How did such immense wealth fall into my family?

Chapter 109 Do you really have an illegitimate child?

Previously, the emperor had never considered things from the perspective of children.

Now, if the eldest grandson of the Duke of Jin also has a questionable background, could those who know about their background control the Duke of Jin's and Duke of Wei's mansions through them?
The more the emperor thought about it, the more he felt that the child might be the key.

As for the Northern Barbarians?

At first, the Northern Barbarians probably only wanted to transfer the Duke of Jin and his heir from the capital. However, after the Duke of Jin's heir fell into their ambush and the Duke of Jin suffered repeated defeats, their appetite grew.

The Duke of Jin's mansion and the Duke of Wei's mansion were his two main sources of power.

Controlling the Duke of Jin's and Duke of Wei's mansions is equivalent to holding his two hands in check.

No, it's not just about holding him down; you can also attack him with your fists.

It seems that his real target was him.

And that was eighteen or nineteen years later.

Because it would take at least eighteen or nineteen years for the eldest grandson of the Duke of Jin and the Duke of Wei to take over their power.

The Emperor's eyes darkened; this man was truly patient. Unfortunately, fate wasn't on his side. Fate allowed the Duke of Jin to discover the truth and send Consort Tao to the Qian family.

The Emperor looked up at the sky. "Go and summon the Duke of Wei and his wife back."

"Yes."

When the Duke of Wei heard the Emperor summon him back again, he couldn't help but glance at his wife. Had his wife been right?
Lady Wei also became nervous. Although she wished she could beat Aunt Mei and her two children to death, they were all members of the Wei family. If they caused a major upheaval, the Wei family would also suffer.

The couple returned with trepidation.

When they returned, the Emperor had already arrived at the Imperial Study.

The emperor waved his hand, and all the palace servants in the room left.

Now the couple was even more nervous.

The Duke of Wei swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, is there something important that you summoned me and my wife back?"

The Emperor smiled. "Your beautiful concubine and your two illegitimate sons have quite the ambitions."

bump!
The Duke of Wei immediately knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, I truly did not know they had replaced my eldest grandson."

Lady Wei, the Duchess of Wei, quickly knelt down as well. "Your Majesty, I have been husband and wife with the Duke for so many years, and I know what kind of person he is. The Duke only gives his wife and her two children a little more money; he won't give them anything else. The Duke will not favor his concubines over his wife, much less favor his concubines over his legitimate children."

After a long pause, the Emperor said, "Get up."

The Duke of Wei dared not rise, nor did his wife.

Duke of Wei: "Your Majesty, I shall stay in the palace with you. You know I am not good at acting. If I see those three wretches and can't help but show it on my face, it will ruin your plans." Favor is one thing, the survival of the family is another.

The emperor said "hmm".

The Duke of Wei breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I would rather die than betray you."

So that person set their sights on your eldest grandson, while your two illegitimate sons are utterly ignorant of their place. "Get up."

"Yes."

The Emperor looked at the Duchess of Wei. "You may get up as well. You don't need to worry about this matter. Just pretend nothing happened."

"Yes. When I return, I will also tell those who know about this to keep their mouths shut."

"Ah."

"Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions? If not, I will take my leave."

"If someone asks you why I kept the Duke of Wei in the palace, what will you say?"

"I suggest that since you enjoyed your boxing match with the Duke, you should have him stay in the palace and practice with you for a few more days. What do you think?"

"Alright, I'll take my leave." "Yes."

As soon as the Duchess of Wei left, the Emperor kicked the Duke of Wei. "How could you spoil such a brat?"

The Duke of Wei touched his nose. "I'm stupid. Your Majesty, could you please tell me what those three wretches did? So I can be mentally prepared."

The Emperor glanced at the Duke of Wei. "Don't worry, I'll spare their lives for your sake." He only had these two friends.

The Duke of Wei gritted his teeth. "If they have truly done something to wrong you, you don't need to give me any face."

The Emperor waved his hand. "Alright. Stay in the palace."

The Duke of Wei kowtowed to the Emperor again. "Thank you. Your Majesty, are you sure you don't need me to go and support the Duke of Jin?"

"Need not."

"Alright. Your Majesty, you may continue with your work. I'm going back to reflect on my actions." The Duke of Jin and the Duke of Wei each had a designated room in the palace.

"Go."

After the Duke of Wei left, the Emperor summoned the commander of the secret guards.

The Emperor recounted his guess. "Go and investigate."

"Yes."

Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

As Duke Wei was strolling around the palace, a young eunuch from the Emperor's side approached him. "Greetings, Your Excellency. His Majesty summons you."

"Oh." As the Duke of Wei followed the young eunuch toward the imperial study, he asked, "What does His Majesty want with me?"

"This servant does not know."

"The Emperor probably wants to spar with me again."

The young eunuch smiled.

The Emperor waved to the Duke of Wei as he arrived.

After the palace servants left, the Emperor gave the Duke of Wei a memorial. "Take a look. The Duke of Jin wants to request an honor for his eldest grandson."

The Duke of Wei grew up with the Emperor and has been by the Emperor's side for so long that he has figured out that the Duke of Jin's injury is not as serious as the rumors are circulating.

As the Duke of Wei read the memorial, he said, "Isn't there a need to be in such a hurry?"

The Emperor smiled. “I also think there’s no need to rush. But there are rumors that the Duke of Jin is going to pass his title to that illegitimate son named Gousheng.”

The Duke of Wei curled his lip. "You may have an illegitimate child, but he won't have one. We don't even know how he got that illegitimate child."

The Emperor's face stiffened for a moment. "I have no illegitimate children either."

The Duke of Wei glanced at the Emperor. “I was just saying it casually, why are you taking it so seriously? Your Majesty, I remember that Heng’er went to war the day after his wedding. My eldest grandson is fake, could the Duke of Jin’s eldest grandson also be fake? Your Majesty, you cannot approve this memorial.”

The Emperor hadn't originally intended to approve it. "Hmm, it really should be investigated thoroughly; it might be fake after all."

The Duke of Wei returned the memorial to the Emperor. "If it's fake, then the Duke of Jin and I are truly brothers in misfortune. Your Majesty, I've been thinking about this carefully these past few days, and I think the real target of the person who instigated those three wicked children in my family to replace my eldest grandson might be you."

The Emperor smiled. "It seems these past few days haven't been wasted."

“Your Majesty, I grew up following in your footsteps.” The Duke of Wei leaned closer to the Emperor and whispered, “Your Majesty, have you ever considered that if they dared to replace my eldest grandson, wouldn’t they also dare to replace your eldest grandson? Your Majesty, you’d better investigate.”

The Emperor glanced at the Duke of Wei. "Only you would say such things to me. I have already ordered an investigation."

The Duke of Wei was relieved. "Your Majesty, do you really have an illegitimate child? Your expression just now seemed a bit strange."

"No. You've misread it. You can continue your stroll; I need to get busy. By the way, while you're out strolling, could you check which palace servants seem to be having problems?"

(End of this chapter)