Chapter 90 Chapter 90 The King of Chu was convicted of treason and demoted to a commoner...
"Do you believe it?" Zhou Congshan sneered, his eyes filled with sarcasm. "The King of Chu ordered Yang Sheng to poison the Crown Prince. After succeeding, he actually arranged for a Taoist priest to send his apprentice to kill him and silence him. He then let the killer run free, and the Taoist priest's whereabouts are unknown."
Fang Ying asked, "Didn't you find this Taoist Cao?"
"An unidentified body was found near the Prince of Chu's villa," Zhou Congshan repeated. "They found a random unidentified body near the villa and claimed it was Cao Zengrui's, convicting the Prince of Chu. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Fang Ying held her friend's hand. In the heat of summer, her fingertips felt as cold as ice. "How can you convince others with such carelessness?"
"Who dares to investigate the serious crime of treason? Even the King of Cai and the King of Qi dare not say a word."
Fang Ying hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Where's your father?"
Zhou Congshan's expression softened slightly, and his voice dropped. "Of course he doesn't believe it. The King of Chu wouldn't act so recklessly. But he also said the King of Chu wasn't wronged. Liu Hong's death was proven through witnesses and evidence, and he couldn't deny it."
"But these are two different things after all."
"Some people want to lump all this together. They ordered the imperial physician to poison the crown prince, then killed him to silence him, and then secretly killed Cao Zengrui. Three years later, the killer was caught, and then he was poisoned to death in the Kaifeng prison at all costs, framing the King of Qin—all of this was done by the King of Chu."
"This doesn't make sense. Liu Hong has no idea who the mastermind behind this is. Since Judge Huang is the King of Chu's man, he must have told him the inside story long ago. The King of Chu has no need to kill to silence him. How could he take such a risk just to frame the King of Qin?" Fang Ying frowned.
Zhou Congshan agreed. "Yes, even if he's crazy about becoming emperor, he wouldn't be so crazy as to commit suicide. I guess the King of Chu knows who the real culprit behind my cousin's and Yang Sheng's deaths is, but he's never found the right time to expose them. My father got his hands on the initial records from the Medical Officers' Office. Both of the two envoys from the Medical Officers' Office saw the Crown Prince's death as suspicious and reported it to the King of Chu. However, after meeting with the Emperor, the King of Chu told them not to mention the matter again."
Fang Ying was even more puzzled. "If the King of Chu had reported this to the emperor that day, he wouldn't have doubted it now... Ah, the King of Chu probably thought so too, which is why he was so bold as to have his men kill people in the Kaifeng prison."
He thought he was not under suspicion, so he wanted to make a big fuss about the matter and force the government to get to the bottom of it so that he could reap the benefits. However, he did not expect the government to be even more ruthless and directly pinned all the charges on him, charging him with treason, demoting him to a commoner, and imprisoning him in Fangzhou.
"You are also taking advantage of the King of Qin's indecision. If I hadn't listened to you and advised the King of Qin to report the case to the emperor as soon as possible, he might still be the King of Chu, watching his nephews make a fool of themselves."
Fang Ying felt that Zhou Congshan's tone was strange, as if she was also the one who was laughing at the joke. Looking closely at her expression, she could no longer find the sadness and anger she had just felt. She was not sure what her friend was thinking.
"Why are you staring at me? Great hero?" Zhou Congshan asked with a smile.
"How can I be considered a hero? It was you who persuaded the King of Qin. If there is any hero in this matter, it is you."
Zhou Congshan knew her friend was asking about her final opinion on the matter. After a moment's silence, she said, "My father said the case has been decided, so don't dwell on it anymore. The King of Chu is the official's brother, born of the same mother. We are incredibly close, and yet if he's like this, what about him being his brother-in-law?"
Yes, the government is determined to make this decision, what can anyone do?
"We'll just have to wait and see. Since they say I'm destined to be the queen, they'll all fall into my hands sooner or later." Zhou Congshan shook his friend's hand, looked at her and asked, "Don't you agree?"
Fang Ying was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, that's right!" It was really great that she could think it through. "You want to be the queen, are you still worried that those evil people won't get their comeuppance?"
Zhou Congshan nodded and said seriously, "I will be their retribution in the future." Then he changed the subject and asked Fang Ying, "You just said that Ji Liulang went to escort the King of Chu? How long will it take for him to return?"
Perhaps because the King of Chu had led troops before, the government was afraid of any accidents, so from the moment they sealed off the King of Chu's mansion, they used Ji Yanlang's newly formed cavalry.
"They only escorted him to Xijing. Someone else took over there. He will probably be back in five or six days." Fang Ying said.
"That's good. Otherwise, we'd be traveling on the road in this hot weather for nothing, and wouldn't get anything out of it."
Fang Ying agreed with this. No matter how hard it was to escort the official's brother who had been demoted to a commoner, no one would give him any credit. If something went wrong along the way, he would be implicated. It was not a good job at all.
Fortunately, it was only sent to Luoyang, the Western Capital.
The two chatted for a while longer, and Fang Ying offered to leave. Zhou Congshan didn't try to keep her, but said, "My grandfather's anniversary is coming up in a few days, and I've already arranged with Xiangguo Temple to hold a ceremony. I'll go and burn incense on the third day of the first lunar month. Would you like to come?"
"I have nothing to do at home recently, so I should be able to go."
"Okay, I'll send someone to ask you again on the second day of the new year."
After settling the matter, Fang Ying returned to the Ji Mansion.
Ji Yanlang was away and there was nothing else to do at home, so she spent her day off quietly. On the first day of the new year, she sat and chatted with Yue Qing'e and her fifth sister-in-law Gao, and they talked about Li's birthday on the 27th of the month.
"Although it's not a full birthday, Mom hasn't celebrated her birthday in the past few years. Why don't we have a good one this year?" Yue Qing'e suggested.
She was the eldest sister-in-law, so it was her right to bring it up. Fang Ying and Gao both agreed. The three of them discussed it excitedly for a while, and then went to Li's room together to ask the main person's opinion.
Li smiled and said, "It's good to have a lively atmosphere, but there's no need for a banquet."
"Then just invite a few relatives and find a few storytellers and singers to have a lively day." Yue Qing'e said.
"Okay, you guys decide." Mrs. Li knew that her daughters-in-law were bored staying at home all day, so she agreed immediately.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking happily and talked for a while longer without realizing it. It was not until the servant came to report that Erlang had returned that they realized it was getting late.
Fang Ying and Gao took their leave together, returned to their rooms and stayed there until dinner time. Then they went to their mother-in-law's room and found that the atmosphere was different from before. After asking, they learned that something big had happened in the court today.
"The emperor wanted to establish a new empress, and he chose the daughter of He Renquan, the governor of Xijing."
Fang Ying was astonished: "Just when we said we were going to establish him, we've already chosen him?"
Li nodded: "I think it was planned long ago."
Fang Ying was still a little confused. She had just talked to Zhou Congshan about becoming the queen that day, but she never thought that before they even met again, there would be a new queen in the palace.
Li Shi didn't know what she was thinking, and thought she was simply surprised. She said, "The late queen passed away many years ago, and the Central Palace has been empty. It was okay before, but now that we have even recovered Northern Zhao, it's time to appoint a queen to align the dynasty."
"I see. I thought it was because..."
Mrs. Li knew what she was going to say and nodded, saying, "If it weren't for the Prince of Chu's treason case, there wouldn't be such a rush." She added, "This is a good thing. Enthroning a young queen can dispel many inappropriate thoughts and bring peace to everyone."
Fang Ying was not quite convinced by these words at the time, but she did not expect that when she met Zhou Congshan at Xiangguo Temple on the third day of the Lunar New Year, she would say the same thing.
"Isn't this good? It prevents one from thinking of taking the throne of Empress by virtue of her son's status, while the other, relying on her favor, wants to take the throne of Empress first and then use her son's status to compete for the throne." Zhou Congshan said with disdain, "The Emperor didn't reveal a single word beforehand, and then suddenly chose a new Empress. Isn't that just a warning to them?"
"But the new queen is younger than you and me. Can she suppress these two?"
Zhou Congshan said, "No matter how young she is, she is still the Empress. Besides, the He family is not an ordinary family. Didn't your wife tell you that the He family is closely related to her and my grandmother?"
Fang Ying said, "Yes, it is said that they are from the same branch as our wife's grandmother, Empress He of the former Qi Dynasty."
"Yes, Empress He is my grandmother's aunt. In other words, my grandmother is your wife's cousin. Unfortunately, we didn't live together in our early years and had no contact."
They were relatives from several generations ago, so Fang Ying was a little confused and just asked, "Does your family have any contact with the He family?"
Zhou Congshan shook his head. "My grandmother only visited the He family when she was a child. After she got married, she naturally became estranged from my uncle's family. Later, when Emperor Liezu of Jin usurped the throne of Qi, the He family fell into decline and contact with them ceased."
After saying this, she paused and whispered, "If my family had a close relationship with the He family, the official wouldn't have chosen his daughter."
Yes, the emperor must have intended to balance the power of his relatives by marriage by establishing a new queen at this time. The Zhou family is already so prominent, how could he choose a queen from his relatives?
"I heard that during the emperor's western tour, he praised the governor of Xijing several times and was inspired to move the capital because Xijing had been renovated so well." Fang Ying told her friend the news she had heard at home. "I'm worried that after you marry the King of Qin, you'll have this burden on your head..."
"It's good to have someone like this. With her occupying the throne of empress, the other one won't dare act like a mother-in-law to me. Besides..." Zhou Congshan leaned closer to Fang Ying and whispered, "It also blocks the path of the one who is still alive to become empress dowager."
Fang Ying's eyes widened: "Yeah, why didn't I think of it?" Ever since the time when there was a queen, even if the concubine's son ascended the throne to become emperor, the queen could only be respected as the empress dowager. If a concubine wanted to become the empress dowager, she had to wait until her death to be honored.
"You're just like my father, too concerned and confused." Zhou Congshan said with a smile, "In fact, those concubines who have given birth are enough for the new queen to deal with."
"What happened to your father?" From her tone, it seemed that the tension between father and daughter had eased, so Fang Ying asked another question.
"He's overthinking it, worried that the emperor's move is targeting my family. But the emperor summoned him alone yesterday and reassured him, saying that the wedding date has been set and the venue will be Kaifeng Prefecture. They'll start decorating the bridal chamber once the new queen enters the palace."
"That's great." Fang Ying smiled, "I feel much more comfortable."
Zhou Congshan also smiled: "Well, at least I don't have to be locked up in the palace."
"When is the wedding date?"
"August 28th."
There are less than three months left... Fang Ying silently calculated the days and asked, "Will the new queen be brought from Xijing? Has a date been set for her entry into the palace?"
"I heard they've already set out and will be arriving soon. They'll choose the nearest auspicious day to enter the palace. They say all the ceremonies will be kept simple."
Fang Ying didn't think much of what she had heard. When she returned home to study with Li, Li asked, "Has he already left? Did he come back with Liu Lang and the others?"
Yes! On the first day of the new year, Ji Yanlang and his men were almost in Xijing. If the emperor had made plans, wouldn't they have just let them escort the new queen back to Tokyo? No wonder they only let them escort the King of Chu to Xijing.
Sure enough, on the fifth day of the lunar month, Ji Yanlang returned home and said that he had escorted Empress He to the capital. "I thought this was a tough job, but I didn't expect it to be such a lucky job. There will be a reward later."
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The author has something to say: As mentioned earlier, Li's mother and Mrs. Zhou's wife were cousins, but they had no contact. Their relationship is roughly listed as follows:
Li ← Mother Princess Changning of Qi ← Grandmother Empress He of Qi
Zhou Guojiu ← Mother Mrs. Zhou ← Grandmother He (sister of Empress He)
Although the new queen's He family is still from the same family as the previous queen He, their relationship with the Li family and Zhou Guojiu is indeed very distant.
Let me quietly say that I already have a few drafts of new articles saved. It’s so fun to write about female supremacy because I don’t have to think too much and it’s so easy to choose words and sentences~
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