Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 978 - 976_1

Chapter 978: Chapter 976_1

The Duke of Zhen understood what the elder was hinting at: now the entire Duke’s Mansion was staffed with his people, and even the Duke had entrusted half of his power to him to manage. Even if Jiang Yuheng came back, even with the Duke’s support, he would pose no threat to him! In other words, Jiang could not stir up any significant trouble.

Therefore, he should genuinely seek to find Jiang Yuheng and bring him back to the mansion, place him under his own watchful eye, out in the open. This was far better than allowing him to build up his own power outside, causing him endless worry day and night!

He was no longer the second son of the Duke of Zhen who had nothing ten years ago! Now, he was the Duke of Zhen who was highly favored by the emperor!

The next day at the morning court, the emperor issued a decree ordering Crown Prince Jiang Wei’en of the Duke of Zhen to lead ten thousand troops to the northwest to annihilate the remnants of the Xiyue Country, together with the soldiers stationed there.

Upon hearing these words, the Duke of Zhen was shocked and subconsciously glanced at Shangguan Xuanyi.

Has Prince Rui and Jiang Yuheng started to target him?

He wasn’t ready yet, how to reveal his identity, to bring him back to Duke of Zhen, and they had already made their move?

Indeed, this was Prince Rui’s style of doing things — quick, accurate, and ruthless!

The emperor saw that the Duke of Zhen was not expressing his gratitude promptly and asked, "Lord Jiang, is there a problem?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, no, this servant represents my son to thank Your Majesty for the grace," the Duke of Zhen came to his senses and hurriedly accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude.

The emperor nodded, "Although it is a small war, I hope that Prince Jiang can take this opportunity to sweep away the remnants of Xiyue and enhance our national prestige!"

"This humble servant will urge my son to do his best, return victorious," the Duke of Zhen firmly promised.

This battle was not a difficult task. Wei En had never experienced commanding a solo army. Allowing him to lead the troops in battle was quite appropriate, allowing him to gain some experience as the commanding general.

Children from military families of the same age as him, many had already been promoted to the rank of general through their own strength!

Just like Di Shaowei of the Marquis Zhongyong, Zhao Youwei of the Commander’s Office, Zhao Youhe, and others.

But as the veterans grow older, there is still a shortage of young military talent, and the emperor has plans to make major progress in military power.

Therefore, there has been constant recruitment in recent years. The Duke of Zhen knew that the emperor intended to establish an elite cavalry for surprise victories.

The fact that his son was going alone to wipe out the remnants of Xiyue this time, the Duke of Zhen knew that the emperor intended to promote him.

As long as he returned victorious, then he could be further improved.

I just didn’t know what role Prince Rui played in this arrangement.

After the Duke of Zhen agreed, the emperor resumed talking about other national affairs. As for the bandit suppression, it was a minor issue. Shangguan Xuanyi had arranged many successful bandit suppression operations, so the emperor didn’t dwell on this matter on the Imperial Court.

After court, the Duke of Zhen returned to his mansion, and the first thing he did was to send someone to check what Prince Rui had been busy with recently. Then he learned that he was about to send his guards to suppress the bandits.

Those bandits just happened to be near the Yueluo Valley, which was the only way to the northwest!

Yueluo Valley was strategically situated and easy to defend but hard to attack!

As expected! That which was destined to come arrived so quickly! Hence, the Duke of Zhen quickly gathered a few people to discuss how to deal with Jiang Yuheng! Unless it was inevitable, he didn’t want to offend Shangguan Xuanyi. After all, who knew who would inherit the throne in the future!

The final consensus was that at the morning court the next day, the Duke of Zhen would actively apply for his son to eradicate the remnants of the Xiyue Country while taking the opportunity to eliminate the bandit lair!

The emperor naturally had no objections to this, as it was on the way after all.

Shangguan Xuanyi cast a casual glance at the Duke of Zhen and said, "To reply to father, I have already sent people on their way."

On hearing this, His Majesty then said, "In that case, Jiang, you should focus on wiping out the remnants of Xiyue and not give them any chance to cause trouble! These remnants are quite cunning and crafty."

The Duke of Zhen had nothing to say. He could only send more people to protect Wei En.

Each had their own calculations concerning the affairs at the Imperial Court, and beneath the court, the ladies and daughters of the great families each had their own struggles.

The day of Fu Ranhui’s wedding arrived quickly.

The eldest princess’s mansion was extraordinarily lively these days.

Since Zhu Yan was about to become Jingrui’s wife and would need to interact with the ladies and daughters of the great families in the future, Xiao’er and Yun’er took the opportunity to introduce her to the people in this aristocratic circle while helping Fu Ranhui dress.

As soon as Xiao’er, Yun’er, and Zhu Yan appeared, they became the focus of the entire room. Everyone was guessing about Zhu Yan’s identity, and why they had not seen her before.

Evevryone knew Xiao’er as Princess Rui. Before Xiao’er got married, Yun’er rarely showed up, but after Xiao’er got married, she often accompanied Mrs. Liu to social events, so everyone knew her too. Some even knew she was the un-enthroned wife of the eldest son of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. This was no secret among the great families, so everyone treated Yun’er with respect and envy, and marveled at how well the daughters of the Marquis Shengping’s family had married in the Imperial Capital’s aristocratic circle.

As for Zhu Yan, they paid attention to her, but no one seemed to recognise her.

Fu Ranhui enthusiastically welcomed the three Xiao’er, greeted each other, and then Fu Ranhui laughed and said, "This must be Miss Zhu."

Xiao’er nodded with a smile.

Miss Zhu? Everyone in the room looked at each other, all the women present were wives or daughters of fourth-rank officials or above, but none had heard of a family named Zhu.

"Who is this girl from the princess’ family? How come I have never seen her before?" someone asked curiously.

"Miss Zhu is the daughter of a rich merchant in Shengping County. Miss Ruan, you have always lived in the Imperial Capital, so naturally you wouldn’t know," said Fang Wanping, who couldn’t help but express her jealousy as she watched Zhu Yan garner all the attention.

Rich, merchant’s, daughter!

Since when had there been someone of merchant birth among them?

Immediately, everyone looked differently at Zhu Yan!

Some people couldn’t even hide their surprise, and whispered, "Since when can merchants’ daughters be our equals?"

Under everyone’s scrutiny, Zhu Yan still stood there calmly, smiling lightly, not at all ashamed of being a merchant’s daughter.

Xiao’er’s face tightened, she squeezed Zhu Yan’s hand to reassure her and shot a cold glance at everyone, as if about to say something.

"Xiao’er, is this your future sister-in-law? Why didn’t you introduce us sooner!" Ruan Weizhen walked up to Zhu Yan and said with a smile.

Xiao’er nodded with a smile, "Zhu Yan, the soon-to-be wife of my elder brother. Some of you wanted to meet her, so I brought her here today for you to meet. Sister Yan, this is Princess Xian."

Xiao’er and Yun’er tactfully let go of their hands. Zhu Yan gave a slight bow, "Commoner daughter pays respect to Princess Xian!"

"No need for formalities, Sister Yan. I have often heard Xiao’er mention you and have always wanted to meet you. Once you are part of the family, feel free to visit my mansion anytime!" Ruan Weizhen quickly helped Zhu Yan up.

The color drained from everyone’s faces, their expressions changing as dramatically as a palette of colors!