Chapter 216 After the Lantern Festival (Two Chapters Combined into One)
As the imperial carriage left, the princes, princesses and clan members followed. The third prince and his wife Feng Jiahe did not go with the clan members. They accompanied Feng Ke and his wife back to the Feng Mansion. The body of Master Feng had already been sent back.
Zhao Shiqing saw the Crown Prince's Consort from Prince Fu's Mansion in the crowd. She walked behind the Crown Prince of Fu without saying a word. She didn't say a word throughout the whole day, but she won everyone's sympathy.
The battle in Wangxian Tower was fought by her son, but the battle back home was hers.
When Lady Yu, wife of Duke Weiguo, saw Zhao Shiqing, her eyes lit up. Miss Zhao Er is here too?
She grabbed Zhao Shiqing's hand and said, "That bastard Xiao Shiyi, he didn't even tell me you came to see the lights."
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "I also met him at the Lantern Festival, so I followed him here."
Madam Yu asked hurriedly, "Are you not scared?"
Zhao Shiqing shook her head. "We were downstairs. When we heard the noise, it was already over. We weren't scared."
Madam Yu whispered to Zhao Shiqing, "I'm glad you weren't scared. Don't misunderstand me. The capital is actually quite peaceful. Today was just an accident. Besides, the Feng family are all civil servants, so they're powerless. But our Yan family is different. We're all military commanders. When the princess comes to the capital, she won't need bodyguards. She'll be well protected."
Zhao Shiqing understood. This wasn't about whether she was frightened or not. He was clearly worried that she would tell her sister what happened today, making her sister mistakenly believe that the capital was unsafe and that even looking at a lantern could lead to an assassin. What if her sister didn't want to marry him?
Zhao Shiqing promised again and again that she would not create a tense atmosphere for her sister. Only then did Mrs. Yu feel relieved. She took off the bracelet on her hand with a smile and put it on Zhao Shiqing.
Zhao Shiqing...is this the legendary bribery?
Madam Yu asked the nanny beside her to accompany Zhao Shiqing home. Zhao Shiqing was a little girl, and it would be disrespectful to let the boys from the Yan family send her back.
Zhao Shiqing did not refuse. The more polite and considerate Madam Yu was, the more it showed that she valued her sister.
When Zhao Shiqing and others walked out of Wangxian Tower, they found that the lantern festival outside had already ended.
Yan Ba said, "With something this serious happening, they're definitely going to arrest the accomplices. There's no need for the Five City Division to chase them away; everyone's just scared away."
The entire Bao'en Temple was under martial law. Zhao Shiqing was worried about the four guards, so he looked around and saw that the four were standing with the entourage from various mansions. He breathed a sigh of relief and waved to them, asking them to follow.
From Bao'en Temple to Tianjing Hutong, there was a guard every three steps and a guard every five steps. Even though they saw that it was a carriage from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, the Jinyiwei still stopped the carriage. The nanny showed the sign of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion before letting it pass.
When I returned to Tianjing Hutong, I saw a light on at the entrance of the alley from afar, and an old man was standing there with two dogs.
Zhao Shiqing's nose felt sore, and he walked over quickly: "Grandpa, I'm back."
The old man looked her up and down and said, "I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're back."
When they got home, Zhao Shiqing asked, "Grandpa, have you heard about what happened tonight?"
The old man nodded and said, "I know a little bit, but I heard from people who came back from the Lantern Festival that someone was killed in Wangxian Tower."
Zhao Shiqing then recounted the story of how Lan Caihe attempted to assassinate Feng Ke but accidentally killed Master Feng.
Sure enough, the old man's brows knitted into knots. "That's not right. What assassin is so stupid that he couldn't kill the man earlier or later, but had to kill him right in front of the emperor? This is almost as difficult as assassinating the emperor himself."
Zhao Shiqing was very excited when she found out that her suspicions resonated with others. She had been holding back all this time. She didn't dare to say anything in Wangxian Tower, nor did she dare to say anything on the way back. Grandpa was indeed her grandfather, and they always thought the same thing.
She also said that she suspected Lan Caihe was also the murderer of Deng Qian. The old man pondered for a long time and finally shook his head. He still didn't understand what was going on.
This killer obviously knows how to assassinate. Look, he killed Deng Qian very well. Why did he become stupid when it came to killing Feng Ke?
The grandfather and grandson stared at each other, neither of them being able to understand what was going on.
If you can't figure it out, just stop thinking about it. Zhao Shiqing talked about Zhao Tingluo's great display of power today. The old man laughed heartily: "As expected of him who grew up in the palace, he has one more cleverness than ordinary children."
Zhao Shiqing actually knew in her heart that the reason why Zhao Tingluo wanted to kill her father was because of what she had said before.
It is actually very easy to let Xiaobao recognize his ancestors. The difficult part is what will happen in the future. Prince Fu's Mansion has a child born out of wedlock outside. Now that Prince Fu is here, the prince dare not take the child back. But what if Prince Fu dies? At that time, Prince Fu's Mansion will be the prince's world. Not to mention one child born out of wedlock, he can also take ten or twenty children into the mansion openly.
Or, Zhao Tingluo was raised in the palace since he was a child, and Xiaobao was indirectly abandoned by the prince. In the prince's mind, these two sons are not close to him, so will he create another accident and abolish these two sons?
If it were anyone else, Zhao Shiqing wouldn't think too much about it, but this prince already had a criminal record, and Zhao Shiqing certainly wouldn't judge him by normal people's moral standards.
After all, Niu Qiu picked up Xiaobao in front of the brothel.
Making a member of the royal family a prostitute is more terrifying than killing him.
Therefore, Zhao Shiqing reminded Zhao Tingluo that day in Tianjing Hutong, but she only said a few more words. She did not expect a ten-year-old child to do that. After all, that man was his biological father.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Tingluo reacted quickly and hit the target with one strike.
Before the end of the first month of the lunar year, and before the news of the second prince's death was announced, three imperial edicts arrived in succession at Prince Fu's mansion.
First, Prince Fuwang has poor personal morals, so he should be deposed from the position of Crown Prince.
The second one was to confer the title of Crown Prince Zhao Tingluo, the grandson of Prince Fu.
The third one was to give the name Zhao Tingzan to the second grandson of Prince Fu, and grant him the rank of General Zhaoyong of the third grade, and he could take up his post after he turned fifteen.
In fact, on the day of the Lantern Festival, everyone present at Wangxian Tower had already known that things were going to change in Prince Fu's Mansion, but the issuance of the imperial edict still came as a surprise.
Was Prince Fu deposed just like that?
After Prince Fu died, Zhao Tingluo was able to inherit the title, bypassing his father.
The Prince of Fu's Mansion is not hereditary, but the eldest son of Prince of Fu was not given the title of a prince, but a crown prince. This made many people think that the emperor would probably show leniency to the Prince of Fu's Mansion and retain the prince title.
Now that such a big incident has happened in Prince Fu's Mansion, the crown prince has been deposed, and the emperor has named Zhao Tingluo as the crown prince, not the prince. Zhao Tingluo is only ten years old. What does this mean? It means that the prince title of Prince Fu's Mansion can be retained for at least another forty years!
As for his younger brother Zhao Tingzan, he was granted the title of third-rank General Zhaoyong, but this was only temporary. In the future, when his elder brother inherited the title of prince, if he could please the emperor, he would most likely be granted the title of prince.
For a while, countless people envied the Crown Prince's Consort. Interestingly, although the Crown Prince was deposed, her status as the Crown Prince's Consort was still retained. In other words, the eldest house in Prince Fu's Mansion was only the Crown Prince. No, now he is Zhao Huaiying. In the eldest house, Zhao Huaiying is the only commoner.
Prince Fu also breathed a sigh of relief. That night, when the family returned to the mansion, the Crown Princess made another big fuss. As a result, Prince Fu gave two farms and ten shops to Zhao Tingzan from his own private account.
Princess Fu also gave Zhao Tingzan a lot of things as a reward, and even gave him the two houses and a small farm that came with her dowry.
Zhao Tingzan, who was only five years old, was already a rich baby on the first day of his official return home.
Even Loach received five thousand taels of silver, two shops and a house from the Crown Prince's wife.
He happily took everyone to see his house and shop. The house was located in Hongyun Hutong, next to Tianjing Hutong. It was obvious that it was a place specially chosen by the Crown Princess.
The two-story house was kept clean and fully equipped with furniture and utensils. Loach looked at the snow-white walls and the old pomegranate tree in the yard, and his eyes turned red. This was the first decent home he had had since he was a child.
When I was a child, I lived with my grandfather and had to move almost every month. My grandfather was a thief and could not live in one place for a long time. Later, my grandfather died, and he and Xiaobao lived in the most shabby and cheapest house in the slum. It leaked in the winter and leaked in the summer. They had to get up in the middle of the night to swatt mosquitoes.
It was not until he followed Zhao Shiqing that he realized that quilts could be so soft and warm, and that he didn't have to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes when sleeping in the summer.
Chen Wangxing walked around the house and said to Niuqiu, "Niuqiu, when are you moving in?"
Loach shook his head: "I'm not moving. I still live in Tianjing Hutong."
"Why don't you move? You didn't have a home before, but you have one now." Chen Wangxing was puzzled.
Loach wiped his eyes and said, "I have a home now. I know this is my home, and that's enough. But I still like living with you. If I miss home, I can just come back and visit."
Shen Wangxing sighed: "I also want to come to your house to drink housewarming wine."
Loach: "Drink, of course I have to drink, whether I move or not."
So everyone ordered a banquet from outside, ate and drank to their heart's content in the new house, and had a great time for the whole day before going back.
The uproar caused by the death of Master Feng was suppressed with the dethronement of Prince Fu.
What the capital city lacks the least is all kinds of gossip. Now the most talked about thing on the streets is Zhao Huaiying's romantic affairs. After discussing it, people have to add one sentence at the end: You see, this is the result of not being able to control your lower body.
From a prince to a commoner, Zhao Huaiying was eliminated early. He was depressed and went out to get drunk. He was so drunk that he was dragged into an alley and had one of his legs chopped off.
Fortunately, his followers came to him, otherwise he would have died from excessive blood loss.
After all, he was his eldest son. What else could Prince Fu do when he saw his son who was half dead? Even though he knew in his heart that the Crown Princess was most likely the one who did it, he could only pretend not to know. When Zhao Huaiying's injuries got better, he sent him to the farm.
That’s right, it was the manor where the illegitimate son lived. The father and son were finally reunited.
And Zhao Shiqing finally met Xiao Zhen.
The reason why it was "finally" was because after the Lantern Festival, she went to Ruyi Boat, but Xiao Zhen was not there.
She went there twice more later, but Xiao Zhen was not there.
If everything in Su's Tea Shop had not remained the same, Zhao Shiqing might have thought that something had happened to Xiao Zhen.
It was not until the news of Zhao Huaiying's broken leg was finally replaced by new gossip that Zhao Shiqing finally met Xiao Zhen.
Xiao Zhen has lost weight and looks taller.
Zhao Shiqing rarely saw his true face, and asked quickly, "Where have you been?"
Xiao Zhen said, "I went to Dageozhuang."
"Daguozhuang?" Zhao Shiqing was stunned. He seemed to have heard of this place somewhere, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.
Xiao Zhen reminded: "Stilts."
Zhao Shiqing slapped his head and said, "Look at my memory."
She remembered that the stilt team belonged to Daguozhuang, and the emperor's longevity palace occupied the land of Daguozhuang. Even the stilt team existed because of the emperor.
"Hey, Lan Caihe's matter, could it really be related to you?"
Xiao Zhen was puzzled: "What Lan Caihe?"
Zhao Shiqing remembered that she hadn't seen Xiao Zhen for a while and hadn't had time to tell him about Lan Caihe.
"Tell me first, what are you going to do in Daguozhuang?" Zhao Shiqing said.
"The Emperor has been performing rituals for over ten days. Yang Shengqiu was sent there. He made such a big fuss, so of course I have to go and take a look."
Zhao Shiqing asked hurriedly, "Have you seen the Emperor? Is he Zhao Xingzhou?"
Xiao Zhen nodded: "It's him."
Although he had always suspected that Zhao Xingzhou was the emperor, Zhao Shiqing still couldn't believe it when he heard the affirmative answer.
Was it so easy for her to meet the emperor?
"Does he perform rituals every year?" Zhao Shiqing asked.
"No, this is the first time in more than ten years." Xiao Zhen said.
"Why? Is he anxious because he can't ascend? There's no need to perform rituals. Wouldn't it be possible to ascend by hanging himself with a rope?" Zhao Shiqing said.
Xiao Zhen was almost amused by her and said, "He probably wants silver. Do you know how much silver he got out of Emperor Yongjia by making such a big fuss?"
Zhao Shiqing shook his head: "How much?"
Xiao Zhen smiled: "One hundred and fifty thousand taels!"
Zhao Shiqing was shocked: "Isn't it just a ritual? How can it cost 150,000 taels? Is he burning money?"
"I don't know whether they burned any money or not, but I do know that the Changshou Palace asked for 200,000 taels, but they finally gave them 150,000 taels. For this, the retired emperor was very angry and even withheld the golden elixir that was given to the palace every New Year."
The corners of Zhao Shiqing's mouth twitched. This old man is really stingy.
"You met with him alone? Did you go to Changshou Palace?"
Zhao Shiqing was extremely curious. She knew something that even the Jinyiwei had not found out: Lan Caihe was from the stilt team, and the stilt team was from Daguozhuang, which was the territory of the retired emperor.
Xiao Zhen nodded: "I saw him, but he didn't recognize me."
In a flash, Zhao Shiqing thought of a possibility: "Did you go to discuss cooperation with him? He knows he's been cuckolded, so he wants to go to the capital and regain his throne?"
Xiao Zhen...you think too much.
"No, I just asked him to meet Xiao Yue."
Zhao Shiqing cried out and jumped up from her chair. Then, realizing how unladylike she was, she sat down properly. "How will he react? He's not going to do a blood test with Xiao Yueyue, is he? I wonder if the blood of a grandfather and grandson can mix."
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