Chapter 81 Slamming the Table: What kind of rebellion are they planning?
"You bastard!"
After listening to Qi Jingxuan's account and reading Lu Heng's letter, the emperor slammed his hand on the table in anger.
"Illegal iron ore mining—are they plotting some kind of rebellion?"
Just now, Qi Jingxuan and Shen Yan entered the palace, but they didn't go directly to him. Instead, as usual, they came to Zhaohua Palace first under the pretext of visiting Consort Shu. After informing Consort Shu of the situation, they asked her to send someone to deliver a message to him. The reason given was that the child had entered the palace, and they asked if he wanted to go and see him.
The emperor doted on Consort Shu and her son. In the past, whenever Qi Jingxuan entered the palace, he would come over if he had nothing else to do, which did not arouse suspicion.
When he first arrived, he genuinely thought it was just the children visiting the palace and inviting him to sit down. Only after he arrived did he realize that such a major event had occurred.
The emperor was annoyed and also somewhat puzzled: "Why would Lu Ziyou go to Yingzhou?"
Aside from a few people, no one else knew that Qi Jingxuan had sent Lu Heng to Yingzhou. Everyone else assumed he was going sightseeing, but little did they know he was heading straight for Yingzhou.
On their way to the palace, Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan had already guessed that the emperor would ask questions, and had prepared their answers.
“Aci’s family is small. After they moved to Beijing last year, there was no one left in their ancestral home. Not only is there no one to pay respects on the Qingming Festival, but my marriage to Aci was also not announced to our ancestors.”
"It just so happens that when I got married, Ziyou said that he had nothing to do and was planning to travel around outside the capital. So I asked him if he was going to Yingzhou. If he was, I asked him to stop by Ganning City on his way and pay his respects at the Shen family ancestral graves. I told him to tell the Shen family ancestors that Aci and Lord Shen were doing well in the capital and that I had married Aci, so they could rest assured."
"Ziyou went there at my request, but who would have thought he would encounter such a thing? Now he is afraid he will lose his life there."
He knelt down as soon as he entered, then crawled a few steps to embrace the emperor's leg, pleading, "Father, please save Ziyou! He came all this way for me. If anything happens to him, how can I face the Lu family?"
The emperor immediately saw the flaw in the argument and frowned, saying, "Yingzhou is far from the capital. Even if Lu Ziyou were traveling outside the capital, why would he go to such a place? Don't try to fool me!"
Qi Jingxuan pouted and lowered his head, feigning being exposed: "Your subject... Your subject has promised him the hot spring resort outside the city."
The emperor felt a pang in his heart and almost couldn't resist slapping him on the head.
That hot spring resort was where emperors throughout history had stayed during the winter when they couldn't bear the cold; many people wanted it, but he refused to give it to them. Qi Jingxuan was framed in March and forced into a hasty engagement, making the wedding very rushed. The emperor felt sorry for him, thinking he had been wronged, and thus gave him the resort as a wedding gift. And what did he do? He turned around and promised it to someone else!
However, this makes a lot of things make sense.
The young lady of the Shen family nearly lost her life because of this young man. Left with no other choice, she agreed to the marriage, requesting a divorce agreement beforehand, intending to leave once the matter was clarified. Unfortunately, the young man was unaware of this and still believed he had truly married his beloved.
It's not surprising that he came up with this method to please Shen Yan in order to make her happy and to make up for his mistakes.
He probably felt that sending only a servant to Yingzhou was not serious enough, and as a prince, he could not leave the capital without permission, so he asked Lu Ziyou for help.
The emperor was annoyed that he didn't know what was important and sent everything away, but he was also relieved.
He had just suspected that Qi Jingxuan might have known in advance about the Xie family's activities in Yingzhou, which was why he sent people to investigate. But upon closer reflection, the Xie family had handled things so discreetly that even he, the emperor, was unaware; how could Qi Jingxuan have known beforehand?
If he truly knew, he should have told his father long ago so that he could punish Prince Ning. Why did he have to risk his life to investigate?
The emperor's doubts subsided, and he no longer cared about the hot spring resort. He simply said, "I will issue an edict to send someone to Yingzhou to find a way to protect Lu Ziyou. You don't need to worry about this matter."
Qi Jingxuan was overjoyed: "Thank you, Father! Thank you, Father!"
If the emperor personally mobilizes troops, there is no need to send people from the capital on a long journey; a single decree can be issued to send troops from the vicinity of Yingzhou.
This way, they could rescue Lu Heng as quickly as possible without alerting the Xie family.
Seeing his joyful expression, the emperor feared he would be disappointed if things didn't go well, so he poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "Don't be too happy yet. It's been more than half a month since he discovered that illegal mine, and it will take at least half a month for me to send troops there. If he's still alive before reinforcements arrive, there's still a chance to save him. If he's already dead... then consider it a sacrifice for the country, and I will reward the Lu family."
Discovering the Xie family's plot to rebel with Prince Ning is indeed a great achievement. Regardless of whether Lu Heng returns or not, he deserves commendation.
Qi Jingxuan knew in his heart that this was a possibility, but he didn't want to think the worst, and firmly said, "Ziyou must still be alive! He must!"
The emperor knew that he had a close relationship with those few cronies, so he sighed and said, "Alright, you and Aci stay here and talk with your mother. Don't bother her with these things anymore. I will take care of the rest."
After saying this, she was about to get up and leave, but before she left, Shen Yan suddenly kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, Gan Ning City is just a small border town. The city walls are not high, and the houses are not very sturdy. If the mine collapses, the houses and villages in Gan Ning City will definitely not be able to withstand it. Although the population in the city is not large, please consider that all the people in the city are your subjects and move them out of the city as soon as possible to resettle them elsewhere, so as to prevent them from suffering innocently."
The emperor paused, glanced at Shen Yan kneeling on the ground, and nodded slightly: "As expected of Shen Qing's daughter, it's admirable that you have such a heart for the country and its people. I will make arrangements, you may rise."
Shen Yan felt a great weight lifted from her heart and bowed solemnly once more: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor turned and left, calling He Yuan to his side as he departed.
Consort Shu watched him leave, and only after his figure disappeared from sight at the palace gate did her face darken.
"You kindly told him about the Xie family's plot to rebel, but he suspects you."
The Emperor's questions just now seemed casual, but they clearly revealed his suspicion of Qi Jingxuan. It wasn't that he doubted the truthfulness of Qi Jingxuan's words, but rather that he suspected Qi Jingxuan of knowing about the dealings between the Xie family and Prince Ning beforehand.
Her own son was always innocently dragged into these matters. Now, upon receiving the news, she immediately informed the Emperor, and not only did he not praise her, but he even seemed to have doubts about her. How could Consort Shu not be furious?
Qi Jingxuan didn't mind and pulled her aside, saying, "What's the big deal? Don't be angry, Mother. Father treats everyone like this, not just me."
Consort Shu was taken aback, turned her head to examine Qi Jingxuan carefully, and after a moment she suddenly laughed, saying with a mixture of heartache and helplessness, "Ah Xuan has grown up."
He used to get angry with the emperor occasionally, and sometimes he would lose his temper with a stern face, but he never said a bad word about the emperor. He always tried to understand him and be considerate of him, like any son who admires his father, always magnifying his strengths and ignoring his weaknesses.
But now, he can say so calmly: He treats everyone the same way.
Consort Shu knew this wasn't understanding, but rather a realization of the Emperor's true character; she knew caring was futile. Even the deepest bond between father and son in the imperial family was different from that of ordinary families. Before imperial power, the Emperor's primary concern was always himself.
Qi Jingxuan, not wanting to displease Consort Shu, deliberately joked, "What are you saying? I'm all grown up now and I'm already married."
As he spoke, he pulled Shen Yan over with one hand, looked at his mother and then at his wife, and felt that the most important thing was for the three of them to be together.
"Aci, we owe you a lot this time."
Consort Shu also took Shen Yan's hand and said earnestly.
She knew the truth. If Shen Yan hadn't insisted that Qi Jingxuan send someone to Yingzhou to investigate, they probably wouldn't have learned about these things until the Prince of Ning rebelled. At that time, the capital would be in chaos, and she and her son would certainly not have a good ending.
Prince Ning now wants Ah Xuan dead. If he were to succeed to the throne, how could he possibly spare Ah Xuan and his mother?
Shen Yan knew that this matter had only been exposed two months in advance. Even without Lu Heng's trip to Yingzhou, the mine would have collapsed two months later, and the illegal mining of iron ore would have been discovered. The Prince of Ning and the Xie family would have been exposed as well, and they would never have been able to wait until the day when they were ready to rebel.
But whether now or two months from now, no one knows what the final outcome will be. But at least... at least this time, the people of Ganning City will not have to suffer an undeserved calamity.
Shen Yan replied sincerely, "It is I who should thank Your Highness. On my own, let alone discovering this matter, it would have been difficult for me to even return to Yingzhou. If it weren't for Your Highness, the entire population of Ganning City would have suffered."
Qi Jingxuan shook their hands and said, "What's with all the thanks? We should be thinking about how to take advantage of the situation and kick Prince Ning while he's down, so he can never recover!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
