After finally confirming the woman in the prison van was dead, the leader of the group smiled faintly behind his mask and signaled for the troops to withdraw. They didn't notice that the surrounding streets were eerily quiet, as if someone had cleared them out in advance.
In the early morning, when the first group of people who got up to make a living took to the streets one after another, the capital began a new day of prosperity. No one noticed anything unusual on Zhuque South Street, because everything had been wiped out in the dark of night, leaving nothing behind.
His Majesty the Emperor adjourned court today, but all officials still got up early, sitting in sedan chairs and carriages, either to report for duty at the yamen, or to deal with daily affairs. Some even occupied the teahouses and restaurants closest to Zhuque Street.
While chatting, he pretended to look out the window facing the street. In fact, everyone knew that the emperor had adjourned court today because of a woman, a woman who should have disappeared long ago but had mysteriously returned to the capital.
After the emperor meets her, he will definitely summon some officials immediately. Everyone knows what is going on and is just waiting for the palace gate to open so that they can know the details immediately.
The Zhaode Hall was incredibly peaceful, like any other ordinary morning. Concubine Ying and the Second Prince, mother and son, had breakfast together in perfect harmony. Today, they had even invited the Second Prince's wife and the young grandson to join them. It was as harmonious as it could be.
The Second Prince obeyed his father's orders and didn't move. He ate and slept peacefully, but he was still panicking. He had already drunk three bowls of soy milk this morning, but he was still thirsty. He didn't know what was wrong.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Eunuch Kang who serves His Majesty is here." A palace maid reported softly, and the Second Prince bit off the oil cake that was still hanging on his lips.
"Okay, you go to the study and study first, and you go back to the palace and wait for me." The second prince treated his children and the imperial concubine with endless tenderness. He watched the three of them leave, and then ordered Eunuch Kang to come in.
"His Majesty has issued an order. Please ask Concubine Ying and the Second Prince to receive it." Eunuch Kang looked as businesslike as usual.
Just hearing that he was here to announce the imperial edict, the Second Prince and Concubine Ying felt a pang in their hearts at the same time. This was not right. Even if he really interrogated Wu Xueyan, he should have asked them to confront her or explain. Why did he just come with the imperial edict directly?
Without much hesitation, Concubine Ying and the Second Prince knelt in the center of the hall, one after the other, waiting for the emperor's order.
"By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor declares: Concubine Ying, Zhou, is gentle and respectful, and has contributed greatly to childbearing. She has worked tirelessly in the palace to raise the Second Prince, Yan. I am deeply gratified.
I grant you a palace in Kyoto and a number of servants. From this day forward, you must leave the palace with the prince, consort, and children to build a residence. I will rebuild your virtue and strengthen your body, and assist you in serving the capital. I will not make any mistakes. This is my decree!"
When the second prince heard the contents of the imperial edict, he almost immediately looked up at his mother, but his mother remained indifferent and was even a little excited.
"Your servant/subordinate official receives the order and respectfully wishes our emperor a long and long life!"
The Second Prince saw his mother accept the imperial edict and quickly stood up to catch up with Eunuch Kang who was about to leave: "Eunuch, wait a minute, I have something to ask you."
"Please go ahead."
The Second Prince wanted to ask if his father had interrogated Wu Xueyan that morning, but when the words came to his lips, he changed them to: "Eunuch, the emperor has issued the decree. When can I go to express my gratitude?"
"Your Highness, don't worry. His Majesty will summon you after lunch."
"Okay, okay." After just a moment of distraction, Eunuch Kang left like a gust of wind, and Concubine Ying didn't even have time to give him the wedding money.
"My son, this is great! You can finally open your own residence!" Concubine Ying stepped forward, looking quite excited, but she saw her son's brows were furrowed and his face was full of sorrow. "What's wrong with you?"
"Mother, did you send someone to do something yesterday?" The second prince's eyes were full of vigilance and suspicion, and this look deeply hurt Concubine Ying.
"No, didn't you tell us not to do anything else?"
"Really?"
"No!" Concubine Ying was hurt by her son's suspicion and even took two steps back. At this time, the head maid stepped forward, supported her, and answered the second prince fearlessly:
"Your Highness, I can attest that Your Majesty has indeed not made any other moves since the day before yesterday. Please do not be suspicious, Second Prince."
The Second Prince took the imperial edict and murmured in confusion, "Then what's going on...what's going on..."
"Huang'er, what happened to you?"
"Mother, Father clearly wanted to protect me yesterday, but this imperial decree..."
"What's wrong with the imperial edict? Well, we've always been worried that you couldn't build a palace, and now it just happened to suit your wishes. Are you dissatisfied?"
The second prince pressed his chest lightly and talked to his mother. Sometimes it did take some patience.
"Mother, when other princes built their own palaces, they usually had fiefs in addition to the mansions and servants, but my father didn't give me any fiefs."
After being reminded by her son, Concubine Ying suddenly realized. If the prince was to establish a mansion but not be granted a fiefdom, then where would all the expenses of the mansion come from? Relying on the meager salary of being a prince, he couldn't even support his servants, let alone support an entire mansion.
"Could it be that your father has forgotten?"
The second prince said nothing. This was too absurd. There must have been something unexpected that he didn't know about.
"Mother, I feel like we might have been tricked. Could you please help me find out what happened to our father this morning?"
Concubine Ying gave a wink to the senior palace maid beside her, and she took the order and left. Although she knew it was extremely difficult to inquire about the news from the emperor, she still had to do what she had to do.
"My dear, what should we do now?"
"We'll make plans after I see father at noon..." The second prince sat down in panic, his tone was empty, and Concubine Ying had tears in her eyes and was a little flustered.
After Xu Yixing finished dressing up, he looked at himself in the large silver mirror several times to make sure that there was nothing wrong with him before going to ask Lu Anyuan about the situation.
"Why me?"
"It seems that the emperor has already contacted your father. Your father said that he knew nothing about it and that it was all caused by you and Xu Yiwen, so naturally he had to call you."
"Alas!" Xu Yixing sighed. A quarter of an hour ago, a strong man came to tell her to come to the palace to ask about the previous city defense commander's plaque. She had never expected her father to directly divert the emperor's attention to her and Yiwen.
However, he soon figured out the reason. At the beginning, everyone thought that Xu Yiwen and Wu Songjin were fighting each other, which led to this incident. Even Lord Chen Yue let it go without investigating. If my father said that he knew that the second prince deliberately framed his family, then this would be knowing the truth but not reporting it and transferring the risk, which would be too eye-catching.
It would be better for him to just insist that he didn't know anything about it. The emperor would never do anything to a junior like him.
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