Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 730: Conquering Zhao Yushu

Chuanhai, Chaoping County.

Nangong family.

After the two sides exchanged hypocritical flattery, Wu Changlin seemed extremely relaxed. He leaned back on the chair, tapped the armrests of the armchair with his fingers, tilted his head to look at Nangong Jin, and said with a smile: "Marquis Chaoping, have you offended anyone recently?"

Hearing this, Nangong Jin paused for a moment as he had just picked up the teacup. He took a sip of the cold tea to moisten his lips, then said, "I have always been kind to others in my life. I don't remember ever offending anyone. What do you mean by this, Lord Wu?"

Nangong Jin also turned his head to look at Wu Changlin, and the two of them looked at each other.

"That's strange." Wu Changlin did not dodge and said, "But it is also possible that someone deliberately framed Chao Pinghou, or wanted to use the tiger's skin to raise a banner."

"Oh?"

Nangong Jin raised his eyebrows, and could tell that Wu Changlin was talking about something else. He chuckled and said, "It's quite interesting. Sir Wu, tell me about it."

Wu Changlin turned his head and looked outside the hall: "Recently, the Maritime Customs has cracked several major smuggling cases. The total value of the seized goods is estimated to be as high as one million taels, which is amazing. Later, after interrogation, the smuggler actually said that these were all Nangong family's goods.

I asked him which Nangong family he belonged to, and he said it was the Nangong family of Chaoping County, where the Marquis of Chaoping County was from.”

At this point, Wu Changlin paused, then turned his head to look at Nangong Jin and said, "I wonder if Marquis Chaoping has heard of it?"

Wu Changlin clearly spoke in a nonchalant manner, but the atmosphere in the hall became very strange at this moment, and even the air seemed to be stagnant.

Zhang Feng's face darkened. If Nangong Jin hadn't held his hand tightly, he would have probably gone crazy on the spot.

What does Wu Changlin mean?
This is totally a slap in the face.

Stab them in the heart with a knife.

Although Nangong Jin was sitting between the two of them, Zhang Feng's actions were not very obvious because of Nangong Jin, but Wu Changlin was not an ordinary person and obviously noticed it.

Nangong Jin also knew that Wu Changlin had discovered it, but both sides tacitly did not break the window paper, maintaining a very delicate node.

"How could an outsider like me know about the affairs of the Maritime Customs Office?" Nangong Jin said with a fake smile, his tone without a trace of warmth: "My Nangong family knows how to abide by the law. The smuggling case is so large that it is enough to execute my entire Nangong family. How could I be so bold? There must be a villain who is jealous of our Nangong family and deliberately framed us. Lord Wu, you must investigate it thoroughly."

"I am confident in Marquis Chaoping's work. Besides, the Nangong family is extremely wealthy, with vast tracts of fertile land and endless amounts of gold and silver. There is no need for them to engage in the smuggling business which could easily cost them their lives, right?" Wu Changlin said with a smile.

"Lord Wu is wise. But Lord Wu has misunderstood these thousands of acres of fertile land. My Nangong family has never had so many fields. It was only during the years of famine that the people were unable to farm, so they asked my Nangong family to take charge for a period of time. Now that the world is peaceful, these fields have naturally been returned to the original people by my Nangong family.

As for the so-called endless gold and silver, it is just a fabrication by outsiders. My Nangong family is just a little richer than ordinary families. "Nangong Jin said without leaking a single word.

“This is my fault.” Wu Changlin quickly apologized with a smile, and then said with a smile: “On the way here, I told the people below that this has nothing to do with the Nangong family, but they still don’t believe me. Let’s see how I will scold them when I return.

This group of smugglers is really bold. Not only did they smuggle a huge amount of money, but they also framed the Marquis of Chaoping. I will definitely report to Your Majesty and have them executed, their goods confiscated, and all turned over to the national treasury."

"Lord Wu enforces the law impartially and serves the country loyally. I admire him."

"Marquis Chaoping's words are a bit embarrassing for me. This is just my duty. Speaking of admiration, I admire Marquis Chaoping." Wu Changlin said with a smile: "Before coming to Chuanhai, His Majesty specifically told me that Marquis Chaoping is loyal and kind, a rare loyal and honest person, and asked me to ask Marquis Chaoping for advice if I encounter any difficulties in Chuanhai."

"Master Wu, you are too kind to me. But if you can use me, please let me know."

"Then I won't be polite. Well, I'm sorry to bother you, Marquis Chaoping. I'll take my leave now."

"Brother Feng, follow me to see Lord Wu off."

"You are too polite, Marquis Chaoping. Please stay."

"..."

After seeing Wu Changlin off, Zhang Feng could no longer hold back and slapped the pillar with his palm. A palm mark about an inch deep suddenly appeared on the red-painted pillar, which was as thick as an adult's embrace. Several penetrating cracks appeared on the entire pillar, and dust was falling off.

If this corridor was not supported by twelve columns, the entire corridor would have been demolished by Wu Changlin's palm.

"Brother-in-law, what does he mean by this? He is bullying us directly. Don't think that we are afraid of him just because he is born in the Wu family and has Chen Mo as his backer. At worst, we can kill him and move our family to the country of Boliu. Why should we put up with his bullying here?" Wu Changlin was so angry that his balls hurt.

“It hasn’t come to that yet.” Nangong Jin pondered, “What he said just now shows that he already knew about our situation. The reason why he didn’t expose it was just to warn us and not to do this smuggling thing again. As long as he waves his hand, what happens next can be treated as if it never happened.”

"He said it didn't happen, so it didn't happen? Who will compensate for the million taels of goods?" Zhang Feng said angrily.

"Don't be impulsive. It's easy to kill him and escape to Boliu, but where will the money and food come from to support the nearly 10,000 soldiers in Boliu? And he is Chen Mo's brother-in-law. When the time comes, Wu will whisper in Chen Mo's ear and maybe send the navy to Boliu to attack us. With our current size, we are no match for them."

Nangong Jin looked gloomy and continued, "The most urgent task now is to find the traitor in the team, and then transport the goods through two lines to ensure the supply of Boliu. Once we understand clearly what the fairy means by the blessing of the blessed, after we get the fairy fruit, the current shame and anger will be repaid in the future.

"Be patient and you will have peace. Do you understand?"

Zhang Feng snorted twice in anger, obviously persuaded by Nangong Jin.

……

Tianchuan.

Under Liang Ji's arrangement, Zhao Ruhai and his wife Lu met their daughter.

Before that, they learned about it through Peng Yi.

This Concubine Lan was actually the empress dowager of the previous dynasty, and was taken as a concubine by the Emperor of Wei.

This reminded them of the rumors they heard about the Emperor of Wei on the way to the capital.

They say he is lustful and loves other people's wives.

Combined with the conversation with Lan Fei just now, this made the couple understand.

The so-called damage to reputation was just an excuse. In fact, he just had his eyes on their daughter, the queen of the previous dynasty.

The reason why I go around in such a big circle is that it's a bit like a whore trying to build a memorial arch for herself.

The actual intention is to make their daughter sacrifice herself voluntarily.

This made Zhao Ruhai, who thought he had discovered the true intentions of the Emperor of Wei, feel ashamed and angry, but also excited.

The current emperor of Wei is not the same as the previous emperor.

This is a truly powerful emperor. He has power, people and money.

Being his woman, even if she was just a small concubine, she would probably be much better than the previous queen.

Moreover, since Concubine Lan had come to say so herself, they had no courage to refuse. Before Zhao Yushu arrived, the couple had already made their decision.

In the Yamen.

"Dad, Mom." When Zhao Yusu saw Zhao Ruhai and Lu, her eyes couldn't help but turn red and she started to cry. Then she threw herself into Lu's arms. Her tearful and pitiful appearance was really pitiful.

Mrs. Lu felt sorry for her daughter. When she saw her daughter’s thin and haggard appearance, she couldn’t help but burst into tears and shouted, “My daughter.”

"Yusu, don't cry. Your father and I know everything. If we had known this, we should not have agreed to this marriage. Now you have suffered so much, it's all mother's fault." Mrs. Lu caressed Zhao Yusu's haggard face with heartache, took out a handkerchief and helped her wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Mom." Zhao Yuxu looked up at Lu, then hugged her tightly again.

Obviously, Mrs. Lu was just a woman and not strong, but the moment he held her in his arms, Zhao Yusu felt particularly safe and felt an unprecedented warmth.

Mrs. Lu patted Zhao Yuxu's back gently and let her cry without saying a word.

The mother and daughter hugged each other for a while, and when they calmed down, Zhao Yushu let go of Lu and said, "My daughter doesn't blame you. Let the past be the past."

Zhao Yusu felt that he should continue to live well.

If I died, my parents would be so sad.

She said, "Dad, Mom, where's my brother? Isn't he here?"

Mrs. Lu said nothing and looked at Zhao Ruhai.

Zhao Ruhai sighed and said, "Your brother got engaged to Mr. Chai's daughter a while ago. Your mother and I saw that girl. She is not only pretty, but also very smart. However, Mr. Chai is a complete snob..."

"Dad, is Mr. Chai making things difficult for my brother?"

"Alas, Yu Shu, you will know it when you go back anyway, so I won't hide it from you. Not long after your brother got engaged, Mr. Chai got the news from somewhere and knew that you would not be in the palace anymore, so he intended to cancel the marriage. However, on the day of the engagement, there were many witnesses, so he didn't reject it outright. Instead, he asked for a betrothal gift of 200,000 strings of cash and 100 acres of good farmland before he agreed to marry his daughter to your brother."

As he spoke, Zhao Ruhai looked at Zhao Yushu eagerly and said, "Yushu, it's not that Dad doesn't love you, but your brother wants to marry her. You should have saved some money in the palace over the years. Help your brother. When you go back, he will remember your kindness and support you in the future."

Zhao Ruhai's words silenced Zhao Yusu.

After a long while, she bit her lip and said, "Why is Mr. Chai such a person?"

Then Zhao Yusu asked again, "Dad, how much money do we have at home now?"

"There are still 20,000 strings of cash. If we sell the house and those mulberry fields, we should be able to get around 40,000 strings of cash." Mrs. Lu took over the conversation.

"That's far from two hundred thousand strings of cash, and my daughter doesn't have much money." She still had some money, plus some expensive jewelry. If she sold them, it wouldn't be a problem to get twenty or thirty thousand strings of cash. However, after adding the money at home, it was still less than half of the two hundred thousand strings of cash.

"That's right. So I've discussed it with your father. If we really can't raise enough money, then the marriage won't take place. Mr. Chai is so snobbish that his daughter might be influenced by him. If she really marries him, it may not be a good thing. We can also take this opportunity to let your brother give up this idea and find another marriage." Mrs. Lu said.

"fair enough."

Although Zhao Yusu wanted to help, he was powerless.

Zhao Ruhai's eyes flickered, and he went on to talk about other things, then pretended to casually express a few words of concern in his heart.

Basically, when Zhao Yusu entered the palace to be the queen, although she was a queen without power, she was still a queen after all.

When the Zhao family developed by relying on this identity, they offended some people.

Now that the Zhao family has lost power, Zhao Ruhai is worried that these people will take revenge.

"This..." Zhao Yushu frowned slightly.

The reason why Lu Sheng supported Chu Yi to succeed to the throne was because he saw that Chu Yi had no one to help him and he would be easy to control.

Therefore, during the period when they were puppets, they would definitely not allow outsiders to contact them, and outsiders did not dare to get close to them.

The situation wasn't much better after Chen Mo came to power.

Those royalist ministers were just corrupt scholars without real power and had no influence in the court.

Now that the new dynasty has been established, let alone

Seeing that Zhao Yusu was unable to help, he could only give advice, which was to move.

Move to a place where housing is cheap and few people know you.

Zhao Ruhai agreed.

But soon, Lu threw up another trouble.

In short, at the end of the conversation, Zhao Yusu discovered that without anyone to rely on, the Zhao family would have an extremely difficult life in the future even if they could hold on.

Just when Zhao Yushu was feeling confused about the future, Zhao Ruhai gently patted her shoulder and said, "Yushu, don't think too much. No matter how difficult life is, it can't be worse than before. Just grit your teeth and you will get through it."

"Yes, Yushu, let's rest in the capital for one night today and go back tomorrow." said Mrs. Lu.

Looking at her parents whose hair had turned gray, Zhao Yusu felt sad. For a moment, she thought of what Liang Ji had said to her at that time.

Then think about her identity again. She was the empress dowager of the previous dynasty and became Concubine Lan of the new dynasty.

perhaps
……

The emperor's palace.

Chen Mo's whole family was having dinner. This time, it was a real reunion with no one missing.

The food is also very rich.

There are hot dishes, vegetarian dishes, cold dishes, soups, cakes and pastries, fruit wine... There is everything you need, nothing is missing.

Wu Mi looked at Chen Mo, who was holding his little daughter and feeding her, and said softly, "Your Majesty, would you like to ask the Imperial Master to come and have dinner with you?"

"I sent someone to call him, but he refused to come no matter what." Chen Mo replied.

“That’s because you called the wrong person.” Xiao Yunxi said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)