Chapter 557: The Gathering of Wind and Clouds

Dong Guifei.

Full name Dong Shuyu.

The daughter of the Dong Family; perhaps this Dong Family, compared to those other wealthy and Powerful Clans, ultimately lacks several hundred, or even a thousand years of heritage. Their way of doing things always carries the mindset of the nouveau riche. This time, with Xie Ling dead and Zheng Fu in trouble, Dong Shuyu has gained the support of Scholar-officials like Zhu Zhen, and thus feels that she is already the undisputed mistress of the inner palace.

Mistress of the inner palace!

Mother of the world!

What kind of glory is this, what kind of splendor?

Dong Shuyu feels that she has become a bit carried away.

Consequently, she has forgotten that if not for hitching a ride on this bandwagon with Prefect Liu, she would have had no chance to get ahead at all. Hearing this, she cannot help but snort coldly: "A mere son of a merchant, what is there to fear?"

She looks around the circle, a cold sneer appearing at the corners of her mouth: "Perspective, understand? Perspective!"

"No matter how strong this Prefect Liu is, this is Jinghua!"

"With the support of Master Zhu and the others, he will never be able to make a splash in Jinghua!"

"Heh, Longyang Princess? A plant without roots, what kind of waves can she stir up?"

The group of people listens, beaming with delight.

Domineering!

Overbearingly domineering!

She hasn't even become Empress yet, and she already possesses an aura that surpasses an Empress; if they follow Dong Shuyu from now on, won't they be living in luxury?

"Then we..."

A middle-aged palace maid has a flash of sinister intent in her eyes.

Dong Shuyu laughs aloud: "Of course we cannot give him any more chances to jump around..."

She says indifferently: "This Prefect Liu is nothing but the son of a merchant. Haven't you noticed? Ever since he debuted, everything he has done has revolved around the stench of copper!"

The group is amazed, looking at each other in dismay.

Isn't that so?

Take this current effort to build momentum for the Longyang Princess; isn't that Prefect Liu just throwing money around?

It seems this Prefect Liu has no other skills besides throwing money!

Dong Shuyu says viciously: "Dealing with such a petty person is very simple. First, sanctions on his business! Second, ruin his reputation!"

"Sanctions?"

Dong Shuyu nods: "I heard this Prefect Liu's mother is a manager of a caravan agency, hehehehe..."

The crowd feels a surge of energy.

Immediately, the minds of these people begin to stir. All sorts of conspiracies and schemes come to mind.

Liu Zheng's party.

Besides throwing money, it is still throwing money. Of course, he does not forget to study the various intelligence reports collected from the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce in various regions along the way.

Jinghua today is exceptionally lively.

The ruler of this vassal state has arrived, and the king of that small country has come.

Xie Ling is dead, Zheng Fu has lost power, and Dong Guifei has ascended with the support of Zhu Zhen and others to oppose the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince has begun to purge political rivals, his actions frequent and incredibly sharp.

Whose Prince wants to come this time to marry a County Princess of the Longyan Dynasty back home...

Which two small countries that have been in constant friction want to come to the Longyan Dynasty this time to have the Emperor of the Celestial Empire act as judge and settle the dispute.

And so on.

The intelligence is plentiful and very complex.

Liu Zheng reads while analyzing.

"The Dong Family?"

A nouveau riche?

He smiles lightly, unconcerned.

The rise and longevity of a family cannot be supported by a single Guifei or Empress. This requires true heritage. What is heritage? It is the talent that is cultivated after a rise in class, which then erupts and permeates every elite field of the Longyan Dynasty, gradually forming a network of interests—that is, the power of the relatives of the imperial family; this is heritage.

This process requires at least sixty years.

That is, two generations.

"It seems this Scholar-official Group is truly at its wit's end..."

Liu Zheng laughs aloud and takes a sip of tea.

Sitting beside him, drinking tea and chatting with him, is naturally Prince Yong.

Prince Yong shakes his head with a smile: "You cannot blame them; it is truly because there are too few notable Princes in the court today. Picking the tallest among the short, this Eleventh Prince Xie Ming of the Dong Family is still someone who can be brought out, and his age is just right; he just turned twelve this year. Old Zhu can't just turn around and start flirting with us right after Xie Ling died, right? Haha!"

Liu Zheng chuckles and looks at Prince Yong with curiosity: "Prince Yong, Liu Zheng still has some doubts in his heart."

Prince Yong smiles bitterly: "Are you trying to ask why I, as a member of the Noble class, should at this time be at odds with the Crown Prince's people and harbor friction with you?"

Liu Zheng nods with a smile.

Prince Yong laughs aloud: "Hanzhong is adjacent to Liangzhou, and Liangzhou is changing with each passing day, showing signs of great prosperity! Therefore, while the world may turn up its nose at Liangzhou, Hanzhong alone cannot!"

His eyes flash with keen light: "The grand blueprint of Liangzhou's current situation already has the momentum to swallow the world. Only those short-sighted people in the court remain obsessed with past glory. As the saying goes, a wily rabbit has three burrows; I only hope to bet on Prefect Liu to ensure that my Noble class does not truly end up in total ruin!"

Prince Yong speaks with sincere words and a genuine expression.

Liu Zheng cannot help but nod heavily and laugh aloud: "Then Liu Zheng will certainly not let Prince Yong down! How does Prince Yong think the Crown Prince will deal with me next?"

"Ah?"

Hearing this question, Prince Yong immediately smiles bitterly and begs for mercy.

At this moment.

They were already getting closer and closer to Jinghua.

This most prosperous and central stage of the Longyan Dynasty was also about to open its arms, waiting for Liu Zheng and his people to make their grand entrance.

No.

It should be said that he had not yet made his entrance, but in reality, he was already on the stage.

The misty rain of Jinghua, where winds and clouds gather.

What would the future hold?

……

Zheng Fu in Kunning Palace had not tidied herself up all day.

She just sat there blankly, letting herself remain in this disheveled state.

Humiliation.

This was the greatest humiliation she had ever encountered in her life!

And this humiliation had actually come from upstarts like the Dong Family!

She went from fury, to dizziness, to despair, and finally to numbness.

And now...

She looked at the secret letter in her hand.

"Turn the tables..."

"Turn the tables!"

When the night was already deep.

An old palace maid finally ran in cautiously, came before Zheng Fu, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the person has arrived..."

"Quick, quick, take me to him!"

Zheng Fu could almost no longer contain herself.

Led by the old palace maid, Zheng Fu arrived at the place where the eunuchs and palace maids rested in Kunning Palace. After turning a few corners, she came to the last very secluded small room. At this time, a man wearing a black robe was already sitting there; just looking at his back gave one a sense of extreme mystery.

Zheng Fu took a deep breath. She had wanted to rebuke him angrily for not kneeling to pay respects upon seeing the Empress, but then she thought, she was already a fallen phoenix, so what qualification did she have to make others kneel?

"This... sir..."

Zheng Fu endured her pounding heart, just about to speak.

The man in black had already taken off the bamboo hat on his head, turned around to look at Zheng Fu, and chuckled.

"Ah!"

Zheng Fu's expression changed instantly.