Chapter 57 Answer 9 Do you want to take a gamble?
On the morning of the second day, Zhu Song met with Emperor Liang alone in the Qinzheng Hall.
Emperor Liang sat at the top, looking at Zhu Song. He already knew that Zhu Song had brought a woman into the palace today with the intention of seeing him.
"Why do you want to see me alone?"
Zhu Song bowed and replied, "This matter is confidential. Your Majesty, please dismiss your attendants."
Emperor Liang looked at him seriously, then waved his hand, and the servants on both sides retreated.
Only Emperor Liang and Zhu Song were left in the hall. Emperor Liang asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"
Zhu Song lifted his skirt and knelt down, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Emperor Liang frowned, "What crime have you committed?"
Zhu Song bowed and replied, "Three months ago, I was ordered to go to Jizhou to investigate a case. I found a black box at Yi Kangning's residence. Inside the black box was a half-finished story written by Yi Kangning, as well as a cipher."
Zhu Song took out the item. Emperor Liang looked at it and said, "Present it."
Zhu Song stood up and placed the thing in front of Emperor Liang. Emperor Liang opened it and looked at it, his brows frowning even more tightly.
Zhu Song then said, "At the time, I thought Yi Kangning was teasing me out of spite, so I didn't take the matter seriously and didn't report it."
Emperor Liang said, "That's indeed unreasonable. I don't blame you. Go on."
Zhu Song continued, "Later, I left the capital to look for the miraculous doctor Su Li. As I had no direction and remembered the note written by Yi Kangning, I went to Ninglang County, Yi Kangning's hometown.
Because the Jizhou case had a great impact, everyone in Ninglang County was talking about it and some were cursing Yi Kangning. I heard a rumor there that Yi Kangning was kidnapped by bandits when he was four years old and was not found until two years later.
Yi Kangning's uncle said that the child who came back was not the missing child from his family.
I was slightly interested in this statement, so I went to Ganning Township, where Yi Kangning was abducted.
In Ganning Township, I accidentally entered the wild man forest and was abducted by the wild men. I saw that their totem was a red eagle, and there was a red eagle on Yi Kangning's black box.
From then on, I realized that what Yi Kangning left was not a joke on me, but had other implications.
However, although I opened the cipher box at that time, I still could not figure out the secret, so I did not report it.
Until recently, the Dali Temple received a case of missing official silver.
After many twists and turns, I caught the users of the official silver, who were Wu Siping and Huang Lingcui, a wealthy man from the suburbs of the city.
Wu Siping and Huang Lingcui were assassinated many times by assassins with extremely high skills. Wu Siping only told the truth after Huang Lingcui was killed.
Twenty years ago, Yi Kangning bought the baby boy born by Huang Lingcui on the seventh day of the first lunar month.
Rereading the note left by Yi Kangning, I came up with a bold guess, so I went to Jizhou and found the baby girl that Yi Kangning had brought to Jizhou that year.
Emperor Liang stared at the note on the table for a long time. His face was extremely gloomy, as if a storm was brewing.
After a long moment, Emperor Liang suddenly looked up at Zhu Song, his tone terrifyingly gloomy, "What's your guess?"
Zhu Song lowered his eyes and bowed, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak nonsense."
Emperor Liang slammed the table and stood up angrily, "You are questioning my bloodline based on this irrelevant letter."
Zhu Song knelt down, clasped his hands, and said, "As the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, it is my duty to examine the case."
Emperor Liang shouted, "I will dismiss you from your post now."
Zhu Song replied calmly, "I have no regrets in revealing the truth."
"What a bullshit truth." Emperor Liang slammed the things on the table to the ground, and the black box fell to the ground and broke into pieces. Emperor Liang stared at Zhu Song for a long time, breathing heavily in anger.
The only sound in the entire Qinzheng Hall was Emperor Liang's breathing. Zhu Song knelt with his eyes lowered and said nothing. He knew that Emperor Liang would believe him.
Sure enough, after a while, Emperor Liang called out to him, "Zhu Song, if anything goes wrong with this, your entire Zhu family will be exiled."
Zhu Song bowed his head and said, "If I have made a mistake, I am willing to accept the punishment."
Emperor Liang sat back in his chair and ordered in a deep voice, "Bring the person in."
After a while, Qin Shidong brought Xue Caining in. Xue Caining was wearing a plain long dress, with half of her face covered in pure white. She knelt down as soon as she came in, "Commoner Xue Caining pays respect to the emperor."
Emperor Liang looked at Xue Caining and was displeased when he saw her wearing a mask. "Why are you wearing a mask to see the emperor? Are you so shameful?"
Xue Caining was a little frightened by the scolding and shrank back, not daring to answer. This made Emperor Liang even more angry. Zhu Song replied, "Your Majesty, the mask was my idea. I made a mistake in Jizhou and got hurt."
Emperor Liang didn't say anything more and told Qin Shidong, "Go prepare a bowl of water."
Although Qin Shidong was a little surprised, he responded quickly.
Zhu Song said, "Your Majesty, this is a matter of great importance. I would like to go with Eunuch Qin to prepare for it."
Emperor Liang was speechless when he heard this, but he still agreed and waved his hand to let him go.
Zhu Song stood up and went out with Qin Shidong. Qin Shidong seemed to have something to say but didn't say it in the end. Zhu Song went to fetch water himself and saw a sneaky palace maid on the way.
Qin Shidong naturally saw it too, and whispered to Zhu Song, "Judging from their clothes, they must be from the Imperial Concubine's palace."
Zhu Song nodded, lowered his eyes to look at the clear water in the bowl, and quickly returned to the Qinzheng Hall.
Qin Shidong stood at the door but didn't go in. Zhu Song went in alone. The Qinzheng Hall was still the same as when they left. Emperor Liang was looking down at a note on the table. When he heard footsteps, he looked up and said, "Ding ba."
Zhu Song walked up to Xue Caining, squatted down, and handed her a needle. "Please give me a drop of blood."
Xue Caining was extremely shocked and looked up at the emperor Liang who was in power, but when she saw his gloomy face, she quickly lowered her head, took the needle from Zhu Song's hand, and stabbed it into her fingertip.
A drop of blood fell into the water, floated up in mist and then sank to the bottom.
Zhu Song walked up to Emperor Liang with the bowl in his hand. Emperor Liang picked up a dagger and cut his fingertip, and a drop of blood also fell into the water.
Two drops of blood spread out in the water and soon merged into one.
"Ridiculous!" Emperor Liang shouted, and then ordered, "Go and bring the imperial concubine to me."
Zhu Song returned to the hall with the bowl in his hand. Xue Caining wanted to see what was in the bowl, but she was kneeling and couldn't see it. Then she heard Emperor Liang's roar and dared not to look. She huddled together with her head down and even her breathing became light.
Soon Concubine Song arrived. She was an extremely beautiful woman, wearing gorgeous clothes and emerald jewelry, and she was very charming.
She entered the room, took a quick look at the scene inside, and then walked forward, saying in a delicate voice, "Your Majesty, why are you angry again? Imperial Physician Li just said yesterday that anger harms the liver, so Your Majesty shouldn't get angry."
Emperor Liang casually picked up the memorial on the table and threw it in her face. "Tell me what stupid thing you did yourself."
Concubine Song's forehead instantly turned red from the blow. She fell to the ground, staring at Emperor Liang in disbelief, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Her eyes were red. "Your Majesty, please explain clearly. I have always been cautious in my words and actions and have never overstepped the bounds. I really don't know what I have done wrong."
"You have been careful in your words and actions, and have not overstepped the bounds in the slightest. How dare you say that?" Emperor Liang pointed at Xue Caining. "This is my biological daughter. How dare you collude with Yi Kangning to confuse the royal bloodline? Now that the evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to say?"
Concubine Song blinked, tears rolling down her cheeks. She said, "Yes, twenty years ago, I gave birth to twins, but the girls were in poor health and looked like they wouldn't live long. I was afraid that Your Majesty would find it unlucky and vent his anger on Yi'er, so I let Yi Kangning take the princess away. This matter is all my fault, and I have no complaints about any punishment Your Majesty wants to give me. But as for confusing the royal bloodline, I absolutely refuse to admit it. This is someone trying to sow discord between Your Majesty and Yi'er."
When these words came out, Zhu Song's heart skipped a beat. Twins?
Emperor Liang was also stunned, frowning slightly, "Is what you said true?"
Concubine Song pointed to the heavens and swore, "Every word I say is true. If I tell even a single lie, I will lose all my happiness in life."
The palace was silent for a moment. Concubine Song came to Xue Caining on her knees, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to touch her face but didn't dare. Her hands were hanging in the air and trembling. "Child, it's your mother who has wronged you. If you want to blame someone, blame your mother, not your brother.
When you were born, you were so small and wrinkled that the midwife said you wouldn't live for more than a few days. I was possessed by the devil and had you taken out of the palace. I said that if you died, you must be buried properly, and if you lived, you must have enough food and clothing.
I feel guilty that I never dared to ask about you all these years. I always thought that as long as I didn't know, you were alive and well."
Concubine Song cried sadly, and Xue Caining was infected by her and shed tears as well. However, she did not dare to cry loudly when she first met the royal family. She could only whisper, "No, I don't blame you."
Only then did Concubine Song reach out and hug Xue Caining, and the two of them cried together. The entire Qinzheng Hall was filled with only crying and sobbing.
Zhu Song looked up at Emperor Liang and saw that he was staring at Concubine Song and Xue Caining with slightly red eyes. His heart sank even more.
Want to take a gamble?
Zhu Song hesitated in his heart. If he won the bet, there would be no benefit. If he lost the bet, Prince Su would come to the throne and would definitely not let the Zhu family go.
But Prince Su is definitely not a good king.
Then take a gamble.
Zhu Song bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is the Imperial Concubine's one-sided statement. Whether it was twins back then still needs to be verified."
Emperor Liang replied directly, "No need to check."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Song turned and kowtowed, "Your Majesty is wise." She then looked at Zhu Song, her appearance weak but her tone firm, "Even if Lord Zhu and Prince Jin have been close lately and are plotting something, he cannot falsely accuse us mother and son of something that is not true and sow discord between Your Majesty and Prince Su."
Emperor Liang looked at Zhu Song, who quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I have never had a personal relationship with Prince Jin. Some time ago, Princess Jin went to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings and became unwell, so my mother helped her. There is absolutely no such close relationship as the Imperial Concubine claims. I advocate for an investigation simply to get the truth out, and I have absolutely no ill intentions."
Concubine Song was about to say something, but Emperor Liang stopped her, "Bring Prince Su here, and we'll know once we examine him."
Concubine Song argued, "Your Majesty, this is just Zhu Song's one-sided statement. Do you want to hurt Yi'er's heart because of these false accusations?"
Zhu Song said, "Your Majesty, your words are wrong. If you are so sure, why are you afraid of verification?"
Concubine Song raised her eyebrows and said angrily, "Who said I was afraid? I just didn't want to create any rift between His Majesty and Yi'er."
Emperor Liang stopped the two from arguing, "Stop arguing." Then he ordered Qin Shidong, "Summon Prince Su to the palace."
"yes."
Hearing Qin Shidong's voice, Concubine Song clenched her hands tightly.
From morning till evening, Emperor Liang's expression became increasingly ugly.
Just as it was getting dark, a young eunuch came rushing in, "Your Majesty, it's bad, it's bad, Prince Su is leading a large army and rushing into the palace, shouting for help."
Emperor Liang was furious, "Where are the imperial guards?"
The young eunuch replied timidly, "No...I didn't see it."
Zhu Song frowned when he heard the young eunuch's words. The leader of the imperial guards was Prince Jin's man. Why would he give way to Prince Su at this time?
Emperor Liang walked down the hall and slapped Concubine Song hard, knocking her to the ground. "This is what you said, absolutely not a single lie."
Concubine Song fell to the ground, covering her face with her hands, sobbing, "I don't know what's going on, it must be a misunderstanding."
Emperor Liang said nothing more and looked at Zhu Song, "Go get the Imperial Guards."
Zhu Song bowed, looked deeply at Concubine Song, and replied, "Yes."
As a result, as soon as Zhu Song reached the door, he was blocked by Prince Su.
Prince Su, wearing majestic armor, looked at Zhu Song coldly, with his silver spear pointed at his face, "Why don't you surrender, thief?"
Zhu Song was forced to retreat back into the hall. Looking at the army behind Prince Su, he recognized that it was the troops from the west camp of the city.
Four members of this generation of the Song family were serving in the West City Camp. Half of the 80,000 troops in the West City Camp were under the control of the Song family. However, there were 130,000 troops stationed in the capital, and Prince Su dared to force the palace to rebel with only less than 40,000 troops. This was something Zhu Song had not expected.
Emperor Liang glared at Prince Su and shouted, "How dare you! What are you doing? Are you forcing the emperor to abdicate and start a rebellion?"
Prince Su looked at the scattered people in the hall, frowned fiercely, and looked a little confused. "Father, weren't you kidnapped by Zhu Song? How..."
Emperor Liang cursed, "This is ridiculous! Who told you that I was held hostage?"
Prince Su turned to look at Concubine Song. Concubine Song wiped the tears from her face with her hand, stood up expressionlessly, pointed at Emperor Liang and ordered coldly, "The emperor has been deceived by treacherous ministers. Clear his court!"
Prince Su Zaichun now understood what was going on, "Mother, what are you doing? That's father."
Concubine Song glanced at him and said, "Today, either he dies or we die. Don't waste time and force him to write a decree of abdication."
Zhu Song stood in front of Emperor Liang and said, "You traitor, don't even think about it."
Emperor Liang took the Imperial Sword from the shelf beside him and handed it to Zhu Song, "Take it. Do you think they can still cause chaos?"
As the situation became tense, a soldier came hurriedly and reported to Prince Su, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."
Prince Su looked at Concubine Song helplessly. Concubine Song snorted coldly, "You've come just in time. One will be killed, two will be killed too. Let him in."
After a while, Wen Fengxuan came in alone, escorted by soldiers.
As soon as the people came in, the soldiers came again, "Oh no, Prince Jin is coming with the imperial guards."
Concubine Song said, "Let him come."
Soon, Prince Jin came over with his men, stood opposite Prince Su, and shouted coldly: "Are you crazy? How dare you force the emperor to abdicate?"
Concubine Song said, "Now that everyone is here, let's go to hell together. Let's get started."
The four brothers of the Song family gave the order together, "Go! Wait until Prince Su ascends the throne. Everyone will be promoted today, given a thousand acres of fertile land, and be granted the title of marquis of ten thousand households."
As soon as the words fell, all the soldiers became motivated, and 40,000 people rushed in with great momentum.
Zhu Song had been protecting Emperor Liang and fighting with the Song brothers who rushed forward. In the chaos, he heard a scream that sounded very much like Wen Fengxuan's voice. He subconsciously looked up, but he was distracted and was instantly hit by a sword in the shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately.
Zhu Song protected Emperor Liang and helped him retreat, but soon he had nowhere to retreat. Zhu Song was anxious. Was he really going to die here today?
The two sides fought fiercely, and the sounds of weapons, roars, and wailing were endless.
The imperial guards are not numerous, but the situation in the palace cannot be concealed, and the other camps will soon receive the news and come to rescue the emperor.
Suddenly, Concubine Song, who had been hiding behind, came straight towards Emperor Liang with a sword, but was deflected by Zhu Song's sword. Zhu Song pointed his sword at Concubine Song's throat and was about to speak when he saw Song Wei Chi rushing towards Emperor Liang. When Zhu Song was about to resist, Concubine Song rushed towards him. In desperation, Zhu Song stabbed Concubine Song with a sword, but Concubine Song held his arm tightly. In this period of time, Song Wei Chi had already arrived in front of Emperor Liang and stabbed him with a sword.
"Puff"
The long sword entered the body, but everyone's eyes widened.
Prince Su slowly fell to the ground. Emperor Liang hugged him and pulled Emperor Liang's sleeve. "Father...Father, please spare my mother. She has also been deceived."
After saying this, he died.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Song roared, "Prince Su is dead, those who surrender will not be killed."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard voices outside shouting, "□□Xing from the east camp is here to rescue you." "Mu Liuguang from the west camp is here to rescue you."
Amid the clanging sounds of countless weapons hitting the ground, this fierce yet somewhat frivolous palace coup came to an end.
Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Princess Jin hurried over, "My Lord, are you okay?"
She was in poor health and looked very pale. Prince Jin hurried over to greet her, "Xinyu, why are you here..."
Before he could finish his words, a short blade pierced Prince Jin's chest with pinpoint accuracy. Prince Jin looked at her in disbelief. The worry on Princess Jin's face faded, leaving only hatred. She twisted her hand around the dagger fiercely, causing Prince Jin to fall to his knees in pain. Princess Jin pulled out the dagger and looked down at him.
Emperor Liang was still holding Prince Su. He looked up at the sound and saw the scene before him. He was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood and was about to fall. Wen Fengxuan hurried forward to support him, "Father, take care of yourself."
Emperor Liang leaned on him and said, "Quick, call all the doctors from the Imperial Hospital over here."
At this moment, Concubine De, who had received the news, also rushed over. She was originally smiling, but when she saw the scene in the room, she screamed in fear and scrambled to Prince Jin's side, "My son, hold on. Mother will find an imperial physician for you. Hold on."
Prince Jin fell into her arms and pulled her sleeve, "Mother, don't blame Xinyu, it's not her fault. I'm the one who let him down."
Blood kept flowing out of Prince Jin's mouth. Concubine De kept wiping it away, but it was never completely wiped away. "Mother promises you, I know you can hold on. Mother will agree to anything you ask, my son, my son."
"Thank you, mother." After saying this, Prince Jin looked at Princess Jin seriously and closed his eyes.
Princess Jin seemed frightened at this moment. "What's going on? Ah, Your Highness, Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"
Concubine De was so heartbroken that she could not control herself. The scene was in chaos. Because Princess Jin was pregnant, no one dared to step forward to arrest her for a while.
Princess Jin, crying, squatted down and stabbed the dagger in Concubine De's chest. Concubine De stared at her in disbelief. Before she could say anything, Princess Jin pulled out the dagger and committed suicide, falling limply on Prince Jin's body.
Defei died, and the three of them died together.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Liang spat out another mouthful of blood and fainted.
A group of imperial doctors rushed over and hurriedly treated Emperor Liang, and also bandaged Zhu Song's wound.
Overnight, the court changed drastically. The previously inconspicuous Crown Prince Wen Fengxuan now entered the court with full legitimacy and served as regent while Emperor Liang was in a coma.
The Crown Prince's power grew rapidly, and the once deserted East Palace was now bustling with activity. Zhu Song did not join in the fun; for his service in protecting the Emperor, he had been granted leave to recuperate at home.
Even though Zhu Song was recuperating from his injuries, news continued to reach his ears.
First, on the day of the coup, the commander of the imperial guards received a notice from Prince Jin to give way to Prince Su. However, after investigation, it was discovered that it was Prince Jin's wife who issued the order using Prince Jin's token.
Second, Emperor Liang’s health was very poor. There was a secret rumor that Emperor Liang would not live for more than two years.
Third, the prince's health has improved a lot, his complexion is rosy, and his speech is lively and cheerful, which is completely different from the sickly appearance in the legend.
Fourth, all nine members of the Song family were executed and are now imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, waiting for Emperor Liang to wake up and convict them.
In recent days, the cicadas in the Zhu Mansion have been chirping louder and louder, disturbing people's sleep at night. Meng Xiaohe couldn't stand it anymore, so she took the servants to catch cicadas everywhere today.
When I arrived at Fengyayuan, I saw Zhu Song lying in the corridor, looking listless.
Meng Xiaohe handed the cicada net in her hand to the servant, then walked towards Zhu Song, sat down beside him, and fanned him with a fan.
"Bad mood?"
Zhu Song opened his eyes and looked at him. The breeze from the fan was cool and comfortable.
Zhu Song denied it, "No."
"You still say no, but you've been listless ever since you came back home. You don't smile, you don't talk." Meng Xiaohe said as she began to recall seriously, "I remember the last time you were this sad was last time."
Zhu Song said dejectedly, "It's not funny at all."
"Okay, the last time you were this sad was when you found out Huaiyu was your younger brother." Meng Xiaohe sighed, "Tell mom about it. Are you heartbroken?"
Zhu Song's mouth was about to cry, Meng Xiaohe looked at him, "I knew..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhu Song's face changed and the corner of his mouth raised, "Haha, you got cheated."
Meng Xiaohe was still worried, so Zhu Song comforted her, "Oh, don't worry, I just feel pain in my wound, and it's hot and I don't want to move. I've been busy lately, so I'll just rest up." Then he changed the subject, "I feel like I've had very bad luck this year."
Meng Xiaohe continued, "That's right. This is the third time I've been injured. I haven't been injured this many times in the previous 25 years combined."
As soon as she heard the twenty-fifth blessing, she knew something was wrong. Sure enough, Meng Xiaohe continued, "Well, you're already twenty-five. Your mother and I already have two children by our age. It's just right that you're free now, so let's get married."
Zhu Song sighed helplessly, "Who am I supposed to be with when we haven't even started dating yet?"
Meng Xiaohe also sighed, "I should have known I shouldn't have let you go to the Dali Temple. You used to be such a lively and lovely handsome man, but after going to the Dali Temple, you have a stern face all day long and your reputation as a vicious person has spread. I thought Miss Zhang was a done deal, but I didn't expect them to disagree."
Zhu Song took the opportunity to quickly say: "Mom, I'm old anyway. Instead of wasting time on me, you might as well settle Ling Ye first and hold your grandson first."
Meng Xiaohe had an expression that showed she had seen through his little tricks. "Ling Ye doesn't have as many ideas as you do. Introduce two to him, and it will definitely work."
Zhu Song said: "Then hurry up and introduce them."
As they were talking, a servant came to announce, "Madam, Master, Doctor Xu Lizhu is here to visit."
Meng Xiaohe stood up and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'm going to catch cicadas."
Zhu Song nodded and said to the servant, "Please come in."
"yes."
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