Chapter 217
Finally, giving her an appreciative look, "Lord Shen, you only need to remember this: the Yu family will keep in mind those who are loyal to my younger female cousin. My cousin will certainly see it too."
Thinking of this, Shen Chunying and Yu Huaixian exchanged a glance, and both couldn't help but squeeze their horses' bellies. Seeing their actions, the driver Zhang Fang also raised his horsewhip.
Yue Fuguang, sitting in the carriage waiting to enjoy the gossip, suddenly felt the carriage speed up. She peeked outside through the gap in the curtains, and a smile crept up the corners of her lips, like a cat that had just stolen a fish.
[Master, this Xu Qian has a son named Xu Qi. Last year, during His Majesty's birthday festival, he took in a beautiful concubine.
This woman is named Luo Mei. She has fair skin, a beautiful face, and an exquisite, curvy figure. She won Xu Qi's deep affection, to the point where he spends almost every night in her room.
Because of this, it naturally provoked the dissatisfaction of Xu Qi's wife, Madam Chen. Thus, inner court battles are staged every day in the Xu residence.
When Xu Qian, as the father, was reprimanding his son in the study, telling him to exercise moderation, he coincidentally bumped into Concubine Mei who came to deliver soup. Xu Qian fell in one-sided love at first sight with her.]
'This Concubine Mei is young and beautiful, is she truly willing to submit to an old geezer like Xu Qian?' Isn't a young, handsome guy much more appealing?
[Has Master forgotten where Xu Qian comes from? The Ministry of Works! He is a colleague in the same department as your grandfather, and they used to be of the same rank.
Xu Qian had long considered Yu Chongshan's current position as the Vice Minister of Works to be his own in the bag. Who knew it would ultimately fall into the lap of Yu Chongshan, who was originally half-retired.]
'So he holds a grudge against my grandfather, and that led to today's drama?'
[Master guessed correctly. He believes the reason Yu Chongshan was able to be promoted to the Vice Minister position is entirely due to your rise.
And the reason this Concubine Mei entered the inner courtyard of the Xu family was also targeting Xu Qian, an official with real power in the Ministry of Works.]
'Another spy? They really are impossible to guard against! Since she was targeting Xu Qian, why didn't she directly enter Xu Qian's inner courtyard, but chose Xu Qi instead?'
[Because starting from last year, Emperor Mingxi, along with Wei Ping and Cai Xian, increased their precautions against the inner courtyards of important ministers. Whenever someone marries a wife or takes a concubine, that person's entire past will appear on the emperor's desk within a few days.
On the contrary, Xu Qi, who has not yet secured an official position in the court, became the best target. The imperial court would not investigate the origins of a concubine belonging to an official's son.]
'What a classic case of an ulterior motive! Are they coming for Great Yan's technology?'
[Yes, the spies they planted around Xu Qian detected changes in the Ministry of Works and suspected there was new technology.
However, the spies around Xu Qian had been unable to find a breakthrough to get concrete information, which is why they sent out this 'beautiful flower'.
Their purpose is to seize the opportunity to corrupt Xu Qian with beauty. It would be best if they could win him over; if not, they could still pry the information they want to know from his mouth.]
'Is this Concubine Mei not from Great Yan?'
[She is a pure Great Yan person, but the ones who paid to raise and train her were people from Northern Li. Master knows the original person in charge, it was that Xu Changyue.
After Xu Changyue was arrested by Great Yan, they replaced him with someone from Northern Yue.
This time entering the Xu family, she was also acting under the orders of Northern Yue.
Northern Yue originally wanted to gather information from Prince Ming, but unfortunately, he was first caught in the act of adultery by Lan Xuan'er, and then grounded—he still hasn't been released to this day.
With no other choice, they could only send someone into the Xu family's inner courtyard, which seemed the easiest to breach. A land of tender romance can be a hero's tomb, so burying a useless coward is certainly not an issue.]
'Did she succeed in the end?'
[Xu Qian only just got his hands on her right before the Lantern Festival. This Concubine Mei is still gently and carefully coaxing him, not daring to too obviously pry into his official business.]
'Does Xu Qi know that his old man is secretly tasting the forbidden fruit right in his own room?'
[Xu Qi doesn't know yet, but Madam Chen, who has absolute control over her own branch of the family, has already grown suspicious.
If it weren't for the accomplice—a servant planted by Northern Li around Xu Qian—helping to cover it up, this matter would have been discovered by Madam Chen long ago.]
'Since they are coming for the technology I provided, we can't just ignore it. Little Zhu, write this matter into a whistle-blower letter and place it on Cai Xian's desk.'
[Master, look, Little Zhu said this person deserves to be struck by lightning!]
Just as Yue Fuguang was preparing to have dinner, a sudden, deafening rumble echoed in her ears.
Cuizhu's hand, which was serving the soup, only trembled slightly before she steadily placed the bowl in front of Yue Fuguang.
She also instructed, "Qingzhu, go and see where that noise outside came from. Don't dally around; come back immediately once you have news."
Despite saying this, Cuizhu already had some guesses in her heart. The commotion sounded like thunder, and looking at the time, wasn't it exactly when the officials finished their shifts and returned to their estates?
The news that Lord Xu Qian was struck unconscious by a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky just as he entered his estate's gates seemed to grow wings. It didn't take long for it to fly into thousands of households.
It also flew into the ears of Yue Fuguang, who was drinking her second bowl of soup.
[Host, do you want to see the miserable state of Xu Qian after being struck by lightning?]
'How can I see it? Can you even show me a live broadcast?'
[Not right now, but once we expose a bit more and upgrade to level four, maybe the Gossip System will have this feature.
I can show you a picture now.]
Yue Fuguang was not very confident in the functions her crippled system possessed. She could not help but question, "Are you sure that once you upgrade to level four, you will be able to inherit all the functions of the Gossip System?"
[Uh... As long as there is enough energy, I can repair myself! Host, just think about it. When the time comes, you can show these natives some videos from your hometown, and it will completely blow their minds!
And there is the Merit System. The higher the level, the more you, Ms. Yue Fuguang, as the host, can rely on the power of merit to do things that mortals cannot do, such as manifesting divinity in public.]
"Manifesting divinity in public? Showing off is satisfying, but it costs way too many points!" Was she spending points? No, she was spending her arms, her legs, her eyes, and her mouth.
[If the host relies on the power of merit, it would be just like a cultivator using their own spiritual energy to cast spells. You would be relying on yourself rather than those overpriced special effects bought from the system shop.]
"You just said it is a cultivator's spell, and I am not a cultivator!"
The reason Yue Fuguang was so obsessed with having her own body was also the hope that one day she could possess supreme power herself, rather than living in a borrowed shell like she was doing now.
[Hehe, this is the good news I want to tell you right now! Hurry, swallow the soup in your mouth. I am afraid you might spit it out when you hear the news.]
"What good news? How could you hold it in until now?" Yue Fuguang asked while finishing her last mouthful of soup.
System: Could I say that I only found out a few minutes earlier than you did?
[I was just afraid of disturbing your sleep!
Host, brace yourself. The news this system is about to share is about the question we asked the Main System a few days ago regarding the anomaly in your soul. Today, the Main System finally replied.]
Hearing its words, Yue Fuguang immediately smiled. "That really is good news. Judging by your reaction, it is a good thing?"
Seeing Yue Fuguang suddenly smile while eating the food in her bowl, Cuizhu, who was waiting on her by the side, silently made a mental note. A dish that could make her young lady smile while eating must be one of her favorites.
It had to be said, this was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.