Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Caught.
Mao Linyan came today, perhaps because she had been enjoying the emperor's company only an hour earlier, only to be met with such disgrace the next. She felt resentful. She sat in Jingren Palace for half an hour, still fuming, and finally, in a hurry, she arrived uninvited.
Upon entering, she saw the usually well-behaved eunuch Wang Rang running out like his butt was on fire, almost bumping into her. Seeing it was her, his first words weren't even an apology, but he hurriedly led the way inside.
As soon as she entered and saw the situation in the Laughter Paradise, she was stunned.
Emperor Jiaqing squatted on the ground and wailed loudly.
Nan Qiong Shuang surrounded him, anxiously wiping his tears and helping him calm down.
Chang Zhong kowtowed on the ground with sweat all over his forehead, and his body was folded in half like a quilt roll.
There were still two people sitting at the card table.
One person was calm and composed, as if it had nothing to do with him. He turned to the palace maid and asked for a handkerchief, then wiped his hands slowly.
A man sat with his shoulders folded and his legs crossed. No matter how chaotic things were going on in front of him, he just sat lazily and nonchalantly in his chair, looking tired and angry.
Seeing the person coming, Li Xuanbai adjusted his earrings, and the ostentatious bright red ruby suddenly flashed a cruel light.
"Tsk, here comes another Chang. Your Chang family, just take over the Forbidden City."
"What's wrong with the emperor?" Mao Linyan hurriedly stepped forward, pushed Nan Qiongshuang away, and rubbed his chest to comfort him.
Nan Qiong Shuang was too lazy to deal with this tearful man, so she just took advantage of the moment to relax and watch from the sidelines.
Wang Rang: "Your Highness, the Emperor, moved by the scene, wanted to ask the Regent to release the Concubine Dowager from Jingsixuan, but the Regent refused."
Li Xuanbai put another lychee in his mouth—that was just the way he was. The more people hated and pissed him off, the more relaxed and carefree he wanted to be. He scoffed, "Another intercessor. Wasn't that arranged? I'm telling you, it's useless."
He pointed his index finger lightly outwards: "If you don't want to die, get out!"
Chang Zhong and Mao Linyan together may not be as good as Chang Da, but it is better than nothing.
Emperor Jiaqing immediately stretched out his hand to her with a gloomy face: "Yan'er, please speak up for me and your sister!"
Mao Linyan glanced at Emperor Jiaqing on the left, then glanced at Li Xuanbai, who had a bad look on his face, and after weighing the pros and cons for a moment, she lifted up her skirt and knelt down with a thud.
Her life and property depended entirely on Emperor Jiaqing. No matter how powerful the Regent was, she only had one backbone.
When Nan Qiongshuang saw her kneeling in front of Li Xuanbai without saying a word, she immediately smiled and covered her lips with a handkerchief.
Asking for something Li Xuanbai didn't agree to?
There's no way to ask for it.
"Prince Regent, there are many suspicious points in my sister's case. You may be preoccupied with the affairs of the previous dynasty and may not be aware of them. But Lin Yan has lived in the palace for a long time and has heard that when Concubine Xie passed away, the late Emperor was furious and threw all those involved in the Imperial Kitchen Bureau into prison. Those slaves, generations of lowly people, how could they withstand such torture! Of course, they will confess whatever they are told!"
"Then what do you say we should do?" Li Xuanbai laughed even more angrily. "Tell me what we should do. The documents from the Palace Administration Office don't count, the testimony doesn't count, but your wailing and screaming here counts?"
He spit the litchi pit from his mouth into his palm and threw it into the porcelain plate. The plate broke with a loud bang.
"You all kneel and howl, and that's all it takes! She killed my mother, was she framed? And my mother, is she dead?! I'm telling you—"
Li Xuanbai was trembling with anger, and pointed his finger at the people who were kneeling on the ground, "Stop crying, making a scene, or even threatening to hang yourself in front of me. Unless my mother appears in my dream in the middle of the night and tells me that the real murderer is not Chu Xiu, then!"
He laughed:
"Whoever wants to accompany her in the Jingsi Pavilion can go. Even if you want to go to the palace gate to find a rope to hang yourself, I won't stop you!"
"Prince Regent!" Mao Linyan turned around and glanced at the Jiaqing Emperor's face. The Jiaqing Emperor was still howling. She understood what he meant and quickly started howling. She knelt over and touched his knees.
"Loving one's mother is human nature. The Emperor is merely being filial. What crime has he committed?! If the entire court knew that the Prince Regent was the Concubine Dowager, and the Emperor wept bitterly, what would the officials and the people think?! Even if the Prince Regent doesn't show sympathy to the Chang family, he should at least show sympathy to the officials and the Emperor!"
"Filial piety?" Li Xuanbai gnashed the words, "Exactly. Filial piety is a natural human emotion. The Emperor's filial piety is to have set up such a large scheme to lure me here. It's neither right nor wrong for me to agree. So, as a filial son, I can't agree even if I don't agree, but I won't agree! I'm saying this one last time! Anyone who dares to plead for Chang Chuxiu again will be escorted into Jingsixuan!"
Mao Linyan turned around and glanced at Emperor Jiaqing again.
Emperor Jiaqing had already fallen to the ground, covering his face and crying bitterly.
She swallowed and looked around.
Chang Zhong had already stood up and was serving Emperor Jiaqing, intending to help him up from the ground.
The chief eunuch, Wang Rang, was stealthily retreating toward the door. He turned around and was about to go out to invite someone, but Li Xuanbai suddenly turned around and shouted, "Stop! Let's see who dares to leave today!"
In the corner, Nan Qiong Shuang stood by and watched with her hands folded, her expression gloomy and unclear, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Mao Linyan lowered her head and thought for a moment.
Her entire life was tied to Emperor Jiaqing. She could only survive if Emperor Jiaqing was happy.
For now, that bitch has hidden herself away, trying to protect herself. If she were to give the emperor a helping hand, it would be a sign of loyalty. Then, with her as a foil, the emperor would surely remember her contribution today. From now on, how could any mere butterfly-attracting technique take away her favor?
What's more, with the surname "Chang", she didn't believe that the Regent would dare to go against them.
She rushed forward crying and hugged Li Xuanbai's leg:
"Prince Regent, please be kind and help the Emperor! He is in my Jingren Palace, unable to sleep every night because of the matter of the Concubine Dowager... Your Majesty, he is your own brother! You hold a high position, and your every word and action is a role model for the entire court. If you are accused of harming your brother..."
"Asshole!" Li Xuanbai was furious. He kicked Mao Linyan in the face, causing her to fall to the ground with her head thrown back. With a loud thud, he said, "Killing your siblings?! If you can tolerate the murder of your mother, then my last name is Li in vain! Someone, come here!"
Wu Shun immediately stepped forward and said, "Your servant is here."
"Drag this bitch away and throw her into Jingsi Pavilion. She's not allowed to leave until summoned!"
"Prince Regent!" Mao Linyan felt as if struck by thunder, her face covered in mud and dirt. She crawled forward two steps in embarrassment, and saw that Li Xuanbai had already stood up. She then knelt and crawled in front of Emperor Jiaqing, tears streaming down her face.
"Your Majesty, please save me, please save me! Your Majesty!"
On the other side, Nan Qiong Shuang stood alone in a dark corner, indifferent and apathetic.
This mess makes it easier for her to do her job.
She had heard that Concubine Chang doted on her son like the apple of her eye. Perhaps the mother-son bond was so deep that even today, Emperor Jiaqing still wanted to release her.
However, she never thought that with Li Xuanbai's temper, Emperor Jiaqing would actually dare to force him on the grounds of filial piety.
Perhaps, it was because Chang Da was promoted to the title of prince some time ago, and Emperor Jiaqing saw that Li Xuanbai had given in and thought that he was beginning to be willing to make concessions to the Chang family, so he wanted to use the Chang family's name to force Li Xuanbai.
So, Emperor Jiaqing was both wary of and dependent on the Chang family.
Interesting. She smiled and twirled her hair.
It turned out that this madman, whose body and spirit were ruined by a bowl of wine from Chang Da, still missed his mother, whose surname was Chang. He was so afraid of Chang Da that he couldn't even stand up straight. In the end, he came up with this idea and used two people with the surname Chang as shields.
But these have nothing to do with her.
She stood in a quiet corner where no one cared. The palace maids were running away or kneeling, and there was chaos and crying everywhere. She was alone, her eyes quietly scanning the crowd.
Li Xuanbai gave the order to have Mao Linyan imprisoned in Jingsixuan as well.
Mao Linyan is Chang Da's eyes in the palace. How could Chang Da agree to her being sent to the cold palace?
Chang Zhong would definitely send someone to inform his father and urgently summon Chang Da to the palace.
but.
It would be interesting if, besides Chang Zhong's men, there were others who intended to pass on the message.
If there is.
It is most likely Chang Da, the spy hidden in the palace.
She waited leisurely with a faint smile on her face.
Inside the room, panic-stricken palace maids knelt on the floor, all trembling.
Eyeliner, is there one?
Amidst the chaos, someone finally spoke.
"Lord Regent, please forgive me for being so blunt. You are being too sentimental."
Gu Huaijin smiled with a hint of disdain, as if tired of caring about anything. "The Imperial Concubine is the Emperor's Imperial Concubine. How the Imperial Concubine is dealt with is the Emperor's family affair. Could it be that the Regent, in addition to being the Regent, also wants to take over the Emperor's duties?"
The few people in the room who still dared to stand fell to their knees after hearing this.
Nan Qiongshuang quietly withdrew, hiding her figure behind the landscape screen, and winked at Yuanxiang and Qinglian who were waiting outside the door.
If you want to send a message outside, you have to be quick. Otherwise, inside the Forbidden City, Li Xuanbai's orders will be faster than a Ferghana horse. By the time Li Xuanbai's men really drag Mao Linyan into Jingsixuan, even if Chang Da enters the Forbidden City, it will be difficult to rescue her.
She hid behind the screen, holding her breath and watching the group of palace servants on the ground.
Sure enough, a man with a flat face and thin eyebrows in the corner raised his head, looked around like a mouse, slowly got up, and ran out quickly.
She immediately winked at Yuanxiang.
Yuanxiang immediately understood and followed.
"Family affairs?" Li Xuanbai sneered from behind the screen. "If it's the emperor's family affairs, don't bring it up to annoy me! Wu Shun, drag him away and banish him to the cold palace!"
Mao Linyan cried even louder inside.
Another palace maid rushed out from inside, walking quickly on tiptoe and looking back.
She looked at Qinglian again.
Qinglian nodded and turned away.
"Stop right there! I'm telling you today, whoever dares to go out and deliver the letter will lose his head!" Something fell inside, and there was a loud crackling sound. "Chang Zhong!"
Gu Huaijin sighed inside: "Prince Regent, what is the crime of the imperial concubine?"
"Why?" Li Xuanbai smiled. "Your Highness, do you care?"
Nan Qiongshuang took a moment to glance inside the screen in the midst of her busy schedule.
"It's not that I care about the Empress, I care about the Emperor." Gu Huaijin slowly brushed off the sunflower seed crumbs that had fallen from his clothes. "The Prince Regent's tendency to ramble on and on has not only lost his own face, but also damaged the Emperor's. If this is the case, the Emperor should probably find someone else to assist him."
Nan Qiongshuang was stunned when she heard this behind the screen.
What? Could it be that he agreed to Chang Da's promotion to the title of king because he wanted to replace Emperor Jiaqing with a regent?
If he really wants to join forces with Chang Da, it is indeed difficult to predict whether Li Xuanbai can keep the throne of regent.
Suddenly, there was another sound of footsteps behind the screen.
She suddenly listened attentively.
A fair and slender little eunuch, holding his robe, ran out from behind the screen and disappeared in an instant.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally grabbed her skirt and stomped her feet, leaving a mess behind the screen, and ran after him.
There were almost no palace servants outside Xiaole Garden.
Everyone heard the huge changes in the garden. The brave ones ran away, the timid ones went in and knelt down, the honest and clueless ones hid themselves and cried, and the shrewd ones tilted their ears to listen.
The young eunuch chose to sneak out in deserted places, and she followed him all the way without bumping into anyone.
Because Laughter Garden was a frequented spot for the Emperor, the palace maids kept it clean diligently, the garden ablaze with flowers and green willows, with not a single leaf on the ground. With so few people around and the garden too tidy, it seemed deserted and lonely.
Suddenly, after turning a corner, the shadow of the indigo robe in front disappeared.
She took two steps to catch up.
The smooth and flat courtyard was spotless and completely silent. The sunlight shone on the blue-white stone ground, making it look white in front of people's eyes.
The wailing and roaring sounds from the center of the Laughter Garden could be heard from afar, one after another, as if the ink from rinsing a brush had seeped onto the paper, leaving a light mark.
Where are the people?
Nan Qiong Shuang was panting, and the sapphire beads hanging from her hair looked bright and abrupt against the vermilion carved windows of Xiaole Garden.
Suddenly, she realized that there was someone behind her.
The man said in a low voice:
"Be good."
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