Chapter 54: Don't worry, I won't let them get hurt...

An He shuddered, "Aunt, the assistant secretary of the Imperial Household Department, Cai Huan, is dead."

Zhao Changning was busy all day and only ate a plate of Poria cocos cake and a few cups of warm tea. When he heard the bad news, he felt a severe stomachache.

Yunsheng saw his aunt's slender figure tremble, and with a worried look on his face, he went forward to help her. "Aunt, are you okay?"

Zhao Changning pinched his brows, using Yunsheng's hand to steady himself, and said in a hoarse voice, "Get someone to keep an eye on it immediately. No one below is allowed to talk nonsense. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Don't disturb the Emperor and Empress."

An He nodded repeatedly, "Aunt, don't worry, Brother Yi went there as soon as he heard the news, and he's already taking care of her."

Zhao Changning breathed a sigh of relief.

She hurried to the Shangbaojian. There were many warehouses in this area, all of which were under the jurisdiction of the Neigongjian. The most important person in charge of the Neigongjian was her, Zhao Changning.

"I remember Cai Huan didn't live in the palace. How could it be such a coincidence that she died in the palace the night before New Year's Eve?"

On the day she became a female official, she reminded the two of them that being a female official was not easy and they had to be vigilant at all times.

An He followed beside her, holding a lantern, and said, "Aunt, Cai Huan is on duty at the Shangbao Palace tonight. Another eunuch on duty said that she stole something and committed suicide out of fear of punishment after being discovered."

Zhao Changning sneered. Stealing? Cai Huan had already become a seventh-rank female official. She should have cherished her opportunity. How could she be so stupid?

It was obvious that this was directed at her.

As expected, those people were unwilling to do things cleanly. Cai Huan held a golden seal in her hand, but she died with her eyes open. There were slight marks on her neck and a faint trace of blood at the corners of her mouth that had not been wiped clean.

Very good, very good.

Zhao Changning gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger, his blood boiling, and he couldn't suppress his rage.

Why?

Why do these people always deliberately provoke and look down on others? Do they think that at this critical juncture, she will swallow her anger?

As for who ordered the killing of Cai Huan, she couldn't guess.

Perhaps it was someone outside the palace who couldn't stand her being an official, or a woman being an official, and was retaliating against her; or perhaps it was the eunuchs in the palace, as the conflicts between the palace maids and the eunuchs had been really big recently; or perhaps Cai Huan herself had offended someone.

But there is no need to worry about it. There is no hatred without reason. Interests are the source of disaster. Recently, she has indeed robbed many people of their interests.

Originally, she had done the affair with the female official just to facilitate her own advancement and to share the blame with herself, but now, it seemed that the two could be confused.

Yes, why would they bother to tell them apart? They would just see them as one.

It was her fault for neglecting the fact that they were complementary to each other.

Zhao Changning closed Cai Huan's eyes with a guilty conscience, thinking to himself, "Don't worry, I won't let your death be in vain. I'll make those people be buried with you."

An He looked at Cai Huan sympathetically and whispered, "Aunt, do you want to ask the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital to take a look?"

Yunsheng immediately shook his head. "No, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. If someone dies tonight, it's a very ominous sign. We have to wait until after the New Year. Besides, we can't make a big deal out of this. If word gets out, who will dare to take the imperial examination? Wouldn't my aunt become a laughing stock in the palace?"

He was not afraid at this moment, not at all, he was just worried about his aunt, who was too tired.

Zhao Changning closed his eyes wearily, his voice hoarse, "Bring the eunuchs on duty here, gag them, and beat them hard."

When the eunuch was dragged over, he looked very proud. He and Cai Huan were on the same level, which was the natural level of eunuchs. However, Cai Huan's path was much more difficult than his.

"Palm print, I uh..."

Without waiting for him to speak, Anyi immediately covered his mouth, stuffed a piece of smelly cloth in it, and wrapped his head with gauze.

If you beat him like this, even if he struggles and cries, the sound won't be heard far.

The eunuch opened his eyes wide in fear, and vaguely saw Zhao Changning standing quietly through the gauze. He had only heard that she was cruel before, but seeing it with his own eyes today, it was actually true.

I guess I didn't expect this to happen. Why wouldn't I ask for an explanation? I don't even want to understand what happened. How could this happen?

Seeing the man tied up, Zhao Changning said calmly, "Call his godfather and others over here. Be careful not to alarm anyone."

Yunsheng quickly brought out a chair and carefully padded it, "Auntie, please sit down."

The relationships in the palace are very complicated, especially among the eunuchs. They have a lot of godfathers, godsons, and godgrandsons. This eunuch in the Shangbaojian happens to be the godson of the seal holder of the Imperial Stables.

Coincidentally, Zhao Changning had dealt with the head of the Imperial Stables last time because of Qiaoyu's incident. When they met again this time, both sides looked at each other coldly.

He looked at Cai Huan's body, with a barely perceptible hint of pride in his eyes, but he still spoke with respect.

"Aunt, why did you call us here so late?..."

Yunsheng couldn't help it, and when he helped Anyi tie someone up for the first time, he also took the opportunity to slap him.

Zhao Changning looked at him coldly as he was tied up. "I didn't call you here to show off to me, and I don't want to waste my breath on you."

She stood up and watched the Imperial Horse Supervisor struggle angrily. She seemed to have a lot to say, and said coldly, "You may not have been responsible for Cai Huan's death, but you are inextricably linked to it. And your godson has already confessed."

The seal-keeper of the Imperial Stables looked at his godson angrily, whimpering non-stop, but his voice was muffled because he was tied up with gauze.

The godson also shook his head and tried desperately to speak, but the sticks on his body made it impossible for him to say anything.

Zhao Changning took a few steps closer. "Remember, I'm only going to ask you once: who's behind this? If you tell me, I'll let you go."

Seeing the Imperial Stables' seal-keeper nod vigorously, she winked at Anyi.

As the silk was ripped open, the Imperial Stables' Seal glared at him angrily, "Zhao Changning, how dare you? I'm the Imperial Stables' Seal, and you dare to resort to lynching? If anyone dies today, I will report you to the Emperor, and you won't get away with it."

Zhao Changning sneered, "It's hard to say whether you can see the emperor or not, but as for causing a death..."

Her eyes suddenly turned cold, and her tone was cold. "You guys aren't afraid of anyone getting killed, so why do you want me to be afraid? Am I usually too kind, or do you think women are easy to talk to?"

The Imperial Stables' Seal began to struggle, glared at Zhao Changning, and then raised his head and shouted, "Help, help me..."

Zhao Changning couldn't help but curl his lips, sat back in his chair, clapping his hands and smiling, "Very good, you are much tougher than I thought, fight."

In the small courtyard, dull whimpering sounds continued. At first, they were rapid and intense, then gradually became hoarse and dull, and slowly even the humming sounds became smaller.

Yunsheng squatted beside the two of them and watched them carefully.

He returned to his aunt and whispered, "Aunt, do you want to ask again?"

Zhao Changning shook his head. He said he would only give one chance, so there would only be one chance.

It doesn't matter if she can't get the answer this time. She won't give up the power she has worked so hard to gain. There will be more fights in the future.

She leaned back in her chair, watching the two men who had been beaten gradually fall silent. She said slowly, "If you don't fight or compete in the palace, no one will praise your noble character. Instead, you will be tightly controlled by flatterers. But when you move up, to a certain level, those people will not dare to make a move. Yunsheng, we still have to move up."

Yunsheng pursed his lips and nodded heavily.

It was late at night and the dew was heavy. When I returned to my residence, it was almost dawn.

Zhao Changning wearily took out the wine and said to Yunsheng weakly, "Go to sleep now. You'll be busy again early in the morning."

Yunsheng shook his head, squatted beside Zhao Changning's knees, and pleaded, "Auntie, don't drink anymore. Go to sleep quickly. I'll stay here, okay?"

Zhao Changning gave him a deep look and said in a hoarse voice, "Go ahead and be obedient."

Yunsheng couldn't persuade his aunt, so he had to go to bed and fell asleep almost as soon as he touched the pillow.

Zhao Changning took two sips of wine, and when he saw the window screen was tinged with a faint green, he knew it was time to get up.

After washing and changing her clothes, she went straight to Kunning Palace without much hesitation.

In the past, there was no proper master in the harem, so she didn't need to explain to anyone in detail. But now the queen is the master of the harem. Even if she can make a judgment, she still has to report the crime. Human life is human life, and she cannot deny it.

The Queen had also gotten up early. She had a lot to do. Seeing Zhao Changning's eyes were gray and bloodshot, she asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep all night?"

Zhao Changning knelt and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, I apologize to you..."

The queen was shocked, and when she heard the news of Cai Huan's death, she became angry.

"Well, when the late emperor was alive, he was already powerful and the palace was full of these eunuchs. After killing so many of them, they didn't stop. Now they dare to kill my people."

Her face was not good. She turned to comfort Zhao Changning and said, "Don't worry. The emperor is busy with many things and doesn't need to pay attention to such trivial matters in the harem. Fortunately, you handled it in time. Otherwise, if the emperor knew, he might blame me for mismanagement."

Zhao Changning was thankful for his previous friendship with the Queen, and kowtowed again, "Your Majesty is wise, and I thank you for not blaming me."

She didn't mention the connection here. Some things have nothing to do with the queen.

Because the national treasury was not well-off, the palace celebrated this New Year in a much more frugal manner than in previous years, with not even many fireworks being set off.

Zhao Changning couldn't hold on any longer when the emperor was having dinner with the concubines and children and keeping watch.

Yunsheng came over again and asked, his eyes full of worry, "Aunt, go back to sleep, we will take good care of you here."

Zhao Changning finally returned in a daze.

The next morning, the first day of the Lunar New Year, when she went to Kunning Palace to pay New Year's greetings, the queen smiled and gave her a big red envelope.

The matter was naturally covered up and not many people knew about it. Even if they knew about it, they didn't dare to say anything. There were some rumors behind the scenes, but they were harmless.

The people in the palace were still living as hard as ants, and many of them didn't even realize that someone was missing.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the emperor finally issued an edict to confer titles on his brothers and sisters.

Zhao Changning looked at the things on the reward book and couldn't help but smile. He was indeed good at calculating. Taking advantage of the empty treasury, these rewards added up to not much, and they were all things that were already in the treasury.

By doing this, the emperor's reputation was enhanced and the princes and princesses were left speechless.

The emperor saw her rarely curl her lips and smiled, "Why? Do you also think I'm heartless?"

Zhao Changning shook his head, "Your Majesty, Changning is grateful."

"Oh?" The emperor threw down the memorial and asked, "Tell me about it?"

Zhao Changning said as he sorted through the memorials, "When the late emperor passed away, Princess Huachang, the Sixth Prince, and I had a falling out. You hadn't conferred the title before, which inevitably made me anxious. Now I'm finally relieved."

The emperor was not angry at all when he heard her sarcasm, but laughed heartily instead.

His eyes were deep and his tone was solemn, "Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you."

Zhao Changning inexplicably had a feeling in her heart that she and the emperor actually had many similarities, and this matter was not over yet.

Sure enough, on the first day of court after the New Year, Xu Jiawen was the first to stand up and impeach Princess Huachang.

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The author has something to say: When I was walking my dog, I encountered someone peeing everywhere. I was so angry that I scolded him and ran away with the dog without even looking back [helpless][helpless][helpless]