nycdaug Chapter 123: Butler Li surrenders
Chapter 123: Butler Li surrenders
Butler Li trembled all over and looked at Rong Enqing in astonishment.
Rong Enqing sneered and said, "Don't want to say it? Or do you want to tell me that you know nothing about it?"
Butler Li sighed, looking downcast, "Madam, you misunderstood me. It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but I just don't know where to start."
Rong Enqing thought about it and gave a suggestion: "Since you don't know anything, then just answer whatever I ask."
Butler Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay. Madam, please ask."
The first question Rong Enqing asked was what she was most concerned about, "Does Shun'an Marquis's Mansion really want to rebel?"
Steward Li nodded, then shook his head, and said with some embarrassment: "It was not the Shun'an Marquisate that was plotting the rebellion, but Lord Yong'an."
Rong Enqing's eyes flashed with doubt, "What do you mean?"
"Although Shun'an Marquis Mansion was renamed from the former Yong'an Marquis Mansion, it cannot be denied that it was called Shun'an Marquis Mansion after the establishment of the new dynasty. So far, there are only two Shun'an Marquises, the deceased Marquis and the current young Marquis."
"The reason why I said that there was no rebellion in Shun'an Marquis' Mansion was because the deceased Marquis never had the intention to rebel and did not participate in the rebellion. As for whether the young Marquis had any rebellion, I think Madam knows better than me."
Rong Enqing nodded, "So, the real traitor is indeed Yun Yi, the Marquis of Yong'an?"
This time, Steward Li did not respond, but his silence said it all.
Rong Enqing thought for a moment and asked the second question she was concerned about: "Butler Li, were you involved in the conspiracy?"
Steward Li smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Never. Because when I was seven years old, I accidentally learned about the rebellion of the old marquis and my father. Since then, I have become as timid as a mouse, so my father and the old marquis excluded me from their plan."
Rong Enqing looked at Butler Li meaningfully: "I don't think you are a coward. Otherwise, you should obey Butler Li's orders, instead of secretly eliminating the people he left behind after he left, trying to take full control of the Marquis' Mansion."
Steward Li said helplessly, "Madam, you are wise. I just want to live a peaceful life. I am tired of living in fear all day long. I am doing this just to make Shun'an Marquis' Mansion draw a clear line with the past. Moreover, all this is supported by the Marquis behind the scenes."
Rong Enqing was shocked and asked subconsciously: "Yun Zhen? Will he care about these things?"
In her impression, Yun Zhen is a useless man who favors his concubine and neglects his wife, has no ambition, does not work, and is mediocre and incompetent.
As if knowing Rong Enqing's doubts about Yun Zhen, Butler Li sighed and said with a complicated expression: "Madam, in fact, the Marquis is not what you think, nor what the world sees. He is a very rational and strategic person."
Rong Enqing subconsciously put on a disdainful expression, "How is that possible?"
Steward Li shook his head and explained, "The reason why the Marquis behaved like that was just to fight against certain people, to paralyze or to show it to certain people.
"The Marquis did not want to participate in the old Marquis's rebellion plan, so he has always been mediocre and inactive. Later, he favored his concubine and killed his wife in order to show his attitude to the current emperor. He would rather sink in the harem than have second thoughts."
At this point, Butler Li sighed deeply, "If it weren't for the Marquis's deliberate extravagance over the years, it would be questionable whether the Marquis's Mansion would still exist."
"So, everything Yun Zhen did was to protect the Marquis' Mansion?" All this completely overturned Rong Enqing's three views.
She said, how could Yun Yi, a great hero, give birth to a useless son, Yun Zhen, who favored his concubine and neglected his wife. It turned out that everything was just a trick.
Butler Li's next words made Rong Enqing dumbfounded.
He said, "Madam Tai has never thought about this. If the Marquis really loved Jiang so deeply that he favored his concubine over his wife, would Madam Tai still be able to live peacefully until now? In this harem, it is too easy for someone to die quietly."
Rong Enqing's heart trembled, and she was immediately afraid. She had said that her original body was too stupid, allowing Jiang to jump around in front of her, but not using any means to make her disappear. Now that she thought about it, if Yun Zhen really wanted to make her disappear for Jiang, it would be a piece of cake.
"Moreover, if the Marquis really had deep feelings for Jiang, why didn't he take the opportunity to make the Second Master the Crown Prince after the Crown Prince passed away, but instead tried his best to suppress the matter?"
Rong Enqing suddenly realized again, "So, registering Yunhao from a concubine's son to a legitimate son is just to further confirm the fact that he favors his concubine over his wife? Rather than really wanting him to compete with the legitimate son?"
"Yes. So, from the beginning, the Second Master was not in the category of heir to the Marquisate. As for the Fourth Master..."
Before Li Guanjia finished speaking, Rong Enqing knew what he meant. Although Yunhai was the legitimate son, he was a good-for-nothing who could only cry, so naturally, he could not be allowed to inherit the Marquisate.
Rong Enqing took a deep breath and thought silently for a while, then he looked up at Butler Li seriously, "Since you and Yun Zhen have the same attitude and don't want to be involved in treason again, then can I assume that you and I and Yun Ye are of the same mind?"
Butler Li knelt on his knees, kowtowed to Rong Enqing, and answered respectfully and solemnly: "Yes."
"Well, tell me about the current division of power within the Marquis' Mansion."
Rong Enqing believed what Butler Li said, but she needed further confirmation. The answer to this question was the test Rong Enqing gave Butler Li.
Steward Li did not hesitate and said with a firm look: "The power of the Marquis' Mansion is now divided into three parts, no, it should be four parts."
"First, the part I control has the most people. In the eighteen years that I have been the steward of the Marquis' Mansion, with the help of the Marquis, the Marquis' Mansion is basically under my control, except for a few forces hiding in the dark.
"Secondly, the part controlled by the young marquis is the most complicated. In the past few months, the young marquis has gathered a lot of people in the marquis' mansion with the help of He Zizhong and others.
“But there are my people here, as well as my father’s people. Of course, the people who truly want to join the young marquis account for the largest proportion.
“This group is currently the second largest in the Marquis’ Mansion.
"Third, those who are hiding in the dark belong to my father Li Mao. They are hiding too deeply. The Marquis and I have been slowly eliminating these people for the past 18 years, but the effect is not good.
“Before the Marquis’ Mansion split up, a large number of servants were purged. At that time, I also took the opportunity to relocate those who I was not sure of to the manor.
"But I didn't expect that there was still a fish that slipped through the net in the Marquis' Mansion. He Zizhong is the biggest fish among them.
"Fourth, they are spies from other families. There must be such people in our mansion, but I don't know who they are and how many there are."
At this point, Steward Li paused, thought for a moment, and then continued, "My wife, the young marquis, and I have the same goal, which is to cut off Shun'an Marquis's residence from the past, completely extricate ourselves from the treason, and live well. Therefore, I am willing to hand over all the people under my control to the young marquis.
"In this case, the only forces left in the Marquis' Mansion are the people left by my father and the spies sent by other families. Both of these groups of people are hiding in the dark, and it is difficult to distinguish them at the moment. We need to make long-term plans."