Feng Yue nodded repeatedly, thinking hard!
The person on the bed glanced at her and said coolly, “You’ll understand in a few days.”
Why not just wait a few days to ask her this question then?! Feng Yue pouted, “Your Highness, leaving words half-said is uncomfortable!”
“Is that so?” Yin Gezhi coughed twice and said stonily, “Well, I’m not the one who’s uncomfortable.”
Feng Yue: “…”
She vindictively moved the sugar jar far away and picked up the bitter medicine beside her, saying, “Since Your Highness isn’t uncomfortable, let’s take your medicine first!”
Yin Gezhi narrowed his eyes, “I feel much better, there’s no need for medicine anymore.”
“Your opinion doesn’t count, only the doctor’s does.” Chuckling, Feng Yue scooped up a spoonful of medicine and tried to force it into his mouth.
Yin Gezhi blocked it with his hand, secretly struggling with her, “My opinion counts.”
“Your Highness mustn’t be willful, or this servant will have to call Guan Zhi in.”
Her strength wasn’t as great as his, so Feng Yue lifted her skirts and knelt on the bed, pressing down from above, trying to use her body weight to overcome him.
However, Yin Gezhi’s arms were like iron pillars. Even with her almost putting her entire body weight on him, the spoon of medicine still couldn’t reach his lips.
They were at a stalemate, their eyes locked in fierce combat! The room suddenly seemed filled with thunder and lightning!
“Master,” Ling Shu bounced in from outside, announcing in her crisp voice, “There’s a guest!”
The two people locked in their struggle didn’t hear these words at all, nor did they move, until the four-clawed silver dragon robe swept across the threshold and Ye Yuqing’s gentle, smiling voice rang out. Only then did Feng Yue jump off the bed as if startled.
“In broad daylight, aren’t you two worried about setting a bad example for Ling Shu?” Ye Yuqing was in an extremely good mood, teasing them while waving his fan, his eyes twinkling with mirth.
Arranging her skirts, Feng Yue gracefully curtseyed, “Greetings, Crown Prince. This servant was just giving His Highness Yin his medicine.”
Yin Gezhi propped himself up, leaning against the bed and nodding slightly in greeting, “What brings Your Highness here suddenly?”
“I have good news to share with you all,” Ye Yuqing said. “General Yi has agreed to hand over the military token for the hundred thousand northern border troops. The items have already been delivered to the imperial study.”
“So compliant?” Feng Yue was disappointed.
Ye Yuqing raised an eyebrow at her, and she immediately switched to an admiring expression: “Such loyalty to the country, well done General Yi!”
“What about Noble Consort Yi?” Yin Gezhi asked.
“Father is truly angry. After all, Noble Consort Yi has been by his side for over ten years, their feelings run deep. He never thought she would harbor intentions to harm him.” Ye Yuqing pressed his lips together, “So even though Yi Guoru surrendered his military authority, Father only shortened Noble Consort Yi’s confinement period, he hasn’t gone to see her.”
That was enough. With Noble Consort Yi having lost her usefulness, she might become counterproductive. Feng Yue lowered her eyes, secretly calculated for a moment, and decided to send another message to Wang You.
Yi Guoru was now surrounded by enemies. Was he content with this? Certainly not, but he had many concerns and feared death, so under such pressure from the royal family, what he would do next was worth careful consideration.
Feng Yue didn’t want to give him time to consider.
“Your Highness’s illness seems quite serious,” Ye Yuqing said with concern after looking at him. “It’s been several days now with no improvement.”
Coughing twice, Yin Gezhi lowered his eyes, “Thank you for Your Highness’s concern.”
“I was thinking, perhaps we should request an imperial physician? They’re more reliable than outside doctors.”
“No need to trouble yourself,” Yin Gezhi said. “Your Highness should focus more attention on General Yi.”
Oh? Ye Yuqing raised an eyebrow – the man had already surrendered his military token, what else was there to watch for?
“He’s been a general for many years, with troops spread across the land. Sometimes even without the military token, through his influence alone, he can still mobilize forces.” Yin Gezhi said quietly, “Forgive my presumption, but Your Highness would do well to place spies within a hundred li around Buyin City. Any troop movements must be anticipated and guarded against.”
His words sent chills down Ye Yuqing’s spine. He frowned, “Surely it won’t come to that? I haven’t forced him into a corner – he can still lead troops in battle afterward.”
“No one wants to spend their whole life leading troops in battle, only to return to the capital and face the king’s suspicion in the end,” Yin Gezhi shook his head. “As a military man myself, I naturally understand this better than Your Highness.”
These words were extremely convincing. Ye Yuqing’s expression grew serious as he folded his fan, bowed, and walked out.
Feng Yue lowered her eyes and asked, “Should we have Young Master An and Master Xu come over?”
Giving her a deep look, Yin Gezhi said quietly, “Don’t be too clever.”
“Did this servant misunderstand?” Feng Yue raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you been planning to use these two young masters? They’re full of righteousness and have grand aspirations to protect the Wu Kingdom’s safety. You took them as disciples and elevated them to high positions – surely you had some ulterior motive?”
Yin Gezhi closed his eyes and sighed softly, “I have motives, but not to the point of exploitation. What they should do, they will naturally do – there’s no need for me to say anything.”
Isn’t the highest level of manipulation when you say nothing, yet others still act according to your wishes? Feng Yue shook her head, “One must be careful in choosing a master…”
“I haven’t wronged them,” Yin Gezhi frowned. “I’ve given what should be given, taught without holding back. All I want is their trust – is that too much?”
“Not too much, not too much. This servant was being petty-minded, judging a gentleman’s heart with a small person’s thinking,” Feng Yue smiled coyly. “Please don’t be angry, Your Highness.”
Snorting lightly, Yin Gezhi looked at the full bowl of medicine on the side table, and then at Feng Yue’s distracted expression. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned his back to her to continue resting.
Wang You obtained the Crown Prince’s permission to visit Noble Consort Yi in the back palace. After she left, Noble Consort Yi wept bitterly and sent a family letter back to General Yi’s mansion, wanting to see Yi Guoru.
However, Yi Guoru was busy and had no time to attend to her. He needed to decide in a very short time – whether to let royal power gradually destroy him, or to rise in rebellion.
With no response, Noble Consort Yi went mad. She felt her decades of devotion had been wasted. Wang You was right – once she lost her usefulness, Yi Guoru would abandon her. What deep love, what promises – all false! Even their blood ties, he didn’t want to acknowledge anymore, did he?
Their dirty, illicit relationship was indeed something that needed to be discarded in General Yi’s eyes.
Noble Consort Yi wept uncontrollably. After waiting two days, she sent two more letters out, telling Yi Guoru to come see her, or else they would perish together.
This was the desperate act of a woman trying to grasp onto something in her fear and despair. She couldn’t mean to perish with Yi Guoru – she just wanted to frighten him into coming to see her quickly, to reassure herself.
Unfortunately, both letters fell into Ye Yuqing’s hands.
Times had changed. As Yi Guoru’s power began to collapse, it became easier to intercept their communication channels. Coincidentally, the Crown Prince’s spies in the palace were fortunate enough to intercept these two letters.
Upon opening the letters, Ye Yuqing nearly went mad himself.
The tone was passionate and full of reproach, nothing like how a sister would write to her brother. It was clearly like an abandoned lover, sorrowfully begging to be seen. There were even explicit phrases like “That night in the moonlit embroidery tower, red skirts discarded, words left unspoken. Now weeping in the fragrant palace, broken letters – will you show me mercy?”
Without delay, Ye Yuqing immediately sent these letters to Qifeng Palace, to his mother.
Empress Nangong was no pushover. She immediately went before His Majesty, demanding Noble Consort Yi be put to death for the crime of disgracing the royal family.
By the time Yi Guoru heard the news, the emperor had already issued the order to execute the Noble Consort.
This situation left him with no way out. Yi Guoru was furious. He fled Buyin City in the night, sending Xue Liang to gather his old subordinates, planning to head west first to build strength for rebellion.
However, as soon as the three thousand garrison troops outside Buyin City began to move, Ye Yuqing detected it. An Shichong and Xu Huaizu led the city guard to intercept and suppress them. The Crown Prince rushed to the palace that night for a private discussion with the emperor in the imperial study.
Yi Guoru had spent half his life in military campaigns, yet he never imagined he would end up being unseated by two young upstarts, rolling in the mud outside the city, utterly defeated.
“Who is it?” Lying on the ground, he asked in a trembling voice, “Who plotted against me?”
“General, please return to the city and palace to talk,” An Shichong said. “We are merely doing our duty, there’s no plot against you.”
“No… impossible,” Yi Guoru shook his head repeatedly. “I’ve fallen into a trap, someone prepared to harm me!”
How could Noble Consort Yi suddenly have her secret exposed and be sentenced to death? And the secret exposed was their unspeakable relationship. How could his beloved sister, who loved him so deeply, betray him? He had acted rashly in planning a rebellion, but how did these people seem to be waiting for him, capturing him as soon as he made a move?
The charges against him now were serious indeed…
How could this happen? Even if Ye Yuqing was deeply scheming and intended to oppose him, he couldn’t have laid such a thorough trap. Like a huge spider, no matter how large a web it weaves, there should be holes – it couldn’t have caught him so completely!
There must be someone else, someone else plotting against him from behind the scenes!
His hoarse cry of anguish tore through the suburban night. Though bitter and unwilling, it carried far, yet in the envoy’s residence, the lights still glowed warmly and flower fragrance still wafted through the air.
Spider Number Two, Yin Gezhi, lay in bed and said quietly, “To think you could come up with such a strategy.”
Spider Number Three, Feng Yue, smiled sweetly and replied, “Your Highness flatters me.”
If Noble Consort Yi’s scandal hadn’t been exposed, how could Yi Guoru have been rash enough to leave Buyin City? If he hadn’t rashly left Buyin City, wouldn’t the spies Yin Gezhi had Ye Yuqing’s place have been useless?
Ye Yuqing had woven a web to weaken General Yi’s military power and consolidate royal authority. Yin Gezhi wove his web behind him, to make General Yi fall from grace into the dust. And she was the final web-weaver, ensuring Yi Guoru would be utterly destroyed, meeting a miserable end.
Three webs, layered one upon another, finally suffocated this treacherous villain Yi Guoru.
“Your Highness, how do you think the Wu Kingdom will deal with General Yi?” Feng Yue asked.
Yin Gezhi calmly said, “Intimidate, imprison, show mercy, then reuse.”
This was the royal family’s old routine – first push someone to the brink of death, then grant them new life. The subject would be especially grateful and thus more loyal.
Feng Yue frowned, “Does Your Highness plan to stand idly by?”