Chapter 288
"Murong Qian's body is already ruined, yet he still visits brothels? Isn't he afraid those women will despise him for being impotent?"
Everyone who heard her question had dark lines on their faces. Lord Junior Preceptor, aren't you focusing on the wrong point?
At such a critical moment, shouldn't you be asking the Divine Artifact if Miss Hong successfully left the Murong family?
[Doesn't he have medicine for that! Master, Murong Liang nurtures the enemy to elevate his own status. Not only does he merely repel the enemy's harassment during wartime without destroying their core strength,
he deliberately slows down his offensive when the enemy is weak, even tacitly allowing them to recover.
He also murders innocent civilians under his rule, claiming their heads as enemy kills for merit, falsifies military intelligence, and exaggerates his battle results.
He secretly trades supplies with the enemy, exchanging weapons and armor for horses, medicinal herbs, and other goods.
And as one of the five major defending generals of the border army, the defense zone Murong Liang is stationed at is precisely the border between Great Yan, Nanzhao, and Nanyue.
So, Master, do you really think Murong Qian couldn't get his hands on some aphrodisiacs?]
"Then did Hong Yueling return to the capital smoothly?"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The topic that these two ancestors had derailed was finally brought back on track.
However, Emperor Mingxi and his ministers didn't think the previous topic was off-track, because they heard crucial information from the words of those two ancestors.
Murong Qian was actually secretly trading with the enemy, and it was even important strategic materials like weapons and armor!
Hiss! Emperor Mingxi was so angry he almost pulled out a tuft of his own beard.
[Naturally, she did not. The Murong family was not completely ignorant of Murong Qian's condition, hence the issue of not being able to have children.
Although they had complaints, Murong Qian's backyard had several concubines and bedmates besides Hong Yueling, and not a single one could bear a child.
It was obvious at a glance who the problem lay with.
Therefore, the Murong family said they would invite renowned doctors from the capital to diagnose and treat them, so she didn't have to go through the arduous journey of traveling thousands of miles back.
After being rejected the first time, the resilient Hong Yueling still didn't give up. Just at this time, a letter from the Hong family arrived saying that Madam Fang was ill.
They asked Hong Yueling to help find a few precious medicinal herbs, because with the border mutual trade, herbs from Nanzhao and Nanyue were relatively easy to find.
Using this excuse, Hong Yueling continued to bring up her desire to return to the capital to visit her mother.]
"Did she succeed?"
This question also appeared in everyone's minds at the same time.
[No!]
Unfortunately, the Divine Artifact's answer disappointed them greatly once again.
"Why is it this time? Isn't the Murong family being too overbearing? A daughter-in-law returning to her maiden home to visit her sick mother is very much in line with filial piety, isn't it?
What reason did they have to refuse?
Hong Yueling married into the Murong family; she wasn't sold to them."
[Master, because the Murong family naturally has its own intelligence channels in the upper capital city. As in-laws, they would naturally pay attention to the affairs of the Hong family.
At that time, Madam Fang was indeed ill, but she had merely caught a chill and it was nothing serious.
The Hong family used this as a pretext to ask Hong Yueling to collect good medicinal herbs, which were actually meant to be used to pull strings for Hong Feng's eldest illegitimate son, Hong Yulin.]
"This Hong Feng is really something. Selling his daughter once for his son wasn't enough; now he's thinking of this daughter again for his future prospects.
Didn't Concubine Mu plot Hong Yueling's marriage in the first place just to get Hong Yulin a good teacher?
Why didn't that so-called great scholar of the Murong family accept him?"
[He did accept him, but because Hong Yulin's aptitude was mediocre, he only took him in as an honorary disciple. However, he did accept Concubine Mu's nephew, Mu Cong, as a formal disciple.
Master, that so-called great scholar Murong Sheng is a fraud himself. He only has the title of a great scholar because the Murong family spent money to promote him.
Hong Yulin studied for a few years and was still just a provincial graduate. Concubine Mu then set her sights on Yuxi Academy, wanting to send her son to study under its headmaster.]
Hong Feng, who was kneeling on the ground and didn't dare to get up, felt like dying when he heard the Little Immortal Lord mention him again!
But in his heart, there was mostly incompetent rage and resentment—resentment towards the Mu clan and the Mu family.
Meanwhile, several officials beside Emperor Mingxi strongly agreed with the Divine Artifact's words.
In the eyes of these top-tier metropolitan graduates, Murong Sheng indeed had an unearned reputation; his profound knowledge might not even surpass theirs.
Not having experienced the baptism of the imperial examinations, not having crossed the single-log bridge with thousands of troops and horses, in their view, meant he was unworthy of the name.
All that talk about being indifferent to fame and fortune, focusing solely on scholarship, and disdaining an official career was just nonsense!
If you can't pass the exam, you can't pass it; spouting all that is useless.
After all, in their eyes, failing to pass the metropolitan exam and passing it but choosing not to be an official were two entirely different things.
"So the Murong family, knowing the truth, rejected Hong Yueling's request?"
[Yes. Master just said that Hong Yueling married into the Murong family and wasn't sold by the Hong family. Although the words sound harsh,
the actual situation is pretty much the same.
How could Hong Feng, a dignified and noble Hanlin academician, not know the consequences of not letting his own wife, Madam Fang, handle the Murong family's betrothal gifts and their daughter's dowry?
His own mother and concubine tampered with the dowry. To say he didn't know about it, not even a dog would believe it.
Since Hong Yueling got married, the family's living conditions improved, and they could casually buy curios they couldn't afford before. How could he not know?]
"So this noble Hanlin Academy Reader-in-Waiting not only favored his concubine over his wife, but also sold his daughter for glory?"
[Exactly! Hong Yueling later proposed returning to the capital to visit her family several times, but was rejected every time. This matter also aroused the suspicion of Murong Liang and his wife, who is Murong Qian's biological mother.
Later, it was her bedfellow Murong Qian who first discovered Hong Yueling's issue and found an excuse to place her under house arrest.
Later, Hong Yueling managed to escape and was just a hair's breadth away from getting away, but in the end, she was caught and brought back by Murong Qian's men.
However, before being caught, Hong Yueling deliberately exposed herself to lure away the pursuers, allowing her close maidservant Hongque to sneak back to the capital to deliver a message.
Unfortunately, Hongque told Hong Feng the message that Hong Yueling had exchanged her safety for, but Hong Feng did not report it to Emperor Mingxi, who was already bedridden with severe illness at the time.
This news wasn't just about Murong Qian nurturing the enemy to elevate his own status, secretly doing business with enemy nations, and keeping bandits to rob traveling merchants.
It was also about her husband Murong Qian being privately intimate with a Nanyue man. This Nanyue man was Ling Yuanhang, the Ghost Hand General who had already married Miss Jiang and would massacre Lan City in the future.]
Yue Fuguang made a bold guess, "So, Ling Yuanhang attacking Lan City also had a contribution from the Murong family, or rather, Murong Qian?
Why did that Hong Feng cover up for the Murong family?"
Bang!
Hong Feng, who was already scared silly and couldn't figure out even if he racked his brains why his future self wouldn't report such important news, was suddenly kicked flying by Emperor Mingxi's large foot, his body crashing into a flowerpot by the path.
With a loud bang!
Hong Feng collided with the flowerpot. The flowerpot shattered, and he felt like he was going to shatter too!
[Of course. Hong Feng initially had the thought of reporting it. The news his daughter traded her life for would only be a great merit for him. As for his in-law relationship with the Murong family, the Emperor certainly wouldn't punish him for it.
But this matter was found out by Hong Yulin. As a student of the great Murong scholar, even though he was only an honorary one, he still had a lot of face in literary circles.
Naturally, he didn't want his backer to fall, nor did he want his status as a disciple of Murong Wen to affect his future official career.
So, he persuaded Hong Feng by saying that the Emperor was plagued by severe illness and could pass away any day.]