It's late at night.
The lights were still on in Shao'an Hall, one of the halls in the Eastern Palace.
In the simple room, there was a chessboard on the couch. The Crown Princess knelt in front of it, holding the black piece in her hand, hesitant.
Opposite her, the person playing chess with her was none other than Fang Shaojian, who had disappeared for a long time.
After Fang Shaojian was wanted, he first hid in a cloth shop in the city, and now he is hiding in the East Palace.
Seeing that Crown Princess Sun was hesitant, he reminded her, "When you need to make a decision, make it immediately. Don't hesitate."
Crown Princess Sun smiled softly and placed a black piece. "Only by careful consideration can we take each step steadily."
Fang Shaojian said with a hint of meaning, "Opportunities are fleeting. While careful consideration is good, adaptability is also essential."
Crown Princess Sun smiled and said, "Master Fang is right. So, what do you think, is this a good time?"
This seems to refer to the chess game, but also seems to mean something else.
Fang Shaojian, holding the white piece, made a decisive move and said, "The time is not right yet."
Crown Princess Sun raised her eyebrows, seeming a little dissatisfied.
She said, "The pawn is dead, so we should press on and pursue the victory."
Fang Shaojian sneered, "Although the pawn is dead, the people behind him are not without the ability to fight back. Attack rashly at this time and beware of backlash."
Crown Princess Sun frowned in thought, "The two things of tomb robbing and privately minting coins are enough to bring down a whole group of people."
"But it's not enough to dethrone the king." Fang Shaojian said in a loud voice.
Crown Princess Sun snorted coldly, "Prince Ning's spy has been hiding in the Eastern Palace for decades. With one move, he nearly killed the Crown Prince. How can this vengeance go unrequited?"
Fang Shaojian looked at the Crown Princess Sun with a half-smile, "If it weren't for our reminder, Your Majesty and the Crown Prince would still be kept in the dark, living with poison every day.
Given the Crown Prince's health, he would have died of a sudden illness soon. Fortunately, our family discovered the problem in time and saved the Crown Prince's life.
Afterwards, it was my family who informed Her Majesty about Princess Huyang and her husband's illegal minting of coins and tomb robbery.
It was also our family who secretly arranged this, catching Prince Ning off guard. We have done so much for the Eastern Palace, one after another, but Her Majesty still doesn't trust us?"
Crown Princess Sun laughed instantly, her expression particularly sincere. "Young Supervisor Fang misunderstood. If I didn't trust you, why would I follow your plan? I simply can't bear to see Prince Ning go unpunished."
Fang Shaojian suddenly lowered his voice, "Madam, do you still remember what I said to you last time?"
Crown Princess Sun's expression changed drastically, "Don't mention those words again."
Fang Shaojian smiled and said, "Extraordinary measures are necessary to accomplish extraordinary things. Looking at the entire world, Prince Ning is just a pawn on the chessboard. Your Majesty should set your sights on the true king, the Son of Heaven!"
"How dare you!" Princess Sun was terrified. Fortunately, there were only two of them in the simple room.
Fang Shaojian was unconcerned. "Of course, if Prince Ning dares to send spies into the Eastern Palace, the Eastern Palace will certainly respond with a few blows. If we can't take Prince Ning's head, we can take Gongzi Zhao's head. Is your Majesty satisfied?"
Crown Princess Sun was naturally dissatisfied. "Even if Prince Zhao died, Prince Ning only lost a son. How can I be satisfied?"
"Your Majesty, do you insist that Prince Ning die?"
"Of course?"
Fang Shaojian shook his head. "Forgive me for my incompetence, but I can't do this. Let alone the private minting of coins, the tomb robbing has nothing to do with Prince Ning. Even if Prince Ning was involved, Your Majesty wouldn't execute him. At most, he would be demoted to a commoner and imprisoned. Your Majesty is really putting me in a difficult position with this matter."
Crown Princess Sun chuckled softly, "Young Master Fang prides himself on his talent, but his life has been difficult. Now I'm giving you the opportunity to showcase your talents, so why are you so timid? If you don't do what others can't, how can you truly demonstrate your abilities?"
Fang Shaojian was unaffected by the Crown Princess's provocation. He still shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. Your Majesty is worse than another target."
Crown Princess Sun looked surprised.
She placed her black piece down and said, "The Eastern Palace is in danger. At today's banquet, I saw the way His Majesty looked at the Crown Prince. I'm afraid he won't wait three years to take action."
Fang Shaojian nodded. "Of course. Your Majesty has given the Eastern Palace a year, which has already exceeded everyone's expectations. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not seize this year, and instead allowed his subordinates to act recklessly in the name of the Eastern Palace. Your Majesty's patience is limited, and he will definitely not give the Crown Prince another year."
Crown Princess Sun's hand holding the chess piece trembled slightly, and she could only vaguely say, "The Crown Prince is kind and righteous."
Fang Shaojian looked at the Crown Princess Sun with a half-smile, "Your Highness the Crown Prince was made successful by benevolence, and will also be destroyed by benevolence. A ruler must balance leniency and strictness to be the best. Blind benevolence will ultimately lead to the loss of the monarch's authority. A prince without authority cannot control his subjects. The Crown Prince's downfall seems inevitable."
Crown Princess Sun did not refute Fang Shaojian's words.
Instead, he reminded the other party, "You said you would help me."
Fang Shaojian nodded, "Our family is helping the Empress right now."
As soon as the words fell, a white piece landed on the chessboard, swallowing up several black pieces.
Crown Princess Sun was distracted and her mind was not focused on playing chess.
“What should I do now?” she asked.
Fang Shaojian asked, "What does the Queen mean?"
Crown Princess Sun lowered her voice, "Of course, I'm referring to Prince Ning, Prince Zhao, and your Majesty."
Fang Shaojian's eyebrows moved slightly, "Your Majesty, are you going to take a risk?"
Crown Princess Sun's face was gloomy. "You also said that the Crown Prince is destined to fail. However, I don't want to fail with him. I want to live, live well, and watch my children and grandchildren ascend the throne. Now there is only one way, and only you can do this."
The so-called method of Crown Princess Sun was to make the emperor die early.
If the emperor dies before issuing an edict to depose the crown prince, then the crown prince will be the rightful successor.
At that time, all civil and military officials will obey the orders of the prince and suppress all ambitious guys.
It’s just that the prince is weak, while the emperor is still strong and healthy.
It is so difficult to make the emperor die first.
The goal can only be achieved by resorting to extraordinary means.
Kill the king and execute all nine generations of his clan.
Only a die-hard warrior can do it.
However, even if they are assassins, someone needs to do a lot of preparation in advance to provide them with the conditions for the assassination.
The military advisor and counselor for this matter is none other than Fang Shaojian.
The two looked into each other's eyes and understood each other's intentions without words.
Fang Shaojian smiled and thought that the Crown Princess wanted him to die!
If he really planned to assassinate the emperor, he would be executed regardless of whether he succeeded or not.
His road to death lies ahead.
The Crown Princess couldn't wait for him to die.
He said, "Your Majesty thinks highly of me. Now I am but a shameful sinner, how can I be worthy of such a great responsibility."
Crown Princess Sun laughed heartily. "Young Master Fang, why be so modest? You never left your house, yet you successfully plotted against Huyang and Prince Consort Chen, and implicated Prince Ning. You handled this matter beautifully. I believe that even if the task were ten times more difficult, it would not be difficult for you."
Fang Shaojian lowered his head and smiled, his eyes full of mockery. "Let me think about this matter carefully."
"Time waits for no one. Please make a decision soon, Young Supervisor Fang." Crown Princess Sun urged him.
Fang Shaojian said, "This matter is of great importance and requires careful consideration. If your Majesty cannot wait, then please find someone else. I apologize for not accompanying you."
Crown Princess Sun compromised, "Okay, this will go according to your plan. But you also said that His Majesty can't wait any longer and will soon issue an order to depose the Crown Prince."
I hope to see the results of Fang Shaojian's efforts within three to five months."
Fang Shaojian smiled and said, "My Lady, it's late, you should go back and rest."
Crown Princess Sun looked at the chessboard and said, "Unknowingly, I have reached a dead end."
"Your Majesty's mind isn't on the chess game, so this result isn't surprising."
"Young Supervisor Fang is able to do two things at once."
"Your Majesty, why bother with a sinner like me?"
…
Prince Ning's Mansion.
Gu Jiu took the sandalwood box from the eunuch Qian Fu.
She asked, "What's in this?"
Qian Fu shook his head, "I don't know."
Gu Jiu made many guesses, and finally took the sandalwood box back to the upper room and opened it in the study.
On the upper layer was a stack of banknotes.
Gu Jiu was just about to say that Liu Zhao was vulgar and still didn't forget to manage his finances at this time.
When she turned to the next level, she found all sorts of house deeds and land deeds. Obviously, these were all the private properties that Liu Zhao had acquired over the years.
At the bottom, Gu Jiu flipped it out and took a deep breath when he saw the content on it.
Liu Zhao actually left behind solid evidence that Prince Consort Chen had privately minted coins.
Gu Jiu was shocked and confused.
Liu Zhao followed the orders of Prince Ning to settle the matter for Prince Consort Chen, so why did he leave behind these evidences?
It can't be said that he had already expected this day.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, keeping these evidences will simply give others a handle and will do more harm than good.
Gu Jiu couldn't help but try to guess Liu Zhao's intention.
Obviously, Liu Zhao asked her to take over the sandalwood box to prevent the evidence inside from falling into the hands of the Jinwu Guards.
Could it be that Liu Zhao left these evidences in order to threaten Princess Huyang and her husband Chen?
In any case, the contents of the box must not be seen by others.
She closed the box, locked it, and handed it to Qingmei, "Put it in the box."
Qingmei obeyed the order.
Gu Jiu originally wanted to destroy the evidence, but was worried that Liu Zhao might still need it, so he had to hide the box first to prevent the Jinwu Guards from searching.
That night, no one returned home and everyone stayed in the palace.
Gu Jiu tossed and turned until midnight before falling asleep.
I slept for less than two hours before being woken up by the maid.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and we must go to the palace to pay homage.
The first thing Gu Jiu did when he got up was to ask, "Has the young master returned home?"
Qingmei shook her head, "Master, have you never returned home?"
Then Gu Jiu asked again: "Where are the prince and the others?"
"I heard from Eunuch Deng that the prince, princess, and other young masters and wives have not returned home."
The eunuch Deng mentioned by Qingmei is Deng Cunli.
Gu Jiu promoted him to be an eunuch. He had a keen eye on any disturbance in the palace.
Gu Jiu was shocked, but not panicked.
It is indeed worrying that no one has returned home.
But precisely because no one returned home, it meant that Liu Zhao was fine for the time being.
Gu Jiu got up, washed, ate a little, put on his court robes, got on the carriage at the second gate, and prepared to go to the palace.
But when he arrived at the palace, he was told that the New Year's Day worship was cancelled.
"Cancel? Why cancel?"
Gu Jiu was horrified. He couldn't just cancel the New Year's Day worship just because Prince Consort Chen robbed the tomb.
She didn't think that Prince Consort Chen had such power.
The guards guarding the palace gate kept silent and just stopped Gu Jiu from entering the palace.
At this time, Deng Cunli stepped forward and said, "Madam, please allow me to go and ask. Perhaps I can find out the reason."
Gu Jiu nodded, "Go quickly and come back soon."
Deng Cunli was an old man in the palace, and he knew exactly where the eunuchs in the palace often went after leaving the palace.
He found the person, spent some money, and without much effort, he found out the whole situation clearly.
He returned to Gu Jiu and whispered, "Madam, I have heard that His Majesty is seriously ill and unable to manage affairs, so today's court visit is cancelled."
Gu Jiu was shocked. "Your Majesty was fine yesterday, why is he so ill today?"
Deng Cunli shook his head. "I don't know the reason. The news came from Xingqing Palace, so it should be true."
Given the emperor's temper, he would not cancel the New Year's Day worship for no reason.
Either he is really seriously ill, or something terrible has happened.
Gu Jiu couldn't enter the palace and had to turn around and go back.
She left Deng Cunli behind and asked him to find out as much information as possible, especially when the people from Prince Ning's Mansion would be able to return to the palace.
Gu Jiu did not go back to the palace directly. She ordered the coachman to take a detour to Princess Huyang's palace.
From a distance, the carriages and horses were stopped.
Gu Jiu lifted the car window curtain and looked outside.
On the first day of the first lunar month, the wind was bitingly cold.
The wind rushed into the car through the window, causing Gu Jiu's cheeks to hurt as if they were being cut by a knife.
Princess Huyang's mansion has been surrounded by the Jinwu Guards.
I saw the Jinwu Guards' henchmen coming in and out, carrying piles of account books and letters.
Except for the servants who served Prince Consort Chen and were imprisoned, the rest of the servants in the Princess's residence were all banished to a separate courtyard and kept under guard. The Jinwu Guards would interrogate them one by one later.
Afterwards, Gu Jiu went to Chen's house again.
The Chen Mansion was in a miserable state. All the elderly, the weak, women and children were arrested by the Jinwu Guards and would be imprisoned in the imperial prison until the case was concluded.
Even if he is innocent, he can be released, but he will also lose his wealth and glory.
Those who are guilty will either be beheaded or exiled.
In short, the Chen family is finished.
Prince Consort Chen is also doomed.
Gu Jiu sighed, lowered the car window curtain, and said, "Let's go."
The carriage started slowly and returned to the palace.
The once bustling palace suddenly seemed empty and lifeless because the owners were no longer there.
The servants already knew that something had happened at Princess Huyang's mansion. In addition, none of the masters had returned except the eldest lady, so they were all a little panicked and absent-minded, fearing that something might happen at the palace.
As soon as Gu Jiu returned to the East Courtyard, the servants came to report that Concubine Shen, Concubine Luo, and other beauties were visiting.
She thought for a moment and said, "Just say I'm tired and won't see any guests for now."
Qingmei was worried, "Madam, is it okay to just refuse?"
Gu Jiu said, "They just want to ask about the prince and the palace. I can't answer these questions. Tell them to go back and wait for news from the palace."
Gu Jiu insisted on not seeing the guests, and Concubine Shen and others were reluctant to force their way into the East Courtyard.
Helpless, he could only retreat in embarrassment.
As Gu Jiu said, they waited patiently for news from the palace.
Instead of receiving any news, they received the ferocious Jinwu Guards.
Wei Zhong, the left guard of the Jinwu Guard, clasped his fists and said, "I beg your pardon, Madam. We are following orders to inspect the young master's imperial library and confiscate all correspondence."
Gu Jiu stood under the eaves, watching the Jinwu Guards going in and out of the document garden, collecting documents and letters in the study.
Gu Jiu looked at Wei Zhong expressionlessly, "When will the prince and the others be able to return home?"
Wei Zhong said sternly, "I'll be back when it's time. Madam, there's no need to worry."
Gu Jiu snorted coldly, "How can this lady not be worried when the dignified Jinwu Guards come to visit? Could Lord Zuowei tell me what my young master has done wrong?"
Wei Zhong shook his head, "I have no right to deny it."
Gu Jiu's expression was unhappy, like a woman who had been neglected and acted impulsively without any scheming.
However, she was extremely calm inside.
She already knew yesterday why the Jinwu Guards came. Today was just a performance.
She had also thought about bribing Wei Zhong with a large sum of money.
However, after three seconds, Gu Jiu dismissed the idea.
Wei Zhong is the emperor's henchman and one of his majesty's most trusted ministers.
If bribes could be bought with just a large sum of money, Wei Zhong would not be qualified to be relied upon by the emperor.
If Gu Jiu really paid a large sum of money to bribe Wei Zhong, not only would he not be able to get any information from him, but he would also be targeted by the Jinwu Guards, causing him endless harm.
Therefore, Gu Jiu pretended to be angry and looked at the Jinwu Guards coldly as he turned the Wenshuyuan upside down inside and out.
Finally, he watched angrily as the Jinwu Guards left with the results of their search.
The arrival of the Jinwu Guards scared all the servants.
Gu Jiu didn’t have time to calm everyone down for the time being.
She walked into the library in silence.
The once comfortable and luxuriously furnished library was now a mess. Books of all kinds were scattered all over the floor.
The pens, ink, paper and inkstone were also thrown on the ground.
Gu Jiu walked around and found that all the important things had been taken away.
She ordered, "Qian Fu, take people to clean up the Wenshuyuan."
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