OBS Chapter 280 Undercurrent
Chapter 280 Undercurrent
"Lord Jiang, as soon as you arrive, you question me. Is this how you treat your subjects?!"
Jiang Yuanfeng's disrespectful and angry attitude instantly made him angry, and he threw the cup of tea in front of him.
"Whatever I do, Lord Jiang, shouldn't you be mindful of the limits of your interference and know when to stop?"
The palace maids in the hall were so frightened by the strange atmosphere that they all knelt down and held their breath for a moment.
I was afraid that if I wasn't careful, I would provoke the innocent anger of these two people.
The emperor glanced at the trembling palace maid, swept a fierce look over him, then jerked his chin and signaled everyone to go out.
The palace servants breathed a sigh of relief and quickly closed the palace door and retreated.
As soon as they left, one of the newly arrived maids patted her chest and said to the people around her, "I'm so scared! I've never seen the Emperor and Lord Jiang get so angry. If they start arguing, we'll be the ones to suffer. We'll be punished!"
The palace maid beside her laughed and said, "You think too much!"
"The Emperor is very different from the Third Prince you used to serve. He is the most considerate of the palace servants. Generally speaking, even if something goes wrong, he rarely punishes us, let alone threatens our lives!"
The palace maid from before was shocked, her expression full of disbelief.
"It's not just rumors, the Emperor is the strictest. He's extremely strict in rewards and punishments! So when a vacancy appeared in the Qianqing Palace, many maids were afraid to come, thinking of the Emperor's strictness! I didn't expect it to be so different from what I imagined!"
The palace maid beside her chuckled and said, "You, don't listen to what those people say."
"You'll understand once you stay in this hall for a while. You have to experience everything for yourself..."
The palace maids gradually walked away, but inside the Qianqing Palace, the emperor and Jiang Yuanfeng were still on edge.
Jiang Yuanfeng sat sideways on the chair, his sharp eyes swept towards the emperor.
"Ji Xiangli came today. What did the emperor promise him?"
As soon as the emperor saw Jiang Yuanfeng's expression, he knew that he must know something.
Therefore, I don't plan to hide it from him.
"After these days of beatings, the Ji family is already at the end of its rope. Therefore, I have decided to restore the Ji family to its original status."
The emperor was faintly excited, and he thought Jiang Yuanfeng would suddenly jump up and object after hearing what he said.
However, Jiang Yuanfeng was still sitting there steadily, with his eyes scanning him sharply like an eagle.
The emperor chuckled, "But guess what happened?"
"Ji Xiangli actually refused!"
"What he wants is not for me to restore his former title, but for me to make the Third Prince the Crown Prince."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuanfeng finally reacted.
A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then his face darkened in an instant.
"So, what benefits did the emperor give to the Ji family?"
Hearing Jiang Yuanfeng's question, the emperor was stunned.
He looked at Jiang Yuanfeng fiercely for a long moment before finally saying, "It is indeed true. Lord Jiang has come to understand me so well."
"Ji Xiangli declined the title, so I gave the throne of Crown Prince back to Si Luan. Then, when he recovers, he can go to the Ministry of Rites and become a Deputy Minister."
After he finished speaking, Jiang Yuanfeng stood up immediately, his face as cold as ice.
"Why do you make such a decision?!" He couldn't help but growl.
The emperor looked at him in surprise. "They have already submitted to me. Ji Xiangli is already at the end of his strength and his body is about to die. There are not many people left in the Ji family. What's wrong with that? Didn't you see how he looks today? He looks so old that he looks like he is over 70 years old!"
"Of course I know!" Jiang Yuanfeng glared at him. "Ji Xiangli knows that only by using the Third Prince's ascension as bait can he get you to give Ji Bozhou a free pass. Of course he's willing to do that!"
"But on the issue of the crown prince, haven't we discussed this many times? I don't agree with making the Third Prince the crown prince! The risks are too great!"
When the emperor saw that Jiang Yuanfeng was angry about this matter, his momentum weakened in an instant.
"You always say the Crown Prince candidate can't be changed, but have you ever visited the Eastern Palace to see if someone like that can be the Crown Prince? Is handing Daliang over to him the right choice?!"
Jiang Yuanfeng ignored the emperor's rebuke, his eyes filled with almost stubborn determination.
"If you help the Third Prince ascend to the throne of Crown Prince, all the success we have achieved after years of planning will be destroyed in an instant! As long as the situation is favorable to us, it is the right choice!"
The emperor was somewhat helpless after being hit by Jiang Yuanfeng's fierce roar, and he immediately lost his energy.
He was full of energy and enthusiasm just now when he was planning to go to Kunning Palace, but he suddenly became a little listless.
"Then what's the point of me being the emperor?"
"Jiang Muyao!" Jiang Yuanfeng couldn't help but roar.
"Open your eyes and take a look. Ever since you defeated the Ji family, you have become completely confused! You are the emperor, you have to consider the overall situation!"
"Okay, okay, let's consider the overall situation." The emperor sighed and returned to the throne absent-mindedly.
Jiang Yuanfeng sat there in a daze, with deep undercurrents boiling in his eyes.
After a long while, he said quietly, "Give up the Ji family and take back your promise."
"What?!" The emperor looked up instantly.
"How can the Emperor's order be false?!"
Jiang Yuanfeng's eyes swept towards him coldly, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."
"You placed Ji Bozhou in the position of Deputy Minister of Rites. Your goal should be to promote him to Right Vice Minister of Rites within two years. Then, let him take the lead in changing the Crown Prince, right?"
"This way, your reputation as emperor is preserved, and the candidate for crown prince is changed from Jiang Yan to your beloved Jiang Xu. The Ji family also preserves the last trace of their desired bloodline. Am I right?"
After hearing Jiang Yuanfeng's words, the emperor was even more surprised.
He rolled his eyes and asked, "Ji Xiangli, has he looked for you?"
Preserving the last trace of bloodline is indeed what Ji Xiangli cares about most.
If he hadn't looked for Jiang Yuanfeng, he would never have known.
"Not only did he come looking for me, but I also came out of the Ji family injured!"
The emperor was startled, "Lord Jiang is injured?"
As he spoke, he took big strides and quickly walked towards Jiang Yuanfeng.
"Where is it hurt?"
Jiang Yuanfeng knew that the emperor was truly concerned about his injury, so he did not hide it. "I didn't come to court today because of this injury."
"Ji Bozhou was haunted by a ghost and was about to die. That old man, Ji Xiangli, came to my house and begged me to go to my house to exorcise the ghost and save Ji Bozhou, on the condition that he never reveal the secret from fifteen years ago."
The emperor's brain was shaken by these words.
"Is there really a ghost?!"
He himself was always protected by the talisman that Jiang Yuanfeng had cast on him, so he had never felt anything ghostly or divine happening.
The emperor glanced at him and said, "Now he has been dealt with by this humble official."
The emperor's pupils widened and he gasped, "Could it be that this injury of Lord Jiang was caused by that ghost?"
Jiang Yuanfeng remained noncommittal, "I've saved the Ji family from disaster, so naturally I'll be injured."
But he didn't want to take the subject too far, so he turned around and met the emperor's gaze.
"But no matter what, the Emperor must not be so indulgent towards the Ji family! The Ji family must not be allowed to regain their former status as a marquisate! The Ji family being in power is not a good thing for you or me!"
The emperor sighed, then looked up at the dome, as if thinking about something.
After a while, he finally nodded somewhat dejectedly, seemingly compromising, and whispered, "Don't worry, it's just Ji Bozhou. At most, we can just give him the honorary title of a crown prince. We can discuss the rest later."
He looked at Jiang Yuanfeng again and clenched his fists in confusion, "But you know my difficulties..."