Chapter 44 She is indeed a spy from the previous dynasty
There was a long silence at the table. Liang Hanzhang carefully observed his expression and whispered, "Your Highness, may I...see the former crown prince?"
She knew that her request was absurd, and anyone with a little bit of brains would know the secret between her and Yan Guang.
But she couldn't wait any longer. She had to go and ask Yan Guang about her brother's whereabouts. A voice in the dark told her that her brother was not dead. She couldn't believe that the person who said goodbye to her and promised to see her again before leaving could die like this.
If my brother is no longer alive, what is the meaning of everything she does in the East Palace?
"I am really worried about the safety of Governor Liu. I am afraid that he is being tortured somewhere by Yan Guang. My mother has always told me to be grateful and repay kindness. Governor Liu has been very kind to me and my mother. If my mother knew in her afterlife that I was indifferent to my former benefactor, she would definitely scold me severely."
Li Cheng: "Even if you are worried about Governor Liu, just send someone to pry open Yan Guang's mouth. Why go there in person? The Dali Temple is a place with a lot of blood and violence, and you are pregnant, how can you go there?" The prince frowned, and there was no sign of relaxation in his words.
Indeed, the prison had held countless deaths and held countless souls. It would be unlucky for anyone to enter, let alone one with a child in her belly. If the emperor and empress heard of this, she would be the one to suffer. The prince refused to let go of this matter.
"If Your Highness is worried, why not bring Yan Guang here and let me ask him in person?" Liang Hanzhang knew that her request was very difficult. Given the prince's personality, it was impossible for him not to guess the key.
Li Fu was so shocked that he could hardly stand. What was the status of the former crown prince? And what kind of place was the Eastern Palace? How could they allow such a rebel to enter the Eastern Palace?
Not to mention that the prince would not agree, even if he really agreed, if those old guys in the Censorate found out one day, who knows what kind of scandal they would cause.
But what he never expected was that the prince agreed so easily!
Li Cheng pondered the feasibility for a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay, have someone bring Yan Guang over." He then couldn't help but instruct, "You can only stay with him for a quarter of an hour, and don't let it affect the baby in your belly."
It seemed that in his opinion, as long as Liang Yuan and the baby in her womb were safe, he could give in on everything else.
But, this is the Eastern Palace after all. The Empress is ignorant, and His Highness is allowing others to mess around? Li Fu, as the chief steward of the Crown Prince, has the responsibility to advise at critical moments. He flicked the whisk in his hand and was about to speak when Li Cheng glared back at him.
Liang Hanzhang was so moved that she almost burst into tears as if she was listening to music from nature. She kept thanking him, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your consideration..." It's not that she hadn't thought about the prince's conspiracy, but now she was in a difficult situation and couldn't care less.
It was just her identity being discovered, so what? Without her brother, what was the point of her remaining in this world? If she could truly confirm that her brother was dead, she would have to find the mastermind behind it, kill the enemy, and avenge her brother.
Li Cheng's face was calm, his deep eyes occasionally casting a glance at the woman beside him. His knuckles tapped the Huanghuali Eight Immortals Table, and he asked casually, "Have you ever seen Yan Guang?"
Liang Hanzhang's face was tense, and he wondered if he had guessed something. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, "No, I haven't seen him." He feigned confusion and said, "Why would Your Highness ask this?"
The prince filled the glass with wine and drank it all in one gulp, then said with a smile: "It's nothing, I just heard what you said about your relationship with Governor Liu, so I asked a question."
He had almost finished his lunch, and seeing that the woman was tired, he asked his attendants to help her down. At first, Liang Hanzhang insisted that she was not sleepy, but the prince told her that if she woke up after a good rest, she could go directly to see the former prince.
After hearing this, the woman had no choice but to leave in disappointment.
When the brocade curtains in the inner room were completely drawn, Li Fu couldn't help but ask, "How could Your Highness so easily agree to the Empress' request? Who is Yan Guang? Wouldn't it be offensive to Your Highness to let him meet the Empress?"
Li Cheng didn't reply, his expression growing colder. Only now did he realize what he had truly overlooked. However, he didn't share his suspicions with Li Fu. He consoled himself over and over again: He must have been mistaken. She was just a weak woman, how could she have such abilities?
However, his thoughts couldn't help but drift back to what happened in Fengle Tower that day. He was poisoned the first time they met. Was their meeting really not a deliberate setup by someone else?
If this was really the case, the prince gradually exerted force with his five fingers, and the wine glass shattered with a snap. The ceramic pieces pierced into the flesh, and blood continued to flow out.
Li Fu screamed in fear, "Your Highness's hand is injured!" The prince then looked down at his right hand, which was bloody and mangled by the broken porcelain pieces, with a deep gaze. He shook his head and said, "There's no need to alarm anyone." He lifted his robe and stood up to walk out. "Just bandage it for me."
"Your Highness, I'm not very skilled and I'm afraid I might hurt you. There are many doctors in the palace. Wouldn't it be more convenient to call one over?"
"How dare you disobey me?" The usually gentle Crown Prince lost his temper in a rare moment due to the constant chatter of his personal steward. The voice was filled with anger, and even Li Fu, who had served for so many years, was still frightened to the point of shaking his legs.
"Yes, yes, I will obey your highness's orders."
The prince strode out with a grim expression, but he did not forget to instruct: "Bring Yan Guang directly from the Dali Temple. After the queen has rested well, you can arrange for the two to meet. Remember, no matter what Liang Yuan wants to do, no one under her can stop her."
At the end, he added: "Remember to be discreet when you bring someone from the Dali Temple, and don't let people know that it is Liang Yuan who wants to see Prince Yin."
As long as the private affairs of the rebel party have nothing to do with her, the rumors outside cannot be linked to Liang Yuan.
The heavy snow outside had stopped, and the sky was gradually becoming brighter. The man was in such a hurry that he didn't even put on a cloak to protect himself from the cold. He looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back and sighed deeply.
He has done this much, just hoping that she will not let him down.
After coming out of Zhilanju, the prince has been handling official business in the front hall. He heard Xia Chang say that Zhu Changshi, no, he has now been promoted to the governor of Jiangnan, and he was in a hurry to marry off his daughter shortly after the prince and his entourage left Jiangnan.
This daughter was not born to him and his wife, but an adopted daughter he adopted along the way. Marrying a daughter off wasn't unusual; after all, when a girl reached a certain age, it was perfectly normal for her to follow her parents' orders and the matchmaker's advice to choose a good husband and marry her off.
The strange thing was that the husband chosen by Governor Zhu for his daughter turned out to be from a merchant family in Yibin, Yizhou. The merchant's surname was Gu, and he was in the silk business, and was well-known throughout the Jin Dynasty. The youngest child in the family was a late-born child, and was always doted on by the two elders.
Although merchants were ranked at the bottom of the hierarchy of the four classes, the Gu family was not just an ordinary merchant, but an imperial merchant. Forty to five percent of the silk they produced was sent to the imperial palace for the enjoyment of the nobles.
Such a treasured son, not to mention marrying the daughter of a prominent family, would probably look down on Zhu Fang's adopted daughter. After all, she was just an adopted daughter, and was not as close to his biological daughter as he was.
Moreover, one was in Jiangnan and the other in Yizhou, a great distance between them. How did the two families know each other and choose to become relatives? Although she was just an adopted daughter, Zhu Fang chose to marry her off far away. Did he really have no feelings for his daughter?
Li Cheng sneered and put the memorial in his hand on the table: "Zhu Fang just wants to use the pretext of marrying his daughter. His real purpose should be to transport the official silver out without anyone knowing." After a pause, he added, "He is not planning to do it secretly, but to transport the official silver out in a blatant manner."
By now, those hundreds of thousands of taels of official silver had likely been melted down into liquid silver and forged into other shapes. Zhu Fang was from the Zhu family in the capital, so giving her a larger dowry for her daughter's wedding was probably reasonable and sensible. With such a joyous occasion as a wedding, there wouldn't be much resistance at any checkpoints along the way. A truly brilliant plan.
So he gave the order: "From Jiangnan to Yizhou, if you take the water route, you will definitely pass through the Yangtze River. Send people to disguise themselves as bandits on the river and rob the dowry directly."
The court’s money should be used for the people, not for the princes who have their own armies.
Xia Chang bowed and accepted the order and left.
Li Fu, kneeling beside the prince as he bandaged his wound, couldn't help but ask, "How did Your Highness know that the official silver was on top of the accompanying dowry?"
Li Cheng pressed his brows irritably and said tiredly: "When we were in Jiangnan, Zhu Fang's mansion had to buy a large amount of charcoal every day. It was summer at that time and there was no need for charcoal for heating. A corrupt official in the previous dynasty refined silver into silver liquid in order to conceal the source of the silver. I think Zhu Fang probably planned to do the same."
"Hasn't the matter of the previous dynasty's rebels been nearly dealt with? Who exactly is this Zhu Fang, and how dare he be so bold as to steal the imperial silver?"
Li Cheng had a plan in mind, but he didn't intend to speak it out. He shook his head and said, "I don't know, but right now, besides the rebels from the previous dynasty, I'm afraid there's an even greater force." When he returned from the palace today, he heard from his mother that his second brother, who had been guarding the border for many years, was about to return.
The Queen spoke to him for a long time with great interest. Li Cheng wanted to put down his silver chopsticks and leave countless times, but they were mother and son, so they couldn't make too much noise.
The meal was tasteless, and Li Cheng didn't even look carefully at what was on the table. This second brother had always respected him as the eldest brother. After being away from Beijing for many years, it was time for him to come back and visit.
But Li Cheng knew clearly that this year's annual banquet would not be peaceful.
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Liang Hanzhang was worried about something and thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He slept for half an hour before Yuhu, worried that Liang Yuan's prolonged sleep might affect her labor, hurriedly woke her up.
She lay on the bed with sleepy eyes, rubbing them and asked, "What time is it now?"
"Your Majesty, be ready at 2:15 pm."
"Your Highness...did he give any instructions?"
Mingyue smiled and said, "His Highness said that when the Queen wakes up, she can take the sedan chair directly to Qiuyun Hall. The rebels are now detained in Qiuyun Hall, and they are not allowed to disturb the Queen. Everything is subject to her orders."
Did he really order that? Was he not angry at all? "Where is the prince now?"
"His Highness is currently in the front hall on official business. If the Queen has anything to say, please send the servants to pass on the message." It wasn't that these servants were deliberately trying to find out the whereabouts of their master, but Li Gui had just come to pass on the message, and before leaving, he specifically mentioned the whereabouts of His Highness, probably to tell the Queen.
Liang Hanzhang wanted to say something, but then he sighed deeply, stood up and said, "Then let's go to Qiuyun Hall now."
Qiuyun Hall is another palace in front of the East Palace. The prince arranged people here to effectively protect privacy and to ensure that they can arrive quickly in the first place in case of any accident.
When the palace door opened, Yan Guang was imprisoned behind a screen. The elixir he had painstakingly cultivated for years was burned in an instant, leaving Yan Guang completely despairing. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and he didn't even bother to look up when he heard the door open.
He asked calmly, "But is my death coming?"
The door creaked shut, and the sound of steady footsteps approached, seemingly a woman's. Yan Guang seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.
In the backlight, I saw a graceful woman, her right hand subconsciously protecting her lower abdomen. Looking closely, I could see a clear curve in her lower abdomen.
He sneered, "So it's you. I wonder what orders the Queen has for you?"
Liang Hanzhang didn't bother to be polite with him. He sat down on the armchair not far away from the others and said coldly: "I came here just to ask you one thing, and you must answer truthfully."
Yan Guang half-raised his eyelids and looked at the other person lazily. He looked him up and down for a long time and said with a sigh, "It seems that the prince likes you very much. Look at your clothes and style. You are even better than the ladies in the palace."
His gaze fell on her lower abdomen again, and he said meaningfully: "That's right, you gave birth to the emperor's eldest grandson. I will never believe that you don't favor me."
"How did you convince the prince to let you come to see me?" Look at the prince. Although he likes her a little, he will never be so blinded by lust.
Liang Hanzhang looked directly at the other person, his tone aggressive: "Don't talk nonsense, just tell me, is he still alive?"
"Him? Oh, your brother," Yan Guang laughed grimly, revealing his broken teeth. "That kid is so unlucky. My secret passage was so hidden, but he was beheaded by someone. No one knew that his body had become smelly."
"You're talking nonsense!" Liang Hanzhang suddenly stood up, his eyes blazing. His frail frame suddenly became taller. He walked towards him, grabbed his collar and demanded, "You're talking nonsense, right? There's a headless body. How do you know it's my brother?"
Yan Guang looked at the woman in front of him and suddenly laughed, "You speak so loudly, aren't you afraid that the Azure Dragon Guards overhead will report everything you said to the Crown Prince? How long can you keep your identity secret?"
"Answer me!" She suddenly put a dagger that she had found from somewhere across Yan Guang's neck. Seeing this, Yan Guang smiled again: "Okay, you have improved a lot. You can even kill people now."
"Have you forgotten that he has a big birthmark on his neck? It's in a special location, and no one else has it except him," he suddenly lowered his voice.
"But... this doesn't mean it's my brother..." The woman stammered, but she knew that the other party was telling the truth.
"In short, I definitely didn't kill him. Liang Xian is the only chess piece around me who can hold you back. No matter how stupid I am, I will never destroy the Great Wall myself."
Hearing this, Liang Hanzhang sneered: "You still know that you are stupid."
After all these years of planning, nothing has come of it. It would be better to just be a carefree commoner, occasionally seeking immortals and visiting famous scholars. Wouldn't that be a wonderful life? Why get involved in this mess?
Did he really think that even if he won the throne, he would be able to keep it? If so, he would most likely be a puppet emperor controlled by his ministers.
It would be better not to do it. At least it would be less embarrassing.
Hearing her scolding, Yan Guang didn't get angry. He sat up straight and said, "I've finished answering. Now it's your turn to answer me. How did you convince the prince to come see me? Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
Qiuyun Hall was packed with people. Not to mention the countless Azure Dragon Guards lurking in the shadows, she walked in so brazenly, barking questions. Wasn't she afraid the Crown Prince would discover her identity?
Liang Hanzhang didn't care. He shrugged and said, "So what if I was discovered? I'm just going to die." He looked up and said, "I've been trapped by your side for many years, a poor person without freedom. Now I even lose my only brother. What hope do I have in this life?"
She didn't believe the prince hadn't thought of anything else when he heard her request. Even if he had, it would have been nothing more than a glass of wine.
It wasn't that she didn't care about her life, but she had depended on her brother for many years, and her life depended on him. If all her relatives were gone, what was the point of living?
Yan Guang's eyes suddenly darkened at the woman's fearless expression. The Crown Prince probably wouldn't be willing to kill her so easily, especially now that he'd lost power and she was pregnant. Her goal of disgusting the Crown Prince had been achieved.
The rest of the fun will depend on what the guy from Yizhou does.
Because the prince had ordered in advance that no matter what Liang Yuan wanted to do, she should not be stopped. So when Liang Hanzhang proposed to go in alone, Yu Hu and the others were so scared that their faces turned pale.
"Your Majesty, the rebel is brutal and cruel. It would be dangerous for you to go in alone. Let me accompany you."
Liang Hanzhang shook his head and insisted on going in alone. Mingyue saw the determination in the queen's eyes and shook her head at Yuhu.
A quarter of an hour later, Liang Yuan came out alone, her steps weak, as if she had experienced a great shock. She returned to Zhilan Residence without saying a word. After having dinner to digest her food, she washed up and went to bed.
Lying in bed, she looked at the dim candlelight outside, wondering if the prince would come tonight. Those words must have reached his ears by now. What would he think now that he knew that the beautiful woman beside him was actually colluding with the former prince?
Arrest her and torture her? Or perhaps kill her with a glass of poisoned wine? The woman instinctively felt her belly, where she was still pregnant. He was the child's father, and he had been looking forward to the birth of his unborn child.
For the sake of the child, he would probably wait until she gave birth before executing her. After she died, would he treat the child well?
Liang Hanzhang thought of the uncertain future and his dead brother, and he couldn't help crying silently in his bed, his heart in a tangle. He even couldn't help but think maliciously, why not just sentence her to death now, so that she wouldn't have to worry all day long.
She's had enough of this kind of life.
The snow outside the window was so heavy that the occasional snapping of bamboo could be heard. All was silent, and just as Liang Hanzhang was about to drift off to sleep, the blanket covering him was suddenly lifted, and he fell into a warm embrace.
The man's breathing was rapid, and he showered him with kisses, seemingly trying to confirm something. The woman, feeling suffocated, whimpered and opened her eyes to see a dark shadow on her body. Unsure, she smelled the familiar scent of soapberry, and asked, "Your Highness?"
There was another burst of rapid breathing, and after a long time he turned over and lay beside her, taking the person in his arms and replied, "It's me."
Hearing the man's cold voice, Liang Hanzhang suddenly had an outlet for the worries and anxieties she had felt all night. She covered her mouth and burst into tears in the dark.
She cried silently, and if she hadn't sniffled mid-sentence, no one would have noticed. But the prince had excellent night vision and good hearing. Not only could he clearly see her pitiful face as she wept, but he could also hear the sobs she tried so hard to suppress.
The anger she had when she came to Zhilanju was instantly extinguished by her tears, and her heart felt like it was being repeatedly scratched by a bayonet, with a dull pain.
He asked knowingly, "Why are you crying?"
The woman struggled to get into his arms like a kitten, and said nervously, "I have concealed something from Your Highness. If Your Highness knew, would you blame me?"
"Tell me what's going on. If it's serious, I'll still punish you." His voice was calm, but Liang Hanzhang knew he must have known about the conversation that day.
"If I confess to Your Highness that I do have a special friendship with Yan Guang, will Your Highness, in anger, give me poisoned wine?"
She spoke pitifully, hiccuping as she spoke: "I know that I have committed a grave sin. I do not ask for forgiveness, Your Highness. I only ask that Your Highness properly bury the child in my belly..."
He tried to use the child to gain sympathy. The prince knew it very well.
Still unable to resist, she sneered, "What the hell are you talking about?! Do you think you're dead? If you keep saying such nonsense, I'll strip you of your rank and demote you to the lowest-ranking maid in the Eastern Palace, cleaning toilets every day!"
In his opinion, the most severe punishment would probably be a demotion and being made to wash the toilet. Liang Hanzhang gradually stopped crying and looked at the silhouette in the darkness, a plan in mind.
The prince couldn't stand her wet eyes looking at him, so he raised his hand to cover them, his voice still cold: "I already know about your conversation today. Why did you hide it from me?"
He wasn't angry at her for being a spy sent by Yan Guang, but rather that she had thought of questioning that guy directly instead of coming to him to ask for clarification. Could it be that the entire past year of their relationship had been her fake flattery?
Did she ever have any feelings for him?
The Crown Prince's anger hadn't subsided yet. Liang Hanzhang was still afraid. After all, the other party was the crown prince, holding the power of life and death. His words carried the law. There were countless ways to kill a weak woman like her.
"I know that I was sent by Yan Guang to monitor Your Highness's every move. I was afraid that Your Highness would discover the truth, so I dared not tell you the truth."
Li Cheng: "When you called me 'brother' during the day, was that the man who died in the secret passage of the Governor's Mansion?"
Liang Hanzhang nodded.
"Have you and he been raised by Yan Guang since childhood?"
Liang Hanzhang didn't know why he asked these questions and didn't dare to hide it: "Yan Guang bought me for ten coins when I was very young, and so did my brother. He is four years older than me and has been taking good care of me over the years. However, he has been in poor health and has been bedridden all year round. Yan Guang calculated that my brother and I have a good relationship, so he threatened me with my brother's life to come to the Eastern Palace as an undercover agent."
After all, undercover is not a nice word, Liang Hanzhang said while secretly looking at the people around him.
Seeing that she was worried now, Li Cheng sneered in his heart and continued to ask: "Where is your brother from, what does he look like, and what feelings do you have for him?" For example, the feelings between men and women.
Liang Hanzhang shook his head: "We were all bought home by Yan Guang when we were young, and we don't know where we were originally from. I don't seem to remember much of what happened when I was a child. Even my brother told me that my parents sold me for ten cents."
"My brother looks honest and simple, and his height is probably about the same as Your Highness. As for our relationship, it is naturally excellent." As soon as the word "excellent" came out, she suddenly felt the air pressure around her drop a lot. In a flash, she suddenly understood what the prince was really asking.
She hurriedly explained: "My brother and I have a brother-sister relationship. He has taken good care of me over the years. It's just a brother-sister relationship. Your Highness, please believe me."
Li Cheng sneered again, "You even know his height, and you even called out to him and thought of him in my dreams. Madam Zhang, how can I trust you?"
Suddenly realizing, "I'm afraid your name is fake. You've been hiding by my side for so long. Tell me, how should I punish you?"
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The author has something to say: I finally finished the Level 6 exam, but I still feel like I won’t be able to pass it this time [melted] (so embarrassing) [burst into tears] There are still five exams to go, and I count on my fingers every day how many days are left for summer vacation [dog head]
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