Gossip he couldn't escape

An Laiyun felt that the people around him were looking at him strangely, as though they wanted to swallow him alive and strip the flesh from his bones.

He couldn't help shuddering.

"My minister, withdraw for now. We will discuss this matter later."

Jiang Yunsheng addressed An Laiyun.

Only then did everyone snap back to their senses. They had been discussing whether the Ninth Princess should be allowed to stay, only to get distracted by the gossip. What a grave mistake!

[Oh, discuss it later? Isn't that just the grand art of stalling? Are there any more ministers who want to impeach me? I really can't get up this early!]

Jiang Nuan sighed. With the time she spent attending court, she could have gotten so much done. Besides, she could learn everything discussed at court through Guagua!

But Jiang Yunsheng still wanted to use her inner voice to assess certain matters, so naturally, he wouldn't let her have her way.

By now, however, no more ministers were stepping forward to bring up the issue.

And so Jiang Nuan turned her expectant gaze back on An Laiyun, hoping he would stand his ground a little more firmly.

Unfortunately, An Laiyun avoided her eyes. At first, he had thought the emperor was being ridiculous, but after witnessing the Ninth Princess's extraordinary abilities firsthand, he had abandoned that notion.

Not to mention that he now wanted to use Jiang Nuan's inner voice to work out how to handle the affairs in his own household.

These ministers accepted me attending court so quickly. Their attacks were far too weak, nothing like what I imagined. Forget it. I'll just enjoy some gossip. Whose should I dig into first?

How about Great General Mao Qiantao's?

Unable to decide whom to choose, Jiang Nuan simply played eeny, meeny, miny, moe, and Mao Qiantao became the lucky winner.

Hearing Jiang Nuan's inner voice, Mao Qiantao felt his scalp prickle. He certainly didn't want his affairs aired for everyone's amusement, so he hurriedly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, this subject has a matter to report! Some time ago, I received a secret letter informing me that the Hu People were preparing to head south and plunder the people of our Great Xia. I therefore laid an ambush according to Your Majesty's instructions. This morning, I received an urgent dispatch sent by eight-hundred-li express relay. The Hu People came last night, but our Great Xia was well prepared. We kept our losses to a minimum and captured every one of the raiders—a total of fifty-three thousand six hundred men!"

After speaking, Mao Qiantao submitted a memorial.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

After reading it, Jiang Yunsheng was delighted, repeating "excellent" three times.

[Oh, right! Counting the days, last night was when the Hu People were supposed to raid the south. Thank goodness I prepared in advance and wrote down the news of the surprise attack to inform Father. And thank goodness he believed it. Now those villages have escaped being slaughtered to the last soul.]

Jiang Nuan was delighted to hear the outcome.

The screen began playing footage at just the right moment. Little figures on horseback, carrying blades, charged into a village and cut down everyone they saw with a single slash. Before long, blood flowed in rivers.

Although the images leaned toward a cute style, everyone could see the bloodshed in them.

[That's right, that's right! And not only that. General Mao's only son, Mao Zhonglin, won't have to lead troops against the Hu People and die on the campaign. Our Great Xia's two hundred thousand soldiers won't be reduced to fewer than one in ten survivors, leaving us without troops afterward. This is an enormous step forward!]

Guagua praised Jiang Nuan.

The few who already knew about this remained perfectly composed, but the other ministers couldn't stay calm. The Ninth Princess had actually done so much behind their backs, and they had known nothing! Not only had they been unaware, they had even impeached her in court. They were guilty indeed!

Once Mao Qiantao heard that Jiang Nuan wasn't digging into his gossip, he breathed a sigh of relief, barely paying attention to the odd details in her inner voice.

[Wait, Guagua. Don't I remember Great General Mao having more than one son? Why did you call him his only son?]

Jiang Nuan noticed what Guagua had said. Her gossip-lover's instincts told her there was a juicy revelation here, so she asked.

*[Great General Mao does indeed have only one biological son, Mao Zhonglin. He was injured on the battlefield before, and the injury was to that part of him. Although it still functions normally, he can no longer get a woman pregnant.

But now, besides his only biological son, he has two other sons. Those two were born to a concubine his mother forced on him. The concubine felt that she wasn't favored, and when she still couldn't get pregnant after a long time, she had an affair with a guard in the household. Those two sons are the guard's.

Later, after Young General Mao died in battle, Great General Mao had to see the black-haired buried before the white-haired and was overcome with grief. Then he learned of the affair and realized that his only blood descendant was already dead. Feeling too ashamed to face his ancestors, he eventually died of despair.]*

[No wonder. Great General Mao is quite capable of commanding troops. With him around, Great Xia wouldn't have been bullied into such a miserable state by foreign peoples.]

Jiang Nuan finally understood something that had puzzled her before.

[Huh? Why does General Mao look so awful? Could he have some hidden ailment? Why isn't the Imperial Physician beside him doing anything yet?]

The Imperial Physician hurried forward and checked his pulse. As expected, rage had overwhelmed his heart, while the culprit still watched with an expression of innocent concern.

The Imperial Physician took out a pill he had prepared long ago to soothe the mind and calm the temper, then stuffed it straight into Mao Qiantao's mouth.

Ever since he had become able to hear Jiang Nuan's inner voice, he had felt that the medicine would come in handy one day. And sure enough, he had guessed correctly.

Once the business was settled, court was dismissed. Jiang Nuan had wanted to tag along for some gossip, but she hadn't finished dealing with her own affairs yet, so she had to take care of those first.

Meanwhile, as soon as court ended, An Laiyun was surrounded.

"Brother An, if I remember correctly, your daughter will be coming of age next year, won't she? As it happens, that rascal of mine is already seventeen and still isn't betrothed. We've been colleagues for years—why not add family ties to our friendship?"

Good heavens! That was a daughter-in-law who could earn thirty million taels of silver! Who wouldn't want her?

"Hmph. Your rascal may not be betrothed, but hasn't he been getting rather close to that girl from the Sun family? It wouldn't be right to take a cudgel to a pair of lovebirds, would it? My youngest son is the better match. He's only fifteen, close to your daughter's age, and he isn't particularly close to any girls."

"Oh, spare us. Your youngest son may not be close to any girls, but he's very close to quite a few boys. If you ask me, my grandson is the best match!"

Several of them began arguing outright over who was the most suitable match for An Laiyun's daughter.

The corner of An Laiyun's mouth twitched, and he said bluntly, "My daughter has no plans to discuss marriage yet. All of you can give up on that idea!"

At his words, disappointment appeared in many people's eyes.

Quite a few people had gathered around Mao Qiantao as well, hoping for some gossip, but no one dared go up and ask him directly.

The reason was simple: Mao Qiantao had earned his position through real battles. He rolled his wrists, looking ready to make anyone who dared approach with questions taste his fist first.

"Fragile" civil officials like them couldn't take a punch from him. Never mind the civil officials—even the military officials couldn't withstand it.

And so, despite their burning desire for gossip, they could only watch Mao Qiantao's retreating back and curse under their breath, "Brute!"