23 Chapter 023
◎Don't Enter the Tiger Cave (Five)◎
Xie Changfeng had to lament that he could not expect to live a peaceful life until his daughter took charge of government.
He had only finished half of a painting when he heard that Zhang Xiaofu wanted to see him.
He immediately put down his pen and went to find Xie Mingzhuo.
Xie Mingzhuo had thought that Zhang Xiaofu would meet the emperor, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.
In order to avoid any spies in the prison, when Zhang Gao was transferred, the area around the cell where Zhang Xiaofu was imprisoned was deliberately cleared. Apart from Yang Yunkai, no one else was present at the meeting between father and son.
However, Zhang Xiaofu was too conspicuous, and there were countless eyes watching him. Unlike Zhang Gao, who had the right timing, location, and people, he could not be brought into the palace secretly to meet the emperor.
Xie Mingzhuo thought for a moment and said, "Since we can't keep it secret, then let's go meet him openly."
"Ah?" Xie Changfeng was shocked.
Xie Mingzhuo said, "There's a question I couldn't figure out before."
"What is it?"
"Duke is already the highest rank. Even if Zhang Xiaofu succeeds in his rebellion, he can only be a Duke, with a small salary increase at most. If that's the case, why would he rebel?"
Xie Changfeng thought for a moment: "Because you hate me?"
The fact that the daughter of the Zhang family did not give birth to a prince has always been a hidden pain for the Zhang family.
"Even if you hate the emperor, there's no need to sacrifice the entire family's wealth and lives. This is a completely losing proposition."
Xie Changfeng scratched his head: "He controls the Beijing army, maybe he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to become emperor."
"Even if we die, it would be easy for the Xie clan to rally the entire nation and destroy him. Besides, the Beijing army is under his control and may not obey his orders."
"Why is that?"
Xie Mingzhuo tapped the table with his fingertips and said, "He has a fatal handle in the hands of Prince An or someone in the royal family, so he has no choice but to go along with them."
"What else could this fatal handle be besides treason?" Xie Changfeng shook his head in distress. "I really can't think of it."
"There is another possibility." Meng Qi walked in from outside, holding some cakes and tea.
Xie Mingzhuo met her eyes and suddenly an idea came to him.
A white jade cake was handed to her mouth. She subconsciously opened her mouth and took a bite. Then she heard her mother say, "If you use your brain all day, you will get gray hair. Eat something to replenish your body."
"It's delicious." Xie Mingzhuo's eyes curved. "Thanks to my mother's reminder, otherwise I would have a few more gray hairs."
Xie Changfeng was impatient: "What did you remind me of?"
"When I was familiarizing myself with palace affairs, I discovered that your mother accidentally fell into the water in the Imperial Garden and died."
"That's right," Xie Changfeng nodded subconsciously, and then realized, "You mean, that might not be an accident?"
Xie Mingzhuo picked up another cake and said, "If the Empress Dowager's accident was actually caused by the Zhang family, and it happened to be known to a member of the royal family, then everything would make sense."
Being suspected of assassinating the emperor's biological mother is not much different from the crime of treason.
"I want to see Zhang Xiaofu!" Xie Changfeng thought this was a perfect reason.
The emperor had always had doubts about his biological mother's death, so it was reasonable to hold a trial for Zhang Xiaofu before his death.
"I'll go," Xie Mingzhuo said. "Someone outside is plotting a rebellion. To be on the safe side, you should stay in the palace."
Meng Qi said, "Send the eldest or second brother. The prison is cold and dirty."
"If the eldest brother goes, he'll be easily tricked. The second brother is out of the palace to work on his newspaper. We don't know how long it will take to find him." Xie Mingzhuo soothed him, "I'll just go and ask a few questions. It'll be fine."
Meng Qi pinched her face and said unhappily, "I can't control you anymore."
"How could that be?" Xie Mingzhuo hugged her and nuzzled her neck. "This family would be a mess without you."
Meng Qi felt relieved and smiled, but then her face turned serious again, "Go quickly and come back soon."
Few people would pay attention to the whereabouts of a princess, but after Xie Mingzhuo participated in several court meetings, her presence increased significantly.
She did not make a big fuss. She simply went to the Ministry of Justice's prison with a carriage and a few guards. As soon as she stepped inside, the news spread to every household.
Zhang Gao was no longer there, and the area around Zhang Xiaofu was still empty. The cell he was in was like an isolated island.
Before the Jinyiwei came, the Ministry of Justice prison was cleared in advance and there were no spies. Now there were a few jailers scattered in the prison. When they saw Xie Mingzhuo, they knelt down respectfully and saluted, not daring to look up.
Xie Mingzhuo walked to the depths of the prison and stopped in front of Zhang Xiaofu's cell.
"Zhang Xiaofu." Her voice was calm and peaceful.
Zhang Xiaofu, who was lying on the straw mat with his back to her, turned over. Seeing that it was not the emperor himself, he was not disappointed and slowly knelt down.
"I, the guilty one, pay my respects to the princess."
Xie Mingzhuo looked down at him quietly for a moment and asked, "Thirty years ago, in the Imperial Garden, someone fell into the water. Is this related to your Zhang family?"
Zhang Xiaofu was startled and suddenly raised his head, not knowing how to answer for a moment.
In his assumption, the emperor would not come in person, and the one who would come might be a prince, a princess, or the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
But he didn't expect that the visitor would ask this question!
Xie Mingzhuo caught him off guard, and also caught the eavesdropper off guard.
"Think about it before answering." After she said that, she winked at Jiang Qing beside her.
Jiang Qing nodded and ordered the other guards to disperse and walk away, forcing the eavesdropper to leave temporarily.
You have heard what you should hear, and don’t listen to the rest that you shouldn’t hear.
Zhang Xiaofu saw it clearly, and because he saw it clearly, he understood Xie Mingzhuo's intention.
She is confusing the eyes and ears in the dark.
He had said before that he wanted to meet the emperor, but he was also hoping for a lucky break.
If he were the emperor, and he guessed that someone was planning a rebellion but didn't know who it was, he would definitely be unwilling to give up his only clue.
In this way, the emperor would not kill him easily, but he would not dare to see him easily either, as seeing him would mean alerting the enemy.
In a word, making the person he dislikes feel distressed and anxious is enough to make him happy for a while.
But now, Princess Rong'an also turned the situation around with just one sentence.
Once the news gets out, those fools will only think that the emperor is still brooding over his mother's early death, and will ask the princess to find out.
Even if there are doubts, I will not act rashly.
Zhang Xiaofu completely lost the will to fight.
He said in a hoarse voice: "Let me tell you, what good am I?"
"I'll leave you with a whole body."
Xie Mingzhuo didn't care how Zhang Xiaofu died. Even though he knew that he had the intention of rebellion, he didn't feel angry.
She just wants to continue living with her family.
But for Zhang Xiaofu, having the body intact was much more comforting than being beheaded.
Leaving the body intact means drinking poison or hanging oneself, and not being taken to the dirty and smelly execution ground and having the untouchables watch as the body is dismembered.
It's worth it to be able to retain the last bit of dignity.
A strange laugh rolled out of his throat: "My elder sister is very soft-hearted and doesn't want to be stained with blood. Without her, the Zhang family's reach can't be so long."
“That means there are other people involved.”
“That’s the second question.”
Xie Mingzhuo smiled and asked, "What do you want this time?"
"Your Highness is straightforward," Zhang Xiaofu said with a flicker of admiration in his eyes. "If you were a prince, there wouldn't be any Prince of Qi or Prince of Jin."
His provocation was crude and might work on others, but not on Xie Mingzhuo.
She does have ambitions, but her ambitions are based on ensuring the safety and health of her family, not on fighting for power and profit.
She didn't answer, her eyes remained calm, as if the person in front of her had just farted.
Zhang Xiaofu was defeated.
This Princess Rong'an is either really not interested in power, or she is really hiding her talents.
But if he was not interested in power, why would he get involved in court meetings?
Zhang Xiaofu simply thought she was extremely cunning, so he stopped beating around the bush and said, "Spare my son Zhang Gao's life. He knows nothing, and even if he has done something wrong, it doesn't deserve the death penalty."
"Okay." Xie Mingzhuo was quite decisive.
Zhang Xiaofu: “…”
Should we add some more chips?
He was a little unwilling and wanted to bargain again, but when he met the other party's half-smile, he had to give up this naive idea.
"Killing a talented person is useless. What they really want to kill is the prince, the current emperor."
Xie Mingzhuo nodded. "It's a shame it's too difficult to kill the only prince. You have no choice but to take a long-term approach and kill the concubine first. Then, without a mother, the prince will naturally be raised by the queen. When the prince falls into the hands of the Zhang family, you will have the final say on how he dies."
Zhang Xiaofu couldn't help but admire again: "In the past, I was so blind that I mistook pearls for fish eyes."
"If the prince is truly dead, and the late emperor has no heir, he will inevitably be chosen from the royal family," Xie Mingzhuo analyzed. "Among them, Prince Liang is the closest to the late emperor. His maternal uncle was the commander-in-chief of Henan Province back then, and he has some troops under his command. It won't be difficult for him to ascend to the throne."
Zhang Xiaofu couldn't help but applaud: "Excellent."
"But if this plan succeeds, the only one who will truly benefit is Prince Liang. What will your Zhang family gain?"
Zhang Xiaofu said proudly, "Your Highness is so smart, why don't you give it some more thought?"
"Hmm..." Xie Mingzhuo didn't think for long before he arched his brows and said, "The late emperor had difficulty in having children, but Empress Zhang may not be the same. The Zhang family wants to borrow the prince's sperm to bear a son. Before the 'dragon seed' is born, the Zhang family will protect the prince's life. Once this is accomplished, the Zhang family will be the ultimate winner."
He and King Liang were both trying to get the skin of a tiger.
Zhang Xiaofu already had a respectful look on his face: "Exactly."
"I've finished asking questions." Xie Mingzhuo's eyes were calm. "Zhang Xiaofu, do you have any last words?"
Zhang Xiaofu was surprised: "You don't ask me where the King of Liang's troops are hidden?"
"He'll tell you?"
Zhang Xiaofu laughed at himself: "What about Prince An?"
"Is he important?"
Zhang Xiaofu was stunned and couldn't help laughing. After laughing, he wiped his tears and said, "It's really not important."
The purpose of King An's existence is to provide balance.
The fact that he embezzled the royal family's salary was known to King Liang, who used it to threaten him and drag him into trouble.
Prince Liang and Zhang Xiaofu did not trust each other, especially since Prince Liang was far away in his fiefdom and could not monitor Zhang Xiaofu in real time, so Prince An supervised him nearby.
However, after the concubine died, the late emperor did not give the prince to the empress to raise, but kept him by his side to raise him personally, resulting in all the efforts of the three people being in vain.
After so many years, Prince Liang must have raised a lot of soldiers and horses, and with the support of Prince An and Zhang Xiaofu, he began to think about rebellion.
The so-called rebel army is nothing more than a gimmick.
When the rebels break through the city gates and kill the emperor and others, King Liang will surely descend like a god from heaven and lead his troops to enter the capital in the name of "serving the king."
How can this be called the destruction of a country?
It was clear that the only casualties were Xie Mingzhuo's family of five and the innocent people in the capital who died unjustly.
Xie Mingzhuo didn't even look at Zhang Xiaofu again, and turned and left.
"Wait!" Zhang Xiaofu crawled a few steps on his knees, his face pressed against the gap between the pillars. "If I tell you another clue, will you be kind to my son?"
Xie Mingzhuo said casually: "Tell me about it."
"Datong Coach and Horse Trading Company!" He swallowed hard, "Go check it out, you'll definitely find a clue!"
Datong Carriage and Horse Trading Company had long been on Xie Mingzhuo's suspect list, and the Jinyiwei in Henan had never stopped their secret investigation into Datong.
Her calm expression had already answered Zhang Xiaofu.
Zhang Xiaofu smiled bitterly and collapsed to the ground.
*
The study room of Prince An's Mansion.
Prince An, holding his teacup, suddenly realized, "She actually asked this question. It seems my nephew, the emperor, has been troubled by this question for thirty years. Haha."
"According to the spies, Rong An didn't stay long. When she left, she looked angry, but it wasn't anger from hearing the truth, but rather impatience from being teased." Xie Ji analyzed with a smile, "It seems she didn't get the answer."
"Zhang Xiaofu naturally won't tell. As long as he doesn't tell, the emperor won't be willing to kill him." Prince An sneered, "No wonder I felt something was wrong when he got angry this morning. It turns out he was just pretending for us to see."
Xie Ji: "Father is indeed as clear as day."
"You are still young, it won't go wrong if you learn more."
"I've made a note of it, son."
*
After returning to the palace, Xie Mingzhuo first met his parents to explain the truth, and then returned to the prince's residence to begin sorting out the existing clues.
In order to rebel, King Liang had to raise enough soldiers and horses, so he met his daily expenses by casting fake silver ingots.
Finding the troops and the base where they minted illegal coins would be equivalent to finding evidence of his rebellion.
In the original text, there was heavy snow in April, strange natural phenomena occurred, and the people were unstable. In addition, with Zhang Xiaofu and Prince An in the capital as accomplices, Prince Liang's plan was a complete success.
But now, the wheat harvesting plan has been implemented, Zhang Xiaofu has fallen, and all the money obtained from the Zhang family’s property has been confiscated. Even if heavy snow really falls, the court has the ability to help the people through this crisis, and the world will not be in chaos.
Will King Liang rebel again as described in the original text?
Xie Mingzhuo drew a cross on the paper.
The timing is not right. King Liang has been lying dormant for so many years, which shows that he is not an impatient person and will not act rashly.
But his existence is like a bomb buried underground that must be defused as soon as possible.
Evidence, there must be evidence.
Let the Jinyiwei go to De'an Prefecture to investigate?
no.
The fact that he had lost the bandits near Yingshan before showed how strong the control King Liang had over the area around Anlu County was.
Who can guarantee that the Jinyiwei of Anlu County has not been infiltrated by King Liang’s spies?
But how can you get a tiger cub if you don't learn from the tiger?
【Author’s words】
Turn down, there is more~
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