Chapter 1287: Loyalty and treachery?

Jiang Cong, who was only fourteen years old, felt An Miaoyi's gaze and felt that it was so captivating, as if it could see through all his inner thoughts.

An Miaoyi looked at the young emperor in front of her who lowered his head and said indifferently:

"You still have some backbone, but as a son you can't be so selfish. If you just leave, what will happen to your parents and your family?"

Jiang Cong is also a very smart child. When he heard An Miaoyi mention his parents, he immediately raised his head and said angrily:

"Madam, are you threatening me?"

Facing the boy's angry eyes, An Miaoyi's emotions did not fluctuate at all and she said calmly:

"I'm not threatening you, I'm just stating a fact!"

"You know very well that the Great Zhou has actually perished. Although your parents and their people are from a fallen nation, they are still treated very well in Yijing. They have no worries about food and clothing, and live a rich and decent life. No one harms them. And they can receive such treatment because you, Jiang Cong, are the emperor of the Great Zhou!"

Listening to An Miaoyi's words, Jiang Cong sneered and said:

"Since you said that the Great Zhou had perished, then what kind of emperor am I?"

After saying this, Jiang Cong mustered up the courage to continue:

"An Miaoyi, your An family has been conferred the title of Kunshan Marquis by Emperor Jing for more than 200 years. Your An family has also been blessed by the emperor for generations. How can you, a descendant of the An family, say such disloyal and shameless words now?"

"If your An family's ancestors were still alive, they would be ashamed to know that there are such greedy and mad descendants like you."

"An Miaoyi, aren't you just thinking that if Ye Mingsheng becomes the emperor, you can become the empress? But Ye Mingsheng loves that woman in the palace the most. Even if you become the empress, you will be squeezed out by that woman in the palace sooner or later. That day will come sooner or later! I'm waiting for you, hahaha!"

An Miaoyi looked at Jiang Cong who was laughing crazily, and a hint of chill appeared on her originally calm expression. Seeing this, Qiqige walked over directly to teach Jiang Cong a lesson, but the boy was not afraid at all and looked at Qiqi with a provocative look...

Just as Qiqige was about to slap Jiang Cong in the face with her big hand, An Miaoyi said calmly:
"never mind!"

Qiqige was somewhat unwilling to hear this, but she still followed An Miaoyi's order and retreated. Seeing this, Jiang Cong calmly tidied his clothes and continued to provoke An Miaoyi:

"Madam, did my words touch you? Did you, a vicious woman like you, feel guilty?"

Facing Jiang Cong's provocation, An Miaoyi remained calm and restrained. She met Jiang Cong's gaze and said in a deep voice:
"Since you mentioned our ancestors, I might as well test you. Since you are a descendant of the Jiang family, you must know how your Jiang family gained control of the world, right?"

When An Miaoyi finished speaking, Jiang Cong was stunned but still said stubbornly:

"Back then, our Jiang family's great ancestor was both virtuous and talented, and was revered by all generations. He should have conquered the world!"

Listening to Jiang Cong's sophistry, An Miaoyi smiled and shook her head and said:

“At the end of the Liang Dynasty, Emperor Xuan was injured in a war with the Rouran. He passed away less than a month after returning to Luoan. The three-year-old Emperor Jing ascended the throne. In order to stabilize the court, Queen Mother Jiang Manyue recruited her father, your Jiang family’s great ancestor Jiang Ran, to Luoan…”

"Jiang Manyue originally thought that her family had been loyal for generations, so she wanted to ask her father to stabilize the government for her son. In order to thank her father, she went against all odds and made Jiang Ran the King of Zhou!"

"However, despite the great kindness shown to his daughter, your Jiang family's great ancestor Jiang Ran did not appreciate the emperor's grace and only wanted to usurp the throne. In just three years, he created a series of major cases, set up a large prison, and used all kinds of trumped-up charges to kill all the Liang Dynasty's royal family and loyal ministers!"

"After clearing away these obstacles, your Jiang family's great ancestor finally set his sights on the supreme throne, on his own grandson!"

"Your Jiang family's great ancestor disregarded the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, the relationship between the grandfather and his grandson, and even ignored his daughter's desperate pleas, and resolutely launched a coup. In order to save her son's life, Queen Mother Jiang Manyue had no choice but to compromise. She asked her son to abdicate the throne to her father, your Jiang family's great ancestor, on the condition that she would save Emperor Jing and the Liang Dynasty royal family members!"

"Your Jiang family's great grandfather was shameless enough to seize the throne from his grandson, but what was even more brutal was that just two years later, he poisoned Emperor Jing and then killed all the members of the Liang Dynasty royal family for treason. Only then did your Jiang family have three hundred years of rule!"

"If we really talk about the insane and greedy, your Jiang family's great ancestor would be ranked number one in the history books. His heart is so vicious and his methods are so cruel that they are unprecedented!"

"you··············"

What hurts people is never lies but the truth. After listening to An Miaoyi's words, Jiang Cong wanted to refute but didn't know how.

And An Miaoyi continued:

"Compared with your Jiang family's great ancestor, my husband can be said to have done his utmost. As the saying goes, those who plant trees will enjoy the shade. The evil consequences that your Jiang family's great ancestor planted back then should be borne by you, the descendants. However, my husband is mindful of the cycle of revenge, so he is so magnanimous to you!"

"Jiang Cong, if you continue to be stubborn and resist, it will not only harm you!" "Your grandfather is now terminally ill, and he will only die in the next two days. You don't have much time left. If you don't want to leave a lifelong regret, and for the sake of your family, you should make a smart decision!"

After listening to An Miaoyi's words, Jiang Cong became very conflicted. He was very worried about his grandfather Jiang Hailin, but his integrity made it difficult for him to compromise with An Miaoyi, the henchman of Ye Mingsheng, the traitor.

Time passed by, and seeing that Jiang Cong was reluctant to give in, An Miaoyi's patience ran out and she directly ordered:

"Someone, send Jiang Cong back to the house and have him under strict watch for twelve hours. If anything goes wrong again, you will be beheaded!"

"Yes!"

Following An Miaoyi's order, several guards came in to take Jiang Cong away. When he was roughly grabbed by the guards, Jiang Cong finally gave in and said to An Miaoyi:
"Madam, I'm not looking for death anymore. Please let me go see my grandfather..."

Hearing what Jiang Cong said, An Miaoyi ignored it. Seeing that Jiang Cong had been dragged to the door by the guards, he became even more anxious and continued to speak loudly:
"Madam, I, Jiang Cong, will not commit suicide. Please let me go see my grandfather!"

Seeing that Jiang Cong finally agreed, An Miaoyi also said calmly:

"Bring him back!"

Following the order, Jiang Cong quickly came to An Miaoyi again. Seeing that Jiang Cong no longer had the rebellious look he had just had, An Miaoyi said calmly:
"I am thinking of your filial piety and intend to help you, but Jiang Cong, please don't fool my kindness. In this world, sometimes death is not scary. The scariest thing is to be unable to live or die. So if you are still stubborn, you might as well give it a try!"

Although An Miaoyi's voice was as calm as water when she said these words, Jiang Cong's heart trembled when he heard them. He realized that if he really sought suicide, this woman would really do what she said and make him unable to live or die.

"Don't worry, Madam. Jiang Cong won't commit suicide again!"

An Miaoyi then gave Qiqige a look. After receiving the order, Qiqige took Jiang Cong out of the room and prepared to arrange for Jiang Cong to go to Jiang Hailin's residence in Yijing.

After dealing with all these, An Miaoyi was a little tired, perhaps because good things were about to happen and she was very excited. She had been suffering from insomnia for many days recently, and she didn’t get a good rest at night. There were still many things waiting for her to deal with during the day, so An Miaoyi was also very tired during this period of time...

When An Miaoyi heard the news that Jiang Cong had hanged himself half an hour ago, she was also shocked, worried that Jiang Cong had really died.

An Miaoyi actually didn't care about the life or death of the little emperor Jiang Cong, but An Miaoyi knew that now that Ye Mingsheng was about to ascend the throne, a lot of preparations were proceeding step by step. Therefore, if Jiang Cong, the nominal emperor of the Yijing court, died at this time, it would be like yellow mud falling in the crotch, which would be shit at best!

Even if Ye Mingsheng could guide public opinion, it would be difficult to stop the gossip of the people. The people of the world would definitely think that Ye Mingsheng was the one who did it. By then, Ye Mingsheng would probably be in tears and unable to defend himself. He would only be able to bear the blame in vain!

Therefore, in An Miaoyi's opinion, Jiang Cong's attempt to commit suicide at this time can be said to be a crime worthy of death. If Jiang Cong was not still useful, she would definitely teach Jiang Cong a lesson and let him pay the price for his wrongdoings!
Just as An Miaoyi closed her eyes to rest, a maid came over and reported to An Miaoyi:

"Madam, Director Ye is kneeling outside to apologize to you!"

Hearing Director Ye's three words, An Miaoyi, who had originally closed her eyes, opened them. A cold light flashed across her beautiful eyes, and she said lightly:
“Since he is willing to kneel, let him kneel there. Don’t bother with him. Just do what you should do…”

"Yes!"

The last time An Miaoyi knew that Ye Cheng dared to come and watch her, he had received orders from Ye Mingsheng. Otherwise, even if Ye Cheng had a hundred times the courage, he would not dare to do so.

An Miaoyi also found an excuse to punish Ye Cheng. On the one hand, she used this method to convey her anger to Ye Mingsheng. I, An Miaoyi, am your legal wife, the mother of your eldest son Jingren, and the mistress of the Fengwu Army. You, Ye Mingsheng, should not treat me like this! You should have the most basic trust in me!
In addition to expressing anger, An Miaoyi also wanted to warn Ye Cheng by doing this, to let Ye Cheng know that his master is not just Ye Mingsheng!

Originally, An Miaoyi wanted to use both kindness and force, and then win over Ye Cheng after persuading him, or even make Ye Cheng side with her. However, what she didn't expect was that Ye Cheng seemed to hate her. Although Ye Cheng hid it very deeply, with a woman's intuition, An Miaoyi could still feel the hatred hidden under Ye Cheng's respectful appearance!
An Miaoyi really didn't expect that Ye Cheng would have the courage to hate her, and this was something she could never accept. An Miaoyi could not tolerate the existence of such a person who was hostile to her around Ye Mingsheng!
Therefore, An Miaoyi has been thinking about how to kill Ye Cheng recently, or drive Ye Cheng away from Ye Mingsheng. If it were anyone else, An Miaoyi, as the eldest lady, would just find a reason and it would be done easily with just a word...
But Ye Cheng is different. He is not only a member of the Ye clan, but also deeply trusted by Ye Mingsheng. He was promoted by Ye Mingsheng to be the director of the Attendant Department. It is not so easy to touch him, and Ye Mingsheng's approval must be obtained!
So even though An Miaoyi wanted to take action against Ye Cheng, she never had any good way. But now Ye Cheng took the initiative to hand over the handle to her!

In fact, there was no problem for Ye Cheng to refuse Jiang Cong's request to leave the house. First of all, although Ye Cheng was the director of the Attendant Department, although he was not a high-ranking official in the Yijing court, he had great power. But in essence, the Attendant Department itself was just doing the work of serving people. Even if Ye Cheng was the director of the Attendant Department, he was just a person who did the work!

Therefore, Ye Cheng had no power to decide whether Jiang Cong could leave the house. At this time, when Ye Mingsheng was on a southern tour and not at Ye Mansion, there were only two women in Ye Mansion who could decide this matter. One was Ye Mingsheng’s mother Ye Cui, and the other was Ye Mansion’s first lady An Miaoyi!

In addition to not having enough power, now is the critical moment when Ye Mingsheng is about to ascend the throne. Jiang Cong, as the nominal emperor of the Great Zhou, is also a very key figure in it. Therefore, he cannot afford to make any mistakes at this time. Therefore, under such circumstances, Jiang Cong is better off staying in the Ye Mansion and not going anywhere.

Although Ye Cheng did nothing wrong in refusing Jiang Cong to leave the house, his mistake was that he rejected Jiang Cong too simply and crudely, which angered Jiang Cong and made him choose an extreme method, which also gave An Miaoyi an opportunity!
After a short nap, An Miaoyi asked the maidservant beside her:
"How long did I sleep?"

"To answer Madam, it will take about an hour!"

"Ye Cheng is still kneeling?"

"Yes ma'am, Director Ye has been kneeling outside and has never stood up!"

"Let him go back, he is my husband's man, and my husband will handle this matter..."

(End of this chapter)