Volume 1 Chapter 76 The Truth

  Add more pink powder

  Rong Sheng obediently retreated at the sound of the command.

  Shen Zhongxi sat down in front of Xiao Ye, poured a cup of wine from the jug, which was good Jinhua wine. The aroma was rich and lingering, and after drinking a cup, he felt warm from his throat to his lower abdomen. Shen Zhongxi nodded, "Good wine." He glanced at the chessboard on the stone table, "Brother Xiao is so leisurely!" His tone was somewhat dissatisfied.

  "Isn't this Brother Xiao?" Xiao Ye didn't get angry, and with a smile, sat down in front of Shen Zhongge, pushing the black stones towards him. "Brother, are you interested in playing a round?"

  Shen Zhong pushed one hand, "This morning in the early court, why did Wan Sui suddenly ask about Anqing Hou's illness?" In fact, he wanted to ask if Wan Sui's frequent troop deployments over the past two days meant that Anqing Hou and others were no longer urgent.

  Xiao Yu is the Minister of War and also the most trusted military strategist in front of Wan Sui, he wouldn't be unaware of Wan Sui's secret actions. Perhaps all this was planned by this old fox!

  However, since he received a secret order, he couldn't ask openly.

  "As a son-in-law, it's normal to care about my father-in-law's health. I'm not a worm in someone's belly who knows everything. How would I know?" Xiao Yu shook his head calmly and changed the subject, "I heard that Auntie has formed an alliance with Old Lady Xue and is going to arrange for my younger brother to marry the tenth daughter of the Anqing Marquis' manor?"

  "Th...". Shen Zhong's face was extremely unnatural.

  This was also what he found out yesterday after letting Rong Sheng investigate, that the Marquis of Anqing wanted to rebel and usurp the throne. On this side, however, he openly and loudly divorced his wife and married into another family's household, forming an alliance with them. If this were to reach the Emperor's ears, what would he think?

  Xiao Yu knew it all, how could Wan Si not know?

  Shen Zhong's face turned pale and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

  It's just that. The mother was also deceived by others, not intentionally, this matter involves her family and life, even if the other party is a sworn brother, she cannot admit it herself.

  "Ah..." Xiao Yu sighed, "Politics is just war without bloodshed, and war is politics with bloodshed. I've told you before to not just think about leading troops into battle, but also pay attention to politics. Pay more attention to the people around you, but you never listen." His voice paused for a moment, "If it weren't for your upright and honest demeanor putting Wan Shi at ease, you would have lost ten heads by now!"

  This is fact.

  It was just a few days ago that Xiao Yu reminded him, otherwise the newly compiled "Dazhou Regional Gazette" would have taken away his military power.

  Shen Zhong's momentum weakened slightly after hearing this, and he muttered reluctantly. "Who can stand you literati? It's obviously a small matter, but instead of taking it directly, you have to make a few detours!" He sneered, "What kind of politics is this? I think it's just a group of untrustworthy people scheming against each other."

  "That's not called being poor! Xiao Yu glared at him, "That's called robbery!"

  Shen Zhong slammed his hand on the table. "This is better than all this behind-the-scenes scheming!"

  "Then you mean..." Xiao Yu's face also turned bright red, "As long as the power is enough. Wanting that supreme throne can also be taken by hand?"

  How can this be the same thing?

  Shen Zhong was choked and stared at Xiao Yu, unable to speak.

  Xiao Yu's voice slowed down, "...does Younger Brother still remember why the former Minister of Revenue, Zhen Xi-Ting, died six years ago?"

  The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhen Xitong, was the father of Zhen Shining, his arch-nemesis and former father-in-law. How could he not remember how he died? Shen Zhongge didn't think twice before blurting out, "He died from forming cliques for personal gain and harboring intentions to rebel!"

  Xiao Yu's eyes narrowed. "A small Household Department Shangshu, with no military power and no real strength. What ability does he have to plot a rebellion?"

  "This... " Shen Zhongke was taken aback and blurted out, "He followed the Duke of Quanguo, a loyal member of the Xu Party!"

  Zhen Guo Gong Xu Bo, like him, came from a humble background. However, Xu Bo rose through the ranks from a small soldier to a school lieutenant and then to a deputy general, until he became a brave and warlike great general at the age of 23, deeply favored by Princess Ming Yue. He eventually divorced his wife and remarried, becoming a famous son-in-law for a time.

  Later, with the help of Princess Mingyue's eight-sided clever social skills and her powerful connections behind her back, Xu Bo rose to prominence, becoming one of the most powerful men in the land in just a few short years, with even the Emperor yielding to him three times.

  Power often brings greed.

  With a powerful grasp of power, the ambition of Zhen Guo Gong also expanded day by day. This country was built with his blood and knife, why should he let Wan Shi sit alone? Gradually, disloyal thoughts arose, and the contradictions between the monarch and the minister became increasingly tense. Finally, six years ago, the former emperor ruthlessly killed Zhen Guo Gong's entire family, including Ming Yue Princess, on charges of treason.

  It can be seen how much the previous emperor hated them.

  Zhen Xuan was indeed a loyal member of the Xu Party, and in everything he did, he looked up to Xu Bo, the Duke of Town. When the Duke of Town fell, the Zhen family naturally followed suit.

  "Is that so?" Xiao Ye poured a full glass of wine for Shen Zhongge, "Think about it, brother. In the past, Xu Bo coveted the Nine Tripods and had countless officials in his party. Except for a few serious offenders, the previous emperor forgave everyone without exception. Even Xu Bo's military advisor, Geng Xiangye, was only sentenced to lifelong house arrest. Why did he kill the entire Fan family?" He stared at Shen Zhongge intently, "In terms of official position, Fan Shangshu was not higher than Geng Xiangye back then. In terms of crime, Fan Shangshu's was not more severe than Geng Xiangye's either..."

  Something flashed through his mind, Shen Zhongge's body shook slightly, he made an effort to shake his head, picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

  "That year, the Town National Public had absolute power over the court, but the former emperor was controlled by him for many years and didn't dare to easily remove him. Why?" Xiao Ye asked himself and explained, "It's because the Great Zhou was in a state of border chaos at that time, with various countries eyeing each other covetously, and the former emperor couldn't do without him."

  "Then just kill him!" Shen Zhongge said.

  Peeping at the nine tripod cauldrons is a serious taboo against the heavenly family, and no one can tolerate it.

  "Yes, knowing that they can't leave yet still killing without hesitation." Xiao Yu asked Shen Zhongqiu, "Why do you think that is?"

  Shen Zhong's face turned pale, and he shook his head vigorously.

  "Because of you..." Xiao Yu said word by word.

  "I... " Shen Zhong's finger pointed at his own nose, his face turned even paler.

  "Yes." Xiao Yu's expression turned serious, "Because the Great Zhou has produced another you. The original crown prince and the previous emperor both thought highly of you and recognized your potential. With time, you will become the second General Rong, replacing Xu Bo to pacify all directions and safeguard the peace of our Great Zhou people."

  So he resolutely killed Zhen Guo Gong!

  Although he had never wanted to admit it, thinking back to seven years ago when he first started and was highly valued by the previous emperor, six years ago when he won his first major victory, the Duke of Town was suddenly arrested for treason, Shen Zhong's forehead cold sweat flowed down.

  "Could it be... could it be that the entire Zhen family is also..." The stuttering voice lost its strength to continue.

  Shen Zhong did not dare to think further, or perhaps he did not want to bear this heavy burden.

  At that time, he hated Zhen Shangshu's family because of his humiliation. Later, when Zhen Shangshu was punished, he only felt pleased, but never thought deeply about it. Now, thinking back, he feels a chill on his back, making him feel terrified.

  He was filled with guilt, but Xiao Yu didn't give him a chance to escape. "The Emperor wants to reuse you, so he must eliminate everyone around you who can influence your future. Zhen Shangshu is a good strategist and has been hiding his true intentions, if we leave him alive, in the future, using the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law, it's hard to say that he won't turn you into another ambitious Gong of Town Country! " The words turned sharply, "Kill Zhen Shangshu's whole family. But only spare his younger brother and sister, not because the Emperor values you so much that he can't bear to kill her. Nor is it because the previous emperor gave you in marriage and cannot be killed..."

  "Shen Zhong's back straightened, 'Why is that?'"

  "It was the Emperor's wish to mold you into a great general like Zhen Guo Gong, brave and skilled in battle. However, he also feared that you would become another Zhen Guo Gong." Xiao Yu looked at Shen Zhongjie, whose face had turned pale, and continued slowly, "Having learned from the lesson of Zhen Guo Gong, the Emperor did not want your wife's family to rise to power again, killing your younger brother and his entire family, leaving her without a home to return to. This perfectly fits our Great Zhou law of 'three do nots'..."

  In ancient times, there were seven outs and three non-outs. The first one was "those who had no place to return to would not be allowed to leave", which meant that when the wife had no natal home to return to, she could not be divorced or separated. When Wan Shi killed Zhen's entire family, he artificially made her meet the conditions of the three non-outs. As a result, even if Zhen committed one of the seven outs, Wan Shi could still reject Shen's powerful petition for divorce or separation, and forcibly tie them together, preventing Shen Zhongjie from having another chance to form an alliance with a powerful family and become the second Town National Duke.

  In an instant, many past events that had been overlooked flooded before his eyes.

  His heart was in disarray, and Shen Zhong's long fingers were clasped together, twisting them forcefully. "So to say, the tenth prince's full moon wine, the noble consort breaking the rules wants me to bring my family to attend is also the emperor's intention?"

  "So you value him so much, how could the Emperor not know that he has been separated from his brother and sister for five years, and now doesn't even have a legitimate son?" Xiao Yu gave him a "you finally understand" look, "...the Emperor is hinting to you that he values your legitimate wife very much, even if she hasn't borne any children in five years, you're not allowed to casually divorce her." Seeing Shen Zhong's face turn from white to black, he explained further, "Don't blame the Emperor for not understanding romance, back then when he left Zhen Shi Niang behind, although there were calculations involved, the Emperor also cherished her deep feelings for you. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have been able to protect you and keep you alive until today." Sighing, "I and the Emperor both thought that after experiencing so many ups and downs, she would grow up and mature, learn to compromise and yield...we all thought that one day you two would put aside your past grievances..." Shaking his head, "Who knew that it would let things drag on for so many years."

  If it weren't for her, could he have survived until now?

  What's wrong?

  With a puzzled heart, Shen Zhongge silently stared at Xiao Yu.

  "You also know that my first wife was once your sister's best friend." Xiao Yu said calmly, "At the beginning, Minister Zhen used all means to marry you off, just wanting to use a beauty trick to buy you... Who knew you were someone who didn't fear power? Later, when you promoted your aunt, both the Duke of Town and Minister Zhen cooled down and had murderous intentions. It was my sister who knelt outside Minister Zhen's study for an entire night, vowing that she could persuade you to surrender to the Duke of Town, which softened Minister Zhen's heart and allowed you to escape a disaster." He changed the subject, "Otherwise, with the power of the Duke of Town at the time, even if the Emperor and the Crown Prince wanted to protect you, they would have had to go through great difficulties. Even if you could survive, you would still have to suffer several years in prison."

  It's just fate.

  After many years, when recalling it again, Xiao Yu's heart still had some sighs.

  If Zhen Guo Gong had killed Shen Zhongjie at the beginning.

  Perhaps now, the rivers and mountains of this great dynasty have already changed hands, and Zhen Shiniang's family will not be so desolate and miserable. She is probably already a noble lady with the favor of thousands upon her.

  At first, she wholeheartedly saved Shen Zhongge, dedicating her true love, but could she have imagined it would end up like this today?

  PS: I saw someone say that the plot is dragging on, and honestly, I don't know how to explain it either. Transitional chapters are just slower... These few chapters are laying the groundwork for what's important later on, can't skip them, I'm also reading the book myself, I understand that feeling of wanting to see your favorite characters and scenes, looking forward to your favorite plot developments, but as a writer, you need to consider the overall story and coherence, so I'll just post three updates today, hurry up and finish this section, if you don't like it, skip ahead and read the next chapters...