Chapter 150 Leaving the Capital (34) Choosing a good husband for you...
To say that Guan Youjun was annoyed with him didn't seem quite right. When they bumped into each other at Wangfeng Temple today, Guan Youjun's face clearly showed some delight. Jiuli glanced at him, bent down and sat down next to him, "Could it be because she knows we're currently investigating the Prince's case, which involves some powerful figures, and she's afraid that our investigation will offend people and implicate her, so she's temporarily distancing herself from us?"
“What you say makes sense.” Yu Qi closed his eyes and thought about it carefully. This was indeed Guan Youjun’s style. But what was strange was how they ended up meeting at Wangfeng Temple today?
I remember Guan Youjun saying that the princess also donated things to Wangfeng Temple, and the two of them went to the temple with the prince consort. The couple were like an invisible rope, pulling them together to Wangfeng Temple. Could there be something strange about Wangfeng Temple?
Suddenly, a weight pressed down on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw that Jiu Li had fallen asleep on his shoulder. It was hard for her to have followed him around to all these places all day. He unbuttoned his cloak, pulled up his collar, and hugged her into his arms. He whispered to the driver to take the carriage to Jinming Street.
Once they reached Jinming Street, Yu Qi woke up Jiu Li. Jiu Li, still half asleep, got out of the car and followed him into a hotel. After eating, he realized that this was not the main street in front of the Qi residence, but it looked familiar nonetheless.
Yu Qi led the way forward, saying, "Let's go pay our respects to your mother."
It turned out that he had turned onto Quanfu Street. Jiuli hurriedly caught up with him and saw that he had a basket in his hand that he had added at some point, and the basket was filled with some gold ingots and incense.
The two arrived at the main gate of the mansion, only to find several men standing there, their eyes wary and their expressions solemn. The leader recognized them and stepped forward to greet them with a bow, "Mr. Yu, Miss Jiuli."
Jiuli examined his face closely for a while before remembering that these people were imperial guards, whom she had seen once before outside the Yugan Palace. However, they were not wearing the uniforms of the Imperial Guards this time, but rather ordinary clothes. It seemed that the Emperor was also in the palace at this moment. The Emperor had also come to pay respects, but today was not a special occasion, so why had he come at this time?
Just as the two were about to leave, the head guard noticed the basket in Yu Qi's hand and then glanced at Jiu Li. Without saying a word, he stopped them and sent someone inside to inform the Emperor. Since the Emperor was already informed, the two dared not leave and could only stand at the door and wait.
Before long, Eunuch Rongle ran out with the guards. He was also dressed in casual clothes. He came up to them and whispered, "Mr. Yu, Miss Jiuli, His Majesty invites you in."
Upon entering the mansion, Jiu Li asked, "Eunuch Le, what brings the Emperor here?"
"His Majesty used to come here occasionally, and now that he's seen you, he's thinking of Aunt Quan. So he's come here today to keep Aunt Quan company."
In this way, Jiuli was secretly pleased. She thought that although her parents had no official status, her mother was gone, and her father, as the ruler of a country, had countless beauties in his harem, yet he still remembered her. This showed that he truly cared for her.
She walked along, craning her neck to examine the mansion, and indeed, there wasn't a trace of fire damage. It seemed as if someone had lived there for a long time, tending to the fragrant plants; the rocks and trees grew in an orderly, lush manner. It was as if it weren't winter here, and she could even hear sparrows chirping—it was even more emerald-like than Chen Jia's Emerald Garden. However, looking at the pavilions and towers, she couldn't quite recall them.
Yu Qi, however, remarked from the side, "The paths and houses haven't changed."
Rong Le laughed and said, "The Emperor has ordered that every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every stone in the mansion must be repaired in the same way it was before."
Following Rong Le into a large courtyard, they saw several guards in plain clothes standing under the eaves, extending all the way to the courtyard gate. Several more stood outside the main building opposite. Rong Le went inside to report, and the two waited in the courtyard. Jiu Li glanced at a square latticed window with a begonia pattern on the right-hand wall and unconsciously walked slowly towards it. Outside the window was a magnolia tree, and two sparrows were chirping in the branches.
Suddenly, it seemed as if a child was being held in the arms of a wet nurse, standing there, and the wet nurse was pointing out the window to the child, who was giggling incessantly. Jiu Li couldn't help but laugh as well, and suddenly remembered this latticed window.
Looking back at Yu Qi, she saw him walking towards her. She pointed to the tree outside the window and said, "When I was little, my wet nurse seemed to often hold me here. Look at the birds in this tree."
Yu Qi nodded with a smile, "When you were little, you loved watching colorful flying things like sparrows and butterflies. Your mother said you were born loving beauty and freedom."
"She was no different."
Suddenly someone spoke from behind them, and the two were startled and quickly knelt down. Jiuli looked up from below and saw Zhou Hao wearing sheepskin boots, a dark blue round-necked robe with silver fur lining, a dark fox fur cloak draped over his shoulders, and a golden crown. The crown reflected the setting sun, as if a ball of heatless fire was burning on his head.
"The family was sparsely populated, and by your mother's generation, she was the only daughter left. She often said that it would be better to marry far away, leave the capital, and see how ordinary people lived."
But things didn't go as planned. The late emperor summoned her to the palace to serve as a proofreader in the Imperial Study. She became embroiled in the struggle for the throne and never married. Thinking of this, he looked down at Yu Qi's head. What did this man know, and how much did he know? Although the past is like smoke, once the dust of bygone days is stirred up, it inevitably tarnishes the glory of today.
That's the downside of being an emperor. You're supposed to be above all others, but you're under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, and even the slightest mistake can cause panic.
He clenched his fist from his sleeve and said calmly, "Get up, all of you."
Shen Quan quickly stepped out from behind him, smiling as she helped Jiu Li up. She then used a whisk to dust off her skirt. When she saw the basket in Yu Qi's hand, she laughed and said, "Is this to pay respects to Aunt Quan? How thoughtful."
Zhou Hao sighed softly, "When the fire broke out back then, everyone in the mansion was burned beyond recognition, and it was impossible to identify them. We could only order people to collect her clothes and belongings and put them in the Quan family mausoleum. If you want to burn offerings, burn them in this courtyard. This used to be Shan Heng's house."
Yu Qi remembered that when he lived in the Quan family mansion, he would come to this room every day to eat with Quan Shanheng and listen to her talk about how his master was working in the Imperial Medical Bureau and helping the other physicians to diagnose the late emperor's illness. He glanced into the room and saw a corner of the round table, as if he could see Quan Shanheng sitting at the table serving him food. "Just stay here with me and relax. If your master can cure the emperor's illness, he might even get a position in the Imperial Medical Bureau. As his apprentice, you will naturally rise through the ranks as well."
Yu Qi sneered, "Did my master ever tell anyone that he had a disciple outside the palace?"
"Why bring this up? Your master is afraid that if he says it, the Imperial Medical Bureau will summon you too. Your master says that you are young and don't know how to speak properly, and you might offend those people. Just stay here with me and wait for him."
"You make it sound nice, but keeping me here is just to keep me as a hostage, because I'm afraid my master won't take good care of me in the palace."
“Young man, why do you always think the best of people? Your master has entered the Imperial Medical Academy, and you have no relatives or friends in the capital. Where else can you go if not here with me? Are you going to end up on the streets, resorting to those shady dealings of injuring people and selling medicine?”
So he settled down there and met Zhao Liang.
Thinking of Zhao Liang, Yu Qi suddenly felt heavy-hearted. Since arriving in the capital, he had not written to Zhao Liang. He was afraid he should write to him to let him know he was safe.
A sudden gust of north wind arose, and upon hearing Zhou Hao cough twice, Shen Quan hurriedly urged him to come inside. However, Zhou Hao refused, watching until the two had finished burning the ingots in the corner before calling them both inside. Inside, there were three charcoal braziers and a tea stove. Zhou Hao then instructed Rong Le to light another charcoal brazier. Rong Le finished giving instructions at the door, lowered the curtain, and came in, continuing to brew tea by the door.
Shen Quan gently helped Zhou Hao to the head couch, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh! I wonder if Miss Jiu Li and Mr. Yu have had dinner yet?"
Jiuli hurriedly replied, "We've already used it at the inn on the street. I wonder if Your Majesty has used it?"
Zhou Hao turned around and sat on the couch, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face. "I ate in the palace before coming out. I heard you like tofu and shrimp?"
Where did you hear that? Jiu Li glanced at Chen Quan and could only nod, "Yes."
“I remember your mother loved to eat pigeon meat. When we used to dine with the late Emperor, she could eat a whole roasted pigeon in one go. After that, she couldn't digest it for a long time, and then she would drink two or three bowls of Pu'er tea. I wonder how your stomach and spleen are? Do you often eat meat?”
He could also sense that she was about to become a father. Jiu Li was flattered and stunned for a moment before smiling and taking two steps forward. "My stomach is a little weak, especially when I was little. I always had stomach aches at night. Later, my uncle and grandmother took care of me and didn't allow me to eat too much for dinner, and I gradually got better."
Zhou Hao glanced at Yu Qi, then said to Jiu Li, "Eating more isn't a bad thing. I heard you've even been discussing marriage with someone?"
Jiuli glanced at Yu Qi and nodded, "We discussed it, but it didn't work out."
He then looked at Yu Qi and said, "There's no rush for marriage. We can wait until a better opportunity comes along."
Jiuli wanted to take this opportunity to ask for the emperor's favor, but when she saw Yu Qi secretly shaking his head, she didn't say anything and just lowered her head.
Zhou Hao smiled. "What, are you afraid I have bad taste? That I won't be able to find you a good husband?"
"I wouldn't dare," Jiuli shook her head and laughed. "I think the husband that His Majesty has chosen for Princess Yuan is a handsome and talented man."
"Have you met Prince Consort Chu?"
Yu Qi quickly took over, "Your Majesty, we have seen them. Since the princess and her husband also attended a banquet at the palace on the night of the incident, we are inquiring as per usual procedure."
"As usual, an inquiry?" Jiu Li glanced at him again, thinking to herself, "Probably because the case is still unclear, I can't make any rash inferences in front of the Emperor." That's true. This isn't the Nanjing county government office, where they can drag people in for questioning regardless of suspicion, and no one will hold it against them. Speaking in front of the Emperor, one must be extremely cautious.
Zhou Hao slowly nodded and stood up. "Investigate whatever needs to be investigated. No matter who it is, even if they are nobles in the palace, as long as they are related to this case, investigate them with confidence. If anyone makes things difficult for you, just go to the palace and report back. You stay here and keep your mother company. There's no need to see you off."
As they walked out, Shen Quan shouted, "Your Majesty, you are about to depart!" Rong Le quickly lifted the curtain, and Yu Qi also gestured for Jiu Li to follow and kneel on the corridor. A group of guards had already lined up in two rows in the courtyard, waiting for Zhou Hao to walk out so they could protect him closely, their footsteps sounding perfectly synchronized.
As Zhou Hao was leaving the courtyard, he seemed to exchange a few words with Rong Le. Rong Le did not follow him out, but knelt on the ground to see them off. Only then did he return to the corridor and help Jiu Li up. He instructed the head eunuch of the mansion to prepare a carriage, and invited the two of them into the house to wait. He smiled and said, "His Majesty just asked me to ask the young lady if she likes this house?"
Jiuli was idly looking around in the warm pavilion when she heard the question and quickly turned around and said, "So what if I like it?"
“His words are golden, and not a single word is spoken in vain. Since His Majesty has asked this question, it means that he intends to bestow this mansion upon the young lady after the case is resolved.”
"Give it to me?" Jiuli smiled as she looked around the room. Seeing Yu Qi silently drinking tea on the couch, she shook her head and walked towards the couch. "But I'm used to living in the south. Sooner or later I'll have to go back to Suzhou with my uncle. Our family has businesses in both Nanjing and Suzhou."
"What kind of business is it?"
"He runs a pharmacy in Nanjing and grows medicinal herbs in the countryside of Suzhou."
Rong Le smiled, seemingly somewhat disdainful. Of course, doing business couldn't compare to staying in the capital and enjoying the luxuries of a princess. But judging from her expression, even if she were to become a princess, it would be a title without substance; it would be better to return to being the legitimate and just young lady of the Yu family. However, she absolutely needed to obtain an imperial decree to betroth her to Yu Qi.
Thinking of this, she quietly asked Yu Qi as she came out, "Why did you just tell me not to mention our marriage to the Emperor?"
Yu Qi looked at Rong Le's retreating figure ahead and said, "What are you going to mention? The Emperor won't agree to it."
"Hmph, I haven't even said it yet, how do you know?" Jiuli squinted and pouted. "I think you just don't want me to tell you. Ever since you met Qingque and Aunt Guan, you've been wavering. You're afraid that the Emperor's word is final, and you won't be able to go back on your word later."
He glanced at her, knowing that she was just using this as an excuse to be coquettish, and didn't really mean it. But now was not the time to appease her, so he calmly said, "Even if the Emperor knew that we were uncle and nephew, he wouldn't have chosen me as his son-in-law. We're lucky that he spared my life."
Jiuli was shocked. "Kill you? Why would we kill you? You haven't committed any crime! I think you're worrying unnecessarily!"
Yu Qi smiled dismissively, "I'm just afraid that if I don't handle this case well, I'll incur the Emperor's wrath."
"Don't worry, His Majesty just said that even if it's a noblewoman in the palace, we might investigate." As she spoke, her eyes darted around, and she gently nudged Yu Qi with her shoulder. "Is His Majesty referring to Consort Chen? She is the most respected woman in the harem, and she's connected to this case. Does His Majesty mean that we should just investigate, and he won't protect Consort Chen and the Chen family?"
That's the gist of it, but what's strange is that the Emperor always turned a blind eye to how the Chen family used to form cliques, abuse their power, and oppress others. But this time, he's suddenly become fair and just. There's a saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, but even if the Emperor's attitude changes quickly, there must be a reason.
Yu Qi lowered his eyelids slightly, smiled, and took two quick steps forward. "Eunuch Le, may I ask if there has been any wording in the court regarding the case of Prince Zhao recently?"
“Explanations?” Rong Le thought for a moment, then turned his face and said, “It’s just the same old story. Some people say that the prince was framed, some people say that the murder weapon belonged to the prince, and there are witnesses. The prince can’t deny it.”
Yu Qi smiled and nodded. "Besides arguing over this case, have the court officials had any other major issues lately?"
"I am unaware of other important matters of the court. I only know one old story: recently, some people have been urging the fourth prince to be officially appointed, but others object on the grounds that the fourth prince is too young, and the emperor has not yet agreed."
As they left the mansion, a carriage and a sedan chair were already waiting at the gate. Rong Le first watched Yu Qi Jiuli board the carriage and leave, and then rode the sedan chair back to the palace to take his duty.
Meanwhile, Jiu Li, sitting in the carriage, saw Yu Qi deep in thought and, not wanting to disturb him, swallowed the idle chatter that was about to come out. She turned and lifted the curtain to look out at the street. It was a rare sight to see such a bright sun; it wasn't dark yet, and the streets were still bustling with activity. She heard that since the curfew in the city had been lifted last month and would be reinstated after the Lantern Festival, whenever the weather was warm, the restaurants in the city would stay open until after midnight.
The snow had melted, the roads were dry, and the taverns were brightly lit, creating a lively and glittering scene. Jiuli had been watching for a while when she suddenly spotted a person in the crowd wearing a straw hat and simple clothes. The person appeared to be a slender man, but their movements possessed a certain feminine grace. She looked at them for a moment, and the more she looked, the more familiar they seemed. It wasn't until the person turned into an alley that she realized—their build and head were strikingly similar to Qingque from the Emerald Garden that morning!
She quickly pulled Yu Qi to sit on this side to watch. As soon as the carriage passed the alleyway, Yu Qi saw the figure from behind and realized it did indeed resemble the person. He then looked back at the street behind the carriage and could still see the entire mansion's walls—
"Is it her?" Jiu Li asked. "I only saw her back, so I can't recognize her."
Yu Qi lowered the curtain and sat back down opposite him. "So what if it is? It's none of our business."
"Don't you find it strange? Why would she dress like that? It's obviously to avoid being recognized. Could it be that Chen Jia sent her to spy on us?"
Yu Qi simply closed his eyes and ignored her. Jiu Li thought for a moment, then looked at him suspiciously, "Are you not saying anything because you want to protect her?"
Why should I defend her?
"Who knew that you would be so infatuated with her ever since you saw her?"
Yu Qi found it amusing. "How am I absent-minded?"
"Anyway, I think you've lost your mind and spirit ever since you saw her!"
"Am I out of my mind again?" He chuckled a few times, opened his eyes and saw her just pouting and glaring at him. He let out a long breath and beckoned to her, "Come here, lean on me and take a nap. I've been running around all day, and I'm tired of thinking about you."
Jiuli remained motionless for a moment, then, unable to hold on any longer, she crawled over, grabbed his arm tightly with both hands, and slammed her head against his shoulder. The impact was so strong that she cried out in pain and quickly lifted herself up to rub it.
Yu Qi laughed, brushed her hand away, and began to rub it for her, saying, "This is what you call reaping what you sow."
Upon returning to the Qi residence, the gatekeeper informed them that Xu Bai and Zhang Da had just arrived and were currently having dinner in Xu Bai's room. The two went to Xu Bai's room first to inquire about the progress of the evidence. Zhang Da, holding his bowl, launched into a tirade of complaints, lamenting how he and Zou Chang had waited for a long time outside the palace gates that afternoon, only to finally see three palace maids who had previously been close to Shu Qiang emerge, and how they had received several embroidered handkerchiefs that Shu Qiang had given them.
As he spoke, Zhang Da took out several embroidered handkerchiefs and placed them on the table, pointing them out to Yu Qi for a closer look. "Please look, sir. These three handkerchiefs are embroidered with the same technique as yours, and the reverse side is embroidered with the names of three palace maids in a hidden thread."
Yu Qi picked it up and looked at it against the light. Sure enough, the names were embroidered on them, exactly the same as the two characters "Min Shu" on the handkerchief. It was indeed made by Shu Qiang.
Zhang Da said, "Once this evidence is confirmed, it can prove that the prince consort did indeed have an affair with Shuqiang."
Xu Bai sat on the table and said, "So what? Having a secret affair doesn't mean you'll kill someone."
Zhang Dafu sat back down on the stool and picked up the bowl. "But what about the dagger? Phoenix said he found a dagger in the princess's room. Could that be a lie?"
“It’s not a lie.” Yu Qi folded up the handkerchief and handed it to Zhang Da again. “There was also a cleaning lady in the Prince Consort’s mansion who saw it. This lady is a new servant in the Prince Consort’s mansion. She has no grudge against the princess and the prince consort, and has no relation to the Chen family. Her testimony is acceptable.”
In that case, at least Prince Zhao's suspicion has been cleared, but what's still unsatisfactory is that the Chen family and Consort Chen have no connection to this case. Xu Baiyin thought about it and felt very unwilling, so he said, "I think we should still go and ask that Shunzi tomorrow. Is Consort Chen really innocent? I don't think so."
Yu Qi didn't answer, but got up and called Jiu Li back to their room. Just then, Zhang Da finished eating and quickly put down his bowl to go back with the two of them. On the way, Yu Qi deliberately pulled Zhang Da back two steps. When Jiu Li looked back, she saw the two of them whispering to each other behind her, not knowing what they were talking about.
Jiuli asked, "What are you plotting behind my back?"
Yu Qi shook his head with a smile, "It's nothing, they were just talking about the Prince Consort and Shuqiang."
She was skeptical, but seeing Zhang Da's sheepish chuckles, she knew the two were intentionally keeping it from her. As for Yu Qi's temperament, if he didn't want to talk, no one could get him to open his mouth, and she was too lazy to even ask.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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