Chapter 60: Informing the Emperor

Chapter 60: Notifying the Emperor

Having just finished the surprising pancake his eldest daughter brought him, Jiang Huailiang's heart suddenly lurched. He had been comfortably reclining on the bed but now sat bolt upright.

"What happened? Tell me everything!"

"Nothing much, it's just that today I felt Lady Qiao was exceptionally polite to me. She specifically instructed me to bring Wan Jie'er to the palace for a visit after we return to the capital next month. She said she wants to thank our daughter in person for saving her son."

"Isn't that perfectly normal?"

Jiang Huailiang breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back onto the bed.

"Our eldest girl saved their fourth son. It's only right for the parents to come out and express their gratitude."

Looking at her husband, who was so incredibly oblivious, Xu Shi sighed.

"Why didn't you understand? This is just an excuse Lady Qiao came up with. The key point is that she wants to meet our Wan Jie'er in person!

And did you not hear clearly what I said earlier? Lady Qiao specifically mentioned returning to the capital next month. Doesn’t this indicate that the eldest son of the Li family is not in life-threatening danger?"

"Definitely."

Jiang Huailiang had already been wondering: the Zhao family aren’t fools. How could they not have stationed people around Li Yuanxiu, allowing him to be so easily harmed?

Combined with the dreams his eldest daughter mentioned this morning, he speculated that it was almost certainly a case of someone using their plan against them. Even before formally entering the palace, the Li family’s situation was already on the verge of exploding.

As he was pondering this, his wife gently sat down beside him.

"Husband, you’ve never had any thoughts of sending our two daughters into the palace, have you?"

"What would we send them into the palace for?"

The man embraced his wife and kissed her.

"The eldest daughter has already told me that she can’t handle the respectable position of a princess consort. One careless move and she might wreck our family.

Just look at her occasional erratic behavior. If we sent her into the palace, how many heads would our Old Jiang family have to lose to keep up with her?

I have even less hope for the second daughter. She can’t carry anything on her shoulders or lift anything with her hands. Aside from being quick with her tongue, who could she possibly defeat?

But if you really want to secure a marriage with the royal family, wife, it’s not like there’s no way. If all else fails, we could send our third son? He’s thick-skinned and can take a beating—he definitely won’t just disappear. Ouch! I won’t say anymore, I won’t say anymore…"

That mouth spouting nonsense finally fell silent under the merciless pinching of his wife’s fingers.

After letting go, Xu Shi whispered a few more words in her husband’s ear, and Jiang Huailiang raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Lady Qiao bowed to Madam Zhao in public?"

"Absolutely true."

Xu Shi’s tone carried a sense of admiration.

"To be honest, calling Lady Qiao a true heroine wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Her ability to take things in stride—I could never possess that in this lifetime."

"Ah, what courage? It’s all forced upon her."

Jiang Huailiang held his wife.

"Don’t worry, I’ll never let you develop that kind of courage in this lifetime. I’ll stay with you forever, and we’ll live well together."

Xu Shi also tightened her arms around her husband’s waist, hiding her moist eyes against his chest.

"Jiang Daxiong, thank you for not looking down on me and Wan Jie'er, thank you for treating us so well."

"More nonsense. My own wife and daughter—isn’t treating you well what I should do? If you say such foolish words again, I’ll really get angry!"

"Mm, I won’t say it."

The couple embraced each other, the years passing in silent harmony.

Now that he had accurate information, Jiang Huailiang’s cold symptoms improved significantly by the next day, and he fully recovered after three days.

Then he made a special trip to the Li family. After confirming that the two Madams Li had understood their respective positions, he immediately sent word to Li Zhanghuai in the capital.

Capital.

Qianyuan Palace in the Imperial Palace.

An imposing man in bright yellow dragon robes sat expressionlessly on the dragon throne. On the imperial desk in front of him lay the message Jiang Huailiang had sent by fast horse.

Li Zhanghuai’s cold eyes were fixed firmly on the two brothers-in-law kneeling below.

"Zhao Heran, Qiao Yunhai, what are you two up to? I’ve only just ascended to the throne, my seat’s not even warm yet, and you two already want to rebel?!"

"Your subject dare not!"

"Brother-in-law, I didn’t!"

They spoke in unison.

"Didn’t? Dare not?"

Furious, Li Zhanghuai grabbed the fly whisk from the eunuch beside him and flung it wildly at those two scoundrels.

"Me listening to your two’s arguments here in the capital was me giving you face! And yet you two scoundrels didn’t give me face?

You actually dared to send people to attack my son?

I’ll f***ing kill you!"

The angrier he got, the less this man—who even in dragon robes was every bit the soldier, not the emperor—seemed like one. He leaped down from the dragon throne and started kicking them.

The ministers from both factions standing nearby all fell to their knees in a wave, but no one dared foolishly step forward to say anything.

Any fool could see the emperor was in a rage now; he was never one with a particularly good temper to begin with. And the Zhao and Qiao families actually had the audacity to send people to attack the princes?

This kind of lawless, reckless nerve—who would dare speak up to plead for them?

The emperor might not actually kill his brothers-in-law, but he would definitely not go easy on the backers of the Zhao and Qiao families!

Zhao Heran was a scholar—how could he withstand the fists and kicks of an emperor who was a military man? In just a few moments, he was pummeled to the floor.

In contrast, Qiao Yunhai, being a military general, was much tougher and endured more blows from the emperor. Although he didn’t dare fight back, it was inevitable that he’d mouth off when beaten too hard.

"Brother-in-law, what did I do wrong for you to beat me so hard? You’ve been my brother-in-law since I was ten. What did you say in front of our parents when you came to ask for my sister’s hand?

All these years, how much grief have you made my sister and my nephews endure?

My five brothers and nine nephews all lost their lives on the battlefield! More than half of my Qiao clan is dead! And now, after all that, you’ve finally become emperor, and you still want my sister to be a concubine?"

"I refuse to accept this!

If you have the guts, just beat me to death! If you can live with your conscience, go ahead and kill me today!"

Qiao Yunhai glared defiantly at Li Zhanghuai, his stubborn resistance making it impossible for the emperor to continue wielding the ceremonial horsetail whisk.

Zhao Heran, who had struggled to rise from the ground and kneel properly, noticed the clear guilt on the emperor's face and immediately spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I do not deny that the Qiao family has sacrificed greatly for the grand cause. But does that mean my Zhao family has no right to fight for what is due?

Back then, when Lady Qiao came on your behalf to propose marriage, it was for the position of primary wife! Otherwise, why would my Zhao family have risked everything, even drained our family’s savings?

My sister has been the primary wife all these years, and my nephew has been the rightful heir all this time. By emotion, reason, or law, there is absolutely no justification for demoting them from legitimate to secondary status!"

"Bullshit! Why don’t you mention that my sister was the original primary wife from the very beginning?"

"And was it not her own choice to give up the position to my sister? Did my Zhao family force it or steal it?"

Each argued their case passionately, but after days of debate, there was still no resolution. The emperor, fed up, could only wave his hand and dismiss all these troublemakers.

He then immediately sent a verbal decree to Jiang Huailiang: according to Lady Qiao’s command, he must arrive in the capital by next month, no excuses.