Chapter 338 The Affairs of the Capital

The people in the Marquis's household were conflicted; was doing this really so unethical...?

How despicable!

Just as I was struggling with this decision, news suddenly came from the palace that His Majesty had suffered a stroke!

Imperial Physician Wang hurriedly brought Wang Xinyu to the Marquis's residence, hoping they could take care of her.

"My lord, the Empress has summoned me urgently. I don't know when I will be able to return. I hope you will take care of me."

The imperial physician's expression was solemn, and his tone was more like entrusting a young man to someone...

Su Junyao and Yun Jinglan exchanged a glance and then asked Qiuqiu to take Wang Xinyu out to play. After the children left, they asked Physician Wang what had happened.

Peering into the Emperor's condition is taboo, but Imperial Physician Wang can't afford to worry about that now. If he can't cure the Emperor, he might even lose his life.

"My lord, my lady, to be honest, His Majesty's illness has come on very suddenly. If it cannot be cured, I fear I will be buried with him! You two must also be careful!"

Someone leaked the affair between Consort Zhao and Na Jia Canglan to Emperor Jingming. Upon learning that the two had conspired against him, he coughed up blood and suffered a stroke in his agitation.

Emperor Jingming fell seriously ill, and the Crown Prince took over the reins of government.

Everything is just as Chiu Chiu's heart said.

Su Junyao subtly probed Qiuqiu, "Qiuqiu, do you think His Majesty will pull through?"

Chiu Chiu's little face was flushed from the sun, and she scratched her head upon hearing this: "I guess so."

[Wasn't he supposed to be an emperor emeritus? In the story, he is an emperor emeritus, with plenty of food and drink, it's wonderful!]

Su Junyao breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was still alive. As long as he was alive, that was good.

But he clearly forgot that for some people, living is worse than dying.

The original storyline was intended to praise the Third Prince's filial piety and the magnanimity of the male and female protagonists, so they showed mercy to Emperor Jingming. Although he was still alive, he was paralyzed and bedridden.

The crown prince was strangled to death in the imperial mausoleum, and the empress followed him. Emperor Jingming was left alone in the deep palace to await his death.

Chiu Chiu doesn't understand the despair of losing everything; she's just repeating what the male protagonist once said.

[Grandpa Wang is so skilled, he should be able to cure it, right?]

Chiu Chiu shook her head, deciding not to think about it anymore and to continue playing!

I'm so happy that I don't have to go to school!

The prodigy class disbanded on the spot, and Geng Siru, who couldn't be sent back to his hometown for the time being, also came to stay. Jin Xiaoming, who had lost face and didn't want to stay at home, also came to join in the fun. So, Qiuqiu really didn't lack playmates.

Yun Jinglan is relieved as long as Qiuqiu doesn't go out.

In these turbulent times, it's best to be cautious.

The first thing the Crown Prince did upon taking over the reins of government was to issue an imperial edict to Gu Qiuheng, who was pretending to be recuperating at home, ordering him to immediately lead men to the border to provide support.

This order caused quite a stir among many people.

Since the death of his first wife, Gu Qiuheng has not led troops into battle again. They doubt whether he can be competent to lead troops again after so many years.

However, what they didn't know was that Gu Qiuheng had already led her troops out of the city for many days, and now they regretted it but couldn't catch up.

Gao Xun led the Imperial Guards to surround the capital like an iron barrel. All of the Third Prince's men were apprehended the moment his identity was exposed.

Led by Zhang Rongguang, this group of people wanted nothing more than to strangle the Third Prince, and they were cursing him day and night in the imperial prison.

He originally wanted to gain credit for joining the new emperor, but now he's been accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying his country!

The Crown Prince acted swiftly, punishing the Third Prince, Consort Zhao, and the Zhao family, but spared Zhao Nan.

The secret letter accusing the Zhao family of treason was presented to Emperor Jingming by Zhao Nan.

Consort Zhao was given a death sentence, and the direct descendants of the Zhao family were executed in the autumn, while the rest were exiled thousands of miles away. As for Zhao Nan, the Crown Prince demoted him to a commoner and forbade him from ever returning to the capital.

As for the Third Prince...

The Crown Prince decided to respect the plot that Qiuqiu had described and go directly to guard the imperial tomb.

However, he is a kind person and still cherishes the bond between brothers, so he will spare his life.

Before leaving the capital, Zhao Nan went to the Marquis of Wenyang's residence, hoping to see Qiuqiu.

Although Yun Jinglan was puzzled, she still asked Qiuqiu's opinion and then let them talk alone.

Qiuqiu didn't have a good impression of Zhao Nan, but she also felt sorry for him.

She stood a short distance away, looking at the chubby Zhao Nan. [Has he lost weight?]

When Zhao Nan saw Qiu Qiu, her eyes lit up. She walked over quickly and said, "I knew you were in the Cold Palace that day."

Chiu Chiu tilted her head: "Which day?"

Zhao Nan: "..."

He stomped his foot, but then, remembering the Zhao family's downfall and that he was no longer the pampered young master of the Duke's mansion, he suppressed his irritability.

"It was the Three Sovereigns... the day that guy hit me!"

Chiu Chiu suddenly realized, could it be that he came to find her just to say this?

Zhao Nan rarely bowed his head to anyone, but today he truly needed someone's help. He squatted down to be at eye level with Qiu Qiu, his tone somewhat ingratiating: "I would like to ask you to pass on a message to Song Bai for me."

"Huh?" Chuchu was slightly taken aback. "A provocation?"

Zhao Nan: Does this child even know how to talk?!

"It's an apology!"

"They need me to be domineering and make the Zhao family disliked by His Majesty, thereby reducing their presence in the capital. But I can't bully others, so I can only target Songbai. Although an apology is useless and can't make up for anything, I still owe Songbai an apology."

Zhao Nan spoke sincerely, but Qiuqiu just rolled her eyes at him.

“Serves you right!”

"Bully!"

Why should a bully be able to get forgiveness from the victim with just a casual apology? Songbai's cowardice and weakness are not only because he is afraid of being exposed and therefore hides his abilities, but also because he is bullied and dares not speak up!

If it weren't for Gongsun Zhi protecting her, who knows how much worse things would have happened!

"Humph, bad guy!"

Zhao Nan smiled wryly, but did not refute Qiu Qiu's words.

He is a bad person, a perpetrator.

"You're right, I'm a bad person, and I will atone for my sins in my own way for the rest of my life!"

Zhao Nan left, crying all the way out of Beijing.

No one saw him off, and it rained heavily the day he left. He couldn't afford a carriage, so he trudged through the mud and water as he left the bustling capital.

He will never return in this lifetime, but the story of the capital continues.

Songbai was lounging on the soft couch reading the latest storybook when the uninvited little dumpling slowly shuffled its bottom toward her.

"Songsong~"

Songbai looked up from the storybook and gave her a look: "What's wrong?"

Since Songbai was unwilling to return to the palace, the Crown Prince used a ruse, claiming that the child from the Cold Palace had died. He also invited a master to explain the true identities of Songbai and Gongsun Zhi, thus putting everything back on track.

Songbai, who had never worn women's clothing before, felt uncomfortable all over and could only comfort himself through storybooks.

Regarding Chiu Chiu's arrival, she said, "It's too noisy!"

Chiu Chiu was angered by Song Bai's dismissive attitude. [They're so ungrateful!]

Qiuqiu stammered as she told Songbai about Zhao Nan's visit. Songbai just shook his head repeatedly after hearing it.

She didn't say whether she had forgiven him or not, but just sighed and turned to ask Qiuqiu, "Is the white-haired boy in your household handsome?"

The topic jumped too far, leaving Chiu Chiu dumbfounded.

Is there any connection between these two?

The handsome older brother stays cooped up in his room all day and rarely comes out, so Chiu Chiu rarely sees him either!

Songbai pointed to the storybook spread out on the soft couch, and then to a few lines of text on it, saying, "Look, see what's written in the book."

Chirp: "Can't read!"

The book described a tragic love story between a white-haired prince, but Songbai felt it wasn't suitable for children and didn't read it to Qiuqiu. She hadn't even seen the white-haired boy yet!

"Let's go find your white-haired boy!"

Chiu Chiu shook her head: "Brother, no..."

"Let's go, let's go!"

Chirp: [Let me go! I haven't agreed to take you back yet!]