Chapter 176 Death Squad
When the emperor saw the final draft of the law, he was furious and nearly smashed the draft on the officials' heads on the spot.
The draft was riddled with errors, from incorrect sentencing to misspelled characters. The lack of rigor made it hard to believe that this was something Zheng Xiang was personally in charge of.
What angered the Emperor most was a note tucked inside the laws containing satirical poems and essays about him. It seemed to have been accidentally left behind, and the handwriting alone was insufficient to determine its author.
The Zheng residence is now completely surrounded by the Qilin Guards, who are just waiting for an order to turn the Zheng family upside down.
Fengyue Tower.
A scantily clad beauty leaned against Qi Huan's chest as if boneless, her delicate hand holding a wine cup and bringing it to his lips.
Qi Huan reached out and pushed him away, his eyes fixed intently on the shrewd and thin Tao Duo opposite him.
"How confident is Minister Tao this time?"
"Your Highness, rest assured. His Majesty is furious, and all drafts have been impounded. Minister Zheng is probably racking his brains but can't figure out what's going on. From now on, we'll have to say whatever we want."
Qi Huan felt somewhat relieved, turned his head to drink the wine in his cup, and was filled with emotion:
"It's a pity that Prime Minister Zheng toiled his whole life, yet could not die peacefully. Whenever I think of this, I feel uneasy..."
Tao Duo smiled, "To be able to be buried for His Highness's great cause can be considered the last value of Prime Minister Zheng."
Qi Huan shook his head, his face compassionate, but his eyes were ruthless:
"It's a pity that Prime Minister Zheng is old, blind and foolish, and has mistakenly chosen a dark master. Otherwise, I could have let him live a few more years. After all, he is my great-uncle."
Zheng Xiang steadfastly chose to support the emperor; whoever sat in that chair, he would pledge allegiance to.
He wouldn't even give the Crown Prince a second glance, let alone help Qi Huan.
Otherwise, even if Prime Minister Zheng retires, he still has several descendants serving as officials in the court. The Zheng family is not entirely without merit, and there is no need to exterminate them.
Tao Duo: "He only managed to get close to Princess Pingyin by chance. How could he possibly be related to someone of such noble birth as His Highness?"
Duke Huan of Qi did not want to discuss the matter further, and repeatedly asked:
"Have all those things been taken care of?"
"Yes, I personally oversaw its destruction. There is absolutely no way a second one could appear within the territory of Qi..."
The two exchanged a few words as if playing a riddle, and then suddenly looked at each other and smiled.
The Princess's Residence.
As Lan Xin ground the ink for Qi Yuxuan, she said:
"Princess, the Zheng family is now entirely guarded by the Qilin Guard. The censors, led by Minister Tao, are vying to impeach them, all demanding that His Majesty deal with them severely."
After she finished speaking, she looked up, expecting to see the princess's anxious and uneasy expression, but instead she saw a calm, gentle, and exquisitely beautiful face.
Lan Xin was taken aback:
"Princess...aren't you worried?"
Just a few days ago, he specifically asked the Crown Prince to look after Miss Zheng, so why is he so calm and collected now that something has happened?
"I believe in the Crown Prince, and I also believe in Prime Minister Zheng."
The ink she gave was not from the State of Qi, a fact that the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Zheng immediately recognized.
Besides its unique ink fragrance, it also has other wonderful uses.
"Has the Princess packed her bags?"
Lanxin nodded: "Princess, rest assured, it is a tradition to hold a memorial service for the Prince Consort every year, and the servants in the manor will not make any mistakes."
The anniversary of the death of the princess's husband is in five days. In the past few days, the princess has lost her appetite and has not been sleeping well.
She told Qi Yuxuan yesterday that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that she could still walk and had a good memory to visit Huaicheng, where she first met the prince consort.
Huaicheng is two or three days' journey from the capital. Qi Yuxuan wanted to accompany them, but the eldest princess stopped her.
"You're still a young girl, you should be lively and cheerful. Go play with Minying or the Zheng or Zhao girls when you have time. What's the point of coming with me to pay respects to my deceased husband?"
The eldest princess stroked her soft, long hair, her gaze serene:
"Now that I have you by my side, I am no longer alone. If the prince consort could know this in the afterlife, he would surely be happy."
"Mother……"
Qi Yuxuan leaned against the princess's chest. She didn't want to see the princess's sorrowful eyes, so she could only comfort her in this way.
"Don't worry, I've already moved on. It's already good enough that someone has accompanied me for a while."
"From now on, your mother will definitely find you a husband who respects and loves you. It's more important than anything else for you two to live peacefully and healthily, and have a good life together..."
The eldest princess put her arm around Qi Yuxuan's shoulder and chattered on and on.
Qi Yuxuan had heard similar words from other mothers to their daughters, but now, listening to them herself, she had only one thought.
"Mother, you must also take good care of yourself, stay safe and healthy. For me, the most important thing is that you live to be a hundred years old, free from illness and disaster..."
The eldest princess simply smiled and hugged her tighter, without saying a word.
"Knock knock—"
Suddenly, a very rhythmic knocking sound came from outside the window.
Qi Yuxuan snapped out of her reverie.
"Enter."
The window was opened from the outside, and a figure in plain clothes flew in from outside and landed in the center of the study.
Ren Shun knelt on one knee, lowered his eyes, clasped his hands, and said coldly:
"master."
Lan Xin quietly put down the ink stick, bowed, and withdrew.
"Speak!"
Ren Shun twitched his ears, and only after confirming that no one was listening did he continue:
“Someone from Feiyin Pavilion came to visit. When I arrived, I only managed to see that they were heading south, and I couldn’t catch up with them.”
"Judging from that person's skills, he's not just a trained fighter, he's more like a suicide squad member."
Qi Yuxuan's eyebrows twitched.
There are only a handful of families in the capital that can afford to raise assassins, but those are only those on the surface.
but.
"Just a visit?"
"Yes, he's perfectly fine. You said there was no torture, so we didn't interrogate him."
"When you arrived, did you disturb the assassin?"
No.
Qi Yuxuan remained silent, her fingers tapping absently on the long table.
This is, after all, a matter within the Xiao family. The eldest princess has already declared that Gu Linyan is entirely under her control. When Xiao Su came to demand her a couple of days ago, she refused to give her up.
The midwife's testimony that day was quite suspicious. She always felt that Xiao Yuyao's background might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface.
"Go to Feiyin Pavilion and keep watch day and night. Either capture that assassin alive, or find out about Gu Linyan's conversation with that person."
Ren Shun was momentarily stunned:
"But how do you know the assassins will definitely come back?"
“A family capable of raising assassins must not be an ordinary wealthy family. The fact that they didn’t silence Gu Linyan means they still need her alive. As long as we don’t release her, they will definitely be unable to restrain themselves and will take action again.”
Ren Shun was still puzzled. Waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump was certainly safe, but wouldn't it be too slow?
"But as far as I know, there are only a few families that raise assassins. If I investigate them one by one, I might be able to find some clues."
Qi Yuxuan had no intention of telling Ren Shun about the midwife Li, and was too lazy to explain further. She simply waved her hand dismissively.
"From now on, just do as I say and don't ask so many questions."
Just as Ren Shun was about to lash out after being choked, his gaze fell on the silver ring on his index finger, and he ultimately held back.
He gritted his teeth and answered:
"Yes, Master."
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