Chapter 207 Taking a drastic measure, begging the Emperor for mercy

Going to Anletang at this time...

Li Yuzong asked, "Does Your Majesty wish to see the Princess Consort of Yong?"

Emperor Wusu said, "Bring two people with you."

Two people? Li Yuzong didn't have time to think it over, so he instructed Xiao Dongzi to take good care of them, and then he led his men to Anle Hall.

*

Ji Qingwu was about to change his clothes in the cubicle when he heard a commotion at the door.

The convicted palace maids stopped what they were doing and stood in several rows, while a few old women greeted the people entering with smiles.

Granny Cao laughed so hard that her triangular eyes became slits.

"What wind blew Eunuch Li here? You could have just sent one of your men. Why did you have to come in person?"

Li Yuzong rarely entered places like Anle Hall. As soon as he entered, he wrinkled his nose, finding the place smelly.

"What did you do in this yard? It smells so strong."

The smell of the chamber pot that Yinxiang had spilled on the ground hadn't even dissipated when an old woman dragged her out.

"Your Excellency, it was this new little wretch who didn't know the rules and tried to splash someone with night-blooming jasmine."

He added, "If Eunuch Li finds it an eyesore, then deal with it. It's not worth it for you to be bothered by it."

Yinxiang, her legs trembling, begged for mercy, "Eunuch Li, I didn't mean it."

Li Yuzong didn't look closely at all, but instead surveyed the surrounding rooms.

"Whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally, you can decide for yourselves. Do you expect me to teach you the rules of the palace?"

The old woman who was holding Yinxiang slapped her: "You have no right to speak when your father-in-law is speaking!" Yinxiang, who had never been hit before, was stunned by the slap.

Li Yuzong walked to the top of the steps and asked, "I have come by imperial decree. Where is the Princess Consort of Yong?"

The entire Tao family was executed. What else could they be doing here to take Princess Yong away at this time? Everyone knew that the princess wouldn't live past today.

Granny Cao followed behind him, bowing as she said, "The princess doesn't need to do any work; she stays in her room by herself."

Li Yuzong said with a grim expression, "Is only Princess Yong here? Is there no one else?"

Not daring to reveal that she had accepted bribes to allow people to enter, Granny Cao said, "There would be no one else here. All the people from Anle Hall are in front of you, Eunuch. Only the Princess is in the room."

At this moment, Yinxiang shouted loudly, "There's another one sneaking in! Eunuch Li, I saw him, please let me go."

"Let her go." Li Yuzong took a few more glances and recognized her as a maidservant of the Princess Consort of Yong.

He asked, "Are you Yinxiang, who serves Princess Yong?"

When Yinxiang saw that Li Yuzong recognized her, she struggled to rush over and knelt on the ground to kowtow.

“I had no choice but to follow that sinful woman before. Now I am clear-headed and have nothing to do with her.”

Li Yuzong ignored her offer of surrender and instead asked, "Who did you see come in?"

Yinxiang said, "I saw someone sneaking into the courtyard with Granny Cao. I don't know what big thing they were plotting with that sinner in the house. I haven't seen her come out. Please, Your Excellency, have mercy and spare my life."

Li Yuzong glanced at Granny Cao; the old woman could barely stand straight.

"Father-in-law...this servant only, only..."

Li Yuzong felt relieved and said, "Hurry up and bring the person out quickly."

Granny Cao replied, "This old servant will go right away."

The old woman knocked on the door several times.

Li Yuzong hissed and said angrily, "Why are you banging so loudly?"

Then, he knocked lightly on the door a few times, and a smile appeared on his face, which had been tense since he entered Anletang.

"Miss Ji, are you there?"

Ji Qingwu wanted to listen a little longer, thinking that perhaps the person wasn't there to see her.

But when she heard Eunuch Li calling her, she knew that the emperor already knew she was there.

Prince Yong and Wei Ting were still kneeling in front of her, and she had gotten involved in the Tao family's affairs. If she went there, she would inevitably be scolded.

Ji Qingwu gently pushed open the door. When Li Yuzong saw her wearing a gray coarse cloth dress, with her hair tied up and wrapped in coarse cloth behind her head, he exclaimed in surprise.

"Miss Ji, this is not a dress you should wear. Please go and change into something else."

Ji Qingwu asked in a low voice, "Are Prince Yong and the others still kneeling?"

Li Yuzong nodded: "His Majesty is still angry and has sent this old servant to invite the Princess and you over."

Ji Qingwu thought for a moment and decided it was better not to change his clothes: "Let's hurry over there."

The group walked to the vicinity of the entrance to the Hall of Diligent Governance.

At first glance, the two figures in front of me had very different postures.

Prince Yong was no longer kneeling; he leaned against the eunuch beside him, with a soft cushion under his knees.

In contrast, Wei Ting knelt with great presence, as composed as an old monk in deep meditation.

Ji Qingwu glanced at it, then pursed her lips and turned her head away.

Ignoring the rules, she walked to the side of Li Yuzong and the eunuchs, trying to use their figures to shield herself.

Ji Qingwu did not want anyone to know that she had dealings with the Princess Consort of Yong, and she did not want Wei Ting to find out anything about her relationship with the Emperor.

Tao Wanyin had already seen Prince Yong, but she subconsciously turned her head away, pretending not to see him.

The servant boy, with his sharp eyes, spotted Tao Wanyin first and said to Prince Yong, "Your Highness, look! The Princess Consort has arrived!"

Zhao Minghong said, "Why are you making such a fuss? I haven't knelt down to the point of losing my mind yet, it's not time to use drastic measures."

Just now, the two agreed on a secret signal: when they saw Prince Yong about to fall, they would shout this phrase, and it would be more effective than any magic medicine.

Although Zhao Minghong's legs were weak, he was stubborn. He glanced at Wei Ting, who was kneeling beside him like a pine tree.

The words were squeezed out of his mouth: "As long as General Wei can hold on, I will stay with him."

If it weren't for the deal he made with Ji Qingwu, Zhao Minghong wouldn't have endured this long for the sake of his wife and children.

The little eunuch pointed to the figure that had already walked to their side and shook Prince Yong, trying to bring him to his senses.

"Your Highness, look! The Princess is right in front of us!"

Upon hearing the eunuch's words, Tao Wanyin stumbled and lost her footing.

Then, she felt a gaze more intense than the midday sun shining directly on her back, making her spine feel a sharp pain.

Zhao Minghong immediately knelt up straight. Now his legs didn't hurt, his feet weren't weak, and he could kneel for another three hundred rounds.

Ji Qingwu quickly lowered his head and followed Eunuch Li into the hall.

Wei Ting opened his eyes at some point, his gaze following the figure entering the hall.

Ji Qingwu breathed a long sigh of relief after entering the hall.

Li Yuzong said, "Your Majesty, the two from Anle Hall have been brought here." With that, he retreated to wait beside the dragon pillar.

Tao Wanyin and Ji Qingwu bowed together.

Emperor Wusu lowered his eyes to look at the two women in the hall, his gaze shifting to one of them, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Ji Qingwu kept her head down, not daring to meet the eyes of the people in the hall.

Tao Wanyin knelt down again, her voice trembling violently: "I beg Your Majesty for mercy."

On her way here, she had thought of a thousand different ways to phrase things, but when she actually arrived before the emperor, she could only utter these few words.

Ji Qingwu quietly raised her eyes.