Chapter 23: Recording the Shangshu's Affairs Song Sheng was poisoned, and the poison had spread to his internal organs...
Min Shian came to his senses and was about to scold the man away when he saw a large, bony hand on Qian Ruyun's right shoulder. Qian Ruyun then staggered a few times and was thrown out lightly.
"You think you can get into my little sister's carriage?" Song Sheng's skin was originally fair, and he was too tired recently, which made his face look pale. In addition, he had put away his smile and his eyes were sharp. Qian Ruyun ran away as fast as if he had seen a ghost.
Min Shian laughed out loud at this series of unexpected events. She asked, "Song Yanxuan, why did you scare that idiot?"
Song Sheng heard this and replied softly, "Your Highness, please forgive me for laughing."
As soon as he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and his breathing gradually became regular. Min Shian raised an eyebrow. He actually fell asleep in the same carriage with her?
Although her skills were far inferior to Song Sheng's, this guy was too...
It seems that he is really tired.
Min Shian lit some calming incense in the carriage, picked up a book from the piles nearby, and soon immersed himself in it.
“Ah! Help—”
Min Shian suddenly woke up. The book in her hand had been put back in its place. The carriage had stopped at some point and there was no one in front of her. Only the calming incense had been replaced with a new one, paralyzing her nerves.
She calmed down, rubbed her brows, extinguished the incense, turned a deaf ear to the sounds of fighting and screaming outside, and picked up the book again to study.
This is a collection of poems, with a few brief annotations every few articles. The handwriting is wild and sharp, and you can tell who wrote it at a glance.
Song Sheng deliberately sped up his journey, so he soon met up with the people he had arranged. He could hear the sounds of fighting coming closer and closer outside, but no one could get close to the carriage.
A quarter of an hour later, the sound gradually disappeared. Song Sheng had a very faint smell of blood on his body, which was quickly suppressed by the soothing fragrance lingering in the carriage. The team moved forward again and headed straight for Shangjing City.
With irrefutable evidence, Song Sheng swiftly executed the Qian family, wiped out all overt and covert industries related to Wu Shi San in Cangzhou, and once again ordered a thorough investigation of Wu Shi San in various places.
Min Shian remained noncommittal. Although the real mastermind behind the scenes had not shown up, this move could temporarily deter him for a while.
With Chuntao around, nothing went wrong for Min Shian. The first thing she did when she returned to the princess's mansion was to ask about Min Shile and Yu Linglong.
"The Minister of Rites and the Honglu Temple personally stepped in to settle the King and Princess of the Western Regions. The rumors were dispelled, and His Highness Linglong was released."
Chun Tao knelt on the ground, bowed deeply, and said, "Master, please punish me."
"The Third Prince came to discuss the wedding date with me. I didn't dare to interfere, so I told him my identity and asked him to wait until the master returned to discuss it."
Min Shian was not surprised by this. She also believed in Chuntao and Min Shile's discretion and said, "No problem. I'll go find him tomorrow."
She ordered Wen Liu to send people to secretly monitor the progress of the Wu Shi San case, and cooperate with Song Sheng to thoroughly investigate the Wu Shi San in Haicheng. Once discovered, they would eradicate it completely.
The next morning, before Min Shian went to the Third Prince's Mansion, Min Shile arrived first with great fanfare.
"Royal sister!"
“Royal sister!!”
Chun Taomu wanted to stop him, but she didn't dare to really do it for fear of hurting him. She could only whisper: "Your Highness, the master is still resting, you might as well..."
Min Shile turned a deaf ear to her. He was already overwhelmed by the upcoming marriage and walked past Chuntao straight into the inner courtyard.
He naturally didn't have the courage to knock on the door of the imperial sister, so he just shouted loudly in the courtyard: "Imperial sister!"
"Squeak."
Min Shian opened the door with a cold expression, gnashing his teeth and saying grimly, "Min Duanxiang, you'd better have something important to do, otherwise I will kill you today without a burial place."
Chuntao fled the battlefield quietly, leaving Min Shile alone in a cold sweat.
He calmed down immediately and said tremblingly: "Mother, the Queen Mother will, will arrange the marriage..."
“Pah.”
A crisp slap sounded, and Min Shile covered his head. In an instant, he felt refreshed and stopped trembling. He said quickly, "My mother and the Honglu Temple have set the wedding for two months. What do you think, sister?"
Min Shian calculated the time and replied, "Of course it's very good."
Then she glanced at him with disdain and warned him, "You're all going to be my husband, so don't be so rash. After the ceremony, the Princess of the Western Regions will return to the Western Regions, and Linglong will be left alone in Shangjing. If you can't protect her, what will happen to her?"
Min Shile gave a flattering smile and said, "Isn't there still the Imperial Sister?"
He circled around Min Shian several times, giving him all kinds of compliments without repeating himself. Min Shian suppressed the urge to lose his temper. He didn't know why similar words sounded like heavenly music when spoken by Yu Linglong, but were even more annoying when spoken by this idiot.
Min Shian was so upset by the noise that he almost kicked him away. Min Shile took a few steps back, grimacing and limping as he ran away, not forgetting to turn around and shout loudly: "Royal sister, I will come to find you tomorrow, Royal sister!"
"If you dare to come, I will grind you into ashes!"
He Jing walked over gracefully, hiding her handkerchief behind her and smiling, "Shi Le is still so lovable."
Min Shian's face suddenly showed a gentle smile. She stepped forward and took He Jing's hand affectionately, saying, "Sister, you're here. Has your cough subsided? It's freezing cold, so I'll go find you. If you catch a cold and your condition gets worse, it will be my fault."
Chuntao had been here for some time yesterday and had explained every interaction with Hejing in detail. Hejing had been ill with a cough five days ago, so she went to visit him the next day with some supplements, but was turned away by Hejing because he was afraid of passing on his illness.
"How could that be? It's just that I was seriously ill a few days ago, and I didn't let my sister visit me for fear of causing trouble. I felt uneasy, so I came here today to apologize." After He Jing finished speaking, he covered his face with a handkerchief, tilted his head and coughed for a long time before he recovered.
Chuntao appeared at the right time and supported Hejing together with Min Shian until they closed the doors and windows to isolate all the cold air outside. Only then did Hejing's complexion gradually improve.
She took the tea from Chuntao, took a sip, put the teacup down, looked at Min Shian and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw Chuntao."
"Well, Chuntao's family had an unexpected change a while ago, so I allowed her to return home. Coincidentally, she just came back today." Min Shi'an responded naturally, as if that was the fact.
Upon hearing this, He Jing took off a jade bracelet, and with his cold fingers, he took Chun Tao's hand and placed it in hers without allowing her to refuse. He sighed and said, "So that's how it is. Chun Tao has always served me well. This bracelet is a reward for you."
Chuntao knelt down in fear, lowered her head, and held the white jade bracelet in her hands, not daring to move.
"Look at this girl, this is a reward from the princess, just accept it." Min Shi'an's voice was filled with laughter. Chuntao then stood up, accepted the jade bracelet and stepped aside.
Min Shi'an chatted with He Jing for a while before ordering someone to escort He Jing back home.
"Just find a suitable opportunity to throw away the bracelet." Min Shi'an lowered his eyes to look at the soft halo of the jade bracelet on Chuntao's wrist and gave the order in a calm voice.
Chun Tao didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately took off the priceless jade bracelet and said, "It's my master."
Min Shian thought for a moment, then took out a pair of bracelets from a sandalwood box on a nearby shelf and put them on Chuntao himself. At first glance, they were exactly the same as the one He Jing had given her as a reward.
"Master, this bracelet is too valuable. I cannot accept it. Since I followed you, you have been rewarding me continuously. I absolutely cannot accept this bracelet!" Chuntao, a taciturn person, was forced to say a series of words.
Min Shian patted her hands and said comfortingly, "This is a reward for your excellent performance. Please accept it."
"Yes, master." Chuntao knew that Min Shian was a man of his word, so she stopped refusing.
After lunch, Min Shian heard the news that Song Sheng was about to be promoted to the position of Minister of Records[1]. Her face became solemn, and she immediately rushed to Xianyang Palace with Chuntao to discuss the matter with Empress Xie.
"Does Song Yanxuan really want to seal the Shangshu matter?"
Empress Xie sighed deeply and said in a deep voice, "Could it be fake?"
Min Shian was a little surprised and asked, "Duke Song is willing to abdicate?"
It's no wonder that she had such doubts. No matter how powerful Song Sheng was, as long as his father was the Shangshu Ling, he would always be superior to him. No one would dislike the feeling of holding power. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as a prince forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebelling throughout history.
When Song Sheng was promoted to the position of Shangshu, he really surpassed Song Linggong and completely took control of the court.
"I don't want him to be like that anymore, as he's already old. It would be more respectful if he gave the throne to Song Yanxuan earlier."
Min Shian nodded. The matter was settled. She casually asked, "Perhaps after this, the relationship between the two will ease a little?"
Song Sheng and Song Linggong had different political positions, which was obvious to almost everyone in the court who was smart enough to see it.
Duke Ling of Song prioritized the interests of his family, willing to sacrifice anyone for theirs, including himself. Song Sheng's motives were elusive, and his policies often ran counter to those of Duke Ling of Song.
Since Song Tinglan's marriage was decided, the already precarious relationship between Song Sheng and Song Linggong has completely collapsed.
"Perhaps, who knows?" Empress Xie clearly didn't want to delve into the topic, and instead said earnestly, "Shi Le's marriage has been decided."
"Whether or not you truly intend to marry Song Yanxuan, you should carefully consider your marriage."
Min Shian interrupted Empress Xie's next words and immediately stood up to say goodbye, "I suddenly remembered that I have something important to discuss with Song Yanxuan. I will take my leave."
She covered her ears and slipped away quickly, not giving Queen Xie any chance to take advantage.
However, Min Shian did have something to do to find Song Sheng. She had not forgotten the trip to Yuntong and how that bastard had fooled her. Although she could not kill all nine generations of his clan, she was still confident that she could go to the Song Mansion to cause trouble for him.
"I don't see you either?" Min Shi'an looked down at the guard kneeling on the ground and said in a deep voice, "Go find Song Chen!"
She cursed Song Sheng in her heart for being ungrateful. She never thought that before she could cause trouble for Song Sheng, she was rejected instead, and she was filled with anger.
The guard didn't say anything and crawled to look for Song Chen.
"Your Highness, it's not that my master doesn't want to see you, it's just that he's not convenient today." Song Chen hurried over. The cold wind was biting, but his forehead was covered with beads of sweat.
He thought for a moment and continued to explain to Min Shian in a low voice, "My master just vomited blood for some reason. The court doctor is trying to save him. Your Highness may wish to come back another day."
Min Shian's expression changed, and he said quickly, "Prepare the silver needles, I'll go take a look!"
Seeing this, Song Chen knew that his bet was right. He took Min Shian and quickly went to Song Sheng's room. A group of court doctors surrounded the pale-faced Song Sheng, helpless. The strong smell of medicine and blood stimulated the people present.
Min Shian ignored everything else and stepped forward to check his pulse. Her expression grew increasingly serious. After a moment, she gently tucked Song Sheng's hand under the covers, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "He's been poisoned, and it's spread to his internal organs!"
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