Chapter 344 Reliable
Five or six days passed in a flash.
That day, an express message arrived from Suizhou over 600 miles away, saying that the woman the emperor had posted the notice looking for had been found.
Once the news spread, people inside and outside the government started talking about it.
Especially the ministers, they all smelled something unusual.
The emperor has many sons. When there are too many things, they become less rare, and the same goes for his sons.
However, because of a dream, the emperor became obsessed with a fleeting romance sixteen years ago. He did not hesitate to reveal the Chinese medicine he had used, ruining the girl's reputation, and went out of his way to look for her.
The emperor's dream must be extraordinary.
In addition, the emperor has so far refused to appoint a crown prince, and has even tried his best to balance the power among the princes. Many ministers speculate that this may be related to the appointment of a crown prince.
The woman has been found, and the pair of dragon seeds in the emperor's dream must have been found as well.
But unfortunately, the woman died fifteen years ago. Now there is only a lonely grave. It is still not confirmed that it is her, and the whereabouts of the twins are unknown.
When the emperor received the urgent message from Suizhou, he immediately ordered people to bring back the woman's body and bury it in the imperial mausoleum.
The imperial edict had not yet been drafted when the empress dowager arrived at the imperial study.
The Queen Mother walked in with a sullen look on her face.
The look he gave the emperor was cold, with a knife hidden in his eyes.
If possible, the Queen Mother would like to pull the Emperor down from the throne immediately.
If the emperor really wants to welcome back the woman in the painting, the empress dowager doesn't care. But if the emperor wants to bring back Lin Qingyin, who died in Suizhou, under the guise of the person in the painting, the empress dowager will never agree!
In order to marry Lin Qingyin, she carried her son for ten months and raised him with great difficulty, but he was poisoned to death on their wedding night!
Lin Qingyin, this unlucky girl, had an affair with the emperor while pretending to be the Princess of Jin. She even got pregnant and cuckolded her son who died tragically.
Fortunately, between Prince Qing and the Emperor, she chose to support the Emperor and helped him sit on the throne.
This is how the Emperor repays her?!
The Queen Mother even suspected that the Emperor was responsible for her son's death!
The purpose is obvious, she doesn't want her son to get involved with Lin Qingyin!
Lin Qingyin was the principal wife granted by the late emperor to his son. She could only be his person in life, and could only be his ghost after death!
The emperor wants to bring the person back for a grand burial, change his identity, or even bury him together with her a hundred years later?
As long as she lives, she will never allow such a thing to happen!
The Queen Mother tried her best to suppress her anger. "She's been dead for fifteen years, and the Emperor concluded it was really her based on a letter sent six hundred miles in expedited traffic. Isn't he afraid of making a mistake and causing a mockery?!"
The emperor said, "I will send someone to investigate."
The Queen Mother said coldly, "The Emperor and her only had a one-night stand. How can you be sure it was her?"
The Emperor asked, "The Empress Dowager doesn't want me to take her back to the capital?"
"Since you have never been a concubine of the Emperor, you don't need to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum!"
The Queen Mother was resolute.
There are some things that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager know very well.
It was just that one was concerned about his own reputation, and the other was concerned about his son's reputation, so they didn't break the window paper.
The emperor asked, "What if I must bring him back to the capital?"
The voice was cold and dignified, leaving no room for doubt.
The Queen Mother's eyes grew even colder. "I supported the Emperor to ascend the throne. Does the Emperor really want to disobey me for a woman who has been dead for fifteen years?!"
The Emperor said, "I have posted a notice looking for her, and everyone in Ning Dynasty knows about it. Now that she has been found, whether dead or alive, I will take her back. If I don't take her back because of the Empress Dowager's objection, how will the world view me?!"
A cold light flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes.
"Your Majesty, do not regret your decision!"
After saying this, the Queen Mother flung her phoenix robe and left.
The next morning at court, the emperor ordered the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice to go to Suizhou to confirm the woman's identity. If there was no problem, the coffin would be brought back to the capital.
The emperor confirmed the identity before taking the person in, and no one could stop him. Duke Song, the left prime minister and others knew that the emperor had made up his mind and did not struggle in vain. They were not like the empress dowager, who had no feelings for the Prince of Jin who had been dead for 19 years. She was just a woman, a pile of bones, so what was there to fight for?
What is important is the living person, the prince who is wandering outside and can threaten King Cheng.
But the Queen Mother could not tolerate any of it.
After the morning court session, the Queen Mother summoned the Duke of Song and angrily slammed the phoenix chair, "No matter what method you use, I will grind that woman to dust!"
Duke Song accepted the order.
At the morning court, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice received his assignment. That afternoon, his wife slipped and rolled down the stairs in the Jade Pavilion, breaking her arm.
At the next morning court session, a minister said, "Bringing back the remains of the Concubine Chen is a serious matter. The wife of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice fell down the stairs yesterday and was seriously injured. If Vice Minister Zhao leaves the capital at this critical moment, he will be distracted. It is best to give this task to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice."
The emperor bestowed upon the woman in the painting the title of Consort Chen.
The Left Vice Minister and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice are of the same rank. They are just going to verify identities. It doesn't have to be the Right Vice Minister. Even if it's the emperor, he should show some humanity.
The emperor attaches so much importance to the corpse of a woman who has been dead for fifteen years. The right assistant minister is concerned about his wife, and the left assistant minister is also concerned about the friendship between colleagues and is willing to take over his job and go to Suizhou. The emperor has no reason to refuse.
But Minister Wu is Duke Song's man, and the emperor knows everything.
The emperor said, "I will send someone to accompany Minister Wu."
After the court was dismissed, the emperor almost immediately left the council hall and ordered Eunuch An, "Send the prince of Jingbei to the palace to see me."
After breakfast, Shen Wan took a walk in the garden, returned to Zhaolanxuan, and prepared to go to the study to find some books to pass the time.
As Shen Wan went in, Chen Ping reported to Xie Jingyu, "As you expected, the person who was sent to Suizhou was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice..."
Shen Wan was surprised. "Minister Wu is the Duke of Song's man. Are you really confident in letting him go to Suizhou?"
Xie Jingyu asked, "Aren't you worried that Minister Wu is the Duke of Song's man? With him around, Pei Huaijin won't live to see the day he can clear his name?"
Shen Wan, “…”
Is this person the roundworm in his stomach?
He knew exactly what she was thinking.
She was worried, but a certain gentleman was too jealous, so Shen Wan didn't dare to say it. After all, the Minister of Justice knew that Xie Jingyu wanted to overturn Pei Huaijin's case, and he would definitely protect Pei Huaijin. Her worry was a lack of trust in the Minister of Justice.
So she didn't say it out loud, but she didn't expect Xie Jingyu to be able to see through what she was thinking.
Thinking that she had such a good impression of Pei Huaijin because he beat up Xie Jingyu, Shen Wan felt that she was too unkind and felt even more guilty.
Seeing her strange expression, Xie Jingyu said, "Why do you look like you feel a little sorry for me..."
Shen Wan raised his hand to swear, "I didn't."
It would have been fine if he hadn't sworn, but once he swore, Xie Jingyu became even more certain.
Afraid that Xie Jingyu would ask further, Shen Wan asked, "You asked the emperor to send Minister Zhao to Suizhou in order to get rid of Minister Wu?"
Duke Song and Xiao Yun were both suspicious by nature.
If Minister Wu is sent directly, they will think of Pei Huaijin instead. If Minister Zhao is sent, not only will they not be suspicious, they will also be complacent about their success.
However, no one expected that the Duke of Song would not directly oppose it, but would secretly attack the wife of Minister Zhao, causing Mrs. Zhao to suffer an unprovoked disaster.
Chen Wan said, "It's good to send Minister Wu away, but I'm afraid Duke Song won't allow Concubine Chen's body to return to the capital smoothly..."
etc.
Chen Wan suddenly felt something was amiss. "Why didn't the Queen Mother and Duke Song allow the Emperor to take Concubine Chen's remains back to the capital?"
Is there something wrong with these people?
It's so tedious to fuss over a person who has been dead for fifteen years.
Isn't this just having nothing to do after eating?
Seeing Chen Wan's confusion, Xie Jingyu wanted to tell her that it was her mother's remains, but he didn't dare to say it even if he had the courage.
Xie Jingyu said, "Once Concubine Chen is buried in the imperial mausoleum, the prince who has been living abroad will have the legal right to compete with Prince Cheng for the throne."
Shen Wan understood, but didn’t quite understand, “No one knows where the prince is.”
The emperor has many princes, but none of them made Xiao Yun feel like he was facing a great enemy. Instead, he regarded a prince who had been living in exile for fifteen years and whom he didn't even know what he looked like as so threatening. It was so strange.
But it's never wrong to take precautions.
Shen Wan didn't say anything else. Chun'er came in and said, "My Lord, the Emperor summoned you to the palace."
Chen Wan looked at Xie Jingyu and said, "You don't even hold an official position, why does the emperor always look for you?"
Xie Jingyu was melancholy, "Who made my husband so easy to bully?"
Shen Wan, “…”
A person who dared to make the emperor, who didn't like vegetables, eat a whole meal of vegetables, said that he was easy to bully -
The vegetables refused.
Imperial study.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne.
He was stroking the jade pendant in his hand.
Xie Jingyu stepped forward and saluted the emperor. "Your Majesty, are you worried that we won't be able to successfully bring back the coffin of Concubine Chen?"
The emperor looked at Xie Jingyu.
If Shen Wan had not been pregnant, there would have been unrest in Prince Jingbei's Mansion, and the assassins who wanted to kill Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu had not been caught. The emperor had many concerns, otherwise he would have asked Xie Jingyu to go to Suizhou to handle this matter.
Xie Jingyu shared the emperor's worries, "Your Majesty can arrange for Zhao Ang, the eldest son of the Minister of War, and Minister Wu to go together."
The emperor frowned, "Don't you have any reliable people around you who can recommend you?"
Xie Jingyu, “…”
Eunuch An, “…”
Eunuch An is about to suffer internal injuries from holding it in.
Being able to make even the emperor know that it is unreliable is already a level of unreliability.
However, Eunuch An was also puzzled. The Prince of Jingbei has always been prudent in his work, so why are the friends around him more and more unreliable?
It’s no wonder that Eunuch An and the Emperor both feel that Prince Yuzhang and his men are unreliable.
Two years ago, when the Prince of Yuzhang went out of the palace to hunt, he and his men almost shot their own father in the butt with an arrow. How reliable can this be?
But the Prince of Jingbei trusts them particularly.
This is not something that can be messed up.
Xie Jingyu said with a frown, "Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as they don't work together, they can still be very reliable."
"If things go wrong, you are the only one I will blame."
Xie Jingyu acted as a guarantor for Zhao Ang.
After Xie Jingyu left, the emperor called the Minister of War into the palace. The Minister of War thought that the emperor wanted to talk to him about something, but it turned out that the emperor asked his son and Minister Wu to go to Suizhou to welcome the coffin of Concubine Chen.
This task was assigned to his son by the Prince of Jingbei.
Minister of War, “…”
It's outrageous.
The Prince of Jingbei blindly trusted his son and the Prince of Linjiang.
The emperor blindly trusted the Prince of Jingbei.
It was obvious that the Queen Mother and the Duke of Song did not want the Concubine Chen to be buried in the imperial mausoleum. Could his unreliable son really stop the Duke of Song and the Queen Mother?
——
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