Chapter 151 A Twisted Relationship
After listening to Li Zhong's report, Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The Consort Xian's cousin? How come I've never heard of such a person?"
“Consort Xian was once a palace maid who served the Empress Dowager.” Li Zhongdao said, “Later, when the Emperor came of age, the Empress Dowager gave Consort Xian to the Emperor to teach him about human affairs.”
Li Zhong felt a little awkward at this point. He wasn't sure if Jiang Yu knew what "instructing people" meant. But as a grown man, he couldn't very well explain it to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu noticed his embarrassment and said, "I understand, please continue."
Li Zhong smiled sheepishly and continued, "The Consort Xian's maternal family was from Zhangzhou Prefecture. During a drought in Zhangzhou, the Consort Xian's family fled to the capital. They happened to be there when the palace was selecting palace maids, and the Consort Xian was chosen to enter the palace. Later, she served by the Empress Dowager's side. The Consort Xian's maternal family, the Yan family, also settled down outside the capital."
Later, Consort Xian gained the Emperor's favor and gave birth to Prince Kang. She was subsequently promoted to the rank of Consort, and the Yan family gradually rose to prominence. However, none of the Yan family members were literate, making it impossible for them to enter officialdom, which was one of the reasons for Prince Kang's relatively weak influence.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu nodded and asked, "Then, what's the deal with this cousin?"
Li Zhong: "The Consort Xian's cousin is named Fang Ruiqi. He is the son of the Consort Xian's mother's cousin. He passed the imperial examination in his forties and came to join the Consort Xian. Because he was a bit old and a bookworm, Prince Kang arranged for him to work in the Dali Temple as a judge, a seventh-rank official. Prince Kang has never publicly announced his relationship with him, so no one knows about it."
"How did you find out about this person's relationship with Prince Kang?" Jiang Yu asked.
Li Zhong: "Because we need to investigate Xiang Yonghe, the secret guards are keeping a close eye on Xiang Yonghe's family. The commander of the secret guards also sent people to keep an eye on Xiang Yonghe's wife's family, which is the Fang family. The secret guards discovered that in the past two days, Fang Ruiqi's eldest son's attendants went to Yong'an Street twice, and at the same time, the attendants of Prince Kang also went there."
The old servant had someone investigate the house and found that it was registered under Fang Ruiqi's name, purchased three years ago from a gambler. Our men found the gambler, who was being beaten because of his debts. Our men rescued him and promised him ten taels of silver, after which the gambler told them everything.
According to him, when selling the house, Fang Ruiqi tried to lower the price, but the gambler disagreed. Fang Ruiqi then said that he was the cousin of the Consort Xian. Seeing that his expression was genuine, the gambler reluctantly sold the house.
The old servant then ordered his men to keep a close eye on the Fang family and the Yan family, the maternal family of Consort Xian. They discovered that the two families indeed maintained close ties, but all their connections were conducted covertly.
After hearing this, Jiang Yu said, "So, Xiang Yong and the person behind him are most likely Prince Kang?"
Li Zhong nodded. "That should be true."
“But this is just our speculation. There is no evidence to prove that Prince Kang was the mastermind behind the embezzlement of military supplies,” Jiang Yu said.
Li Zhong also frowned. Even if it could be proven that Xiang Yonghe was related to Prince Kang, it could not directly prove that Prince Kang was the mastermind.
The study was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jiang Yu leaned back in her chair, her hand stroking a warm, smooth piece of white jade. After a while, she said, "The key question now is, where did the embezzled military supplies go? Or rather, how did they transfer it?"
Li Zhong thought for a moment and said, "We'll have to keep an eye on Xiang Yonghe to find out."
Just then, Granny Liao's voice rang out from outside, "Miss."
Jiang Yu let her in, and then heard Granny Liao say, "Manager Hu said that Prince An has sent the Imperial Guards."
After hearing this, Jiang Yu said, "It seems that Prince An's investigation into Hong Yong of HSBC Ironware Shop has yielded results. Let's invite him over."
After Granny Liao left, Steward Hu and a member of the Imperial Guard entered shortly afterward. The Imperial Guard took out half a jade pendant and handed it over, which Granny Liao took and gave to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu took out the other half of the jade pendant that Prince An had given her. The two halves of the jade pendant were joined together perfectly. Jiang Yu asked Steward Li and the others to leave, leaving only her and the Imperial Guard in the study.
“Speak,” she said.
The woman, dressed simply and without any makeup, leaned back lazily in her chair, exuding a relaxed and casual air, yet giving off a subtle sense of pressure.
The imperial guard dared not look Jiang Yu in the eye, and presented a letter with both hands, saying, "My lord has given it to Lord Jiang."
Jiang Yu took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it. The letter was at least four or five pages long. She read it carefully from beginning to end, and before she knew it, she had sat up straight.
Closing the letter, she looked at the Imperial Guard and asked, "Is Hong Yong's sister the concubine of Xing Hui, a staff member of Prince Kang?"
“Yes,” the Imperial Guard replied respectfully. “Hong Yong’s mother died early, and his stepmother was unkind. Six years ago, while Hong Yong was away from home, she sold Hong Yong’s sister. Hong Yong had a deep affection for his sister and searched for her for many years before finally finding her. However, his sister had already become Xing Hui’s concubine and had already given birth to a child.”
Jiang Yu couldn't help but click her tongue. Hong Yong was the elder brother of a concubine of the Prince Kang's advisor, and Xiang Yonghe was the son-in-law of the Prince Kang's mother's cousin. This Prince Kang is truly exceptionally cautious in his actions!
If it weren't for Tang Boyang's betrayal, which led her to discover the secret in the official document, and if it weren't for a banquet that made her feel that Tang Boyang and Prince Kang had broken ties, making her suspect Prince Kang, it would have been really difficult to contact Prince Kang given these complicated relationships.
Jiang Yu picked up a pen and wrote down the information she had found in a letter, handed it to the Imperial Guard, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The Imperial Guard was taken aback. "No...no trouble at all. It's all my duty. I'll take my leave now."
After bowing, the Imperial Guard withdrew. Once outside the Duke of Chu's residence, he was still thinking, "Although Lord Jiang has quite an imposing presence, he speaks very kindly."
Upon arriving at Prince An's residence, he handed the letter written by Jiang Yu to Prince An. Seeing Prince An wave him away, he remained standing. Prince An frowned. "Is there anything else?"
Imperial Guard: "Lord Jiang just told me...you've worked hard."
Prince An was stunned for a moment before he understood what he meant, and said, "So? You want to serve her?"
The Imperial Guard scratched his head. "That's not what I meant."
Prince An snorted coldly, "You've worked hard, is that enough?"
The Imperial Guard chuckled, bowed, and left. Once outside, another Imperial Guard standing guard gave him a thumbs-up, and that same guard chuckled again.
The Imperial Guards standing at the door muttered "fool" under their breath, but inwardly they were envious.
Inside the room, Prince An tore open the letter and read it. After finishing, he summoned the Imperial Guards who were guarding outside and ordered, "Send more men to keep a close watch on Prince Kang's residence."
"Yes," the Imperial Guard replied, but remained standing. Prince An frowned and waved for him to leave. However, the Imperial Guard still stood there, and Prince An looked at him coldly. "You've worked hard, is that enough?"
"Yes." The Imperial Guard responded loudly, then left with a grin. Prince An glanced at the letter written by Jiang Yu in his hand and couldn't help but chuckle a few times.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
