Chapter 34 Collapse

Three days later, Liu Yu received the imperial order and went to Huizhou to collect grain and fodder.

This trip was a secret journey. On the one hand, the Empress Dowager was worried that the other princes in the palace would become restless and try to harm Liu Yu. On the other hand, the Emperor did not want Liu Yu to stand out in front of the important officials of the previous dynasty.

This unexpected turn of events helped Liu Xi achieve her goal, since she wanted Consort He to be full of anticipation, waiting for Liu Yan to return to the capital and receive the emperor's reward.

Currently, Huo Lin has gone to Yinzhou ahead of schedule to secretly investigate the situation of the granary, as planned by him and Liu Xi. Liu Yu has also arrived in Huizhou smoothly. Liu Xi is left alone in the harem, and she naturally cannot be idle.

The inspector of the Imperial Observatory was a clean slate; Liu Xi investigated for a long time but couldn't find out why he would help He Miaoling compile celestial phenomena.

It just so happens that Consort Xian is holding a small flower-viewing banquet in the Imperial Garden that day. As an assistant that Consort Xian wants to win over, it is necessary for Liu Xi to grace the banquet with her presence.

The women in front of her were chatting enthusiastically about the emperor's upcoming selection of concubines, which made Liu Xi drowsy.

At this moment, Zhiyun, the head palace maid of Consort Xian, led a group of maids to serve tea.

"My ladies, please try this. This is a new tea that I had preserved with honey. It tastes excellent."

To show her respect, Consort Xian specially instructed Zhiyun to personally pour tea for Liuxi.

As she approached, Liu Xi's gaze inadvertently lingered on the sachet Zhi Yun wore at her waist. The embroidered pattern on it seemed strangely familiar to Liu Xi.

Subconsciously, Liu Xi asked a question.

"The sachet that Aunt Zhiyun is wearing is truly exquisite. I wonder which embroiderer in the palace made it."

"Your Highness, this is a little trinket that I embroidered myself. Your Highness is too kind."

Zhiyun answered truthfully, without realizing that anything was wrong.

The conversation was not overheard by Consort Xian, who was having a pleasant chat with Consort Song and her other sisters.

Liu Xi tried hard to recall for a long time, but couldn't remember where she had seen the pattern on the sachet. She suddenly felt sleepy and stared blankly at the tea in the bowl.

“In previous years, His Majesty would only issue an edict to bring the young ladies into the palace after the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had calculated an auspicious day. Why haven’t we heard any news about it this year?”

A single sentence from Consort Song suddenly triggered a vague memory in Liu Xi.

She suddenly remembered that the pattern, exactly the same as the one on Zhiyun's sachet, had appeared on the belt of the Imperial Observatory Supervisor.

A man's belt is considered an intimate gift, and a woman would not casually give a man a belt unless the two had a very close relationship.

Liu Xi dared not raise her head to observe Zhiyun, for fear that the Consort Xian would catch her looking at her strangely.

No wonder Lady Wang refused to admit that her mother was plotted against by her and the Imperial Concubine before she died, and said those strange things that were hard to understand.

If the person who truly controlled the Imperial Observatory and compiled celestial phenomena was Consort Xian, then everything makes sense.

Looking at her reflection in the tea, Liu Xi kept reassuring herself.

You must act as if nothing is wrong, and absolutely not let Consort Xian become suspicious beforehand.

She felt a little annoyed, wondering why she had to be so talkative.

However, a single pattern is not enough to prove that there was any extraordinary relationship between the supervisor and the virtuous concubine.

Liu Xi didn't know much about Consort Xian. In her previous life, after the Second Prince lost power, Consort Xian chose to live quietly in the Cold Palace, so Liu Xi was not very clear about her methods.

If Zhiyun is truly loyal, Liuxi has no way to use the same methods she used against He Miaoling to try and turn Zhiyun against her.

Unexpectedly, after finally discovering the enemy's weakness, they were caught in a dilemma because of the method to defeat the enemy.

On the way back to the palace, Liu Xi sighed a little.

"Princess, what's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

Looking at Zhixiang, Liu Xi suddenly thought of a good solution.

"Zhixiang, I remember you were quite good at needlework."

"Could you embroider a belt for me based on the design?"

"Of course, but why does the princess suddenly want to embroider a belt... You're not planning to give it to General Huo..."

Liu Xi was taken aback. "What?"

"Please forgive me for being nosy, but such intimate gestures should be made by Your Highness yourself..."

"Ah! Princess!"

Liu Xi flicked Zhi Xiang's forehead with a flick, "What nonsense are you talking about! I didn't mean to give General Huo a belt!"

Zhi Xiang stuck out her tongue. "This servant has spoken out of turn."

Although Huo Lin left Kyoto for Yinzhou, he left Xia Xia with Liu Xi.

Upon returning to Yihuai Pavilion, Liu Xi immediately instructed Xia Xia to secretly slip away to the Imperial Observatory to have the belt for the Observatory's certificate drawn.

Despite working through the night, the belt couldn't be finished in just one or two days. Liu Xi instructed Zhi Xiang to be as careful and meticulous as possible so that no one could tell the difference at a glance.

During the waiting period, news from outside the palace kept reaching inside. First, when Liu Yan was escorting the relief grain, he encountered refugees looting on the way. In a fit of anger, he killed several of the rioters who were leading the disturbance, but was then falsely accused by the ignorant people of indiscriminately killing innocent refugees.

Then, news broke that the prefect of Kyoto had embezzled relief grain, which caused the total amount of relief grain under Liu Yan's charge to be inconsistent.

He Miaoling, who had been gloating for only a few days, was dumbfounded, her hand trembling uncontrollably as she held the letter from her father.

Unexpectedly, in order to protect himself, her father tried to force He Zhengmei to confess.

It should be noted that He Miaoling was only He Qing's daughter in name only; her real biological father was He Zhengmei, the prefect of the capital.

Once an unloved concubine's daughter, He Miaoling became the eldest legitimate daughter of General Dingyuan's mansion with He Qing's help, and even rose to the position of Imperial Concubine. He Miaoling was extremely grateful to He Qing and treated him like her own father.

However, the fact remains that He Zhengmei is her biological father, and how could He Miaoling stand by and watch her father be pushed out as a scapegoat by He Qing?

She wrote a letter, promising that the Fifth Prince would be successful, vowing that she would regain the Emperor's favor, and that she would conceive a prince within a year. She only hoped that He Qing could save her biological father.

Unfortunately, the letter never had the chance to leave the palace and appear on He Qing's desk.

The Prefect of Kyoto had been wielding absolute power for many years thanks to the influence of the He family. The Emperor had long been unable to tolerate him. Taking advantage of this pretext, the Emperor swiftly and decisively stripped He Zhengmei of his official position, confiscated his property, and imprisoned him in one fell swoop.

Liu Xi hadn't interfered in this matter at all, but the fact that it turned out this way made her realize that there were many people in the previous dynasty who hoped for the downfall of the He family.

Liu Yu sent a letter, filled with how much he missed Liu Xi and how eager he was to return to the palace and be by Liu Xi's side. He didn't mention any other important matters that Liu Xi cared about.

Liu Xi was both amused and exasperated, and could only go to Shou'an Palace every day, trying to hear news about Liu Yu from the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager repeatedly praised Liu Yu as such a promising child, and the proud smile on her face was genuine.

"Is the Empress Dowager aware that the Fifth Prince is trapped in the northern suburbs? A large number of refugees have surrounded the convoy outside Ningbei, claiming that the prince has indiscriminately killed innocent people and demanding an explanation from His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the smile on the Empress Dowager's lips vanished instantly.

“With the He family’s military flag flying, how could ordinary refugees dare to rob the escorting troops?”

"It's simply that someone doesn't want the Fifth Prince's trip to go too smoothly and wants to take advantage of the situation to completely deprive him of the possibility of becoming the Crown Prince."

"It seems that the Empress Dowager has already guessed who is behind this."

The Empress Dowager sneered, "Besides your second brother, who else could possibly have the ability to interfere?"

"In the end, it is not only the celestial empire that is destroyed without cause. I do not want to interfere in the struggle for imperial power, but that does not mean I can tolerate watching these scoundrels destroy the foundation laid by the late emperor."

Before Liu Xi could speak, the Empress Dowager sent Aunt Wen to invite the Emperor, saying she wanted to discuss disaster relief with him.

What Liu Xi didn't know was that the Second Prince was truly innocent this time.

The Empress Dowager's suspicions and the Emperor's reprimands were both undeserved disasters for Consort Xian and the Second Prince.

Consort Song and Consort He, unaware of the truth, suspected and schemed against each other, and were completely manipulated by the real mastermind.

Of course, he was also the only beneficiary of this showdown.

That was Liu Yu.

Within Huizhou, Liu Yu was fully prepared to depart, and all the grain and fodder had been counted and loaded onto the trucks.

Liu Yu had completely changed from her innocent and naive demeanor in the palace; now she exuded the stern and murderous aura of an emperor.

"Set off!"

At his command, the convoy began to move.

At the same time, the emperor ordered He Qing to personally find a way to resolve the issue of the large-scale gathering of refugees in the northern suburbs. He threw the memorial presented by the local officials in He Qing's face and angrily rebuked him.

"Your He family brought this trouble upon yourselves, do you expect me to teach you how to resolve it?!"

"If the problem of the refugees cannot be resolved in three days, and the relief grain cannot reach Ningbei, I will cut off your flesh, He Qing, to feed those starving refugees!"

Late at night, He Miaoling rushed into Liu Xi's Yi Huai Pavilion without a care in the world, abandoning her dignity to kneel at the entrance of Liu Xi's bedroom, clenching her fists and knocking on her door again and again.

"Your Highness, the Fifth Prince is your own brother! You must find a way to help him!"

The door was pulled open from inside by Zhixiang. Inside, Liu Xi was sitting opposite the door, calmly looking at the disheveled He Miaoling.

"Your Majesty wanted me to plead with the Empress Dowager, and I did, and the Empress Dowager granted my request. What more does Your Majesty wish for?"

"The Empress Dowager didn't send anyone to deliver grain to the Fifth Prince at all. Now the disaster relief grain is besieged by refugees. Is His Majesty going to use my father as an example?"

"Your Majesty, why don't you consult the Imperial Observatory to see if the Fifth Prince is cursed by evil spirits, a calamity caused by demons, which is why Your Majesty cannot have anything go smoothly?"

He Miaoling swayed a few times. "I have already sacrificed my own child. Even so, does the princess still not want to let me go?"

"The Fifth Prince is your own brother, Princess! How could you bear to be so cruel to him!"

Liu Xi chuckled lightly, "The hatred for killing one's mother is irreconcilable. How can I tolerate Liu Yan acknowledging his enemy as his mother?"