Chapter 154: The True or False Young Master (11)
11
In the reception room, Lin Jingzhe was confused by Liu Yun's "Yi Zi Zhen" and "Yi Zi Fake". He was crying and laughing, with tears and snot all over his face. After he came to his senses, he quickly covered his face with a handkerchief.
Liu Yun asked: "Have you made up your mind to report them to His Majesty?"
Lin Jingzhe covered his face and nodded gently: "Yeah."
Since the Earl's Mansion doesn't want to change it back, it's useless to pester him anymore, so he can only report it to the authorities, and report it to the most powerful official in the world -
emperor.
Only the emperor can control the Earl's Palace.
Liu Yun said: "Since you have made up your mind, I will go to the palace with Pei Zhen and tell His Majesty about this..."
Before he could finish his words, he was patted on the head.
Liu Yun covered his head, gritted his teeth and turned around, only to find that it was his grandfather.
Liu An held him down and said, "Nonsense! This matter is of great importance. How can you and Ah Zhen, two kids, speak up?"
He looked at Lin Jingzhe and said sternly, "The Master and I will help you write a memorial to the emperor."
Lin Jingzhe quickly wiped his face, stood up, and knelt down to kowtow to Zhu Qingchen and Liu An.
"Hey..." Zhu Qingchen quickly stretched out his hand, trying to help him up.
Lin Jingzhe knelt on the ground: "Master, just now I knelt with Yi Zizhen, actually I was a little angry. But this time I am sincere."
He wiped his eyes and kowtowed to Zhu Qingchen and Liu An in a proper manner.
"Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master Liu. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what to do. I might not even know that this was wrong and I would have accepted their arrangement without knowing it."
He kowtowed three times in a row: "Thank you, Master."
"Hurry up and get up." Zhu Qingchen grabbed his arm and helped him up from the ground. "You did a good job just now. To deal with those unreasonable people, you have to be more arrogant than them."
"Yeah." Lin Jingzhe wiped his eyes and followed the teacher with a wronged look on his face.
Just at this moment, a servant outside the door announced: "Master, Master Pei is here!"
The next moment, Pei Xuan came in from outside the door, leaning on a cane, accompanied by several officials from the Dali Temple.
"Brother, Master, we found out! My students have investigated everything, and guess what? It's earth-shattering!"
*
After being driven out of the Liu Mansion, the "family of three" in the Earl's Mansion were in chaos even though they each had their own thoughts.
Yi Zizhen was worried that he would be kicked out of the Earl's Mansion. He cried and grabbed at his adoptive parents' legs, and no one could pull him away.
Mrs. Yi realized belatedly that it was Lin Jingzhe who had been tolerant of her and them, not her. Now she really lost her own son, and she felt like the sky had fallen.
As for Master Yi, what he cared about from beginning to end was his own reputation and the reputation of the Earl's Mansion.
Now that the matter has been brought before the emperor, how can he still save his face?
No! Absolutely not!
To make amends, he hastily gathered up the gifts that had been thrown out, replaced the boxes, and planned to visit again that afternoon.
This time, the Liu family didn't even let him in.
Lin Jingzhe was busy discussing with the teachers how to write memorials, so how could he have the time to pay attention to him?
Master Yi still didn't give up and asked people to report it several times, but the result was always "no one saw him".
In the end, he reluctantly and tearfully agreed to all the requests made by Lin Jingzhe, asking him to become the crown prince and send Yi Zizheng away.
But even so, Lin Jingzhe still refused to see him.
He was so angry that he threw the gift in front of the door and turned away.
When he returned home, Mrs. Yi was crying miserably in her room and had no idea he was back. Yi Zizheng was very concerned about the progress of the matter and was waiting at the door. When he saw him come back, he hurried forward to ask how things were going.
Master Yi discussed with him and suggested sending him back to Linjia Village to live for a few days first, and then bringing him back when Lin Jingzhe had calmed down and stopped complaining.
How could Yi Zizhen agree to that?
He knew in his heart that a stopgap measure could very likely become a long-term solution.
Who knows when Lin Jingzhe will calm down? If he never calms down, won't he have to stay in that shabby village for the rest of his life?
Seeing that he refused, Master Yi coaxed him again, saying that he didn't have to be the eldest son of the Earl's Mansion. Even if he took the imperial examination, he could still have an official position if he passed.
Yi Zizheng naturally refused.
He knew his own strengths and weaknesses very well. If he lost the support of the Earl's Mansion, even if he passed the imperial examination, he would only be a low-ranking official.
Seeing that he was depressed, Master Yi looked around and took him into the study to talk.
The father and son talked for a long night. Master Yi promised him a lot of money and assured him that after he left the Earl's Mansion, he would ask the Marquis' Mansion to take care of him. Only then did Yi Zizheng reluctantly nod.
He also knew that if he really brought the incident before the emperor, he would be in big trouble.
It’s better to quit while you’re ahead.
So early the next morning, the two went to Liu Mansion again.
The father and son teamed up to stage a scene of "Yi Zizhen took the blame and apologized, while Master Yi killed his own relatives for the sake of justice."
The result is still -
not see!
If they had acted out this scene a few days earlier, Lin Jingzhe might have believed them.
But now, it's too late.
Lin Jingzhe is not stupid now.
The Earl's Mansion protected Yi Zizhen in that way, but now it must be an act.
Besides, Master Liu's words had already been spoken, he had already cried and made a big fuss, and all the people present at the time had completely broken off relations with the Earl's Mansion because of him.
If he retreated at this time, it would be tantamount to showing weakness to the Earl's Mansion. Not only would it cut off his own retreat, but it would also let down the Master's plan for him.
He couldn't be soft-hearted anymore.
The Yi family father and son waited outside the Liu Mansion for a long time, but no one showed up. They had no choice but to go home in shame.
Mr. Yi changed his mind and set his sights on Madam Yi.
Lin Jingzhe is not close to his father, but he should be closer to his mother, right?
So he wanted Mrs. Yi to go to Liu Mansion and persuade Lin Jingzhe to come back.
But this time, Mrs. Yi was unwilling.
She mustered up her courage and looked at Master Yi steadily: "Jingzhe is right, he is my and my uncle's biological child. Even though he has been wandering in the countryside for more than ten years, he is still strong-willed and intelligent. Can't my uncle and I ask a teacher to teach him?"
"Why must Zizhen inherit the family business? If Jingzhe inherits the Earl's Mansion, Zizhen can assist him and also get some property. Isn't this legitimate?"
Master Yi's face turned pale. After a long pause, he finally said, "What do you know?"
Yi Zizhen also rushed over and grabbed his mother's clothes: "Zizhen grew up with mother, and Zizhen really wants to be filial to mother..."
Mrs. Yi was unmoved and gently brushed his hand away.
Master Yi finally asked her, "Are you going?"
Madam Yi shook her head: "No, since Jingzhe wants justice, then let's give him justice. No, it's not me who gives him justice, it's him who goes to ask for justice."
"You..." Master Yi slammed the table, "What good do you think you will get from defeating the Earl's Mansion?"
"Jingzhe will inherit the Earl's Mansion, so he will naturally not treat me and my master unfairly."
"You, you, you..." Master Yi was speechless for a long time. Seeing that she was like a piece of wood, with a firm attitude and refused to listen, he could only leave in anger.
Yi Zi really wanted to repeat the same trick, so he cried and tried to persuade his mother for a while, but when he saw that his mother did not move, he quickly followed his father and left.
Unable to persuade Mrs. Yi, Yi Zizhen ran to the Marquis's Mansion and cried and acted like a spoiled child to Lu Jiming.
Lu Jiming worked hard for him at the beginning and never refused. As long as Yi Zizheng cried, he would set off immediately.
But now...
As soon as Lu Jiming saw him, he remembered what Zhu Qingchen had said to him that day -
"Mr. Lu, if I were you, I would never show up."
Zhu Qingchen didn't bother with him because he knew the priorities and had to deal with the Earl's Mansion first.
But what if Zhu Qingchen, after taking care of the Earl's Mansion, turns around and wants to settle accounts with him?
He still has to study in the school of Master Pei and Master Liu.
So, when Yi Zi really cried and begged, he hesitated for the first time.
He didn't want to get involved in this mess anymore.
Maybe Zhu Qingchen was right, he shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place.
Yi Zizheng saw his expression and vaguely guessed about 70% of what was going on. She wiped her tears and stood up shakily.
Before he could stand firmly, he closed his eyes and fell backwards.
Fainted.
*
These days, the Earl's Mansion has tried countless ways, but can't even get into the Liu Mansion.
Master Yi could only stay in the mansion, anxiously waiting for the emperor to summon him.
Finally, early that morning, the eunuch from the palace came and summoned the Earl's family into the palace.
When Master Yi received the news, his legs and feet went weak and he almost fainted.
He took the opportunity to pretend to faint, but was quickly caught by two eunuchs and taken away.
Also traveling with them were Yi Zizhen and Mrs. Yi.
The two of them followed behind, and were calmer than Master Yi, but not as friendly as before.
The mother and son moved far away from each other. Yi Zizhen no longer held his mother's hand, and Mrs. Yi no longer looked at him, and the smile on her face disappeared.
They all knew that their fate as mother and son probably ended here.
As soon as the group left the Earl's Mansion, the next moment, the Dali Temple officers who were waiting at the corner of the wall quickly stepped forward and entered the Earl's Mansion to search.
The "family of three" was brought to the palace, where the emperor handled official business.
The palace gates were heavily guarded. Master Yi suddenly recalled that it was said that in the past, there was a Prince Jing who had rebelled. The emperor captured Prince Jing here and had Pei Xuan and Liu An interrogate him.
They even dared to kill the prince, so how could they be a problem for a mere earl?
Master Yi couldn't help but feel a chill in his spine.
Before he could think about anything, he was taken into the palace.
The emperor sitting in the center is young but quite majestic and has a righteous look on his face.
There were three chairs at the bottom, and Zhu Qingchen sat in the front one with his hands clasped.
He shouldn't have sat down, but the emperor was taught by Liu An himself, and like him, he respected his teacher. Seeing that Master Liu respected him so much, he also gave him a seat, and the first seat.
Following closely behind were Liu An and Pei Xuan.
Lin Jingzhe stood in the middle of the palace with his head lowered. He must have just explained what happened.
Master Yi knew that the situation was hopeless, and before the emperor could get angry, he quickly bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty."
The emperor glanced at him and said sternly, "Earl of Changping, Lin Jingzhe from Linjia Village has sued your Earl's Mansion for not distinguishing right from wrong, mistreating your biological son, and even intending to pass the imperial title to your adopted son. Therefore, I summoned you to the palace today. Do you have any rebuttal?"
The emperor did not beat around the bush but asked him directly.
That means he took Lin Jingzhe's words to heart.
Master Yi's eyes rolled, and he knelt down with a plop, then leaned over and kowtowed.
"I am guilty! I was blinded by greed and favored my adopted son, causing my biological son to be sad! I am guilty!" He fell to the ground, terrified. "This is an old case from more than ten years ago. It is not worth disturbing Your Majesty, so I did not report it."
"Besides, Zizhen grew up in my lap and is my only son in the past ten years. Although Zizhen is not my biological son, I still love him very much and cannot bear to send him back to his hometown. That's why I came up with the so-called win-win plan."
"It was my poor consideration that hurt my son's feelings. I was confused for a moment, and I have no excuse, but I do love my son! Heaven and earth can bear witness to this!" Master Yi kowtowed, "Your Majesty, please understand!"
The emperor frowned and said, "Earl Changping, you are too confused! After all, Jingzhe is your biological child. How can you abandon your biological child and give him such outrageous titles as a relative's child or a twin brother?"
"I am guilty!" Master Yi bowed even lower.
He was not too stupid. He knew in his heart that no matter how much he argued, what had been done had already been done.
All he can do now is to try to reduce his guilt.
Therefore, he might as well put the charge on "bias" rather than "title".
The imperial law does not stipulate that parents who are partial to one another should be punished, but secretly promising a title to one's successor is a heinous crime!
Master Yi added: "I was confused for a moment, but now I have thought it through. I will send Zizhen back to Linjia Village and bring Jingzhe back to the mansion."
Yi Zizhen had guessed the result long ago and did not react too much.
He would be lucky to save his life if the incident was brought before the emperor. Moreover, he had already gotten involved with Lu Jiming, so the Earl's Mansion was not a big deal.
Madam Yi probably didn't understand all these twists and turns, she also shed tears and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, please give me and my wife another chance, we will definitely treat Jingzhe well."
Master Yi also quickly expressed his loyalty: "I only have Jingzhe as my biological son, and I will definitely treat him well."
If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will end like this.
But at this moment, Liu An suddenly asked: "What did Earl Changping just say?"
Although Master Yi was puzzled, he still repeated: "I only have one biological son..."
Liu An sneered, "Not necessarily? Isn't this Yi Zizhen the biological son of the Lord?"
Master Yi raised his head and said, "Master Liu, have you not figured out what happened yet? Zizhen is the child of a villager and a peasant woman from Linjia Village. That peasant woman and my wife gave birth at the same time in the temple. The peasant woman took advantage of the situation and swapped my biological child with her own. After the peasant woman confessed, Zizhen and I also did a blood test, and Zizhen is definitely not my child."
Liu An asked: "The one who did the blood test with Yi Zizhen, was it you or your wife?"
"What difference does it make?"
"If it's your wife, then it can only prove that Yi Zizhen is not her child, but it can't prove that Yi Zizhen is not your child. If it's you, then the blood test can't prove that Yi Zizhen is not your child. Hmm?"
Mrs. Yi seemed to have thought of something in a trance and turned to look at her husband.
"Master Liu, be careful with your words." Master Yi clenched his hands. Somehow, he suddenly felt a little nervous. "My wife and I have a very close relationship. How could I do such a thing?"
He suddenly regained his confidence, straightened up, and stretched out his hand: "If Master Liu doesn't believe it, you can check it again. Zizhen is indeed not my biological child."
"I was biased towards him for a moment, but I was blinded by the father-son relationship we have had for many years. It has nothing to do with anything else!"
He spoke so righteously that almost everyone believed him.
But at this moment, a smile appeared on Liu An's face and he pointed behind him.
"Count Changping, who do you think that is?"
He subconsciously looked back.
I saw a middle-aged woman being brought over by two eunuchs.
The woman was dressed elegantly and had a slightly plump figure. One could tell at first glance that she was someone who had been living a life of luxury for many years.
Maybe because she was caught suddenly, her hair was scattered during the struggle, the pearl hairpins fell to the ground, and some of them were tangled in her hair.
She struggled and cried until she saw Earl Changping.
She seemed to see hope and shouted hurriedly: "Uncle! Uncle, save me!"
Before anyone else could say anything, the eunuch next to her slapped her: "No noise in front of His Majesty!"
When Master Yi saw this woman, he was completely stunned.
He tried to stay calm, but couldn't control his pale face.
When Mrs. Yi saw the woman, she was also stunned.
"She..." Madam Yi pointed at the woman and shouted, "Your Majesty, this is the wet nurse! The wet nurse who stole my child! Please, Your Majesty, execute her!"
She got up from the ground and rushed forward to grab the nurse's hair and hit her face: "It's you who stole my child, it's you who caused Jingzhe and I to be separated, it's you who caused the rift between him and me, it's you! It's you!"
The emperor cleared his throat and winked at the eunuch.
The eunuch hurried forward and separated the two people.
Liu An stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this person is the wet nurse who stole the baby back then, Yi Zizhen's biological mother and Lin Jingzhe's adoptive mother whom he has never met."
The emperor asked, "Didn't the Earl of Changping say that the nurse didn't have much time left, so he went to the Earl's mansion and told him everything? Why do I see that she looks ruddy and strong, and can even fight with the Countess? She doesn't look like someone who has been ill for a long time?"
"This..." Master Yi wanted to argue, "Maybe it's just a flash of life..."
Liu An said, "Your Majesty, you may ask where the Dali Temple officials found this woman."
The emperor looked at the officer, who immediately clasped his fists and saluted: "Your Majesty, we found this woman in a small garden behind the study in the Earl's Mansion."
"She was hidden very deep in the Earl's Mansion. It was difficult for ordinary people to search for the passage into the courtyard in the bamboo forest in the garden. We only found her after cutting the bamboo."
"When we first entered, the woman was accompanied by three or five maids and servants. When they saw someone coming, the maid hurried to inform the police, and the servants also tried to cover the woman and escape, but we caught them."
After these words, the person who was hit the hardest was naturally Mrs. Yi.
She looked at Master Yi in disbelief: "What's going on? Why did you keep her in your house? Didn't you say that she was pitiful and was about to die, so you sent her to the temple to die? Why is she in your house?"
Master Yi stammered, "She is too pitiful. After all, she is Zizhen's biological mother. Life in the temple is hard, so I thought that before she dies, I would let her enjoy a peaceful life in the mansion..."
Madam Yi suddenly jumped up and asked in a stern voice: "Are you crazy? She is the one who stole our child! You actually kept her in your house!"
The next second, Mrs. Yi found something wrong again. She rushed forward and pulled out a pearl hairpin from the wet nurse's head, along with the wet nurse's hair.
"This is my hairpin! You gave my hairpin to her?" Mrs. Yi finally reacted, "What is your relationship with her? Yizi is not my child, but he is your child, right? He is your illegitimate child!"
"No wonder you have been defending him. You have been telling me that Zizhen has a hard time and asked me to take care of him. It's you! He is your child, so you want to hand over the Earl's Mansion to him without any hesitation! He is the son of an illegitimate child!"
Master Yi frowned and said, "Don't say such harsh words. Zizhen is not my child. I just feel sorry for him..."
Before he finished speaking, the emperor said, "Come here, prepare the blood test, and do it here in the hall."
Master Yi kowtowed immediately: "Your Majesty, please understand. Zizhen is indeed not my child. I have already verified it and there is no need to verify it again. Your Majesty should not see such a filthy and bloody scene. If it offends your Majesty's dragon body, then..."
Madam Yi wanted to come up and hit him, but was held down by the eunuch: "You have something to hide! Don't you dare to test it! Your Majesty, please test it!"
Master Yi turned his head and said, "Don't be unreasonable. If there is anything, we can talk about it when we get back..."
But before he could finish his words, the nurse jumped up and said, "Master, Master, now that things have come to this, you might as well tell Madam that this child is really yours!"
Master Yi was shocked, his eyes were bloodshot, and he wanted to go forward and strangle her to death, but he was held down by the eunuch: "Shut up! Shut up!"
But the woman told everything in one breath. "When the uncle went south to do business, he met me, and we fell in love and made a vow to each other!"
"I found out that I was pregnant with Zizhen, so I traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to look for my husband. My uncle didn't want his wife to know about this, so he placed me in a temple outside the capital."
"My wife and I gave birth on the same day. I almost lost half my life giving birth to the child for my uncle! I was weak and pale, lying on my uncle's lap. My uncle couldn't bear to let me and the child live outside, so he arranged for me to have a baby instead!"
Sure enough, as expected.
Otherwise, how could she, a woman who had just given birth, avoid a group of servants and maids and replace the child?
Mrs. Yi fell to the ground and looked at her husband in disbelief, with whom she had slept for decades.
Master Yi roared, "Shut up! How dare you talk nonsense and slander the court officials? When did I ever meet you? When did I commit adultery with you? When did I put you in the temple?"
"I know!" Master Yi's eyes suddenly turned, "I know, you want to help Yi Zizhen, right? Do you think that if you say Yi Zizhen is my son, he can inherit the Earl's Mansion? You vicious woman!"
"I have never seen you before! Don't slander me and defame me! Who can prove that I know you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a man's voice suddenly came from outside the hall.
"I can."
Outside the palace gate, Lu Que, leaning on a cane, walked up the stairs steadily, step by step.
"The Earl of Changping's Mansion and the Marquis of Wenyuan's Mansion have been friends for many years. The Earl of Changping and the Marquis of Wenyuan have known each other for many years, and the Marquis of Wenyuan also knows about this matter."
"After the exchange of the child, the Earl of Changping saw that his son had a good place to stay and could not bear to see the woman living outside, so he stuffed her into the mansion of Marquis Wenyuan. The two old friends worked together to cover up the matter."!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
