Yun Yanze knew in his heart that with all the complicated conspiracies in the harem, even if the "real culprit" was found, he might not be the real mastermind behind all these.
He knew it, Empress Su knew it, and even Yun Duqing might know it too.
Now he was summoned here by Queen Su, and Queen Su was making her attitude clear to him. She did not doubt him, but at the same time she also wanted him to show sincerity.
"The mastermind behind this is ruthless and has disturbed the peace of the harem. His crime is unforgivable. I beg you to investigate this matter thoroughly." He stood up and bowed, "Please help me."
"How can I let you worry about these terrible things?" Empress Su smiled and said, "Let the Palace Department or the Dragon Guard investigate."
Unless things in the palace get really ugly, officials in the court will not be allowed to intervene.
"It is my honor to be able to share the worries of my father and mother."
"Then I'll leave this matter to you." Emperor Longfeng said, "The queen is tired, you all leave."
This "you" does not seem to include Prince Chen and his wife.
Sun Caiyao stood up and said, "My daughter-in-law, take your leave."
When she reached the door, she looked back at Ming Jiuzhu, who was fiddling with the doll on the tray. His nonchalant expression made her feel a chill down her spine.
"Caiyao, be careful on the stairs." Yun Yanze held her arm and said, "Watch your step, don't fall."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Sun Caiyao came back to her senses and smiled sweetly at Yun Yanze.
"Some people are just good-looking." Concubine Zhang did not dare to offend Prince Chen, but she had no scruples when she ridiculed Yun Yanze: "Someone was slashed by an assassin with a knife, which was lighter than a cat scratch. After so long, the assassin was not caught, but many princes and princesses were implicated."
"Could it be..." Zhang Concubine mocked: "The thief is crying thief?"
Sun Caiyao couldn't help but wanted to retort, but Yun Yanze held her hand to stop her from speaking.
"Madam Zhang." Yun Yanze smiled and asked, "I was assassinated at the home of Princess Roude's husband. This man bought and sold official positions and hid assassins. He was so bold and reckless. I wonder whose influence he relied on?"
"The prince consort? The princess? Or a lady in the palace?"
“I don’t know whose power he relied on. But if the Fourth Prince suspects someone, he should produce the evidence first.” If Yun Yanze had said these few words before he lost his title, Concubine Zhang would have been frightened so much that she dared not say anything.
However, the situation is different now. Zhang Fei is well aware of the harem's way of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and immediately refuted: "I still suspect that the one who framed me might be a prince who harbors hatred."
Yun Yanze's bad luck seemed to have started after he was assassinated.
To be precise, the person who hated her and Princess Chen the most was indeed Yun Yanze.
“Who knows whether some people who volunteered to investigate the mastermind really want to help investigate the case or to cover up evidence.”
"Mrs. Zhang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want." Sun Caiyao could no longer bear it: "If you have any suspicions, you can speak directly to our father and mother. There is no need to be sarcastic in front of us."
"How dare you! Although my position is not very high, I am also the head of a palace. In front of you, I can also call myself an elder. As a junior, and the daughter of the Sun family, don't you know the rules of respecting elders?" Zhang Pin glanced at her coldly: "If your mother-in-law doesn't teach you the rules, I am willing to teach you."
Sun Caiyao's face turned pale and she took two deep breaths: "Madam Zhang is right."
His Highness is now losing power, and in order not to cause more trouble for His Highness, she must swallow her anger.
"Mrs. Zhang."
Zhang Bin's arrogant expression turned into a flattering smile the moment she heard Ming Jiuju's voice. She turned around and said in a very kind voice, "What do you want, Princess?"
"It's not an order." Jiuzhu walked up to her and handed her a wooden box. "My mother said that you were frightened today. Good jade nourishes people. Take this pair of jade bracelets back and wear them."
"Thank you, Her Majesty, and thank you, Princess." Concubine Zhang took the wooden box and expressed her gratitude before opening it.
“No need to thank me.” Jiuzhu nodded slightly to her, then turned to look at Yun Yanze and Sun Caiyao: “Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law, I will take you out.”
Sun Caiyao looked at Ming Jiuzhu in a daze. Did she hear everything Zhang Pin said just now, so she came out to help them out?
Concubine Zhang glanced at Ming Jiuzhu, then at Yun Yanze and his wife, and found an excuse to slip away quickly, walking faster than a cat.
"Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law, please." Jiuzhu walked in front to lead the way, and Sun Caiyao followed silently behind her. For some reason, she turned her head and looked at Yun Yanze.
Your Highness is looking at Ming Jiuju's back at this moment. What is he thinking?
The prince in her dream must have liked Ming Jiuzhu, because he smiled so happily at the wedding in the dream.
Unfortunately, Ming Jiuzhu's face was hidden behind the fan, and she didn't know whether she was happy or sad.
But compared to the wedding that Prince Chen prepared for her, the wedding in her dream pales in comparison.
After walking out of the gate of Mingyue Palace, Yun Yanze stopped and said, "Thank you, brother and sister-in-law, for seeing me off. Please stay."
Jiuzhu stopped and turned to look at them: "Royal brother and sister-in-law, take care."
Yun Yanze looked at her, bowed, and left gracefully.
Jiuzhu looked at their backs with little expression on her face.
"I knew you were here to help them out." Prince Chen walked to her side, wrapped her hand in his palm, and didn't even look at the direction where Yun Yanze left: "Let's go back and have dinner."
After the two finished their meal in Mingyue Palace, Jiuzhu didn't want to ride in the sedan chair, so the two of them walked slowly on the palace road, shoulder to shoulder.
"Your Highness, are all the people in the palace like this?"
"Are you talking about Concubine Zhang?" Prince Chen knew what Jiuzhu was talking about and laughed, "There is always a lack of people in the palace who flatter the powerful and bully the weak. Concubine Zhang is just a villain and is not to be feared. The truly frightening ones are those seemingly harmless, man-eating venomous snakes."
"This is not only the imperial palace, but also the pinnacle of power in the entire Dacheng." Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and walked forward slowly: "In the later years of the late emperor, the concubines came up with all kinds of means to harm people in order to help their descendants fight for the throne. Countless innocent men and women were involved, some died, some were disabled, and the worst was that the entire family was implicated, and blood flowed like a river."
The wind was a little cold, so Jiuzhu moved closer to him.
"My uncles who used to smile gently have become twisted evil spirits in the struggle for imperial power and have lost their humanity and reason." Prince Chen sighed, "So over the years, I have kept my distance from the throne."
"Sixteen years ago, I had a dog. Wherever I went, it would follow me, wagging its tail. Until one day, I accidentally dropped a snack on the plate, and the dog ate it..."
"And then?"
"It's dead." Prince Chen still remembers that it was a little white dog with very short legs, and it ran like a little ball of fur.
"Is the snack... poisonous?" Jiuzhu widened her eyes.
"Yes, it's poisonous." Prince Chen sneered: "From then on, anything that goes into my mouth, I will let the people around me eat it first."
Jiuzhu suddenly remembered that the mints and snacks she gave to His Highness had never been allowed to be tasted by anyone else.
"You are not someone else. Why should I be afraid to take what you bring?" The Prince of Chen saw her expression and knew what she was thinking: "Besides, when have you ever brought more food with you than I have eaten?"
"What if I decide to die with you? Wouldn't that mean you've been fooled?" Jiuzhu chuckled softly, "Your Highness, you're still not vigilant enough."
"I'm confident." Prince Chen raised his eyebrows: "Believe in your own judgment, and believe that you won't hurt me."
Jiuzhu laughed out loud, and they both looked up at the moon hanging in the sky.
"Your Highness, the peach blossom season is almost here."
"Um."
"So when are we going to paint together?"
“…”
"Your Highness, why don't you speak?"
"Oh, I was wondering where the most beautiful scenery is, and more suitable for painting."
Concubine Zhang's sudden move to the palace aroused the curiosity of other concubines. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, Concubine Zhang has lived in this palace. Why did you suddenly move to another palace?
A concubine sent someone to inquire about the news, and the palace servant serving Zhang Concubine said mysteriously: "This is the order of His Majesty and the Queen."
The scenery of Qingfeng Tower is indeed better, but Concubine Zhang has an unpleasant personality and has a daughter who has offended Prince Chen. Why would the Queen move her to another palace?
They should be more favored by the Queen than Concubine Zhang.
"Master, Mingyue Palace suddenly moved Concubine Zhang to another palace. Did they find out that there is something wrong with Concubine Zhang?"
"When did Su Meidai become so smart? Our plan had just begun, but she saw through it."
"So what should we do now?"
"What can we do? Of course we can only wait. Not only does she have the support of His Majesty, but the Ming family is also on their side."
"Ming family?"
"At the New Year's Eve banquet, the two brothers Ming Jinghai and Ming Jingzhou, in unison, completely suppressed the Yun Yanze faction. What do you think they are for?"
"To pave the way for King Chen?"
"Apart from this reason, what else could make them press on step by step and not give Yun Yanze any room? This is equivalent to them standing on the opposite side of Yun Yanze. As long as the Ming family does not fall, there is no way Yun Yanze will be allowed to ascend the throne."
"But there have been rumors outside that the Ming family doesn't like Prince Chen, so why would they start helping him?"
"Perhaps, the unlearned Prince Chen is easier to control than other princes."
"But I think..."
"Do you think the Ming family isn't like this? Haha, the three brothers of the Ming family back then were very proud. It's a pity that people change."
"People change." King Huai said to his two younger brothers, "Maybe the fifth brother can really recite the "Nongsangji"."
It has become an open secret in the court that His Majesty is unwilling to agree to Prince Chen's proposal to hold an additional special examination unless Prince Chen can recite "Nongsang Ji" within five days.
Not only did the officials in the court know about this, but even the common people had heard the rumors.
Compared with the uneasy civil officials, the common people were full of confidence in Prince Chen, a confidence given to them by the series of stories about the Overbearing Prince.
The scholars who had secretly cursed the King of Chen in the past no longer cursed him. Some scholars even secretly burned incense to the statue of Confucius, asking him to bless the King of Chen to memorize the "Nongsang Ji" in its entirety.
"Nongsang Ji" became a bestseller in all bookstores within just a few days, because many readers speculated that His Majesty asked the Prince to memorize this book, which showed that His Majesty attached great importance to the content of this book.
The worst thing is that some gambling houses also make bets on this matter.
Some people who thought they understood the Prince of Chen bet that he would not be able to recite it.
The people who came to watch the fun almost forced him to carry it out.
"Outrageous, too outrageous." Yun Qirong strolled around the major gambling houses and said to his other friends after coming out, "The odds of betting on the prince not being able to recite it are actually higher."
"It seems that the people of our capital have great confidence in the prince." A playboy asked, "What did you bet on?"
"Needless to ask? Of course, I bet that the prince can do it." Yun Qirong put his hands on his hips: "It doesn't matter whether you make money or not. The most important thing is that the momentum to support the prince must be strong."
"Qi Rong's words make sense. Let's also bet that the prince can recite it."
What lackey wouldn't cheer for his boss?
It’s just money, they have it!
After depositing the silver, the men saw that it was still early and asked, "Qi Rong, where are we going now?"
"Let's go to the orphanage." Yun Qirong said, "His Highness asked us to do more good deeds, so we should listen to him."
All of their brothers had received positions as third-class imperial guards, and they were all promoted to second-class in the past two days. These were the benefits of their obedience to His Highness's orders.
"We can't go to the foundling home empty-handed."
"Yes, buy some food, oil, toys and so on."
"You can also bring some enlightenment books. It's a good thing for children to recognize a few words."
"Brothers, let's go."
At this moment, several heads of aristocratic families gathered together, looking forward to the success of their plan.
"Everything has been arranged. Are you sure there is no problem?"
"Don't worry, there will be no more accidents."
"What are those lackeys of the King Chen doing?"
"They're betting in the gambling house."
"Very good. I don't believe that anyone can come and mess things up today!"
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