Chapter 44 The Way Out (This chapter has no main character; you can skip it if you don't like it.)
Prince An did not believe the servant's story. He thought that perhaps when he was humiliating Su Lan, Su Lan woke up and saw his face. In order not to be identified, he panicked and smothered Su Lan to death.
But the truth is no longer important. What matters is that Lao Qi has been completely cleared of suspicion, and now all the suspicion has fallen on him. He must find a way to clear himself.
Prince An's gaze sharpened, and he was about to order the servant to be punished when there was a knock at the door. Someone announced, "Your Highness, someone from the He family has arrived. They say that Grand Tutor He invites you to his residence for a chat and asks if you are available."
Upon hearing that it was Grand Tutor He who had sent the message, Prince An's expression darkened further, and he muttered a curse under his breath: "What does that old bastard want with me now? Is he going to lecture me again?"
Despite saying that, he still got up and walked out. Before leaving, he gave his personal attendant a wink, signaling him to get rid of the servant kneeling on the ground.
The servant nodded in understanding, and after he left, he had the servant's mouth gagged and the man taken away.
………………
In the He family, the white-haired and bearded Grand Tutor He sat in a grand chair, personally attended to by the eldest master He, with no other servants present.
The He family was Consort Hui's maternal family and also Prince An's maternal grandparents' family.
Grand Tutor He once instructed the late Crown Prince. After the late Crown Prince passed away, the late Emperor had no sons. The current Emperor was adopted into the late Emperor's family and made the Crown Prince.
As the former Crown Prince's teacher, Grand Tutor He also taught the current Emperor when he was the heir apparent, thus earning the title of Imperial Tutor.
However, before the current emperor was officially established as the crown prince, the He family did not actually think highly of him. Even for a long time after the current emperor ascended the throne, the He family considered themselves noble and held great power, and did not take the current emperor seriously.
As the emperor grew older, he did not become a puppet as they had expected, but gradually gained his own power, even able to rival them, the powerful and wealthy. Only then did the He family gradually become more obedient and dare not treat the emperor as nothing as before.
Today, some members of the He family attended the Dragon Boat Festival banquet on the Yanliang River, but Grand Tutor He, being of advanced age, did not attend.
When the younger generation returned home, he heard about what had happened on the ship. He was so angry that he fainted. As soon as he woke up, he sent someone to the Prince An's residence to ask what had happened.
Prince An once relied heavily on his maternal family, but ever since his mother was demoted to the rank of concubine, and his maternal family not only failed to help her regain her status but also repeatedly told him to behave himself and keep a low profile, he knew that the He family was no longer what it used to be and could no longer provide him with the protection they once did.
Therefore, after he left the palace and established his own residence, the He family would invite him over every time, but he would refuse eight out of ten times. He would usually decline whenever possible, and only show his face when he really couldn't refuse.
But the incident on the pleasure boat today had really blown up too much, and he didn't know how to clear himself of suspicion, so he thought he might as well go to the He family to see if they could help him come up with a good solution.
News from the palace had not yet spread, and Grand Tutor He was unaware that Prince An's crimes had been essentially confirmed. When he learned from him that Qi Jingxuan had disembarked from the pleasure boat early in the morning, and that there were numerous witnesses, while Prince An made numerous inconsistencies and errors when questioned by the emperor and his ministers, Grand Tutor He was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
Suppressing his anger, he simply asked directly, "Jinghong, this is your own home. Tell your grandfather the truth: did you do what happened today?"
Upon hearing this, Prince An immediately put on a mournful face and feigned innocence.
"Grandfather, it really wasn't me!"
"Today, only Lao Qi and I on the ship were wearing the same clothes. If he wasn't there, wouldn't I be the first one suspected? Am I crazy to do this to myself?"
Grand Tutor He looked at him silently for a long while before nodding stiffly and saying, "I understand."
After speaking, he fell silent, offering no solution.
Prince An couldn't help but ask, but Grand Tutor He countered with, "What about your mother? What did she say?"
When Consort Hui was mentioned, Prince An's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
“Grandfather, you know that since my mother was demoted, she has been like a cold palace. It has been less than half a day since the incident on the pleasure boat, and the news has spread throughout the people along the Yanliang River. I'm afraid my mother hasn't heard the news yet.”
His words were meant to complain about the He family, blaming them for not helping, which prevented Consort Hui from regaining her rank as a concubine for so many years.
Unexpectedly, Grand Tutor He retorted, "And what about you? Didn't you just go to the palace to visit your mother and tell her about what happened today?"
Prince An choked, feeling somewhat embarrassed. After a long while, he stammered, "I... I was afraid my mother would worry, so I didn't tell her about these troublesome things."
In reality, he was in a hurry to deal with the servant who had "accidentally killed" Su Lan. After leaving the Imperial Study, he went straight out of the palace and never went to Consort Hui's place.
He wouldn't have remembered this if Grand Tutor He hadn't brought it up.
Grand Tutor He saw through it at a glance, but didn't say anything more. He only said, "Such a big matter, your mother will find out sooner or later. Go to the palace to see her when you have time, so that she can be at ease."
He picked up his teacup and said, "Don't go anywhere else except the palace these days, lest your father be unhappy."
"As for the pleasure boat... I'll discuss it with your uncles to see if we can make a big deal out of it."
If a major issue can be resolved by minimizing it, that would be the best outcome; it's impossible to resolve a minor issue altogether.
After all, it happened in such a setting, in front of so many people. The methods were crude, and the evidence was conclusive. Even the He family in the past could not have handled it cleanly as if nothing had happened, let alone the current He family.
Seeing that he was serving tea to see the guest off, Prince An rose, bowed, and took his leave. After leaving the He family's residence and getting into his carriage, he spat out, "It's the same old story! 'Let's discuss it and think of a solution,' it's always the same excuse, and in the end, they never come up with a solution!"
"I knew I shouldn't have come. I've made a wasted trip!"
Inside the He family mansion, after Prince An left, Old Master He spat and smashed his teacup in anger, yelling in the direction Prince An had gone, "You're not crazy, you're stupid! Just as stupid as your mother! That's why you did something so stupid!"
Seeing his anger, Master He ordered the servants to collect the broken porcelain on the ground while pouring him another cup of tea, and advised, "Father, don't be angry. The Prince... he might have just acted impulsively..."
"What impulsiveness? I think he clearly thought it through before he did it! He thought he had seized an opportunity to deal with Prince Ping, but Prince Ping got away scot-free, while he himself got dragged into it!"
"That's how his mother was back then! I told her time and time again that His Majesty's power was gradually increasing, and that she shouldn't cause trouble in the palace. She should be patient and bear with everything, and always put the bigger picture first!"
"But she not only wouldn't listen, she also thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill, that sickly, powerless, and baseless Consort Shu was afraid of her!"
"I had just given her some instructions, and she went and provoked Consort Shu. As a result, she was outmaneuvered, and His Majesty found a pretext to demote her. Not only that, but our He family's reputation in the court has also been affected!"
He couldn't help but slam his fist on the table, making a loud bang, and the teacups clattered along with it.
Master He actually harbored quite a few complaints about his nephew, Prince An. For years, Prince An had resented them for not helping Consort Hui regain her rank. But he failed to consider that Consort Hui had long been out of favor; without the He family's support, could she have maintained her position? Could Prince An still be acting as an arrogant prince, despite his mother's loss of favor and his own lack of achievements?
His nephew has enjoyed countless benefits from the He family, both openly and secretly, yet he shows no gratitude whatsoever and instead harbors many resentments towards them.
Although Grand Tutor He vented his anger by cursing for a while, he felt an endless sorrow in his heart. His eyes, which were already somewhat cloudy due to old age, seemed to lose their luster even more. Finally, he sighed and shook his head, saying, "Consort Hui and Prince An are beyond saving, but our He family cannot fall. It's time to think of another way out."
They should have thought about it a long time ago, but they refused to accept their fate, always feeling that the princes connected to their own bloodline were the best and most reliable.
However, facts have repeatedly shown them that they were wrong.
Master He understood the deeper meaning in his words. Although he had expected it, he was still somewhat unwilling.
“Although Prince An is somewhat disobedient, he is still Consort Hui’s son, and we are blood relatives. If it were someone else… they would be much more distant from us.”
Although he disliked Prince An, Prince An was still his nephew, half of whom was of royal blood and half of whom was of the He family. No matter how good the other princes were, they were still a step away from the He family.
Grand Tutor He waved his hand weakly and said, "That's what I've always thought, which is why I've made one mistake after another until today."
He pointed to the doorway again, his face full of helplessness: "Look at him, it's one thing that he doesn't tell us a single truth, but after such a big incident, he doesn't even remember his mother. It's clear that they rarely interacted, and I guess he hasn't gone back to visit her much since he left the palace."
“Every time he sees us, he complains that we didn’t help his mother regain her rank. I think he’s just ashamed that his mother was demoted to the rank of concubine and doesn’t want to associate with her anymore!”
“Such a person is arrogant and cold-hearted. Even if we, the He family, were to benefit from him in the future, we would not be able to. Rather than that, we should find another way out.”
Master He wasn't particularly insistent to begin with, but upon hearing his father's words, he sighed, "It's a pity Consort Hui only gave birth to this one child," and then smoothly changed the subject, asking, "Then, Father, do you think... who is the most suitable?"
Instead of answering directly, Grand Tutor He turned to him and asked, "What do you think?"
"Well... I think the Crown Prince is actually quite good."
Seeing that her father didn't seem to agree, she quickly said, "The Crown Prince is the Empress's legitimate son and the eldest son. Whether it's the legitimate heir or the eldest son, he has the right to be chosen."
"Besides, the Crown Prince hasn't made any mistakes since he was made the heir apparent, and he seems to have a relatively mild temperament. If we clearly support him, he will surely remember our kindness."
"I don't know... I don't know what Father thinks is wrong."
"It's too conservative, that's why it's not suitable."
Grand Tutor He said.
Master He was puzzled, but then Grand Tutor He continued, "Just as you said, the Crown Prince is both the legitimate son and the eldest son, and has been the heir apparent for six years. As long as His Majesty does not cause any mishaps before his death, he will surely be able to ascend the throne."
"If that's the case, what use is he to you, or to the He family? Haven't enough people supported him over the past six years? Does he need the He family to fawn over him now?"
Adding flowers to brocade is certainly nice, but it can't compare to the kindness of providing charcoal in the snow.
Master He suddenly realized what his father was thinking, but he was still somewhat uneasy.
"But if it were someone else... wouldn't it be in grave danger if things went wrong?"
This is also why he tends to choose the crown prince.
The crown prince's ascension to the throne was a cause for celebration, and the He family, even without any great merit or fault, had not committed any major offenses.
If the crown prince cannot ascend the throne, it is not wrong for them to support the former crown prince. Even if the new emperor is unhappy, he will not do anything to them.
But if another prince had been chosen, that prince ultimately failed to ascend the throne...
Master He felt his heart tremble just thinking about it.
Grand Tutor He thought differently. He said with a deep look in his eyes, "His Majesty is in his prime and in good health. Who knows how many more years he will sit on the throne?"
“He is determined to suppress our He family. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us.”
Judging from the situation the He family has been in over the years, it's clear that if things drag on until the emperor's own death, the He family will likely find it difficult to maintain their foothold in the capital.
"Instead of doing that... we might as well take a gamble now."
Grand Tutor He lowered his voice and said with a resolute expression.
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