Glory

The matter of his former fiancée's death from a fall from a horse was not concealed by Lu Guanyi from the Ye family. When he privately explained his family situation to Ye Yaming, he immediately told her about this incident.

Later, when Ye Chongming went to see him, he also informed Ye Chongming about this matter.

Now, after hearing about the various underhanded tactics of Lu Guanyi's stepmother, Shi Shi, Old Mrs. Ye grew increasingly worried: "You say, the family of Young Master Lu's deceased fiancée was so prominent, yet she was still killed by Shi Shi. After that, Shi Shi arranged so many unsuitable marriages to harm Young Master Lu. Now that Young Master Lu wants to bypass her and become engaged to our family, won't she use some disgraceful means against us?"

"I also asked Young Master Lu this question. Young Master Lu said that he hadn't taken action against Shi Shi before because he was young and hadn't yet built his power. Now, not only does he have the ability to protect himself, but he also has the ability to protect us. He told us not to worry and that he would resolve this issue."

Seeing his wife frowning, he said, "It's not that I believe him just because of these vague statements. I mainly trust Ming'er. Young Master Lu said that he had discussed this matter with Ming'er, and it involves court affairs, so he couldn't explain the details to me. I thought, since Ming'er agreed to the engagement, it means there's no problem, so I didn't press further."

Hearing this, Old Mrs. Ye still felt uneasy.

She knew her husband's character—he valued the Ye family's legacy more than his own life. The benefits of Ye Yaming marrying Lu Guanyi were too great; it could elevate the entire Ye family's status and power. She worried that Ye Chongming, for the sake of the Ye family, might use emotional persuasion to get Ye Yaming to agree to this marriage.

That girl Ming'er might seem aloof, but in reality, she valued loyalty and relationships more than anyone.

Only women understand women, and only women know how difficult life can be when marrying into a family of unequal status.

Old Mrs. Ye deeply felt it was her duty to protect her granddaughter and not let her sacrifice her happiness for the family's benefit.

"Mei'er, go and fetch the third young lady. I need to speak with her," she instructed the maid.

Before long, Mei'er returned with Ye Yaming and Bai Rui.

Ye Yaming explained to Old Mrs. Ye, "Young Master Lu did tell me about some court matters. Although he was vague due to the involvement of court arrangements, I could still analyze that his method is feasible. Once their actions begin, Shi Shi likely won't have the energy to bother me."

Lu Guanyi spoke ambiguously, but Ye Yaming could understand him clearly.

Some time ago, she had sent Fang Xing to the capital not only to inquire about Meng Chengwei but also to investigate the factions within the court.

In every dynasty, there have been amateur politicians among the common people near the imperial city. Those who spend their days idling in teahouses, some of whom are relatives of nobles and high officials or familiar with their stewards and servants, can speak knowledgeably about the political situation.

Fang Xing synthesized and verified the information, identifying what he believed to be accurate, and reported it to Ye Yaming. Ye Yaming then further screened and selected the information based on what she learned from Ye Hongchang.

From what she knew, the capital was currently divided into roughly three factions: the Imperial Faction, which solely supported the old emperor—this also included the neutral faction that did not take sides. This faction had the largest number of people.

The second was the Crown Prince's faction.The Crown Prince is the legitimate heir, possessing outstanding character, temperament, and abilities, which has earned him the support of many veteran ministers. The old emperor has no intention of replacing him.

Finally, there is the Fourth Prince's faction.

The Fourth Prince has only recently come of age, so his personal abilities naturally pale in comparison to the Crown Prince's. However, when the late empress passed away, the Great Jin Dynasty experienced a political crisis. To stabilize the overall situation, the current emperor married the eldest daughter of Duke Wei, who held military power—the sister of Lu Guanyi's stepmother, Empress Shi.

Duke Wei is now sixty-five years old. Among his sons, only the second son, Shi Kun, shows military talent, but he can only command the army during peacetime. If war were to break out, he would likely be doomed. This is why Duke Wei took a keen interest in Lu Guanyi's father, Lu Yongzhong, and went to great lengths to marry his fourth daughter to him.

Although Lu Yongzhong was his subordinate at the time, he was loyal only to the emperor, not to the Shi family. If war broke out at the border, Lu Yongzhong would undoubtedly rise to prominence. The emperor, seeking to maintain balance, would surely promote him to counter the Shi family's military influence. Foreseeing this future crisis, Duke Wei acted decisively, making Lu Yongzhong his son-in-law before he could fully develop his potential. This way, regardless of Lu Yongzhong's loyalty to the emperor, he would be branded as part of the Shi family. No matter how brave and skilled in battle he was, he would have to serve the Shi family and could not be used by the emperor to counter them.

This was Ye Yaming's conclusion, drawn by combining the information collected by Fang Xing and Ye Hongchang with the vague hints in Lu Guanyi's words.

From Lu Guanyi's fragmented remarks, she sensed that after Lu Yongzhong discovered his first wife had been killed by the Shi family, he resolved to destroy them. This aligned perfectly with the intentions of the emperor and the Crown Prince.

She speculated that when Lu Guanyi, in desperation, sought the Crown Prince's protection, it appeared to be due to persecution by his stepmother, Shi Shi, forcing him to seek refuge. In reality, it was a strategic move orchestrated by Lu Yongzhong.

If the Crown Prince accepted and protected Lu Guanyi, it would signal his willingness to ally with Lu Yongzhong, forming a tacit partnership.

Over the years, Lu Yongzhong's apparent affection for Shi Shi, fathering a son with her, and his neglect of Lu Guanyi—even allowing Shi Shi to persecute his eldest son—were likely tactics to lull the Shi family into complacency. This would enable him to undermine his brother-in-law Shi Kun's military authority and seize control of the army.

This time, the Crown Prince sent Lu Guanyi to the army under the command of the General of Zhenbei. On one hand, it was to allow him to earn military merits and eventually inherit his father's legacy. On the other hand, it was to prevent the Duke Wei's household, in desperation, from taking Lu Guanyi hostage during Lu Yongzhong's power grab, which would place Lu Yongzhong in a difficult position.

Once Lu Guanyi left for the border and the Crown Prince and Lu Yongzhong initiated their struggle for military power, Shi Shi, Lu Guanyi's stepmother, would be torn between her father, brother, and husband. Overwhelmed by her own troubles, she would have no energy to harass Ye Yaming.

However, Lu Guanyi had made it clear to Ye Yaming that their engagement would undoubtedly anger Shi Shi. Once his father made his move and he was away at the border, Shi Shi, unable to vent her anger on him, might target Ye Yaming instead.

Therefore, as soon as Lu Yongzhong took action, Lu Guanyi would send someone to notify Ye Yaming, advising her to seek refuge in a safe place to avoid any leaks.

Originally, for Ye Yaming's safety, even if they were engaged, they could have kept it private to avoid unnecessary trouble with Shi Shi.Unfortunately, at this time, Meng Chengwei had dragged the Duke of Ying's residence into the conflict.

The Duke of Ying was advanced in years and had no worthy successor, so he could no longer maintain his grip on military power. However, even a worn-out ship has three pounds of nails—he still had some disciples and old acquaintances. Some of them remembered the Duke of Ying's past mentorship and the opportunities he had given them. Therefore, during the struggle between the Crown Prince's faction and the Fourth Prince and Duke Wei's faction, it was unwise to involve the Duke of Ying's faction as well.