Zhou Xing said loudly: "You are so brave and rude to Her Highness the Princess. Aren't you afraid that His Highness King Zhou will remove you from your posts?"
The general remained expressionless and his movements did not stop, but one of his soldiers suddenly said: "General Dugu, we cannot go against Marshal Wu!"
General Dugu sneered, drew his sword out of its sheath, and killed the soldier who made the noise with one blow.
The smell of blood suddenly filled the hall. This turn of events not only frightened the talents, but even Princess Taiping was shocked and stood motionless on the spot.
Gu Feng sighed and did not resist anymore. He allowed General Dugu to hold his hands.
Princess Chengyang said softly: "Taiping, it will be good for you and me if you hand him over to us."
Princess Taiping stared blankly at the ground without saying a word.
After Zhang Gou and others saw the iron-blooded tactics of General Dugu, they did not dare to speak out anymore.
Just as Gu Feng was about to be taken away, suddenly, there was another burst of dense footsteps.
Everyone was startled and looked towards the door.
I saw another group of Jinwu guards coming outside the door, blocking the entire exit.
The leader was a general with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He first bowed respectfully to Princess Taiping and said: "Su Qingjie pays homage to Her Royal Highness the Princess."
He turned back to look at General Dugu and said angrily: "Dugu De, you are so brave. You dare to lead troops into the princess's mansion. Aren't you afraid of punishment from General Wu?"
Dugu De said coldly: "This general is the General of the Right Jinwu Guard. There is no need to listen to the orders of the General of the Zuo Jinwu Guard."
Su Qingjie said angrily: "Fart, there is only one general in the Jinwu Guard on the left and right, so naturally they have to obey the orders of General Wu!"
Dugu De snorted and stopped talking.
Princess Taiping on the side was secretly surprised. Su Qingjie was Su Dingfang's son. He had recently been transferred back to Chang'an from abroad by Wu Chengsi and served as General Jinwu Guard.
"General Su, did your second cousin ask you to come?" she asked quickly.
Su Qingjie was about to reply.
At this moment, Song Guogong winked at Dugu De. Dugu De nodded, raised his sword, and slashed Gu Feng's neck.
Su Qingjie roared angrily and stepped forward to stop him.
When Gu Feng saw Su Qingjie and others arriving, he knew that things had taken a turn for the better. He was already prepared and struck Dugu De in the abdomen with his elbow.
Dugu De felt the pain and let go. He took the opportunity to get away from the other party and returned to Princess Taiping.
Su Qingjie gave an order, and he had more Jinwu guards under his command. He immediately surrounded Xu Guogong, Hedong Marquis, Song Guogong, Chengyang Princess and Dugude and other Jinwu guards.
Princess Chengyang said sternly: "Su Qingjie, do you dare to be violent to me?"
Su Qingjie snorted, folded his arms and said, "The general is following the military orders of His Royal Highness King Zhou to protect His Royal Highness Princess Taiping. Please forgive me, Your Highness the Eldest Princess."
Princess Taiping smiled and said: "General Su, why didn't your second cousin come?"
Su Qingjie said:
"After hearing the report from his subordinates, the general said that Dugude had mobilized his troops towards the princess's palace, so he immediately informed His Royal Highness the King of Zhou about the situation.
After His Highness learned about it, he asked the general to lead his troops to protect you. He said he had other things to do and would come over later."
Princess Taiping nodded, looked at Gu Feng and said, "You can continue talking, as long as I am here, no one can hurt you in the slightest."
Princess Chengyang gritted her teeth and said, "Taiping, my aunt has watched you grow up and has always treated you as her daughter. Do you really want to be an enemy of your aunt?"
Princess Taiping was silent for a while and said softly: "Aunt, it's not that I don't miss our old feelings, it's that you have gone too far."
The Marquis of Hedong sneered and said: "That's fine, since Her Highness the Princess wants to listen to this thief's nonsense, we should also listen to it."
Immediately, the conversation changed and he said:
"But don't blame me for not reminding you. If he can't produce evidence after what he said, we will have no choice but to jointly report to Your Majesty, saying that Your Highness the Princess intends to instigate this person to slander us!"
Princess Taiping snorted coldly: "Xue Hui, I have long heard that one of your Xue brothers is gentle and the other is rude. When we meet today, the rumors are indeed true!"
A trace of anger flashed in the eyes of Hedong Hou. He hated others comparing him with his dead brother.
However, he was deeply scheming, and although he was furious, he held back his anger.
Gu Feng said sternly: "This thief is not only rude, he is simply insane and cruel. At least ten innocent people have died in his hands over the years!"
Everyone was shocked.
The Marquis of Hedong smiled and said: "Slave, do you have any evidence for what you say?"
Gu Feng gritted his teeth and said: "You are a thief as cunning as a fox. Every time you do something, you will destroy all evidence. If I had the evidence earlier, would I still wait until today?"
"Very good, then this is the first thing you slandered me about."
Gu Feng was horrified. The other party was obviously deliberately irritating him and making him lose his mind, so as to find flaws in his words.
The hard-earned opportunity for revenge must not be wasted because of losing control of emotions.
Thinking of this, he calmed down and said slowly: "Xue Hui, your brother Xue Guan died ten years ago, and you offended the Cui family of Qinghe. The Xue family is in danger, right?"
Marquis Hedong's face was as dark as water and he said nothing, Duke Xu's face was anxious, Duke Guo Song's eyes were squinting, and his eyes were shining.
Outside the princess's house, Xue Shao was waiting anxiously. A subordinate beside him said: "Sir, those Jinwu guards must have held back the Marquis and others just now. We can't wait any longer."
Xue Shao gritted his teeth and said: "There is no other way, let's enter the palace immediately!" After saying that, he quickly got on his horse and headed towards the Daming Palace.
In the lobby of the princess mansion, Gu Feng continued:
"At the same time, Wu Zhaoyi was canonized as queen, the Changsun family was severely damaged, and many Guanlong families were purged. The Xiao family and the Wei family have always been close to the Changsun family. Both families were worried about becoming the target of liquidation and were in panic.
All day long.”
His voice was deep and low, as if it brought people back to the great purge ten years ago, where the light of swords and blood were before their eyes.
Wei Xuanzhen and Xiao Kai both looked a little pale.
"At this critical moment, Xue Hui came to Chang'an alone, approached Wei Xuanzhen and Xiao Kai, and proposed a bold plan!"
Although the faces of Hedong Marquis and Song Guogong were different, they both stood with their hands behind their hands and remained calm.
But Xu Guogong couldn't stand anymore and said angrily: "You are talking nonsense!"
Princess Taiping's bright eyes lit up, she looked at Gu Feng and said, "This plan is to steal the treasury!"
Gu Feng said loudly: "Not bad."
"What method did they use?"
Gu Feng suddenly said: "Your Royal Highness, do you know how much the imperial court paid for a piece of gray cloth purchased from the private sector nine years ago?"
Princess Taiping was stunned and shook her head to express her ignorance.
"Then do you know how much it cost the imperial court to purchase gray cloth two years ago?"
Princess Taiping was silent and did not answer.
All the clothes for the imperial court were purchased from private imperial merchants by the Ministry of Imperial Affairs.
Each of the major imperial merchants took out their best gray cloths and displayed them at the procurement meeting. The Shaofu Supervisor and the provincial officials selected the best gray cloths and brought them to the palace.
The weaving and dyeing department will then weave and dye the gray cloth into ready-made garments and hand them over to the palace governor.
Finally, the palace minister distributed the ready-made clothes to everyone in the palace according to the emperor's instructions.
Gu Feng gritted his teeth and said: "The folk gray cloth purchased ten years ago only cost 520 yuan per piece! However, the gray cloth purchased two years ago cost 1,200 yuan per piece!"
Princess Taiping was shocked. The purchase price of each piece of cloth two years ago had more than doubled from ten years ago!
During this period, there was no turmoil in the country, so there were no external factors that caused the price of gray fabrics to rise.
So obviously, someone is causing trouble!
All the talented men looked at each other with surprise in their eyes. Zhou Xing glanced at Hedong Hou and the others.
All of them had ugly faces. If the Jinwu Guards hadn't blocked them, they would have rushed forward long ago. This shows that Gu Feng's words are probably true!
Princess Taiping said solemnly: "Gu Feng, do you mean to say that they deliberately raised the purchase price several times to make huge profits?"
Gu Feng nodded and said: "Yes! Xiao Kai is the chief official of the palace province, and the palace province is responsible for purchasing gray cloth for the imperial court. This is why Xue Hui came to him!"
Zhou Xing frowned and said: "Even if the province in the palace is mischievous and suddenly raises the purchase price! The Taifu Temple, the Shaofu Supervisor and the Household Department officials will all look at the purchase. Are they not aware of it?"
Gu Feng did not answer but asked instead: "Your Highness Princess, everyone, do you know who are the people behind the richest group of businessmen in Chang'an City?"
Princess Taiping's heart moved, she happened to know about this.
In order to raise money for Wu Chengsi, she secretly gathered a group of businessmen and cooperated with them.
When those merchants encounter trouble, the Princess Palace will come forward to help solve the problem. In return, the merchants will provide about half of the profits.
The reason why this pattern can be formed is precisely because almost all the big businessmen in Chang'an City have backers behind them.
Sixty percent of these businessmen are backed by aristocratic families that have been in business for more than a hundred years.
The other 20% of businessmen are owned by emerging families that have become prosperous within a century.
The remaining 20% are businessmen who start from scratch and are not dependent on anyone.
But they often cannot last long and change very quickly. Only by finding strong backers can they gain a firm foothold.
Seeing that Princess Taiping didn't answer, Gu Feng thought she didn't know, so he said, "More than half of the business in the city is in the hands of the aristocratic families!"
Zhou Xing asked: "What does this matter have to do with the question I just asked?"
Gu Feng said coldly: "It is precisely because he controls the business in the city that Xue Hui can carry out this plan without being discovered. He first won over the Xiao and Wei families and used their influence to increase the price of gray cloth in the city!"
"Then, at the Royal Procurement Conference, when all the royal merchants participated in the conference, the prices of all the gray cloths they provided increased. In the end, the prices of the gray cloths purchased by the Imperial Palace were raised several times!"
"Under the leadership of Xiao Kai, the imperial merchants selected by the provincial officials were all Xue family merchants. In the end, the Xue family merchants received a huge purchase order of one thousand two hundred yuan."
Zhou Xingdao: "Even if they can use this method to raise the price, they still can't bypass the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Shaofu Supervisor and the Taifu Temple!"
Zhang Gou said: "Yes, the purchase price suddenly increased several times compared with previous years. How could they not notice?"
Duan Zhiya followed: "Not to mention the Ministry of Revenue, the Shaofu Supervisor and the Taifu Temple, even the Weaving and Dyeing Department can't hide it!"
Everyone whispered and became suspicious.
When Gu Feng heard the words "Weaving and Dyeing Department", his expression suddenly darkened, he bit his lip and said nothing.
Instead, Zhou Xing was reminded by Duan Zhiya and thought to himself: "Gu Feng's father is the commander of the weaving and dyeing department. Could it be that his father was murdered because of this incident?"
A short and thin talented man thought of Zhou Xing and shouted: "Isn't it Gu Yuzhang who ordered the weaving and dyeing department ten years ago?"
Another person said: "I heard that Gu Yuzhang back then was not only good-looking, first-class in literary talent, but also admirable in character. He resolutely rejected the glory and wealth of the prince-in-law and preferred to marry an ordinary woman."
Gu Feng suddenly said: "My mother is not an ordinary woman! When my father went to Beijing to take the exam, she worked hard at home, farmed and weaved, and raised the three of us!"
The man said hurriedly: "I made a mistake, please don't blame me, Brother Gu."
The Marquis of Hedong smiled and said: "I really didn't expect that Gu Yuzhang actually had three sons. I thought that after he was executed for practicing the "cat ghost technique", there would be no one left in the Gu family."
Gu Feng bit his lip until it bled, suppressed his anger, and said coldly:
"He knew that he had offended the nobles and that his wealth and life were not stable, so he never announced our existence to the outside world and allowed us to study in peace in our hometown. Only then did we escape your murderous hands!"
Princess Taiping suddenly asked: "What is the art of cat ghosts?"
Zhou Xing cupped his hands and said: "Back to your Royal Highness, the art of cat ghosts is the most powerful form of "witchcraft". It was popular in the previous dynasty. It is forbidden to keep cats in the palace of this dynasty. This is why!"
Princess Taiping suddenly thought of the black cat, and Gu Feng was obviously its owner. She trembled, looked at Gu Feng and said, "You are not using this kind of witchcraft, are you?"
Gu Feng hurriedly waved his hand and said:
"Your Highness, Hei Ji is just an ordinary cat. Xue Hui falsely accused my father of practicing "cat ghost art" and killed him, so I wanted to raise a cat to scare him. Who knew that he had no guilt and no fear at all?
Black Princess."
Hedong Hou laughed and said:
"I asked why a cat always appears in my field of vision. It turns out to be a trick of yours! It's a pity that your father deserves what he deserves and has nothing to do with me. I am naturally not afraid!"
Princess Taiping asked gently: "Was your father killed because of their plan?"
Gu Feng bit his lower lip, nodded vigorously, and said: "Back then, Xue Hui wanted to bribe my father to cooperate with them, but my father sternly refused. Xue Hui then went to Princess Nanyang and killed my father together!"
Princess Taiping was stunned for a moment and said: "Don't Aunt Nanyang like your father? How could you harm him?"
Gu Feng said: "Ever since my father rejected Princess Nanyang because he had a wife in his hometown, she has been constantly making things difficult for him! It is precisely because of her that my father is very unhappy in the officialdom!"
Princess Taiping understood that Princess Nanyang was born out of love and hatred, so she teamed up with Xue Hui to frame Gu Yuzhang.
The noble person Gu Feng spoke of just now must also be her.
Gu Feng continued: "Princess Nanyang requested His Majesty the Emperor to reward her with a 'Golden Silk and White Pattern Epiphyllum Rain Silk Brocade Dress'. This is a set of ready-made clothes designed by my father after he served as the weaving and dyeing department."
"As a result, after Princess Nanyang put it on, her body suddenly became weak and she also said she felt a pins and needles sensation when she went to sleep at night.
The imperial doctor then said that there was someone practicing the "cat ghost technique"! The emperor ordered an investigation, and Qian Niuwei found more than a dozen cat bones in my backyard."
"According to the law of the imperial court, anyone who creates a cat ghost will have his whole family put to death. Her Royal Highness the Queen hates cat ghosts the most. With one order, my father was executed without even a chance to defend himself!"
Everyone else was stunned when they heard this.
Because "cat ghost skills" were taboo in the court, Gu Yuzhang's case was ordered to be covered up. They only knew that Gu Yuzhang committed the crime and was executed, and knew nothing else.
Who would have thought that there was such an inside story?
Hedong Hou clenched his hands behind his back into fists and said with a smile: "I still said the same thing, do you have any evidence?"
Gu Feng sneered and said: "Xue Hui, the three of us brothers have been investigating this matter before we infiltrated your three families. Although you silenced all the people who knew about it, there is one person who you cannot silence!"
Marquis Hedong's face changed slightly, and he couldn't help but glance towards the door again, finally feeling a little panicked in his heart.
Gu Feng sneered and said, "Have you finally lost your composure? It seems you know who I'm talking about!"
"Who is that person?" Princess Taiping asked.
"Princess Nanyang!" Gu Feng said word by word: "After all, she is not as cruel as Xue Hui. She felt guilty after killing my father, and soon became bedridden."
"After my eldest brother passed the exam, he finally had the opportunity to meet her. She was already very weak at that time. Seeing that she was extremely guilty about what happened back then, my eldest brother told her his identity."
"When she found out, she held my eldest brother's hand, cried a lot, and told him everything about that year. She only said she was sorry for my father."
"However, when my eldest brother wanted her to testify against Xue Hui, she refused! He only wrote a letter recording what happened that year and said that after she died, let us use this letter to find the emperor and help my father.
Rehabilitate!”
Princess Taiping wondered: "Great aunt Nanyang has been dead for many years, why don't you give her letter to your father?"
Gu Feng gritted his teeth and said: "Princess Nanyang only knows that Xue Hui is involved in this matter. This letter can only bring down the Xue family!"
"But the Xiao family and the Wei family are really involved in this matter, and the emperor loves Princess Chengyang. Even the Xue family may not be able to bring it down with just this letter!"
Princess Taiping was silent for a moment and said: "Is that why you three brothers sneaked into their three mansions respectively?"
Gu Feng nodded and said: "After my eldest brother passed the exam, he deliberately approached the eldest lady of the Wei family and was able to marry into the Wei family. Two years later, the second brother also married into the Xiao family."
"Originally, they wanted me to get close to Miss Xue's family after a few years and become an adult. But I was eager for revenge and did not listen to their arrangement. As an orphan, I entered the Xue family as a slave."
Xu Guogong couldn't help but sneer: "It's really all deliberate!"
Gu Feng did not look at him and continued: "After the three of us sneaked in, we soon discovered a secret. In order to restrain each other, the three families jointly wrote a contract, which detailed their conspiracy to seize the treasury. There were also three people
sign!"
The Marquis of Hedong let out a low growl, looked towards the gate, and said with a solemn face: "Why haven't you arrived yet?"
When Song Guogong heard Gu Feng mention the agreement, he felt a little uneasy. He decided to change the subject and said, "Gu Feng, your words are full of mistakes. Didn't you realize it yourself?"
Gu Feng saw that the three of them were getting impatient, and he felt a desire for revenge in his heart. He sneered and said, "If there are any mistakes or omissions, just point them out!"
Song Guogong said: "You said you and Yan Yaosheng were brothers, so why did you kill him? Isn't that strange?"
Princess Taiping said: "Yes, why did you want to kill your elder brother?"
Gu Feng's face showed a look of pain, his eyes were red, and his breathing became rapid.
Song Guogong smiled and said: "Why, you were pointed out by me and you can't answer it?"
Gu Feng said angrily: "It's them... They are greedy for glory and wealth, and their true hearts have been eroded by money and beauty! They have forgotten the blood feud! I... I just... killed him."
Princess Taiping covered her mouth with a look of shock.
The Marquis of Hedong looked up to the sky and laughed, sarcastically saying: "That's nonsense. Gu Yuzhang was so aloof and arrogant back then that he didn't even act as a consort. How could his son be so miserable? I think you are all fakes, I think."
Zhou Xing reminded: "Brother Gu, please explain clearly what is going on to avoid misunderstanding."
Gu Feng lowered his head and said in a daze: "That day, Xue Hui planned to send people to steal the Wei family's agreement, and I happened to be one of the people he sent. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the three of us."
"Unexpectedly, the day before we were about to take action, Xue Hui suddenly issued an order to terminate the operation. We were very disappointed and frustrated at the time. In so many years, this is the best chance we have to get an agreement."
"Although I am disappointed, I am not discouraged. I am ready to wait patiently for the next opportunity. Who knows..."
Speaking of this, his face turned red, he clenched his fists angrily, and said:
"When I told my elder brother about this, he actually said: This is God's will. Let's forget it. We should live for ourselves next!"
Princess Taiping sighed and said: "Maybe he feels that living in hatred is too painful. You shouldn't kill him because of this!"
Gu Feng roared angrily and said: "No, no, that's not the case! A long time ago...a long time ago I noticed that their desire for revenge began to weaken!"
After a pause, he bit his lip and said: "They are different from me. They have beautiful wives by their side, live a life of fine clothes and fine food, and have a bright future, so they have forgotten their father's hatred!"
"I was so angry that I pointed out my eldest brother's thoughts! But he lost his temper and even grabbed me by the collar and blamed me. If I listened to him and married into the Xue family again in a few years, I would understand him.
Feel it!”
"I was mad at the time. My father was killed by three enemies. He actually wanted us three brothers to marry into the enemy's family as their husbands. Can my father rest in peace in heaven?"
Gu Feng closed his eyes, and two lines of clear tears flowed from his eyes.
Princess Taiping sighed and said softly: "So you killed him?"
Gu Feng whispered: "I lost my mind and kicked him in the chest. Unexpectedly, he hit the rock on the rockery. I...I didn't really want to kill him."
Xu Guogong said angrily: "Poor Yan Yaosheng was killed by his own brother. No wonder there were two lines of tears on his face when he died."
Princess Taiping glared at Xu Guogong and asked Gu Feng: "You left his body there because you wanted others to discover Xu Guogong's secret vault, right?"
Gu Feng nodded and said: "I suddenly thought of this, so I left his body there."
…
I didn't pay attention yesterday and the chapter was broken. Please forgive me. I will update more today and ask for monthly votes and recommendation votes! (*^w^*)