kingnovel Chapter 1108 It's truly pathetic that grudges and favors are hard to discern.
Chapter 1108 It's truly pathetic that grudges and favors are hard to discern.
Li De, the steward of Banshan Manor, and Granny Ji, along with the people of Banshan Manor, escorted Emperor Hongde and his entourage to the gate of Banshan Manor.
Empress Luan Xiying was usually confined to the palace due to her status, and rarely had a leisurely and carefree time like today.
Therefore, on the way back to Beijing, I wanted to continue to keep Madam Xue company and chat with her about everyday life.
Empress Luan Xiying then greeted Emperor Hongde and boarded the third carriage with Madam Xue and her daughter-in-law.
Emperor Hongde and the Duke of Anguo and his two sons happened to have some court affairs to discuss, so the four of them boarded the second carriage together.
Xiao Jingyu had already seen Ta Yun standing next to Sui Feng.
The thought that Ta Yun must have something important to report to him when he came to the Half-Mountain Manor must be true…
Last night, Ta Yun followed the Deputy Envoy of Dongwei to the Marquis of Dongping's residence. At dawn, he only sent a secret guard to deliver a message saying that he could not leave for the time being...
It seems that what Ta Yun is about to say must be related to Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping.
Thinking of this, Xiao Jingyu immediately called Suifeng and Tayun, and together with himself, Leng Rongyue, and Fu Mingjun, boarded the first carriage.
The head palace maid Shu Xiu and Granny Feng, along with the other maids and servants who had come with them, rode in the last two carriages.
The rest of the guards, along with the few men in blue, all rode horses and stood guard on both sides of the carriage.
The carriage started moving and sped towards the capital.
Xiao Jingyu was right as expected.
Ta Yun arrived at the Half-Mountain Manor, firstly to fulfill his duty as a guard;
Furthermore, he needed to report to Xiao Jingyu what he had seen and heard while following the Deputy Envoy of Dongwei to the Dongping Marquis's residence, as well as several secrets about Dongping Marquis Guo Yuan that he had investigated.
"Your Highness, Miss, Lord Fu, last night I accompanied the Deputy Envoy of Dongwei to the Dongping Marquis's residence and met with Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping..."
Ta Yun recounted to Xiao Jingyu and the others everything he had seen and heard after following the Deputy Envoy of Dongwei to the Dongping Marquis's residence and meeting Dongping Marquis Guo Yuan, as well as the details of his investigation into the collusion between Dongping Marquis Guo Yuan and Prince Yi, Xiao Jingyi.
It turns out that the reason why Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping was brought into the camp by Prince Yi Xiao Jingyi was because he accidentally fell into a trap carefully set for him by Xiao Jingyi when he was in the military camp.
There was an unwritten rule in the military camp: if the commander-in-chief led his troops to capture the enemy's camp or city, the commander-in-chief and the general could take a portion of the gold and silver treasures in the enemy's camp and city for themselves, and the rest would be compiled into a book and handed over to the imperial court.
Prince Yi then arranged for his cronies in the army to smuggle some of the items that were on the list to be handed over to the court and hide them in the military tent of Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping.
Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping had no idea about this matter.
When the Ministry of Revenue received the handed-in property and checked it against the list, it discovered that some valuable items were missing, so it reported this to Emperor Hongde.
To be honest, if Guo Yuan had taken the stolen property before reporting it to the court... then taking it is fine.
The problem is that these missing items are precisely on the list submitted to the imperial court!
Moreover, it was Yi Wang's henchman—that same fellow soldier—who personally led a group of men to discover the valuables in the rear tent of Dongping Marquis Guo Yuan, in full view of everyone.
This is troublesome for Guo Yuan, the Marquis of Dongping!
In fact, Prince Yi's henchmen in the army had already planned this out.
They packed these valuables together separately, pretending they had been accidentally left behind while being loaded onto the truck, and then immediately sent someone to deliver them to the capital!
However, that's not what they said to Guo Yuan!
Guo Yuan had no idea what had happened in all of this.
He only knew that the items his army submitted to the court did not match the list, and the missing items were precisely in his own tent.
Guo Yuan also thought it was his own oversight that he had taken more items than listed in the submission list.
Although I know it was an unintentional mistake, I don't care about those things at all.
But the thing missing from the list happens to be something I have.
This is what you call being unable to defend yourself no matter what; even if Guo Yuan had a thousand mouths, he still couldn't explain himself!
Guo Yuan knew how serious the crime of embezzling funds to be handed over to the imperial court was.
Now, although it was that fellow soldier who found these things, he resolutely stepped forward to testify for him, covering up the matter, sparing him from a serious crime, and protecting his image in the army.
Guo Yuan was naturally extremely grateful to that fellow soldier!
Yi Wang's henchman in the army, that is, the comrade-in-arms, later told Guo Yuan that Yi Wang had long admired Dongping Hou and had instructed him to protect Dongping Hou Guo Yuan in the army and maintain his prestige.
Therefore, Guo Yuan also credited Prince Yi with this favor;
He was grateful to his comrade in the army, and then to Prince Yi, Xiao Jingyi, who was far away in the court!
Afterwards, they even presented Prince Yi, Xiao Jingyi, with a generous gift to express their gratitude!
After that, Prince Yi would send gifts and tonics to the army in a continuous stream during festivals...
Over time, Prince Yi and Marquis Guo Yuan of Dongping grew increasingly close.
Leng Rongyue, Xiao Jingyu, Fu Mingjun, and the others listened to Ta Yun's story, exchanged glances, and thought to themselves: That's true, no matter how much you guard against someone, it's hard to guard against the people around you!
If you are in the same military camp and share the same heart and mind, then you have a bond as solid as a rock and priceless as gold!
If someone harbors ulterior motives and intends to scheme against you... then it's impossible to guard against them!
It's even more tragic when someone schemes against you and tries to harm you, yet you're still deceived and consider the person who plotted against you your benefactor!