After calming Jian Yang down, Zhou Jingzhi simply said he had other matters to attend to and then returned to the palace.
He went straight to Weiyang Palace, which shocked the Empress. She used to go to the Imperial Study to find the Emperor, but she never expected him to come to her on his own initiative.
"I've come to you to tell you something: settle your affairs as soon as possible and leave this position," Zhou Jingzhi said coldly.
He had already given this woman plenty of time; if she continued to make excuses, he wouldn't care about any so-called informants.
Zhou Jingzhi's eyes were cold, as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
"Your subordinate obeys." Linglong lowered her head upon hearing this, her expression unreadable.
The next day, Zhou Jingzhi had just finished court and had not yet changed out of his court robes when he received a message from outside the palace.
He opened the letter, and the more he read, the deeper his brows furrowed. According to his spies, there were rumors among the common people that His Majesty the Emperor had fallen in love with a woman from the common people and would go out every night to meet her in secret.
The letter even went so far as to lavish praise on their love. Zhou Jingzhi felt a surge of anger as he read it.
He always went to see Jian Yang at night when the streets were deserted. Moreover, he deliberately avoided them, so no one would notice unless they were observant, let alone hear about it.
He crushed the letter to shreds, changed his clothes, and prepared to leave the palace.
Jian Hong also knew about this.
After court, Jian Hong, unusually, walked back to the Prime Minister's residence. The weather was getting cold, and he was preparing to go to the fur market to pick out some good hides to make a cloak for Jian Yang.
Who knew that along the way, I would hear people talking about how the current emperor is doing.
At first, Jian Hong didn't listen carefully, thinking they were just talking nonsense again. These kinds of court secrets have been popular topics among commoners since ancient times. But the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, vaguely hearing words like "secret meeting" and "woman."
Forget about buying leather, Jian Hong asked the tea stall owner for information.
"Boss, what exactly are you talking about? I've never heard of this before," Jian Hong asked.
"You didn't know that? It's been all over the capital these past few days, saying that His Majesty the Emperor is sneaking out of the palace every night to meet with a woman." The tea stall owner said proudly, knowing all the details of this news better than anyone.
Jian Hong's expression changed, and he hurriedly left the tea money and rushed to the Prime Minister's residence.
Others might not know what this was referring to, but Jian Hong knew it all too well. Who else could the Emperor be having a secret rendezvous with? It was none other than his "resurrected" sister.
Seeing him forcefully push open her door, Jian Yang looked at Jian Hong with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong? Brother, what happened?"
"Ayang, your brother is asking you, has the Emperor come to see you recently?" Jian Hong asked.
Jian Yang blushed and nodded.
Upon seeing this, Jian Hong felt a sudden sense of clarity; indeed, the rumors were about his own younger sister.
"How could he act so outrageously! Ah Yang, do you know that rumors are circulating everywhere that the Emperor is having secret rendezvous with a woman outside the palace every night?"
Hearing this, Jian Yang smiled and said, "Don't believe everything you hear in the folk tales. Besides, they just use these as topics of conversation over tea and dinner. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Everyone has their share of gossip, right? As long as we don't mention her name, it's fine. She's not Xia Yuhe from Daming Lake.
"Ayang, why don't you understand?" Jian Hong said, somewhat exasperated.
Ignoring Jian Yang's questioning look, he continued, "Have you ever thought that even if you successfully return to the palace, as long as someone with a keen eye investigates, they will find out that the woman who was having an affair with the Emperor is you? At that time, your reputation will be ruined!"
Jian Yang felt a bit conflicted at this moment. It wasn't that she was worried about her reputation, but rather that she didn't like the feeling of being schemed against.
All I wanted was to live an ordinary life with the person I loved, but I could never have it. I used to be in all sorts of dangerous situations, and even after faking my death, I still can't escape them.
Does staying by Zhou Jingzhi's side mean I'm destined to suffer all of this?
"Brother, does it mean that as long as I stay by the Emperor's side, I can never have a peaceful life?" Jian Yang said dejectedly.
Hearing her ask that, Jian Hong sighed.
Since ancient times, serving a ruler has been like serving a tiger; being the emperor's woman is no easy task.
"Ayang, are you regretting asking this?" Jian Hong asked. If she regretted it, he, as her older brother, would do everything he could to send her away.
Jian Yang shook her head: "I don't know if I regret it or not. I'm just wondering if I shouldn't have come back?"
There's no doubt that she loves Zhou Jingzhi, but she simply doesn't want to live her whole life in a world of intrigue and backstabbing.
Jian Yang didn't notice that Zhou Jingzhi was standing in front of her door when she said those words.
Yes, after learning about this, Zhou Jingzhi rushed to the Prime Minister's residence. He wanted to explain everything to Jian Yang, but he never expected to hear such words outside the door.
Zhou Jingzhi's eyes darkened. He seemed to have never thought that what he did would cause Jian Yang any trouble. He just wanted to see her because he missed her.
She never imagined that these things would be used by malicious people as weapons to harm her in the future.
Zhou Jingzhi ultimately did not knock on Jian Yang's door; he had more important things to do at the moment.
Inside the Imperial Study, the atmosphere was unusually oppressive, and Eunuch Zhang stood to the side without saying a word.
As soon as Zhou Jingzhi returned to the palace, he summoned Zhao Ziyi.
"Send people to investigate where those rumors came from, and arrest those who are intentionally spreading them on the streets," Zhou Jingzhi said.
"Your subordinate obeys." Zhao Ziyi bowed in agreement and hurriedly left.
If it weren't for someone deliberately spreading rumors and publicizing them in the streets and alleys, how could they have spread so widely in just two days? This matter is probably not simple.
Could it be the Empress Dowager's doing? Was it a warning to him that if he dared to let Jian Yang return, her reputation would be ruined? Zhou Jingzhi wondered.
After a moment, he shook his head to himself. The Empress Dowager would not stoop to doing such a thing, especially since she also cared for Jian Yang.
Zhou Jingzhi suddenly remembered that night when he went to the Prime Minister's residence, and the Empress Dowager somehow found out that he had left the palace. He asked, "How did the Empress Dowager know that I was not in the palace last night?"
"Your Majesty, it is said that a young eunuch delivered the message to the Empress Dowager."
Before Zhou Jingzhi could say anything, Eunuch Zhang spoke up again: "There is another matter that I find strange. The other day, the Empress Dowager insisted on entering the Imperial Study. It seemed as if she already knew that someone was hiding in this room."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingzhi's expression suddenly turned serious. It was as if someone was leading him by the nose.
Who exactly leaked his whereabouts? His purpose was definitely not to inform the Empress Dowager, but to use the Empress Dowager to achieve some other goal.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jingzhi's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a bloodthirsty glint.
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