Chapter 836 Pei Yingzhu Stays Overnight in the Palace
For several days, the streets and alleys of the capital were filled with talk of Chu Yanluo pretending to be a vengeful ghost and killing people, and countless people were also discussing the death of Xiao Qingyuan, the heir of the Prince of Ning.
Princess Ning, who had been unconscious for several days, also woke up. She first went to the palace, then to the Ministry of Justice prison, where she met Chu Yanluo and stayed for about half an hour before leaving.
"Young Madam, the whole capital is buzzing with the news that Princess Ning personally went to the Emperor and Empress Dowager to plead for Chu Yanluo! She said she doesn't want Chu Yanluo to be sentenced to death!"
Shen Wantang was quite surprised: "Pleading for Chu Yanluo? Princess Ning? How is that possible?"
It's true!
Qin Xin spoke quickly and bluntly: "Originally, Chu Yanluo was supposed to be executed by slow slicing, but she is still alive. The Dali Temple has not yet convicted her! She killed so many people, she deserves to die. If someone hadn't pleaded for her, she would have died long ago!"
Shen Wantang was somewhat puzzled: "The person in the world who most wants Chu Yanluo dead should be Princess Ning, right? Why would she plead for Chu Yanluo?"
"I don't know the specific reason either, but many people outside are speculating that Princess Ning hates Chu Yanluo too much and thinks that being executed by slow slicing is too lenient for her, so she wants to keep her alive so that she can torture her slowly!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Wantang suddenly remembered that in her previous life, Shen Mingxuan killed Chu Yanluo, causing Xiao Qingyuan to die for Chu Yanluo. At that time, Princess Ning did not kill Shen Mingxuan, but instead imprisoned her and tortured her to death.
It seems that Princess Ning has never changed; she will seek revenge a thousand times over for those who caused her son's death.
She nodded: "That could be the reason."
If that's the case, then Chu Yanluo won't have a good time in prison; she might as well be dead.
Just then, Gu Qianning arrived.
"Ah Tang, I'm back! Look what I brought you!"
Gu Qianning spoke in a clear, crisp voice as she rushed in like a gust of wind, carrying a birdcage in her hand.
She went to the palace almost every day these past few days, and every time she came back, she would bring back some good things from the palace. She never kept anything to herself, and no matter what treasure she got, she would share half with Shen Wantang.
If there's really no way to split it in half, she'll simply give the treasure directly to Shen Wantang.
For example, the parrot she got today, since there was only one, she gave it directly to Shen Wantang.
Looking at the parrot in the cage, Shen Wantang dismissed the maids and asked with a smile, "Who gave you such a beautiful parrot?"
“This was a tribute to the Emperor, which the Emperor then gave to the Crown Prince, who in turn gave it to me. I didn’t originally want it, but it’s very persuasive, and I thought you would like it, so I took it back.”
Gu Qianning said, gently shaking the cage: "Hey, say something!"
The parrot yelled at the top of its lungs, "Speak, speak, speak!"
Gu Qianning laughed: "A-Tang, look, it really can talk!"
The parrot exclaimed again, "It can really talk! It can really talk!"
"Oh, right, it can recite poems! Come on, recite a poem for us! Before the bed—"
"The moonlight shines before my bed, I wonder if it's frost on the ground. I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower my head... Eat, eat! Eat!"
Shen Wantang was amused by it: "I have seen talking parrots before, but this is the first time I've seen one so lively and talkative. The Crown Prince is willing to give away such a clever and intelligent parrot?"
Gu Qianning fed the parrot some melon seeds while pouting, "He's just pretending. What haven't I asked him for? He's always been so good to me, otherwise he wouldn't have fooled me so completely."
"Besides, he might not even like this parrot that much. He's never liked noisy people, and I suppose birds are the same. This parrot is too talkative."
"The palace cannot tolerate such a talkative little thing surviving, otherwise it might accidentally reveal the palace's secrets one day."
Shen Wantang nodded: "That makes sense."
She followed Gu Qianning's example and took some melon seeds to feed the parrot.
The parrot, enjoying its meal, suddenly spoke again: "Kill them! Kill them! Kill them all!"
Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning paused simultaneously while feeding the parrot. They looked at each other and saw coldness and solemnity in each other's eyes.
After a long while, Gu Qianning gave a low, cold laugh: "Who is he trying to kill? I don't know how many times he's said it. Even the parrot has learned it. He really is a ruthless and heartless creature."
Shen Wantang continued feeding the parrot: "The most likely scenario is that they want to kill the Gu family, but it doesn't matter. Who will kill whom is still uncertain!"
Parrot: "Not necessarily, not necessarily!"
Shen Wantang: "..."
If you really keep this parrot, you'll have to be careful about what you say to it, otherwise no secrets in the house will be kept.
She quickly called a maid in and had the parrot taken away.
After she and Gu Qianning were left alone in the room, she asked in a low voice, "What have you gained from your trip to the palace these past few days? And Pei Yingzhu, has she been behaving herself?"
Gu Qianning sighed: "I didn't gain anything. After observing Xiao Qingxuan carefully, I realized that he is a very meticulous and thoughtful person. He has always had people protecting him. There may even be a secret advisor in his Eastern Palace who is advising him. But I have never heard him mention this mysterious advisor before."
Shen Wantang frowned slightly: "Isn't it normal for the Crown Prince to have advisors? Why do they need to be hidden in the shadows?"
“I don’t know either. Xiao Qingxuan has advisors on the surface, and I’ve met them all. My older brother used to be one of his advisors. But I only recently discovered that he has other advisors on the side.”
"So how did you discover that he was an advisor?"
Gu Qianning lowered her head: "Actually, I didn't discover this advisor myself, it was... it was Pei Yingzhu who discovered him."
"Pei Yingzhu?"
"Yes, that's right. In just a few days, she's become very close to the Crown Prince, and even to the Emperor..."
Gu Qianning paused here.
Shen Wantang asked curiously, "What happened to the Emperor? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Gu Qianning hesitated for a long time before lowering her voice and saying, "Actually, I'm not sure either. It's just that... originally the Empress Dowager was unwilling to see Pei Yingzhu, but today she suddenly agreed to see her. Not only did she see her, but she also kept her in the palace, saying that she liked Pei Yingzhu and wanted her to stay in the palace for a few more days."
Shen Wantang frowned slightly: "It is indeed strange. So, you think the emperor is speaking up for her?"
“It’s not just my opinion, it’s true. The Emperor praised Pei Yingzhu in front of the Empress Dowager. My aunt told me this herself.”
"so what?"
"So I think the Emperor may have taken a fancy to Pei Yingzhu. It's not that the Empress Dowager wants Pei Yingzhu to stay overnight in the palace, it's that the Emperor wants her to stay."
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