CHAPTER 1239: CHAPTER 1234: THE HEART OF STEALING THE NATION

Had it not been for Gu Youyou today, this secret would have likely remained unknown forever, effectively allowing them to succeed.

"First, put on your trousers," Gu Youyou spoke indifferently, "To properly reattach these two tendons, surgery is needed. I have to go back and prepare a few things."

Her sympathy for King Jin grew; in this era, there was only one standard to judge a man’s capability to father children, and that was whether he could perform.

It was merely a vasectomy—naturally it wouldn’t affect his sexual function. Moreover, considering the fragile male ego of the time, without anyone informing him, King Jin would never have suspected this.

Thus, it was his own naivety that led to his demise.

"This is indeed a tragedy beyond measure," Gu Youyou sighed, "you probably understand their motive. We will not get involved in this matter for the time being; how to deal with it is entirely up to you." After a pause, she added, "If there’s no issue, come find me in three days, and I’ll perform the surgery for you."

King Jin was at a loss as to how he left the place, how he returned home, his entire visage uglier than that of someone mourning their mother.

Considering King Jin had been bearing such a gloomy expression not for one or two days, but much longer, passersby didn’t think too much of it.

People only whispered about the consecutive series of misfortunate events in King Jin’s household as the cause of his solemn mood.

First was the Consort poisoning the other wives, rendering him childless although he had been married for years.

Later, he favored the only concubine who was not poisoned, leading to her pregnancy, which in turn enraged the principal wife.

The principal wife, in a fit of anger, ran away. For any man, let alone King Jin, such humiliation was unbearable.

Because the principal wife left, the once-favored concubine lost her status, leaving King Jin perpetually with a countenance as if he had lost his own mother.

The consensus was ’King Jin really has it tough.’

...

The atrocious act carried out by the Ducal Residence was cruel enough to King Jin, but to Gu Youyou and Jin Zijin, it was an advantageous occurrence. Dog eats dog, and they had been looking for a way to provoke this very issue.

Now it seemed that they need not lift a finger; infighting was about to erupt within their ranks.

Since the moment King Jin sent Lin Qianqing away, it was clear that he was a man of dignity; it was just that his enemies were too deeply concealed and too cunning.

Given the relationship between the Ducal Residence and the Empress, King Jin indeed had no way to guard against them.

He always thought the Ducal Residence was wholeheartedly aiding him to ascend the throne, yet little did he know, they were doing it for themselves.

Using him, they intended to place a descendant with the Ducal Residence’s bloodline on the throne.

No wonder the Empress was so dissatisfied with Lin Qianqing, her position as the principal wife was still securely hers.

Lin Qianqing should, in fact, address the Protector Duke as her great-grandfather, and the child she bore with Jin Wei would naturally be closer to his heart than those born by other women.

If Gu Youyou’s guess was correct, once King Jin truly ascended the throne, his end would not be far off.

Upon returning, Gu Youyou informed Jin Zijin of the matter, to which Jin Zijin simply smiled faintly and said, "Neither King Jin nor the Empress will let this go, and not to mention the Ducal Residence’s ambition to usurp the throne... I initially thought they just wanted to become powerful officials, but I didn’t expect they harbored ambitions to seize the throne itself!"

"Such a crime," Gu Youyou spoke lightly, "is enough to implicate the entire clan, isn’t it?"

Jin Zijin turned to look at her, nodding, "Indeed, it is a grave crime that warrants the punishment of the entire clan." His brow furrowed deeply, he continued, "Generations of their family have been officials, with ties through marriage spanning the whole of Zhuzhao Country’s bureaucracy. To implicate the entire clan, we’d have to purge seven to eight tenths of the officials—your uncle’s house would be among them..."