NFBE Chapter 418 Taking her as a concubine
Chapter 418 Taking her as a concubine
The next day, Shen and Yunxi buried Yunshang's coffin.
The men sent by the King of Qi watched the mound being piled up before returning to report.
At that time, King Qi was dealing with a group of powerful families. These families had recently lost many members of their clansmen, and their faces were gloomy. They also harbored some dissatisfaction with him.
The King of Qi used kind words to appease them, which calmed them down.
Upon learning of this, he dismissed the members of the aristocratic families and summoned Li Zhuoyue and several advisors.
After everyone was seated, King Qi, with a gloomy expression, raised his hand and gently tapped the table, producing a dull sound.
His voice was calm and measured, "Are you sure the person is really dead?"
Li Zhuoyue gently smoothed her sleeves, sat upright, and respectfully nodded, her tone resolute: "Dead. I personally confirmed that the person has indeed stopped breathing. Our people also witnessed the Yun family mother and daughter burying Yun Shang's coffin."
Upon receiving this answer, a smile flashed in King Qi's eyes, but he then sighed, "Yun Shang is indeed quite capable. If he hadn't stubbornly refused to serve me, I truly wouldn't have wanted him to die."
Li Zhuoyue lowered her eyes and curled her lips, remaining silent.
The King of Qi then asked, "What was the Emperor's reaction?"
Two days ago, when the news of Yun Shang's death reached the palace, Emperor Wenjing fainted in a fit of rage. The imperial physician diagnosed him with a heart attack caused by anger and said that as long as he calmed down and recuperated, he would be fine.
After Emperor Wenjing awoke, he ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to thoroughly investigate the matter. However, many people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review had been arrested by Yun Shang during this period. Although the people from both departments agreed on the surface, they did nothing at all.
Anyway, if Emperor Wenjing kept urging them, they would claim that Yunshang died at the hands of bandits. If the emperor still didn't believe them, then he could investigate it himself.
Realizing that Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing had been feigning incompetence all these years and could launch an attack on the powerful families at any time, the officials of these families simply made things difficult for the emperor.
Emperors Wen and Jing have been attending court these past few days and have issued many decrees, but their implementation has not been smooth.
The powerful officials made excuses and, if Emperor Wenjing became angry, they would all kneel down and beg the emperor for forgiveness. Emperor Wenjing could not kill all of them, so he could only rage in vain.
Because Emperor Wenjing was out of control, powerful families were already having the idea of replacing him with a new emperor.
For this reason, in the past few days, one group of noble families after another have come to visit the King of Qi in private.
King Qi was not unaware that the benefits he gained from powerful families would eventually be hampered by them, but he also wanted to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
Moreover, his ideas differed from those of Emperor Wenjing.
Emperor Wenjing was wary of a counterattack from powerful families and dared not kill members of these families indiscriminately, but he was different.
If the powerful families really try to control him in the future, he will not care about any sentimentality. If he cannot kill them openly, he will assassinate them directly. If too many people die, will these powerful families still dare to make decisions for him?
At that moment, King Qi felt from the bottom of his heart that Emperor Wenjing was weak.
Now that the powerful families are considering replacing the emperor, it suits his purposes perfectly.
As King Qi thought this, a slight smile appeared on his face.
He had thought that he would have to wait a long time for this day.
These thoughts flashed through Li Zhuoyue's mind in an instant. She and her advisors were unaware of the Prince of Qi's intentions; they only heard him ask the Emperor, and one advisor quickly answered:
"Your Highness, His Majesty has been restricted in many ways these past few days. I heard he is quite angry and has summoned the imperial physicians several times."
The Prince of Qi looked up, a worried expression on his face. "How could this be? Is Father ill?"
He anxiously tried to get up and head straight out of the mansion, shouting, "Take the horse! I need to go to the palace to visit my father!"
The advisors were taken aback by the King of Qi's sudden departure and exchanged bewildered glances.
Li Zhuoyue watched calmly as the Prince of Qi's figure disappeared, her eyes flashing.
The King of Qi became increasingly open about his ambition.
This is also a good thing; if the King of Qi becomes emperor sooner, he can also become a powerful minister sooner.
However, the most important thing right now is something else...
Li Zhuoyue strode away from the Qi Prince's residence and returned to the Li family home. He immediately asked Madam Li, "Mother, have you prepared the betrothal gifts that I asked you to prepare?"
Madam Li smiled and nodded, "Everything is ready. I'll have the housekeeper fetch it."
She looked at Li Zhuoyue with satisfaction.
Madam Li was often troubled by her son's womanizing ways, having countless lovers outside the marriage, yet he was unwilling to marry or take a concubine.
When Li Zhuoyue asked her to prepare the betrothal gifts yesterday, she was truly taken aback.
After her initial surprise, Madam Li couldn't wait to ask all sorts of questions.
"My son, you're finally ready to settle down. Tell your mother, which family's daughter is it that has captured your heart so deeply?"
What is your family background?
Li Zhuoyue replied, "Yun Shang's younger sister, Yun Xi."
Upon hearing this, Madam Li's smile instantly froze.
She stared at Li Zhuoyue, thinking she had misheard. "Who did you say?"
"Yunxi."
Madam Li nearly choked on her breath.
She pointed at Li Zhuoyue, feeling for the first time that her son was absurd and ignorant. "Yun Shang has taken several of your uncles under the guise of purging corrupt officials, and now you actually want to marry his sister? Li Zhuoyue, have you lost your mind?"
Li Zhuoyue was not angry when she was scolded. She replied calmly, "Mother, I only want to take her as a concubine and make her my wife. She is not qualified."
Upon hearing this, Madam Li's expression softened slightly.
But he still looked dissatisfied: "Even if it's just to take her as a concubine, the Yun family is already in ruins, and Yun Xi is an orphan. What good can she do for you? Your uncles are still suffering in prison, and you want to bring your enemy's sister into the house. What kind of talk is that!"
Li Zhuoyue replied, "She's just a lowly concubine. When my uncles get out of prison and want to vent their anger, they can let her vent their anger."
Upon hearing this, Madam Li was no longer angry.
A lowly concubine is worse than a servant; if she gets in my way later, I can just sell her off.
Because she was only a concubine, Madam Li prepared only a meager dowry.
Twenty taels of silver, five bolts of cloth of average quality, or even the lowest quality cotton cloth instead of silk.
When the steward brought the betrothal gifts, Madam Li glanced at them and felt a slight displeasure.
For someone of Yunxi's status, being able to become a concubine in the Li family is already an immense blessing. In her opinion, she wouldn't even be able to afford this small dowry.
She turned to Li Zhuoyue and said, "This betrothal gift is prepared according to the standards for taking a concubine. Is it enough?"
Li Zhuoyue glanced at the items and gently curled her lips. "That's enough. Even if the Li family doesn't offer any betrothal gifts, my son will still make her agree to become a concubine."
Madam Li was very pleased with her son's attitude and smiled at him affectionately, saying, "I heard that woman is very beautiful. The child you two have will surely be outstanding in appearance."
This is probably the only redeeming quality of the Yun family.
Li Zhuoyue directly sent the betrothal gifts to the Yun family through a junior steward from the Li residence, along with a message from him.
Yun family.
Yu Wan helped Madam Shen and the others tidy up the mansion and was just about to sneak back to the Duke of Anguo's mansion when a servant rushed in to report.
"No, it's not good!"
She stopped in her tracks, and Madam Shen and Yunxi also turned to look at the servant.
"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?" Madam Shen asked, frowning.
The servants currently remaining in the Yun residence are all completely trustworthy, and most of them are actually secret guards in disguise.
The guards disguised as servants are usually quite prudent and wouldn't act so rashly.
Unless something major has happened.
The servant's face was grim, his chest heaving violently, as he reported, "A junior steward has come from outside, saying he's here to deliver betrothal gifts for his young master."
Yu Wan, Shen Shi, and Yun Xi were all stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning of these words.
Yu Wan looked completely bewildered and blurted out instinctively, "What?"
The servant, his face full of resentment, gritted his teeth and said, "That Li Zhuoyue wants to take Miss Yunxi as a concubine!"