Chapter 216 The Hidden Story of the Past

Old Madam Jiang sat aside, looking at Jiang Yi with a look of disgust: "Don't make so many excuses for yourself! Whether he is an emperor or a beggar, you eloped with someone without telling your parents. Isn't it a corruption of personal morality?"

Jiang Yi sneered: "Old Madam has been noble and unworldly all your life, but you gave birth to a daughter like me who doesn't know how to behave. It's really wronged you."

Old Madam Jiang was angry: "You-"

"But no matter what I did, Yan Li is innocent after all." Jiang Yi said coldly, "How the Jiang family treated her over the years, the old lady knows it in her heart, and I know it in my heart, and I remember this account in my heart."

Teacher Jiang's face was as gloomy as water, thinking that she had not heard from her for fourteen years, and now she was going to ask for punishment when they met...

Wait.

Teacher Jiang held the wine cup, and suddenly a sense of foreboding flashed through his heart, and his deep eyes slowly fell on Jiang Yi's bright and outstanding face.

After a moment, he turned his head and glanced at the emperor.

The emperor knew that Jiang Yi was not dead, but he didn't reveal a word to them for fourteen years.

Since Jiang Yi had left fifteen years ago, why did she come back pregnant and give birth to her daughter in the Jiang family?

Wasn't she worried that they would treat her harshly?

Was the so-called elopement fifteen years ago really because she fell in love with someone, or did she and the emperor conspire to do something unknown?

If it was the latter, why did they keep it secret so tightly that even the closest people didn't know anything?

Master Jiang lowered his eyes, and for some reason he suddenly thought of the King of Western Frontier who was far away at the border.

The friendship between Mu and Jin countries, and the absence of war at the border, meant that the King of Western Frontier's troops no longer had a need to exist, and the emperor therefore had a legitimate reason to reduce the power of the vassal.

Thinking of the recent loss of power of the queen and the prince, Master Jiang felt a chill running up his spine from the soles of his feet.

"Since the person that Queen Jiang liked was the Crown Prince of Jin, why didn't there be any news for so many years?" Prime Minister Gu was obviously puzzled, "Is the identity of the Crown Prince shameful?"

Jiang Yi said in a light tone: "It is indeed shameful."

The Crown Prince of Jin was falsely accused of treason, and the Crown Princess's family was imprisoned. After the Crown Prince was deposed, he was almost assassinated.

I don't know how Emperor Zhaocheng got this news, and he secretly discussed with Jiang Yi, wanting her to go to Jin to help the Crown Prince.

As the ruler of Mu State, Emperor Zhaocheng naturally did not pity the Crown Prince, but Mu State was in a difficult situation, and he had to find a way to establish a good relationship with Jin State, so he used Jiang Yi to marry in order to achieve the goal of turning hostility into friendship with Jin State.

The deposed Crown Prince was in a difficult situation, and Mu State helped him at this time, which was a great favor to him.

And the Crown Prince was kind by nature and easy to control.

At the same time, the existence of the King of Xijiang had posed a great threat to the imperial power.

Emperor Zhaocheng wanted to reduce the power of the vassal states, but there was no legitimate reason, and he was worried that the king of Xijiang would rebel.

So Jiang Yi's marriage was the best arrangement.

The reason for keeping it secret was to protect the prince in Jin and to avoid alerting the enemy in Mu.

So the hidden truth is still known only to Emperor Zhaocheng and Jiang Yi, and it is a secret that cannot be told.

But now we should give an explanation to the ministers and give Jiang Yi a clean name.

Emperor Zhaocheng cleared his throat, looked around majestically, and said solemnly: "Mu was in a difficult situation back then. The borders of Beijiang, Jin and Jin were constantly at war for many years, which was a huge drain on the military and the treasury. I had no choice but to come up with the idea of ​​letting Jiang Yi marry Jin. This would be good for both countries, but there are many concerns about marriage, and it is not easy to put it in the open, so it has been kept secret for so many years."

Not easy to put it in the open?

Master Jiang closed his eyes. The emperor's real purpose was to seize the military power of the King of Xijiang and achieve a peaceful coexistence with the State of Jin. Naturally, he dared not put such a thought on the surface.

Imagine if he had made a big fanfare to let the State of Jin and the State of Mu marry, what would the King of Xijiang do? Be alert? Be afraid? Continue to recruit troops and horses to prevent the king from reducing the power of the vassal?

Or even directly raise troops to force the emperor to abdicate?

However, one thing is certain.

If the emperor really wants to deal with the King of Xijiang, then the crown prince Mu Xiuhan is probably not his ideal heir from the beginning.

He made Mu Xiuhan the crown prince just to give the King of Xijiang and the Queen a reassurance?

The emperor's heart is as deep as the sea, this sentence is really true.

He actually kept everyone in the dark.

"Your Majesty means that Jiang Yi married to Jin because she was helping Mu to form an alliance?" Old Madam Jiang had a complicated expression, and she obviously did not accept this fact. "The elopement incident was not the truth?"

What's worse, perhaps even the so-called love was fake, and Jiang Yi was just for the marriage from beginning to end.

Emperor Zhaocheng looked ashamed: "I am indeed ashamed of Jiang Yi for this matter."

Jiang Yi sat in the second most respected seat next to the emperor, sipping a sip of wine in silence, and did not comment on it.

Elopement?

How stupid was she to elope with someone?

When she went to Jin, in addition to many factors that were not known to outsiders, she was also too disappointed with her relatives and did not want to say anything more to them.

"Since it was an alliance, why can't you tell us honestly?" Old Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Yi, questioning in the same tone.

She has always disliked Jiang Yi, and after the elopement incident, she hated her to the core.

So no matter what the truth is, she has reasons to be dissatisfied.

"There are reasons for concealing things." Emperor Zhaocheng said, "But now that Jiang Yi has returned today, I will explain some things to the Grand Tutor and the old lady later. Today, entertaining the envoys is the most important thing. I hope the Grand Tutor and the old lady will understand."

The emperor said so, how dare they not understand?

Emperor Zhaocheng simplified the complicated things and said it again, "Anyway, Ayi was indeed wronged in the marriage, so I want to compensate Yan Li, and I want to marry Yan Li to the prince, and she will be the queen of Mu Kingdom in the future."

"You all know what happened later. The prince regretted the marriage, and I felt guilty. I wanted to give Yan Li a new marriage, and she chose the Ninth Prince."

After the voice fell, everyone present fell silent.

Most of the officials of the Prince Party in the court were upset.

So that's the truth.

It seems that when the emperor married Yan Li to the prince, he had actually determined the prince's position as the crown prince in his heart and tacitly agreed that he would become the next emperor of Mu Kingdom.

If the prince had not broken off the engagement, his position would have been as stable as Mount Tai, and no one could shake it.

It's a pity that the prince committed suicide, and ended up in this situation now.

The ministers of the Fourth Prince's party were glad that the prince committed suicide, otherwise, according to the emperor's mind, the other princes would not even have the strength to compete.

Jiang Yi put down the wine cup at this time and looked at Madam Jiang: "Your Majesty is not entirely right."

Emperor Zhaocheng was surprised: "Jiang Yi?"

Madam Jiang met her cold eyes and narrowed her eyes slowly: "What do you want to say?"

"Of course, say something that mother wants to hear." Jiang Yi sneered, "Didn't mother ask me why I didn't tell you honestly just now? Because I didn't want to tell you, because my father kicked me out of the house, and mother scolded me for being shameless! Since you don't treat me as a daughter, why should I tell you the truth? Since the day I left the Jiang family, I didn't plan to come back!"

In this case, why should she tell them the truth?

"Anyone would be furious if they were put in the situation back then." Old Madam Jiang had a gloomy expression. "And since you said you didn't want to come back, didn't you come back and give birth to Yan Li?"

"That's what I meant." Emperor Zhaocheng quickly replied, "Jiang Yi is pregnant, and it's dangerous in Jin State, which is not good for the child."

"In short, Jiang Yi is now the queen of Jin State, and she is also a meritorious minister of marriage in Mu State. Those indecent things are all false, and no one is allowed to make a fuss about this matter in the future."

Old Madam Jiang had a gloomy expression, and she couldn't tell what she was feeling at the moment.

Her daughter had an agreement with the emperor, but she didn't even keep it secret from her biological parents.

Can you blame them for their bad attitude when they left such a bad reputation to them?

They were kind enough not to drown Yan Li in the water, but now they are accusing them of having a bad attitude.

No family would beat gongs and drums to celebrate this kind of thing and announce it to the world.

If it's not a shame, what is it?

"Now that the truth is out, I am relieved." Emperor Zhaocheng raised his wine cup and gestured to Jiang Yi, "May Mu and Jin be friends forever and coexist peacefully."

Jiang Yi raised his wine cup.

Ministers of Mu and envoys of Jin also raised their glasses to toast.

The monarch and his ministers were having fun together, and the atmosphere seemed harmonious.