified subordinates quickly reassured him. "We still have Huang Jingru in our hands! If we can use Huang Jingru to bring down Princess Zhao, it will definitely be a significant blow to His Highness."
Now, the Prince An's mansion has exhausted all its options against Yun Lie, and the only thing they can still consider as their last resort is Huang Jingru.
In reality, this was nothing more than a desperate measure, and the people in the Prince An's mansion did not really have much hope for it.
Even Yun Huan himself didn't think this move had any chance of winning.
But a gambler who has lost everything will not give up on winning back his losses. Even if he knows that he only has a single copper coin left, which is not very useful, he will still want to put it on the table and try his luck.
Completely irrational, it's nothing more than a desperate struggle born of madness.
****
During a court meeting on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, an official impeached King Zhao and his wife, saying, "They returned to the capital without authorization, which is suspected of treason."
Emperor Xianlong calmly ordered that King Zhao and his wife be summoned to the palace to answer questions on the spot according to procedure.
No one expected that Yun Lie would personally bring the child, and even less did anyone expect that this little girl from the Zhao Prince's mansion, who was only two months old but whose name had not yet been registered in the Imperial Clan Court's register, would be so presentable.
Suddenly in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by solemn strangers, Yuanzi, still in her swaddling clothes, simply opened her big, dark eyes, looking at her father who was holding her, and then at her mother beside her.
After receiving two reassuring smiles, she lowered her long, thick eyelashes and focused on her "finger-sucking business," too lazy to even groan, let alone cry out in fright.
This suddenly appearing granddaughter won Emperor Xianlong's favor, and even the way he looked at Yun Lie and his wife became much more affectionate.
As for Prince Zhao Yunlie, who never followed the rules, when faced with the censor's aggressive questioning, he simply rolled his eyes mockingly and raised an eyebrow, saying indifferently, "Are you plotting rebellion with your child in your arms?"
In this way, the siege was completely wiped out.
Then, someone else stepped forward and said, "Even if His Highness Prince Zhao only wanted to bring the child back to see His Majesty out of filial piety, Princess Zhao's thoughts may not be as simple."
Emperor Xianlong frowned almost imperceptibly. "Oh?"
"After all, Princess Zhao's initial purpose in marrying into the Zhao Prince's mansion could hardly be described as having righteous intentions. Since her initial intentions were impure, her actions could not be considered righteous. There are witnesses willing to testify in person that Princess Zhao's initial purpose in approaching the Zhao Prince's mansion was to allow the Luo family's caravan to pass through the Linchuan military defense zone in order to smoothly transport goods and maintain the northern trade route!"
Chapter 83
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xianlong's brows furrowed slightly, and his unfathomable gaze swept calmly over Luo Cuiwei.
Luo Cuiwei calmly stepped forward, bowed to Emperor Xianlong, and then turned to the speaker with a smile, "I only have one question: did the Luo family's caravan eventually reach Linchuan?"
She showed no signs of panic or helplessness at being exposed in public, which greatly surprised many people.
All the prepared follow-up statements, including the prepared witness Huang Jingru, became useless under this simple yet crucial question.
The answer is, of course, no.
Not only did they not, the Luo family also completely relinquished the northern trade route, meaning they had absolutely no connection with Linchuan whatsoever.
"It is utterly ridiculous that a group of key figures in the court would listen to and believe such malicious arguments."
After making a sarcastic remark with a smile, Luo Cui slowly met Emperor Xianlong's gaze, and solemnly bowed, "Father, you can order someone to investigate. All the money in the Zhao Prince's treasury was obtained through legitimate means and has little to do with the Luo family. Even if I cannot prove whether I had any ulterior motives when I approached the Zhao Prince's residence, it is a fact that no caravans have ever passed through the Linchuan defense zone."
"If anyone has any objections, they can request the Ministry of War to investigate," Yun Lie sneered, glancing around. "If no evidence is found, whoever raised the issue will be held responsible."
Emperor Xianlong nodded, then looked around with a hint of reproach in his eyes, "Does anyone else have something to say?"
Yun Huan, standing at the very front, had a blank mind and naturally had nothing to say.
Over the years, he has spent too much effort suppressing Yun Lie, but everything he did was like an iron fist hitting a cotton ball.
Yun Lie, who seemed the easiest to crush, was not only not completely destroyed under his relentless suppression, but instead grew stronger day by day.
He didn't know where things went wrong, nor did he know what else he could do.
“Since none of you have anything to say,” Yun Lie said with a cold smile, raising his eyes to Emperor Xianlong, “I have something to say.”
“Your Majesty, I returned to the capital without imperial decree this time because of an emergency,” Yun Lie said, taking out a small piece of paper covered with Northern Di script and handing it to the eunuch. “Last month, the Linchuan defense zone intercepted a carrier pigeon bound for the Northern Di. I asked Your Majesty to issue the Nine Deliberations Order to come and verify its contents.”
Just as Yun Lie took out the paper, Yun Huan's face turned pale and his pupils constricted.
****
On that day, many people were eager to besiege the Prince Zhao's residence during the court meeting. However, when Yun Lie presented a small letter filled with Northern Di script, it completely ignited a huge uproar about "someone in the capital colluding with foreign enemies."
Faced with such a shocking crime, matters such as "the Prince and Princess Zhao returning to the capital without imperial decree" and "whether the Princess Zhao initially approached the Prince Zhao's residence with ill intentions" are simply insignificant.
After the Nine Deliberations decreed the blatant treasonous content on the letter word by word, Emperor Xianlong's expression could no longer be described as one of rage.
He immediately ordered Gao Yu, the commander of the Imperial City Guard, and Zhao Ti, the deputy commander of the Black Armored Inner Guard, to thoroughly investigate the source of the letter.