The stepsister of a peasant family in a book is spoiled by the big brothers

Chapter 587 Current Situation

Qin Huiyin and the Tang family rested outside for a few nights, and only returned to the house after making sure that there were no aftershocks.

The Song and Tang families' houses suffered little damage, with only a few older courtyards collapsed. Most of the houses were still intact, and they just needed to find a few servants to do some repairs.

First, the earth dragon turned over, then the stone tablet was unearthed. Now, the atmosphere in the court was extremely tense. It was said that the emperor's temper was getting out of control, and even the Prince of Wei, with whom he had a good relationship, was almost killed by him. Since then, the Prince of Wei has been ill and can no longer attend the morning court. The civil and military officials in the court were in a state of panic, afraid to even breathe.

Now the court is divided into two parties, one is the Prime Minister's party, and the other is the Song and Tang party.

Song and Tang are easy to spot. Their relationship is strange, as they often disagree on government matters. Their relationship is also volatile, as the prime minister takes action against one of them, and their closest allies quickly rally to confront the enemy. It's said someone secretly wrote a story about the two, describing their behavior as resembling a pair of lovers who love each other but can't stay together.

Of course, the book was confiscated within three days. The Ministry of Justice and the Censorate were even mobilized to confiscate the book. While the book disappeared from the market, the memory of it in people's hearts was probably indelible.

"What are you looking at?" Song Ruize appeared from behind Qin Huiyin.

Qin Huiyin quickly put away the notebook in her hand.

She put the notebook away, placed it on her knees, and said, "Nothing!"

Song Ruize looked at her suspiciously and snatched the book from her hand. When the familiar cover appeared, the smile on his face disappeared and he even gritted his teeth.

"I copied and burned all the copies outside, but I didn't expect to have another copy at home." Song Ruize hugged Qin Huiyin's shoulders from behind and bit her earlobe. "It's okay for others to make up stories about us, but you also follow them to make trouble. If your eldest brother knew about this, I don't know what he would do to you."

"Husband..." Qin Huiyin leaned into his arms and acted coquettishly, "I'm just watching the fun. I know it's fake, I just treat it as a fun story. Besides, your names are not written in the storybook. You are too sensitive and insist on taking it for granted."

"Really? If others knew that even the ladies of the Lian Song Mansion bought this kind of storybook, what do you think they would think? They would think this story is true."

"I won't watch anymore."

"I think I've finished reading it!"

Qin Huiyin felt guilty.

She truly thought the person who had come up with this story was a genius. If they were living in modern times, it would be a shame if they didn't write online. With that person's imagination, they were sure to create a hit.

"Husband, has the problem of the earth dragon turning over been resolved?" Qin Huiyin turned and looked at him.

Song Ruize sat down next to her.

"It's resolved. We've given the families of those who died a small token of our gratitude by providing them with a pension. However, for most families, no amount of money can bring back their loved ones. Also, regarding the damaged houses, the poor have lost their homes, so we've had to arrange for temporary accommodation. From now on, they'll have to rely on themselves to survive."

The treasury was empty, and the emperor showed no concern for the displaced civilians. Rumors had long circulated that the emperor treated the people like dirt, and everyone knew that the houses they now lived in were built for them by the Song and Tang families with their own private funds. While the Song and Tang families were well-off, neither were the other officials, and no one seemed willing to care for the people. Therefore, the people knew full well that their continued existence was due to the kindness of the Tang and Song families, not the court's care for them.

Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister listened to his subordinates' reports with a heavy heart.

"Why are Tang and Song pretending to be good people? Those poor people are useless trash. Even if they win them over and gain the hearts of the people, what good will it do them?" said the prime minister's son.

"Of course the people's support is important. The emperor's recent actions have become increasingly unpopular, and now the people want him to abdicate sooner rather than later. If this continues, the emperor will lose the people's support, and I'm afraid more and more people will join the Wuxiang League and the Wei Family Army."

"Father, let my sister get pregnant soon. As long as she gets pregnant with Lin'er, that unpopular emperor will be of no use to us. We can use the emperor to control the princes."

Prime Minister Cui knew this, of course. However, it presupposed that the emperor could impregnate a woman in the harem. According to his informants, the emperor no longer had that ability.

Since he didn't have the ability, he could only let his daughter try. The emperor didn't have that ability, but the King of Wei did. After all, the King of Wei was also a prince, and getting pregnant with the King of Wei's child would not be considered confusing the royal heirs.

"Today you invite the King of Wei to drink, and then..."

"Gao, Dad, you still have a way."

On the other side, people from the Zhu family entered the palace to meet Zhu Hongxiu.

After the emperor ascended the throne, Zhu Hongxiu became a noble concubine, whose status was second only to that of the empress.

Zhu Hongxiu's face was full of worry, and she was not happy to see the people from the Zhu family appear.

Madam Zhu took her hand and pointed at the maid next to her.

The maid was tall and looked a bit stout, and she didn't look like an ordinary maid at all.

"Mom, you're not going to let me..."

"Hongxiu, you've finally entered the palace and become a noble concubine. Our Zhu family depends on you. Everyone in the world wants the emperor to fall, but our Zhu family doesn't! If you can get pregnant and give birth to the emperor's only son, he will be the crown prince, and our Zhu family will be the crown prince's mother clan. Hongxiu, this is our Zhu family's chance to soar to the sky."

Song Ruize had just come out of the yamen and was about to go to the food city to take a look when a confidant came over and whispered a few words in his ear.

After hearing what his confidant said, a smile flashed in Song Ruize's eyes.

"Whether it's the Zhu family or the Cui family, they're really asking for death."

In the emperor's current situation, everyone hopes that the person on the throne will be replaced, but the Cui and Zhu families are exceptions because these two families are already tied to the emperor.

Once the emperor changes, the prosperity and wealth of the Cui and Zhu families will be completely gone. Therefore, the two families must find a way to make this chess game more viable.

The useless emperor is completely hopeless. If a new turn of events occurs at this time, such as the birth of a prince and the enthronement of the prince, the people do not want to see war or the change of imperial power. Once there is a more democratic monarch in charge, they will be able to accept the new heir to the throne.

"Sir, what should we do now? Should we stop them?"

"No need. I'm worried that the incompetent emperor won't be able to hold on for long and ruin our plan." Song Ruize said, "If they want to give birth to an heir, then let them do it."

A month later, two pieces of good news came from the palace. The two pieces of good news were announced half a day apart, that is, the queen and the imperial concubine were pregnant at the same time.

After this news came out, the emperor's violent behavior subsided a lot. It was said that he spent all day visiting the palaces of the two concubines, and all the government affairs in the court were handed over to Prime Minister Cui to handle.

Cui Xiang gained great power and began to suppress the close confidants of Tang and Song who opposed him.

At this time, the Zhu family received news that the queen was not pregnant with the emperor's child.

After receiving the clues from the Zhu family, the emperor angrily rushed to the queen's bedroom and happened to see the queen having an affair with a man from outside the family.

The emperor angrily beheaded the man and had the queen thrown into prison. As for the child in the queen's belly, the emperor did not do anything because he still needed the child.

The Queen's child was fine, but things were going wrong with the Cui family. Prime Minister Cui had been so proud for so long, but once he lost the Emperor's trust, all his power was taken back.

Zhu Mansion. Minister Zhu looked at the masked man with his back to him and said, "I am deeply grateful for your willingness to share such important information with us and provide us with such a crucial clue. If you are willing to help our Zhu family ascend to a higher position, I promise you that I will offer you a hundred thousand taels of silver as a reward."

"The Emperor didn't abduct the bastard in the Empress's belly because he was now infertile. He said the child in the Empress's belly was his, and no one dared to deny it. He needed that child to prove his ability. Although your Zhu Mansion's concubine was also pregnant, no one could guarantee that the child would be a son before it was born. Therefore, the Emperor would keep the Empress' child to be absolutely sure. If your Zhu Mansion gave birth to a darling, the Emperor would definitely have eliminated the child born by the Empress."

"Can you provide us with more information?"

"We in the Dark Chamber are impressed by the Zhu family's abilities and are optimistic about your victory, so we are willing to do you a favor. You can rest assured that the Cui family has lost their trust. As long as your Zhu family performs well, the emperor will definitely trust you the most."

"Thank you, Master of the Dark Pavilion."

After the masked man left, Minister Zhu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Minister Zhu's confidant said, "Sir, if the secret cabinet can find out that the child in the queen's belly is a bastard, then our imperial concubine..."

"How dare you." Minister Zhu looked at his trusted subordinate coldly, "The child in our imperial concubine's belly is a prince of noble status. What is there to say?"

"Yes," the confidant said cautiously, "Of course the Imperial Concubine is pregnant with a prince. But this secret cabinet is so terrifying, it seems to know everything. Do they also know the secrets of our house? If they do, nothing we do will be hidden from them. Wouldn't that mean they have something on us?"

"I've long heard that the Dark Pavilion is not to be trifled with. Prime Minister Cui accidentally offended the Dark Pavilion and was retaliated against by it. As long as we don't become an enemy of the Dark Pavilion, we won't have to face such a formidable foe. From what the mysterious Dark Pavilion member just said, we know that the Dark Pavilion is placing a bet on our Zhu family, hoping to ride on our influence to soar to new heights. So, the master behind the Dark Pavilion hopes to enter the government and receive a reward for his meritorious service, like a hereditary title."

"If that's the case, we can cooperate with the Dark Council to completely defeat the officials of Prime Minister Cui's party."

"Prime Minister Cui has been in power for many years, and he has confidants among the civil and military officials. It's not easy to completely defeat him. Even now, even for such a serious crime as the Empress's infidelity, the Emperor hasn't directly investigated the Cui family, but instead has taken away some of their power. Clearly, the Emperor doesn't dare to break with the Cui family."

"That's why we need to cooperate with the Dark Chamber."

"That's right. The Dark Chamber is a group of greedy people. As long as we pay them enough money, their information will certainly be ours. Once they sense our sincerity, they will naturally take the initiative to cooperate with us. Then it will be the end of the Cui family."

Song Mansion, study.

Jiang Qingnan walked into the study door, took off his mask, and revealed his rather majestic face.

"You are now the commander-in-chief of the military, yet you actually went to the Zhu Mansion to negotiate with Minister Zhu. Aren't you afraid that he will discover your identity?"

Jiang Qingnan sat across from Song Ruize, sipping tea as he spoke, "I represent the Dark Chamber, and there are few in the entire court who dare to be enemies with us. Minister Zhu, seeing that we even know the Queen's secrets, is of course aware that we also know their family's secrets. He doesn't dare to offend us, so he naturally has to behave properly and doesn't dare to offend me."

"Although the emperor is incompetent, he understands the art of balance. These princes have been influenced by him since childhood and know how to control the civil and military officials in the court. Therefore, although he clearly hates the Cui family in his heart, he does not want to deal with them at this juncture. Otherwise, if the balance is broken, his recent carefree days will be gone."

"Let's use the Cui family to deal with the Zhu family, let them fight each other, and then we can reap the benefits." Jiang Qingnan said, "If we do this, we should be able to hold on for another six months."

In half a year, the Wuxiang League should be able to enter the capital.

"Is half a year enough?" Jiang Qingnan asked.

"enough."

To rapidly expand the Wuxiang League, he and Yinyin threw money at it like it was made of paper, recruiting troops at an incredible speed. Furthermore, Qin Huiyin also drew up blueprints for many new weapons and arranged for the best weapon masters to forge them. It could be said that the Wuxiang League was clearly more confident.

"Sir..." a servant's voice came from the door, "Madam's appetite is not very good today."

When Song Ruize heard this, he said to Jiang Qingnan, "Let's talk about this today. We can talk about other things tomorrow."

Jiang Qingnan was not surprised and stood up to say goodbye.

Song Ruize rushed to the backyard and saw Qin Huiyin sitting by the lake looking unhappy. He put his cloak on her shoulders and said, "What's wrong?"

"I don't have much of an appetite today. I throw up everything I eat. I asked my second brother to prescribe some medicine. I feel a little better after taking it, but..." Qin Huiyin raised her little face and pointed at her forehead. "There are several pimples on my forehead. Am I ugly now? I will become even uglier in the future. Will you dislike me then?"