Chapter 75 There’s Something Fishy!
Life afterwards was trouble-free. Mengyao (Female), leading a group of Imperial Guards, quickly returned to the capital and directly handed the Imperial Seal, recovered from the Southern Border, to Empress Bai Qian.
When Bai Qian saw that Mengyao truly managed to find the Imperial Seal, she was overjoyed and generously rewarded everyone who participated in the mission.
Of course, Gu Yu’s reward was 10% more substantial.
Mengyao was directly granted the position of Great General, becoming the second general after Gongsun Jie.
The position of Great General was vastly different from that of Vice General. The number of soldiers one could command was a clear indicator, not to mention other privileges.
Bai Qian’s decree shocked many ministers in the capital. They wondered what great deed Mengyao had accomplished to earn her the position of Great General.
After all, even Mengyao’s father, Gu Qing, had been stuck in the position of Vice General for many years.
How could Mengyao, at her age and having only held an official position for a few days, suddenly become a Great General?
There was something fishy going on!
What’s more, the Gu family was continuously favored, subtly gaining the power to contend for influence.
If the Gu family wished, they could reshape the power dynamics in the capital at any time!
Given the current situation, if Mengyao’s position were to rise further, it would lead to a situation where one family dominated, putting immense pressure on the ministers in the capital.
No one was willing to have their benefits taken away.
Among them, ministers who held significant advantages felt that the Gu family could not be allowed to prosper further, lest the Wang Clan reappear.
This was not an exaggeration; the Gu family possessed such capabilities.
However, if they wanted to bring down the entire Gu family, it would not be easy, as Gu Qing and Mengyao had already gained considerable favor with Empress Bai Qian.
If they were to act, they would first have to consider whether they could withstand Bai Qian’s wrath before anything else.
Since Bai Qian took the throne, although she was only ruling under a regency, she had actually firmly grasped the power of Linfeng Kingdom and did not allow others to covet it.
There were those who coveted the throne, but they didn’t even get a chance to make a move before Bai Qian eradicated them all.
The outcome of the entire family being executed was enough to deter the ambitions of many.
Moreover, if they had made a move when Bai Qian first seized power, there might have been a chance of victory. But now, Bai Qian had already developed her own influence.
No one knew who the forces behind Empress Bai Qian were, but they knew she was extremely capable.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be sitting firmly on the throne with no one able to shake her position.
From this perspective, Bai Qian was no ordinary woman. She was like a born empress, a being above all.
After Bai Qian was recognized by everyone, even her own family couldn’t gain benefits from her, but the Gu family received a lot.
What did this signify?
It could signify that Empress Bai Qian was very close to the Gu family, treating the Gu family as her confidantes.
Therefore, they could only suppress the Gu family, but not actually do anything to them.
Otherwise, the consequences would be very severe.
Under these circumstances, the ministers had to unite and submit memorial after memorial, as numerous as snowflakes in winter, causing Bai Qian to have the eunuchs bring the memorials in. She immediately had the palace maids and eunuchs serving her check the contents.
If a memorial concerned the Gu family, it was to be placed aside and taken away by a special person to be burned.
Such decisive action, coupled with Bai Qian not hiding it, allowed the ministers who sent people to inquire to easily find out Bai Qian’s reaction.
Clearly, even if these ministers argued loudly, Bai Qian would not revoke Mengyao’s position as Great General.
She was very resolute.
When many ministers recalled Bai Qian preparing to participate in the regency, many loyal subjects directly committed suicide in front of her, but Bai Qian’s expression didn’t change at all.
It was as if flies were dying in front of her; their indifferent demeanor was deeply imprinted in the minds of the ministers present at the time.
Therefore, after Bai Qian’s insistence on making Mengyao the Great General of Linfeng Kingdom, the opposition gradually lessened and finally disappeared.
Everything returned to peace…
Gu Yu and Mengyao, who were resting at the Gu Residence, were unaware of the silent confrontation between Bai Qian and the ministers. Instead, they took advantage of the downtime without missions to enjoy themselves.
Of course, even if they knew, they wouldn’t have cared.
Although the mission to retrieve the Imperial Seal from the Southern Border was successfully completed, it did not directly result in the position of Great General, but Bai Qian still rewarded them like this… Gu Yu and Mengyao understood this clearly, knowing that Bai Qian also knew that the Witch Priest would not be quiet anytime soon.
In Linfeng Kingdom currently, the only general who could be of great use was Gongsun Jie, and he was already very old.
As for the other Vice Generals, there were a few promising seedlings, but they still needed time to be honed.
Few people were as “precocious” as Mengyao, especially with Gu Yu’s assistance. She was unique in Linfeng Kingdom.
This was another of Bai Qian’s intentions. She thought that if Mengyao went to the battlefield, Gu Yu, the devoted husband, would surely follow her.
Bai Qian resorted to this strategy out of helplessness. After all, if Gu Yu refused to dutifully serve as an official, she could only use Mengyao to make Gu Yu comply.
Ultimately, it was a matter of Linfeng Kingdom lacking manpower.
This led Bai Qian to decide that she must recruit talents broadly this year, paying equal attention to both the civil and martial imperial examinations.
“Brother-in-law!!! This is finally delivered, we can go on an adventure and treasure hunt!”
One day, as Gu Yu and Mengyao were strolling in the back garden, Gu Qingheng’s voice suddenly rang out. Gu Yu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, not understanding why his younger brother-in-law was so excited.
Since returning to the capital, Gu Qingheng seemed to be thriving, disappearing all day long.
When asked what he was doing, he immediately replied that he was at the Alliance Intelligence Department gathering gossip…
Gu Yu greatly admired Gu Qingheng for his “dedication” and thought that it was truly rare to find someone who loved to eavesdrop on gossip as much as his brother-in-law.
The young women and little wives in the village only occasionally heard gossip, but they weren’t as obsessed as Gu Qingheng.
“Sister, hurry up and get started, I can’t wait!”
“Slow down, don’t fall.”
Just as Gu Yu was contemplating Gu Qingheng’s impressive gossip-gathering ability, Gu Qingheng finally appeared before them, panting, but with a joyful expression on his face.
When Gu Qingheng had a servant behind him produce the Iron Lion, Gu Yu’s eyes lit up.
He already possessed three human bone treasure maps hidden within Iron Lions, and was only missing the last one…
