Chapter 53 I Believe You, You Big Head Ghost
As soon as the queen said this, all the concubines in the palace burst into tears.
The Empress was always gentle and generous, and it was rare to see her speak so harshly. In the past, even if a concubine made a mistake, she would rarely embarrass her in public, and most of the time she would just reprimand her and leave it at that.
Concubine Jing is about the same age as the Empress. She served Your Majesty when he was still a prince. The third prince she gave birth to has now grown up and is highly valued by Your Majesty. Among the many concubines, Concubine Jing is an important figure second only to the Empress and the Imperial Concubine.
But now, without any warning, the queen suddenly
How terrible it was that they had Concubine Jing Gui gagged and tied up. How big of a mistake did Concubine Jing Gui make?
The concubines' minds were in a state of confusion, and in a moment their thoughts had already wandered eight hundred feet away.
When the Imperial Concubine hurried in, Concubine Jing had already prepared herself mentally. She guessed that the Imperial Concubine was probably going to tell the Empress about the plot of the Third Prince against the Sixth Prince. Although she was a little nervous, she was not too scared.
In the past few years, several adult princes have been fighting openly and secretly. Everyone has known about it for a long time. It must be no secret to His Majesty. In the past, as long as the trouble was not brought to his sight, he did not care much. This time, it should be okay. After all, there has not been any consequence yet.
But when she heard the Queen's order, she was completely stunned. She asked in a fierce voice: "Your Majesty, what crime did I commit that deserves such a big fight?"
The Queen looked at Concubine Jing quietly and said, "I will let you know when you get to His Majesty."
Nanny Zheng came in with a few strong maids, glanced at the empress, who nodded, and then they stepped forward and subdued Concubine Jing, stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth, tied her hands with a rope, and carried her out.
The other concubines watched this scene and stood aside trembling with fear. Everyone felt insecure and dared not say a word.
The queen waved her hand and ordered, "Something big has happened in the palace today. You should go back to the palace first and don't move around."
"Yes." Everyone answered in unison, bowed, and hurried out.
The Queen glanced at the Royal Concubine and said, "Let's go."
The two of them went out. The empress sat in a sedan chair, and the imperial concubine followed her. The group took Concubine Jing and went straight to Chongde Hall.
As soon as she entered the room, the Queen ordered her men to throw Concubine Jing Gui to the ground.
When Emperor Wen Zhao saw the scene, he was startled and asked hurriedly, "What's going on?"
The queen bowed with great respect, her expression extremely solemn: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report."
When Concubine Jinggui saw Emperor Wen Zhao, she thought she had seen her savior and kept sobbing.
The empress glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs waiting in the hall. Emperor Wen Zhao understood and waved his hand to send them away, leaving only four people in the room.
The Empress looked at the Imperial Concubine, and the Imperial Concubine spoke and told Emperor Wen Zhao exactly what she had heard from Tong Tong.
Concubine Jing Gui was kneeling on the ground. When she heard these words, her face turned pale and she collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.
How is it possible? How could the third brother make a dragon robe? That is a capital crime.
"Evil creature!" Emperor Wen Zhao's face was filled with gloom, and he raised his hand and smashed the teacup on the table to the ground: "Beast, I am only over 40 years old, and it is still a long way to go before I die. This evil creature has already prepared a dragon robe. Does he wish for my death, or does he want to kill the emperor and his father?"
Seeing that Emperor Wen Zhao was furious, Concubine Jing Gui hurriedly knelt up, crawled forward on her knees, shook her head desperately, made sobbing sounds, and her eyes were filled with tears.
Emperor Wen Zhao waved his hand and said, "Let her speak. I want to see what she says."
There was no servant in the room. The Imperial Concubine walked over, reached out her hand, pulled the handkerchief out of Concubine Jing's mouth and threw it aside.
Concubine Jinggui spoke quickly, her expression flustered and her voice choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, there must be some misunderstanding. The third son is definitely not that kind of person. The third son has always been respectful and filial to you, and you know that."
Emperor Wen Zhao stared at Concubine Jing Gui's eyes with an scrutinizing look. The two had known each other for more than twenty years, and Emperor Wen Zhao knew Concubine Jing Gui very well. After staring at her for a while, he saw that there was only fear and confusion in her eyes, but she kept looking at him without dodging. Emperor Wen Zhao concluded that Concubine Jing Gui did not know about the dragon robe, and his expression eased a little.
But he still asked, "You don't know about this?"
Concubine Jing Gui hurriedly shook her head: "Your Majesty, I don't know, but I know that the Third Brother will never do anything to betray the emperor or his father. Please believe him."
The Imperial Concubine said, "Whether it was done or not, you will know after you go and take a look."
Concubine Jing looked at Concubine Huang with resentment, as if she wanted to eat her up right away.
The Imperial Concubine sneered and said, "No need to look at me like that, Concubine Jing. Making a dragon robe privately is a matter of great importance. If I didn't know about it, it would be fine. But now that I know about it, I must report it to Your Majesty."
The Queen also said, "Your Majesty, although Tong Tong's words are always accurate, it is a bit unfair to accuse the Third Prince. It would be better to send someone to search."
After such a long period of verification, Emperor Wen Zhao completely believed in Tong Tong. Even if the empress didn't say it, he had this plan. He nodded and said, "Liang Quan, call You Zheng to me."
"Yes." Liang Quanying, who was waiting at the door, said.
Soon, the commander of the imperial guards, You Zheng, arrived and after greeting him, asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"
Emperor Wen Zhao: "Take your men to surround the Third Prince's Mansion, the Fifth Prince's Mansion, and the house between the two mansions. Search them carefully, especially the tunnel between the two mansions."
"No matter what the result is, bring both of them to the palace."
This is a big deal. You Zheng was stunned for a moment, then he agreed and turned to walk out.
When a few people came to Chongde Hall earlier, the Sixth Prince also wanted to come with them, but the Royal Concubine did not let him.
She took Xiaoliu's childish nature into consideration and was afraid that he would show an inappropriate expression or say something inappropriate, and if His Majesty saw it, he would blame him for taking advantage of his brother's misfortune.
Xiaoliu does not consider the Third Prince as a brother, but to His Majesty, the Third Prince is his biological son, and the one he likes more.
The Royal Concubine told the Sixth Prince to go back to Furong Palace, or leave the palace and go back home. In short, he should not stay in the palace to avoid being affected by His Majesty's anger.
But the Sixth Prince was never an obedient person, and he quietly followed to Chongde Hall, but he did not dare to go in, and just waited from a distance.
After seeing the commander of the imperial guards, You Zheng, entering the palace, he came out with a serious look on his face, so he went to greet him and said, "Commander You, what's the matter? Do you want to leave the palace?"
You Zheng cupped his hands and replied, "Yes."
The Sixth Prince asked again: "But are we going to the Third Prince's Mansion and the Fifth Prince's Mansion?"
You Zheng did not stop, but walked forward at a brisk pace, answering as he walked: "That's right."
The Sixth Prince clapped his hands and said, "It just so happens that I have nothing to do. I will go with you to lend a hand."
Seeing that the Sixth Prince was ready to fight, You Zheng quickly refused: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I can handle it, so I won't bother you. I have official duties to attend to, so I will go first."
Just kidding, the Sixth Prince has always been at odds with the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince, especially the Sixth Prince who has always been a person who likes to stir up trouble. If he dares to let the Sixth Prince go, who knows what kind of trouble it will cause in the end.
Seeing You Zheng disappear in a flash, the Sixth Prince rolled his eyes in anger: "Hey, this guy, it's not like I can't find the way. If you don't take me with you, I will go by myself."
Having said that, she hurried out of the palace and headed for the Third Prince's residence.
Emperor Wen Zhao arranged things, and all that was left was to wait.
He sat back in his chair, his face gloomy, and he said nothing. The Queen and Consort Jinggui both looked at him, but they also didn't say anything.
Unless Emperor Wen Zhao ordered her to stand up, Concubine Jing Gui did not dare to stand up and just knelt on the ground.
The house was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere was extremely depressing and dull.
After a while, Emperor Wen Zhao stood up and said, "Take her with you and leave the palace with me."
The Empress and the Imperial Concubine were both stunned, then responded, calling the palace maid to come in, untied Concubine Jing's hands, put a veil on her, and followed Emperor Wen Zhao out of the palace.
---
After the concubines came out of Fengyi Palace, they walked together in twos and threes, whispering to each other, all wondering what kind of mistake Concubine Jing Gui had made to cause the Empress to behave like that.
Rupin did not want to take part in the discussion, and walked ahead with her maids in her arms.
She was worried about Youyou, so she decided to take her back. She first went to Mingzhu Palace, and after asking, she learned that several princesses were in Furong Palace, so she hurried to Furong Palace.
After the Royal Concubine took the Sixth Prince away, the Seventh and Eighth Princesses took Ji Jinyou to play in the yard. After swinging on the swing for a while, she heard a puppy barking in the corner of the yard. She asked the Eighth Princess to take her down from the swing, and she ran over on her legs short to see what was going on.
Princess Seven and Princess Eight usually never leave Xiaojiu's side, but today they only told the palace maids to follow her while they sat on the swing and talked in low voices.
Ji Jinyou played with the puppy, kitten and rabbit for a while, then Rupin came. She didn't see Youyou squatting on the ground playing, and walked straight inside.
When Ji Jinyou saw Rupin, she put down the puppy in her hand, stood up and ran over: "Mother, Youyou is here."
Rupin turned around when she heard the voice and saw the little girl. She couldn't help but smile. She squatted down and picked up the little girl who ran over: "Youyou, something big happened in the palace today. The Queen Mother ordered to stay in their own palaces and not to walk around everyone. Would you like to go back with your mother?"
Seeing Rupin's serious expression, Ji Jinyou asked curiously, "Mother, what happened?"
When the Seventh and Eighth Princesses saw Rupin coming, they got off the swing and walked over to hear Rupin's words. After greeting her, they also asked, "Yes, Madam Rupin, what happened?"
In fact, both of them knew exactly what was going on, but they did not go to Fengyi Palace. They still wanted to hear Rupin talk about the situation on the scene.
Rupin did not hide it either. She lowered her voice and told the little princesses what happened in Fengyi Palace.
Princess Qiba pretended to be shocked: "Why?"
Rupin shook her head: "I don't know yet."
Ji Jinyou hurriedly asked the system: [General, the Queen has tied up Concubine Jing Gui, do you know why? ]
System: [I don’t know.]
The Seventh and Eighth Princesses had already figured out the rules, and once the plot changed, Tongtong had no idea what was going on.
After the matter was said, Rupin proposed to take Youyou back, and the Seventh and Eighth Princesses agreed. After all, there would definitely be something interesting happening today, and if Xiaojiu was here, it would really be inconvenient for them.
Ji Jinyou waved her little hands and said goodbye to her two sisters, then was carried away by Rupin.
The Seventh and Eighth Princesses sent the mother and daughter to the door. When they walked away, the two held hands and ran to the Fengyi Palace. After arriving at the Fengyi Palace, they found that the Empress and the Imperial Consort had not returned yet. They hurried to the Chongde Hall, but there was no one there. They called a young eunuch who was serving in the inner hall and asked him, and he said that several people had left the palace.
The two looked at each other, then hurried back to Mingzhu Palace, found men's clothes to change into, and combed their hair into men's buns. Then they hurriedly left the palace.
---
The Third Prince was writing a letter in his study when an attendant came running over in panic: "Your Highness, something bad has happened."
The Third Prince frowned unhappily: "What are you so flustered about?"
The attendant's face turned pale: "The imperial guards have surrounded our house."
The Third Prince's hand trembled, and the pen in his hand fell on the table: "Who brought people here?"
The attendant replied, "It is Lord You, the commander of the imperial guards."
The Third Prince looked unhappy: "Can you tell me why?"
The attendant shook his head: "I don't know yet. The butler is still dealing with it and hasn't opened the door yet."
The Third Prince's eyes changed several times, and he quickly picked up the half-written letter and tore it up. After tearing it up, he found that there was no place to throw it.
He turned around and took a book from the bookshelf, put the torn pieces of waste paper inside, and then took out a few letters from a secret compartment of the bookshelf and handed them to his followers: "Go quickly, take them and burn them. Burn them with your own hands. Don't ask others to do it, and don't let anyone see you."
"Yes, I understand." The attendant took over and ran out of the door with the things, returning to his room to burn them.
The Third Prince called in another guard and ordered, "Go to the front and handle it. Try to delay it as long as possible."
The guard replied, and then asked, "If Lord You asks about Your Highness, how should I answer?"
"Just say you don't know." The third prince took out a tinderbox and put it in his arms, then walked out at a brisk pace. He walked around the mansion and came to the back of a rockery, pushed open a secret door, and slipped in.
Two people were lying on top of a gazebo not far away, watching the entire scene.
The Sixth Prince had a lotus leaf on his head. He pointed at the figure that disappeared behind the rockery and whispered to You Zheng who was lying on the side, "What do you think, Lord You? I told you that the Third Prince would not open the door obediently, but you still didn't believe me. If I hadn't brought you over the wall and hid here to guard, he would have really gotten away."
In fact, he knew that the third brother was not going to run away, but was going to destroy the dragon robe. However, he could not tell You Zheng about this, so he could only say that the third brother was going to run away.
"Your Highness the Sixth Prince is wise. I am ashamed to be inferior to him." You Zheng bowed, stood up, jumped down the pavilion, and ran to the back of the rockery.
"Wait for me." The Sixth Prince threw away the lotus leaf, jumped down and chased after him.
The third prince hurriedly entered the tunnel, walked for a distance, turned right at a three-way intersection, then turned left at another three-way intersection, and finally came to a locked secret room.
He looked back and saw that no one was following him, so he took out his key, opened the door, walked in, and bolted the door from the inside. He took out a wooden brocade box from behind a niche where a Buddha statue was placed, opened it, took out the dragon robe inside, took out a fire starter and started to light it.
He didn't know if it was because there was not enough air in the secret room or if he was too nervous, but he just felt suffocated in his chest and his hands were shaking violently. The hand holding the tinder was trembling, and he couldn't light it after trying for a long time.
He cursed under his breath, took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and then went back to lighting the fire.
Just as he touched the corner of his clothes, the heavy wooden door behind him was split open by a sharp sword.
The Third Prince had not expected that he would be followed here. He was so frightened that his dragon robe and the fire starter fell to the ground, and the fire suddenly grew bigger.
You Zheng swung his sword, but only cut a crack in the door, but did not split it open. He then shouted, "Third Prince, I have seen you go in. Please open the door quickly and help me search the mansion so that I can report to His Majesty."
"Hurry up and cut, hurry up and cut, there is no time to waste." Seeing that You Zheng only chopped once and did not chop any more, the Sixth Prince jumped anxiously, stepped forward, snatched the sword from his hand, and chopped at the wooden door with all his might.
The Sixth Prince's martial arts were not weak, and he was in a desperate situation, so he used all his strength. With a few chops of the sword, the wooden door was hacked into pieces. He raised his feet and kicked twice, making a big hole in the door. He leaned over and jumped through the hole.
When he rolled over and stood up, he saw the third prince squatting on the ground burning a pile of bright yellow clothes.
He took a quick step forward, picked up the piece of clothing with his sword, threw it at his feet, and stomped on it with both feet.
The third prince immediately rushed forward to grab it, and the sixth prince stepped over, kicked him heavily to the ground, and then stepped on him.
He stepped on me and cursed me: "You black-hearted Third Brother, you have harmed me, but you even dared to make a dragon robe in private. Are you trying to usurp the throne? Your father loves you so much, have you lost your conscience?"
His elder brother was both civil and military, full of ambition and aspirations, and was recognized by almost half of the court as the candidate for the successor to the throne.
But even though his elder brother wanted so much to be crowned as the heir apparent and to gain the emperor's approval, he always worked diligently and honestly, and never had any intention of being disloyal.
This third brother is actually quite good. He not only wants to kill him, but he actually directly skips the position of heir apparent and covets the throne. He deserves to die.
Thanks to him for following secretly and catching up with You Zheng halfway, and then trying hard to persuade him to climb over the wall and come in to keep an eye on it, otherwise by the time he knocked on the door, the dragon robe would have probably been destroyed by the third brother.
With the unremitting efforts of the Sixth Prince, the dragon robe that had been half burned was finally destroyed by him.
He heaved a sigh of relief, bent down to pick up the dragon robe from the ground, shook it, and held it in his hand. He spat at the third prince: "Pooh, you are a heartless person, just wait for your father to punish you."
You Zheng stood there holding a sword, his face as cold as frosty.
His Majesty suddenly issued such an edict today. He guessed that the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince must have made some serious mistakes, but he never expected it to be like this.
The third prince is also confused. If he wants that position, he can just think about it secretly in his heart. As a prince, it is understandable that he wants the throne.
If you have real skills, use them all and fight all the way to the end. Then you will be the winner and everyone will bow down to you.
But the dragon robe has been made before the plan was even proposed. Isn't this violating the biggest taboo in His Majesty's heart? His Majesty was fine before, but has become more and more suspicious in recent years. He has even been reluctant to appoint a crown prince. How could he tolerate this? The third prince is in danger.
But then again, on weekdays, the Sixth Prince looked lazy and extremely unreliable, but I didn't expect that he actually had some real abilities.
Not only was he able to find such a secret tunnel, but he also tried to grab the dragon robe as soon as he came in. His face showed only anxiety, without the slightest sign of surprise, which meant that he already knew about this in advance.
In the past, everyone thought that the Sixth Prince was a lazy prince who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, but now it seems that everyone is wrong. This person is the most hidden master. Thinking so in his heart, You Zheng looked at the Sixth Prince with admiration.
The Third Prince looked at the half-burned dragon robe held in the Sixth Prince's hand, and then looked at You Zheng, "Sir You, since you can find this tunnel, you must have known that this tunnel leads to the Fifth Prince's mansion."
"Yes." You Zheng lied without changing his expression.
But he thought to himself that if the Sixth Prince had not pointed it out to him, he really would not have known that there was a dragon robe in the tunnel, and His Majesty had not told him about this at the time.
If he followed his idea, he would just knock on the main door. If it didn't open, he would force his way in. But if that were the case, it would definitely take a long time. By the time he found the tunnel, all the evidence would be gone, and he would not be able to report to His Majesty.
The light in the secret room was dim and the air was not good. You Zheng made way with his sword in hand: "Sixth Prince, Third Prince, let's talk outside."
"Come on, come on, let's go out and talk." The Sixth Prince didn't like to stay in this dark place, so he took the lead and walked out, holding his dragon robe.
The Third Prince followed closely behind, and You Zheng followed closely with a sword in hand, looking alert, fearing that he would suddenly attack the Sixth Prince.
The three of them walked out of the tunnel one by one, walked out from the rockery, and came to an open space in front.
The Third Prince looked around and found that apart from the chirping of summer birds and insects, there was no human voice. He knew that the imperial guards had already taken control of the entire mansion.
The Third Prince sighed and continued, "Now that things have come to this, there is no need for me to hide it. In fact, this dragon robe is not mine. I am just keeping it for someone else."
"Huh?" The Sixth Prince laughed out loud, holding up the dragon robe in his hand, and asked in disbelief, "You said this dragon robe is not yours, then whose is it?"
The third prince sighed again: "It belongs to the fifth prince."
The Sixth Prince was deeply shocked by the Third Prince's shamelessness, so shocked that his eyeballs were about to fall out, and he threw the dragon robe at the Third Prince's head.
"I don't believe you. The idiot Lao Wu has always followed your lead. He doesn't even have the brain to think about that position. Besides, if it really is his, why would you, who is so smart, help him take such a big risk?"
The Third Prince was not annoyed and took off the dragon robe from his head: "When I first found out that the Fifth Prince had made this dragon robe, I wanted to report it to my father, but then I thought, if my father knew, he would be furious. I couldn't bear to see my father angry, nor did I bear to see the Fifth Prince being punished, so I hid it for the time being."
The Third Prince's words were so convincing, as if they were true. The Sixth Prince rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, if you have the guts, say it again in front of your father. Let's see if he believes you."
The Third Prince was about to say something else when he heard the angry voice of Emperor Wen Zhao: "No need, I heard it all."
Then he led a few people out from the other side of the rockery.
The fifth prince was also among them. His face turned pale and blue, and he stared at the third prince with an extremely complicated look. He gritted his teeth and said, "Third brother, I have never seen that dragon robe before."
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