With a squeal, Ge Bi threw herself into his arms. Song Qingshu felt that the beauty was incomparably soft, but his expression was a little strange. "Can you wait until you change your clothes before hugging me like this? Otherwise, I'll always feel a little strange hugging a bearded man."
"Ah, you're so annoying." Ge Bi also reacted. She raised her head and flirtatiously rolled her eyes at him. However, in the eyes of others, it was a bearded man acting coquettishly.
"You remind me of the magician's son in my previous life …" Thinking of that weirdo, Song Qingshu's entire body felt a little uncomfortable.
However, before he had time to speak, the sound of a teacup shattering suddenly came from not far away. It turned out that when the mansion's maidservants saw that the guests had left, they brought some tea and snacks to the master. Who knew that they would see such an explosive scene as soon as they arrived?
As if scalded, Ge Bi instantly pushed Song Qingshu away and stood up again. Her small face had long since turned red. Fortunately, she was wearing a mask, so it was not obvious.
At this time, the maidservant suddenly came to her senses. Would she be silenced if she saw this scene? As soon as this thought arose, her small face became pale with fright. She wanted to plead for mercy, but found that she was so scared that she could not speak.
"You can leave." Ge Bi took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and waved her hand at the maidservant.
"Yes ~" The maidservant felt as if she had been pardoned and trotted away. At the same time, she was cursing in her heart. Master looks so strong, and his wife is the most beautiful woman in the Jin Kingdom. Who knew that he would have such a hobby? You really can't judge a book by its cover. Ah, poor Lady Ge Bi. She has a husband like this. In front of outsiders, she pretends to be a harmonious couple, but in reality, she has to stay alone …
Watching the maidservant leave, Ouyang Feng frowned and said, "You let her go just like that? Shouldn't you be silencing her?"
Ge Bi explained, "These maidservants are all carefully selected by me. There's no problem with their loyalty. Moreover, it is common in the circle of nobles that they like men. She won't spread it."
"Soft-hearted." Ouyang Feng snorted, but did not insist.
Song Qingshu said with a smile, "You're still the gentle and kind Songbi."
At this moment, Ge Bi had already taken off her mask. Hearing this, she smiled sweetly, making all the flowers lose their color. Ouyang Feng could not help but lament, "If I were fifty years younger, I might fight you for this woman."
Song Qingshu smiled smugly. "You won't be able to snatch it from me."
Ouyang Feng's face darkened. "Why?"
"You're not as handsome as I am," Song Qingshu said. Seeing Ouyang Feng's face darkening, he hurriedly added, "Not to mention that you've never been interested in women. If you were fifty years younger, you'd probably be addicted to martial arts."
Ouyang Feng nodded and a smile appeared on his face. "That's true. However, you're obsessed with women every day, yet your martial arts are so heaven-defying. It really makes me unhappy."
Song Qingshu chuckled. To avoid provoking him further, he turned to Ge Bi and asked, "Since you're overseeing this place, is Taj-kis in the palace?"
Ge Bi nodded. "That's right. I didn't expect that the Peach Blossom Madam who was so popular in Da Xing Prefecture was actually the Ming Dynasty's Zi Shan Long Wang. However, I didn't expect you to be able to subdue her." Her tone was playful but also somewhat strange.
Song Qingshu smiled awkwardly and hurriedly said, "Although Taj-kis is as beautiful as a peach, she's vicious and merciless. She's not as reassuring as you. You're letting her oversee the palace. Aren't you worried that she'll use her power to do something unfavorable? "
Ge Bi smiled lightly. "There's still my sister in the palace. She's currently in charge of the Washing Clothes Yard. Nothing in Da Xing Prefecture can escape her notice. Moreover, Qiu Qianren has been appointed as the Deputy Inspector of the Front Palace Department. He secretly controls a portion of the Imperial Guards in the palace. Even if she has any thoughts, she won't be able to stir up any waves."
"Oh." Song Qingshu glanced at her in surprise. "I didn't expect you to be so skilled in the art of checks and balances."
Ge Bi sighed faintly. "After all, I was born of the royal family. I've been influenced by what I've seen and heard. However, I'd rather not use these skills for the rest of my life."
Song Qingshu hurriedly said a few words of comfort, then asked, "Why did you appoint Qiu Qianren as the Deputy Inspector of the Front Palace Department and not Sir Ouyang?"
Before Ge Bi could answer, Ouyang Feng spoke first. "I've never placed much importance on fame and fortune. Qiu Qianren is passionate about this path. It's a perfect match for each of us."
"I see." Song Qingshu finally understood. He was about to say something when he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the door.
There was a burst of hurried footsteps. A guard at the door reported, "Marshal, something bad has happened!" Because Ge Bi had taken off her mask, the door to the study was closed. That was why no one had seen her.
"What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?" Ge Bi asked as she put her mask back on.
"General Pu Cha has led a group of ministers and his troops in the direction of the palace," the guard quickly reported.
"What!" The three people in the room were shocked. The General Pu Cha mentioned was Pu Cha Ahute, the head of the Pu Cha family and the former Deputy Inspector of the Front Palace Department.
The three great families of the Jin Kingdom were Tu Dan, Pu Cha, and Tang Kuo. The Tudan family declined during the Hailing Rebellion and was replaced by the Tang Kuo family. However, the Pu Cha family was loyal to the royal family at that time. Later, they returned to the capital with their troops and played an important role in quelling Wanyan Liang's rebellion. After the incident, the Pu Cha family rose to power. Although the benefits they received were not as great as the Tang Kuo family, they were not too far off.
The power of the Jin Kingdom was originally controlled by the Emperor, Taizu's royal family, Taizong's royal family, King Zhao's Wanyan Honglie's faction, and the three great families. Now that the Emperor had been replaced, the Taizu's and Taizong's factions were mostly wiped out during Wanyan Liang's coup. Wanyan Honglie's faction had long since declined, and the Tu Dan family had been implicated by Wanyan Liang. Now, it could be said that the Pu Cha family and the Tang Kuo family held the power of the Jin Kingdom together.
Only by completely purging this faction could Song Qingshu be considered to have full control of the Jin Kingdom. However, the Pu Cha family was deeply rooted and powerful. There was no chance for him to make a move. But now, the Pu Cha family had taken the initiative.
Due to his contributions in quelling the rebellion of the King of Hailing, Pucha Ahte had been promoted to the position of Inspector of the Imperial Palace. Coupled with the Pu Cha family's status in the military, the moment he made a move, it would cause a huge commotion in the imperial court.
Song Qingshu and the other two hurriedly mobilized their personal army and rushed towards the palace. Along the way, Ge Bi explained to Song Qingshu what had happened. It turned out that the two sisters and Taj-tish had worked together to gradually dissolve the military power in the hands of the Pu Cha family. For example, Pucha Ahte was promoted to Inspector, but most of the Imperial Army in the palace was controlled by the Tang Kuo family, led by Qiu Qianren. Up until now, they hadn't shown any reaction, but who knew that the moment they did, it would be such a huge reaction.
"Don't blame yourself. We'll see how the situation goes. Although this is a crisis, it might not necessarily be an opportunity." Ge Bi felt that she had messed up, so Song Qingshu comforted her along the way.
Ge Bi smiled bitterly. How could she not know that these were words of comfort? After all, Pucha Ahte was a wily old fox. Once he made a move, it would be fine if he didn't make a move, but once he did, he would definitely be confident of victory. It would probably be difficult for things to turn out well later on.
The group sprinted all the way and soon entered the palace. They found Pucha Ahte and a group of imperial court officials blocking the front of the inner court with their soldiers. On the other side, Qiu Qianren and his trusted subordinates were blocking them. Both sides were at daggers drawn, as if a fight would break out at any moment.
"Ahte, how dare you! How dare you charge into the palace with your soldiers! Are you planning to start a rebellion?!" Ge Bi had now reverted to Tang Kuo Bian's appearance and personality. She stepped forward and sternly rebuked.
Song Qingshu couldn't show his face at the moment, so he changed his appearance and hid in a corner, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Hearing Ge Bi's rebuke, Pucha Ahte's lips curled into an undetectable smile. It was as if he had been waiting for Qiu Qianren to arrive while in a deadlock with him. "Rebellion? If the one in the palace is really His Majesty, then of course I'm rebelling. But what if the one in the palace is a fake? "
His words were earth-shattering and caused an uproar. Whether it was Pucha Ahte's subordinates or Tang Kuo Bian's, everyone was in an uproar.
"Ahte, what the hell are you talking about?!" An official from Tang Kuo Bian's family cursed. After all, the Jin Kingdom had only been in the Central Plains for a short time, so they hadn't fully assimilated their language into the Han language. Most of the time, their language was still crude. But at this moment, no one cared about his tone. They all looked at Pucha Ahte in horror, including those from his faction.
Everyone in the field subconsciously thought that he had gone mad, except for Song Qingshu, Ge Bi, and the others. They looked at each other in horror, not knowing where they had slipped up and how they had been discovered.
Looking at 'Tang Kuo Bian's' horrified expression, Pucha Ahte seemed to have a card up his sleeve. He took the opportunity to say, "Tang Kuo Bian, do you dare to answer a few questions of mine?"
Ge Bi forced himself to calm down. "What questions?"
"Since the coup in the Hailing Mausoleum, why has the Emperor been living in seclusion and rarely shown his face? I heard that even Empress Pei Man has been banished to the Cold Palace." Pucha Ahte's words did indeed cause many officials to ponder. Recently, they had seen the Emperor very few times, not even Empress Pei Man. Although some people had suspected it before, they didn't think too much about it. But now that they were led by Pucha Ahte's words, they suddenly felt that the Emperor might really be under house arrest.
"Many officials know that the Emperor was seriously injured during the rebellion of the Hailing Mausoleum. He has mainly been recuperating recently, so it's normal for him to live in seclusion." Ge Bi explained calmly, "As for Empress Pei Man, she was involved in a rebellion with the Hailing Mausoleum rebels, so she was banished to the Cold Palace. She didn't deliberately announce it for the sake of the royal family's reputation."
His words were reasonable and dispelled many people's doubts. But who knew that Pucha Ahte had already prepared for this. He calmly moved on to the next question. "Then why has there been no record of the Emperor's concubines in the past year? You know, how can a normal man not touch a woman for a year? What's more, our Emperor has never been happy without women! "
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