inspire-indiana Chapter 449 The Reform Begins
Chapter 449 The Reform Begins
"I'm so thirsty from telling you stories!"
Inside the town's inn, a young girl dressed in red silk looked at Yu Shu opposite her and spoke irritably:
"Now can you tell me your plans with Lord Xing?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Shu smiled slightly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze:
"Wait a little longer! We're almost there."
"What's almost here?" A big question mark popped up above Xue Tong's head.
Is anyone coming?
Yu Shu didn't speak. The woman got up and slowly walked to a spot not far away, where she took the tea and snacks from the table.
The woman handed the white porcelain cup to Xue Tong:
"Have a sip of water first, then wait with me."
Xue Tong took the tea with her left hand and then took a piece of snow-white glutinous rice cake from the tray with her right hand.
"What I hate most in my life is people like you who speak in riddles."
Yu Shu astutely extracted key words from the girl's words:
"us?"
Xue Tong looked at the woman in front of her: "My sister."
Yu Shu also picked up a cup of tea from the tray, but instead of drinking it, she placed it on the windowsill.
"Is this older sister my biological sister?"
"Why would you ask that?" Xue Tong asked, somewhat annoyed.
"In your eyes, am I the kind of person who would so easily claim someone as an older sister?"
Yu Shu helplessly tried to coax her, "No, no, no."
"So, is this older sister her biological sister?" the woman asked again, her curiosity piqued.
Xue Tong rolled her eyes at her: "No."
Yu Shu: So what were you being so stubborn about just now?
Xue Tong stuffed the entire glutinous rice cake into her mouth, then took a big gulp of water and swallowed it with difficulty.
"Because she is much older than me, I call her 'older sister'."
"Yu Shu?"
Xue Tong suddenly called out Yu Shu's name.
"What's wrong?" Yu Shu asked, puzzled.
The girl slowly raised her hand and pointed to the side of Yu Shu:
Something is stealing your tea.
Yu Shu looked in the direction Xue Tong was pointing and saw a small gray figure appear in front of the teacup she had just placed on the windowsill.
It was a round, gray bird, about the size of a human fist, whose head was now completely buried in the teacup.
"It's nothing, it was prepared for her."
Yu Shu smiled gently and lightly nudged the little gray sparrow with her slender fingers.
The gray sparrow did not resist and fell to the side with the woman's force, with a rolled-up strip of paper tied to its upward-facing claws.
Xue Tong looked at it and exclaimed in surprise:
"Is there poison in the tea?"
Yu Shu took the note, tore it open, and said in a calm and collected voice:
"No, it's just lazy."
Xue Tong then looked at the gray sparrow lying on the window frame again and found that the little guy's chest was still rising and falling slightly, and its feathers were being blown by the breeze.
"He's always been like this since he was a child; he can't fly once he leaves the capital."
Yu Shu glanced at the unfolded note in her hand, then handed it to Xue Tong:
"Look, this is the plan that Mr. Xing and I have made."
Xue Tong glanced at the little gray sparrow with lingering affection, then looked at the note in her hand.
The note contained only one sentence, which Xue Tong read aloud softly:
"Li Huaiyu was conferred the title of Imperial Concubine?"
Xue Tong knew who Li Huaiyu was; she was the youngest daughter of Li Dezheng, the current prime minister of the Great Yu Dynasty and the most notorious corrupt official.
"What kind of plan is this?"
"This!"
Yu Shu looked out the window of the inn at the bustling street below.
"Naturally, it's for eradication."
"Since Prime Minister Li has reached his current position, he has no further room for advancement, so he can only make his daughter an empress."
Xue Tong felt a chill run down her spine, and she stopped eating the pastries.
"This...could it be?" The girl stammered, making Yu Shu a little anxious.
"Sixth Sister." The woman's voice carried a calm smile, and her beautiful eyes shone brightly, yet Xue Tong felt a chill run down her spine.
"This is a reform...it's destined to result in a bloodbath in the court."
Xue Tong nodded: "I know, it's just that she..."
"When he was eight years old, he killed six maids who served him because of a pearl hairpin."
Xue Tong stopped talking and nodded silently.
She knew the cruelty of power struggles in the imperial court.
Whether it was Xie Xiao's bloody New Year's Eve banquet or Da Lichao's thousand-mile pursuit of the emperor's illegitimate son.
This road has always been paved with blood.
"Do you think I'm different from before?" Yu Shu asked Xue Tong with a smile.
Xue Tong slowly shook her head: "It's nothing, I've seen it before."
"If it cannot be eradicated at the root, it will eventually become a disaster."
Yu Shu visibly breathed a sigh of relief:
"Let's stay here for a few days. Father Emperor always acts swiftly and decisively. In no more than three days, there will be news from the capital."
"it is good!"
At Xue Tong's instruction, the group stayed at the small inn for two more nights.
Finally, at dawn on the third day, the round gray sparrow once again brought news from the capital.
"Consort Yu was immoral and used witchcraft to disrupt the inner palace. In consideration of her father's achievements, her entire clan was exiled to the Northwest."
Yu Shu read the words on the note with a smile on her face.
The woman looked at Xue Tong beside her:
"If I remember correctly, my father will pass away in six months at most."
"Xiao Tong, it's time for us to go back to the capital."
In the winter of the thirty-first year of Linde, Consort Li offended the emperor, and her entire clan was punished.
When the Imperial Guards searched the Li family's home, they found a dragon robe and ten thousand taels of gold in a secret room.
In the blink of an eye, being exiled to the frontier turned into the execution of nine generations of one's family.
Knowing his days were numbered, Emperor Linde acted with extreme ruthlessness, eradicating Li Dezheng and his faction in the court in less than a month.
Later, with the encouragement of Xing Lingchong and the senior officials of the court, Xue Tong was permitted to take provisions and supplies to the northwest border.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month of the thirty-first year of the Linde era, Princess Changning was ordered to escort provisions and supplies to the northwestern border.
Just before Xue Tong was about to leave, she saw Yu Shu, who had been feigning illness ever since returning to the capital.
The woman, dressed in a bright red dress, sat inside the carriage, a gentle smile playing on her pale lips.
"Are you that sick?" Xue Tong asked, looking at her.
Yu Shu's beautiful eyes curved into a smile:
"Pretending."
Snowflakes fell softly from the sky, and Yu Shu looked at Xue Tong, who was dressed in light armor:
"Are you not coming back?"
Return to your own world.
Xue Tong nodded slightly upon hearing this:
"He's stationed on the frontier, and I'm afraid he won't be back before he leaves."
"The future of the Great Yu Dynasty will be handed over to my steady and reliable older brother."
Yu Shu had expected this outcome, but she still couldn't help but sigh when she heard it.
The woman's voice was gentle yet tinged with regret:
"Xue Tong, I will restore peace and tranquility to the Great Yu Dynasty."
Xue Tong looked at her intently:
"I know."
She believed that Yu Shu could do it.
In the midst of the cold wind and sudden snow, Yu Shu only wanted to hear these three words.
She is a daughter of the imperial family and should rightfully have the right to manipulate power.
They bear the responsibility of ensuring the stability of the land.
"lets go!"
The woman uttered these three words softly, and the girl in front of her leaped back onto her horse and galloped towards the army not far away!
Yu Shu gently turned her head to look at the dark and cold imperial city behind her.
The real struggle begins now!