roccoschili Chapter 98 What is Desired
Chapter 98 What is Desired
Chapter 98 What is Desired
The donkey leaped back and forth on its body, and Dou Fengjie's horizontal sword clashed with Dou Shang's horizontal sword, sparks flying everywhere.
After shifting from hiding in the saddle back to sitting upright, Dou Fengjie looked at Hengdao with heartache.
Both his and Dou Shang's swords had a small chip the size of a grain of rice missing, rendering them useless weapons in actual combat!
With a few more practices, you can sharpen a crossbow into a saw.
A regular crossbow without added wrought iron is slightly less durable.
Dou's strength was great; even at 80% of its maximum force, it still gave Dou Fengjie a headache.
The advantage is that Dou Fengjie is young, exceptionally agile, and can dodge attacks while also launching counterattacks; he also has good patience.
With a loud shout, Dou Fengjie leaped off the donkey's back, wielding a horizontal sword, and the blade slashed menacingly toward Dou Shang's left shoulder.
Dou Shang exhaled and drew his sword, creating another nick in the blade, but his feet remained firmly planted.
Dou Fengjie, on the other hand, had to take two steps back as a result, and his arm went slightly numb.
"My lord, it's best not to learn those fancy moves, especially since your feet should never leave the ground or the kickboard."
The incision was stopped after the sinus injury was treated, and the correction was made softly.
Dou Fengjie blinked, sheathed his sword, and nodded.
These fancy tricks are not easy to master, and you'll suffer greatly when you encounter an expert.
Judging from this, Kim Yu-shin's love for doing splits actually poses a significant safety risk!
Tang Shan presented the visitor's visiting card, but Dou Fengjie glanced at it and did not recognize this Luo Shan magistrate, Wang Renyou.
Luoshan County was under the jurisdiction of Shenzhou in Huainan Circuit, with just over a thousand households, and was a subordinate county.
Wang Renyou, the county magistrate, was only a seventh-rank official, the same rank as Dou Fengjie, who was acting as the Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs. Given the custom of officials from the capital being promoted one rank when transferred to other posts, he was clearly lower than the Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs.
Furthermore, Dou Fengjie, the Inspector General of the Imperial Garden, was promoted four ranks directly from the sixth grade.
If the Court of State Ceremonial hadn't refused to release him, Dou Fengjie might not have been unable to remove the title "Inspector".
He was born into the Wang clan of Taiyuan and was the father of the Princess of Yue.
11
Dou Shang coughed lightly.
It's often said that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. Dou Shang, though usually quiet and unassuming, was able to make up for Dou Fengjie's shortcomings.
Wait a minute, doesn't this Wang Renyou have a daughter who will marry Li Zhi in the future?
Dou Fengjie quickly realized that no one stipulated that he could only have one daughter.
As the Huzhou compressed tea was brewed, Wang Renyou's expression became even more respectful.
"While I was serving as an official away from home, I neglected to discipline my daughter, which has led to her becoming so unruly!"
"Fortunately, thanks to the mediation of the Grand Princess of Tong'an and the Duke of Zan, a major disaster was averted!"
Wang Renyou, who knew his stuff, clasped his hands in appreciation.
There was no problem with not agreeing to marry off his daughter before.
If this scheme were to end in angering the King of Yue and causing the Emperor and Empress to lose face, then that would be the root of all trouble.
If Li Shimin were to use this as a pretext to severely punish the Wang family of Taiyuan, no one else would have the right to object.
Besides monopolizing financial resources and knowledge, the five surnames and seven clans were utterly weak in terms of military strength.
When an emperor is truly ruthless, a mere one or two military units can wipe out an entire aristocratic family.
Dou Fengjie sighed softly, "It's nothing to me, but the Prince of Yue is showered with favor and is naturally arrogant. How can he let this go so easily?"
"At most, the Princess Consort of Yue will just be neglected; her dowry maids might accidentally fall into a well one day!"
"As for the position of concubine, the Wang family of Taiyuan can forget about filling it."
Falling into a trap is a big problem; both men and women are afraid of it!
A hint of malice flashed in Wang Renyou's eyes: "That ungrateful, lowly servant girl, she should just die!"
"I know that the Duke of Zanguo can influence the King of Yue, and I am willing to offer one hundred pieces of the finest glass produced by the Wang family of Taiyuan, requesting the Duke of Zanguo to mediate between us."
"If my daughter continues to be obstinate and the Duke of Zan's persuasion is ineffective, the King of Yue may request a divorce, and I will send her to a nunnery to be ordained!"
Wang Renyou has completely avoided mentioning the topic of concubines; he's too ashamed to bring it up again, okay?
The arrogance of these aristocratic families has seeped into their very bones. What if they still behave like this even after we give them another concubine as part of the dowry?
Dou Fengjie wanted to refuse, but the Weihuo system indicated that it desired the glass.
After taking a sip of tea, Dou Fengjie spoke: "I never imagined that Magistrate Luoshan would come from my own faction. I will do my best to help the Prince of Yue and his wife reconcile, but I cannot guarantee that they will completely forgive and forget."
"unless----"
It's not the main lineage, and it can't mobilize that many high-grade glass items, since foreign merchants love these fancy things the most.
Once the hook is in place, even a straight hook, without bait, Wang Renyou has to swallow it.
Who caused the Princess of Yue to make such a huge mess?
"Although the Duke of Zan spoke frankly, the inability to do so was due to the incompetence of the Wang family of Taiyuan, and he would never blame the Duke."
Wang Renyou quickly spoke up.
"Luo Shanling actually knew long ago that Lady Yue was pregnant and that a son was about to be born. The King of Yue had already named him Li Xin."
"If the Princess Consort of Yue wants to forgive and forget, she can tell the Prince of Yue that she will adopt Li Xin as her own son and give him the status of a legitimate son."
In this way, Li Xin, when he grows up, can at least be granted the title of Prince of the County, instead of only being able to become a Duke of the State.
Of course, only the biological children of the Queen of Yue can inherit the title of King of Yue.
"However, this practice is usually only done by housewives who have no children —"
Wang Renyou offered a weak defense.
Dou Fengjie didn't say anything, but slowly ate a basket of snacks and two bowls of tea soup.
If it were the seemingly noble but actually powerless and hopeless Prince Li Tai, Wang Renyou would not have indulged his temper; if he was not satisfied, he would have divorced him!
Even if the daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan doesn't remarry a high-ranking official, surely she could remarry a famous scholar or a eccentric.
However, everything changed when Li Tai gave up those prestigious but illusory positions of Grand Commander and Grand General, and settled down to serve as Minister of Ceremonies.
The Chief Censor, who had initially been watching the spectacle with a cold eye, now held Li Tai in higher regard.
Li Shimin's act of killing Qin Ying and Chengxin, the crown prince's confidants, also made the court officials realize the possibility of changing the heir apparent.
The Crown Prince Li Chengqian's ailment was further aggravated. Would the Tang Dynasty be willing to let a crown prince who looked ridiculous even when walking become emperor?
It's not like we have no other choice.
Besides the legitimate sons of the emperor, Li Ke, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui, the Prince of Shu, and the Grand General of Yizhou, was also a contender.
Of course, his Sui imperial bloodline was both an advantage and his greatest disadvantage.
After all, the disasters that Emperor Yang of Sui brought to China were so severe that it was inevitable that some people would hate him because of his actions.
Therefore, Li Tai's value was subtly increasing, to the point that even the Wang family of Taiyuan had to take him seriously.
Unfortunately, the county magistrate needed prior permission from the prefectural government to leave the territory, otherwise he would be punished with a hundred strokes of the cane. This prevented him from having time to explain things to his daughter, which led to this incident.
Even knowing the chances were slim, Wang Renyou still wanted to experience being the emperor's father-in-law!
"I will have my wife persuade her, and try to get her to back down."
"Sigh, they're spoiled."
Wang Renyou had no choice but to consider the path offered by Dou Fengjie.
"Although the King of Yue is a bit flamboyant, he is loyal and righteous. If the Queen of Yue wants to live a good life, she must learn to be gentle and yielding."
Dou Fengjie offered his advice with genuine sincerity, and it was definitely not because of Liuli.
Wang Renyou responded with a wry smile.
His privileged background led his daughter to develop a naturally superior mentality, even disregarding the popular Prince Yue, a frontrunner for the throne. This was the real problem.
The daughter had no idea what it meant to enter the Prince's mansion and find it like falling into a deep sea.
If Li Tai gets really angry, he might remarry.