Chapter 215 Lantern Festival (Part 4)
Seeing that the Emperor, Empress and Concubine Meng had all received rewards, the other royal family members present also gave their rewards. Concubine Qiao, the three eldest princesses, Prince Lu, the third and fourth princes, several concubines of high status, and even the little princes were given lanterns and toys.
This reward meant that Xiaobao's identity was recognized. Although there was no imperial edict and the clan office had not yet registered his name, everyone knew that the second legitimate son of Prince Fu's Mansion not only recognized his ancestral roots, but also, like his brother, caught the emperor's eye.
Prince Fu and his son were on pins and needles. A new circus was being performed outside. There was a person standing on each shoulder of the person at the bottom, and there was also a person standing on each shoulder of these two people. The surprising thing was that the person standing at the bottom was very thin and looked powerless.
The Queen exclaimed, "Ah, this man can carry six people on his own. Could he be a strong man?"
The Fourth Prince was secretly resentful that the two little kids had stolen the spotlight tonight. Hearing the Queen's words, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. He is not a strong man. He is just using clever strength."
The empress suddenly understood, but was still amazed. She smiled and said to Emperor Yongjia, "I don't know where the fourth prince found these extraordinary people. They are really interesting."
Juggling has always been considered a folk trick that is not suitable for formal occasions. The Empress was born into a wealthy family and had never seen juggling since she was a girl. Although the singing and dancing in the palace were exquisite, juggling had never been performed. Not only the Empress and the concubines, but also Emperor Yongjia was the same.
Therefore, these acrobatics that were common among the people now opened the eyes of the nobles in the palace.
Hearing the Queen praising the Fourth Prince, the concubines, led by Concubine Qiao, all praised the Fourth Prince highly, regardless of whether they were sincere or not.
Concubine You was even more proud. This disabled man finally made her proud. It was worth her ten months of pregnancy to give birth to him.
At this time of year in previous years, the emperor and empress would ascend the Wangxian Tower, listen to people's auspicious words, reward a few pleasing young people, and then return to the palace.
This so-called sharing of joy with the people is just a formality.
But today was different from previous years. Both the emperor and the empress were attracted by the acrobatics outside and became interested. They sat there for another half an hour.
The Fourth Prince was secretly delighted. He knew that if his father was happy, he would definitely reward him. What he cared about was not what the reward was, but that his father and mother had increased their favor towards him.
The Queen Mother, in particular, was so fascinated by the acrobatics that she still wanted more.
At this time, the eunuch quietly walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "I just heard that the eldest young master and the third young lady of the You family met the eleventh young master of the Yan family on the Jade Belt Bridge. They had a few words with him and made a scene that was very embarrassing."
The Fourth Prince felt annoyed. If he remembered correctly, Yan Shiyi was even younger than Zhao Tingluo. Did You Dalang and You Sanniang get kicked in the head by a donkey? Why did they provoke a child? If they did, they would provoke him. Why did they let him embarrass them?
It's not the You family's face that's being disgraced, it's his!
If they didn't rely on the fact that they were from the Yan family, would You Dalang and his sister dare to provoke the Yan family's children?
The You family and the Yan family are not in the same circle. Without this prince, the You family will not be able to squeeze into the Yan family's circle even after three generations!
The Fourth Prince's gaze fell on Concubine You's face. He saw that Concubine You was talking to the concubine next to her with a beaming and smug look on her face. Without listening, the Fourth Prince knew that Concubine You must be showing off his son.
Why does he have such a biological mother who only knows how to show off but doesn't even have the most basic concern for him, and such a mean and ignorant in-laws.
Why?
He didn't ask them to be his helpers, as long as they didn't hold him back.
The Fourth Prince thought of the Seventh Prince just now. He was not as good as the motherless child, the Little Seventh Prince. The Little Seventh Prince had no biological mother, but he had an adoptive mother, the Concubine Shu.
When he was recuperating in the mansion, Concubine You and the You family ignored him. Now that he is valued by his father, they use his name to stir up trouble outside.
The Fourth Prince exhaled deeply and lowered his voice to the eunuch, "Go pick out a few lanterns, then return to the palace to get a few ornaments and send them to the Yan family. Send them now, don't put it off until tomorrow."
Tomorrow, who knows whether the Yan family will run to the You family and tear off the roof.
Destroying the You family was a slap in his face.
The eunuch responded and quickly retreated. When he got outside, he saw the Yan family members eating and drinking and chatting at the window seat in the hall. The eunuch felt relieved a little. Fortunately, Yan Xia was not there, and the other older ones were not there either. Only the younger ones were there, and they were easy to coax.
The eunuch immediately asked the people guarding outside to go back to the house to prepare gifts, and he himself took a few lanterns brought from the palace and delivered them over.
Several people at this table had just learned about Zhao Tingluo's heroic deeds, and they all regretted that they were too small and weak to even be qualified to go upstairs and see this wonderful show with their own eyes. At this moment, the eunuchs of the Fourth Prince's Mansion brought a bunch of lanterns, and everyone was surprised, wondering what kind of epilepsy the Fourth Prince had.
"I know!" Yan Shiyi slapped his forehead, "It's probably because of You Dalang."
He recounted the encounter he and Zhao Shiqing had had with the You siblings on Jade Belt Bridge. They all pursed their lips, and as the eunuch walked away, they put their heads together and asked, "Did the Fourth Prince's last injury ruin his courage? Why has he become so cautious? I remember he wasn't like this before. He even stole my eldest brother's horse."
But Zhao Shiqing knew what was going on.
He has grown up. If he was still the same as before, he would probably still be practicing walking in the prince's mansion.
But Zhao Shiqing couldn't say it because those present were all teenagers and she didn't want to lead them astray.
A group of children gathered together to chirp for the Fourth Prince. Zhao Shiqing had no choice but to look around, but when she looked up, she was stunned.
Don’t eunuchs always walk with their chests hunched and shoulders shrunk?
Although this person lowered his head, his body below the shoulders was straight.
Zhao Shiqing also grew up in the palace. From childhood to adulthood, the people she saw the most were eunuchs. She had never seen a eunuch like this.
There is something wrong with this person.
The emperor was sitting upstairs, and there was a eunuch standing every few steps in the hall, ready to receive orders at any time. This upright eunuch stood near the stairs.
Zhao Shiqing stood up and walked towards the eunuch. Yan Shiyi's voice came from behind her: "Sister Abao, where are you going?"
Zhao Shiqing turned around and hissed. Although Yan Shiyi didn't understand why, he immediately fell silent.
Zhao Shiqing walked up to the eunuch and asked, "Young eunuch, can we stay here until dawn?"
The eunuch raised his head slightly and said, "Yes, of course."
Zhao Shiqing thanked him and returned to her seat. She whispered to Yan Shiyi, "When will they kick people out?"
Yan Shiyi didn't know why she asked this question, so he said, "Last year I heard that Zhu Yu drank here until dawn, so he probably wouldn't kick anyone out before dawn."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jiu said, "It's because Zhu Yu made such a fuss here last year that His Majesty was furious. He said last year that this year's Lantern Festival will not be held until the fourth watch at the latest. After the fourth watch, both the Wangxian Tower and the lantern festival outside must be dismantled, and then the people from the Five Cities Department will come to clear the area."
I see.
The emperor's words are golden, no matter whether they were said last year or yesterday, they are all valid.
If Yan Jiu knew it, there was no reason why the eunuchs in the palace didn't know it.
Moreover, she was close to him and looked carefully just now, and the eunuch looked somewhat familiar.
I didn’t remember who it was at the time, but now that I’ve calmed down, I remember.
The reason why I didn't recognize him at first glance was that the first two times I saw him, his face was heavily painted, obscuring his original appearance.
Fortunately, Zhao Shiqing had learned disguise from Xiuxiu. Although he only learned half a bit, he had learned the basics, and at least he could see the similarities between the two faces.
This is the same person.
Lan Caihe!
Zhao Shiqing thought of Si Xiaopang who flashed by at the lantern festival, and her heart tightened for no reason.
Xiao Zhen?
Could it be that Lan Caihe is Xiao Zhen’s man?
But then he thought, Xiao Zhen shouldn't be so impatient. If he kills Emperor Yongjia now, who will succeed him? No matter who it is, it won't be Xiao Yue, because Xiao Zhen doesn't have the strength to push Xiao Yue onto the throne.
Instead of doing that, why bother making wedding dresses for others?
Zhao Shiqing's mind was in turmoil, and when he looked up again, he found that the eunuch's original position had been replaced by another person.
This was a real eunuch, hunched over and lifeless.
Where is Lan Caihe?
Where did he go?
Zhao Shiqing thought something was wrong and was about to speak when he saw several young masters who were originally sitting on the other side running to their table. Everyone rushed to lean out of the window. Yan Shiyi didn't get a good position and was jumping up and down in a hurry. Zhao Shiqing was slightly surprised and knew what was going on.
The stilt walking begins!
Yan Shiyi went to push a little fat boy, but the little fat boy twisted his fat butt and refused to move. "My father has locked me up at home and I can't go out on the street. You have all seen them on the street, but I haven't. I don't even know what stilts look like. I won't let you. I'm staying here today!"
Yan Shiyi was about to cry. Yan Ba saw this and pulled him over. He then pushed aside a boy next to him and shoved Yan Shiyi in. The boy was furious and wanted to curse, but Yan Ba shook his fist at him. He then went to another window to grab the plate. Yan Shiyi didn't forget to turn around and call Zhao Shiqing: "Sister Abao, come quickly, there's room here."
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "I've seen it several times on the street. You guys can watch it."
As soon as the voice fell, a scream was heard: "Ah——"
Zhao Shiqing was shocked. The first thing she thought of was that Lan Caihe had killed the emperor. But the next moment, she realized that the scream came from the stairs. She turned her head and saw a woman rolling down the stairs!
The eunuchs below had already rushed towards the stairs, and Zhao Shiqing also ran over, but just as she approached the stairs, she heard the sound of swords and knives coming from upstairs.
At this time, everyone in the hall was crowded in front of a window on one side to watch the stilts. Only a few people, including Zhao Shiqing, did not go over. They were all a few years older and felt embarrassed to compete with a group of half-grown children for the window.
There were hurried footsteps behind him, and a team of Jinwu Guards rushed in, stepped over the woman, and rushed up the stairs.
This team of Jinwu Guards was guarding outside. Apparently, someone upstairs sent a signal, and they rushed in when they saw the signal.
At this time, Zhao Shiqing also saw clearly that the woman lying on the ground was Madam You San!
The people who were watching the stilts finally realized that something was wrong. Some of them ran out, but several people from the Yan family and the brothers Sui Dashi were rushing upstairs because their parents were still there.
The eunuchs tried to stop him from going up, and during the stalemate, they heard a Jinwu Guard shouting to the people below: "The thief has been brought to justice! The thief has been brought to justice!"
Before he could shout for the third time, the Stonebreakers rushed forward, shouting, "Grandpa, our protectors are here!"
The Yan brothers followed closely behind, and the children from other families also rushed forward. Zhao Shiqing took advantage of the chaos to catch up.
When Zhao Shiqing got upstairs, he was shocked before he saw the emperor. He saw two corpses lying side by side on the ground. The eunuchs were busy covering the corpses with tablecloths. A noble lady was crying and had fainted.
The brothers Sui Dashi and the Yan family soon saw their families. Seeing that they were safe and sound, they felt relieved and started gossiping.
Zhao Shiqing asked, "Who is the emperor?"
Yan Jiu said, "The Emperor and Empress are not here. They must have been frightened and hid inside. There are several rooms inside for the Emperor to rest."
Zhao Shiqing pointed at the noblewoman who was weeping over the corpse and asked, "Who is that?"
Yan Jiu said, "That is Prime Minister Feng's wife."
Zhao Shiqing was shocked: "Is Prime Minister Feng dead?"
Yan Jiu raised his chin to the side, and Zhao Shiqing followed his gaze and saw a man being supported by two eunuchs, staggering.
"Is this Prime Minister Feng? He is still alive, so who is the dead?" Zhao Shiqing asked.
Yan Jiu whispered, "It's probably one of the uncles from the Feng family."
Yan Jiu's guess was soon confirmed. The deceased was the eldest master of the Feng family, Feng Ke's eldest son, and now the Prime Minister of the Beijing government!
But Master Feng didn't have to die. He died to block the knife for his father!
As for Madam You San, who fell down the stairs, she was just unlucky. She picked a plate of fruit and wanted to present it to Concubine You, but after taking a few steps, she bumped into the killer and was kicked down by him.
Not dead, but badly hurt.
The eunuch had covered the upper body of the other corpse with a tablecloth, but it was still clear that the man was wearing eunuch's clothes.
Lan Caihe!
Zhao Shiqing miscalculated.
She thought Lan Caihe was here to assassinate Emperor Yongjia, but she didn't expect that the person he was going to assassinate was Feng Ke.
But something seems to be wrong?
Zhao Shiqing suddenly thought of the dead Deng Qian.
If she guessed correctly, the person who killed Deng Qian was also Lan Caihe.
Lan Caihe killed Deng Qian in a private room in Zhuangyuan Building. At that time, Deng Qian was only accompanied by a few of his attendants, so Lan Caihe killed him as if he were in an empty room.
But why did they choose to kill Feng Ke in Wangxian Tower, which was heavily guarded?
Moreover, they chose to do so while the emperor was still alive. If the emperor passed away, the Jinwu Guards, Jinyi Guards, and Yulin Army here would all follow the emperor back to the palace. Wouldn't it be easier to assassinate Feng Ke at that time?
The risk of assassinating someone at this time is only as high as entering the palace.
Lan Caihe is a killer. With his experience, is it necessary for him to choose such a difficult assassination?
Feng Ke did not die, but instead lost his life in vain.
Now, Zhao Shiqing has completely dispelled her doubts about Xiao Zhen. This is not something Xiao Zhen would do.
The two bodies were carried away, and Zhao Shiqing and the group of half-grown children were also driven downstairs.
As they came downstairs, they heard the chief eunuch singing loudly: "The Emperor is coming!"
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