"You mean...you mean..." Liu Zhiheng's face turned red, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
His guess was truly astonishing!
Mr. Wen gripped Li Lao Er's sleeve tightly, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you know something inside?"
Li Lao Er glanced at the doorway and said in a low voice, "I don't know, I don't know anything. Or rather, even if I did know, I couldn't say. Just remember, don't rush."
"Even if the Second Prince is made Crown Prince, as long as he does not ascend the throne, there is no guarantee that things will not change."
This is practically the answer!
Liu Zhiheng's heart was pounding in his chest. He asked, his lips trembling, "Does Your Excellency know about this variable?"
Li Lao Er nodded, "The Marquis should know, and even the Princess has guessed something. But this matter is being kept extremely secret; whoever knows will die."
"We'd better pretend we don't know anything, keep a low profile, and wait for things to settle down."
"This day was originally unknown when it would come, but now that the Imperial Concubine has taken the initiative to commit suicide, it is probably not far off."
Liu Zhiheng and Mr. Wen exchanged a glance, both craning their necks and swallowing all their questions and surprises along with their saliva.
Li Lao Er was right. If such a big secret were to be spread, it would surely cause a stir in the court and among the people.
It's already quite good that they knew the news in advance and didn't take sides.
"I understand, Your Excellency. Rest assured, our family is a staunch royalist." Liu Zhiheng quickly stated his position.
Mr. Wen added with a smile, "I have always stood with our family through thick and thin."
After hearing this, Li Lao Er chatted for a few more minutes and then told Mr. Wen and Liu Zhiheng to go back and rest.
Actually, neither of them could sleep.
Liu Zhiheng, in particular, rushed home to discuss the matter with his father almost as soon as it was light.
Mr. Wen doesn't have many relatives in Xindu, but he does have a few close friends.
He pondered how to subtly offer a few words of advice to his friend, but fearing it might spread, he decided to visit him more often in the near future.
In case your friends do anything unwise, stop them in time.
Leaving aside Mr. Wen and the Liu family's plans, as soon as Li Lao Er arrived at the yamen, he saw everyone whispering among themselves. Occasionally, they would make eye contact with him, then awkwardly shut their mouths.
Li Lao Er immediately guessed that something had happened, and Zheng He, who served him, was also quick-witted and immediately went out to find out.
Soon, Zheng He returned, looking very unwell.
“Lord, last night when the Princess and the Third Princess returned to the palace, some guards insisted on searching the carriage, which offended the Princess and the Third Princess. They even tore the Princess’s skirt.”
"The princess and the princess complained to the imperial study. The emperor immediately flogged Deputy Commander Qu and several soldiers and sent them all to the Ministry of Justice for questioning."
"What?" Li Lao Er immediately asked anxiously, "Is the princess injured?"
Zheng He quickly shook his head, "Lord, don't worry, the princess is perfectly fine. It's Shui Ling who injured several soldiers!"
"Well done, you snobbish bastard!" Li Lao Er's face turned ashen. After spinning around in place, he finally couldn't hold back and said, "No, someone still needs to go to the palace to see the princess. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease."
"Furthermore, these people wouldn't make things difficult for the princess and the third princess for no reason. Investigate thoroughly and see who is behind this."
"Yes, Lord." Zheng He immediately replied, his mind racing as he considered which personnel to allocate.
In recent years, under the cover of the Relief and Relief Bureau, the Li family has spread their spies throughout most of Xindu.
While it's impossible to say that everything is completely transparent to the Li family, at least no one can hide too much from the Li family if they want to know something.
Street sweepers scattered throughout the streets, teenagers selling snacks, shop assistants, farmers delivering firewood and vegetables to every household, and even local ruffians—after a few turns, they could all be mobilized by the Li family.
It has to be said that the money earned from selling various flowers at the Hundred Flowers Garden, even after being spent, has yielded a return...
Regardless of Zheng He's arrangements, Li Lao Er went straight to the Liu family's house.
Old Lady Li and Tao Hongying were not at home, and Wan'er was too young to be suitable to enter the palace.
Now, he can only ask Madam Liu for help.
Old Master Liu was so shocked by the news his son brought back that his white beard trembled, and he drank tea to calm his nerves.
He was even more worried when he suddenly heard that Li Lao Er was coming.
Upon hearing the reason, he immediately agreed.
The Liu family was one of the most prominent families in Xindu, and Liu Zhiheng was granted an official position for his merit in being among the first to plant high-yield grains.
With her husband's rise in status, Lady Liu gained considerable influence and was no longer afraid of being harassed by the Empress Dowager or the Imperial Concubine when she went to the palace.
When Madam Liu was invited to the study and heard about this, she immediately said, “My lord, don’t worry, I’ll go to the palace right away. Just the other day, my cousin from my maternal family sent me a box of fans. With the weather getting hot, it would be perfect for me to take them to the princess and the noble lady to play with.”
Li Lao Er stood up and bowed, "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law."
"You're too kind, Your Excellency. Over the years, I've always treated the Princess like my own daughter. Now that she's been wronged, it's only right that I go and see her." Madam Liu said a few words and then hurried back to prepare.
Soon, she changed her clothes, took two maids with her, carried her things, and rode in a carriage into the palace.
In the past, it was very troublesome for noblewomen to enter the palace.
But now that the Empress is seriously ill, the Empress Dowager is feigning death, and the Consort is weak and indifferent to affairs, it is much easier to enter the palace.
Madam Liu simply handed over a visiting card and slipped a purse to the eunuch at the palace gate. The card was then delivered to Zhilan Palace, where Caiyun and Shuiling immediately came out to greet them.
As for the soldiers guarding the palace gates, having learned their painful lesson from last night, they wouldn't dare to stop them even if they had a thousand lives.
After all, their colleagues and deputy commander are still in the Censorate, their fate unknown...
Jiayin was very surprised to hear that Madam Liu had come to the palace to visit. After thinking about it, she guessed that her family had found out about what happened last night.
She didn't want to distract her family at this time, so she kept it a secret.
Unexpectedly, it still didn't work.
When Madam Liu arrived at Zhilan Palace, she looked up and saw Jiayin dressed in a light green dress with two small flower hairpins in her hair, smiling sweetly to greet her.
All her worries vanished instantly along the way.
"Fu Niu'er!" She stepped forward, grabbed Jiayin's hand, looked her up and down, and laughed, "It's been a long time, you seem to have lost weight."
Since her grandmother and mother left Xindu, no one had called her by her childhood name for a long time. Jiayin felt very warm when she suddenly heard it.
She took the initiative to hug Madam Liu and said coquettishly, "Auntie, you've lost weight too, and you look even younger and more beautiful than before."
"Haha, you child, you're still as sweet-talking and obedient as ever!" Madam Liu was flattered and smiled broadly. She turned around and glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs around her, and changed her words, "Princess, please take me to pay my respects to the princess."
"Alright, Aunt, come with me." Jiayin helped Madam Liu into the main hall. The Third Princess was still preoccupied with what happened last night and had been listless all day.
Seeing that Jiayin valued Madam Liu, she reluctantly said a few words to her.
Jiayin simply let her rest, and then led Madam Liu to the side hall.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com