Chapter 137 Rescue 5 I just don’t want anything to happen to the adults
Isn’t the biggest handle that Bai Jinan has on Su He the poison of the Heart-Eating Flower?
But she didn't want Xie Wuhen to know that she was poisoned.
Perhaps he didn't want to show weakness or pity in front of him, or perhaps he didn't want him to know his own incompetence - to know that he was actually being fooled by Bai Jinan.
She calmed herself down and asked, "Shouldn't you be more worried about your own life right now, sir?"
Xie Wuhen held the teacup and looked up at her, his eyes full of inquiry and scrutiny.
She was unwilling to tell the truth because she didn't believe him!
Since she didn't believe him, he couldn't force her.
He bit the back of his teeth and took a deep breath. "When does Bai Jinan want the princess to kill me?"
Su He replied: "During the Lantern Festival, when the Second Prince gets married."
He asked again: "How do you plan to kill him?"
Su He replied, "Then Concubine Shu will give each person present a bottle of century-old fine wine. The bottle of fine wine that belongs to you, my Lord, will be delivered to you personally by me."
His expression remained unchanged: "Did the princess agree?"
She paused, then replied, "I have to steady him first."
He nodded. "Okay, just do as he says."
"But the wine is poisoned."
"I know the wine is poisoned!"
"When the situation becomes public, how do you plan to avoid danger?"
He stared at her again and said, "I have my own plans. Princess, don't worry too much."
She felt reluctant: "But this concerns the life of the adults..."
He lowered his eyes, his face still as cold as ice: "The princess has not told me everything, so I must keep some things to myself."
"You..." Su He was speechless for a moment.
The room fell silent, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
After a moment, Su He tried to explain: "I just don't want anything to happen to the adults."
He replied in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Princess, nothing will happen to me."
Finally, he asked, "Princess, do you have any other instructions?"
She shook her head: "No more."
"Then I will take my leave first." He stood up, bowed, turned around and left.
"Wait." Su He stood up and chased after him: "There's one more thing... How do we rescue the emperor?"
She was inexplicably dazed today and actually forgot this important matter.
He stopped and looked back at her.
By then she had walked to his side, only half an elbow away from him.
She was thin and frail, like a willow swaying in the wind. He could stretch out his arms and hold her in his arms, just like he had held her in Chunhua Courtyard.
But that is the “before” that we can never go back to.
He couldn't cross the half-elbow distance, and neither could she.
He felt a little uncomfortable and a little soft-hearted.
He spoke in a hoarse voice: "I will rescue the emperor on the day of the second prince's wedding."
Su He didn't expect that he had already planned: "What can I do?"
He replied, "Just follow Bai Jin'an's instructions. You don't have to do anything else."
She asked, "How sure are you, sir?"
He replied, "100%." He was truly arrogant, yet impeccable.
She said "Oh" and said: "Then I will wait for the good news from the adults."
Xie Wuhen clasped his fists again, turned around and left the room.
She looked at his tall and distant figure, her mind filled with complicated and indescribable thoughts.
After Xie Wuhen walked out of the restaurant, he went straight back to the carriage.
Wu Sheng wiped the remaining cake crumbs from his mouth and asked, "Boss, are we going back to the mansion or to the Dali Temple?"
Xie Wuhen in the carriage didn't say a word.
Wu Sheng called out again, "Boss?"
Xie Wuhen answered irrelevantly and ordered in a deep voice: "Select a few capable men, and on the day of the Second Prince's wedding, when Concubine Shu and Bai Jin'an are out of the palace, sneak into the palace and rescue the emperor from the cold palace."
Wu Sheng lowered his head and replied "yes".
Xie Wuhen ordered again: "Find a way to pass a message to the Zhou family."
Wu Sheng asked, "What news?"
He replied, "Let's say that Concubine Shu wanted to poison the Dali Temple's Shaoqing with poisoned wine on the occasion of the Second Prince's wedding."
Wu Sheng choked up and muttered, "Isn't the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple the boss?" Then he suddenly realized and his eyes widened, "The Concubine Shu wants to poison the boss?"
He closed his eyes and exhaled: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Wu Sheng was so anxious that he almost stuttered: "But...but what if...that's Concubine Shu..."
He frowned, a little impatient: "Just follow my instructions and pass on the message."
Wu Sheng had a bitter face and could only nod: "I will do it later."
Later that day, Wu Sheng disguised himself as a businessman and sneaked into a tavern. He started talking to Yu Da, a servant of the Zhou family who was drinking in the tavern. After a while, the two began to talk about everything.
Wu Sheng lowered his voice and said, "The current situation is unstable. Who knows when the capital will be in chaos."
Yu Da's face was full of disdain: "Brother, why are you scaring people like this?"
Wu Sheng lowered his voice even more: "Have you heard? The second prince will get married on the Lantern Festival."
"It's his wedding, what does it have to do with us?"
"A relative of mine who works in the palace revealed to me yesterday that the Consort Shu in the palace was planning to poison the current Dali Temple Junior Secretary at the Second Prince's wedding banquet. How outrageous!"
Yu Da paused, then sobered up a bit: "Are you serious, brother?"
Wu Sheng's neck stiffened: "I lied to you and I'm a pig."
He also said, "If the concubines in the harem can poison court officials at will, where is the law? Where is the dignity of the royal family? How can the capital not be in chaos?"
Yu Daliang responded "yes" repeatedly, then after exchanging a few words of greeting, he left the tavern and hurried back to Zhou's house.
As soon as he entered the Zhou family's gate, he found the housekeeper Shi Kai and told him the news he had just heard that Concubine Shu had poisoned the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.
After hearing this, Shi Kai also felt that it was a serious matter and immediately found Zhou Ping to report it.
Finally, he asked, "Master, do you think this is credible?"
Zhou Ping leaned against the head of the bed and remained silent for a long time.
After a long pause, she spoke, "It is true that Concubine Shu wanted to give wine to the Second Prince at his wedding banquet. It is said that the wine she gave was a century-old vintage."
Shi Kai replied, "So, the story of poisoning the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple is not groundless."
Zhou Ping thought for a moment and chuckled: "Whether it's true or not, we can take advantage of the opportunity."
"How does the master want to proceed?"
"Kill with a borrowed knife!"
Shi Kai didn't understand: "Master, whose knife do you want to borrow and who do you want to kill?"
Zhou Ping gritted his teeth and answered irrelevantly: "It's time to avenge the Empress."
The Queen died at the hands of Concubine Shu, so he would make Concubine Shu pay double.
He asked, "After the Empress passed away, did Madam Qing, who was by her side, go to the Tea and Wine Department?"
The Tea and Wine Department is responsible for the storage and delivery of various teas and wines in the palace.
Shi Kai replied, "That's right. That Madam Qing is an expert in everything. It's said that she became deputy director of the Tea and Wine Department within a few days of joining."
Zhou Ping narrowed his old eyes and said, "We need to find a way to contact her and ask her to do something for us."
Shi Kai looked troubled: "Madame Qing is in the harem, I'm afraid it will be difficult to contact her."
Zhou Ping replied: "The Empress has passed away for many days. I asked Wanyu to go to the palace to pack up some of the Empress's belongings to express the grief of her family, and also to give a letter to Nanny Qing." Wanyu is Zhou Ping's younger sister and also the Empress's sister.
Shi Kai was still a little worried: "What if this news is false...what should I do?"
Zhou Ping snorted coldly: "If it's fake, we won't lose anything."
Shi Kai then said, "Master is still wise."
In the next few days, Su He lived quite comfortably in the palace.
Although she occasionally suffered from morning sickness, she gradually gained experience. Whenever she felt sick, she would eat sour radish, and the uncomfortable feeling would be relieved a lot.
She did not go to Weiyang Palace to see Bai Jinan again, but went to see Shufei with the New Year greetings.
Concubine Shu appears to be amiable on the surface, but her words are full of tests and warnings.
Concubine Shu asked, "I heard that the princess has gone to Weiyang Palace to meet the emperor?"
Su He replied: "Yes, I have seen it."
Concubine Shu asked again, "I heard that when the princess met the emperor, she dismissed all the palace servants?"
Su He replied, "Your Majesty and I have been separated for many years. Now that we have suddenly met, I naturally want to speak to you alone."
Concubine Shu said sarcastically, "I don't know what you two talked about, but you have so many topics to talk about?"
Su He replied: "We didn't talk about anything special, just some ordinary past events."
Concubine Shu smiled and said, "So that's how it is." Then she began to look at her meaningfully and said, "You look exactly like your mother."
Didn’t Duofu rely on her seductive face to seduce the emperor back then?
Su He replied: "My mother gave birth to me, so naturally I look like her."
Concubine Shu's expression was slightly restrained. Not wanting to continue the topic, she casually instructed, "Before the Princess's Mansion is built, you should live in the palace. As long as you can do your duty, no one will dare to make things difficult for you."
Su He responded respectfully, “Yes.”
Concubine Shu continued, "As for your father, he has always been in poor health. You should go to Weiyang Palace less often in the future to avoid disturbing him."
Su He responded "yes" again.
Concubine Shu breathed a sigh of relief: "If there is nothing else, you can leave. I am also tired."
Su He retreated with pretended respect.
When walking out of Changle Palace, Su He couldn't help but sneer in her heart. Was Concubine Shu afraid that she would find out about her affair with Bai Jinan, especially afraid that she would find out that Bai Jinan had one arm?
Little did she know, she had already seen through everything.
Afterwards, Su He also went to pay a visit to the other two Concubine Wan.
Those two concubines had also given birth to princes, but both princes died before their first birthday. Having lived in the palace for many years, they had long since become indifferent to everything, so they were neither cold nor warm towards Su He.
Su He didn't care. It was just a formality and no one cared about anyone else.
Time quickly arrived at the Lantern Festival.
It was also the day of the second prince Zhao Bo’s wedding.
Zhao Bo was canonized as Prince Rui by the emperor, so the mansion where he lived was also called "Prince Rui's Mansion".
Early in the morning, the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another in front of the Prince Rui's Mansion. Lanterns were hung high in front of the door, and red silk was flying, making it look very festive.
Now that the emperor was ill and had not attended court for many days, the officials had some free time and came to Prince Rui's mansion early with valuable gifts to celebrate.
Zhao Bo has changed into his best clothes and is welcoming guests at home.
The dignitaries of the imperial court gathered together, offering congratulations and praises in every word, and their interactions were filled with human relationships and power transactions.
Su He also got up early. After having breakfast and dressing up, she followed Concubine Shu and the emperor's ceremonial procession to Prince Rui's Mansion.
The emperor was still sitting in the same sedan chair, which was still covered with curtains.
Concubine Shu wanted to make full use of his broken body, and he himself also wanted to make full use of it.
In the carriage, Zhang Xiuhua asked, "I wonder which noble lady the Second Prince married."
Su He replied: "Who else could it be? It must be the family of Concubine Shu."
Since Concubine Shu came to power, she promoted her younger brother Dong Mingyu to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The person Zhao Bo wanted to marry was Dong Mingyu's daughter.
Zhang Xiuhua sighed, "It's true that when one person gains power, everyone in the family rises to prominence. If the Second Prince really becomes the Crown Prince, then Consort Shu's niece will become the Crown Princess."
Su He replied calmly, "As long as Xie Wuhen succeeds in rescuing the Emperor today, everything Concubine Shu is planning will be nothing but a pipe dream."
The guard of honor soon arrived at the gate of Prince Rui's Palace.
Zhao Bo led all the guests to pay homage. In an instant, people knelt on the ground in front of the mansion, shouting in unison, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, a thousand years live the concubine, a thousand years live the princess."
Bai Jinan said through the curtain, "Everyone, please stand."
Everyone shouted again: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Then they all stood up.
Through the car window, Su He saw Xie Wuhen in the crowd.
He happened to be looking at her at that time. When their eyes met, they stared at each other for a moment, then both turned their heads away.
——Today, she and he are facing a tough battle!
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