Chapter 323 Seeking Justice
The prince found the friendship between the cubs hard to understand.
They've only known each other for a little over a month, so why are they willing to help with everything?
The prince led Chiu Chiu to a secluded corner where no one could see him. The cub furtively winked at him, "Are you... are you... touching me..."
Crown Prince: "?" Who are you touching?! Don't talk nonsense!
"Harm me?"
Who taught her to speak with such heavy breathing?! She almost ruined her lifelong reputation.
The crown prince tapped her forehead and lectured her: "Who would want to harm you for no reason! I'm very busy. I have a question for you."
Chiu Chiu looked up at the Crown Prince, waiting for his question, but this action made her very uncomfortable, and she almost fainted because she felt dizzy and lightheaded.
The prince held her head, somewhat surprised: "Chirp, chirp, why is your head so big?"
Chirp: "!!!" Do you want to listen to whether what you're saying is even human?!
The prince was still talking to himself, saying, "So it's a big-headed baby!"
Chirp: "Waaaaah!"
Why is the sadness so overwhelming!
Actually, Qiuqiu's head isn't big. It's just that children are relatively short, and with the hot weather, she wears fewer clothes, making her look much thinner compared to her bulky appearance in winter. In comparison, her head seems bigger.
The baby's crying attracted the attention of those around them. The prince felt a pang of guilt and shame for bullying the younger child. "Stop crying. I was wrong. I'll apologize to you, okay?"
Chirp pitifully wiped away her tears: "Mother, scold Chirp."
The Crown Prince compromised: "I will escort you back to your residence, and I guarantee that Madam Su will not scold you."
Chirp rubbed her eyes and dashed off in a flash.
【Oh ho, off to play~】
Crown Prince: My lifelong reputation is completely ruined; I was tricked by a little brat!
Only after Qiuqiu had run far away did the Crown Prince realize that he hadn't asked her about Qiao Sheng yet!
After he stood up, he found that the old lady of the Qiao family was waiting for him respectfully not far away, obviously having something to say to him.
"Does Madam Qiao need to see me?"
Madam Qiao bowed respectfully to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, I have seen the secret chamber. It was built with molten iron from the Netherworld Black Iron of the Wangbei Iron Mine, and there is also a layer of red bricks made from the red clay of the Northern City. Even the construction of the imperial palace cannot compare to the sturdiness of this place."
The prince narrowed his fox-like eyes slightly, seizing on the loophole in Madam Qiao's words: "Madam, the Netherworld Black Iron has not yet been opened, how did you know that there is another layer of North City Red Bricks inside?"
Both Netherworld Black Iron and Northern City Red Clay are precious items. Not to mention that they have been lost, even the last remaining piece was used by the late emperor to build the imperial mausoleum more than 20 years ago. Although he was the crown prince of the country, he had only heard of these two items in books. How could this old lady dressed as an ordinary lady know so much about them?
"Just who exactly is your Qiao family?"
Old Madam Qiao lowered her head, her eyes filled with desolation. How could their Qiao family still bear the title of "sacred"?
"Your Highness, please answer one question for me first, so that I can decide whether or not to tell you something."
The Crown Prince was displeased: "Are you trying to negotiate with me?"
When Old Madam Qiao knelt before the Crown Prince, she was not only showing weakness, but also... surrendering!
"I am but a commoner and have no right to negotiate with Your Highness. I only hope that Your Highness will consider the relationship between my granddaughter and the county princess and answer a question that has troubled me for many years. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request!"
When Madam Qiao brought up Qiuqiu, it made the Crown Prince hesitate for a moment. Children's friendships also need to be maintained, right?
Since everyone has gone to such lengths to help Qiuqiu, it's not unreasonable for him to answer one of her grandmother's questions, right?
It has to be said that the fans of the "Pampered Prince" have successfully brainwashed themselves, and the Crown Prince, unusually, agreed to Madam Qiao's request.
"Speak."
Let's just do it for the sake of Qiuqiu and satisfy an old lady!
Old Madam Qiao stared into the Crown Prince's eyes, showing no fear of a superior, and asked a question that had troubled her for twenty years: "Do you think my husband deserves to die?"
This question truly stumped the Crown Prince. It wasn't that the question was difficult, but rather that he had no idea who Old Madam Qiao's husband was. He vaguely remembered Fu Ning mentioning to his mother that Qiao Sheng's family were grave diggers.
"The business of tomb raiders is immoral and despicable. Instead of asking this question, Madam, you should ask your husband how he can face the descendants of those whose graves he has dug up."
Madam Qiao stared intently at the Crown Prince: "That's why I asked Your Highness."
The crown prince felt a chill run down his spine: "How dare you! You still dare to rob the imperial tombs!"
Chirp, you've stumbled into a den of thieves!
The crown prince was furious, and she should have knelt down and begged for mercy, but the pain in her heart made her unwilling to kneel down and beg for the mercy of such noble people.
Her husband knelt down and begged those people to spare their three-year-old son. Now she's expected to kneel down and beg them to spare her granddaughter or her whole family?
Decades of resentment and bitterness straightened the spine of this old woman who was about to step into her coffin. "My husband was not a tomb robber, but Qiao Ping, a craftsman from the Ministry of Revenue who was murdered by your father!"
"Qiao Ping?" The Crown Prince murmured the name, which sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had heard it before.
Madam Qiao was not surprised at all by the Crown Prince's confused expression. She just sighed that the person who was once known as the most skillful craftsman in the Great Zhou Dynasty was now forgotten by everyone except him.
When her husband died, her son was only three years old. To save her own life, she didn't even dare to mention her father's past to her son, and even let the stigma of "grave robber" fall on her husband.
She felt sorry for her deceased husband.
“Your Highness, the late emperor’s mausoleum was built by my husband, as was Huahua Lane. He also designed all the secret chambers and mechanisms here.”
Madam Qiao trembled all over, for it was because her husband knew too much that he had to die. "I can help Your Highness open the secret chamber left by Princess Fufeng, but Your Highness must clear my husband's name. He did not embezzle the money for building the imperial mausoleum, nor was he a despicable tomb robber!"
She added, "The mechanism designed by my husband at the behest of Princess Fufeng can only be solved by me. Your Highness can naturally cover up the fact that His Majesty has indiscriminately killed innocent people, and can even silence the five members of my Qiao family. However, in this way, the Crown Prince will not be able to find the military tally left behind by Princess Fufeng."
Sons who disobey their fathers, and subjects who disobey their rulers, are both guilty of heinous crimes.
The prince had his hands behind his back, his thumbs rubbing together lightly, and his expressionless face was quite frightening.
In my experience, this gesture is usually a premonition of murder.
But now it's not just your family of five who know, I know too!
Her heavy, childlike voice betrayed the fact that she was eavesdropping.
The prince froze, looking around but unable to find where Qiuqiu was hiding. He was merely considering a way to achieve the best of both worlds, not intending to kill anyone!
And where exactly did she hide?
At this moment, a little, panicked voice cried out: "Oh, Sheng Sheng, don't cry!"
[Chirp to comfort you, chirp... chirp...]
Oops! Chuchu's choking!
Crawling through the dog door again?!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
