Chapter 66: Being spoiled and arrogant
Duke Xin's Mansion.
"What should we do now?" Marquis Cheng'en was so anxious that he was spinning around. "The fire in the Sky Palace has caused a lot of uproar. In just a few days, all kinds of conspiracies and speculations have emerged."
It's not the common people's fault; people at the time believed in ghosts, gods, and Buddhas. The fire inside the palace had to come from nowhere else but the Skyscraper Palace built by the Empress Dowager. The fire outside the palace had to come from nowhere else but the Moonlight Tower, which the Liang family had spent a fortune to build for the Empress Dowager's birthday.
Both places are related to the Queen Mother, and it is difficult to deny any connection.
"I suspect..." He walked and then stopped: "There must be someone playing tricks here, don't you think..."
He pointed in the direction of the palace: "Who is that?"
Duke Xin sat at the head of the table with an unhappy look on his face, and never uttered a word.
His subordinates said, "There's no doubt someone is behind this. How could such a coincidence happen? Are the gods angry? Tsk, only fools would think that."
They are all people who have worked in the court for a long time, and they can understand the situation of many things with just a little thought.
"It's hard to say if it was that person," another aide said thoughtfully. "I don't think it's the Emperor's doing. The Emperor values filial piety and would never disregard the Empress Dowager's reputation, no matter what. In my opinion, this is someone trying to take advantage of the situation and make a fool of Liang Gong."
After he finished speaking, Duke Xin suddenly raised his eyes.
He sneered, "I didn't know there was someone with such ability hidden in the court."
Marquis Cheng'en asked suspiciously, "Could it be Pei Xingju?"
"But Pei Xingju is the emperor's man. Why would he do this without the emperor's order?" said the staff.
"Too."
Another person said, "Now that things have come to this, we are in a very passive position. To appease the people's anger, the emperor will definitely conduct a thorough investigation. By then, let's not even talk about whether the Ministry of Revenue can be saved. If we can exonerate Lord Liang, it will be a great achievement."
After that, everyone fell silent.
After a long while, Xin Guogong said: "The Liang family must be eliminated, and the Ministry of Revenue must also be protected. They are just fools, and there is no need to be afraid."
Marquis Cheng'en asked, "What is the Duke's plan?"
Duke Xin let out a breath of foul air and didn't respond. He simply said, "I'll go to the palace to visit the Queen Mother later. You all can go back first."
Everyone stood up and left one after another.
At this time, a man hurried in with a letter and handed it to Duke Xin.
When Marquis Cheng'en saw this, he stopped at the door. Seeing that Duke Xin's face was gloomy after reading the letter, he walked back.
"Is it about the prince?"
Duke Xin nodded: "Liang Jinxian was assassinated."
Marquis Cheng'en was shocked: "Who dares to do this?"
"Duan Hongyuan," Duke Xin raised his eyes. "The secret guards said they didn't catch the assassin, but they did find a crossbow with the Dongchen Guard's emblem on it."
The Dongchen Guards were a group of assassins secretly trained by Duan Hongyuan. Apart from Duke Xin and a few of his confidants, even the emperor was unaware of them.
"Does the Duke believe it?" asked Marquis Cheng'en.
Duke Xin narrowed his eyes: "Of course I don't suspect Duan Hongyuan of betraying me, but I am worried..."
"What?"
"Someone is using Duan Hongyuan to stir up the father-son relationship between me and the prince. Their intentions are despicable."
Marquis Cheng'en said, "Your Highness is intelligent and will surely understand that there is a trick."
Duke Xin smiled and said, "If he can understand, that would be great. If not..."
Then we can only change the crown prince.
.
The emperor's recess ended, and Pei Xingju's injury healed, so he went to court the next day.
Zhuang Wan didn't have to get up early to make breakfast for Pei Xingju, so she simply let herself sleep in. After all, lickers are also human beings, and lickers need rest.
But before I could sleep in for a while, Lixia came running in: "Girl, Uncle Niu is back!"
Zhuang Wan lazily raised an eye and said, "Uncle Niu is back, so what's so strange about that?"
Lixia came over stealthily and winked at her: "It's not surprising that Uncle Niu is back, but what Uncle Niu brought is surprising. Everyone is outside looking at it."
"What is it?"
"It's oysters."
Good job!
Zhuang Wan immediately stood up.
Uncle Niu took a few days off to go back to his hometown a few days ago. I didn’t expect that he would bring back such delicious food.
Zhuang Wan tidied up briefly and ran out, and sure enough, she saw many people gathered in the courtyard.
"Uncle Niu? This thing is hard and full of shells. How do I eat it?"
Uncle Niu squatted on the ground and washed the oysters with the pulp of a melon: "This is easy. Once it's done, just eat it with your mouth."
Everyone laughed.
Zhuang Wan walked over and took a look. There was a basket full of oysters, each one as big as a fist.
She also squatted down and asked excitedly: "Uncle Niu, this is a good thing, where did you get it?"
Uncle Niu had a look on his face that said, "You really know what you're talking about." He said, "My hometown."
"Roast it and sprinkle some garlic on it. It will be very delicious," said Zhuang Wan.
Uncle Niu nodded: "You can also dip it in sauce."
"Put some more chili in the sauce."
"Hmm, it's also good with cilantro..."
Here, the two of them were squatting in the courtyard, thinking about how to make delicious oysters, and they didn't even notice when the servants and the old women left.
All around was quiet, and the sound of their discussion reached the Moon Gate.
Pei Xingju and Shen Yi stopped there, their lips twitching as they listened.
Chen Yi smiled: "Miss Zhuang may look like a lady from a wealthy family, but she has a free and innocent personality."
Pei Xingju didn't respond and raised his foot to continue walking. Zhuang Wan turned around and saw them.
She patted her clothes and trotted over.
"Yuzhi, is it time to leave the court?"
Shen Yi asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Oh, it's oysters. I'm thinking about how to eat them."
"Have you thought it through?"
"Of course, it's roasted and delicious with the dipping sauce."
Chen Yi nodded and said to Pei Xingju, "Is it okay for me to have lunch at your house?"
Pei Xingju glanced at him with disdain: "Whatever you say."
"Yuzhi," Zhuang Wan said flatteringly, "How about I make you some peach cakes today?"
Seeing him leave, Zhuang Wan took it as his consent and immediately ran to the kitchen to busy herself.
Seeing this, Chen Yi was very surprised and followed Pei Xingju in three or two steps: "Miss Zhuang is beautiful and lovely, she is good at both housekeeping and cooking, and she treats you with sincerity. It's really rare."
Pei Xingju smiled faintly.
"Hiss..." Chen Yi couldn't stand him being like this: "You're going too far. Miss Zhuang treats you so tenderly and considerately, yet you're so ungrateful. Are you being spoiled and becoming arrogant?"
When they arrived at the study, Pei Xingju walked in.
The next moment, an official document was thrown over, and Shen Yi immediately caught it. Then he said, "There's been new progress on the case of the body buried outside the city. Take a look."
Shen Yi's expression became serious, and he immediately walked to the table and sat down.
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