northernbook Chapter 482 Joy of Life 38
Chapter 482 Joy of Life 38
The butler nodded, waved for the servants around him to leave, then invited Ye Ling'er to the side and lowered his voice to say:
“Miss, now that Master’s death is suspicious, in my humble opinion, you should not place all your hopes on His Majesty. The first thing you should do is to immediately send a message to the Grand Master and ask him to step forward and seek justice for Master.”
This way, the imperial court will surely take the matter seriously and dare not easily protect the murderer; secondly, it will also prevent those with ulterior motives from taking advantage of the situation to covet the Ye family's property.
After listening, Ye Ling'er nodded repeatedly and urged, "Please continue."
Seeing that she had taken his words to heart, the steward felt somewhat relieved and continued, "Secondly, you must immediately submit a memorial to the court, earnestly requesting His Majesty to allow the eldest young master to return to the capital as soon as possible for the funeral, and to let the eldest young master take over all the affairs and resources of the Ye family in the capital."
"Furthermore, we need to send a message to Dingzhou as soon as possible so that the clansmen there can know the news of the master's passing."
The butler's words were all for the benefit of the Ye family.
He was just a servant of the Ye family, and all he could think of was to have Ye Ling'er quickly contact all the Ye family's backers and do her best to stabilize the Ye family, which was in turmoil due to Ye Zhong's death, and minimize all losses.
Although Ye Zhong is currently serving as the garrison commander of Kyoto, his actual official position is General of Dingzhou.
He was the highest-ranking and most powerful member of the Ye family in the imperial court.
Aside from Ye Liuyun, he was the biggest pillar of the Ye family.
Now that he is gone, both his military power and extensive network of contacts need to be replaced by a suitable successor as soon as possible.
After all, those old foxes in the court wouldn't show mercy to such a big piece of meat as the Ye family. Even if they were mindful of Ye Liuyun, they would at most use milder and more discreet methods and not completely wipe out the Ye family.
At that time, the Ye family's status in Nanqing will inevitably plummet.
Therefore, what Ye Ling'er should do now is not to grieve over her father's passing, but to make the most of all the resources at her disposal to save the Ye family, which is about to fall into turmoil due to the loss of its pillar.
Ye Ling'er also realized the seriousness of the matter, and her mind, which had been controlled by emotions, calmed down. She said, "Okay, I'll write the letter now. You go and find a few reliable people to deliver the letter to your great-uncle, brother, and the Ye family members as soon as possible."
The butler nodded in agreement and was about to turn around to make the arrangements when he suddenly stopped and reminded her again, "Miss, there is one more thing to remember: the memorial to the court must not be overlooked. The young master is currently in the army, and if he returns to the capital without the court's order, it will be a serious crime. Therefore, we must first obtain His Majesty's permission so that the young master can return legitimately."
Ye Ling'er nodded, keeping the housekeeper's instructions in mind.
Now that the agreement had been reached, the master and servant went their separate ways.
Ye Ling'er suppressed her grief and wrote a letter, while the steward went to find a reliable person to deliver it.
Regardless of how the Ye family reacted to the news of Ye Chong's death, Li Chengze, who was pretending to be sick, suddenly sat up in bed.
"Oh no! I forgot to consider something very important!"
Li Chengze's solemn expression made Xie Bi'an, one of his guards, nervous. He quickly asked, "What has Your Highness overlooked? I will deal with it immediately."
Li Chengze shook his head and slowly said, "It's too late."
"Now that Ye Zhong is dead, regardless of whether His Majesty holds Yan Shendu accountable in the end, he will certainly bestow many favors upon the Ye family. In addition to granting his eldest son Ye Wan a hereditary title, it is highly likely that His Majesty will also grant his daughter Ye Ling'er a marriage to demonstrate the royal grace and appease the family."
"Huh?" Xie Bi'an was a little confused. "Ye Zhong was the number one man in the army. Now that he has unfortunately passed away, isn't it only natural that His Majesty would generously support his children?"
Li Chengze frowned: "That's where things went wrong!! His Majesty will never casually betroth Ye Ling'er to someone else; he will definitely choose one from among the princes."
"Now that the Crown Prince is far away on the border, he commands 100,000 troops. His Majesty would never allow him to marry into the Ye family, who hold power in the military."
As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince's wife will be the future Queen Mother of the Qing Kingdom. This is a matter of state, and His Majesty cannot make a hasty decision. He must choose carefully.
The Third Prince is still young, so wouldn't I be the most suitable candidate left?
Xie Bi'an was unaware that Ye Zhong's death was the result of Li Chengze using his telekinetic powers.
Hearing this, she was even a little happy for him: "Your Highness, isn't this a great thing? Once you and Ye Ling'er get married, won't the Ye family naturally stand on your side?"
"What are you thinking?" Li Chengze slapped his forehead, feeling like he was talking to a brick wall.
"With a Grandmaster in charge of the Ye family, they are protected by him, which also means they are destined to be loyal to His Majesty. Therefore, no matter which prince Ye Ling'er marries in the end, the Ye family will only be His Majesty's confidants and will never side with any particular prince."
Upon hearing this, Xie Bi'an instantly understood the implications: "In that case, if His Majesty were to grant you and Ye Ling'er a marriage, wouldn't that cut off the future influence of your wife's family? In addition, given the Ye family's loyalty to His Majesty, once Ye Ling'er marries into the household, wouldn't it be equivalent to His Majesty placing a pair of eyes by your side?"
Li Chengze nodded and sighed.
Xie Bi'an immediately became anxious: "Your Highness, what should we do now?"
Li Chengze rubbed his tense forehead, slowly lay back down on the bed, and said with a hint of fatigue in his voice, "Let me think about it carefully."
"Why don't you continue to pretend to be sick?" Xie Bi'an tentatively suggested.
Li Chengze closed his eyes in thought and slowly said, "Now that Ye Zhong has just died, if His Majesty wants to grant a marriage, it will have to wait until his funeral is over. Ye Zhong's eldest son, Ye Wan, is still in Nanzhao. By the time he returns to the capital, finishes his father's funeral, and escorts the coffin back to Dingzhou, it will take at least one or two months. I cannot remain seriously ill for such a long time without any signs of improvement."
Moreover, he is only feigning illness to wait for the right moment. If he continues to indulge in this illness for a long time, it will be detrimental to the overall situation.
After all, no one would choose a sickly prince who looks like he might die at any moment as their heir apparent.
"Ugh!"
Li Chengze sighed inwardly, temporarily putting the matter aside, and began using his mental power to wander around Kyoto City, probing the current dynamics of various forces.
The two explosions during the day completely exposed the assassination attempt on Niulan Street to the public.
Ye Zhong's death was like a boulder thrown into a lake, stirring up waves and generating intense reactions.
Countless officials stayed up all night because of this, and the entire capital city was brightly lit, reflecting the anxiety in the hearts of countless people.