Chapter 36
Wei Luo glanced at him and saw that it was his third brother, Prince Xi, Wei Xun, and felt a sense of unease.
What brings you here?
After saying that, Wei Luo ignored him and went to admire the parrots.
Wei Xun stepped forward, looking directly at Wei Luo, and began to speak sarcastically, "I heard that Your Highness left the palace today with banners covering the sun and drums beating loudly. It was quite a spectacle. I happened to be outside the palace not far away, so I made a special trip to see it."
Wei Luo could easily understand the implication in Wei Xun's words: he was implying that Wei Xun's entourage was too grand. Moreover, Wei Luo suspected that Wei Xun had come specifically to observe the procession and whether there was anything excessive. If he found anything, he would immediately report it to the emperor upon returning.
His younger brother has always been like this.
Wei Luo looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Finished watching? What are your thoughts?"
"So imposing..."
Wei Xun was about to make a few witty remarks when he suddenly remembered that the emperor had allowed the crown prince to leave the palace, and there must be people watching him. Every word and action of the crown prince was being recorded. So he changed his tone and covered it up with a playful smile, saying, "Your Highness is very dignified. As the Crown Prince, your manners should be dignified. This is how it should be."
Wow, they actually stopped mocking me and changed their tune.
Wei Luo looked him up and down.
Wei Xun realized he had misspoke and guiltily avoided eye contact. He casually pointed to a parrot and said with a smile, "Your Highness likes parrots, huh? Pick a few; consider it a gift from your younger brother to your elder brother."
"How can that be? The older brother hasn't even given his younger brother a gift yet, how can he accept one from his younger brother?"
Wei Luo stopped looking at him and turned his gaze back to the parrot. Seeing this, Wei Xun assumed that Wei Luo really liked the parrot, so he waved for the shopkeeper to come over and said, "Your Highness's purchases today, put them all on my tab."
Wei Xun had many opportunities to leave the palace, and this place specialized in doing business with the powerful and wealthy, so the shopkeeper was familiar with it. He lowered his head and smiled, "Good, good, good."
He looked at Wei Luo with a broad smile, "Your Highness, please feel free to choose. Throughout the capital, my parrots are all top-quality, guaranteed alive or your money back. Even the birds in the household of the Grand Secretary are all purchased from my humble shop."
The shopkeeper, observing Wei Luo's demeanor, saw that Wei Luo showed no aversion and boldly followed him. He introduced each animal Wei Luo looked at, from its breed and temperament to its breeding techniques, sharing everything he knew without reservation.
Wei Luo had no intention of buying parrots, but Wei Xun wouldn't leave, and the shopkeeper kept talking incessantly, which annoyed him. So he picked out two beautiful ones and had the eunuch take them.
Wei Xun insisted on paying the bill, and Wei Luo did not refuse, which perfectly set up a scene of "brotherly affection and respect," thus dispelling the rumors in the seditious book: the position of the Crown Prince was very stable, the third prince Xi had no intention of seizing the throne, and the two brothers had a harmonious and deep relationship.
The onlookers have dispersed; please stop spreading rumors.
Wei Luo thought of this, and Wei Xun thought of it too, and the two began to "get closer" without prior arrangement.
The younger brother gave his older brother a parrot, and the older brother should also reciprocate. Wei Luo thought that his birthday was coming soon, and the birthdays of the eldest princess, Shen Yao, and Wei Xun were close together, so Wei Luo took him to choose birthday gifts.
The eldest princess loved calligraphy and painting, so Wei Luo and the others went to the calligraphy and painting shop first.
Liufangge is the most famous calligraphy and painting store in Beijing, with a wide variety of works by famous artists.
Just as Shen Yao had chosen the gift to give to Miss Zhao, she suddenly heard a commotion outside the shop. Then she saw many guards rush in, shouting and starting to drive people away.
It can't be that coincidental, Wei Luo is coming!
The thought had barely formed in his mind when Wei Luo's voice rang out from outside the door. He said to the guards, "Don't disturb the people. There's no need to disperse the customers."
The Crown Prince gave the order, and the guards stopped clearing the area, but the security was tightened.
"Mother, let's go out."
Just as the three were about to leave, Wei Luo and his brother stepped into the shop. Wei Xun, with his sharp eyes, spotted his aunt's family at a glance. He immediately abandoned Wei Luo and, like an excited child, went up to them and called out, "Aunt, cousin, cousin."
Her face was full of warmth and joy at seeing her relatives, which was completely different from Wei Luo's feigned closeness.
The three members of the Shen family also met Wei Xun and Wei Luo.
No proper etiquette should be omitted when traveling. The three of them first bowed and greeted each other. Only then did Wei Xun ask, "What is Aunt doing here?"
"In a few days, we'll go to the Duke of Xin's residence to offer birthday wishes and buy some gifts. What about the Third Prince?"
Wei Xun said, "I've also come to pick out some calligraphy and paintings. Have you made your selections?"
He stared at a painting in Shen Yao's hand, filled with curiosity.
Shen Yao blinked and smiled mysteriously, "This painting is for Miss Zhao, cousin, don't you dare try to get your hands on it. But guess what it's for?"
Wei Xun immediately understood and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that my cousin has some good news? Then I, your nephew, would like to congratulate my aunt and cousin in advance."
Madam Shen glared at her daughter, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's not even a question yet." Then she said to Wei Xun, "We've already made our choice, so we won't bother you any longer."
After Madam Shen finished speaking, she was about to leave with her children.
Wei Xun felt sad to have to part ways with his family so soon after seeing them. He stopped them from leaving, saying, "It's a rare get-together, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Shen Yao often stayed in the palace and was especially close to Wei Xun. Wei Xun mainly stopped her, saying, "My mother often misses my cousin. When will my cousin come to the palace to stay for a few days?"
Wei Xun winked at Shen Yao.
Shen Yao: "..."
Are we supposed to agree?
For some reason, her gaze drifted away from Wei Xun and went directly to Wei Luo behind him.
Wei Luo happened to be looking into Shen Yao's eyes, and their gazes met, burning intensely.
Shen Yao's heart was pounding, and she suddenly deflated, quickly refusing, "I have something to do recently, I can't go."
Upon hearing this, Wei Xun's face immediately showed disappointment, and the small flame in Wei Luo's eyes quickly disappeared.
It seemed like she had offended two people at the same time. Shen Yao pouted and turned her head to the side, trying her best not to look at them.
After Shen Yao expressed her opinion, Madam Shen was very satisfied and said with a smile, "In that case, Your Highnesses, we will take our leave now."
After saying that, Madam Shen pulled Shen Yao away, with Shen Fan following closely behind. In a few breaths, the three of them disappeared in front of the door.
After the man left, the two brothers, though outwardly friendly, were not truly at odds. What was there to talk about while browsing calligraphy and paintings? Wei Xun picked out a few paintings that he found suitable, and after Wei Luo paid for them, the two of them returned to the palace.
Outside the Shen residence, after escorting her mother home, Shen Yao herself took a carriage back to live with the Xu family.
After a whole afternoon of running around, when she arrived at the Xu family's house, by sheer coincidence, she ran into Xu Xuan returning from his shift. Shen Yao frowned, initially intending to ignore him, but then she thought of Han Yu and couldn't help but inquire about him.
Shen Yao gritted her teeth and called out to Xu Xuan, "Wait a moment, I have something to ask you."
She quickly ran in front of Xu Xuan, stopped him, and asked, "What did you find out during your interrogation of Han Yu?"
"No." Xu Xuan paused, walked around her, and went back to her room.
Shen Yao was surprised, and followed behind him, asking, "Why can't we get anything out of them? What about Ciyun Temple?"
"No."
"..."
Shen Yao suspected that he did it on purpose.
"Han Yu is someone I entrusted to you, so you have to give me an answer."
They arrived at Xu Xuan and Liu Ru's room. Shen Yao, being shy, didn't go in, but stood outside and asked Xu Xuan.
"Stop trying to glorify yourself. Whether you're there or not, I can still find out about Han Yu. But you, you actually knew about Han Yu so early on, so what does the Demon Book have to do with you?"
"You actually doubt me?" Shen Yao couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted to rush in and teach Xu Xuan a lesson, but her strength wouldn't allow it, so she could only endure it.
"Yes, I suspect you now. Why are you feeling guilty and afraid to confront me?"
Xu Xuan sat down, facing Shen Yao, his sharply defined face hidden in the shadows.
Shen Yao couldn't see his expression clearly.
"You don't need to doubt me. The demon book has nothing to do with me. As for Han Yu, although he is not a good person, he should not be the real mastermind. Interrogate him carefully, and you will definitely find out the truth."
"I don't need you to teach me how to solve cases."
Xu Xuan's tone was inscrutable.
Since Shen Yao had already said all that, Xu Xuan didn't want to tell her any more information, so she had no choice but to go back to her room.
In fact, Xu Xuan couldn't tell her anything. When Han Yu was arrested in the morning, Han Yu had confessed about Ciyun Temple. With a glimmer of hope, Xu Xuan led people to search the entire temple in the afternoon, but as expected, there was nothing there.
Everything has returned to square one, but this time the starting point is different. Han Yu's involvement in distributing the demonic book is supported by irrefutable evidence, both in person and in person.
The beggar was among the witnesses who identified the person.
As for physical evidence, a batch of manuscripts was found in his cellar, and the handwriting was similar to the version of the demon book.
Although it was only similar, before he returned home, Xiao Da'an, the Minister of Justice, had already written a memorial to report the results of the interrogation to the emperor. The emperor would probably issue an edict tomorrow.
Therefore, Han Yu is doomed this time.
*
Inside Qixiang Palace, the memorial that Xu Xuan had mentioned was placed on the emperor's desk. Although the emperor was concerned about the case of the seditious book, at this moment, another matter was attracting his attention.
That was Crown Prince Wei Luo. His every word and action upon leaving the palace today was secretly observed and recorded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Every word Wei Luo spoke to others, every dish he ate, his behavior, facial expressions... were all recorded in detail.
After reviewing the secret records, the Emperor learned the Crown Prince's whereabouts throughout the day: causing trouble for Wang Zhen, helping Liu Shen to sit down, having the Eastern Palace Guards compete with Shen Fan, eating and listening to music at a restaurant, buying a parrot with Wei Xun, and encountering the Shen family at a calligraphy and painting shop...
This son is quite the troublemaker.
The emperor's sharp eyes scrutinized the records word by word, searching for clues on the paper, unraveling the mystery, and discovering suspicious points—an essential quality of a qualified emperor.
After reading it, the emperor closed the secret record, rubbed his aching head, and said that it was tiring for anyone to spend all day scheming against each other and suspecting this and that.
He stood up, locked the secret record in the cabinet, carried the key with him, turned to the eunuch, and said, "Prepare the carriage for Yikun Palace."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a palace attendant entered and announced to the emperor, "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
They would pay their respects to each other morning and evening, and again at night.
The emperor frowned, pondered for a few moments, and then let the man in.
Wei Luo knelt down to pay his respects, completing the filial piety ritual. The emperor then told him to stand up and offered him a seat.
Wei Luo lowered his eyelashes, not daring to sit down, but instead knelt down again, kowtowing deeply. His voice was filled with grievance as he said, "Today, when I went to Grand Secretary Liu's residence, I encountered the Embroidered Uniform Guard. On a whim, I challenged the Crown Prince's Guard to a contest between them. Who would have thought that Shen Fan alone could take on thirteen Crown Prince's Guards? With such a weak guard, how could they possibly protect my safety..."
The emperor raised an eyebrow and then heard the crown prince accuse the guards of corruption, which had caused him great embarrassment, and so on.
"So what do you want?"
Wei Luo glanced at the emperor's face, which remained completely calm and composed. He was at a loss for words. He had originally wanted to reorganize the Eastern Palace Guards, but he dared not say it out loud. He could only stammer and ramble on, saying a lot of nonsense. In the end, he blushed and asked the emperor to make the decision.
The emperor saw through his son's little scheme but didn't have the heart to expose it. On the surface, he reorganized the guards and eliminated redundant personnel, but his real purpose was to take the opportunity to cultivate his confidants.
However, this is the imperial palace, and all personnel transfers, including the dismissal of redundant staff, must be firmly controlled by the emperor.
The Eastern Palace Guards don't need combat power; they only need to maintain a facade of authority, and that will suffice.
The emperor then said, "The guards are incompetent and corrupt, and should be dismissed. Tomorrow I will transfer another batch of men from the Imperial Guards for you. Alright, go back now."
"No, no, I want to reorganize it myself."
Wei Luo was dumbfounded. The constant changing of personnel was meaningless, and he still wanted to bargain with the emperor.
But the emperor had grown impatient and pointed at the crown prince, shouting, "Get out!"
The devil is always one step ahead of the saint. Wei Luo was too young and swallowed his anger. He kowtowed and left indignantly.
The night was dark and the sky was gloomy. The golden palace with its red walls and yellow tiles in the daytime had shed its gorgeous clothes and looked like a monster that devoured people, slowly eating away at their spiritual energy until they were just living puppets.
Palace servants and eunuchs were low-level puppets, empresses and princes were mid-level puppets, and emperors and empress dowagers were high-level puppets.
And what controls the puppets is a monster called power!
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