My father, Gao Huan, is an invincible prince!

Chapter 51 The Li Sisters, Twin Lotuses of Hebei!

On the other side, Gao Cheng, carrying the wooden box, led Liu Taozhi out of Xuanming Gate and, without further delay, immediately returned the way they came.

In no time at all, they arrived at the Governor's Mansion.

Inside the Governor's Mansion, Gao Yang and Duan Shao had already returned and were waiting in the main hall.

However, compared to Gao Cheng's composure, the two men looked rather grim, their faces dark and gloomy, as if they had just swallowed a mouthful of resentment.

Upon seeing Gao Cheng return, the two composed themselves and rose to greet him.

"Brother, you're finally back!"

Gao Yang strode forward, his voice filled with anger: "Those aristocratic families truly don't know what's good for them!"

Gao Cheng glanced at the angry expressions on their faces, smiled faintly, and casually asked, "Judging from your demeanor, could it be that the Li family of Zhao County and the Cui family of Boling are unwilling to give an answer?"

"It's more than just refusing!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Shao stepped forward, his voice filled with anger: "When I visited the Cui family in Boling, Cui Kai actually said, 'The Zheng family is the most powerful in Hebei, and we are as close as lips and teeth. We cannot take advantage of their misfortune.' This is truly deceitful."

"The Li family of Zhao County is even worse!"

As soon as Duan Shao finished speaking, Gao Yang slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "That old man Li Xian said as soon as he opened his mouth, 'The Gao family and the Zheng family are related by marriage, so there is no need for them to kill each other.' He even said, 'When the Crown Prince first arrives in Yedu, he should prioritize harmony and not resort to violence lightly.'"

"How ridiculous!"

"When they intercepted military supplies and incited unrest in Hanoi, why didn't they speak of peace? Clearly, they viewed us as a weak force and wanted to sell us off for a higher price!"

The two men grew angrier and angrier as they talked, wishing they could immediately muster their troops and raze the two mansions to the ground.

However, Gao Cheng was not surprised by the result and simply nodded slightly.

He smiled faintly and said to the two men, "This is the nature of aristocratic families. They will never know their place until they see their heads hanging at the gates of the country."

"Moreover, they believe that we are hampered by internal strife and the unrest in Hanoi, so we may not be able to do anything to the Zheng family. Naturally, we will wait for the right price and will not make a bet easily."

Therefore, this failure was entirely expected.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang became even angrier: "My brother has already promised a great deal, yet he still makes excuses and hesitates. Does he really want a knife to his throat before he'll give in?"

"To place a knife to one's neck is to show fear of power, not to show virtue."

Gao Cheng waved his hand, reassuringly saying, "It's alright. Since they refuse, we can wait a while. We'll wait for Hulü Guang's report of victory and then see if they can still sit comfortably in the hall."

Upon hearing this, the two men, though still angry, had no choice but to suppress their rage.

After all, Gao Cheng wasn't entirely wrong; such is the nature of aristocratic families.

Let's wait for Hulü Guang's message to arrive before observing the results.

With this in mind, the two finally calmed down.

Immediately, Duan Shao took a deep breath and then asked, "Let's leave the matter of the aristocratic families as it is. May I ask if the matter of the young master's audience with the Emperor has been successfully completed? Did Yuan Shan object to seeing that child?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Cheng smiled but remained silent, only taking out the sandalwood box from his sleeve and gently placing it on the table.

Upon seeing this, Gao Yang stepped forward, asking with a mixture of expectation and doubt, "Brother, what is this...?"

Gao Cheng didn't keep them in suspense and directly reached out to lift the lid of the box.

As soon as the box was opened, eight seals, gleaming with a warm blue light under the sunlight, came into view.

Gao Yang's pupils constricted instantly upon seeing the contents of the box, and he exclaimed with delight, "The Emperor's Six Seals, and the Imperial Seal of the State! My brother actually brought them?"

Duan Shao also looked surprised: "Yuan Shan, seeing this unexpected child, is actually willing to give up the opportunity?"

Seeing the two men's surprised expressions, Gao Cheng smiled faintly and slowly said, "If I were to personally intervene, would the Emperor dare to refuse? Wouldn't that be incredibly foolish? I merely frowned slightly, and they were already trembling with fear, hastily ordering the eunuch to bring the imperial seal to me."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Duan Shao couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "It seems that the Yuan family's fate has truly run out."

"It is a pity that Emperor Xiaowen, who unified the Han and non-Han peoples, was so talented and ambitious. Now, his descendants are so weak. It is truly lamentable."

"What great talent? It's all old news."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang curled his lip in disdain and said, "The current emperor has only the name of an emperor, but not a single bit of the qualities of one. He can only put on airs in the palace and deserves to be ridiculed by the people of the world."

Gao Cheng did not participate in this topic.

Seeing that the two had calmed down, he closed the box and ordered it to be taken into the inner secret room.

He then interrupted the two with a smile: "Alright, enough said. Now that we have the imperial seal, we can act legitimately."

After saying this, he composed himself and said seriously, "Since the aristocratic families are unwilling to give an answer, let's leave it at that for now and discuss it again when Hulü Guang arrives."

"Next, you two should focus all your attention on the nobles in Ye. Record all their associates, bribed officers, and secret communications in order to prepare for the upcoming reshuffle in the court."

Go!

Upon hearing this, the two became excited and agreed in unison, then turned and strode away.

......

......

After the three of them took action, the subsequent development of Ye City followed exactly as Gao Cheng had predicted.

After seeing that Gao Cheng had stayed indoors for several days, Sun Teng and the others assumed that he had been frightened by the assassination attempt and had truly fallen out with the Yuan family, and became even more smug and complacent.

Not only did they gather day and night in the secret chamber of Sima Mansion to connect with their cronies, but they also drafted several memorials and sent them to Jinyang, impeaching Gao Cheng for being "arrogant and presumptuous, and disrespectful to the emperor," saying things like "the heir is too young to assume great responsibilities" and "he neglects state affairs and fails to behave as a subject."

His words were so forceful that it seemed as if the Eastern Wei dynasty would collapse if Gao Cheng did not return to Jinyang for even a day.

Little did they know that these memorials were intercepted by Gao Cheng's hidden sentries as soon as they left the city gates of Ye, and not a single one was delivered to Jinyang.

During this time, Gao Cheng sent Gao Yang and Duan Shao to visit the residences of Cui and Li again.

However, the aristocratic families still did not budge, sticking to their old argument that "the affairs of state will be discussed after the unrest in Hanoi is quelled," a response that was watertight.

Gao Cheng was not surprised by this and continued to take it calmly every day.

However, Gao Yang, for some reason, started behaving strangely after visiting the Li family's villa in Zhao County a few times.

Every time he returned from Li's house, he would sit alone under the eaves, remaining silent all day. Sometimes he would pat his thigh and sigh, sometimes he would nod and laugh to himself. His appetite decreased sharply, and he could not sleep at night.

When the guards on both sides saw this, they all thought it was strange and couldn't help but gossip about it in private.

Even Duan Shao couldn't help but ask him privately several times, but Gao Yang always replied that he was in a strange mood, so Duan Shao didn't press the matter further.

Only Gao Cheng noticed something amiss.

If he remembered correctly, Li Xian of Zhao County had two daughters, the elder named Zu Yi and the younger named Zu E. Both of them were beautiful and had the beauty to topple kingdoms. People at the time called them "the twin lotuses of Hebei".

My ugly younger brother probably fell in love with those two women at first sight when he saw them.

However, Gao Cheng was happy to see this happen.

After all, if Gao Yang could really marry Li's daughter, the relationship between the Hebei aristocratic families and the Gao family would be further strengthened, which would be of great benefit both publicly and privately.

Therefore, he didn't point it out, but pretended not to know and let Gao Yang do whatever he wanted.

I just don't know if his looks will be enough to win over the girl.

What if the girl refuses to comply, and he makes a huge scene, which would backfire...