Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1065 Disaster Is Coming

He Xiaoqi tilted her bird head and stared at He Linzhang, her eyes full of sorrow.

He Linzhang felt an overwhelming gaze upon him and frowned. No one in the world dared to look directly at an emperor. He glanced to the side and met the eyes of a bird with its head tilted to the side.

"..."

"Hurry up and thank me, you were almost cleaved in two by a sword just now."

He Xiaoqi flapped her wings and jumped three steps away: "If that rebellious son of a well dares to hurt a single feather of mine, I will definitely send an army of 100,000 to raze his mansion to the ground."

He Linzhang's lips twitched slightly: "You're quite domineering." After saying that, he pulled Tao Yanyan along and sent her to the inner courtyard.

"The children are protected by guards. You go and rest first. I will come to see you later. I have some things to take care of."

Tao Yanyan knew it must be related to the aftermath of the Marquis of Jing's death, so she didn't say much: "Your Majesty, please be careful."

After all, Marquis Jing had been operating in Yanzhou for many years. He was a prominent family in the Yan Kingdom back then. He surrendered early on during the war when the Great Zhou attacked the Yan Kingdom. Later, He Linzhang entrusted him with an important task, allowing him to take over everything in the Yan Kingdom and become the governor of Yanzhou. His power was deeply entrenched. In his early years, he had also made connections with many famous families in Yanzhou through various marriage relationships. Now that he has essentially rebelled, it will not be an easy task to uproot this power.

After He Linzhang left, Tao Yanyan and He Xiaoqi read books in the room, and every now and then someone would go to the front door to see if any news came back.

The Marquis's residence was surrounded by guards. The Marquis's wife was so frightened that her legs trembled. She quickly summoned her son and daughter-in-law to discuss the matter.

"Mu Bai, what should we do now? I don't know where your father went early this morning. He didn't say a word when he left. There are so many guards outside the door. Does His Majesty intend to... confiscate our property?"

Jing Mubai looked at He Qian and instinctively felt that the current situation had nothing to do with He Qian's previous affairs. He comforted her, "Mother, don't panic. They've just surrounded us and haven't made a move yet. Let me go and ask around to find out what our Marquis's mansion has done wrong."

He Qian quickly stepped forward and grabbed him. After thinking for a moment, she took off one of her jade pendants and handed it to him: "This jade is the princess's token. Take it, and they won't dare to hurt you."

Although she knew that she no longer held a place in her father's heart, she only hoped that this identity could still play a role at crucial moments.

Without delay, Jing Mubai hurriedly left the mansion, only to be stopped by the guards at the gate.

"Young Master Jing, by order of His Majesty, you have been imprisoned in the manor. Please be patient, Young Master. Once the matter of Marquis Jing's treason has been investigated, we will inform you of the follow-up results."

Jing Mubai was shocked: "Treason?" He instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his blood boiling in the freezing weather.

"Brother, please explain yourself clearly. How could my father possibly commit treason? He has no reason to!"

The head guard said, "I don't know the specifics, but I do know that not long ago, Marquis Jing led his troops to surround the residence where the Emperor and Empress lived, and even tried to kidnap the Empress to threaten them. Prince Jing, you should go back and not make things difficult for me."

Several guards stepped forward and pushed Jing Mubai back into the mansion, which was heavily guarded, and no one could get out.

Jing Mubai returned to the backyard like a walking corpse and told his mother everything the guard had said.

The Lady Hou slumped in her seat, unable to utter a single word. Even He Qian hadn't expected the matter to escalate to such a degree.

"Why...?" He Qian was completely baffled.

Lady Hou burst into tears, and after a long while she finally said, "It's probably that vixen who instigated it!"

Meeting the puzzled gazes of her son and princess, Lady Hou said, "Half a year ago, the former princess of Yan, who had married into Xia, frequently corresponded with the Marquis. Later, when Xia was in turmoil, the Marquis must have used his power to bring the princess back to Yan. Later... later the two of them lived together. The Marquis would often leave the manor and not return, just to be with that woman."

He Qian bit her lip: "Does that mean that woman instigated the Marquis to rebel against my father and plot to seize power?"

Lady Hou wiped away her tears and nodded: "I think that must be it, otherwise... otherwise why would he suddenly plot a rebellion?"

"Ha!" He Qian sneered, "Is he brainless? He rebelled without any preparation? Did he even consider how I would be dealt with? Did he even consider what would happen to the hundreds of people in the entire mansion?"

Lady Hou was also angry: "Yes, Mu Bai is still young and doesn't even have an heir. What are we going to do now? Are we going to have to bury the whole family with him?"

Hearing the news, Jing Yuwei, who lived three streets away from the Marquis's residence, was so frightened that she could hardly sit still.

"How could this happen? How did the Marquis's residence get surrounded? What happened?" She looked at Zhou Chen: "This is all your doing. His Majesty is probably angry and taking it out on the Marquis's residence!"

Zhou Chen touched his nose: "It should...it should have nothing to do with me. If it did, they would have come to arrest me long ago."

Jing Yuwei glared at him fiercely and called over the steward: "Go out and find out what the Marquis's mansion has done, how serious it is, and whether it will implicate us."

The steward wanted to go, but he didn't have the money for bribes. He rubbed his hands and said, "Asking for information requires a bribe. There's not much money in the account. All the previous income has been used to pay out holiday bonuses and monthly allowances, so..."

Jing Yuwei rolled her eyes at him and said to Zhou Chen, "Hurry up and take out some silver! If the Marquis's mansion falls, your Zhou family won't have an easy time either!"

Zhou Chen, after being yelled at by her, dared not refuse, so he ordered someone to go to the bank to get five hundred taels of silver, which he then gave to the steward to smooth things over.

“Madam, please don’t worry. No matter what, I will stand with the Marquis’s mansion and with you.” Zhou Chen said, his eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness.

Upon returning to his study, Zhou Chen immediately summoned his servant and instructed him to pack his belongings and secretly send away all valuables, preparing to flee at any moment.

The servant was a trusted confidant he had brought from the Zhou family, and naturally obeyed his master's orders without delay, immediately going to carry them out.

After thinking it over, Zhou Chen decided to take Hua Ruyan with him. After all, the Hua family had given Hua Ruyan a generous dowry. With Hua Ruyan around, even if he lost all his assets in the future, Hua Ruyan would support him.

He went to Hua Ruyan's courtyard, but because the courtyard was isolated from news, the people there were unaware that everything had changed outside.

"Ruyan, how are your injuries now?"

Hua Ruyan was still somewhat confused by Zhou Chen's concern.

"After being beaten dozens of times by your shrewish wife, how can you expect to recover anytime soon? It will probably take you a hundred days or so before you can get out of bed." Hua Ruyan's tone was unfriendly, but Zhou Chen didn't take it to heart. He dismissed a few of the maids who were serving him and then told her about his plan.

"What? Take me away?" Hua Ruyan frowned. "Why do we have to leave? And look at me, do you think I can even ride in a carriage?"