Su Rong went to the secret chamber, familiar with the door and the road, and took out the case file involving Qin Yuan and started reading it from beginning to end.
Qin Luan was serving the tea, her eyes swept over unintentionally and she froze, staring blankly at Su Rong.
Su Rong looked up at her, "This is your father’s case file. You are not seeing wrong."
Qin Luan’s eyes turned red abruptly.
Su Rong thought that as a spoiled young lady, Qin Luan should not have needed to lift a finger, but was now serving tea and water. It was quite lamentable that she didn’t choose to die rather than adapt to her present life.
However, thanks to Zhou Gu and the influence he wielded with the Crown Prince, she had found relative stability in the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, no matter where she went, whether it was the Rui’an King’s Residence or anywhere else, it wouldn’t be as peaceful as it currently was.
Rui’an King and Queen, although they were decent people, they were the sort who paid particular attention to family status. They would rather die than let their son marry a criminal’s daughter. As for Xie Lin, in comparison to Zhou Gu, he didn’t possess a strong character and might not be able to stand up against his parents – the best outcome for Qin Luan would be to become Xie Lin’s concubine. This was potentially not the life Qin Luan wanted.
The current arrangement was, in fact, the best for her. Given the character of the Crown Prince, as long as she followed the rules and behaved appropriately, the Crown Prince wouldn’t cause her any trouble. In the Eastern Palace, as she was a female official, no one would look down on her.
Su Rong laid down the case file and asked Qin Luan, "Can you tell me about your father?"
Qin Luan did not understand why Su Rong was specifically looking into her father’s case today. However, under Su Rong’s intense gaze, she nodded and started to speak about her father, Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan, an upright official in the Imperial Court, was implicated in a convoluted case that involved many court officials. However, the case was quite simple; he was accused by an overwhelming number of people with an array of evidence against him which left him with no room to refute.
What Yan Huisheng had said was correct, his case was indeed very similar to Lipin’s current case.
As a pampered daughter kept in the harem, Qin Luan didn’t know much about what happened in the court. She did not know much about what her father, Qin Yuan, did every day. This was due to the upbringing of the Qin family, where daughters were pampered and trained to be refined ladies who could play music instruments, paint, and conduct themselves elegantly. Their main purpose was to secure a beneficial marriage alliance. So, matters of the court were rarely discussed with her.
Therefore, what Qin Luan could tell Su Rong was totally based on the everyday trivia she could remember, and some snippets she picked up from conversations with her parents and siblings.
Su Rong didn’t find the trivia boring, instead, she listened attentively to Qin Luan and occasionally interjected with questions about who she was friendly with, who was friendly with her mother or siblings, and whether anything unusual had happened before the case broke out. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Recalling the past, Qin Luan said, "Before the imperial decree to confiscate the Qin Residence, my mother had gone to pray at the Great Buddha Temple. Upon her return, she was in a daze for two days and gave me a lot of advice."
As she spoke, she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, maintaining her composure, she murmured, "I went over it countless times and I surmise that was when mother realized our family was in trouble."
"When Madam Qin went to pray at the Great Buddha Temple, did she meet anyone?" Su Rong asked.
Qin Luan shook her head, "I did not accompany her, and when I asked her afterwards, she told me not to ask too many questions."
Su Rong thought to herself, "Again, the Great Buddha Temple," this temple was really a hotbed of crime. She turned to look at Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng, who had put away the case file at some point and had been listening to the conversation, replied to Su Rong’s questioning gaze, "I will send someone to the Great Buddha Temple again."
Su Rong immediately said, "I’ll go right away."
Yan Huisheng cast a glance at the darkening sky outside, just as he was about to refuse, they were informed that the Fourth Prince had requested to meet the Crown Prince.
Su Rong raised her eyebrows in surprise. The Fourth Prince was Lipin’s son. What was he doing at the Eastern Palace so late? Begging for mercy for his mother to the Crown Prince?
Yan Huisheng pursed his lips in contemplation.
Su Rong also mulled it over. After a moment, she said to Yan Huisheng, "I think you should see him."
"I think so too." Yan Huisheng nodded and commanded, "Let him in."
Qin Luan wiped her eyes clean without making a sound, then stood up to greet the guest.
Su Rong asked Yan Huisheng, "Shall I take the case file back to the secret chamber?"
"No need." Yan Huisheng shook his head, "You can stay here."
Seeing that he insisted, Su Rong remained seated and did not move.
Not long after, a young man walked in. He was tall and handsome. However, due to some kind of distress, he looked rather haggard. As he entered, he formally greeted Yan Huisheng, "Big Brother Crown Prince."
Even with Su Rong present, he didn’t display any surprise and bowed formally to her, "Lady Su Qi."
Su Rong had seen this young man from afar at the banquet in the Duke Residence. She had then thought, with all the princes gathering together, each one of them seemed in high spirit, probably because wealth and privilege nurtured the best in a person, therefore all the princes seemed extraordinary.
Looking at him now, due to Lipin being most likely confirmed as the principal in the conspiracy, this could be a turning point in the Fourth Prince’s life. His aura was gloomy and desolate.
It was easy to imagine that once Lipin was confirmed as the primary conspirator, there would be little left in the life of the Fourth Prince.
Although he might not be sentenced to death and his mother would not be implicated, there was no evidence to suggest the Fourth Prince was involved. However, he would have to bear the sin of having a relative involved in a serious crime. There would be no hope for the throne, and even a chance to attain nobility or a dukedom would be non-existent.
Yan Huisheng gestured gently, "Sit down! What brings you here this late, Fourth Brother?"
Prince Yan Shen didn’t sit down, instead, he fell to his knees, "Big Brother Crown Prince, Third Brother, I am begging you to save Miss Lipin. I swear to heaven she is not the mastermind. If Third Brother can save Miss Lipin, I swear, I will support you with all I have for the rest of my life, never to deceive."
Yan Huisheng calmly replied, "Fourth Brother, all the evidence and testimonies are currently pointing towards Lipin. If you want to save her, you need to produce solid evidence."
His eyes reddening, Yan Shen responded, "If I could produce evidence, I wouldn’t need to beg Third Brother. But I know that Miss Lipin has been wronged. She does have ambitions for me to fight for the throne, but she never acted on it. She knows well she can’t compete against the Queen, the Virtuous Consort and the Consort of Virtue. Over the years, she has been careful not to act rashly to avoid drawing attention. She is nothing more than a dreamer. I also know I can’t compete against you, eldest brother, and the second brother, so I never dared to covet the throne."
Yan Huisheng paused before rapping his fingers on the table, "Fourth Brother, if it means defying the Emperor and being demoted to a commoner in order to save Miss Lipin, would you be willing?"
Yan Shen hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes and said in hoarse voice, "I am willing to. Miss Lipin nearly died giving birth to me. I can’t forget her kindness."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "You can get up now."
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