Chapter 489 Decision

Ji Changying was also amazed by this miraculous development: "So, it started with Prince Zhuang accusing my mother and me, and in the end it turned out like this?"

Ji Fengshou nodded. "That's right! I was completely stunned. At first, I thought since they were filing a complaint, I might as well file one too. But I didn't expect the Crown Prince to open his mouth and prepare the evidence, witnesses, and testimony. He just pinned the King of Zhuang to death. It was so sudden, the King of Zhuang and his followers were completely unprepared."

Ji Changying understood. She thought that Zhonglizhou must have prepared everything from the beginning, but he just hadn't decided when to release them.

"Speaking of which, I should thank the prince. If it weren't for him, the Marquis of Jianping would have known with a simple investigation that it was you who beat up the girl. I was just talking nonsense."

Ji Fengshou felt a little guilty when he said this.

He is a man who somewhat "takes advantage of his wife to bully others".

Ji Fengyi nodded: "Next time, don't act so impulsively. Learn from the prince. If you don't attack, it's fine. But when you do attack, you must make the opponent helpless."

Ji Fengshou learned his lesson this time and agreed obediently.

Ji Shilin and the others were genuinely worried after hearing this: "I didn't expect being an official to be so dangerous! I thought you were all enjoying life in the capital! But now you're living in fear all day long!"

Zhou munched on a snack and said absentmindedly, "I feel quite blessed! I have food and drink, a big house to live in, and I can visit friends when I'm free. Isn't this much better than the old days?"

Ji Shilin was speechless for a moment.

My younger brother and sister-in-law don't go to court, and they have their parents to protect them. This is of course different from men...

Seeing how she was enjoying the snack, Ji Fengshou also reached out and took a piece: "My wife is right. In the past, we couldn't eat snacks whenever we wanted. Now there are so many at home that we can't finish them all. When you live, you always have to enjoy some things and lose some things, right?"

Mrs. Hu looked at the two of them unhappily: "Eat, eat, eat. You two have nothing to do but think about eating!"

Zhou grabbed a piece of dessert and stuffed it into Hu's hand: "Sister-in-law, have some too! My sister-in-law just had someone send this over!"

Since the Zhou family was conferred the title of marquis, they knew that they were only benefiting from the Zhou family's influence, so they behaved very low-key.

Although he was called a marquis, he actually lived the life of an ordinary person. He would go out to find a living when he had nothing to do, but he never thought of going back to his old profession - slaughtering pigs.

For no other reason than not wanting to embarrass the Zhou family.

Seeing their situation, Ji Changying asked Jiang Qianruo to find a dim sum chef to teach them the craft. After they learned the skills, they could open a dim sum shop in Beijing to make a living.

The Zhou family was very happy and happily brought the dim sum chef home to serve him. During this period, he stayed at home to study dim sum. If there were any good products, they would have them sent to the house as a snack for Zhou and her family.

After Zhou handed it to Hu, she simply picked up the plate and passed it around.

After eating the snack in his hand, Ji Shilin changed his mind again.

Although my life is in danger, I can eat good food often, which seems not bad...

——

As soon as the news of what happened in the morning court spread, the entire capital immediately went into a state of alert. Which official in the family would not close the door and refuse visitors?

Those who were planning birthday celebrations or year-end gatherings all kept a low profile and no longer dared to hold large events.

Cui Taibao followed King Xuan back to King Xuan's palace.

Compared with the decline of Prince Duan's Mansion, the layout of Prince Xuan's Mansion looks much more luxurious, restrained and stylish.

The layout of each place seems simple, but if you look closely you will find that every item is not placed randomly, and each layout is cleverly matched with the scenery in the courtyard.

The servants on the roadside were also well-behaved and looked very polite.

Arriving at the study, Prince Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing a bit. "I never thought that Father had known about the aberrations in the Yongle Earl's Mansion for a long time, but he hadn't done anything. I wonder if today's actions were all part of a plan with Zhongli Zhou."

King Xuan would rather believe that Zhongli Zhou and the emperor had discussed this than believe that his nephew had grown up now.

Cui Taibao was not optimistic. "It's impossible that the two of them had this plan. I know the emperor well. He loves those he loves and hates those he hates. He doesn't like Prince Ping in the first place, so he naturally can't like the Crown Prince either. What happened today has crossed his bottom line."

Prince Xuan's heart was filled with complex emotions. He was silent for a moment before he spoke: "Father has long known about the Yongle Earl's Mansion, but he hasn't revealed a word or expressed his attitude. So, tell me, does Father know about what we've done?"

Before, Cui Taibao might have been able to confidently say that he definitely didn't know, but after this incident, he realized that he was not sure either.

Thinking carefully about what they have done, not everything was perfect.

Not to mention those far away, even Prince Duan who is in the capital is still alive.

Thinking of this, a hint of determination flashed in Cui Taibao's eyes: "Your Highness, we can't stay at Prince Duan's place."

A ruthless look flashed in King Xuan's eyes. "To act now, at this critical juncture, might draw attention. After all, I just lost a brother. Rather than living in constant fear, I think it's better to... strike first."

Cui Taibao looked at King Xuan in astonishment: "What do you mean..."

"Seize the throne."

When King Xuan said this, a cruel look flashed in his eyes.

What King Zhuang said today was right in one aspect. They were able to get to where they are today because they were forced by their father!

"Since he has no regard for the father-son relationship, what are we hesitating about? If he finds out about what I've done, I'll be dead sooner or later."

"Since it's either you die or I live, then I want to be the one who lives!"

King Xuan felt a chill in his heart when he thought about how the emperor had attacked King Zhuang without hesitation today.

What he did was not much better than what King Zhuang did. If everything were exposed, he would probably die ten times more than that.

King Zhuang ended up like this because of his stupidity. Not only did none of the people who followed him have a good ending, but even his wife and children were all implicated.

When Cui Taibao heard King Xuan's speech, he felt a chill in his heart, but he also felt that what King Xuan said made sense.

"Grandfather, I don't want to be the second Prince Zhuang, nor do I want Duke Cui's Mansion to become the second Earl Yongle's Mansion. Instead of waiting for the knife to fall on our heads at any time, why don't we take the initiative to fight and seek a glimmer of hope."

When Cui Taibao thought about the cruelty of Emperor Mingde today, he couldn't help but feel a sense of being in danger if the lips and teeth are gone.

He gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground: "My family and I will do our best to help His Highness!"

The corners of Prince Xuan's mouth curled slightly, and he bent down to help Cui Taibao up. "I knew that Grandfather would not let me down! Lingze is not young anymore this year. I plan to arrange for him to work by my side. What do you think, Grandfather?"