After Prince An's downfall, Xiao Minghuan felt quite elated.
The Wang family actually sided with him. After the court session, Wang Minghui's father even chatted and laughed with him on the palace road.
I have to say, it was a pleasant surprise.
In the past, Xiao Minghuan never thought that the Wang family would side with him.
He was somewhat grateful to the Queen at this moment. If she hadn't stuffed Wang Minghui into the palace to disgust him and cause trouble for Concubine Wan, he wouldn't be in such a good situation today.
Recently, many more officials have come to visit him privately.
Suddenly, his power in the court was almost the same as that of Prince Shun.
While Wan Jinlan was investigating the woman in Xinghua Lane, General Yelu, who was imprisoned in Tianlao, suddenly fell ill and died.
At the same time, news of victory from the border was delivered urgently over 800 miles.
The Beirong people launched a surprise attack on the border town, and King Su led his troops to resist. Not only did he win a great victory in this battle, he also recovered the two cities in Beiyuan and captured the three princes of the Beirong royal court.
The third prince was born to the Queen of Beirong, and the power behind him cannot be underestimated in Beirong.
After the victory report was read out in the court, Emperor Jian'an laughed heartily three times, praising the bravery and fearlessness of Prince Su and the border troops.
Before the letter he sent to Beirong arrived in Beirong, news of victory came from the border, which solved his urgent problem.
Beiyuan was lost when the government was unstable at the beginning of his reign. Just that time, the iron hoof of Beirong left a deep impression on the soldiers of Wei.
Emperor Jian'an naturally did not want to lose territory during his reign, but the military power he took back was only that in the southwest. Even that military power in the southwest was not under his complete control.
Prince Su had been entrenched in the northern border for many years. Originally, Prince Su's fiefdom was not on the border, but after Beiyuan was occupied by Beirong, it became very close to Prince Su's fiefdom.
The reason why the title of Prince Su was able to continue was due to the merits of the previous Prince Su in resisting the Northern Rong. As a result, the fiefdom under Prince Su's rule became more vast without anyone noticing.
Although Emperor Jian'an did not want to see the power of Prince Su's Mansion continue to grow, the good news from the border town at this time did solve his urgent problem.
In the past, he was unwilling to fight with the Northern Rong in order to prevent the Prince Su's Mansion from taking the opportunity to expand and to use war to support the people's support for Prince Su.
But if he insisted on the marriage, how would the civil and military officials in the court and the people of the world view him as the emperor?
Emperor Jian'an sat high on the dragon throne, watching the civil and military officials in the court happily praising Prince Su's achievements. Especially the military generals, who respected Prince Su very much, with a surging dark color rolling in their eyes.
When the good news from the border came, the people of Kyoto all knew about it and were all overjoyed, as if it was New Year.
How could the palace not hold a celebration banquet for such a happy event worth celebrating?
Wan Jinlan entered the palace again.
Before the palace banquet began, she went to Yongfu Palace and told Concubine Wan and Princess Anyang that Chen Congbai had a concubine and was quite fond of her.
This concubine was named Zhang Jia. Her family had some property. Her mother died early, and her father adopted his younger brother's youngest son to inherit the family property. Later, her father died of illness, and she was kicked out of the house.
Chen Congbai also proposed to his mother that he wanted to marry Zhang Jia, but was rejected by her mother. Later, Zhang Jia was raised by Chen Congbai in Xinghua Lane.
Concubine Wan was immediately furious and slammed the table with her hand, causing the teacups on the table to roll onto the floor.
Wan Jinlan had never seen his aunt express her emotions so openly. Even Princess Anyang, who was just feeling sad and angry, was shocked.
"Mother, please don't be angry. I am a princess. He dared to play tricks on me. Mother, you must vent your anger for me."
Princess Anyang didn't have time to feel sad, and she couldn't even recover from her shock.
She couldn't understand why Chen Congbai would have a mistress when he was willing to abandon his family and lives in Kyoto and elope with her?
Anyang's mind was in a mess. She couldn't think about it. The moment she thought about it, her emotions would overwhelm her. She held Wan Jinlan's hand tightly and said, "I want to see it with my own eyes."
"Mother, I will go and ask the Empress Dowager to allow me to stay at the Duke's Mansion for a few days."
Anyang's eyes inevitably turned red, but he held it back.
Concubine Wan said pointedly, "If what Jinlan found is true, I will not forgive him."
Concubine Wan had suspected that it was Chen Congbai who set up Anyang on the night Prince An got into trouble, but after investigation, it turned out that it had nothing to do with Chen Congbai.
"Su Xin, go and bring the eunuch here."
Concubine Wan sat upright and returned to her usual dignified and elegant appearance.
"I ordered a thorough investigation for several days, and finally located him. He was taken to Yongfu Palace. This eunuch is also very stubborn and has not uttered a word so far. He is indeed a loyal person."
Wan Jinlan asked, "Could Aunt confirm that it was him?"
Concubine Wan nodded lightly, "I have been investigating for many days, and it should be foolproof." She has been working in the palace for many years, so the investigation went smoothly, but for those outside the palace, if she wanted to find the eunuch's family, she would have to put in some effort and spend a lot of time.
A moment later, a eunuch with a very pale face with a flushed look was carried in by two eunuchs. The man's legs were dragging on the ground, and he looked like he had no strength in his body. The hair on his forehead was wet and stuck to his head, and he looked like he had been seriously ill and had not recovered.
Wan Jinlan really couldn't be sure if it was the eunuch from that night, because there were too many eunuchs with fair skin in the palace, and the eunuch's figure was also very ordinary, and he was inconspicuous in the crowd.
She took a sip of the cool, summer-relief tea, put down the teacup, and said, "How much good did Concubine Wan from Prince Duan's Mansion give you?"
Wan Jinlan was naturally deceiving him.
The muscles on the eunuch's cheeks trembled uncontrollably, his pupils shrank, and he subconsciously looked at Concubine Wan, his guilty conscience too obvious.
An Yang was extremely shocked.
She also thought that Prince Shun and Prince An or someone else knew about her and Chen Congbai and set up the trap.
In Anyang's subconscious, he hadn't even considered Xiao Minghuan's involvement. After all, her mother was his mother in name only, and he was still relying on the Duke's mansion. How dare he? What was he trying to achieve?
Although Concubine Wan was also shocked in her heart, she remained calm on the surface.
Her eyes were cold, and she smiled and nodded, "Very good."
"You are a tough guy, but I wonder if your blood relatives are as tough. You dare to plot against me and want to get away with it? You really think I am a good person."
The eunuch kowtowed in despair. Since the Empress had already locked onto Prince Duan's Mansion, it would be easy for her to find his family.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Concubine Wan promised me that if I could lead the princess and Miss Wan to Yifang Pavilion, she would take my mother to your highness's estate outside the capital to be raised in honor. My mother has never had a good life and is old and ill. Since I cannot leave the palace, I must find a way to repay my mother. I deserve death. Please, Your Majesty, spare my mother."
He knocked his head so hard that it made a loud "dong dong" sound, and soon blood came out.
Seeing him kowtow pitifully, Concubine Wan Guifei sympathized with his filial piety and humbly said, "Alright, although I'm not a kind person, I'm not someone who kills innocent people. I won't implicate your mother, but I will send you to Prince Duan's mansion."
The eunuch fell to the ground helplessly and was dragged out by the eunuchs.
After the palace was cleared, Concubine Wan said, "It seems many people knew about what happened that day, and I was the only one who was kept in the dark."
Wan Jinlan blinked, "The Second Prince has been demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum. The Empress must be upset. Auntie, why not go and comfort the Empress and tell her that when it comes to revenge, don't miss anyone, and don't find the wrong person."
Wan Jinlan always seeks revenge. She wanted to take revenge on Xiao Minghuan of Huayan Temple and Wan Qiuyu's scheme this time all at once, giving these two a big gift.
She knew clearly that Wan Qiuyu was plotting against her and Anyang, and that he must have been doing it behind Xiao Minghuan's back. Xiao Minghuan still had to rely on the imperial concubine and the duke's mansion, so he wouldn't be stupid enough to plot against his own backers.
I just don't know what grudge Wan Qiuyu has against her and Anyang that requires them to do such a thankless task.
Concubine Wan raised her lips, her eyes sparkling, "Compared to Anyang, Jinlan, you are more like me."
Anyang hadn't realized what the two were saying yet, but she knew at this moment that her mother seemed to be calling her stupid.
"Mother has always loved Sister Lan, but now she dislikes me even more." Princess Anyang said coquettishly.
Concubine Wan nodded her head and said, "If you had a little more understanding, I wouldn't worry so much."
Seeing Anyang's lips pouting unhappily, Concubine Wan waved her hand and said, "Alright, you two go pay your respects to the Queen Mother."
After the people left, Concubine Wan's expression dimmed.
Su Xin comforted her, "Don't be angry, Your Majesty. Men like... are rare in this world."
Su Xin knew why the Queen suddenly allowed Princess Anyang and Chen Congbai to have an affair. After all, in this world, there are very few people who are willing to abandon everything and elope with someone.
She knew the Empress's regrets back then.
Chen Congbai's calculation and betrayal were like a blow to the head, stabbing the Empress in the heart.
Concubine Wan stood in front of the window, staring blankly at the black tiles and red walls outside the palace. This world would eventually trap her for half her life.
And that person, after receiving her letter many years later, would still go through fire and water for her.
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