Chapter 1161: Hypocrisy!

Facing He Jingyun’s gaze, Chen Changhe also fell into deep thought. From He Jingyun’s expression, he had already understood He Jingyun’s thoughts...
Although he intended to continue staying in Jiangnan and living a carefree life, if Ye Mingsheng's order really came, he would carry it out even if he was unwilling and reluctant. After all, he had no way to refuse!
After a moment of silence, Chen Changhe said to He Jingyun in a deep voice:
"Sir, forgive me for being blunt, but you have missed the best opportunity. The Marshal is about to go on a southern tour. Even if you offer all your wealth, it will be difficult for the Marshal to forgive you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, He Jingyun's face suddenly became very solemn. Ever since he knew that the Marshal was going to take Shen Quan on a southern tour, he also realized this!
After quietly observing He Jingyun's expression, Chen Changhe continued:
"But I have another plan!"

As soon as these words came out, He Jingyun suddenly showed a hint of expectation, and then he said with great anticipation:
"Master Chen, please speak!"

Chen Changhe said decisively:

"My plan is to survive in the face of death!"

"Put yourself in a desperate situation and then survive?" He Jingyun asked back in some doubt:

Chen Changhe nodded heavily and said:

“Since you, General, cannot refuse the Marshal’s order, you might as well be honest and take the initiative to write a letter to hand over your military power…”

"And the most important thing is, General, you must hand over part of your wealth to the Marshal. Although wealth is tempting, you need to be alive to spend it. This wealth is now a hot potato, it is your life-saving talisman!"

He Jingyun thought carefully for a while after hearing this and said:
"Master Chen, I understand your meaning. Don't worry about the silver. I am not someone who doesn't know the importance of things. I have decided to send someone to deliver 300,000 taels of silver to the Marshal tomorrow and apologize to him! But I am worried that the Marshal will take advantage of this to arrest me!"

When Chen Changhe heard that He Jingyun was going to give 300,000 taels of silver to Ye Mingsheng, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes. Although these 300,000 taels of silver did not seem to be much, as He Jingyun's aide, Chen Changhe knew very well how much wealth He Jingyun had amassed during this period of time by using his power!
Three hundred thousand taels of silver is only half at most!
As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. Despite the disaster he is facing now, General He is still unwilling to give up these hot potatoes. It is really helpless!
Thinking of this, Chen Changhe also felt that He Jingyun had become a little strange. Although the previous He Jingyun did not treat money as dirt, he was not as greedy as he is now.
Where has the ambitious, capable and smart General He gone?
Although he really wanted to tell He Jingyun what was in his heart, Chen Changhe finally suppressed the impulse and just looked at He Jingyun with a complicated expression·······················

However, although Chen Changhe did not tell these words to He Jingyun, it was not difficult for He Jingyun to see his true thoughts from his expression!

He Jingyun was also very helpless about this. He could only say that although Chen Changhe was wise, he did not understand Ye Mingsheng!
Ye Mingsheng is a very idealistic person at heart, so if he handed over all the money he had taken, not only would he not get Ye Mingsheng's forgiveness, but on the contrary, Ye Mingsheng would be so angry that he would probably treat him as an example!
Therefore, the maximum amount you can pay is 300,000 taels of silver. If you pay more, problems will easily arise!

He Jingyun naturally couldn't tell Chen Changhe about these worries, so at this time all he could do was remain silent, and wait until Chen Changhe adjusted his mood before continuing:

"Although I don't have the blessing to meet Marshal Ye, I can feel from the way Marshal Ye does things that Marshal Ye is also a suspicious hero by nature!"

"So if you show that you don't want to hand over the military power, then Marshal Ye will be more determined to take it back. On the contrary, if you show that you are not so greedy for the military power, then Marshal Ye will consider whether to take it back!"

"Moreover, Shen Quan was only the general of the Fourth Division before. His past achievements and qualifications are not enough to directly replace General He. Even if we want to promote him, according to the past rules, he can only be promoted to the army level!"

“So I think the Marshal might promote one of Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng to your position, General, and then let Shen Quan take over the position of Ma Zhongjun or Zhang Meng…”

"If that's the case, I think as long as you, General, adopt my suggestion, there is a chance that the Marshal will change his mind!"

"I predict that as long as you submit a petition to the Marshal to surrender your military power, he will not agree immediately. You should not stop at this time. You should continue to submit a petition to express your health and that you do not want to stay in Jiangnan anymore and want to return to Yijing!"

"As long as you can successfully convince the Marshal that you really want to hand over your military power, then you can continue to stay in Jiangnan!"

Chen Changhe's calm analysis seemed to have opened a new door for He Jingyun. Recalling Ye Mingsheng's past operations, He Jingyun suddenly blurted out:
"Master Chen, you are right. Shen Quan is not here to replace me! He is here to replace Ma Zhongjun! Ma Zhongjun has been in the First Division for too long, so he must leave this time! Zhang Meng looks like he is going to be lucky!"

"Master Chen, listening to your words is worth ten years of study. I now understand what to do. I will go write a memorial to the Marshal right now!"

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Yijing, Ye Mansion

"Daughter-in-law greets mother!"

"Jingren greets grandma!"

Seeing An Miaoyi and Jingren coming to visit her, Ye Cui seemed very happy and quickly invited An Miaoyi and Jingren to sit down.

Looking at Jingren who looked well-behaved and sensible, Ye Cui asked with a smile:
"Jingren, how have you been studying recently? Have you made your mother angry?"

Facing his grandmother's question, Jingren also smiled and reported:

"Grandma, I have been studying very hard recently and have learned a lot from Mr. Gu!"

“I will recite a passage from the University for you. The Way of the University lies in manifesting one’s bright virtues, in being close to the people, and in abiding in the highest good. Only when one knows where to stop can one be determined; only when one is determined can one be tranquil; only when one is tranquil can one be at peace; only when one is at peace can one think; only when one thinks can one achieve…”

Watching Jingren reciting with his head shaking, Ye Cui nodded with satisfaction, and then said to An Miaoyi beside her:
"It's great that Jingren has learned to this level. His father was even more unwilling to learn than he was. He just wielded swords and guns all day long, making the family a mess. It's harder to get him to read some books and learn something than to kill him!"

"But Miaoyi, you see, he has accomplished something big now! So Miaoyi, you don't have to be so demanding of Jingren. I think Jingren is doing well now!"

An Miaoyi didn't agree with Ye Cui's educational concept, but she didn't dare to oppose her grandmother openly, so she could only speak vaguely: "Mr. Gu said that Jingren is smart and talented! He just likes to play and doesn't study hard. If he can focus on studying, his future will be limitless!"

Listening to his mother's blatant lies without blushing or beating his heart, Jingren couldn't help but curl his lips slightly. His husband Gu Sansi had never said such a thing. In fact, Gu Sansi had never expressed any opinion on his talent, intelligence and other issues from beginning to end!
However, Jingren knew very well that although Gu Sansi had never said such words, he knew that Gu Sansi's actual actions had also implicitly expressed the fact that Ye Jingren's qualifications were mediocre!
Jingren was frustrated for a while about this fact, but he quickly accepted it. However, it was obvious that although he could accept it, his dear mother An Miaoyi could not accept the reality...
Listening to his grandmother talking about his father's past, Jingren asked Ye Cui with some curiosity:

"Grandma, what was Dad like when he was a kid?"

Ye Cui smiled and said:

"He loves to play just like you. I wanted to train him to be a scholar and take the imperial examination. I even spent a lot of money to hire a scholar as a private school teacher for your father. But your father didn't study hard and eventually drove the old scholar away!"

"I remember that old scholar said your father didn't study the sages' books seriously, and was always thinking about stealing and doing evil things!"

"This incident really pissed me off at the time, and I gave your father a good beating. But this incident also made me realize that your father really has no talent for studying!"

"It just so happened that Prime Minister Shangguan wanted to gather some young children from all over the country to be trained as guards. I thought it would be a good idea to follow him. I'm sure I'll have a great future!"

"So I sold several acres of good farmland and a shop at home and collected several hundred taels of silver to buy a place for your father. So that your father could enter the Zhaowu Camp and serve Prime Minister Shangguan..."

"Miaoyi and Jingren, you two don't know that there were a few elders of the Ye family who said that I was a spendthrift because I sold all the land and shops of the Ye family. They said that it was a shame for the son to sell his father's land. They also said that Ming Sheng's father would not rest in peace in the afterlife!"

"Humph! Now these short-sighted people are all saying that I have foresight! What do they know? All they do every day is take care of the crops. If we follow their ideas, how can the Ye family be what it is today?"

“But having said that, it is thanks to the blessings of the ancestors of the Ye family that your father was able to achieve what he has today. I never thought that our Ye family would also have an emperor in the future!”

At the end, Ye Cui's expression seemed very proud. This pride was not only because her son would become the emperor in the future, but also the pride and complacency of her successful investment and the generous returns!
Feeling the pride in her mother-in-law's words, An Miaoyi not only praised Ye Cui's vision at the right time, but also winked at her son Jingren.

Although Jingren's academic aptitude was average, he was very familiar with observing people's words and expressions. When he saw his mother's gesture, he immediately followed her and started to flatter his grandmother!
Under the flattery of Jingren and An Miaoyi, Ye Cui was also overjoyed. The more she looked at An Miaoyi and Jingren, the happier she became·····················
Suddenly, Ye Cui seemed to have thought of something and asked An Miaoyi:

"Miaoyi, has something happened in this mansion? I see the defenses in this mansion seem to have been strengthened again."

Seeing that Ye Cui suddenly raised this question, An Miaoyi hesitated for a moment and spoke vaguely:

"Maybe something happened!"

"But don't worry, mother. The world is now stable. Even some people with ulterior motives can't stir up any trouble!"

Listening to An Miaoyi's words, Ye Cui nodded and said shockingly:

"Old lady, I heard that it was that female doctor, her former enemy who came looking for her?"

After hearing this, An Miaoyi didn't know how to respond, even though she really wanted to add fuel to the fire between Ye Cui and Pei Zhixiu and intensify the conflict between the two.

But An Miaoyi knew very well that if she did so, Ye Mingsheng would not let her off easily, and she would end up losing more than she gained!

So, facing Ye Cui's gaze, An Miaoyi also pretended to defend Pei Zhixiu and said:
“Mom, don’t listen to the nonsense people talk outside. These are all groundless things…”

Ye Cui snorted when she heard this:

"Miaoyi, don't look at me as an old woman walking around this mansion every day, but I am not deaf or blind, I can hear and see!"

"I'm asking you if she's from that little island in the east? Or is she from some organization?"

Hearing this, An Miaoyi was also shocked. She didn't know which bastard had told Ye Cui about this, but she had no choice at this time. In order to prevent Ye Mingsheng from thinking that she did it, she could only try her best to persuade him:

"Mother! These are all unfounded things. Everyone knows that Sister Pei is the most favored by her husband. When you are famous, there will be more gossip! There are always some people with dark hearts who can't stand others doing well and like to make up slanders everywhere!"

"Mom, you must not believe what these people say! Jingren, don't you think so?"

As she spoke, An Miaoyi winked at her son again, and at this time Ye Cui also looked at Jingren, who immediately spoke without hesitation:
"Mother is right! Aunt Pei is a very good person. Others speak ill of her out of envy and jealousy!"

Seeing that An Miaoyi and Jingren both supported Pei Zhixiu so much, Ye Cui's originally firm attitude was also shaken. She hesitated for a moment and then nodded at An Miaoyi and said:

“Miaoyi! Mother doesn’t trust anyone else! She only trusts you…”

(End of this chapter)