C175

Within the walls of the palace, the emperor was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, as he sat in front of the palace with a imperial report in his hand.

Hu Shan was exceptional at his young age, in half a year he had gone from being a official to a general. As long as he was a leader, he had never been defeated, he should have returned to the capital to be bestowed with a title, even if he did not rise, he should have been bestowed with some silver and fields.

However, ever since the Emperor found out that Hu Shan and the Seventh Prince had a close relationship, he had kept him in the dark, and did not call him back to the capital.

Hu Shan's achievements were huge, causing people in the hall to occasionally pass him their books, requesting for him to receive a reward.

The Emperor picked up the ink brush and threw the paper back. He sat there in silence with his eyes closed for a long time before he finally brushed the paper off the table in anger.

After a series of loud noises, the palace maids and eunuchs were all frightened into kneeling on the ground.

"Alright, alright, alright. If you want me to bestow you a reward, I'll give you a name!" The emperor summoned the head eunuch to stand in front of him. "Pass on our orders, we shall confer the title of great general to Wuli River's guard, General Hu Shan, and reward him with a thousand acres of fertile land, a thousand taels of gold. Order him to immediately head over to the Gong Bian's garrison."

"Transfer Yang Zhi Liang to the Wuli River and take over Hu Shan's position." As he spoke, the emperor began to cough lightly. "I would like to see if you are alive to receive this reward!"

The head eunuch's face was respectful and submissive. He agreed, and after leaving the palace, he bowed his head and passed the emperor's words into the ears of the palace maids nearby.

His sentence twisted and turned, and before long, it entered the Hall of Clear Brilliance.

The Empress was listening to the little crown prince recite the poem and saw Sui Gu walking in with a strange expression. He immediately called for the mama to bring the crown prince away.

Sui Gu glanced at them, and all the palace maids retreated in the blink of an eye.

"What's wrong?" The empress straightened her back, tired from taking care of her children, and yet it wasn't her own, so she had to put in the effort.

"His Majesty has brought up Honorable Yang's elder brother, Yang Zhiliang." Sui Gu was ecstatic.

Wuli River was originally a difficult job, but after the Seventh Prince brought General Hu Shan to fear South Yi and had exchanges with him, it became a fat job.

Now, it was Hu Shan's turn. He was clearly suppressing the Seventh Prince and helping the crown prince.

"What are you so happy about?" The Queen was a little impatient and threw in a sentence. Sui Gu was so shocked that she immediately stopped smiling and turned solemn.

"What does it have to do with us?" The empress was distressed, but unfortunately she didn't have a family to rely on. "Honorable Yang is favored by the emperor. If her family gained even more power, do you think the little crown prince would still obediently stay in the Hall of Clear Brilliance?"

"I'm afraid that even I will have to drive her out of the Hall of Clear Brilliance."

"This …" Sui Gu was perturbed, "Empress, Senior Yang would not dare."

"She doesn't dare?" The empress smiled coldly. "There's nothing she wouldn't dare to do to a woman who can even bear to give up her own child."

The reason the empress had been willing to let the Twelfth Prince be Crown Prince was all because she had nowhere else to go. The Fifth Elder and Seventh Elder definitely could not, as there would only be twelve left.

Moreover, being twelve years old was easy to train. Although the emperor doted on noble Yang, his birth was not too high, and his mother's uncle had no officials to rely on, so it was impossible for him to win.

However, if the emperor was determined to help the Yang family, then it would give the empress a headache.

Since this duty of guarding the Wuli River could earn a lot of money, no matter what, when he came back, he would have to be awarded an official's reward.

The empress wasn't too sure, what did the emperor want to reward that Yang Taishi for …

Just as he was thinking, a small palace maid came in to inform him that the Seventh Prince had arrived.

The empress rubbed her forehead. "They've arrived pretty quickly this time. I wonder how long we'll have to play the role of a mother."

Sui Gu immediately went forward and pressed down on the empress's neck, "Quickly, esteemed woman, Seventh Prince is also a thorn in the heart."

"Seventh Bro isn't that easy to deal with. I'll have to find someone to watch over him before I can be at ease." "Let him in," the empress said flatly.

The door to the hall opened, and Gao Lang, dressed in a dark red silk robe, slowly walked to the front of the hall. He bowed towards the empress, raised his head, and saw the empress's phoenix robe.

Every time he saw the Queen, Gao Lang felt uncomfortable in his heart.

Just because it looked so much like his mother, almost carved out of the same mold.

He had even asked himself more than once if he had been mistaken.

Otherwise, how could there be such a similar person in the world?

"Lang Er has come. Quickly, sit down." The queen smiled gently and affectionately.

Seeing the empress's expression, Gao Lang was sure that he was not wrong. His mother's personality was lively and lively, like a swallow shuttling through the rain and wind.

The empress smiled gently, "Lang'er, you're not young anymore. It's time to get married."

"There is no need for Empress Mother to worry about this." Gao Lang said, "Empress Mother should just worry about the new crown prince, this is the most important matter at hand."

The empress pretended not to hear Gao Lang's words, and continued to speak, "I have looked at the daughter of the court minister's family for you, and felt that the Fourth Miss of the Ji Shang Xia was not bad. I have already spoken with the Mrs. Ji, and in a few days, I will ask the emperor to propose marriage for you."

Gao Lang frowned, but before he could say anything, he heard the empress continue, "Don't worry, Your Majesty has personally said that no matter which family's young lady it is, they will all be able to marry into your residence. Empress Mother will also take responsibility for your terrible deeds with that woman previously, and it will not spread to your Royal Father's ears. When the time comes, we will send that woman back to Xin Ning. You two little husband and wife will need to quickly give birth to a big fat brat so that Empress Mother can enjoy the bliss of heaven. "

With these words, Gao Lang understood clearly that the Queen was threatening him.

Once the marriage was decided by the Emperor, disobeying the imperial decree would be the same as disobeying the imperial decree.

And recently, rumors about Jin Xiaolou had spread all over the capital, if it were to spread to the ears of the emperor, she would definitely be able to use it as an excuse to tell the story, and at that time, the emperor might not be able to keep his promise.

"Alright, I'll listen to Empress Mother." Gao Lang raised his head, and laughed, "There's no need to wait for Royal Father to pass down the order in a few days, Empress Mother will inform Ji Mansion today, and tell his Fourth Young Miss to wait for me to come and get married."

"You agree?" Empress was stunned, she thought that it would take more effort to explain, but she did not expect that with a simple explanation, Zhao Yao would obey.

"The person Empress Mother has set his eyes on must be not bad, why do I disagree?" Gao Lang rebutted with a question, paused for a bit, and then lightly said, "As long as Empress Mother does not mention the matter of the small house to Royal Father, that is fine."

Only then did Empress relax her face and revealed a sincere smile.

He could only admit that this seventh brother was a compromise that he had no choice but to make in order to protect the girl beside him.

This would be for the best. With Ji Lingyun by his side, all of Old Seven's words and actions would be in the hands of the empress.

"Very good." The Queen nodded, "Sui Gu, go to the Ji Mansion right now and let them prepare."

"One month. One month later, I will marry Fourth Miss Ji Ji Lingyun. Is there a rush?" The Queen turned to Gao Lang and asked.

Gao Lang replied without even thinking, "There's no need to take it that long. Ten days later, I will come knocking and get married."

"Alright." The Queen nodded and indicated with her hand to Sui Gu.

Sui Gu's face was filled with joy, this matter was going too smoothly.

It seemed that Jin Xiaolou was really the Seventh Prince's weak point. With just a little threat, he was able to make him surrender.

Sui Gu walked out of the outer hall. Thinking about it, what a man feared the most was the possibility of losing something, thinking about how the Seventh Prince, who had just returned to the capital, was fearless and fearless, would dare to go against the Empress. However, once he was found out and grabbed onto a place he was afraid of, the tiger would behave like a cat.

The empress had her own plans.

She never thought that Jin Xiaolou would be so easy to use. To be able to make Seventh Brother listen to her with just a few words, it seems like Jin Xiaolou still had to stay by his side.

With Ji Lingyun's eyes, ears, and this soft knife that she was unable to part with, Zhao Yao would be completely crippled.

The Empress was in a good mood today. Sui Gu had not even returned home, yet she had brought the palace maid to the Imperial Garden to feed the goldfish.

Halfway there, he saw Eunuch Wei running towards him in a flustered manner. His face was ashen.

Eunuch Wei was sent by the Empress to deliver the snacks to the emperor. Seeing him like this, the empress immediately frowned. Before she could ask, she heard Eunuch Wei stumble and say, "Empress, his majesty, he … "Your Majesty, it's not good …"

"What's wrong?" The empress's face tightened in anxiety, she took two steps back and lost her balance, but her heart was overjoyed.

She felt that good things really came together today. If the emperor died just like that, then everything would go her way the most.

What noble master Yang was? The little crown prince had to rely on her to hold court from behind the screen.

Not to mention the entire harem, from now on, the entire Great Zhou would listen to her!

Black Tortoise Street, in front of the De's Shop gate, was already surrounded by a large group of people.

Some people's faces were painful, their skin white, and their neck swollen. Others shouted towards the De's Shop door, telling their boss to pay for his life.

The door to De's Shop had long been tightly shut, and Jin Xiaotao came over the wall from the back with Cai'er in tow.

He Guangkun sat in a corner of the hall, minding his own business and reading books, as if it was none of his business.

"Shopkeeper, something bad happened!" The shop assistant had a worried look on his face and was still in a panicked state. "Those customers just finished eating our Jelly a while ago, they started shouting and their tongues started to ache. Their necks started to swell and a few of them fell to the ground, never to wake up again …"

Jin Xiaotao raised her brows, and asked anxiously: "Is she dead?"

"No, no!" The shop assistant quickly waved his hand, "I didn't die, but I'm still half dead. It looks quite scary!"

"What's so scary about that!" Jin Xiaotao sighed a breath of relief and waved his hand, "As long as you are alive!"

"But, but what should we do now that things have turned out like this?" The assistant pointed to the door.

"Let them cause a ruckus!" Jin Xiaotao calmly sat on the bench, "Let's see how long they can keep this up for!"

"It's the same Fruit Jelly, we made it the same as the Liuli Workshop, since everyone eating the Liuli Workshop is fine, then ours will definitely be fine as well!" Jin Xiaotao was very confident, "Who can prove that they ate our Jelly to become like this?"

The fellow thought about it and felt that the shopkeeper's words were reasonable!

Jin Xiaotao was not afraid at all, at most, she would just call for help from the officials, and if it really was Fruit Jelly's problem, then she would drag Liuli Workshop down with her.