Chapter 106 Ignore You

Qianqing Palace, outer room of the east warm pavilion.

On the rosewood couch near the lattice window, the emperor and Xiao Qing sat across the table from each other. There were only the two of them, father and son, in the hall, and the atmosphere was weird.

"Why did your Majesty suddenly decide to move to Yanqi Palace? Forgive me for saying so much, but this is not in accordance with etiquette." Xiao Qi frowned slightly.

The etiquette system is secondary. The East Palace and Yanqi Palace are adjacent to each other from north to south, separated only by the Baoshan Gate.

Now that their time alone is getting less and less, it would not be a good thing for him if his father moved to Yanqi Palace adjacent to the East Palace.

"What? Do I need to ask for anyone's opinion when I want to move the palace?" The emperor picked up the teacup and took a sip. His tone was solemn, and there was a hint of mockery in his words.

The sudden rain in early summer comes quickly and goes away quickly.

Just now there were lightning, thunder and heavy rain, but before we knew it, the clouds had disappeared and the rain had stopped, and the sky was clear and bright.

The warm afternoon light shone into the hall through the window. Xiao Yan lowered his eyes, and his handsome profile was also hidden in the shadows.

"The Palace of Heavenly Purity is located in the center of the Imperial Palace. It connects to the inner court of the previous dynasty and is the residence of all the emperors of this dynasty. If your father rashly moves the palace, I am worried that it will cause disputes in the court."

The emperor sneered, "Why do you have to speak so pompously? You just think that Yanqi Palace is too close to the East Palace."

He stroked the thin body of the Ru porcelain teacup in his hand with his fingertips, and raised the corners of his lips slightly, "I discussed this matter with Yuan'er a few days ago, and she was very supportive."

"You also know that Yuan'er is now with me day and night, handling government affairs together. It will be much more convenient for her if I move to Yanqi Palace. She will not even have to take the sedan chair in the future."

Xiao Yan's expression darkened.

After pondering for a while, he suddenly raised his eyes with a scrutinizing look, and there seemed to be a sharp edge silently surging in his deep eyes.

"What's the next step? What else does Father want?"

The emperor chuckled and teased, "Zi'an, I thought you were used to it. It turns out you get jealous, too?"

"I hope that my son and I will be in love and have a common goal. If she were not kind-hearted and unwilling to make you sad, she would have been your mother long ago."

The air in the hall seemed to stagnate for a moment.

Xiao Qi turned his head to look at the golden nanmu bed behind the beaded curtain. The gauze curtain was half-drawn. A young girl was sleeping peacefully in the bright yellow embroidered quilt with a flushed face.

"Really? Then I should be thankful that Yuanyuan is still willing to stay with me." He said in a low voice.

Hearing this, the smile on the emperor's face faded gradually.

He stood up suddenly, looked down at Xiao Yan, and said in an unquestionable tone, "The sky has cleared up, Zi'an, you should go back to the East Palace."

Xiao Yan didn't want to stay here either, so he bowed and left immediately.

Before leaving, he slowly walked to the bed and tucked the thin quilt around Yang Manyan.

But Yang Manyan was fat and afraid of heat. After humming a few times in a daze, he pulled the quilt away again.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh, and couldn't help but lower his head and gently kiss her forehead.

The emperor's eyes darkened in an instant, and the lines of his taut jaw became cold, hard and sharp.

**

In the blink of an eye, it was half a month later.

It was a rare day off, so Xiao Yan stayed in the East Palace to accompany Yang Manyan to study the procedures and etiquette of the silkworm ceremony.

At the beginning of the year, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Works to renovate the Altar of the First Silkworm and ordered Yang Manyan to lead the court in presiding over the Silkworm Ceremony.

Now that the Altar of the First Silkworm has been completely completed, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has scheduled an auspicious date for offering sacrifices to the Altar of the First Silkworm for two days from now.

Although there were old precedents to follow, it was Yang Manyan's first time to preside over such a highest-level national sacrificial ceremony, so he was inevitably a little nervous.

Xiao Yan sat beside her, chatting with her while slowly peeling the lychees and removing the cores before feeding them into her mouth.

These Gualü lychees are a rare tribute that just arrived in the capital this morning. They were transported at full speed along the way and kept in freezers. Each one is plump, juicy, sweet and delicious.

Yang Manyan suddenly asked, "Su Yue, have you sent lychees to Ci Ning Palace and Ren Shou Palace?"

Su Yue replied hurriedly, "Yes, they were sent. You gave instructions a few days ago. As soon as the lychees arrived this morning, I had someone pick out the best ones and send them to the Cining Palace and Renshou Palace."

Before Yang Manyan could ask about the reactions of Empress Dowager Jiang and Empress Xu, he saw the pearl curtain swaying slightly and Tong Lin walked in from outside, wearing a dark blue Qilin robe and looking exhausted.

After paying his respects, he clasped his fists and reported: "Your Highnesses, I have just returned from the Northern Pacification Office, and Concubine Wei has confessed everything."

Hearing this, Yang Manyan was slightly startled, and subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan.

After slowly washing his hands with a wet towel, Xiao Yan asked in a deep voice, "Did you bring a copy of the confession in the case file?"

Tong Lin took out a few pieces of folded golden millet paper from his sleeve and presented them to them with both hands with an expressionless face, "Your Highness, please take a look."

Xiao Yan nodded slightly, took the paper and opened it.

Yang Manyan also came forward, rested his chin on his shoulder, and read slowly with him word by word.

The confessions in the case file were all what they expected. Concubine Wei Shufei admitted that she had illegally mixed aphrodisiac spices in the palace.

He also admitted that he had used the warm fragrance to win the favor of the late emperor, and even colluded with Concubine Jiang to use large doses of spices, which led to the late emperor's death at a young age.

The Jinyiwei prison has its own special interrogation process, and the evidence is irrefutable. Even if Concubine Wei Shu doesn't want to admit it, she can't. It would be better for her to confess early and suffer less.

After a moment of silence, Tong Lin continued, "The emperor has ordered that Concubine Wei Shu be poisoned. The emperor only announced that she died of an acute illness. The emperor also ordered that her body should not be buried in the concubine's mausoleum."

"As for the Wei clan, the brothers, nephews and daughters of Concubine Shu were all demoted to commoners and exiled a thousand miles away. They are not allowed to enter the officialdom for generations."

Yang Manyan sighed softly. These verdicts were almost the same as she expected.

In order to protect the reputation of the royal family, it has always been announced to the outside world that the previous emperor died of illness. Even though what Concubine Wei Shu committed was a capital crime punishable by the death of nine generations of her clan, she could only be executed in secret.

Besides, she is the princess' biological mother after all, so she should be given some dignity for Su Qinglan's sake.

Xiao Yan suddenly stretched out his hand, and placed his large palm with distinct joints on the back of Yang Manyan's hand, gently grasping it.

"Yuanyuan, you have been wronged." His eyes were dark and unclear, but also filled with a bit of heartache and pity.

When he thought of how Yang Manyan was poisoned when she first entered the palace, his heart felt as if it was being cut by a sharp knife and it hurt terribly.

From the very beginning, Yuanyuan was designated as his Crown Princess. If Concubine Wei Shu had not interfered on several occasions, how could Yuanyuan have had any contact with her father?

Yang Manyan was stunned for a while after hearing this.

After realizing the hidden meaning of his words, her eyes were slightly sour, "It's nothing, it's all over."

It would be a lie to say that she was completely relieved. When she was most desperate and helpless, she even thought about committing suicide to save her family's lives.

Fortunately, the culprit has finally been punished, and she no longer has to be on guard against whether the other party is playing dirty tricks in the dark.