Chapter 63 063 He probably knows her identity
That night, a light spring rain fell outside, adding a touch of chill to the early spring weather.
In the backyard of the Feng residence, Feng Yuchan's eyes sparkled as she clung to Feng Wuxiu's arm, acting coquettishly, "Father, you're the best."
Feng Wuxiu had his daughter late in life and doted on Feng Yuchan, giving her whatever she wanted. Feng Wuxiu knew his daughter was a bit arrogant, but she wasn't a fool who acted recklessly. Only the eldest princess could come up with such a vicious plan. However, after this incident, it was his own daughter who was harmed and made a scapegoat, condemned by everyone.
Feng Wuxiu was filled with boundless hatred. Seeing his daughter suffering day and night, always having to lower her head and cover her face when she went out, and looking at the eldest princess who was bossy and domineering, he wished he could eat her flesh and drink her blood.
But fate finally smiled upon her and presented a good opportunity for a marriage alliance. Killing her would be too lenient; she had to suffer the consequences of her own cleverness, just like today. If it weren't for the fact that Beigu was someone Emperor Mingkang was wary of, he would have had no choice but to lure the prince of Dadi over.
The arrogant and domineering eldest princess will spend the rest of her life in a land of endless yellow sand, with no one to turn to for help. Feng Wuxiu couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
"Anyone who bullies you, your father will help you bully them back."
Feng Yuchan chuckled softly, her voice sharp and terrifying, "And Meng Qingshan and Qingli, Father treated them so well, yet they are so ungrateful."
Feng Wuxiu snorted coldly, "A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years."
Feng Yuchan's restless heart gradually calmed down. She knew that the eldest princess's ruthlessness was only one reason for her current predicament; the real masterminds must be Meng Qingshan and Qing Li. Otherwise, how could she have escaped unscathed from the trap set for Qing Li?
A spring rain scatters the blooming flowers, leaving a desolate scene.
The palace fell into an eerie silence once again, with only the sounds of smashing and breaking coming from the eldest princess's Manyue Palace, accompanied by shouts, cries, and incessant cursing.
Consort De's face shifted between pale and flushed, watching the eldest princess rush towards her, clutching her skirt and kneeling on the broken porcelain, pleading for help. The princess's hair was disheveled, her face sallow, and her voice shrill, "Mother, I won't go! I won't go for the marriage alliance! Please go to Father Emperor to plead for me, go to the Empress..."
The eldest princess was confined to Manyue Palace by Emperor Mingkang and was not allowed to leave. Since Consort De returned, she had not even seen Emperor Mingkang or the Empress. The Empress only sent a maid to say a few words to her, nothing more than that she was a princess of the Great Jin, and that the marriage was to relieve the Emperor's worries and bring benefits to the people.
It sounds nice, but the eldest princess was raised with great care by Consort De. To marry so far away and never see her again in this life is like having her heart ripped out.
But she had no control over these matters. After struggling through these days, she felt like she only had a thread of strength left to keep her going. Consort De's eyes were filled with tears, which slid down her cheeks in the blink of an eye, one after another. Consort De raised her hand and gently stroked the eldest princess's cheek, advising her in a tone of peace that they had never used before, "Wash yourself up, wait for the imperial decree to come down, go and express your gratitude, and take advantage of the emperor's remorse to receive more rewards... From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself."
The eldest princess slumped to the ground, silent for a long time. The hatred and resentment that had gathered on her face dissipated completely, leaving only a stagnant pool of despair. Her throat seemed to have gone hoarse, unable to utter a sound, and she simply collapsed to the ground.
Upon seeing this, Consort De covered her face and wept, her voice suppressed, tears streaming from between her fingers.
The Manyue Palace fell silent, and everyone in the palace breathed a sigh of relief. The remaining half of the breath was from Lu Yunye, who was imprisoned in the imperial prison. The people of the capital were watching to see how Emperor Mingkang would deal with him this time.
Emperor Mingkang seemed to have completely forgotten about Lu Yunye, and all the pleas for mercy were rejected. Because of their awkward status, the Lu family had very few connections with officials in the capital, and after two days of this, the matter was dropped.
The Lu family mansion was filled with wails and deathly silence. The second and third branches were the true descendants of the Lu family, while the eldest branch was the daughter of Old Madam Lu and the former emperor's son-in-law. After the establishment of the new dynasty, they changed their surname to Lu to avoid any taboo. Old Master Lu had once been a key minister of the new dynasty. The descendants of the Lu family watched as their former colleagues grew increasingly illustrious, while the Lu family itself became increasingly wretched.
To avoid causing resentment within the clan, and hatred among the second and third branches, Madam Lu spoke sternly and harshly this time. Apart from the eldest branch being anxious, the lower branches all outwardly complied but inwardly defied her.
Madam Lu cursed the Second Princess at home, calling her a femme fatale. Her son was terrified when he heard this and closed the Lu residence in a panic. As a result, no one paid any attention to Lu Yunye.
Just as life was gradually returning to Kyoto and spring was in full bloom, the Fourth Prince escorted a large group of serious criminals into the capital. In their haste, everyone realized that they had forgotten about the Fourth Prince, who was heading south to Chuzhou.
Everyone was suddenly startled, realizing where the eldest prince and the empress had gone!
Emperor Mingkang looked at the presented confessions and evidence, which were irrefutable and undeniable. He picked up the thick stack of testimonies, sneered, and dismissed them.
The pages of paper, some yellowed and some wrinkled, but none torn, showed the painstaking effort put into them, yet they were simply tossed out and scattered around the Fourth Prince.
Emperor Mingkang, who had been holding back his frustration for so long, could finally vent it without restraint, and said sarcastically, "I underestimated you before!"
The fourth prince remained expressionless, kneeling with his back straight, his eyelashes lowered as he looked at the paper on the ground. After a long pause, he slowly replied, "Your subject is terrified."
"Ha! With such a grand display, who wouldn't praise the Fourth Prince's benevolence?"
The fourth prince calmly accepted his father's dissatisfaction. What use was reputation? He wouldn't have used this method to achieve his goal if he hadn't been forced to. His father's tolerance for the eldest prince had no limits. These things were irrelevant to him; he didn't care. But he did care about the countless people who died in Chuzhou. When he arrived in Chuzhou by fast horse, the number of dead was ten times more than the number reported to the capital.
In the freezing cold of Chuzhou City, countless elderly, weak, women, and children lay on the streets, barely clothed, stuffing weeds into their bosoms, which swelled up and rustled in the cold wind, drawing away the last bit of warmth from their bodies.
Some people didn't even make it through the New Year, freezing to death in unnoticed corners. The new job for the Chuzhou yamen runners was to kick these people every day, and if they didn't react, they wouldn't even get a straw mat to lie on.
However, the prefect of Chuzhou was indulging in revelry in his backyard every night, and the officials of Chuzhou were all in cahoots. If he did not take drastic measures, how could he suppress these demons and monsters? The Great Jin Dynasty had not even been a hundred years old, yet he was already chilling the hearts of the people. He had promised them that he would find justice for them.
"Your subject obeys the order and acts accordingly, which shows that Your Majesty loves the people like your own children."
Emperor Mingkang felt a tightness in his chest when he saw the fourth prince's rigid demeanor. If he didn't know his son's personality, he would have thought it was a mockery.
"Alright, leave this matter to the Dali Temple. You don't need to worry about the rest."
"After all, it involves the Emperor, so according to the law, it should be a joint trial by the three judicial departments."
"You... how dare you! How dare you question my orders?"
Emperor Mingkang's face was filled with annoyance. These days, everyone was pressuring him. The Empress was pressuring him to back down, the barbarians were pressuring him to marry a foreign ruler, the Grand Princess was threatening to die, and even this rebellious son was pressuring him to act according to the law. He, the dignified ruler of a country, should have been sitting on his high throne, but he had been forced to this point by them.
Emperor Mingkang has become increasingly uneasy these days. His previous peace has been completely disrupted, and there are signs that some things are slipping out of his control.
The fourth prince walked to the door and looked at Meng Qingshan, who was returning from his inspection. Their eyes met, and they looked away in tacit understanding. One of them walked out, while the other went into the hall.
As the sun grew stronger, only under the trees could one find a little shade. The Fourth Prince pondered that this year's temperature was unusually hot and cold, and he needed to consult the Imperial Observatory for calculations. He heard clear footsteps behind him, turned around, and saw the person standing in front of him. The person said sincerely, "Thank you for your help this time."
Meng Qingshan recalled that when he entered the palace earlier, Emperor Mingkang still had an angry look on his face. He couldn't help but admire the man in front of him. The outside world said that the Fourth Prince was dull and inflexible, but in his opinion, he was an excellent person who was principled in handling affairs. In this matter in Chuzhou, he was able to use such methods and even acted first and reported later, completely blocking any oversights. Otherwise, where would the emperor's anger come from? It was simply because he saw that Meng Qingshan was meticulous in his work and had no way to calculate the outcome.
These events all expose the eldest prince's misdeeds. Did Emperor Mingkang not know this? Perhaps he did know, but pretended not to. However, with each and every one of these events laid bare before him, he had no choice but to acknowledge them.
But no one knows how things will unfold next.
It can stir up the winds and clouds, and the storm is about to break, which is always better than a stagnant pool with oppressive clouds overhead. It offers more opportunities for a dramatic change of events.
The two exchanged a smile, and Meng Qingshan said, "It was nothing."
Meng Qingshan spoke from the bottom of his heart. Without him, with the imperial examination approaching and Huang Pu's reputation growing, Emperor Mingkang would not have sent the second princess to marry into the emperor, and even if he was angry, he would not have punished the fourth prince.
After exchanging a few words, the two went their separate ways. The Fourth Prince went to Yingcui Palace to pay his respects to his mother, briefly recounted the events, and then said to Ling Shuyao, whose eyes were red and swollen, "I just ran into Meng Qingshan. Lu Yunye was not tortured in prison and is doing well."
Ling Shuyao received Qingli's letter, which described things in more detail than her brother had, but her heart was still heavy with worry.
Seeing that his words of comfort had no effect, Ling Zizhan shook his head with amusement. Lu Yunye was already determined to burn his bridges; this risk might really be a gamble on some possibilities.
Consort Mu looked at her son laughing and couldn't help but say, "You can still laugh?"
Ling Zizhan suppressed his smile, "I believe I have done my best. As for the rest, let fate decide. It is Mother who has lost her composure these days."
Consort Mu saw the cunning in his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. In the past, she felt that she was alone and had no worries, but now she had an elderly father and children, and Qing Li was on her mind. The palace was treacherous, and even the slightest unease could make her heart pound.
Consort Mu, however, was unwilling to joke with her son and said solemnly, "I never wanted a reward, but... things are unpredictable, and it might cause trouble."
After sending Ling Shuyao away, Consort Mu pondered for a while before slowly revealing Qing Li's identity.
Ling Zizhan was surprised. What he had previously found unusual suddenly became clear to him. "If only Mother had said so earlier..."
Now it was Ling Zizhan's turn to be speechless. He had been unable to enter the palace earlier, let alone help, so he changed the subject, saying, "This is a great joy for our family."
"I just hope that the three of you will be safe and happy."
Having said that, he let out a soft sigh, for peace and happiness in the palace were a luxury.
After a moment of silence, Ling Zizhan asked, "Yao'er still doesn't know?"
"She has an outgoing personality and is currently feeling quite agitated, so let's put it off for now."
Does Meng Qingshan know?
When Consort Mu spoke of Meng Qingshan, a hint of resentment lingered in her voice. "I don't know why you're bringing up an outsider like him!" she said angrily.
Ling Zizhan pondered in silence, fearing that his mother had guessed wrong. The subtle hostility Meng Qingshan had shown earlier had completely vanished upon their reunion. He knew that Meng Qingshan was resolute and that he couldn't change his mind just by going to Chuzhou.
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