Chapter 290: Xiao Zhen's Mythology (Two Chapters in One)
Wan Ruyi was simple-minded and didn't think much about it. Since the old man didn't allow her to call Zhao Shiqing "Second Miss" anymore, she would just change her words.
"Mm, Qingqing, Qingqing, it sounds very nice!"
Looking at those pure and flawless eyes, Zhen Wuduo breathed a sigh of relief.
This person has already made her way to the emperor, and that is the eldest princess. What's more, his eldest granddaughter has recognized her as her godmother.
Thinking of this, the old man became sad again.
He thought of his daughter, whom he had never met. She was so pitiful. Her biological father had never seen her, and even her only daughter had never seen her. Now, she had to call others "mother"...
However, the old man was happy after thinking about it. His eldest granddaughter had been without a mother since childhood, and her adoptive mother did not like her. Although her master and sister loved her, they were only a few years older than her. They were her teachers, sisters, and friends, but not her mother.
Wan Ruyi is simple and kind. Having her as her godmother should be able to make up for the lack of maternal love for her eldest granddaughter.
While the old man was happy for his eldest granddaughter, he was also busy.
He called Lao Fan and said, "Go and give a message to Prince Fu's grandson. Ask him and his friends to come over. I will treat them to some big crabs!"
That afternoon, a group of older children came with their younger children. They were all very cautious. They did not ride horses or take their own carriages. They just hailed a sedan chair on the street. With their half-new and half-worn clothes, if you were not an acquaintance, you would never have guessed that they were princes.
As soon as the Broken Stone brothers entered the room, they shouted, "Brother Abao, Sister Abao, are you back?"
In their hearts, Zhao Shiqing will always be the little Abao who sometimes acts like a boy and sometimes like a girl, or the second Miss Zhao. She is just the little Abao who snatches chicken legs from them.
Zhao Tingluo hushed, "Don't make any noise. Since it was the old man who sent us here, then Sister Abao must not have come back yet."
Upon hearing this, the group of ruffians turned into polite young masters from aristocratic families in the blink of an eye, and went to pay their respects to Zhen Wuduo.
Zhen Wuduo had people prepare more than a dozen baskets of large crabs and the best osmanthus wine. After they had eaten their fill, they divided the remaining crabs among themselves. Everyone was very happy, eating and taking.
The next morning, beggars all over the capital took action and went from door to door.
At noon, people on the streets were no longer talking about the Fourth Prince's corruption, but about the Emperor and Xiao Zhen!
Xiao Zhen, who had been dead for two years, was resurrected!
"Young Master Xiao lost his memory for two years. He didn't know who he was, let alone that he was the eldest princess's son. Until he met the retired emperor, he was recognized as his own grandson at a glance. Wow, so touching."
"Hey, what I heard is different from what you heard. The Emperor Retired predicted in Changshou Palace that there were still descendants of his family outside, so he left Changshou Palace and searched all the way, and finally found Young Master Xiao."
"Nonsense, what I heard was that the Grand Master appeared in the Emperor's dream, telling him that Tongzhou was in trouble. The Emperor loved the people like his own children, so after waking up, he went to Tongzhou and met Xiao Zhen on the way."
In short, Xiao Zhen was not dead, he was alive, and was found by the emperor!
The news spread quickly throughout the capital as if it had wings.
At this time, Emperor Yongjia was sitting in the imperial study with a gloomy face.
The Fourth Prince was escorted back to the capital by Li Qing the day before yesterday, and Li Qing came to see the emperor yesterday. Li Qing did not hide anything and told him everything about how the retired emperor brought Xiao Zhen, his godson Zhao Shiqing, and his godson Chen Guanyue to Tongzhou, ordered the governor of Tongzhou to relocate the people, shelter the victims, provide porridge in Gaoping, and how he saw through the Fourth Prince's conspiracy and caught him red-handed.
All the stories were true. Li Qing neither concealed nor exaggerated them. The only difference was that he linked all these things to the retired emperor.
The fourth prince was imprisoned in the imperial prison, and Emperor Yongjia did not see him. He needed to sort out his thoughts, and the sudden appearance of the retired emperor caught him off guard.
What’s more, there is Xiao Zhen!
No one knew better than Emperor Yongjia what happened to Xiao Zhen.
This is what I ordered the Fourth Prince to do.
At that time, in my mind, Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao were already dead, and the next head of the Xiao family, Xiao Su, was also on his way to death, so Xiao Zhen, who was still in the capital, had to die. Only when Xiao Zhen died, would the Xiao family be completely desperate and fight to the death with Prince Liang's Mansion!
When the Prince of Liang's Mansion and the Xiao family were at war, the imperial court could openly send troops to Liang on the pretext of assisting the Prince of Liang's Mansion in quelling the rebellion.
But in the end, Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao were both alive, and Xiao Su was also alive. The only ones who died were the old Prince Liang and Xiao Zhen!
The Xiao family did not rebel, Liang was not in chaos, but I almost lost a son.
But now, you tell me that Xiao Zhen is not dead, he is still alive!
And from Li Qing's words, we can know that Xiao Zhen is not only not dead, but also obviously not disabled. He is alive and well and can still help the emperor.
Xiao Zhen is alive, so what about the body found that year?
Emperor Yongjia frowned deeply. How did he know that the body was Xiao Zhen's?
He immediately asked someone to find the files from that year. The files clearly stated that the body had been dead for many days and had been eaten by wild beasts, with the head, face and limbs severely damaged. A waist badge of the Princess's Mansion was found ten feet away from the body. Based on the remaining pieces of clothing on the body, Xiao Zhen's guards finally identified it as Xiao Zhen.
"Where are the guards who identified the body? Are they still in the Princess's Mansion?" asked Emperor Yongjia.
The visitor shook his head: "At that time, the Princess and her husband were not in the palace. The Chief Secretary temporarily detained the four personal guards of Young Master Xiao on the grounds that they failed to protect their master, and waited for the Princess to return to the palace to make her decision.
But one night, there was a fire in the Princess's mansion. Although the fire was put out, the whereabouts of the four guards were unknown."
"A fire?" Emperor Yongjia vaguely remembered that this was indeed the case. At that time, he was very concerned about the Princess's Mansion. The fire in the Princess's Mansion was reported the next day.
"Yes, it was caused by Prince Consort Xiao's illegitimate son Xiao Yue, who was too playful. This wasn't his first time playing with fire; he had burned down a house before."
Emperor Yongjia narrowed his eyes slightly. Yes, Prince Consort Xiao did have a bastard son, and a concubine's son at that.
"Where is Xiao Yue now?" asked Emperor Yongjia.
"Xiao Yue was too naughty, and with Xiao Zhen's death, the princess grew increasingly displeased with Xiao Yue. In order to appease the princess, Prince Consort Xiao decided to split up the family and move Xiao Yue out of the mansion.
Xiao Yue was only a concubine's son and could not get any share of the property of the Princess's Mansion. He could only get 5,000 taels of silver from Prince Consort Xiao's private property.
As a result, Zhu Yu found out about this and dragged Xiao Yue to the Jinbao Casino. Xiao Yue was only twelve years old, still a child. He lost all the five thousand taels in just one night.
When Prince Consort Xiao heard about this, he sent people to look for him, but they couldn't find him. Later, there were rumors that Zhu Yu had taken a fancy to him and had hidden him away. The Xiao family may have heard this rumor as well, and they never looked for him again.
Emperor Yongjia's expression became increasingly gloomy. This matter was actually related to Zhu Yu.
The visitor continued, "Although Xiao Yue is young, he has a good appearance and has also learned to sing opera, specializing in the role of Hua Dan, making it difficult to tell whether he is male or female. In the past, some playboys had their eyes on him, but they didn't dare because Xiao Zhen protected him. After Xiao Zhen died, he was separated from the mansion, and that's when Zhu Yu set his sights on him."
Emperor Yongjia closed his eyes. Zhu Yu was attracted to both men and women. This was indeed something he would do.
He waved his hand, asked people to leave, and sat alone in the imperial study for a long time.
He did not publicize the fact that Xiao Zhen was alive for the time being, but he did not expect that the news of Xiao Zhen's resurrection would spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital the next day.
Moreover, this incident was given a mythical color and was closely related to the retired emperor. Whether it was the ancestor's dream or the retired emperor's divination, in short, whether it was Xiao Zhen's fake death or his resurrection, it was not a conspiracy, but God's blessing!
This favor is not only for the Princess's Mansion and the Xiao Family, but also for the common people in the four areas of Tongzhou.
Because the retired emperor found Xiao Zhen first, he sent Xiao Zhen to Tongzhou. He first assisted the government office in relocating the people, and then assisted the Ministry of Works in flood control. Even in the capture of the Fourth Prince, Xiao Zhen helped.
It was also for this reason that Emperor Yongjia could not put Xiao Zhen to death again.
Although Xiao Zhen has not returned to the capital yet, there are already legends about him in the capital. He is a nobleman who is blessed by God, recognized by the Supreme Emperor, and saves the people from dire straits. He must not die, at least not within a few years. He must, and can only, live well in front of people.
Emperor Yongjia smashed a jade horse that he often played with to pieces.
This feeling of being restricted was very unpleasant. He hadn't felt this way for many years. It suffocated him and made him feel deeply uneasy.
Emperor Yongjia was a man with a strong and stable heart, but now, his hands hidden under the dragon table were clenched into fists.
This time, he was very passive!
The journey was long, and the traffic interruption caused by the flood prevented him from grasping the situation in Tongzhou in a timely manner. More importantly, half of the Jinyiwei had been lost, and the Fourth Prince's men were also under custody, among whom were the Emperor's men.
Therefore, Emperor Yongjia, who was far away in the capital, was like having his eyes blindfolded and his ears blocked. For the first time in his more than ten years in power, he experienced the feeling of being out of control.
Emperor Yongjia looked out through the half-open window. It was autumn, and the sky was high and the clouds were light.
"This time, my opponent is my father!"
"Father, what exactly do you want to do?"
"You found Xiao Zhen two years later, so you planned Xiao Zhen's fake death two years ago."
"You have been planning this game for two years. Father, what are your intentions?"
Emperor Yongjia thought of the 150,000 taels of silver that the Ministry of Revenue squeezed out of its teeth during the New Year. Yes, I should have thought of it earlier. It was unusual that my father asked for such a huge sum of money.
"Issue an imperial decree, ordering the Seventh Prince to leave the capital and respectfully welcome the Retired Emperor to the capital. Order the Crown Prince of Lu and the Crown Prince of Fu to accompany him. The Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Clan Court, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Golden Guard, and the Banner Guards to escort them."
"Come here, spread the word!"
Lu Gan arrived very quickly. After Li Qing came back yesterday, Lu Gan found a bunch of things for Li Qing to do according to the instructions of Emperor Yongjia, trapping Li Qing in the yamen and preventing him from going out. Of course, Lu Gan had to accompany him, as he had not been home for a day and two nights.
Now Emperor Yongjia summoned him to the palace. Lu Gan came very quickly. He thought that Emperor Yongjia wanted to ask about Li Qing.
"It has been two years since this Lord Shan took office, right?" asked Emperor Yongjia.
Lu Gan was stunned. It turned out that His Majesty was not looking for him for Li Qing, but for the mountain gate.
"Yes, the current Shan Ye is from the third branch. He took office two years ago and it has been two years and three months."
"Bring him into the palace. I want to see him."
"I obey your command!"
Lu Gan was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and said, "Yesterday, I heard something from Li Qing about the disappearance of Yang Shengqiu, the top scholar. There's something strange about that."
The people from the Ministry of Works have not returned to the capital yet. They returned to the capital with the retired emperor. Today, an imperial decree was just issued to order the Seventh Prince to go out of the capital to welcome them. Yang Shengqiu is from the Ministry of Works. Emperor Yongjia only knows that such an incident has happened, but he does not know the specific details.
"Tell me in detail," said Emperor Yongjia.
Lu Ganjiang recounted everything he had heard from Li Qing and what he had sent people to investigate.
"I suspect that the raiders were not bandits, and their target was not the Fourth Prince, but Yang Shengqiu!"
"Yang Shengqiu is an orphan on the surface, but his background is questionable. I also heard that Yan Xia investigated him and that there was a case involving him, but there was no solid evidence, so he kept it secret."
"What case?" Ever since Yang Shengqiu stopped studying in the palace, Emperor Yongjia gradually forgot about this person. Now when he thought of this former number one scholar, the first thing Emperor Yongjia thought of was the marriage between Yang Shengqiu and Feng Yalan.
After all, a good marriage between a talented man and a beautiful woman was ruined by the fifth prince. As a father, he had a deep memory of the ridiculous things his son did.
"This case involved a pair of cousins, both students at a college. On New Year's Day, the cousin went out to visit a friend. On his way back, he was attacked and thrown into an ice cave. Fortunately, he was rescued and survived. The friend he went to meet that day was Yang Shengqiu.
When his cousin saw that his cousin had not returned, he went out to look for him, but he never came back, and neither his body nor his body was found."
"If Yang Shengqiu is the murderer, why would he do this?" Emperor Yongjia was puzzled. He had a good impression of Yang Shengqiu, a young man with both talent and good looks.
"That cousin and Yang Shengqiu were classmates when they were young, and he knew some things about Yang Shengqiu.
This case has been investigated by Yan Xia from the beginning, and the witness was even protected by Yan Xia. All evidence was sealed by the Ministry of Justice. It wasn't until recently, while sorting through files submitted from various places, that I stumbled upon a case and was able to connect the dots."
"Speak!" Whether it was Yang Shengqiu, the cousins, or the local cases, these were all small people and small matters that could not be reported to Emperor Yongjia. But today, for some reason, Emperor Yongjia felt something strange in his heart, and he needed to know these things in detail.
"In Qinglu County, Wu, there's a small village called Zhuxitang. Two years ago, an orphan girl returned to the village to look for her family. Four bodies were unearthed on a hillside not far from the village. They were the orphan's parents and grandmother. The fourth body was that of a doctor who had been staying with the family at the time."
The air around him seemed to freeze, and Lu Gan suddenly felt a chill on his back. He subconsciously raised his head and met the eyes of Emperor Yongjia. Lu Gan's heart skipped a beat. He had been in charge of the Jinyiwei for nine years, but this was the first time he saw murderous intent in the eyes of Emperor Yongjia.
Today, he talked too much.
"Yang Shengqiu and that scholar are both from that village?" Emperor Yongjia asked slowly.
Lu Gan swallowed hard and said, "The deceased doctor's surname was Yang, and so was Yang Shengqiu. The scholar was from a nearby village. He must have known about Yang Shengqiu's relationship with that family, and Yang Shengqiu clearly didn't want anyone to know about it. I suspect that if he was the murderer, this was his motive."
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