Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 367, The Struggle for the Crown Prince

Jia Lian is now in a dilemma. If Qiao Shi had given birth to a daughter, it would have been fine, but it turned out to be a son.

Wang Xifeng had no children, and this son was very tempting to Jia Lian. However, Jia Lian was not willing to divorce Wang Xifeng because of this.

Firstly, they had been married for many years and had developed some feelings for each other.

Secondly, although the status of merchants has improved under Fang Yong's rule, it is still clearly not as prominent as that of the Wang family. I heard that the Huaiyin Army has recently made contact with Prince Teng in Liaodong...

Jia Lian was unwilling to divorce his wife, but Qiao was pressuring him hard, seemingly intending to go to the capital to file a complaint.

If this matter were to escalate, even if Jia Lian were not ultimately convicted, his career would certainly be ruined.

Jia Lian dared not send the news back to the Jia family mansion, and lived in constant fear.

Fang Yong was able to learn of Jia Lian's son's birth through a report delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Seeing Jia Lian's situation, Fang Yong thought for a moment and decided to take this opportunity to have Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng divorce.

This matter has been dragging on for quite some time.

It's inconvenient for Wang Xifeng to keep going to the palace.

Fang Yong had actually made arrangements long ago. Over the years, Feng Jie'er had long since taken his form, but Feng Jie'er's situation was different from Qin Keqing's.

Qin Keqing was pushed into the divorce by her father-in-law and husband, so she felt no psychological pressure during the process. But Feng Jie…

Strictly speaking, both Fang Yong and Feng Jie were somewhat sorry to Jia Lian. Of course, Fang Yong has already made amends in this regard, but there must be a reason for wanting a divorce, right?

Fang Yong originally intended to bring up the matter after Feng Jie became pregnant and then make amends to Jia Lian. However, Feng Jie's health was too poor. Although she looked plump and beautiful, she was actually weak and easily aroused. Fang Yong had no choice but to practice the exercises with her first to regulate her body before discussing the pregnancy.

As a result, things have been delayed until today.

He picked up his pen and wrote a private letter to Jia Lian, explaining the whole story.

Fang Yong did not try to cover it up, because this was something that could not be hidden by concealment.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang tried to cover it up for a long time, but in the end he still couldn't hide it.

Instead of wasting time on this, we should focus on governing the country properly.

Right and wrong will be judged by future generations a hundred years from now.

Fang Yong is not afraid of being criticized, and he has never tried to portray himself as a perfect saint.

He even wanted to take advantage of the last period of the Age of Exploration to get involved in the slave trade, using cheap slaves to build palaces and city walls to satisfy his ambitious and selfish desires.

As long as the bottom line he sets is low enough, this kind of thing is nothing.

It just so happened that Sister Feng was also in the palace that day, so Fang Yong asked Yuanyang, who was by his side, to call Sister Feng over and write a letter to Jia Lian so that he could give up on her.

Yuanyang lowered her head and went to call for Fengjie.

Yuanyang had been serving Fang Yong for some time and was well aware of his debauchery. The rumors from the outside world were absolutely true; this King Wu was indeed a womanizer.

The eldest daughter-in-law of the East Mansion, Sister Feng of the Rong Mansion, and Yuan Chun in the palace, the third daughter and Miss Yun whom she watched grow up, and the delicate Princess Consort, all of whom were only recently of marriageable age.

Even she herself...

Yuanyang went to find Fengjie, but she hadn't gone far when she heard some noise outside. Looking out, she saw several palace maids being scolded.

A young girl who looked quite young, with a slender figure and delicate features, dressed differently from ordinary palace maids, yet not like a female official in charge, was truly strange.

The girl reprimanded him sharply:

"How can you take good care of the prince if you all act like this..."

The young palace maids dared not refute, and all listened meekly.

Yuanyang looked at the girl for a while, and was somewhat surprised by her appearance, but also felt a little inferior.

As expected of someone from the palace, even an ordinary female official was more beautiful than her. Now that I think about it, it was truly a great opportunity for her to be chosen by the prince and stay by his side to serve him.

Or, from another perspective, it's also thanks to the prince's lustful nature that he became close to her.

They continued searching for Sister Feng, and after finding her, Yuanyang took her back with her.

Her phoenix eyes were charming and her face was radiant.

Under Fang Yong's care, Feng Jie's complexion improved even more.

Unfortunately, she looks like a fairy princess when she's not speaking, but the moment she opens her mouth, the filter shatters instantly.

Sister Feng stepped forward and casually placed her slender fingers on Fang Yong's shoulder.

"Your Highness, what brings you here? And with Yuanyang...?"

Their faces instantly turned pink.

Fang Yong shook his head helplessly and pulled Feng Jie'er to sit on his lap. The soft fabric tightly wrapped around her buttocks, and as she sat down, her soft flesh changed into the most suitable shape.

"They asked you to write a letter."

Fang Yong explained.

"write a letter?"

When Sister Feng looked at the letter written by Fang Yong, she was momentarily stunned when she saw its contents.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Fang Yong stroked her soft waist and said gently:

"From now on, you shall live in the palace and not go back."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng was deeply moved.

Fang Yong then remembered something and said:
"Oh, and don't forget to bring Ping'er over."

Sister Feng immediately turned to a look of resentment.

"greedy!"

Fang Yong laughed and said, "It's not that I'm greedy, it's just that Feng'er is too useless."

Sister Feng raised her phoenix eyebrows.

Fang Yong said, "Feng'er, I bet you won't last a quarter of an hour this time."

Sister Feng was very indignant upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Fang Yong picked up Feng Jie and found the most comfortable way to hold her.

Feng Jie'er's two legs were draped over Fang Yong's arms, and his strong arms deformed her fair and tender calves under the pressure.

With immense strength and speed, unrestrained and fierce, exerting all its power, time and time again.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Sister Feng could no longer hold on and begged for mercy, calling out to Yuanyang for help.

Yuanyang blushed, but could only obediently step forward.

The magnificent Qianqing Palace, with its layers of walls, blocked out the sound, keeping this chaotic scene isolated within the palace.

Outside the palace, several newly arrived young palace maids were managing things in an orderly manner.

Qingwen watched this scene with satisfaction, but her eyes kept glancing into the distance, as if she was expecting something.

If the prince were to pass by and see this scene, he would surely be very happy.

Unfortunately, the prince did not come out until late at night.

Liaodong.

Chu Renfeng fled on horseback in a disheveled state.

An arrow flew towards him. Chu Renfeng heard the bowstring vibrate and felt a chill on his back. Instinctively, he lay down on his horse and dodged the arrow.

A ravine appeared ahead, and Chu Renfeng pulled on the reins, spurring his horse to leap across it.

Although Chu Renfeng could ride horses in the past, his horsemanship was never this superb.

But as the saying goes, teaching someone a hundred times is not as effective as teaching them once.

As the arrow whizzed past his head, Chu Renfeng could clearly feel his equestrian skills rapidly increasing.

Originally, Chu Renfeng was imprisoned in Fengtian. His stepmother, Madam Zu, took control of the city and, together with her family, the Zu clan, concealed the news of Chu Yuqi's serious illness. In Chu Yuqi's name, they refused to allow other generals stationed outside to return to the city and even forbade them to seek out good doctors, leaving Chu Yuqi to wait to die on his sickbed.

Four days ago, Chu Yuqi, who had been ill for a long time without receiving medical treatment, finally passed away.

The first thing Madam Zu did after Chu Yuqi's death was to poison Chu Renfeng in the name of filial piety.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei of the Huaiyin bandits—oh no, now we should call him Lord Wu.

In short, the Imperial Guards made timely contact with Chu Renfeng and rescued him from the city.

However, the Jinyiwei's power within the city was limited, and even if they sent Chu Renfeng out of the city, they could not completely guarantee Chu Renfeng's safety.

After discovering that Chu Renfeng had escaped, the Zu family immediately sent people to hunt him down at all costs.

The struggle for the crown prince position is a matter of life or death.

Cao Pi's decision to have Cao Zhi compose a poem in seven steps was truly merciful. At this point, the Zu clan had already staked their entire family on the matter, and there was absolutely no room for leniency.

(End of this chapter)