Yonghu looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over the people who came out of Jiuzhou Qingyan.
Most of them were concubines in the harem, and a small number were royal relatives with whom they were not very close.
As for the former court officials? Hongli doesn't play by the rules, he doesn't want to see them, and they're not qualified to attend the grand banquet yet.
Third Brother
Wu Yunzhu noticed Yong Hu's gaze and her heart tightened involuntarily.
Even though Wu Yunzhu usually appears to be in complete control, she still gets flustered and at a loss when faced with a real situation.
The imperial son-in-law, Heshen, was right there, but he couldn't interfere in matters concerning the royal family.
Surrounding him were several wives who had already given birth to children, all of whom stayed obediently on the outer perimeter, verbally restraining the princes and princesses who had been brought in.
"fine"
Yonghu shook his head and told Wuyunzhu that they still chose to believe their mother.
"But Mother is currently imprisoned by Father Emperor and we are not allowed to visit her."
If someone tries to sabotage things, how should we deal with Mother?
Yongkun thought about things more deeply; he was worried about Chen Yuwei's personal safety while she was locked up.
Because Hongli's behavior in recent years has been too abnormal, Yongkun dared not place all his hopes on him.
He has started a family and established a career; he is no longer a toothless child who knows nothing.
When it comes to the inside story of some matters, Yongkun doesn't think it's useful to investigate thoroughly.
Perhaps Father Emperor just wanted to vent his anger and didn't really want to clear Mother's name.
"No, Mother doesn't have to do it alone. She has palace servants who can be ordered around at will."
The Emperor only issued an edict to confine Mother, but did not strip her of her position or title.
Besides, Wuyunzhu mentioned that her mother had already made preparations.
What happened today was simply beyond their expectations.
What does that mean? The literal meaning. Wu Yunzhu had already spoken up, reminding them that they hadn't connected the dots.
The group got together and argued for a while, but in the end they decided to hold back for now.
"However, we must also plead for leniency. I will go back and write a petition, and you should do the same."
Yonghu, being the eldest brother, meant what he said.
Wu Yunzhu nodded, turned around and called the imperial son-in-law Heshen. The siblings parted ways and went back to their respective residences.
On the way, seeing that no one was around, Heshen whispered to Wuyunzhu not to overthink it.
"Mother is blessed by the heavens. Besides, the matter has not been concluded yet. Once the investigation comes to light, Mother will be safe and sound."
Wu Yunzhu looked up at the prince consort beside her, "How do you know?"
She didn't reveal the things she said to her mother to anyone except her brothers.
The prince consort didn't know exactly what his mother had talked to him about yesterday. Could it be that the prince consort knew the inside story?
With a hint of probing in her eyes, Wu Yunzhu still looked bewildered. "Things happened too suddenly, and Mother didn't explain anything to us."
Now we only hope that Father Emperor will consider his long-standing relationship with Mother Emperor and arrange for someone to seriously investigate this matter.
The prince consort nodded. "Yes, Father Emperor will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
Regardless of the Imperial Noble Consort's status and position in the harem, or the princes and princesses under her tutelage.
Furthermore, the timing of the appearance of the witchcraft doll at the banquet was too coincidental. Heshen admitted that he had not spent much time with the Imperial Noble Consort and did not know her well.
But the fact that the Imperial Noble Consort was able to remain in power in the harem for so many years must mean she had some cunning and scheming.
Moreover, the Imperial Noble Consort has given birth to so many children; even to appease the feelings of the offspring, the Emperor would not be so careless.
It wasn't because of feelings, but because of the situation. Those ministers from the previous dynasty weren't just figureheads; without a reasonable explanation, they would petition until they died.
At times like these, Heshen greatly admired the extensive network of connections that the Imperial Noble Consort had cultivated over the years.
The previous dynasty wasn't necessarily all from Yikun Palace, but with so many princes, grandsons, and princesses in attendance, the court officials certainly couldn't stand idly by.
Even during the witchcraft scandal that occurred during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Kangxi did not actually take his son's life.
Moreover, at that time, the ministers who had helped when the crown prince was deposed also faced retaliation when the crown prince was reinstated.
At this moment, if the court officials do nothing, will they also be implicated? The royal family members are not very reasonable, and the court officials have suffered losses before.
It doesn't take many people with this mindset to influence the entire court and put pressure on the emperor.
Having spent many years in the imperial court, Heshen was very familiar with some of the unspoken rules that were not openly discussed.
Therefore, when Heshen spoke to Wuyunzhu, he genuinely believed that the Imperial Noble Consort was temporarily safe. At least judging from the situation at today's banquet, the most likely outcome was that she would be imprisoned for life (this was assuming that the witchcraft incident was indeed orchestrated by the Imperial Noble Consort).
Unless the Emperor can completely eradicate the Yikun Palace faction, taking action against the Imperial Noble Consort, whether too lenient or too severe, will not bring any benefit.
"I hope Father Emperor will do as the Prince Consort says," Wu Yunzhu replied calmly, though her expression was not very clear.
He Shen listened to this seemingly sarcastic remark, but his expression remained completely unconcerned.
"Princess, you must be tired today. Go back to your room and rest. I will take care of the business matters."
Wu Yunzhu nodded and said, "It's best not to disturb Father Emperor too much these days."
"Son-in-law, if you encounter difficulties in your business, set them aside for now and wait for the outcome from the Yuanmingyuan side."
Heshen naturally had no objection to this; indeed, it was necessary to wait until the matter concerning the Imperial Noble Consort was settled. Only when the inner palace was stable could they wholeheartedly focus on their own duties.
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