Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1258 Nothing
What made Yu Mingyue feel even more surprised was that although everyone was celebrating loudly, Xiao Yuansui, who was also at the center of the storm, was almost as calm as Yuwen Qian, who was the quietest at the center of the storm. He just sat behind the King of Qi obediently and said nothing.

But he kept looking at them, especially at her, his eyes seemed to be examining her.

Yu Mingyue said: "You must be Xiao Yuansui."

Yuwen Cheng turned his head and took a look, then said with a smile: "Yes, sister-in-law, he is Xiao Yuansui."

At this time, Xiao Yuansui finally stood up slowly, and under the attention of everyone, he bowed to Yu Mingyue and said, "Xiao Yuansui pays respect to the Crown Princess."

It was not until he spoke that everyone in the hall fell silent.

Speaking of which, some people here may not have seen Xiao Yuansui, but no one is unfamiliar with this name. On the contrary, this name is well-known to most people. Yu Dingxing even hoped that he could eliminate Yuwen Ye and his cronies in Luoyang in one fell swoop.

But no one expected that the battle with such a huge disparity in strength would end with Yuwen Ye's victory.

Now, this person is under their command again.

According to Yu Dingxing's personality, or the instinctive reaction of a local tyrant to a powerful dragon, they should have taken this opportunity to teach this man a lesson, but everyone was so happy today that no one paid attention to him. Moreover, if you think about it carefully, it was because of him that Yuwen Yuan was able to get rid of Yuwen Ye with an imperial decree. Even though Yu Dingxing was mean by nature, he didn't want to embarrass him at this time.

So when they saw Xiao Yuansui standing up and bowing to the Crown Princess, everyone didn't say much, but just looked at him quietly.

Yu Mingyue looked Xiao Yuansui up and down, then smiled faintly and said, "Your name is well-known."

Although her words were literally a compliment, her tone didn't seem to mean that.

Xiao Yuansui was so smart that he could not fail to notice her somewhat sarcastic tone. However, his expression remained calm as he smiled faintly and said, "It seems that my appearance has disappointed the Crown Princess."

Yu Mingyue said calmly: "I can't say I'm disappointed."

"..."

"I just want to thank you for giving me a great victory in Dasheng."

Hearing this, Yu Dingxing frowned slightly.

He had given up on using his status as a local tyrant to intimidate Xiao Yuansui, but he didn't expect Yu Mingyue to do it himself. But today is a good day, and this "victory" against Yuwen Ye was also achieved through Xiao Yuansui. Is it really okay to ridicule him like this?

Sure enough, after hearing Yu Mingyue's words, the other officials also quieted down and looked at Xiao Yuansui.

Xiao Yuansui's face still did not show any anger, but was calmer and more open-minded. He said, "Crown Princess, you are too polite. I am not very knowledgeable, and I am not very virtuous, so I failed in Luoyang."

"Oh."

Yu Mingyue raised the corners of her lips slightly and looked at him with a smile, thinking that this man was just like that.

Xiao Yuansui said respectfully: "But as I am defeated, I will obey the prince's orders, so I have no regrets even if I am defeated."

The smile in Yu Mingyue's eyes deepened.

The people around him didn't expect him to be so respectful, and they couldn't help but doubt the rumors in the past. Is this really the Xiao Yuansui who was praised by Emperor Wen as "a pillar of the country"? But thinking about it again, people have to bow their heads under the eaves. Since he has fallen to this end, he naturally has to be respectful.

Then, a smile appeared on everyone's face.

Xiao Yuansui turned around and looked at the people around him, bowed and said, "I'm new here, and I don't know your names yet."

Yuwen Cheng was the only person he was familiar with, so he pointed at Yu Dingxing and said, "This one is the Duke of Wushan, the General of the Left Guard, and the prince's father-in-law; this one is the prince's brother-in-law, the General of the Right Guard, Su Changjing. And..."

After he finished introducing everyone, Xiao Yuansui also bowed to everyone and said, "I see you all look a little unfamiliar. So, apart from Yuwen Ye's men, the only ones who went to Luoyang before were His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and Lord Shang?"

Yu Wencheng said indifferently: "Yes."

Xiao Yuansui sighed softly.

Yu Dingxing asked, "Why is Master Xiao sighing?"

Xiao Yuansui said: "I sigh, the Emperor of Dasheng is indeed strict in rewarding and punishing, and his authority is great but his grace is small. If I want to establish achievements in Xijing, I am afraid it will be much more difficult than in Dongdu."

Yu Dingxing asked: "How do you see that?"

Xiao Yuansui looked at him with a smile in his eyes: "You know, when the Eastern Capital was captured, Liang Shide had already proclaimed himself king."

Yu Dingxing said: "I have heard of this."

Xiao Yuansui said, "After several bloody battles, the King of Luoyang should have been awarded at least two titles of generals, but now, only one title of Zhenbei General has been given to His Majesty the Prince of Qi. Doesn't that mean that His Majesty's prestige is too great and his favor is too light?"

"..."

"I am a person of low moral character and little talent, and I am afraid that I will never be able to make a name for myself."

Yu Dingxing seemed to have thought of something when he heard this, but before he could speak, Su Changjing beside him suddenly said, "Who told you that the King of Luoyang was only given the title of a great general?"

Xiao Yuansui turned his head and looked at him: "Could it be that someone else is being rewarded?"

Su Changjing glanced at Yu Mingyue with the corner of his eye and said with a smile: "The emperor also conferred a title of 'Majestic Lady'."

Xiao Yuansui asked, "I wonder who was given the title?"

"of course--"

Before Su Changjing finished speaking, Yu Mingyue suddenly interrupted them: "Enough, we are talking about the current situation, who cares who gets the title after the battle in Luoyang?"

Hearing this, Su Changjing's eyes were already filled with an unconcealable smile, and he deliberately bowed to her and said, "Princess, please forgive me. It was Lord Xiao who asked me that made me answer him. I don't want to displease you."

Yu Mingyue stared at him with a sullen face.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little weird. After all, everyone present knew that this "magnificent lady" was canonized by His Majesty the Emperor as the Princess of Qin, and he also allowed her to lead the army. You know, when the Crown Prince and the King of Qin went to war at the same time in the Battle of Taiyuan, the Crown Princess and the Princess of Qin also followed the army. But now, the Princess of Qin has already won the military exploits and the canonization that shocked the court and the public, but the Crown Princess has no title or reward at all.

Ordinary people may not understand, but people in the court are very sensitive——

This shows that the Princess of Qin really outshined the Crown Princess.

No wonder Yu Mingyue’s face looked so ugly when talking about this.

At this moment, she gritted her teeth hard, her face looked a little ferocious, but she couldn't ridicule Su Changjing as she did to Yu Mingzhu, so she could only swallow her anger and look at Xiao Yuansui again. Did he bring this up on purpose?
But where her eyes fell, Xiao Yuansui was looking at her quietly with a faint smile on his face, as if he was unaware of this matter. Yu Mingyue felt a burning sensation on her face, but she had no way to get angry, so she could only grit her teeth and swallow the anger.

She sneered, "She's just a majestic lady, do you really think she's a great general?"

Su Changjing said: "I dare not."

Xiao Yuansui said no more and quietly returned to his seat. He took one last look at Yu Mingyue, who was still angry and had a sullen look on her face. He slowly lowered his eyes, and his thick eyelashes covered those bright eyes. For a moment, no one could see what kind of expression was flashing in those eyes.

But in his heart, it was as clear as if a skylight had opened.

He murmured, "Crown Princess, it's nothing more than that..."

"What did you say?"

Yu Wencheng, who was sitting next to him, heard his murmur and turned to look at him. Xiao Yuansui immediately shook his head calmly: "Nothing."

Yuwen Cheng looked at him strangely, but he didn't care too much. After all, there were more important things at hand. So he raised his head and said to the officials, "This time, the emperor not only ordered the King of Qin to leave Chang'an in ten days, but also did not agree to give him the Shangdang and Puban he had asked for before. This gave us an opportunity."

Su Changjing looked at him: "Your Highness means that we have to take these two places."

Yu Dingxing pondered for a while and said, "We must not only take these two places, but also the passes mentioned by the King of Qin. We must first think of ways to deal with them."

When this was mentioned, everyone started to focus.

Yes, being kicked out of Chang'an was one thing, but his leaving did not mean that he would never come back. In fact, the reason why Yuwen Yuan almost ruthlessly used Xiao Yuansui to force him to Luoyang this time was because he had previously proposed to go to Shangdang and Puban, which was obviously a preparation for the future entry of troops into Chang'an, which touched the emperor's reverse scale.

Since he had such an idea, they naturally had to block his way.

Yuwen Cheng murmured, "What a pity! If we had prepared to take these places earlier, perhaps we could rest easy now. But now that the King of Qin has mentioned these places, perhaps Father will not hand them over to other people so easily."

Yu Mingyue pulled herself back from her anger and looked at him: "Why?"

Yu Dingxing glanced at her and said, "The action of the King of Qin asking the Emperor to take these places is already telling Your Majesty how important these places are to Chang'an."

"..."

"If someone were to ask His Majesty for these places now, what do you think His Majesty would think?"

"..."

"Your Majesty doesn't trust him, and he won't trust anyone else."

Suspicion is a very mysterious thing. It can take root as soon as the mind moves. Especially after encountering wind and rain, it will be like a weed that grows wildly in the human heart. The older the person is, the weaker the body, and the more powerful the person is, the more this weed will flourish in the heart, and it may even devour the original heart and the person's original calmness and self-control.

Judging from the fact that Yuwen Yuan ruthlessly drove Yuwen Ye away this time, his dissatisfaction and suspicion towards Yuwen Ye had reached its peak.

Once this suspicion begins to grow, it will not just focus on Yuwen Ye alone.

As an emperor, Yuwen Yuan would be alert to the threat posed by Yuwen Ye, and use this vigilance to guard against everyone.

Hearing him say this, Yu Mingyue's eyes dimmed.

Everyone realized this and they looked at each other, with faces that were originally filled with joy now showing an embarrassment.

At this moment, a voice sounded in the quiet lobby -

"Your Majesty will not easily trust others, but aren't the rules of the court still there?"

When everyone heard the voice, they all turned their heads in unison. More than a dozen pairs of eyes were focused on Xiao Yuansui who was standing next to Yuwen Cheng. He was sitting there motionless, with a temperament as steady as a rock, and the words he said also made people feel an invisible sense of stability.

Someone hurriedly asked: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Yuansui raised his head and smiled faintly: "If you have made contributions, you will be rewarded after all."

Hearing this, Yu Mingyue's face darkened again.

Xiao Yuansui's words undoubtedly confirmed what he said before, that the emperor was powerful but not very kind. However, Su Changjing told him that the emperor not only appointed a general to guard the north, but also appointed a lady of great power. Yu Mingyue's face seemed to be blew by a gust of wind again.

Although her expression was not good, Yu Dingxing immediately understood what she meant and looked up at Xiao Yuansui: "What do you mean--"

Xiao Yuansui smiled and said, "That means making a contribution."

"..."

"Only after you have made contributions can you be qualified to ask His Majesty the Emperor for a reward."

Su Changjing immediately sneered, "You said that easily. After the battle in Luoyang, the court has already reached a decision that the emperor will not easily start a war again in the short term. In addition to making meritorious deeds on the battlefield, what other ways can the court use to make meritorious deeds so quickly and get the emperor's reward?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Dingxing beside him reached out and pressed the back of his hand.

The movement was very light and almost no one noticed it, but Xiao Yuansui still saw it at a glance.

Then, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

In fact, there was no need for Yu Dingxing to hide anything. He had realized the weak defense of Chang'an since he arrived there. If Shi Yuxin's tens of thousands of troops had really been able to attack Chang'an as planned, the outcome of the war in Luoyang would have been difficult to predict. Moreover, almost everyone was advising Yuwen Yuan to spare his life this time, and even Yuwen Yuan himself did not really intend to kill him. On the surface, it seemed that he loved and cherished his talent, and also to balance the struggle between the crown prince and the King of Qin. In fact, it was more likely to prevent the surrendered soldiers brought back by Yuwen Ye from causing trouble.

Once his death arouses anxiety among those people and causes unrest in the army, Chang'an may be in chaos.

Seeing through this, he remained calm and said calmly: "That's true, but the enemy is not only outside right now."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent again.

Yu Dingxing narrowed his eyes slightly: "What you mean is——"

But when he said this, Xiao Yuansui lowered his head and said respectfully: "I spoke nonsense."

As soon as he stopped, a look of confusion immediately appeared on everyone's faces, as if they didn't quite understand what the flash of inspiration that just passed through their minds was. For a moment, everyone looked at me, and I looked at you, all a little dazed.

Only Yuwen Cheng's eyes flickered intensely after he looked at him, as if he had been told something.