Chapter 808 Betrayal?
Tang Ning didn't take Wang Yuzhen's words seriously at first. When she had caned the King of England before, she knew that not all the members of the royal family would be honest.
Prince Ji was a smart man. After what she said, if he had any brains, he would have known that she was making an example of someone and should have known when to stop.
Even most of the spineless people in the royal family who were afraid of death could be intimidated. If they were given fine clothes, delicious food, wealth and glory, and had the King of England's fate in front of them, they would not risk their lives to go against her.
But not everyone is like this. There are always one or two people in the royal family who are not afraid of death.
What's more, behind Prince Ji and his men forcing the emperor to abdicate that day, there were some people hiding in the dark. Those people were dissatisfied with Xiao Yan and tried to disrupt the court.
Now that they have found out that Xiao Yan is not in the capital, they will not stop.
Wang Yuzhen mentioned King Hui just now. Tang Ning just thought that those people could not hold back after King Ying's death and took advantage of King Hui to make some moves, but she never expected that she would say such a thing.
Xue Ru couldn't help but look at Wang Yuzhen. She came to the palace today to "report" Wang Huailu?
Tang Ning's eyes also flickered: "Yuzhen, do you know what you are talking about?"
Wang Yuzhen's fingertips clenched tightly, her face pale. "Your Highness knows."
Tang Ning looked at him and said, "Your father approached the noble family with the instructions of His Majesty. It was His Majesty who asked him to stay with the noble family so that he could know the actions of the noble family officials in time. But now you say that he has gone against his original intention, which means that he has betrayed His Majesty."
Wang Yuzhen listened to her deliberately lowered voice, and her knees softened and she knelt on the ground.
Even though her face was pale and she was a little scared, she still said:
"This humble servant understands. My father was once blamed for the deposed emperor and was also plotted against. It was only because Your Majesty helped him gain the favor of Prime Minister Liang that he was able to save his life and receive a promotion."
"Father has always been grateful to Your Majesty for this, and has repeatedly spoken to me of Your Majesty's wisdom. He has absolutely no intention of disobeying Your Majesty, and the entire Wang family is even more loyal to Your Majesty. Father...he was simply confused for a moment, leading him to be misled and go astray."
Wang Yuzhen had a pretty face. She knelt on the ground with her back straight. The words she said were completely different from her docile appearance. However, only her trembling eyelashes and pale face revealed her determination and fear to "sacrifice her own relatives for the sake of justice."
After she finished speaking, she saw that Tang Ning was silent, and the strength she forced on her face could no longer be maintained.
"Your Majesty, I know you are as wise as Your Majesty, and you have been so kind to me before. That is why I have the courage to come to the palace and seek an audience with you."
"I do not wish to see my father become a sharp weapon in the hands of others, nor to see the Wang family become pawns in their game with Your Majesty and Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to save my father."
After Wang Yuzhen finished speaking, she kowtowed to the ground and performed a deep salute while kneeling.
Tang Ning looked at Wang Yuzhen's body trembling with fear. Her knuckles were pale as she supported herself on the ground. Even with her head lowered, he could tell that her face was probably as pale as well.
Tang Ning didn't let her stand up, but said calmly: "Tell me first, what did your father do."
Wang Yuzhen kowtowed and said, "Prince Ying and his men caused a disturbance in the palace. On the day when the Queen punished Prince Ying with a cane, my father, who always left his post on time every day, never returned home for a long time. He only came back after midnight."
"When my father returned home that day, his face was extremely grim. I, your humble servant, asked him about it with concern, and he simply said that since His Majesty was away from the capital, the court was in chaos, and he had been delayed in his office and that was why he returned late."
"He repeatedly warned me, saying that the situation in Beiling was unstable and that with the Empress in power, he was afraid someone would take advantage of the situation to cause chaos. He also told me and my mother not to go out during this period."
Wang Yuzhen spoke slowly about what happened that night.
The Wang family had only one daughter, Wang Yuzhen. Because she loved reading and didn't want to be confined to the boudoir, Wang Huailu loved her so much that he never raised her as an ordinary girl. He often told Wang Yuzhen about the political affairs of the court and some things in the capital.
She naturally knew that the situation in the court was urgent after Beiling went south, and she also knew about the court officials' "forcing the emperor to abdicate" that day.
Wang Yuzhen was surprised to hear that His Majesty was not in the palace. She began to ask about the situation in the palace. As usual, Wang Huailu would tell her about the affairs in the palace and test her.
But that day he acted out of character and just said briefly that the King of England was beaten with a stick and sent to the Taimiao, and that the Queen temporarily took over the power of the court, and then he was unwilling to say more.
Wang Yuzhen whispered, "The Wang family has no sons, and my father always said that I would be the one to carry on the family business. He also said that women might have ties to the previous dynasty, and that knowing more would help us stay clear-headed and avoid making mistakes. That's why he never hesitated to share his insights with me."
"With the Empress in power, there will inevitably be changes in the court. With the royal family making such a commotion, how could there be no movement from the aristocratic families and court officials?"
"I know my father is close to the noble families and was responsible for snooping on the officials from those families for Your Majesty, so I wanted to ask him about their attitude towards the Empress's reign. However, my father, contrary to his usual behavior, forbade me to ask and repeatedly told me to avoid interacting with the women from the noble families during this period."
Wang Yuzhen originally had a mediocre relationship with those girls. It was because Wang Huailu caught Liang Guangyi's eye and became close to the aristocratic families and was accepted by them that Wang Yuzhen naturally became a "part" of the aristocratic families, and the girls from those families also became close to her.
After Wang Huailu found out, he only told her to be careful, but he did not stop her from associating with those people.
But this time he solemnly asked her to cut off contact with those people, and asked her and her mother to stay in the mansion and go out less. Wang Yuzhen naturally noticed something was wrong.
She wanted to ask if something had happened, but Wang Huailu kept silent. When she pressed the issue further, she was scolded.
Wang Yuzhen clenched her palms and said, "I realized at that time that my father was hiding something from me. In the following days, my father frequently returned home at night, and every time he came back, he was worried."
"I was afraid something had happened to my father, so I went to the government office early this morning, hoping to wait for him to finish his work and take him home so I could have a good talk with him. But who knew that my father, who was supposed to be on duty, came out of the government office, got in a carriage and went straight to Fenglin Street."
"I was puzzled, so I sent someone to follow him. I saw with my own eyes that my father was invited into a cloth shop on Fenglin Street. He stayed there for half an hour before coming out. After he left, another half an hour later, many people began to come out of the cloth shop one after another."
Tang Ning frowned: "Is there a King Hui?"
Wang Yuzhen whispered, "It's not just Prince Hui, there are several other court officials as well, and I've even seen a few people who shouldn't be in the capital."
She lowered her head and uttered a few names. Xue Ru, who was standing beside her, was surprised when she heard it. Even Tang Ning's originally leisurely eyes became serious, and his brows were instantly tense.
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