Chapter 584 Are you Min Ji?
Qiao Qinghe frowned slightly.
Seeing that Qiao Qinghe did not stop her, Wei Jia continued, "The New Year's gifts sent by the Yang family are all fresh vegetables, fruits, chicken, duck, fish and meat that they grow themselves."
"It is said that after the Yang family moved to a village on the outskirts of Beijing, they bought land and spent money to build greenhouses to grow fresh fruits and vegetables that are not commonly seen in winter."
"They also dug a fishpond and raised a lot of fish."
"Look, they seem to be doing quite well."
Qiao Qinghe glanced at Wei Jia, who then smiled and shut her mouth.
She wasn't trying to plead for the Yang family. She was just saying all this to let the old lady know that the Yang family wasn't doing badly.
She wanted the old lady to completely let go of the Yang family and Fang Mama.
When she first arrived, she had witnessed firsthand how kind the old lady was to Granny Fang.
After learning that the old lady, like herself, had been reborn, she quickly realized that perhaps Granny Fang from her previous life had done something to move or even make the old lady grateful, which was why the old lady was so kind to her.
However, people's hearts are fickle; many can share hardship, but it is difficult to share wealth.
I imagine the old lady must have felt regretful too.
***
The conversation between Qiao Qinghe, Feng Yuerou, and Wei Jia reached Emperor Xiaozhao's ears an hour later.
At that time, Emperor Xiaozhao summoned Old Master Liu to the palace to discuss matters concerning Jiangnan.
Upon hearing Qiao Qinghe's speculation about Min Ji, Emperor Xiaozhao smiled and looked at the over-seventy-year-old Master Liu, "Minister Liu, you heard what Lady Qinghe said, didn't you?"
"Are you Min Ji?" Emperor Xiaozhao scrutinized Old Master Liu with a probing look.
Old Master Liu's expression remained unchanged; he simply shook his head with a faint smile and said, "I am not."
Emperor Xiaozhao, taking advantage of Qiao Qinghe's words, pressed further: "You retired from office twenty years ago, and now that you're old, you've suddenly returned to the capital. It's hard not to be suspicious, isn't it?"
"Moreover, the timing of your return to the capital is rather coincidental."
Old Master Liu put down the memorial in his hand, sighed, and looked helplessly at Emperor Xiaozhao: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that this old minister was summoned back to the capital by a secret imperial decree?"
Although everyone said he returned to help the Third Prince vie for the throne, little did anyone know that the real reason he returned to the capital was because Emperor Xiaozhao secretly summoned him back!
He was well aware of Emperor Xiaozhao's purpose in summoning him back.
Emperor Xiaozhao wanted to use the third prince to counterbalance the crown prince, and the return of this veteran of two reigns to the capital, his reinstatement, and his return to officialdom would undoubtedly bolster the third prince's confidence.
The reason he agreed to return and act in this play with Emperor Xiaozhao was to protect the third prince.
From the moment he returned to the capital, it became a deal between him and Emperor Xiaozhao.
He had no ambition, nor did he want the Third Prince to suffer a tragic end of being separated from his family due to the struggle for the throne.
Therefore, the best course of action is to cooperate with Emperor Xiaozhao, act as a good pawn, perform well, and then obediently leave the stage when the grand finale is over.
This might save the lives of the Liu family and the Third Prince and his mother.
However, he could not tell anyone about any of this.
Emperor Xiaozhao smiled and said casually, "It was indeed I who summoned you back, but who knows if the Liu Qing I summoned back is still the same Liu Qing?"
Old Master Liu suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and said with a mixture of grief and helplessness, "Your Majesty, why not have the imperial physician take my pulse and see if I am in my seventies or sixties?"
"While you're at it, check again to see if I've disguised myself or am wearing any kind of human skin mask or something?"
If he remembered correctly, Min Ji was more than ten years younger than him. He could imitate everything else, but he couldn't change his age, could he?
Skilled imperial physicians and coroners can determine a person's age based on their physical condition.
He thought that after saying that, Emperor Xiaozhao would believe him.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Xiaozhao nodded in agreement, "Minister Liu is right."
He then instructed Liu Xin, the chief eunuch standing beside him, "Go and summon the chief and deputy chief physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy. Also, have them bring the potion that the Imperial Medical Academy developed earlier that can detect whether a person is wearing a human skin mask."
Liu Xin quickly agreed, secretly glancing at Old Master Liu's grim face, and hurried out to make the arrangements.
Grandpa Liu was almost driven to his death by anger.
While waiting for the imperial physician to arrive, he couldn't help but complain, "Women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with!"
Emperor Xiaozhao glanced at him with amusement, "Minister Liu, do you think Lady Qinghe is targeting you?"
Old Master Liu suppressed his anger and said in a less-than-friendly tone, "Isn't that right?"
"The Qiao family is clearly jealous of the death of Princess Qi and is trying every trick in the book to find fault with my Liu family!"
Emperor Xiaozhao glanced at Old Master Liu, his mockery quite evident.
Perhaps understanding the meaning in Emperor Xiaozhao's eyes, Old Master Liu's face burned with embarrassment. After a long while, he stammered, "None of the women in the family are smart. We've made a fool of ourselves in front of His Majesty."
Starting with the old wife, Mrs. Liu, and then to the daughters-in-law, and then to the granddaughter... they were all incredibly stupid.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unwilling to participate in the struggle for the throne from the very beginning.
Previously, his attitude was firm, and he was far from the capital, so the Liu family had no interest in him, and everything was fine.
But ever since the Third Prince had this idea, the two families who remained in the capital started thinking about sending someone into the Third Prince's residence.
From the beginning, they had their sights set on the Third Prince's principal wife. Unfortunately for them, the Third Prince had his own plans and had his eye on Min Yuexi.
Later, when the Third Prince got married, the Liu family still found fault with Min Yuexi's dowry.
After he returned to Beijing, the various branches of the Liu family could no longer suppress their desires.
Before he knew it, the women in the backyard had caused a major incident. They silently murdered Princess Qi.
If it weren't for the fact that Princess Qi's death wasn't as simple as it seemed, he would have wanted to send all those idiots back to their hometown.
Before long, the imperial physician arrived.
Emperor Xiaozhao had the imperial physicians take the pulse of Old Master Liu to determine his age and physical condition, confirming that Old Master Liu was indeed the real person. Only then did Emperor Xiaozhao dismiss the imperial physicians.
Just when Old Master Liu thought that Emperor Xiaozhao would finally believe him this time, Emperor Xiaozhao ordered Liu Xin to bring a basin of clean water, add two drops of the medicine brought by the imperial physician, and then serve Old Master Liu to wash his face carefully before stopping.
After all the commotion, Emperor Xiaozhao put on a smile again, despite facing Old Master Liu's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.
***
Just as Qiao Qinghe was trying to find Min Ji, news suddenly came from the palace that Emperor Xiaozhao had fallen ill.
Qiao Qinghe initially thought Emperor Xiaozhao was faking illness. Unexpectedly, Li Sanqi brought her definite news.
"You're saying the Emperor is really ill!?"
Qiao Qinghe could hardly believe it.
Li Sanqi nodded solemnly, "Yes, Father is really ill."
After a pause, and after Qiao Qinghe dismissed the servants, she continued, "The memorials from Jiangnan have arrived in the capital."
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