Chapter 56
With the Chu King's rebellion quelled, Wei Zhen naturally took over Pingzhou City. Because some Pingzhou officials had participated in the Chu King's rebellion, Wei Zhen was busy for a while with the subsequent resettlement of civilians and appointment of officials. He also had to take inventory of the people and property within the Chu King's palace. By the time everything was in place and the main culprit could be escorted to the capital, it was already two weeks later.
During this half month, Pingzhou City gradually returned to peace and nothing major happened.
In addition to the fire that broke out in the Prince of Chu's Palace two nights ago, the blazing flames illuminated the surrounding area as bright as day.
Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and the entire Chu Palace was not burned to ashes, but I heard that there were still casualties.
This unknown fire in the Prince of Chu's mansion caused discussions on the streets.
It was the King of Chu, coveting the throne, who rebelled against the imperial court, that disrupted the peaceful lives of the people of Pingzhou. Wifes and children were separated, and many stable families suffered tremendous pain because of this rebellion.
Therefore, the King of Chu became the outlet for people's grievances. The people always paid attention to the developments in the Prince of Chu's Palace, and they only hoped that the damn King of Chu would be killed by the court as soon as possible.
"Retribution, this is retribution!"
At the noodle stall, two or three people sat together, eating noodles and talking about the fire.
"I just hate that God didn't burn that guy named Chu to death." One person said hatefully.
"It's true that someone with the surname Chu died," someone said mysteriously, "but it wasn't the King of Chu, it was his daughter, the Princess Pingyang."
"That dude?" another person interrupted.
"That's right. It's a pity that he died so young."
"What a pity! If you ask me, everyone in the Chu family deserves to die. That fire really should have burned more vigorously and more accurately."
Most people were discussing this matter in groups of three or four. Rather than lamenting the loss of a young life, they were more concerned about when the Chu family would be brought to justice. It seemed that only this would alleviate the hatred in their hearts.
Princess Pingyang Chu Miaomiao died in a fire, but a personal maid named Miaomiao reappeared beside Crown Prince Wei Zhen.
After settling the affairs of Pingzhou, Wei Zhen and Xiangzhou Jiedushi Yuan Zhen and others escorted the prisoners back to Beijing.
Chu Miaomiao changed her identity and became Wei Zhen's personal maid, always staying by his side. However, rather than saying that she was taking care of Wei Zhen, it was actually Wei Zhen who cared about her more.
On her way to Pingzhou, Chu Miaomiao braved numerous dangers alone and was seriously injured. On her way back to the capital, she sat in a satin-covered carriage, protected from the sun and rain, and her biggest workload was just to perfunctorily wait on Wei Zhen.
In this way, the team escorting the prisoners returned to the capital in a mighty manner.
After the prisoner was sent to the Sky Prison, Chu Miaomiao followed Wei Zhen back to the Eastern Palace.
Wrapped in a cloak that almost covered half of her face, Chu Miaomiao once again stood in front of the tall palace wall and sighed deeply.
When the prince's steward saw her again, he was very surprised.
Chu Miaomiao smiled bitterly and greeted the head of the household. It was obvious that she was not the right person to be in the East Palace.
But this time, her identity is no longer Princess Pingyang.
"This is my personal maid, Miaomiao." Wei Zhen reintroduced Miaomiao to the housekeeper, "Place her in the side hall."
The housekeeper took the order and left. Chu Miaomiao looked at Wei Zhen provocatively: "Everyone in the Eastern Palace recognizes my face. When do you think the Saint will find me here? Tonight? Or tomorrow?"
"Everyone in the Eastern Palace has the same opinion," Wei Zhen said calmly, "You don't need to worry about this matter."
"Oh, you are really confident, master." Chu Miaomiao deliberately emphasized the word "master", making it sound even more sarcastic.
Wei Zhen glanced at her and said, "Instead of worrying about these useless things, you should worry about yourself."
"I?"
Chu Miaomiao shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter. "I'm going to die sooner or later anyway. I've let it go. What's there to worry about? You should be the one who really needs to worry about yourself."
As they talked, the two walked into Wei Zhen's bedroom. Chu Miaomiao indeed upheld the professional ethics of a personal maid and always stayed by Wei Zhen's side.
"Is this the tone you use when speaking to your master?"
Wei Zhen ordered the palace servants following him to withdraw, leaving only the two of them in the room. He stood in front of Chu Miaomiao and opened his arms.
Chu Miaomiao curled her lips and sighed inwardly. She walked over and took off Wei Zhen's heavy armor and outer clothes, leaving only a white inner coat.
Chu Miaomiao turned around and was about to go outside to ask someone to send her a set of daily clothes, but Wei Zhen hugged her from behind and held her tightly in his arms.
At this moment, Wei Zhen felt that a certain place in his heart was finally filled, and his tense spirit for days finally relaxed for a moment.
"Miao Miao, I'm so tired." Wei Zhen's low voice was full of fatigue, as if he was complaining, or acting coquettishly.
Chu Miaomiao's heart remained calm, and she even had a subtle hint of gloating: "You didn't have to be so tired. You are just asking for trouble now."
This was not the answer Wei Zhen wanted to hear. He leaned close to Chu Miaomiao's ear with some dissatisfaction and licked her earlobe as if it was a punishment.
The sudden intimacy made Chu Miaomiao shudder, and she wanted to break free from Wei Zhen's arms: "What are you doing in broad daylight! Let go!"
"Then what can I do tonight?" Wei Zhen refused to let go, his tongue still carefully tracing the already red earlobe.
The distance was too close, allowing him to hear the increasingly rapid breathing, the rapid heartbeat, and feel the gradually softening body of the person in his arms.
"That's not what I meant..."
Chu Miaomiao's face suddenly turned red.
Ever since that night when she was nearly eaten alive by Wei Zhen, Wei Zhen hadn't done anything more excessive except occasionally bullying her like this.
Later, as soon as her injuries healed, she had to hurry back to the capital. Although she was often alone with Wei Zhen along the way, the journey was tiring and Wei Zhen no longer had the heart to tease her, which made her feel much more at ease.
But back to the East Palace—
Chu Miaomiao suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Miao Miao, are your injuries healed?" Wei Zhen hugged her tighter and kissed her snow-white neck lightly and deeply.
"Okay... okay..." Chu Miaomiao trembled again, and her answering voice became much softer, which scared her so much that she quickly shut up.
"Tonight, okay?"
Wei Zhen's tone and behavior were extremely suggestive, which made Chu Miaomiao feel like she was a fattened pig waiting to be slaughtered.
Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, a palace servant's voice came from outside the palace gate: "Your Highness, the Saint has summoned you."
Wei Zhen paused, and Chu Miaomiao breathed a sigh of relief: "I will help Your Highness change clothes right away."
She quickly escaped from Wei Zhen's arms, called the palace maids serving outside to bring clean daily clothes, and tidied them up for him.
"Okay." Chu Miaomiao finally adjusted her belt and accessories to make sure that there was nothing impolite about Wei Zhen's appearance.
While Chu Miaomiao was still there, Wei Zhen gave her a light kiss on the forehead.
"What are you doing again!" Chu Miaomiao almost jumped back, covering her forehead and staring at Wei Zhen.
Wei Zhen smiled slightly, tucked the fine hair hanging from Chu Miaomiao's ears behind her ears, and said softly, "Wait for me to come back."
After saying that, Wei Zhen strode away, but this time the smile disappeared from his face, and he looked much more solemn.
This meeting with the emperor will probably be a tough battle.
*
"…Crown Prince Chu Canglang of the King of Chu has always been loyal to the court and has absolutely no intention of rebellion. He is also unaware of the King of Chu's treasonous plans. Moreover, he has been weak since childhood, so even if he survives, it will not harm the court. I hope the sage will consider this."
With a "bang", a memorial fell heavily at Wei Zhen's feet.
Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, illuminating the memorial lying on the ground. Wei Zhen stood at his desk, head bowed, silently enduring the wrath of the emperor.
The palace servants were all dismissed, including the chief eunuch who usually stayed by the emperor's side. Within a hundred meters of the imperial study, only the emperor and Wei Zhen were present.
The saint's eyes were sharp, tinged with uncontrollable anger. He hadn't been this angry in many years.
"I'm really tired of you being the crown prince." The sage tried to remain calm. "You should know that I have more than one son."
"Of course I know." Wei Zhen tried to calm himself down, "But I also said that I am your best choice."
"So," the saint gnashed his teeth, "you dare to act lawless here?"
"I only ask that the innocent lives implicated be spared."
The sage refuted her harshly, "Under the king's law, how can a criminal be innocent? I think you have been bewitched by women!"
"No one knew about the King of Chu's rebellion except the principal offender, his second son, and a few of his staff," Wei Zhen said slowly. "The King of Chu's wife divorced him a month ago. Although her name hasn't been removed from the family tree yet, their marriage has been dissolved, and the local government has registered it."
Wei Zhen went on to discuss the situation of the King of Chu's legitimate children. "As for the legitimate son Chu Canglang, as I stated in my memorial, sparing his life will not be a major threat to the court. The legitimate daughter Chu Miaomiao has never harbored any intention of rebelling against the court. Since the King of Chu's rebellion, she has behaved docilely and has never acted disobediently. These two siblings no longer have a father-son relationship with the King of Chu. Given their abilities, even if one of them survives, it won't cause any trouble. The court can rest assured."
The saint looked at Wei Zhen coldly, his expression seemed to say "I will just watch you talk nonsense quietly."
Inside the spacious hall, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
It is impossible to say that Wei Zhen is not afraid. As Chu Miaomiao said, even though he is the crown prince, his life and death, honor and disgrace are all in the hands of a saint.
But he must not retreat at this time. Even if the hope is slim, he must give it a try!
After a while, Wei Zhen finally heard the saint's voice.
"You should leave now."
*
At the same time, in the main hall of Changqiu Palace, Chu Miaomiao stood at the bottom, facing the three most noble women in the Yong Dynasty -
Sitting in the center seat was the empress dowager with a serious expression.
Sitting next to her was the queen with a smile on her face, who waved to Chu Miaomiao when she saw her.
Sitting in the first seat from the left at the bottom was the Princess of Yu. She smiled faintly and was quite friendly.
"Sinner Chu Miaomiao, why don't you kneel down!"
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