The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

Chapter 680: Chapter 272 My Mother-in-law is a Loyal Servant (Part 16)_2

She had Wei Yuanniang bring along a potted precious tea flower called Eighteen Scholars, which she had carefully cultivated, to Qingyun Temple.

”This is the Eighteen Scholars? It’s truly beautiful!”

Temple Master Hua Yang was said to be the Old Empress Dowager, but in fact, she was not even fifty years old yet.

She maintained herself extremely well, and after leaving the Imperial Palace, she felt relaxed and at ease at Qingyun Temple, appearing almost like a breathtaking beauty under thirty.

She was completely free from the rigid, indifferent demeanor of a devout ascetic, and instead embodied the distinct spontaneity and natural grace of the Taoist lifestyle!

She liked to appreciate flowers, yet did not follow the trend of favoring peonies; instead, she preferred the more dazzling yet no less refined and delicate camellias.

The pot of Eighteen Scholars that Wei Yuanniang had brought was absolutely to her taste.

Upon seeing the magnificent camellia with seven or eight different colors, Temple Master Hua Yang momentarily forgot all about rules and etiquette, running up close and surrounding the camellia with repeated exclamations of admiration.

Wei Yuanniang, demurely at He Tiantian’s side, could not stop herself from blushing with a bashful smile upon hearing Temple Master Hua Yang’s praise.

However, she did not speak hastily but instead watched very obediently.

Temple Master Hua Yang enjoyed the flowers for a good while before she finally came back to her senses from the delightful surprise.

She smacked her lips with longing, her eyes still filled with affection and reluctance to part.

But, she was, after all, a noble who had seen much of the world and possessed a shrewd mind.

With a pang of pain, she tore her gaze away from the tea flowers and then looked at Wei Yuanniang, ”Good child, did your aunt tell me that you cultivated these Eighteen Scholars?”

”Responding to the temple master, they were indeed cultivated by me.”

Although Wei Yuanniang was still shy, she behaved in a composed and confident manner.

Her gaze was clear, and her actions measured, manifesting the demeanor of a well-bred child.

”Mmm, not bad!”

Temple Master Hua Yang returned to her seat, looked at Wei Yuanniang, and satisfaction flickered across her eyes.

However, she still hesitated in her heart.

He Tiantian had already spoken to her about Wei Yuanniang’s identity.

The legitimate eldest daughter of Marquis Pingnan’s Mansion, while Marquis Pingnan had been missing for several years, and the mansion had long been dealt with by Emperor Chengtai.

Thus, Wei Yuanniang was actually the progeny of a disgraced noble.

However... Emperor Chengtai had already dealt with the Wei Family, and in the last two to three years, turmoil began to stir up again in the Southwest.

The court was in dire need of a respected and competent military leader to secure the Southwest.

In fact, the best candidates were the people of the Wei Family.

The ancestors of the Wei Family were blood-related to the founding emperor, having fought alongside him in campaigns north and south, earning great military prestige.

After the establishment of the Dazhou Dynasty, the founding emperor granted the Wei Family ancestor the title of Marquis Pingnan to guard the Southwest for generations.

The current Marquis Pingnan was the fourth generation, with the Wei Family having managed the Southwest for a whole century.

To call them local tyrants was no exaggeration.

Emperor Chengtai was wary of the 200,000-strong Southwest Army under Marquis Pingnan’s command, but the court also needed the Southwest Army to secure the southern gate of the court.

Back then, Marquis Pingnan suffered a devastating defeat while quelling a rebellion, with about a hundred thousand of the Southwest Army wiped out, and even Marquis Pingnan himself went missing.

At that time, a deputy general under Marquis Pingnan came forward with allegations of Marquis Pingnan committing treason, producing some inconclusive evidence.

The authenticity of the evidence was not important; what mattered was that Emperor Chengtai finally had a reason to take action against Marquis Pingnan’s Mansion.

As a result, the mansion was raided and stripped of titles, and the remaining forces of the Southwest Army were taken over by that deputy general.

With the remaining intimidation of the Southwest Army, even though Marquis Pingnan’s Mansion was no more, the Southwest still enjoyed a few years of peace.

However, as time passed, the Southwest Army had been repeatedly diluted by the Imperial court and was no longer the force it once was.

And the ability of that deputy general truly did not compare to Marquis Pingnan.

Recently, the Southwest frequently reported ’civil unrest,’ with previously pacified barbarian leaders revolting one after another.

Emperor Chengtai was at his wits’ end and began to feel regret.

Even if it was necessary to consolidate military power, it should not have been done so ruthlessly; there should have been at least one fierce general left to secure the Southwest.

Although Temple Master Hua Yang appeared detached from Imperial court affairs, she was keenly aware of every significant and trivial matter at court.

Just a few days ago, ministers in the court submitted a petition to plead on behalf of Second Young Master Wei and Third Young Master Wei, who had been exiled to Border City.

Emperor Chengtai seemed somewhat moved by the appeal.

Second Young Master Wei and Third Young Master Wei were not particularly remarkable, at least not compared to their elder brother, Marquis Pingnan; they were either mediocre or indulgent.

But that was irrelevant; as long as they bore the Wei surname and were Old Marquis Pingnan’s biological sons, they were a banner in the Southwest.

Paired with the Southwest Army under the court’s control, they could create a deterrent effect on the region.