Chapter 28 The old fox is really good at pretending.
Uncle Qingshan rode in a sedan chair to the palace. He was a little uneasy along the way, but he didn't think the matter was so difficult that it was unsolvable. This was not only because there was a concubine in the palace, but also because the eighth prince born to the concubine was very much loved by the emperor.
However, we still need to be careful.
The sedan chair quickly arrived at the palace gate. He alighted and saw a blue sedan chair slowly approaching from a distance. His eyesight was excellent, and he clearly saw a plaque with the character "Chu" engraved on it. This was the sedan chair of the Duke of Chu's mansion.
The sedan chair approached, but showed no sign of stopping, indicating it was about to enter the palace. Normally, sedan chairs from outside the palace were not allowed to enter unless they were members of the royal family or had received special permission from the emperor. It was obvious that the Duke of Chu was sitting inside.
The Duke of Chu was old and ailing. In recent years, he had only occasionally entered the palace, and the Emperor had always allowed his sedan chair to enter directly into the palace.
"Duke of Chu." Earl Qingshan called out to the blue sedan chair, and then the sedan chair stopped, the curtain was lifted, and the Duke of Chu's old face was revealed.
But the Duke of Chu did not speak; instead, he looked at him with his cloudy eyes. The Earl of Qingshan's pupils contracted slightly, then he cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "How has the Duke of Chu been lately?"
Duke of Chu: "I won't die."
Uncle Qingshan laughed again, "We have served as officials in the same court for many years. If there is anything, Duke of Chu can talk to me in person."
The Duke of Chu looked at him with his cloudy eyes and sneered, "When that Earl of Qingshan bullied the people of my Duke of Chu's mansion, did he ever say so to his face first?"
This left Uncle Qingshan completely bewildered. He wanted to ask for clarification, but the Duke of Chu's sedan chair had already left, so he could only follow behind towards the Imperial Study.
A sedan chair carrying one person arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Study, where Zhao Fuquan, the chief eunuch serving the emperor, was standing in the corridor. Seeing the two approaching, he bowed and greeted them, then took the arm of the Duke of Chu and said with a smile:
"His Majesty was just talking about you a few days ago, saying that he hadn't seen the Duke of Chu for a long time and wondered how his health was."
"Your Majesty is too kind. My old bones can still hold on for a few more days," said the Duke of Chu.
"Take good care of yourself; that's more important than anything else." Zhao Fuquan was clearly aware of the situation at the Duke of Chu's mansion.
As they spoke, they entered the imperial study. The emperor was sitting behind a desk. When he saw the Duke of Chu enter, he stood up and said, "Minister Jiang, please don't stand on ceremony. Please sit down."
But the Duke of Chu gently pushed Zhao Fuquan aside, tremblingly lifted his robe and knelt down, then said, "I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness. I should not have come to see Your Majesty while I am ill, but..."
The Duke of Chu choked up as he spoke.
Seeing this, the emperor walked around the table to the Duke of Chu, bent down to help him up and said, "My dear minister, please get up. What is it that you need to say?"
Tears welled in the old eyes of the Duke of Chu. The Emperor helped him to a chair to sit down, then returned to his seat behind the table, looking as if he were listening attentively.
"I once lost a granddaughter. Does Your Majesty remember her?" asked the Duke of Chu.
The emperor thought for a moment and then sighed, "I remember, I have met your little girl before, she is very clever and quick-witted."
The Duke of Chu wiped away his tears with his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, as you know, my son and grandson are both...both not very bright and not very promising. Back then, when I saw that my child was clever and quick-witted, I wanted to teach him myself to comfort him."
But I had only taught that child for one day when he disappeared the next day, and we have searched for him for many years without finding him.
The Emperor knew that the Duke of Chu's visit today was not simple. He nodded, waiting for the Duke to continue. Meanwhile, the Earl of Qingshan stood to the side, his mind racing. He couldn't fathom why the Duke of Chu had come to see the Emperor today. Was it related to Jiang Yu's matter?
Upon thinking of Jiang Yu, Uncle Qingshan's mind immediately cleared. The Duke of Chu had lost a granddaughter, so...could Jiang Yu be his lost granddaughter?
If that's the case, then everything makes sense.
But if that's the case, this matter will be difficult to resolve.
He looked at the aged face of the Duke of Chu, whose tears were now streaming down his face. He cursed inwardly, "That old fox is really good at pretending."
“A few days ago, I finally heard news of my granddaughter.” Then the Duke of Chu added, “After hearing the news, I ate a few more bites of rice.”
"Has the child been brought back?" the emperor asked.
"They've been brought back," the Duke of Chu said, wiping away his tears again, "but...but my granddaughter has such a tragic fate..."
The Emperor frowned upon hearing this. One could only imagine the fate that awaited a kidnapped girl. He sighed, intending to offer a few words of comfort, when the Duke of Chu spoke again:
"My granddaughter was initially quite lucky; she was adopted by a commoner couple who raised her like their own daughter. Later, they even married her off to a scholar..."
"Isn't this good?" the Emperor said.
“But, but,” the Duke of Chu said, his voice filled with sorrow and pity, “I must say…”
"But that scholar took the imperial examination this year and became the top scholar. After that, he wanted to divorce my granddaughter. My granddaughter argued with him and managed to get a divorce, but... perhaps during the discussion, she offended the top scholar and the young lady of the Qingshan Earl's family. They actually burned down my granddaughter's courtyard."
"emperor...."
The Duke of Chu knelt on the ground again, trembling, and said with tears in his eyes, "A woman, without any fault, was forced to divorce and burned. My heart aches!"
"this....."
The emperor never expected that the other protagonist in yesterday's sensational proclamation incident was the long-lost granddaughter of the Duke of Chu.
He asked, "How is he...?"
With tears streaming down his face, the Duke of Chu looked at the Emperor and said, "Fortunately, I wanted to see my granddaughter as soon as possible, so I sent her back to the capital overnight, thus saving her from this calamity. However, my granddaughter has been so humiliated... Your Majesty... I beg Your Majesty to do justice."
He choked up again. The emperor glanced at Zhao Fuquan, who quickly went over and helped the Duke of Chu to a chair.
"I have heard about this matter. I summoned Lord Qingshan here today to find out the truth. However, I did not expect that the one being divorced was your long-lost granddaughter."
"Your Majesty," Qingshanbo hurriedly knelt down, looking guilty, and said, "I did not know that the woman was the lost granddaughter of the Duke of Chu."
"So, if the other party is an ordinary citizen, the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion can bully them at will?" The Duke of Chu's voice was old, but sharp.
"No...no." Lord Qingshan kowtowed to the Emperor, "I have failed in my duty to manage my household properly, please punish me, Your Majesty."
......
A moment of silence fell over the room.
The emperor sat there weighing the pros and cons. This matter was the fault of the Marquis of Qingshan, and he should be punished, but the punishment could be severe or minor.
In the past two years, the Qingshan Marquis's family has become increasingly arrogant. Shouldn't we take this opportunity to give them a good dressing down?
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