Chapter 61: The Chess Game of the World "It's hard to say... maybe it's King Rui, or maybe...
Chapter 61
Jing Zhuorui recently got a valuable sword. Thinking that his uncle loved to travel around the world with a sword, he left the palace and came to the Meng Mansion to give a gift.
——It happens that my uncle’s birthday is in two days! He will definitely like it!
When he arrived at Meng's house, Jing Zhuorui discovered that there were people from the Dali Temple there.
"Third Prince..." Yan Lin stepped forward and saluted.
Jing Zhuorui was surprised: "Master Yan? Why are you here? Changning is here too?"
Yan Lin: "Yes, we are here for a case."
Jing Zhuorui: "What case?"
Yan Lin: "I'm sorry I can't tell you."
Jing Zhuorui was about to go in, but Yan Lin stopped him: "Third Prince, please stop."
Jing Zhuorui was just surprised, but not angry: "I can't even enter?"
Yan Lin: "Wait until Ye Shaoqing comes out, then you can enter, Third Prince."
Jing Zhuorui: "...Okay, then I'll wait!"
He was in a state of confusion and began to think about the latest cases.
How could my uncle be involved?
This is ridiculous!
The case of Cheng Lunian's broken leg? But wasn't this done by the Qin family?
The assassination of the prince consort? But he heard the assassin was caught on the spot...
Ruyi Casino is on fire? What does that have to do with my uncle?
In the mansion, Meng Weichen finally remembered a few things that could be verified -
"The day before yesterday, I sparred with Lord Yan Chongshan, the General of the Imperial Guards, in martial arts. That evening, we went to a banquet at his residence. One of his colleagues had just had a baby boy, so they had planned to celebrate, and I happened to catch up."
"Yesterday, I sent several helpless young men to the Southern Camp. After Zhou Bokai verified their identities, he registered them and made them cooks and soldiers. They will have no worries about food and drink, and will participate in daily training. When they grow up, they will be able to serve the court."
"The day before yesterday... I just got back from Yuzhou and took those kids to a wonton stall for dinner. Oh, they were the ones I took in on my way back from Yuzhou. They were all refugees, their parents and family all dead, left helpless and begging. They'd been to every prefecture in the country. I saw their resilience and kindness—the eldest two, twelve and ten, looked after the younger ones, and the younger ones would go out together to help the villagers harvest wheat, earning food in exchange for sharing it with the older two—so I took them in. On the way back, I got to know their character and taught them the principles of life, and then I contacted Zhou Bokai to send them over for training and enlistment..."
"The day before yesterday, we helped that old man repair his tea stall at a teahouse in the suburbs of Beijing. I wrote the tea stall sign for him. The roof was leaking, so the young men helped fix it. They also cut new bamboo to repair the broken table and stool legs..."
"The other day, we ran into a caravan. Their carriage flipped over, and fruits and vegetables were scattered all over the ground. We helped pick them up and were given ten large watermelons to quench our thirst. Here, this one is the leftover one. I haven't had time to eat it yet."
Meng Weichen recalled this and asked cautiously, "Master Ye, are these... enough?"
Ye Changning nodded slowly: "That's enough for now. I'll send people to investigate one by one. I hope Mr. Meng won't leave the capital for the next few days."
Meng Weichen quickly responded, "No problem! I understand. You need to cooperate with the follow-up investigation, right?"
Ye Changning clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Master Meng, for your cooperation."
Meng Weichen also clasped his fists in return, "No, no, no, it's me who should thank you, Lord Ye. Thank you for helping me and Rui'er clear the suspicion." After they finished their conversation, a yamen runner came to report to Ye Changning, "Sir, the Third Prince has arrived. But he was stopped outside by Lord Yan."
Meng Weichen felt a little nervous. He didn't know what Rui'er was doing here today. At this critical moment, he had to be careful not to be misunderstood by Ye Changning.
Ye Changning glanced at Meng Weichen and ordered, "Please invite your Highness the Third Prince in."
"yes!"
After Jing Zhuorui was released, he quickly ran into the courtyard of the Meng Mansion and headed straight for the front hall. His voice hadn't reached him yet: "Ye Changning—what case are you working on? What does it have to do with my uncle? I'm telling you, my uncle is a chivalrous man with a kind heart. He wouldn't do anything bad!"
Meng Weichen smiled awkwardly at Ye Changning, then said to Jing Zhuorui, "Rui'er, Lord Ye has his reasons for handling cases. Don't make trouble here."
Jing Zhuorui saw that the atmosphere between the two was quite good, and his uncle was speaking up for Ye Changning. He paused, retracted his angry expression, and smiled again: "My uncle is really understanding."
Ye Changning's expression remained unchanged as he quietly observed his and Meng Weichen's expressions.
Meng Weichen naturally asked: "Why are you here?"
"The day after tomorrow is your birthday! Have you forgotten? I found a peerless sword and brought it to you specially!" Jing Zhuorui turned sideways, and his personal eunuch Xiao Dezi quickly presented the sword to him.
Meng Weichen breathed a sigh of relief. So that's how it was.
He didn't even bother to look at the sword, he just took it and held it.
Well, judging by the size, it's pretty good.
Ye Changning: "So the day after tomorrow is Hero Meng's birthday. I'm here to greet you."
Meng Weichen laughed: "I had forgotten it myself. Rui'er is still the best. He has always been thinking about me."
After Jing Zhuorui sat down, he asked, "Uncle, did you bring me anything good when you came back this time?"
"You can pick some later. They're all in the warehouse." Although Meng Weichen didn't have much power and couldn't help his sister and nephew, he still loved them. "Pick some for your mother and sister as well."
"good!"
When Ye Changning said goodbye, Jing Zhuorui followed him and asked, "Changning, we are friends after all, right? Can't you tell me what case you are working on?"
Ye Changning stopped and looked sideways at him: "Third Prince, you can ask Hero Meng. I think he would prefer to tell you himself."
For example, regarding the matter of Ruyi Casino, it would be better to ask Meng Weichen to tell him.
After Ye Changning and the others left, Jing Zhuorui went to Meng Weichen and asked, "Uncle, what happened?!"
Meng Weichen sighed, "It's all my uncle's fault for being so absorbed in the martial arts world that he neglected the plight of the three of you!"
Jing Zhuorui's heart was beating more and more nervous.
From what I heard, it seems that my mother and sister are also involved?
Meng Weichen briefly explained the matter to him, then assured him, "But don't worry, Rui'er. Your uncle will never let you get involved in this. And your mother and the others will naturally be safe."
Jing Zhuorui suddenly smiled. "So that's what it is." He said lightly, "Such a crude frame-up, anyone with a discerning eye will know that I'm innocent. Uncle, don't worry too much. With Ye Changning here, we'll be fine."
"I'm afraid your father might take it to heart. What if he..."
"Father wouldn't wrongly accuse an innocent person." Jing Zhuorui grew up in the palace, so he had a different perspective. "Uncle, we're the least likely to 'fight'."
Meng Weichen observed his nephew's expression and said, "But I heard that you want to marry the daughter of Duke Ding'an as your princess?"
"I do have this idea, but the emperor doesn't agree!" Jing Zhuorui shrugged. "And there's no way the emperor would agree! I knew it a long time ago, I just wanted to give it a try out of hope."
"Then why are you so sure... that His Majesty won't suspect you?"
"Prince Rui and the fourth son are both more suspicious than I am," Jing Zhuorui said. "If the Crown Prince makes a mistake, Prince Rui will be the first to benefit. The fourth son, like me, also asked to marry the daughter of Duke Ding'an—of course, he was also rejected by our father. Most importantly, his maternal family is more powerful than ours. I have nothing, so I am too uncompetitive and unqualified to be associated with them. My father must be well aware of this. That's why he chose a noble son-in-law for my sister. He completely put an end to my hope."
Without the support of the prince consort's family, Jing Zhuorui's dream of becoming a crown prince would be even more difficult to realize.
Because the Meng family is indeed not well-known in the capital.
It is not even as good as the Yongsheng Marquis Mansion or the General Zhou Mansion.
Meng Weichen and his younger sister, Meng Weixin, grew up alone, without parental support. They were both wanderers, and they did have a small villa in Yuzhou. After Meng Weixin married the then-crown prince, Emperor Longshun, the villa gradually fell into disrepair.
Meng Weichen likes to wander around the world and only returns to Beijing to see his sister occasionally.
Since Emperor Longshun ascended the throne, Meng Weichen returned to Beijing even less frequently.
He had traveled extensively in Dayan, a carefree, worldly-wise person. Of course, he would visit Yuzhou, which was his hometown after all. Although the villa was abandoned and no longer used for his wandering life, it was still managed by an old servant.
Meng Weichen did not want to be involved in the disputes in the court, so he did not manage the power of the Meng family from the beginning. He was in his forties and had not yet married and had children.
He didn't want to be bound by the so-called "imperial power".
I don't want to be tied up by my sister, nor do I want to tie up my sister.
He felt that his sister was now Concubine Rou, the mistress of a palace, with a son and a daughter. As long as she was obedient and stable, she would enjoy supreme wealth and glory.
Even if a new emperor comes to the throne in the future, they will not be a threat at all and will definitely be able to escape unscathed.
In the future, becoming a queen dowager, a prince, or a princess...that would be great.
Why wade into muddy water and jump into the fire pit?
That's why he intentionally or unintentionally kept the Meng family in a mediocre state of power.
Of course, it was his choice to do so.
He didn't force it, nor did he ask questions - so his sister and Rui'er could choose to "fight".
As long as they are good enough and skillful enough.
Now after listening to Rui'er's words, Meng Weichen thought that maybe their family all had the same idea. They would not "fight", but they also could not be treated as "fish". They had to have the ability to protect themselves.
Rui'er is so smart, I think he can protect himself.
"Who do you think it is?" Meng Weichen asked.
Jing Zhuorui thought about it, then said with a tangled smile, "It's hard to say...it could be Prince Rui, or it could be the fourth brother."
He currently supports the prince on the surface and is very close to the prince on a daily basis, so the prince will definitely not go to the trouble of making trouble for himself by doing such a confusing thing.
Then the only ones who wanted to destroy the alliance between the prince and him were naturally the other three princes.
The fifth brother's situation was even worse than his - his mother was just a palace maid who rose to power, and now she was out of favor. The fifth brother was also a mute, so it was impossible for him to dream of a high position and bring trouble upon himself.
If he behaved himself, he would at least be a leisurely prince in the future. Otherwise, he would surely die.
Excluding the fifth brother, only the second brother, Prince Rui, and the fourth brother are left.
"Do you need your uncle to help you find out?" Meng Weichen asked.
His martial arts skills are definitely enough to be a spy.
Jing Zhuorui shook his head and said sternly, "Don't do that! Uncle, let's just wait and see what happens."
Only by being a good victim can you gain greater benefits.
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