Chapter 521: Blame

An was shocked. After Wei Tingyu and Wang Qinghai left, she couldn't help but ask Wang Qinghuai: "Why did Marquis Jining come to see you? I remember that he was always a handsome young man. How come he has become like this after not seeing him for two years?"

"Don't worry about it." Wang Qinghuai's face was a little ugly. After all, he was his brother's friend. He couldn't tell his wife that his brother brought his friend to borrow money, and it was not for emergency, but to cooperate with others to make tea and secretly borrow money from his family. Not to mention whether the money can be repaid, even if he succeeds in the business, no one in Jining Marquis's Mansion will be grateful to him except Wei Tingyu. He was too lazy to think about these troubles and said, "Why did you come to me?"

An told Wang Qinghuai all the information that the nanny had found out.

Wang Qinghuai couldn't help but sigh and said, "If Wei Tingyu knew what happened today, I wonder if he would regret marrying Xiao Dou."

An was a little confused after hearing this.

Wang Qinghuai didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Wei Tingyu married the daughter of the Dou family, but he couldn't even come up with 5,000 taels of silver. You can imagine what kind of life he lived. Fortunately, I didn't agree to lend him the money in a moment of excitement.

I heard from my younger brother that Wei Tingyu secretly raised a child outside and she is already five or six months pregnant. I wonder if after Mrs. Dou finds out, she will bring people to cause trouble like she did last time... Then there will be another good show in Kyoto!

Speaking of which, it's really shameful that Song Mo has such a brother-in-law!

He thought about it and decided to go to the British Mansion in person.

The boss would be most proud if the guards in the mansion could be released, so it is only right for him to go and congratulate them.

Dou Zhao of the Duke of Ying's Mansion naturally didn't know what happened to the Wang family. She was busy with the exile of Chen Xiaofeng and others - Cheng Yi had to make preparations; they were leaving her side and had some instructions; they were no longer the guards of the mansion, and could no longer live in the East Wing of the Duke of Ying's Mansion. If their families wanted to follow them to their posts, that would be fine, but if some wanted to return to Zhending, they would have to arrange for reliable people to send them back... The most important thing was that she had been accustomed to being protected by Chen Xiaofeng and others in the past few years. When they left, she suddenly felt empty in her heart. She knew that even if someone with better skills and more loyal than them came in in the future, there would no longer be the kind of love they once had of living and dying together.

She handed the guards who died in Xiangshan Villa to Duan Gongyi: "... From now on, you must report to me immediately if there are any matters involving these families. No matter if you need money or other things or encounter any other difficulties, you are not allowed to hide it from me."

"Put it away," Duan Gongyi had a deeper relationship with these people than Dou Zhao did, and his expression was full of sighs when he mentioned it, "I will send someone to keep a close eye on it."

Dou Zhao even brought up another matter and said, "Now that the emperor is not intervening and the crown prince is in charge of the country, there won't be any difficult things in the palace. Do you want to find someone to serve Madam Duan?"

Duan Gongyi blushed and said, "I have two maids at home. They are very efficient and well-behaved. My mother will have someone to serve her for the time being."

Dou Zhao smiled and didn't say anything more.

But within a few days, good news came from Duan Gongyi.

It turned out that Duan's mother had long taken a fancy to a little maidservant on the stove in Yizhitang, but had been delaying the marriage because Duan Gongyi did not want to get married. At this time, Duan Gongyi lowered his head, and Duan's mother thought of arranging the marriage while the people in Zhending and the Duke of Ying's Mansion were still there. She even arranged a matchmaker and set a date, and it was done in just five or six days.

Dou Zhao called the maid in and took a look. He saw that the little maid was fair and clean, and spoke and acted in a gentle manner. He rewarded her with 500 taels of silver as a dowry and 20 taels of silver as an additional box. He chose a good day and married Duan Gongyi.

Everyone was very happy and Song Mo also attended the wedding.

But before the bride even entered the house, he was quietly taken away.

Dou Zhao remained calm. Chen Xiaofeng and the others thought that Song Mo was only going to show up at the wedding, so they didn't take it seriously. After Duan Gongyi bowed in the hall, they surrounded him and went to the bridal chamber to make a fuss. She had time to quietly ask Wuyi, "What happened?"

Wuyi whispered, "The Queen has passed away. His Highness has asked the Crown Prince to come to the palace immediately to discuss this matter!"

Dou Zhao was very anxious.

Prince Liao is still "attending to the illness" in the Western Garden, as the Empress died first.

It has only been a few days since we left Yuming Mountain, how can we not associate it with this?

Moreover, it was the prince who promised the queen that she would continue to enjoy her position, and Song Mo was the guarantor. If someone maliciously helped to stir up trouble, the spit of the people would be enough to drown them both. The most disturbing thing was that the prince had the emperor above him. If he aroused the emperor's suspicion, would it affect the prince's position?

Dou Zhao waited until 11 p.m. before Song Mo came back.

"What's the situation now?" She sat on the kang and waited for Ruotong and the others to help Song Mo change his clothes and then leave. She asked, "Have you decided when to announce the death?"

Song Mo sat next to Dou Zhao, and Dou Zhao then noticed that there was a hint of fatigue between Song Mo's brows.

Dou Zhao massaged his shoulders.

Song Mo smiled and said, "I'm fine. You're a married woman, so you shouldn't overwork yourself." Then he held her in his arms and sighed, "The Crown Prince is not a fool. It's better for him that the Queen is alive. When he heard the news, he was also confused. He and the Crown Princess hurried to Cining Palace and found out that the Queen had hanged herself. But there was the Queen Mother in Cining Palace, so the Crown Prince couldn't even ask a question. He called me to go with him to see the Emperor. The Emperor learned of the Queen's death. Although he said nothing, he was silent for a long time before waving his hand to let Your Highness leave. He didn't mention when the funeral would take place or what the format would be. From what Your Highness said, the Emperor should be very sad..."

A couple who were once in love turned into enemies, and no one can remain indifferent.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but sigh as well.

"Go to bed early!" Song Mo patted Dou Zhao's hand comfortingly and said, "I have to go to the palace early tomorrow morning."

By tomorrow, the news of the Queen's death would certainly be revealed. Both the Crown Prince and Song Mo would be busy for a while as to how to deal with the doubts of their ministers.

Dou Zhao sighed and blew out the light.

The next day, Kyoto was in chaos.

Some said that the empress was killed by the prince, some said that the prince had long intended to kill Prince Liao, some said Song Mo was the prince's accomplice...all kinds of rumors came one after another, and no one believed that the emperor died of illness.

The prince was busy going to the West Garden to explain to the emperor every day, while Song Mo was busy spreading new rumors.

But nothing is more important than the royal secret. Everyone is becoming more and more interested in the cause of the queen's death. Even the grandmother who never goes out has heard about it and ran to the mansion to ask Dou Zhao and Song Mo whether they would be implicated.

But the emperor said nothing, and the prince was even more afraid to make a decision in order to avoid suspicion. On the 21st day after the queen's death, the funeral rules had not yet been released. Ji Yong was so anxious that he shouted to Song Mo, "Do you have the ability to command the Jinyi Guard? Why hasn't this matter been resolved yet? If you can't, there are plenty of people to take over!"

Song Mo was annoyed that every time he jumped out, he would blame others and never give any good suggestions. He sneered and said, "It's a pity that the commander of the Jinyiwei is a military officer. No matter how well Lord Ji does, he can't control the Jinyiwei!" Then he turned away.

Ji Yong looked at his back and curled her lips in disdain.

Soon, someone with bad intentions reported the matter to the prince.

Although the prince was extremely worried, he couldn't help but sigh aloud after hearing this and felt much better.

As if Liaoning thought the scene in Kyoto wasn't chaotic enough, they sent an 800-li express delivery.

The eldest son of King Liao died of illness!

Now the prince couldn't sit still.

He was so angry that he threw the letter in front of Song Mo: "Look! Which bastard is trying to hurt me? If I find out, I will skin him alive!"

Song Mo frowned slightly, but still said calmly: "Let's find out the cause of the child's death first!"

The prince pulled his hair and asked, "How can we find out this?"

Song Mo said: "Even if we can't find out, we have to have a reasonable reason."

The prince sat calmly on the large kang inlaid with nanmu wood.

Marquis Changxing asked for an audience.

"Let him in!" the prince said weakly.

Because of Concubine Shi, the prince had a good impression of Marquis Changxing.

The Marquis of Changxing had a square face and crooked eyebrows, which made him look righteous and gave people a sense of fortitude, loyalty and bravery.

He nodded slightly towards Song Mo and stepped forward to salute the prince.

Song Mo took the opportunity to retreat.

In the afternoon, I heard that the Marquis of Changxing had advised the Crown Prince to invite the Empress Dowager to persuade the Emperor. In the evening, an imperial decree came down from the Western Garden, and except for the mourning period, everything else in the Empress's funeral would follow the specifications of the Empress Dowager of Emperor Renzong.

Song Mo smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid this matter still needs some work."

Dou Zhao was sitting on the kang making a bellyband for his unborn child. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "I thought you were worried about the Marquis of Changxing!"

"There's nothing to worry about." Song Mo smiled and said, "There are many talented people in the court. Although the Duke of Ying's Mansion is close to the royal family, there are times when it's appropriate. Just like last time, the prince asked me to accompany him to see the emperor. I accompanied him to the West Garden, but I didn't accompany him to see the emperor. Sometimes, being too close to the emperor may not be a good thing."

Dou Zhao was full of confidence in Song Mo. He bit the thread end with his teeth and nodded with a smile.

There was a letter from Tianjin saying that Gu Yu had lost a lot of weight in recent days.

Song Mo stared at the letter for a long time, and asked Du Ming to bring him some medicinal herbs and other things.

Another letter came from Haozhou, saying that Mrs. Jiang saw that Jiang Baisun did not even have a decent bodyguard, so she asked Shi An to accompany Jiang Baisun to Liaoning.

As a result, the Jiang family lost a bodyguard who could take charge.

Song Mo sent Zhu Yicheng to Haozhou, and wrote to Xu Qing, asking him to take care of the Jiang family.

After being busy for a few days, the prince suddenly came to visit quietly.

He was talking in Song Mo's study: "The emperor doesn't believe that this matter has anything to do with the Royal Grandmother. Her words and deeds reveal that the Royal Grandmother didn't want us to be estranged, so she took the blame for the Queen's death on herself at the suggestion of Concubine Shi. The more the Royal Grandmother explained, the less the emperor believed it. Now I can't clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River!"

The prince scratched his head again in distress - this was a habit he developed as a child. Although he was taught this lesson later, people would still make such movements when they were irritated, nervous and at a loss.

Cui Yijun was extremely anxious and looked at the prince and Song Mo with worry in his eyes.