Chapter 233: How to deal with it

The first thing Jiang Mengyuan did when she returned to the palace was to hang a wind chime at the palace gate. This was a secret signal she and Jiang Nantian had agreed on: as long as the wind chime was hung, her father's accomplice in the palace would come to find her.

Sure enough, not long after the wind chimes were hung up, a eunuch in charge came over, claiming to deliver seasonal flowers to the Queen's bedroom.

"My Lady, do you have any letter for your family? They are currently in prison, but they are under arrest."

Huang Haitian directed the palace servants to change the flowers, while he quietly approached Jiang Mengyuan with a respectful tone.

Jiang Mengyuan's eyes flashed with surprise. For safety reasons, she had never used this emergency contact method. She was not aware of her father's inner circle in the palace, and she had never expected that this old man would be there.

But she was even more worried about the news that her father had been imprisoned. The emperor always respected his teachers, so how could he have imprisoned her father for no reason? Could his plan have been exposed? Then why was she not fine?

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The more you rush around now, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Maintaining normalcy is the best strategy."

Huang Haitian remained calm. Given his age, he'd seen plenty of ups and downs, so naturally, he remained unfazed. If the emperor truly had evidence, he wouldn't simply imprison him secretly, but would publicly announce his treason.

"Okay. I understand. I was presumptuous to call you here this time. If you have any news about my father, please let me know."

Jiang Mengyuan took a few breaths and forced herself to calm down. According to the current situation, if she really sent the letter back, not only would her father not receive it, but there would be a risk of it being discovered by the emperor's people.

Huang Haitian nodded gently and left with the palace servants. Jiang Mengyuan obviously didn't want to sit and wait for death. She always believed that her father was cautious in his actions. The recent cases in the court were nothing more than Sun Youcai's more conspicuous actions.

Wen Chengfeng was most likely just suspicious, with no concrete evidence. Therefore, the most urgent task was to get Sun Youcai to moderate his actions a bit and see if that would alleviate the situation on his father's side.

After seeing Su Xin, Concubine Sun hurriedly packed up and rushed to the Queen's bedroom. Although she didn't know what had happened, Su Xin's anxious expression obviously frightened her.

When they arrived at the Queen's bedroom, the Queen had already prepared paper and pen, waiting for Concubine Sun, the writer, to come.

"You and Sun Youcai have been in contact through family letters, right? Tell your father to tone down his actions, provide the necessary aid, and wait until the storm has passed before we continue."

Jiang Mengyuan looked at Sun Bin with a confused look on her face, and she didn't intend to explain too much, so as to prevent these people who followed the wind from thinking that her father was no longer able to do so. It was hard to say whether someone would rebel at that time.

"good."

Sun Bin originally wanted to ask a few questions, but when she saw Jiang Mengyuan's cold face, it was obvious that she didn't intend to say much. Knowing that the more she knew, the more disadvantageous it would be, she chose to do as she was told.

After writing the note, Concubine Sun was sent back to her palace and quickly released the pigeon to report the news.

The letter was quickly delivered to Sun Youcai via pigeon. He was completely stunned when he saw the letter. The tone of command was not at all like that of his cowardly daughter.

Thinking that there was a queen in the palace, Sun Youcai hesitated for a moment and decided to do as the letter instructed. After all, she was still the master.

But Sun Youcai's sneaky behavior attracted the attention of the Shangshu's wife, and she snatched the paper from Sun Youcai's hand and planned to find out what was going on.

"Finally I've got my chance. Let me see which little devil is secretly colluding with you!"

Unexpectedly, this action triggered Sun Youcai's conditioned reflex. He grabbed his wife's wrist with a fierce look in his eyes and said, "This is not something a girl like you can look at! I'm doing this for your own good!"

Sun Youcai was truly anxious. He had already been dragged into these power struggles, and even his daughter was inevitably involved. He didn't want one more person to know about it, as that would simply mean one more person living in constant fear.

"Why are you so fierce? Can't I just not look at it? Don't be angry, just burn it if you want to..."

The Shangshu's wife was frightened and her face turned pale. After so many years of marriage, she had never seen Sun Youcai like this. Perhaps that was really something she could not touch.

Sun Youcai's expression eased a lot after seeing his wife's understanding. He took the note and threw it directly into the burning flames, then hurried out the door.

As Sun Youcai's actions unfolded, the rice without any problems gradually replaced the rice that had become moldy, and the consistency of the porridge also changed from the original clear soup to a consistency that was visibly thick.

"Thank God, thank the Emperor, thank the government... Life will definitely get better!"

"The porridge is getting thicker and thicker. After my hometown is rebuilt, I will go back and organize the villagers to build a merit temple!"

The refugees, who had eaten and drunk their fill, felt happy and came to the gate of the palace to worship. This scene happened to be seen by Wen Chengfeng who was climbing up to a high place.

He had already returned from the Kyoto Prison. The imperial physician diagnosed Jiang Nantian's condition as being caused by old age, anger, and excessive worry.

These contented people seemed to reflect the tacit support in Jiang Nantian's words. Wen Chengfeng pursed his lips tightly, a hint of conflicted melancholy between his brows. While Jiang Nantian's physical condition wasn't serious, keeping him in prison wasn't a good idea. There's no such thing as a wall without ventilation; sooner or later, the wind will get through.

"Jiang Dehai, what do you think?"

Wen Chengfeng stretched out his hand and pinched his eyebrows, with a hint of fatigue in his voice. He wanted to ask the person next to him for his opinion.

"Should we ask Prince Qingping's opinion? If we calculate carefully, it's almost time for us to return, isn't it?"

Jiang Dehai pondered for a moment before offering his own answer. The emperor's subsequent actions were initiated only after receiving the eagle's message. Wen Chengfeng's imprisonment didn't quite fit with his benevolent personality, so it was most likely Wen Chengyun's doing.

As the saying goes, the person who tied the bell must untie it, and there is nothing shameful about asking.

Wen Chengyun's answer was naturally to release the people, but he had to wait until he returned to the court, and then release them under the pretext of a general amnesty, so that it would have a deterrent effect.

When Feiying returned, the bamboo tube felt heavier than ever. Wen Chengyun and Cheng Weiyao compiled all the evidence they had and submitted it to the emperor in written form.

As for heavier items such as account books, they cannot be carried by the eagle due to their size, so they will return with them later.

The eagle spread its wings and flew away, which also meant that Wen Chengyun's long-term undercover mission had come to an end.