"Your Majesty." The Dali Temple official handed the case file to Liu Zhongbao and bowed to Emperor Longfeng on the throne: "All the relatives' contacts, comings and goings of the people involved in the Royal Horse Farm case are recorded here."
"My dear minister, thank you for your help." Emperor Longfeng took the case file from Liu Zhongbao and opened the first page, which contained a detailed list of all the people involved. At the end of the list are records of who these people interacted with, their daily words and deeds, and even details such as what they liked to eat and which day they spent more money than usual.
There is a conspicuous red dot under the list of each suspicious person.
In order to find out all this, the Dali Temple hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time. However, after finding out all the personnel exchanges, they were so scared that they couldn't sleep. Because all kinds of evidence and every little thing pointed to the harem.
What's even more terrifying is that these pieces of evidence are intertwined and come from more than one source, but everyone's goal is to kill or disable Prince Chen.
The Dali Temple officials lowered their heads and dared not speak.
The time and frequency of the Prince's visits to the Royal Stables are irregular. Some of these spies with suspicious identities were planted there seven or eight years ago. How old was the Prince at that time?
Perhaps, this is not just a conspiracy against Prince Chen. These princes have become each other's prey, and Prince Chen is the fattest and most hated sheep.
No one spoke in the hall. Emperor Longfeng looked very carefully, not missing a single name or a single word.
Each of these people wanted to kill his son.
More than ten years ago, when he was imprisoned in the palace, Du Qing was bullied. Now that he is the emperor and sits on the vast territory of Dacheng, should he still let him be bullied? !
"All criminals involved in this case will be sentenced to immediate execution." Emperor Longfeng picked up a red pen and circled the names one by one. "As for those in the harem who were involved in this matter... continue to investigate for me. No matter who they are, do not let them go."
"Your Majesty!" The Dali Temple official was shocked: "Your Majesty lives in the deep palace. If we continue to investigate..."
The secrets of the royal family throughout the ages are as numerous as the fish and shrimp in the moat. He was afraid that if he continued to investigate, it would involve the biological mothers of the princes and princesses. If it got out, wouldn't it undermine the dignity of the royal family?
"Someone wants to kill my son. As an emperor, should I keep silent about this?" Emperor Longfeng threw the file on the table. "My dear minister, you are a god at investigating cases. I believe you can find out the truth."
"Your Majesty." The official from the Dali Temple felt bitter in his heart, and he saluted and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will investigate the case quietly and not arouse the suspicion of the ladies, but..." He raised his head and glanced at Liu Zhongbao, "But as an outsider, I am not suitable to walk around in the harem. There are some things that I need the help of Eunuch Liu."
Emperor Longfeng nodded.
Liu Zhongbao bowed to the marble official and said, "Master Luo, please rest assured that I will assist you in investigating the case with all my heart."
"Thank you, Eunuch Liu."
"Lord Luo, you are too polite. You and I are just helping His Majesty."
Liu Zhongbao looked down at the seemingly calm emperor, and saw that the knuckles of the hand holding the red brush had turned white from exerting so much force. He knew that the emperor was already furious.
At this moment, if anyone dares to offend His Majesty again...
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Chen requests an audience."
Emperor Longfeng put down his pen and spoke slowly: "Announce."
"Father." Prince Chen strode into the inner hall and knelt before Emperor Longfeng on the throne. "Father, I have been bullied. You must take charge of this for me."
Lord Luo from the Dali Temple turned his head and looked at him. In the entire capital, who dared to bully Prince Chen?
"Liu Zhongbao, help him up quickly." Emperor Longfeng stood up, and the anger he had suppressed suddenly burst out: "Who dares to disrespect my son?!"
Lord Luo from the Dali Temple was stunned by His Majesty's reaction. Shouldn't he first ask about the cause and effect of such a matter?
Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have been diligent in your work, cared for the people, and been benevolent and virtuous. Under your governance, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and have enough food and clothing. He was not fond of enjoying life, nor was he a violent and bloodthirsty person. Even after he ascended the throne, he never recruited beautiful women from the people to serve him in the palace. He could almost be called a rare wise ruler.
Why almost? Because he favors Concubine Su and Prince Chen, the daughter of Concubine Su. Fortunately, Concubine Su had a bad relationship with her mother's family and was unwilling to honor them, otherwise it might have led to the tragedy of foreign relatives' monopoly of power like in the previous dynasty.
When I think about it this way, apart from the fact that Concubine Su had a bad relationship with the civil officials and was favored by His Majesty, Prince Chen had a bad temper, had more ways to deal with people, and was a bit arrogant and domineering, it seemed...how come this mother and son had never done anything outrageous that was condemned by both humans and gods?
At least he didn't kill people for a disagreement. Whoever offended him would die...
Lord Luo shook his head. The bad thing about reading too much and knowing too much is that you will unconsciously compare yourself with others.
The deeds recorded in the previous dynasty were so brutal that it is easy to feel satisfied with the deeds of the current dynasty.
"Lord Luo, I will take you out." Liu Zhongbao walked up to Lord Luo and led him out of the hall.
Lord Luo came to his senses, tactfully bowed to the Emperor and Prince Chen, and followed Liu Zhongbao out. When I reached the door, I heard Prince Chen muttering about how arrogant someone was and how he didn't apologize to him for doing something wrong.
Hearing Prince Chen's complaints, Lord Luo couldn't help but feel curious. Who on earth was so bold as to offend this prince?
After walking out of the palace gate, Lord Luo saw the King of Qi walking towards him in a hurry, so he turned to Liu Zhongbao and said, "Eunuch Liu, please stay."
"Master Luo, please walk slowly." Liu Zhongbao also saw the King of Qi. He shook the whisk in his hand and nodded slightly to Master Luo: "Please pay attention to the steps under your feet."
"Thank you, eunuch." Lord Luo walked past the King of Qi and bowed to him.
The King of Qi stopped and returned a half-salute, then hurried to Liu Zhongbao and said, "Eunuch Liu, I have something I want to see my father for. Please pass it on for me."
Liu Zhongbao smiled and bowed: "Your Highness, please wait for a moment. His Majesty still has some things to deal with at the moment."
Upon hearing that Liu Zhongbao refused to pass on the message for King Qi, Lord Luo quickened his pace and dared not listen any further.
There was a faint voice coming from the half-open palace door. King Qi knew that it was Yun Duqing inside. He nodded gracefully: "I understand. Thank you, eunuch."
He stood aside, his posture as graceful as a pine tree, and he said, "Then I will wait here for my father to summon me."
Liu Zhongbao smiled and bowed to the King of Qi.
"Father, do you think the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion is abominable?" Prince Chen drank the tea brought by the palace servants. "A few months ago, the little brat from the Zheng family said in the palace that my mother was a demon concubine. My mother was tolerant by nature and didn't care about the child. I didn't expect that their whole family was so arrogant and rude."
"Father, I am your son. If they look down on me, they look down on you." After drinking half a cup of tea, the prince was no longer thirsty. "In fact, if they slandered me a few times, it would be fine. Anyway, I have done more than one ridiculous thing. But the Ming family is full of loyal ministers. They can't suffer such an injustice just because their daughter wants to marry me."
"The Zheng family has been a marquis for three generations. I am too lenient with them." Emperor Longfeng lowered his eyelids. He was angry to begin with, and when he heard Marquis Pingyuan being so arrogant, he became even angrier. "Come here, summon the officials from the Ministry of Rites to the palace. I want to draft an edict."
Ming Jingzhou was summoned into the palace and saw the Prince of Qi standing outside the main gate of the Taiyang Palace. He didn't know how long he had been standing there.
"Lord Ming, you are finally here. His Majesty is waiting for you." Liu Zhongbao greeted Ming Jingzhou with a smile: "Lord Ming, please follow me."
The King of Qi licked the corners of his dry lips and looked up at the main hall door which was opened but not closed.
The emperor's voice came from inside the palace.
"Pass on my decree that the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion fails to discipline his subordinates and ignores the imperial family, and is demoted to earl. Immediately, all the courtyards and utensils that violate the rules will be sealed without delay."
The cold wind blew the dead leaves off the treetops. The King of Qi looked down at the dead leaves falling into the grass, his eyelids trembling slightly.
His wedding with Sun Caiyao was about to begin, but Concubine Yang died of illness, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was unwilling to change the auspicious time. Now even his foreign family has been demoted. If this matter gets out, his other brothers and sisters will laugh at him.
We are both sons of the emperor, so why doesn't the emperor give him any face at all, and even fails to provide him with the dignity of a grand wedding?
Ming Jingzhou took the imperial edict with the imperial seal and glanced at Prince Chen who was sitting in a chair eating snacks.
Sensing Ming Jingzhou's gaze, Prince Chen lowered his head and nodded, and at the same time looked down to see if there was any scum on his body. Now, whenever Ming Jingzhou glanced at him, he would subconsciously think that the other party wanted him to copy something again.
Unexpectedly, Ming Jingzhou just smiled at him, bowed and walked out.
Seeing this smile, Chen Wang could no longer drink his tea, and had no appetite for snacks. He kept wondering what Ming Jingzhou's ambiguous smile meant.
He didn't study hard before, and now his father has found him a father-in-law who doesn't beat or scold him but is very scary. Maybe it's the retribution for his ignorance when he was young.
His mistake was that when he stepped into the Ministry of Rites, he met Ming Xiaozhu and said big words that he shouldn't have said.
Vanity makes men pay a heavy price.
"Sir Ming." When the King of Qi saw Ming Jingzhou coming out, he bowed to him and said, "Sir Ming, the servants of Pingyuan Marquis's mansion have behaved inappropriately and have offended your mansion. Please forgive me."
Ming Jingzhou dodged the Prince of Qi's greeting and bowed to the bottom. He looked confused and asked, "What do you mean by that? Did the servants of Pingyuan Marquis... no, Pingyuan Earl's mansion say something inappropriate about me?"
King Qi observed the expression on Ming Jingzhou's face. The confusion and puzzlement on his face were natural, and it seemed that he didn't know what had happened.
"These are all misunderstandings that are not worth mentioning." The King of Qi smiled bitterly, "But I beg Lord Ming not to take offense at the words of these ignorant people after hearing the rumors."
"Your Highness, you are too kind." Ming Jingzhou smiled and bowed to the King of Qi again: "Your Highness is kind-hearted. How could I have any grudge against you because of a small fry?"
"I have an imperial edict to read and dare not delay. Please forgive me, Your Highness." Ming Jingzhou certainly knew what the King of Qi wanted to hear, but why should he let him have his way?
It is true that the servant who spread the rumors came from the Zheng family, but who can tell who was the person who used such means?
The Prince of Qi waited for a long time outside the Taiyang Palace but was not summoned by His Majesty. The news that the Zheng family had been demoted soon reached the ears of every concubine in the harem.
However, Concubine Ning was unwilling to believe that His Majesty would be so cruel.
"My son's wedding is approaching. Even if Your Majesty has made up his mind to demote the Zheng family's title, why are you unwilling to wait a little longer, at least until Yan Ze's marriage is over?" Concubine Ning's tears could not stop and she was almost choked.
"Your Highness, anger is harmful to your health. Please take care of yourself." Bai Shao supported Concubine Ning and patted her back gently to calm her down: "You are the mother of His Highness. If you have any problems with your health, people outside will probably laugh at His Highness even more..."
"Who dares?" Concubine Ning said sharply, "My son is extremely talented, handsome and elegant. Looking at the entire palace, which prince can be compared with Yan Ze?"
"Hongmei." Concubine Ning remembered something, stood up and walked to Hongmei, and slapped her hard: "How do you do things? I asked you to arrange people to spread rumors about the Ming family, but you actually asked the servant of the Marquis' Mansion to do it. Did you use your brain before doing anything?"
"Your Highness." Hongmei covered her face with grievance, kneeling in front of Concubine Ning and begging, "Your Highness, please calm down. Please understand that the people I arranged for are refugees without household registration. They didn't even have time to take action. I don't understand why the servants in the Marquis' Mansion did this."
Even if she was stupid, she knew that things had to be done carefully. How could she possibly arrange for someone from the Marquis' Mansion to do such a thing?
"Does the Marquis' Mansion really hate the Ming family to such an extent?" Concubine Ning believed Hongmei's words. She said with resentment: "Have they ever thought about the consequences of their actions being exposed?!"
"Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, I think our previous plan can no longer be used." Bai Shao gently pinched Concubine Ning's shoulder: "Fortunately, you and His Majesty have had a long-term relationship, and His Majesty did not vent his anger on you because of the stupid behavior of the Marquis' Mansion. I am worried that if such rumors spread again, His Majesty will think of the Marquis' Mansion again, and then associate it with you and Your Highness..."
Hearing the words "years of affection", Concubine Ning glanced at the vase on the table and said, "Yan Ze waited outside Taiyang Palace for a full hour, but was not summoned by His Majesty. He was angry with us mother and son because of the Zheng family."
"Your Majesty." Bai Shao said gently, "Don't think too much. His Majesty is just angry for a moment. As long as our Lanxu Palace reduces contact with the Zheng family recently, His Majesty will definitely believe you."
"You're right." Concubine Ning subconsciously resisted the idea of His Majesty taking out his anger on her because of the Zheng family. After hearing Bai Shao's words, she felt more psychologically comforted: "Hongmei, withdraw those people you have arranged immediately, and don't let them say bad things about the Ming family."
In the past, she had arranged for people to spread rumors about Prince Chen, but she had never suffered such a terrible fall as this time. That little girl from the Ming family was really born to be her unlucky.
What's even more disgusting is that now, not only can she not ruin her reputation, but she also has to find ways to protect it.
It's really unlucky!
After the news of the Zheng family being demoted spread, the whole capital knew that the servants of the Zheng family were so bold that they spoke ill of the royal family in the teahouse and tarnished the royal dignity.
However, no one cared about the remarks related to the Ming family.
After everyone lost interest in discussing the affairs of the Zheng family, the wedding of Prince Qi and Miss Sun became the focus of interest for the people of the entire capital.
"When His Royal Highness Prince Huai got married, the dowry of Princess Huai stretched from the beginning to the end of the street. I wonder how much the dowry of Princess Qi was?"
"It will definitely be a lot. The Sun family is a big family."
"After the Prince of Qi's wedding, it will be the Prince of Chen's turn?"
"Have you...ever heard of the Overbearing Prince?"
"I've heard that some people say that this overbearing prince is actually the Prince of Chen."
"No wonder the emperor likes this son the most. If I had a son who could fight bandits in the mountains and take exams under a false name, I would wake up laughing even when I was asleep."
Jiuzhu walked silently behind these chatting people, trying her best to make her expression look less guilty.
"The story about the overbearing prince is getting more and more outrageous." Zhou Xiao still remembers the expression on her father's face when he came home one day a few years ago and talked about how the prince made the teacher faint.
Would such a prince pretend to be an ordinary person to take the imperial examination? I'm afraid even Prince Chen himself would be embarrassed to have such a dream.
"Ahem." Jiuzhu turned her head and looked forward: "Sister Zhou, the woman in the spice pavilion seems to be Miss Sun?"
"Her wedding is in two days, and she's still in the mood to buy spices?" Zhou Xiao looked at Sun Caiyao in the spice pavilion in confusion. Thinking that Jiuzhu and Sun Caiyao would be sisters-in-law in the future, it would not hurt to get to know each other better, so she pulled her and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
"Miss Zhou." Sun Caiyao picked up the spice box, turned around and saw Zhou Xiao and Jiuzhu, and bowed to them: "County Lady Ming."
"Miss Sun." Jiuzhu noticed that Sun Caiyao was looking at her, and returned the greeting with a smile, then sneezed several times.
Sun Caiyao closed the spice box in her hand and put it back on the table: "Some people are not used to the smell of spices. The county lady should try not to use incense in the future."
"Thank you Miss Sun for the reminder." Jiuzhu covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, sneezed a few more times, and hurriedly walked out of the spice cabinet, only then did she feel better.
It turns out that Ming Jiuzhu is not used to the taste of various spices...
Sun Caiyao looked at the various exquisite spice boxes, her mind wandering.
How did Ming Jiuzhu in her dream endure the physical discomfort and light the deadly incense burner?
A breeze blew, and the pungent smell of spices once again entered Jiuzhu's nose.
"Ah-chu! Ah-chu!"
"Ming Xiaozhu." A cloak was put on her: "Why don't you wear a cloak when you go out?"
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu sneezed twice more, and even tears came out: "Why are you here?"
"I was planning to go to the Ministry of Industry, but I didn't expect you to be here." He looked up at the sky and said with a smile: "It looks like tomorrow will be a sunny day."
"Why?" Jiuzhu looked at him with tears in her eyes.
Prince Chen couldn't help himself, so he stretched out his hand and pinched her hair bun. The feeling was still as good as last time. He smiled and took his hand back: "I won't tell you."
"Ha-choo!" At this time, a little kid sneezed on the side of the road. The elder touched his head and said, "When a dog sneezes, the sky will be clear. The sun will definitely come out tomorrow."
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu slowly raised her head and looked at the Prince who was riding back on his horse: "So you are calling me a dog?"
Sun Caiyao just walked to the door when she heard these words.
She frowned and looked at the Prince Chen on horseback. The girl from the Ming family in the dream did not even let go of the Prince Qi for the Prince Chen, but the Prince Chen outside the dream actually called her a dog?
Seeing this, Zhou Xiao turned her head and laughed dryly at her: "Maybe, this is... the little interest between the overbearing prince and his fiancée?"
Sun Caiyao frowned even more tightly. What happened to Miss Zhou? She seemed very smart in the past, but why did she start talking nonsense today?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
