Chapter 258：Claiming Bite by Silvia Violet

In order to control him, Qi Yi Ning detained several of his sons and daughters in the capital, letting a bunch of spoiled nobles deliberately approach and influence them, so they gradually became wastrels. Qian Tong had such a fierce temperament, the Empress Dowager refused to believe that he wasn't secretly resentful. The enemy of my enemy is a friend, when the Empress Dowager thought of Qian Tong's power and influence, she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.

"Yes ah, don't prejudge Qian Jia's eldest daughter for being a General's daughter, she's very proficient in the four arts (zither, Go, calligraphy, painting), and her appearance is quite dignified and beautiful. She's a very elegant and pleasant person, very fitting for His Highness." Lady Luo, under her husband's order, had entered the palace to lobby with the Empress Dowager after learning about the Emperor's plan from her husband.

Marrying Qian Jia was no different than helping the Gong Prince find an excellent helper, she really couldn't understand why the Emperor would arrange such a thing. Thinking of her daughter's bitter experience, she wondered whether the Emperor was also aware of the inside story, and intended to let the young lady Qian marry him, and when she was eventually poisoned, the Gong Prince and Qian Tong would fall out?

She conveyed her speculation to her husband, but he rejected it, "Qian Tong is a very ruthless and ambitious man, he would give up anything to gain more power. When he was besieged by the Bei Di army on Qiu Ming Mountain, and the army rations and fodder were cut off, in order to escape the trap, he went so far as to kill his concubines and their children, serving their cooked flesh to his soldiers.

The soldiers were so touched they risked their lives to protect him. That man is so merciless to his own self, forget caring about his first daughter being poisoned. Even if she was poisoned to death, as long as he was still allied with the Gong Prince, he wouldn't fall out with them. This probably isn't the Emperor's plan."

Lady Luo didn't understand the plan but let it pass, although shocked speechless at Qian Tong's mercilessness, she still entered the palace to help the Empress Dowager choose. Sure enough, the Empress Dowager picked Qian Fangfei.

Afraid the Emperor would reject, she actually feigned falling ill and invited over a fortune reader, who said that the Gong Prince must quickly get married for her to recover. That girl must be a very well-bred young lady, and it just so happened that only Qian Fangfei and the Empress Dowager's birthdate characters were compatible.

Zhou Yun Sheng was quite amused watching the Empress Dowager's little drama, waiting for her to torture herself till she was skin and bones before 'reluctantly' sending out an imperial decree. He naturally had a reason for choosing Qian Fangfei, but it was far different from Lady Luo's guess. This Qian Fangfei could also be considered quite a character, she'd completely inherited her father's ruthlessness.

Last life, because Qian Jia was being suppressed by the Emperor, she didn't marry a good man, her husband was a famous wastrel in the capital, spending every day in brothels, having constant affairs, even performing depraved acts with one of her servant girls. No caring whether the girl was willing or forced, she immediately murdered her once she investigated it, casually tossing the bloody corpse out into the street. If she discovered an affair, she would burn the mistress' house to ashes with the residents trapped inside, and she personally pushed more than one bastard child to their deaths.

That wastrel really couldn't stand her, but didn't dare provoke her, so he allied with his mother and tried to poison her while she was pregnant. By a fluke, she discovered to two's conspiracy, her lower body bleeding incessantly, she stubbornly lifted a sword and chased the two down the street, chopping them into mincemeat. This event was too big, even the Zhou Yun Sheng who was often busy fulfilling tasks for the system heard of it.

He purposely rushed to the prison to admire this outlandish woman. He'd thought that the woman would already be insane, however, her thoughts were calm and sober, her mind active. She wanted to hand over evidence of her father's plans for rebellion in exchange for her life. It was obvious that regardless of how she behaved, her escape route was always mapped out.

After Zhou Yun Sheng walked out of the jail, he spent a long time in astonishment, and had to sigh in admiration for her heart and mind that was harder and colder than steel, if she was born male, he feared that even her father Qian Tong would be unable to live.

Therefore, if he didn't give this woman to Qi Jin Yu, he'd simply be a fool who ignores his prophetic advantage. If Qi Jin Yu used the methods to deal with ordinary women on Qian Fangfei, he'd definitely regret it. When she was once again imprisoned, Zhou Yun Sheng estimated that she'd offer proof of Qian Tong's rebellion in exchange for her life again, which would help him kill two birds with one stone.

Qian Fangfei was beautiful, and her temperament was gentle, judging by appearance, she was entirely a typical noble lady. She was very satisfied with Qi Jin Yu's handsomeness and simple emotional life, so she suppressed her nature after the marriage, willingly becoming a 'delicate' little wife.

Qi Jin Yu was patiently 'lovey dovey' with her for a few months, then he suddenly received news about the three major provinces in the Southwest, which were suffering from a huge drought. The drought-stricken people were growing unstable, so a few courtiers needed to go over and encourage them. To accumulate political capital, he needed to perform a few errands and gain a good reputation after the marriage.

In the last life's Southwest drought, a majority of the courtiers contacted Zhou Yun Sheng, recommending that he send the Gong Prince to deal with the matter, but now, only two or three courtiers mentioned this matter, and they didn't dare recommend it out loud, only sending memorials. Zhou Yun Sheng was simply too effective.

In the last life, Qi Jin Yu inspected the Southwest with Luo Zhen for advice, and Zhao Xuan for protection, they were two of Da Qi's most capable people, completing every assigned job properly, perfectly. When Qi Jin Yu finally left the Southwest, the populace of the three provinces gathered by the roadsides to send him off, their tears spilling, their parasols packed together, the wall of colors seemingly endless.

This achievement, and the hearts of all the people he moved, allowed Qi Jin Yu to formally step into the political arena. He was wise and strong, and Zhou Yun Sheng was muddle-headed and incompetent, the courtiers' minds were naturally inclined to a change. But in this life, the situation was obviously very different, Luo Zhen and Zhao Xuan would definitely refuse to go with Qi Jin Yu, did he have the ability to control the chaotic situation by himself?

Zhou Yun Sheng would keep his eyes wide open, waiting to see the outcome.

According to his wish, Qi Jin Yu received the assignment, and was currently in the Empress Dowager's palace, enjoying an evening a meal. After listening to the Empress Dowager's guidance, he traveled to Jing Guo Duchy to find Luo Zhen.

"His Royal Highness wants this small official to go to the Southwest with you? Without the Emperor's agreement, this small official wouldn't dare leave the capital without permission."

"You can go petition the Emperor tomorrow, in order to quickly stabilize the Southwest's chaos, I'm sure he will agree."

Qi Jin Yu thought his goal would soon be achieved, so his heart was very pleased, feigning concern for Luo Lan's condition, he repeatedly expressed that his life's greatest regret is not being able to marry her. Things were still tolerable before he said these words, after he said them, Luo Zhen's buried hatred was stirred to the extreme, wishing he could personally strangle the other man. Forcefully pushing down his hatred, Luo Zhen socialized with him for a while, and after he left, he cursed him viciously.

Qi Jin Yu left Jing Guo Duchy and secretly met with Zhao Ji Dong. The two were childhood friends, and Zhao Ji Dong often helped him pass messages to Zhao Bi Xuan, so he was well aware of their adultery. Nowadays, Zhao Ji Dong actually wanted to keep his distance from him, but unfortunately, he held too many of his sister's secrets, if one day the secrets were exposed, Wen Yuan March would be exterminated, beyond redemption. His scholarly honor, his glory, his title, he would lose them all.

Truly, you can't unring a bell! If only my sister had kept this to herself back then, I wouldn't be so on edge now, every day drags like a year. Zhao Ji Dong unsurprisingly blamed Zhao Bi Xuan, after hearing Qi Jin Yu's offer, he lowered his eyes and deliberated, then agreed after a moment. This mission to provide disaster relief to the Southwest was a great opportunity, and with Master Luo Zhen there to handle the overall situation, he could just sit back and enjoy their achievements. Tons of benefits for no effort, why not go?

Qi Jin Yu talked it over with Zhao Ji Dong, then went to visit Zhao Xuan.

"Sorry, I can't help you. The Emperor's very apprehensive if my army's power, I have to look after my own hide, so I don't plan to intervene in any governmental affairs. I'm only waiting for the Emperor to be in a good enough mood to send me back to the Northwest. You better find someone else." Zhao Xuan stroked the rim of his white porcelain tea-cup, his tone callous.

This going back to the Northwest excuse was naturally bogus, even if he needed to go back, he would definitely bring that man with him. Furthermore, he'd just received news from an investigation, right now, he hated that he couldn't personally wring Qi Jin Yu's neck, how could he agree to help him.

A few weeks ago, Qi Jin Yu learned about the scholar that had his fingers crushed, and sent people out to spread rumors among the scholars, saying that the Emperor sent soldiers to destroy the man's hands because he didn't like his poem.

The Da Qi people were very open, it wasn't taboo for common people to talk about politics, especially scholars, who were proud to openly voice their critiques. After the scholars checked out the rumors, they were indignant, and jointly wrote complaints against the Emperor's tyranny and muddle-headedness. Although they were eventually suppressed, they managed to deal great damage to the Emperor's reputation.

That was obviously something he'd ordered, but Qi Yi Ning ended up having to carry the burden, so Zhao Xuan felt like he'd wronged him, and was looking for ways to support and compensate him. Qi Jin Yu wanted to go to the Southwest? Excellent, he'd send people to 'escort' him properly, Qi Jin Yu could only hope he'll be able to return with an intact corpse.

Qi Jin Yu also knew about Zhao Xuan's difficulties, but was even more worried about his own safety, he tried his second best plead, "Big Brother Zhao, you don't have to go personally, you can just borrow me some skilled imperial bodyguards. I heard that the Southwest is already a completely chaotic mess, there are bandits all over the place, and they're especially intent on killing the court ordered officials. I fear even my identity is not enough to deter them."

"I don't have any guards to spare, go find someone else." Zhao Xuan said. To him, Qi Jin Yu was already a dead man, he didn't need to be polite to a corpse, dropping his cup, he flicked his sleeves and turned away.

"Humph! You've really let success go to your head. Just wait, that Emperor will make you regret your misplaced loyalty one day." His face pale with anger, Qi Jin Yu ruthlessly smashed his tea cup. On his way back to his house, he thought and thought, feeling that he needed to find some more helping hands, he passed a message to Zhao Bi Xuan hidden deep in the palace.

That night, Zhao Bi Xuan wore her most sheer dress and performed a private butterfly ballet for the Emperor, taking advantage of the Emperor's delight to 'inadvertently' mention the Southwest's chaos, suggesting that the Gong Prince traveling by himself for disaster relief was not wise, he needed a few clever and capable officials to assist him. If the Southwest's rebels were not stopped, the Northwest, North and other states would also break out into chaos, and when that time came, the ending would not be pretty.

Zhou Yun Sheng smiled and praised her foresight, and the next day, he really sent four ministers to accompany the Gong Prince, but except for Zhao Ji Dong, the other three were not the candidates Qi Jin Yu had expected. However, the imperial edict had already passed down, it couldn't be changed, so Qi Jin Yu had no choice but to promptly pack his things, his heart depressed.

The other three ministers had a common derogatory nickname in the imperial court – the three don't do's. One; don't provoke powerful ministers, two; don't defy sinful ministers, three; don't deal with important affairs, except for eating and lazing around, they had no other interests. Taking these three idiots to the Southwest, Qi Jin Yu's future would definitely be full of hardships.

He knew that the Emperor had set his eyes on him, because he'd married Qian Fangfei and was now a threat. Qian Fangfei? Qi Jin Yu's eyes brightened, remembering that his wife was the daughter of the Zhenbei General, if she lacked for anything, it definitely wasn't elite troops. For the first time, he felt that his mother forcing him to take a wife was the right decision.

After Qian Fangfei heard about her husband's difficultly, she risked the Emperor's suspicion to lend him a few dozen shadow guards, ordering them to escort Qi Jin Yu all the way to the Southwest, they must tail him everywhere and bring him back. Such a clean, honest, and extraordinarily handsome husband, if he died, she'd never be able to find another one in the world, so she must properly treasure him.