Chapter 10 Jin Ling 10
That night, Ma Yuanying ostensibly discussed the matter with Consort Cai, but the next day, the arrested Lian Fangzheng kidnapped Gao Xianyang's father on his way to prison.
When the Empress Dowager learned about this, she was furious and ordered all the palaces to investigate thoroughly and get to the bottom of the matter.
Jin Ling knew that this matter had far-reaching implications.
The three masterminds are: Mother Xu represents the face of the Empress Dowager, Concubine Wang represents the face of the royal family, and Ma Yuanying holds military power and represents the face of the emperor. The latter two of these three people must not be touched now. If we want to resolve this matter, we can only push Mother Xu out.
With a plan in mind, she ran to Ruan Sizhen's room that day on the pretext of asking for advice on making hairpins, and discovered the two arguing first.
"Ruan Sizhen, Zhong Sizhi, please calm down. If you have anything to say, why not sit down and talk it out calmly? There's no need to argue and hurt the relationship."
Jin Ling put down the tray and separated the two people who were arguing. Her eyes naturally fell on the account book that Zhong Sizhi was holding tightly in his arms. "Hey? Zhong Sizhi, what's that in your hand?"
Zhong Xuexia smiled smugly at her when she heard this: "Isn't this evidence that Si Zhen committed a crime?"
"A crime?!" Jin Ling waved her hands in panic. "Don't say that. Everyone knows what kind of person Ruan Sizhen is. How could she commit a crime?"
Seeing Jin Ling defending Ruan Cuiyun like this, Zhong Xuexia also became angry and held the account book in front of Jin Ling:
"Look, this is the loan account book I found in Ruan Sizhen's room. She's a wicked person, and today, the heavens finally saw through her and found her!"
Ruan Cuiyun was not someone to be trifled with. She didn't hesitate to respond to her unwarranted slander: "Hmph, you came into my room for no reason. That's why I suspect you're deliberately trying to frame me and push your own crimes onto me!"
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Cai Shanggong finally arrived late. But this time she did not bring a group of people with her to make a big fuss. Instead, she came alone and scolded them as soon as she entered the room:
"Shut up! You don't even realize you're being used, yet you're still foolishly killing each other. You've been immersed in the palace for years, but you haven't seen a single thing as clearly as a female historian."
Ruan Sizhen/Zhong Sizhi: "Greetings to Consort Cai..."
Jin Ling also hurriedly bowed and stood behind Cai Shanggong.
Zhong Sizhi: "Mrs. Cai, what did you mean by that? What do you mean we've fallen into a trap?"
"I can't explain it to you right now. Jinling, take the account book and make sure it's somewhere safe. I'm afraid Mother Xu will be here soon."
"Yes, Lady Shang Gong." Jin Ling immediately left through the back door with the account book in her pocket, and went straight to Concubine Zheng's palace with the double-phoenix gold hairpin in her hand.
"Ms. Yao? You are..."
"I made this hairpin according to the Dowager Consort's request. I wonder if she is satisfied with it. If there is anything that is not to your liking, please let Jinling know and she will take it back for adjustments."
Before Concubine Zheng could even ask, Jin Ling interrupted. The other party understood, took Jin Ling into his own chambers, and then turned and instructed Ziyun, "Go get me a few more doses of medicine from the Imperial Hospital. The ones I have are almost finished."
Ziyun took the order and left, meeting Prince Guang halfway. When Li Yi heard that Jin Ling was now in his mother's bedroom, he hurried back. As soon as he opened the curtain, he heard his mother's panicked voice:
"This...what should I do?"
"What's wrong with mother?" Li Yi ran in to support his panicked mother and asked Jin Ling with his eyes.
"My son, you..." Although Concubine Zheng was terrified, her first reaction was that her son was safe. Seeing that her son had forgotten to play dumb, she hurriedly tried to cover up for him, but she was unexpectedly interrupted by her son:
"Mom, there's no need to play dumb in front of Jin Ling. I've known her since childhood, and she already knew what I had to do."
Concubine Zheng looked at Jin Ling and saw that she had no strange expression on her face and her conversation showed that she was quite familiar with Li Yi.
"I see. It's hard for you to keep the secret for us, mother and son, for so many years." She said this sincerely. It was rare for a child of seven or eight years old to suddenly learn of such a secret and be able to conceal it for such a long time without a single leak.
Jin Ling maintained her composure and approachability, saying, "The Concubine Dowager and the Prince are both kind and good people. Even if Jin Ling cannot help them, she will never harm them."
The three of them stood together, appearing harmonious for a moment.
"By the way, mother, what frightened you so much just now?"
"It's about loans within the palace." Jin Ling pulled out an account book and pointed to the red pattern printed on it. "I once helped the Shanggong Bureau organize the records for the first year of Huichang. That year, Persia presented a piece of Tuotu-woven silk, and the pattern on it is exactly the same as in the account book."
"Because Persia's dyeing technology was inferior to ours, red faded when exposed to water. Therefore, the Shanggong Bureau only made two beds, which were sent to Japan. The remaining scraps of fabric were only requested by Concubine Zheng."
Jin Ling took out another piece of paper, which recorded when and where Concubine Zheng had taken the cloth.
"I believe the Concubine is a person who would never do such a heinous thing. I just found out that the purses made of these fabrics were taken away by Mother Xu. I'm afraid she was the one who lent the money this time."
"But this matter cannot be reported directly to the Grand Empress Dowager, and no evidence can be left behind, lest Mother Xu use it to slander us."
As she spoke, she handed the paper to Li Yi, and their eyes met in the air: "Please, Your Majesty, and the Concubine Dowager, handle this properly."
Li Yi clenched the paper in her hand, feeling grateful for her protection, but also worried that without evidence, the matter would implicate the entire Shang Palace Bureau.
"If you hand over this evidence to us, how will the Shanggong Bureau and you survive this disaster?" Concubine Zheng also looked embarrassed. She was not willing to implicate so many good people for her own sake.
"I need to save my mother, and I need to save Jin Ling too." Li Yi suddenly thought of a solution. He looked at the two most important women in his life and decided not to allow anyone or anything to harm them...
That night, Yao Jinling returned to the Shanggong Bureau and was immediately summoned to the office of Shanggong Cai. In addition to Shanggong Cai and the four officials of the fourth room, Liu Sanhao was also there.
"Sanhao, why are you here too?"
"This time, Mother Xu deliberately framed and made things difficult for them, and she almost convicted them. Fortunately, Sanhao argued for them, and Ruan Sizhen and Zhong Sizhi were able to return safely."
Cai Shanggong was extremely disappointed with the two of them. Knowing they were in the wrong, they just stood there silently, not daring to say a word.
It turned out that not long after she left, Madam Xu arrived before Consort Cai could finish her instructions. She happened to overhear their last quarrel and immediately took them to the Empress Dowager.
At that time, Sanhao was also in Ziyun Palace because she was delivering a silk handkerchief to Concubine Wang.
Ruan Cuiyun and Zhong Xuexia actually started arguing with each other in front of the emperor, and the Empress Dowager was furious. Fortunately, Liu Sanhao persuaded them and the Empress Dowager gave them three days.
If the truth cannot be ascertained within three days, they will be killed rather than released. Both of them will be dismissed and investigated to serve as a warning to others.
"It's all that Madam Xu who's been sowing discord in front of the Grand Empress Dowager. And Concubine Wang is actually siding with that old bitch Madam Xu. There's really no law!"
Zhong Xuexia did not change her hot-tempered nature. Even when facing the crisis of dismissal, she still started by scolding.
Cai Shang Gong hurriedly stopped her, feeling as if she were about to be worn out by these enemies. "You better keep your mouth shut! If you hadn't been arguing for a while, how could she have taken advantage of you?"
"In fact, this matter is probably related to Mother Xu." Jin Ling's words immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.
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