Chapter 38
Mo Tingyu was imprisoned in Jianyang Palace during this period, but he still learned about the matter of establishing an heir.
Lord Wang came here as soon as he got up from his sickbed, sweating profusely and even getting two more fine lines on his forehead.
Turning around and seeing Mo Tingyu's indifferent expression, she couldn't help but scold, "Your Highness is kind-hearted and can tolerate those few, but do you know that they can't tolerate you at all?"
"I am already over fifty years old. A hundred years from now, I will be nothing but a handful of dust. If it weren't for..."
Mo Tingyu quickly stood up and said, "Grand Tutor, I know, I know, I know what I'm doing."
"What do you know!" The Grand Tutor suddenly became angry. "Last time you were imprisoned in Jianyang Palace because of your carelessness, and this time you're still so careless. You know perfectly well that the Third Prince..."
Mo Tingyu said softly, "The Grand Tutor is right. If it weren't for Miss Jiang and Young Master Ling, wouldn't I be imprisoned right now?"
"Then Miss Jiang's daughter was summoned to the palace because of me."
The Grand Tutor was so angry that his beard stood on end: "Your Highness, you have feelings, but how come you have no brains?"
"Isn't Consort Li just trying to drag you into this mess?"
"Look at the entire court, who isn't trying to kick you while you're down right now?"
Mo Tingyu could only give an awkward laugh: "But it wasn't erected after all..."
The Grand Tutor looked at him with disappointment, when a voice came from outside announcing something.
"Your Highness, Young Master Ling and Miss Jiang have arrived."
Mo Tingyu glanced at the Grand Tutor, then stood up and walked outside: "Let them go to the Plum Garden first."
"Is it the person who gave me the booklet that day?" the Grand Tutor asked.
Before Mo Tingyu could speak, he said earnestly, "This person is indeed quite shrewd. If we can use him, we can avoid a lot of trouble in the future."
"If they cannot be used by us, then..."
The Grand Tutor changed the subject and lowered his voice.
Mo Tingyu sighed and said, "Teacher, you are overthinking it. It was precisely because this person and the Jiang family sided with me that all these things happened. We will wait until after the imperial examination."
Mo Tingyu said nothing more, and the Grand Tutor also lowered his gaze, neither of them speaking.
When the two arrived at the plum garden, Jiang Yunshu was feeding A Yao medicine, her face full of pity and heartache.
Ah Yao, on the other hand, was smiling happily.
Is it bitter?
Ayao shook her little head like a rattle drum: "It's not bitter, Mom, the medicine you give me isn't bitter at all!"
Even the Grand Tutor couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he saw this scene. He heard that the person was almost dead when he was carried out that day.
He also has a daughter, so he naturally understands the heart of being a parent.
Looking at Jiang Yunshu, he felt a pang of pity.
Ling Jingchu stood behind the two with his hands behind his back, looking at them with deep eyes.
These days, he watched Jiang Yunshu grow more and more depressed, only showing that bitter smile when she was in front of A Yao.
Ayao blinked her bright eyes and immediately spotted the Second Prince not far away: "Your Highness!"
Mo Tingyu smiled slightly.
Jiang Yunshu and Ling Jingchu turned around and bowed to the people behind them.
"Ah Yao looks much better. What kind of fruit is she eating? It looks delicious."
Mo Tingyu asked in a soft voice, as if teasing a child.
Ayao smiled and handed over the fruit from the plate: "Mother bought these outside. They're very sweet. Your Highness, please have some too!"
Jiang Yunshu looked up, intending to stop them, but saw Mo Tingyu and the Grand Tutor with gentle smiles on their faces.
Mo Tingyu took it and popped it into his mouth, nodding with relish: "It's really sweet."
Ayao laughed along with Mo Tingyu, her clear and innocent laughter inexplicably soothing the wounds in everyone's hearts.
After Ayao finished taking her medicine, Qingshuang took her out to play. After thinking for a long time, Jiang Yunshu decided to tell Mo Tingyu about it.
The eldest prince has a peculiar habit unknown to everyone: he is attracted to other men's wives.
Most of his concubines were wives of officials, but he didn't go too far; he only took a fancy to the wives of officials of low status.
However, she knew that the eldest prince had a secret affair with one of the emperor's concubines.
Their affair was only revealed many years later. She remembered that by then, A Yao had already been forced into the Third Prince's residence.
She tentatively began, "I once heard a strange story, about the eldest prince..."
Mo Tingyu raised his eyebrows to look at her, the Grand Tutor sat upright, and Ling Jingchu stared straight at her.
She shifted her gaze slightly: "They say the eldest prince is a modern-day Cao Cao, stealing other men's wives and daughters, and even committing adultery in the palace..."
Ling Jingchu's eyes widened in shock. The Grand Tutor's face was filled with horror, and Mo Tingyu also looked surprised, as if she was astonished that a gentle woman from Jiangnan would utter such horrifying words.
"Don't speak nonsense..."
In the end, it was the Grand Tutor who spoke up.
Jiang Yunshu looked at the expressions on their faces and said nothing more.
Anyway, that was all the reminder she gave. There was no point in explaining further, since how could a woman from Jiangnan possibly know the secrets within the palace walls?
The Grand Tutor gave her a few deep looks, then got up and left.
Mo Tingyu pursed her lips, looked at her again and again, then looked at Ling Jingchu with concern before following the Grand Tutor.
Finally, he said to her in a deep voice, "Miss Jiang, this has nothing to do with you, so don't worry too much..."
After thinking for a moment, she didn't know what to say, so she could only look at Ling Jingchu and say, "If Miss Jiang is in a bad mood, you should spend more time with her."
They then left quickly.
Jiang Yunshu twitched her lips. Ling Jingchu's surprised gaze held a hint of complexity. She was too lazy to pay attention to these people and turned to find A Yao.
Anyway, the Second Prince will recover, so there's no need for her to worry.
What she's worried about now is whether the Third Prince will take A Yao back.
What people fear most is what often happens.
Princess Roujia cried her heart out in front of the emperor, saying that she felt sorry for Ayao and wanted to take her back to take good care of her.
The emperor had never liked the third prince and Consort Li, but he was somewhat fond of Roujia.
His daughter was always thoughtful and adorable, trying to win his favor, while Consort Li's eyes were full of scheming, and the Third Prince was always gloomy.
Not to mention that after this incident, Consort Li has even extended her reach into the imperial court, revealing her wolfish ambitions.
Seeing Roujia's tear-streaked face, the Emperor picked her up and asked, "Roujia, do you like the Empress?"
Roujia didn't understand and looked at her father with confusion, but she remembered her mother's words and nodded while sobbing softly.
A shrewd glint flashed in the emperor's eyes, but his smile grew even more amiable: "Then how about the empress becoming your mother?"
"In that case, Father Emperor will allow Shen Qingyao to enter the palace to accompany you."
Roujia was so frightened that she forgot to cry. She stared blankly at her father, and after a long while, she shook her head and waved her hands in a panic: "No, Qingqing has Mother Consort, that's enough, Mother Consort..."
She tried to say something, but when she saw those deep, gloomy eyes, her words turned into tears that silently streamed down her face.
That's good.
After the emperor sent the person over, the empress was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
Even a fool would know what it meant to send them to her at this time.
They want to use the He family to get rid of Consort Li?
He Shu gave a cold snort; she wasn't that stupid.
He Shu looked at the somewhat reserved and timid person in front of her, and leisurely adjusted her armor. However, she could still find some amusement for herself.
——
Jiang Yunshu learned about this from Gu Hanyu.
"Now that I'm by the Empress's side, I feel even more dangerous."
Gu Hanyu murmured, and Jiang Yunshu was also worried. She didn't remember the situation in the palace in her previous life.
"We can only wait and see."
No one expected that such a big thing would happen half a month later.
After Roujia was taken in, the Empress made Roujia come to pay her respects every day, and the tutors would personally teach and care for her every day.
Along with Shen Qingyao, the two of them learned a lot of etiquette.
The weather is unpredictable; it's often freezing cold in the morning, but warms up after practicing the standing posture for a while.
Within half a month, the two girls caught a cold.
When Consort Li learned of this, she wanted to invite the imperial physician for Roujia, but the Empress refused, saying that her own maid had been learning medicine since childhood and that she and the eldest prince had been treated by her own maid many times.
The two of them didn't know what they had eaten, but Roujia's high fever wouldn't go down, and she started talking nonsense while lying on the couch.
Consort Li tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She dared not ask the Emperor for help, and finally came up with a shady plan.
Holding the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, she disguised herself as a palace maid and sneaked into Kunning Palace at night.
The journey from Changle Palace to Kunning Palace was not short, and the road outside the palace walls was far away. Consort Li chose a shortcut: the Imperial Garden.
In the pitch-black night, only the sound of the wind and Consort Li's hurried footsteps could be heard in the Imperial Garden.
Therefore, even the slightest sound can send chills down your spine.
Consort Li and her maid exchanged a glance, then quietly blew out the lamps in their hands.
A sweet, coquettish voice came from behind the artificial hill: "It's so cold, Yanli~"
"It'll be warm soon. Isn't it more exciting here than inside?"
The woman smiled coyly, "You're so naughty, what if someone finds out..."
The man's low voice was tinged with lust: "Then we must hurry. Father really doesn't know how to cherish beauties. Qiao'er, I will take Father's place in loving you."
Consort Li stared wide-eyed in disbelief, followed by immense joy. She glanced at the maid beside her.
The maidservant quickly stepped forward and shouted, "Who dares to commit such an obscene act in the palace!"
The shout startled them both, and they hugged each other even tighter.
The palace servants on night watch in the Imperial Garden were also awakened and walked over in a dark mass, carrying lanterns and their eyes were bright.
Only then did Consort Li step forward. In the dim candlelight, the woman was deeply buried in the man's arms, their clothes off and their bodies pressed tightly together.
Everyone was quite frightened when they saw the two people's faces.
"Consort Rou?"
Consort Li's sharp voice cut like a knife to Consort Rou.
"You actually dared to commit such a shameful act with the First Prince within the palace! I think you've had enough of living!"
That very night, the two were brought before the emperor.
The empress was so enraged that she vomited blood and fainted.
When this news came out, Mo Tingyu, for some reason, suddenly remembered Jiang Yunshu's absurd remarks from that day.
After arriving in the west of the city overnight, they found that Jiang Yunshu's residence was bustling with activity.
Inside, the lights were on and shadowy figures were everywhere.
Gu Hanyu looked at Jiang Yunshu in disbelief: "Where did you hear this rumor? It's even more accurate than the information from my secret guards!!"
"As expected, you really have to live a long time. Look, you can see everything!"
"Now..."
The voice trailed off as Mo Tingyu pushed open the door and entered.
The people in the room were stunned for a moment, then bowed to him. Gu Hanyu's heart pounded; her words just now were truly appalling, and she wondered how much of it the Second Prince had heard...
Jiang Yunshu also felt a chill run down her spine. She hadn't expected the matter to be exposed so quickly, and it was even more terrifying than she had imagined.
She remembered that the emperor accidentally stumbled upon this incident while taking an evening walk. The emperor didn't even open the door to go in, thus saving face for the eldest prince.
"Get up. I have not come to visit you so late at night for any other reason. You do not need to be so reserved."
Mo Tingyu sat in the main seat, and after the others stood up, he spoke again.
"It happened so suddenly, you..."
Ling Jingchu nodded in a deep voice: "After this incident, the He family will no longer be a threat."
"Your Highness only needs to be wary of the Third Prince. This matter was exposed by Consort Li. From now on..."
Gu Hanyu pursed her lips, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
When Mo Tingyu's gaze fell on her, she stiffened her neck and left.
"I shall take my leave now. My father has asked me to go back for dinner."
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