Chapter 3: Wanting to Give the Emperor a Headache
Since the decision to retaliate was made, preparations had to be made in advance.
Now, Mengyao Gu was already on her way to the battlefield, while Gu Yu was bored and looking for something to do to prevent himself from overthinking.
Therefore, retaliating against the emperor became the best outlet for Gu Yu to vent his bad mood.
“Brother-in-law, what should we do after this!”
After returning to the Gu Residence, Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng quickly entered a room. After closing the doors and windows tightly, they began to discuss what to do next.
If anyone else heard Gu Yu’s words about retaliating against the emperor, they would surely turn pale with fright and think that Gu Yu was tired of living, daring to speak of retaliating against the emperor!
After all, the emperor was the ruler of a country.
Except for those who wanted to usurp the throne, no one else would have thought of making a move against the emperor.
However, Gu Qingheng was no ordinary person.
After spending so much time with Gu Yu, Gu Qingheng had some understanding of Gu Yu’s madness. Under his influence, when he heard Gu Yu mention retaliating against the emperor, Gu Qingheng felt extremely comfortable.
It was all because of the emperor that his Sister Xia Tian went to the battlefield.
Even though it was Gongsun Jie’s suggestion to send Mengyao Gu to kill the enemy on the battlefield, but… if the emperor had simply dismissed it with a sentence like ‘women cannot go to the battlefield,’ then nothing would have happened.
However, the emperor had actually agreed to Gongsun Jie’s request.
It was clear that he thought it didn’t matter if a woman went to the battlefield, as long as Gongsun Jie could wholeheartedly prepare for war and defeat the Fengming Kingdom, then everything would be fine.
It was because of this that when Mengyao Gu went to fight on the battlefield, Xia Tian was also taken along.
If Sister Xia Tian got into trouble, he would be a bachelor for a lifetime.
Thinking of such an outcome, Gu Qingheng felt particularly distressed.
Therefore, when Gu Qingheng heard about retaliating against the emperor, he was extremely happy.
After all, his brother-in-law was powerful and wasn’t afraid of being caught.
But, how could they make the emperor feel a headache?
“If you want to give the emperor a headache, you have to start with what bothers him the most.”
“Oh? You mean… the Wang Clan?”
“Right.”
After hearing Gu Qingheng’s question, Gu Yu smiled slightly, having already thought of a plan.
However, he didn’t say it directly, but first let Gu Qingheng guess what method he would use for retaliation.
And Gu Qingheng was already very intelligent. With Gu Yu’s guidance, he guessed correctly.
To make the emperor feel a headache, one had to start with what was currently troubling him the most.
With this idea, and having found the right direction, the first thing Gu Yu thought of was the Wang Clan.
Whether it was the arrogant behavior of the Wang Clan or the recent murder of the Luoluo Kingdom’s envoy, Gu Yu believed that the emperor was also very bothered and wanted to get rid of this cancerous tumor.
However, the emperor couldn’t do it…
Of course, this was also Gu Yu’s conclusion based on information he had obtained earlier, indicating that the increasingly rampant Wang Clan was clearly the emperor’s heart disease, an existence that was stubborn and impossible to eradicate.
It wasn’t that the Wang Clan was too powerful, but because it was the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan, the emperor was hesitant to act, unable to deal with the Wang Clan, thus causing a rift between mother and son.
This gave Gu Yu an opportunity.
“Hehehe, it just so happened that the Wang Clan narrowly escaped the last incident of the Luoluo Kingdom’s envoy being killed. This time, we can settle old and new scores together and play a trick on the emperor.”
When Gu Qingheng heard that Gu Yu was targeting the Wang Clan, his face immediately showed admiration. He thought his brother-in-law was truly brilliant to have thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone.
He could both retaliate against the emperor and deal with the Wang Clan.
“Indeed, last time the Wang Clan only lost some money. This time, they must be made to taste the bitterness.”
“Since we are using the Wang Clan to contain the emperor, what should we do next? Should we directly instigate a conflict between the two parties, and then have a confrontation?”
“Hmm… this requires careful planning.”
Gu Yu sat on a chair, and as he spoke, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn upwards. Gu Qingheng shivered subconsciously at his wicked smile, thinking how miserable those who were schemed against by his brother-in-law were!
Last time, they only lost money. This time, they would probably lose their lives.
…
“Hey, hey, hey, have you heard about that thing!”
“That thing? What thing!”
“That thing!”
“Go on, speak human.”
“The Wang Clan is too arrogant! They are actually hoarding weapons!”
“What! With the preparations for war against the Fengming Kingdom, the Wang Clan dares to hoard weapons. How arrogant!”
Teahouses on the street are always the liveliest places.
And when someone started talking about the recent interesting events in the capital, as soon as the words “Wang Clan” appeared, the people sitting in the teahouse immediately pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what happened again!
Ever since the news about Xu Wang and the Luoluo Kingdom woman spread, people had begun to be interested in the Wang Clan. Now that they heard there was new gossip, they naturally wanted to hear what it was all about.
However, hoarding weapons, that was too explosive!
If it were someone else caught by the government, they would lose their heads, but because the Wang Clan was the Empress Dowager’s maternal family, they were always let off the hook by the emperor and not punished too harshly.
However, even so, this matter was not so easy to resolve.
After all, it was hoarding weapons. Who knew… if the Wang Clan was planning a rebellion!
“Not only that! The matter of hoarding weapons was only discovered by the government by chance. There are other things that happened!”
“There are other things? Tell me quickly.”
“The Wang Clan is very arrogant now. Not only do they smear others everywhere, but the clan’s disciples also spend nights in brothels and fight dogs. As for those clan members with official positions, they have received ill-gotten gains and have opened doors for others. They are now being investigated by the Dali Temple.”
When talking about the Wang Clan, the speaker looked dry-mouthed, while the listeners seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
After all, they were just ordinary civilians and rarely came into contact with any important figures.
Now, upon hearing the news of the Wang Clan’s misfortunes, they all became excited, thinking that even the Wang Clan, who relied on the Empress Dowager as a relative, was not having a good time anymore.
It really made people feel refreshed!
Even though they had no connection with the Wang Clan at all, they still found it extremely interesting to hear about the misfortunes of important people.
“Brother-in-law, things are progressing very smoothly now!”
“Hmm, besides the weapons that originally belonged to the Wang Clan, it’s also worth the large amount of silver I spent.”
“Tsk, those silver notes weren’t originally from the Wang Clan. Brother-in-law, you’re using their money to slap their own faces!”
“Even so, seeing the silver just flashing away is still annoying!”
In a corner of the teahouse, Gu Yu and Gu Qingheng sat quietly, drinking tea. Half a plate of sunflower seeds had already been eaten in front of them, indicating that they had been there for a considerable time and had heard everything clearly.
Upon hearing that the news about the Wang Clan had spread throughout the streets and alleys, Gu Yu was now truly impressed by his brother-in-law’s ability to spread gossip.
Gu Qingheng was already so capable at his age. When he grew up, he would probably be able to manipulate the public opinion of the entire capital.
After making a move against the Wang Clan, Gu Yu had only asked Gu Qingheng to spread the news. He originally thought that after the lessons learned from the previous two rumors, the Wang Clan would definitely be more careful and would not be framed by rumors again.
But he did not expect that… no one knew what method Gu Qingheng used, leaving the Wang Clan no time to react, and the news had already spread throughout the entire capital.
In just a few days, it had become common knowledge.
And the memorials impeaching the Wang Clan from civil and military officials rained down on the emperor like snowflakes, stating that the Wang Clan could no longer be tolerated and must be severely punished!
Otherwise, the emperor’s authority would be greatly diminished.
Just because the Wang Clan was the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan, the emperor always turned a blind eye. Now that it had reached the point of being known throughout the city, it could no longer be allowed to continue.
Not only did the civilians in the capital want an outcome, but even the civil and military officials in the court could not calm down at this time.
The civilians in the capital were just joining in the fun, but these officials sensed something was not right in this matter.
The Wang Clan’s influence was growing stronger and stronger. If this continued, they would become even more ruthless and unforgiving when excluding their opponents in the imperial court.
Therefore, they had to make the emperor take a stance so that they could also stand firm.
“Brother-in-law, you have already caused the Wang Clan to suffer great losses, so don’t worry about these small amounts of money. Besides, didn’t Chengfeng Shan earn it back for you? Before, when I saw Chengfeng Shan taking out a large amount of silver notes and calling it dividends, my eyes almost popped out.”
“Look at your ambition. This is just the beginning. By the end of next year, the dividends will be more than ten times what they are now.”
Hearing Gu Yu lamenting the money, Gu Qingheng couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Now his brother-in-law had so much money it was scary!
It made him wonder how his brother-in-law’s brain was made, how he could earn so much money, it was truly enviable.
However, not only his ability to make money, but his brother-in-law’s methods of dealing with others were also very formidable.
Let alone the emperor, just looking at the Wang Clan’s current embarrassed state, Gu Qingheng felt… it was better to provoke Gu Yu less in the future, otherwise he would be miserable!!!
His brother-in-law’s methods of dealing with others were truly powerful!
Of course, relying on his identity as Gu Yu’s brother-in-law, Gu Qingheng didn’t have to worry too much.
If Gu Yu bullied him in the future, he would just bring out his sister, and it would definitely work!
Moreover, his brother-in-law was rich, powerful, and protective. Gu Qingheng could already imagine… his brother-in-law making a stunning and cool entrance when he was bullied in the future, and then smashing people with gold bars.
