Chapter 71 The Truth Comes Out
Lightning flashed across the stormy night sky.
Xie Yushu frowned immediately. Why was Xie Jianing here too? Did she come with Xiao Zhen? Why would she come with Xiao Zhen? Could she be siding with Xiao Zhen?
Without thinking twice, she reached out and grabbed Jiang Hua, then quickly said to Wan Susu, "If you want to protect your biological son, don't tell Xiao Zhen what happened tonight."
After saying that, he winked at Meng Jing.
Meng Jing immediately understood and nodded to her, saying, "Leave this to me. You take her and hide first."
Xie Yushu pulled Jiang Hua out the door quickly and hid in her mother's bedroom.
Amidst the thunder and torrential rain, she hid in her bedroom and heard Xiao Zhen and Xie Jianing's voices.
Amidst the sound of rain, Xie Jianing asked, "Why did Your Highness come here so late at night?"
“I heard that my mother was frightened by something and was very worried, so I came to check on her,” Xiao Zhen replied calmly. “I just didn’t expect to run into you, and Xie Yushu is here too. What a coincidence.”
Xie Yushu, separated by just a door, felt a sinking feeling in his heart. He knew that Xiao Zhen must have heard something to come here tonight, and that Wan Susu might be tricked into revealing important information by Xiao Zhen.
We can't stay here any longer.
She grabbed Jiang Hua, led her out the window, and ran towards the entrance of Yuqing Temple.
The heavy rain soaked her clothes, and every step she took was incredibly heavy, but she held on tightly to Jiang Hua. When she saw the four soldiers at the door, she immediately said to them, "Two of you go back and report to Pei Heng that someone wants to kill me to silence me. The remaining two of you, take me to the palace immediately."
She showed a look of panic, as if someone was really chasing her. She went straight over and cut the horse's rope, first pushing Jiang Hua onto the horse before mounting herself.
The soldiers were astonished. They grabbed the reins of their horses, about to ask something, when they heard the Fourth Prince's attendant inside the Suxin Zhai shout, "Stop that woman! That woman stole something from the Fourth Prince, and he wants to arrest her!"
"The Fourth Prince wants to kill me! Save me!" Xie Yushu trembled with panic.
The soldiers assumed the woman referred to Xie Yushu. As Pei Heng's men, they naturally obeyed only his orders. Seeing the servants about to rush over and grab Xie Yushu, they immediately drew their swords and stepped forward to stop them: "Who are you? How dare you lay a hand on Madam Pei!"
Xie Yushu had already grabbed the reins, whipped the horse, and galloped wildly into the night rain with Jiang Hua in tow!
Tonight, she cannot give Xiao Zhen a chance to react.
Sitting on her horse, Jiang Hua was terrified out of her wits. Trembling, she asked, "Yu Shu... Miss, where... where are we going? Shouldn't we go find the Prime Minister?"
Xie Yushu was too wet to speak, so he just kept his head down and spurred his horse forward.
Relying on her memory, she rode straight to the gate of Dali Temple and spurred her horse to rush inside.
Unsurprisingly, she was stopped by the guards at the gate. On horseback, she shouted urgently, "I am Xie Yushu, daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an. I want to report to the authorities and see the Emperor. I want to tell you that the current Fourth Prince, Xiao Zhen, is an imposter. I know where the real prince is."
Jiang Hua was so frightened she almost fainted. She never expected that Miss Yu Shu would bring her directly to the Dali Temple! Wouldn't this cause a scene that would become known throughout the court?
The gatekeeper was also shocked by her words. Spreading such rumors was punishable by death, and she had introduced herself as the daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an, which did not seem like she was just making things up. They dared not act on their own and immediately ordered someone to report to their superior on duty.
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Amidst the wind and rain, Xie Yushu and Jiang Hua were quickly brought to the Dali Temple. Only after seeing the Dali Temple Minister rushing in at the case hall did Xie Yushu feel relieved and let go of Jiang Hua's hand.
Even if Xiao Zhen had the guts, he wouldn't dare to kill someone in the Dali Temple to silence them.
She asked the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, "Do you intend to interrogate me directly, or take me to the palace to see the Emperor?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had never seen such a bold woman. Looking at the other woman beside her, whose face was ashen, he asked, "Do you know that if you spread rumors about the prince's parentage, you will be beheaded and your family property confiscated?"
“Everything I have said is true.” Xie Yushu said without hesitation, “I have found the midwife who delivered the prince back then, but she is being chased. If it weren’t for the emergency, I would never have risked my life to break into the Dali Temple. I can tell you directly that the real fourth prince is Xiao Dao, the deputy general next to Pei Heng. If you don’t believe me, you can summon General Pei to interrogate him together.”
The goal is to make a big scene and involve everyone so that Jiang Hua can be safe.
Her decision to storm the Dali Temple tonight was not impulsive. Given her status, it was impossible for her to bring Jiang Hua directly into the palace to see the Emperor. Consort Zhang in the palace was Xiao Zhen's man, and she would be silenced by Xiao Zhen's men before she could even bring Jiang Hua and see the Emperor.
She couldn't go back to Pei Heng either, because then Pei Heng would interrogate Jiang Hua again, and by the time he finished, Xiao Zhen would have already caught up with them, and there was no guarantee that something wouldn't go wrong.
The Dali Temple was actually the safest place.
"General Pei also knows about this?" The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review asked her with a frown. She stood in the hall, soaked to the bone, but her face showed no sign of dishevelment, and her eyes shone like stars.
“My lord,” she said calmly, “even if I am not afraid of death, I would not joke with the life of my father, Marquis Yong’an. You are free to report to the Emperor every word I said today.”
Otherwise, let's arrest her father, Marquis Yong'an, as well. If we can't share the good fortune, we can at least share the misfortune.
"Go and invite General Pei Heng over, and order him to bring his deputy, Xiao Dao, here as well." The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review did not ramble on. This matter was of utmost importance. He originally intended to wait until General Pei arrived with Deputy Xiao Dao, interrogate him thoroughly, and then report to the Emperor in the palace.
But before Pei Heng arrived, the Fourth Prince, accompanied by his entourage, arrived at the gate of the Dali Temple. He said that Xie Yushu had fled there with a thief named Jiang Hua, who had stolen valuable items. The Fourth Prince wanted to meet Jiang Hua in person.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review suddenly realized that what Xie Yushu said was probably true, otherwise why would the Fourth Prince have chased after him in the rain?
He made a decisive move, taking Xie Yushu and Jiang Hua with him to the palace to meet the emperor. This matter was definitely not something that the Dali Temple could investigate clearly.
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Thunder rumbled down.
Xiao Zhen stood outside the Dali Temple with a blank expression. He could neither force his way in nor ignore the situation. Tonight, he was caught off guard by a tremendous change.
He knew that his father had ordered Pei Heng to investigate some secret matters. He had thought it was about his mother, Wan Susu, and Song Jie's father's scandalous affair, but he never imagined it was about his background, let alone that he was not his father's son.
If Consort Zhang hadn't suddenly sent someone to inform him tonight that Song Jie was at Yuqing Temple, and he hadn't worried that Song Jie would make things difficult for his mother who had come in the rain, he would still be in the dark about this matter. He probably wouldn't have known until the truth came out.
The thought of Wan Susu's weeping face and her hesitant lips in Suxinzhai filled him with a chill.
Even if he wasn't Wan Susu's biological son, he had taken care of her wholeheartedly for over a decade, trying his best to be a considerate son. Didn't Wan Susu have any feelings for him at all?
Wan Susu knew that if this matter were exposed, he might be executed, but she still wanted to join forces with Meng Jing and Xie Yushu to keep it from him and catch him off guard.
If he hadn't repeatedly asked Wan Susu what was wrong, Xie Jianing would have helped him ask Meng Jing: Where did Xie Yushu go? They could have simply called her mother over and asked.
Wan Susu still refused to tell him.
Good, very good. His mother has betrayed him, and Xie Yushu, whom he saved tonight, is going to kill him.
Did Xie Yushu not hesitate even for a moment? Wasn't he good to her? Would she be happy to see him executed?
Xiao Zhen gripped the reins tightly, his body stiff and cold. He raised his chin slightly, signaling the guards to stand watch at several gates of the Dali Temple.
Just as the guards disappeared into the shadows, a large troop of soldiers marched down the long street in the rain.
When he got closer, he realized that it was Pei Heng and his deputy. He immediately understood that Xie Yushu and Pei Heng were going to work together to bring down this "fake prince" tonight.
How ridiculous! He had been a prince for over a decade, only to find out he was a fake. He had barely found out when these people joined forces to eliminate him.
In the pouring rain, Pei Heng looked at him with eyes as cold as knives, as if he were some heinous villain.
But what did he do wrong? Even if he was a fake prince, and this prince was not one he intended to impersonate, he was deceived for more than ten years. Why should everyone blame him?
Why would Xie Yushu want to harm him?
"Please step aside, Fourth Prince," Pei Heng said coldly.
Xiao Zhen asked with a pale face, "General Pei, what are you doing here with your men so late at night? Could it be that you also believed an old woman's nonsense and came here to investigate the true and false princes?"
His gaze fell on Xiao Dao, who was standing beside Pei Heng. Could the real prince be Xiao Dao? How could a mere beggar be taken into Pei Heng's army and promoted to deputy general?
"That old woman is the thief. She stole my mother's jewelry and jade when she worked in the palace. Today, my mother caught her, and she made up this absurd story to save her life. I didn't expect General Pei to believe it." His gaze carefully swept over Xiao Dao's face, and he couldn't help but wonder: Does this face resemble Wan Susu? Does it resemble his father? He couldn't tell.
"She also said that my mother had an improper relationship with Earl Yongyi, who is also General Pei's father. Does General Pei believe it?" Xiao Zhen's gaze turned to Pei Heng again.
Pei Heng's pale face showed no anger. He simply stepped forward on his horse and said to Xiao Zhen, "No matter what anyone said, whether it was true or false, the Fourth Prince should not have uttered such defamatory words about your mother."
Xiao Zhen stared at him, his cold heart burning with anger. All his years of enduring humiliation had been for nothing. Anyone could teach him a lesson.
"What are you?" He raised his riding whip to lash Pei Heng's face, but Pei Heng held it firmly.
Pei Heng was extremely strong and almost pulled him off the horse.
Just as he was about to reprimand Pei Heng, a personal attendant came from another gate and reported: "Your Highness, it seems that the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has led his men out through another side gate. Judging from the cart tracks, they are heading towards the palace gate."
Xiao Zhen's face was ashen; he wanted to kill Xie Yushu and Jiang Hua before they entered the palace.
He released the whip and immediately tried to turn the horse around, but Pei Heng held the horse's head down.
Xiao Dao rode up and blocked his path, the two men staring at him from the front and back like two falcons.
"Your Highness, I will escort you back to the palace," Pei Heng said in a deep voice. Now that the matter had come to light, he would not allow Xiao Zhen to do anything to Xie Yushu and the midwife.
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Author's Note: I'll be taking a break starting tomorrow for today's update. I'll try my best to finish up and come back to update as soon as possible, probably after the National Day holiday. Please wait for me, and I wish you all a happy National Day!
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