boyutpedia Chapter 235: Northern Qi's Largest Landlord
Chapter 235: Northern Qi's Largest Landlord
Chapter 235: Northern Qi's Largest Landlord
"Then join us!" He always followed her thoughts. "You can live your life however you want. I will accompany you. As for whether the Sixth Prince is real or fake... Ah Yan, it doesn't matter whether it's real or fake. He is just a prince. Since you have the intention to protect Quan Qingcheng, can you let him really take the throne? Just treat it as a joke."
Ye Wenyan was not as confident as he was. "How do you know I won't let him take the throne away? How can I be so capable?"
"Yes." Shi Liyuan nodded, "It's not that great. At most, he just tampered with the late emperor's will."
She chuckled like a little fool, "I can't hide anything from you. Are you keeping a pair of eyes on me?"
He shook his head, "No, I just know that the late emperor favored the legitimate son, and I also know that the will originally stated that the legitimate son should be the heir. And the only person in the world who can change the will in public, besides me, is you."
Ye Wenyan was not happy to hear this, "Do you think the late Emperor of Northern Qi was blind? What's so good about his legitimate son?"
Shi Liyuan said he didn't know, "Maybe you should ask yourself, you have liked him for many years, what do you think is good about him?"
She immediately stated: "It was not me who liked him for many years, but the former Fourth Miss Ye. But I didn't like him at all. I have very high standards, and I only like you."
Someone said proudly, "That's right, looking around the world, who can compare to me?"
She laughed, "That's enough. You're still panting when I tell you you're fat. You can't be so narcissistic."
He said seriously, "I never lie. I always tell the truth."
"Yes, it is true." She had to admit, "I did get a great bargain. But it's not too cheap. After all, I got it by being stabbed several times. The price was also very heavy. So Shi Liyuan, you have to take good care of me in the future. I have a problem with my chest. I don't know when it will hurt. You must be responsible for me."
He pulled the person into his arms again and said, "Don't worry, I will take full responsibility."
She smiled happily, and when she had laughed enough, she returned to the previous topic: "Let's talk about the late emperor again. Why do you think it's better to hand over the world to his legitimate son?"
Shi Liyuan said: "Perhaps he didn't think it would be better to hand over the throne to his legitimate son, he just had no choice. With the Empress Dowager Li by his side and the Regent in the court, although he was the emperor, the imperial power was torn apart in the following years, and there were not many things he could really decide on. In addition, the Ye family held the military power, and he knew in his heart that even if the old general and the general were gone, those Ye family troops would not be recovered by others in a short time. So the Ye family was his biggest support, or even his only support. Unfortunately, this support became the biggest obstacle for him to pass the throne to other princes with the marriage contract that the old general asked for for Miss Ye Si. So he had to choose the legitimate son, otherwise no matter who he passed it to, there would be chaos in the world, and the Empress Dowager Li, the Regent, and the Sixth Prince would definitely rebel. By then, the people would be living in misery and all lives would be in turmoil."
Ye Wenyan frowned when he heard this. "I always thought that General Ye was not a foolish person who only cared about loving his granddaughter. He must have had his considerations for asking for the marriage on behalf of Fourth Miss Ye. Of course, I have never figured out what his considerations were, because the Sixth Prince is not an ideal heir to the throne in any way. So why did the old general want to get involved in this mess? The late emperor relied on the Ye family for many years, so wouldn't he be very disappointed? Seeing the Ye family approaching the Sixth Prince, he had to agree. How uncomfortable must he feel?"
Shi Liyuan nodded, "It's really uncomfortable, but he can't change, and General Ye doesn't want to change. Ye Zhenwei is indeed not a fool. He is a thousand-year-old fox. How could he not understand the twists and turns here? How could he not understand that once the marriage is concluded, the Ye family will be on the side of Empress Dowager Li and the Sixth Prince. And the reason why he has to do this is because of a personal matter. He doesn't like the son that the late emperor liked, so he is resisting in this way."
"Who is the son that the late emperor favored?"
"The third son."
"Cough! Cough cough..." Ye Wenyan almost choked himself to death, "Who?"
"The third son of the Quan family, His Royal Highness Prince Ren."
"I understand." She patted her forehead, "The private matter you are talking about is related to my second brother, right?"
"Yeah." Shi Liyuan smiled, "Ye Zhenwei was also confused by the matter between your second brother and the third prince. Although he was not caught in the act, the rumors have been circulating for more than ten years. How could he not take it to heart?"
Listening to his analysis, Ye Wenyan remembered something else.
"About seven or eight years ago, I overheard my grandfather scolding my second uncle and second aunt. He said that what a good son they raised, he was simply ruining the reputation of the Ye family and bringing shame to our ancestors. He also said that when he returned to the camp, he would take a detour to meet Ye Feizhou and skin him alive. My second uncle and second aunt said at the time that they would beat that son to death without saying a word."
"It's not just seven or eight years ago. The rumors about the two of them should have been around for at least thirteen or fourteen years. Of course, they weren't spread like they are now at first." Shi Liyuan recalled the past. "I also heard these things from Lian Shi. It is said that your second brother was always beaten since he was a child. Later, he was saved by the Third Prince twice. He became very dependent on the Third Prince. He would run to the Third Prince whenever he had something to do, and would ask for help when he was beaten at home. As time went by, people knew that the Third Prince liked the handsome little boy from the Ye family. Some people even saw the Third Prince holding his hand while shopping on the street. Because your second brother was still young at that time, people didn't have too many distracting thoughts when they talked about it. But later, as Ye Feizhou grew up, the rumors were different."
"This is fate from childhood." Ye Wenyan sighed, "No wonder grandfather couldn't get over this. I think in the next ten years, what bothered him most was having such a grandson! So when he was angry, he would rather openly stand on the side of the Sixth Prince than support the Third Prince to take the throne. It seems that the Ye family's heavy military power at that time was really feared, so that the late emperor had to swallow this bitter pill and suffer a loss in silence, and his favorite son could only miss the throne."
She felt a little regretful. "Although Quan Qingcheng is very good, the Third Prince is really wronged. My second brother, I wonder if he knows that he has blocked such a good path for the Third Prince. With his temper, if he knew the reason at the beginning, I am afraid he would stab himself to death, so that the Third Prince would have no worries and stop the gossips. But why does the emperor like the third son? Hasn't he heard the outside world? My grandfather is so angry, how can he not be upset?"
Shi Liyuan did not comment too much on the entanglement between Ye Feizhou and the Third Prince. He just told Ye Wenyan: "Although Ye Zhenwei is a general, he is only a general after all. He can conquer the country, but he is not as good at defending and stabilizing the country. So he can marry his most beloved fourth granddaughter in anger because of those rumors, but the emperor has to consider more. At least in his opinion, your second brother, or the rumored affair between them, does not have much impact on the Third Prince's succession to the throne. Compared with the Third Prince's ability, those are too unworthy of mentioning. Or..."
He paused and didn't say the rest. Ye Wenyan took over the conversation instead - "Or just kill my second brother and put an end to it. So my grandfather made that choice because he couldn't bear to sacrifice a grandson. He must have been thinking, why should I kill my grandson just so that your son can succeed to the throne smoothly? Since you have such a plan, don't blame me for ruining your plan and slapping you in the face. By then, it will be too late for you to regret it."
Shi Liyuan nodded, "All right. So you see, it's not easy to be an emperor. You have to be threatened by the queen and the ministers."
"Why did he choose the third son?" Ye Wenyan didn't know much about the princes of the royal family, including the Sixth Prince that Miss Ye Si liked. She only knew that he was the legitimate prince, and his biggest backer was the Queen Mother in the palace. "He liked the third son, but he had to pass the throne to the legitimate son. In the end, the youngest son got a big advantage. Do you think if the old emperor knew about this, he would be so angry that he would crawl out of the coffin?" Shi Liyuan shook his head, "Silly girl, none of the sons of the Quan family are stupid, including the new emperor. They know who they are since they were born, so even if he is a mute, he is not completely unprepared for the throne. Otherwise, why do you think his mother stayed with the late emperor during the years when the late emperor was seriously ill and dying? In the final analysis, she was unwilling to give up. As for the Third Prince, do you know why only he can get the mountains outside the capital?"
She shook her head, "I don't know." Then she thought again, "Maybe he bought it by chance?"
"It's not a coincidence. It's because he is the largest landlord in Northern Qi. He owns the most manors, fields, houses, and mountains in Northern Qi. Ten years ago, he proposed public ownership of mountains, but allowed them to be bought and sold. Buying from the state, you can resell it after buying it. This makes those mountains that were originally nameless and ownerless become owned land."
Ye Wenyan was shocked when he heard this. What a brain! And it's quite advanced!
Shi Liyuan continued, "Although he seldom uses the mountain he bought, it is still there, and it will not move or fall. If he ever remembers it or needs it, he can take it for himself overnight. Moreover, there are still so many good fields producing rice, and there are manors and houses where people live. They are all his influence and informants, and they are spread all over Northern Qi."
He fiddled with the little girl's hair for a while, and then said, "However, the reason why the late emperor liked him was not because of these..."