Looking at the situation (Part 4)
After that incident, the two didn't see each other for a while, as they were both extremely busy.
Chen Zhuangmu first reported to Zhao Yi about what happened to Elder Wang that night. At that time, the emperor's opinion was very clear: it was unknown how many remnants of the previous dynasty were left, so it was best not to make a move and wait to see if there was a safe way to catch a big fish.
Chen Zhuangmu has been busy figuring out how to bring Xiao Zhong to justice. The most important thing is to find evidence. After thinking about it, she decided that she should target Xiao Zhong himself and his residence.
She has a fatal weakness: once she gets carried away with a certain direction, she tends to completely disregard everything else.
For some reason, the weather suddenly cleared up these past few days, and it became much warmer around us. When Chen Zhuangmu entered the palace, she heard about a major event: the Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony. It was said that the Imperial Observatory had suddenly sensed an auspicious omens one night and hastily set the date for seven days later.
Seven days later, the coming-of-age ceremony will take place.
Chen Zhuang spent the day resting in the palace before the ceremony. According to the rules, as a guest of the imperial family, she should have entered the venue earlier with Yu Hongning and the others.
The coming-of-age ceremony is one of the most important ceremonies in a man's life. The coming-of-age ceremony of the crown prince is related to the fate of the country, so it is naturally even more solemn and carefully attended to.
The grand and imposing crown-bearing mat set up on the east steps of the Wende Hall, with its carved serpent appearing to transform into a dragon, was a sight to behold. Meanwhile, Chen Zhuangmu stood to the right of the east steps, where she would soon be able to see the Crown Prince enter.
As the sun moved, the rest of the people gradually took their places. To the right were their relatives and family members, to the left were important officials, and behind them were minor officials who were just going through the motions at court.
Chen Zhuangmu observed everything just now and found nothing unusual. Why was the date of the coming-of-age ceremony set so hastily? Perhaps she's just being paranoid?
Before she could even think about it, the ceremony had already begun.
The majestic melody rose and fell under the hands of the musicians. The Crown Prince, dressed in heavy and gorgeous clothes, slowly walked into the crowning ceremony from the east room. She felt that her cousin had finally become serious, and she was not used to the heavy makeup at the curtain.
After a series of ceremonies, the time finally came to the "crowning ceremony." She was wondering which highly respected person would be in charge of this important event when she saw the Empress and the Emperor solemnly walking towards the Crown Prince.
Seeing the shocked look on Shen Zhuangmu's face, Yu Hongning leaned closer to her and whispered, "I had the same look in my eyes when I first found out. The Ministry of Rites had already chosen someone, but Father insisted on going himself, and he even brought Mother with him. I thought those censors would be aggressive again, but this time they didn't say a word."
Chen Zhuangmu frowned and nodded, her eyes fixed on the hairpin in the Empress's hand and the crown in the Emperor's hand. They solemnly and carefully touched the Crown Prince's hair.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on this extraordinary moment, and no one noticed that a sharp arrow grazed the hem of many people's clothes and pierced Xiao Zhong's face accurately.
With a loud clang, the noise startled everyone. The crowd, who had been intently watching the Crown Prince, were suddenly drawn to the noise, just in time to see Xiao Zhong raise his fan, and the dagger hidden in the fan blade flashed out.
The arrow grazed the dagger and was deflected to the side; the assassin was immediately subdued.
"Your Majesty!" Everyone looked at the person who called out, and it was Zhang Jiao.
"Your Majesty, there was an unsolved case eight months ago, and the murder weapon is exactly the same as the one used by Minister Xiao! I implore Minister Xiao to abide by the law and cooperate with the investigation!"
No one noticed that the Crown Prince's face was growing increasingly cold, as everyone's attention was focused on the tense scene.
"Hmph! That's because you're incompetent! You actually suspected me just because of a dagger!" Xiao Zhong retorted angrily, closing his fan.
“Then add one more!” Zhao Yi slowly walked from behind to Xiao Zhong. He took out a scroll from his sleeve, slowly unrolled it, and on it was Xiao Zhong’s household registration book. “Is this enough?” Zhao Yi asked, staring intently at him.
His face turned ashen instantly, and he was about to speak in rebuttal when he was interrupted by an even more impolite voice.
"Your Majesty, I humbly request permission for us to thoroughly investigate the Xiao family!" Chen Zhuangmu knelt on the ground, her expression resolute.
This is a golden opportunity to thoroughly investigate the Xiao family, and it cannot be missed. But in the end, it has implicated my cousin, the Crown Prince. This incident happened during his coming-of-age ceremony, a very important moment in his life. I wonder what my cousin will think.
These words caused Zhao Yi and Zhang Jiao to turn around, their faces filled with fear. A fleeting look of worry crossed Zhao Yi's face as he knelt down first, "I implore Your Majesty to allow us to thoroughly investigate the Xiao family!"
"We humbly request Your Majesty's permission to thoroughly investigate the Xiao family!"
Xiao Zhong turned his head coldly and sneered, "So you were waiting for me here!"
"What is Xiao Xiangyi's opinion?" The emperor narrowed his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I am upright and have nothing to fear!" Xiao Zhong roared.
Before long, Zhang Jiao summoned two men who took Xiao Zhong away. He and Zhao Yi each led two groups of men to leave, when Chen Zhuangmu caught up. As they stopped and looked back at her, she said, "I want to go too!"
They left the banquet, ending the farce, and the coming-of-age ceremony continued.
This group of people ran wildly, which was hard not to attract people's attention. They knocked on the gate of the Xiao mansion, controlled the servants in the mansion, and then scattered to search the entire Xiao mansion.
Just as the people heading southwest were about to set off, Chen Zhuangmu called out to them, "There is a mud chamber there; be careful not to break anything."
"Yes." After receiving the order, they turned and left. Chen Zhuangmu also turned back to search, but unexpectedly met the disappointed look in the eyes of the person next to her.
"What are you pretending to be kind about?" Xiao Hanfeng deliberately poked at his sore spot.
"Go back to where you belong." Chen Zhuangmu glanced at her and continued walking inside.
Scattered around, only Chen Zhuangmu remained. She first went to Xiao Hanfeng's boudoir, went into the inner room to take off the pillow and mat, and then took out scissors to cut off the patterned part and put it in her sleeve.
Afterwards, she planned to visit Xiao Zhong's study, and ran into Zhao Yi on the way. He was clearly going to the same place as her, and without even saying hello, he simply passed by.
Zhao Yi, who was behind, kept his head down, thinking to himself. When he noticed that Chen Zhuangmu had walked away, he quickly ran a few steps to catch up with her.
Xiao Zhong's study was simply furnished; the desk, chair, and bookshelves had no patterns, and the walls were a plain gray-blue.
On the right side of the desk were several pieces of jade, and a pale red jade flute with not very fine carvings.
Chen Zhuangmu's expression changed instantly upon seeing this. She took the jade flute down and her eyes immediately reddened when she saw the blocked pipe inside. The hatred in her eyes startled Zhao Yi.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Yi walked to her side.
Don't ask.
Chen Zhuangmu focused intently on studying this wall.
Zhao Yi didn't say anything and followed behind her. Just then, footsteps came from behind. Zhang Jiao, who was at the front, had just stood up when she said, "No, nothing at all."
"Come and take a look at the layout outside and this wall." Everyone went out and then came back, rubbing and touching the wall. "There's nothing unusual."
These words made them frown.
“This is enough,” Chen Zhuangmu said.
They stayed in the Imperial Study after arriving at the palace, waiting for the emperor to return. They thought it would take a long time, but to their surprise, the emperor rushed over in just a quarter of an hour.
"How is it?" The emperor made no attempt to hide his anxiety, but showed no sign of joy.
"Nothing was found elsewhere, but there were two princesses."
Before Zhang Jiao could finish speaking, Chen Zhuangmu pulled out the piece of pillow mat that had been cut off from her sleeve and, while the emperor was looking at it, said, "This is their national emblem, which is also a mythical beast."
She spoke very simply, and just as she was about to take something out of her hand, she suddenly paused and said, "You all go out first."
Zhao Yi went out first, followed closely by Zhang Jiao.
Noticing the footsteps fading into the distance, Chen Zhuangmu took out the pale red jade flute from her sleeve.
"Uncle, you recognize this, right?" She looked at the emperor eagerly, her eyelashes fluttering. "This is something my mother always kept with her!"
"Calm down first," the emperor said, observing her condition. "Let me take a look at you."
Chen Zhuangmu sniffed and carefully handed it to the emperor.
"That's right. These are your mother's things. Where did you find them?"
Chen Zhuangmu closed her eyes briefly. "Xiao Zhong's study. Uncle, he killed my mother, and he took her things!"
Before the emperor could take his eyes off the jade flute, he heard Chen Zhuangmu say in a low but firm voice, "I want him dead."
The emperor gently placed the jade flute on the table, looked at her and said, "He must die. But it's unclear whether there are more remnants of the previous dynasty behind him. Perhaps we should play the long game and catch a big fish."
“I want to watch him die,” Chen Zhuangmu repeated.
The emperor summoned someone to pour a cup of tea and handed it to Chen Zhuangmu; the last drop of tea was still spreading outwards in a ripple.
"Your mother's death was absolutely the work of all of them. We cannot let a single one of them get away with it."
Chen Zhuangmu waited for him to continue, and then he said, "My people have found some clues. In two days, I will arrange your operation."
The candlelight flickered with joy, just like the emperor's eyes, hoping that the embroidered curtain would grant his wish.
But he should have thought of this sooner. Chen Zhuangmu gripped the jade flute on the table tightly and said, "Today's operation is quite grand, and these things have been found. If there is no further movement, how will Uncle explain to the officials? It would be better to imprison Prime Minister Xiao and then cast a long line to catch a big fish."
Ultimately, the emperor adopted the suggestion to remove the empress's curtain. There was nothing inherently controversial about this matter; all the signs pointed to this outcome. If it weren't for the possibility of implicating those behind him, Xiao Zhong would have been held accountable, and this had already been announced to the world.
After leaving the palace, Shen Zhuangmu returned to the Princess's residence. The Emperor, considering that she had no one by her side, bestowed two gifts upon her, which Shen Zhuangmu refused.
The emperor's expression was not good at that time, but she was anxious and pretended not to see it.
Not long after arriving at the princess's residence, they saw Zhao Yi casually climb over the wall as if no one else was there.
The night was extremely cold, but she seemed oblivious, nestled in the recliner. Zhao Yi saw her as soon as he arrived, frowned, and tried to pull her by her clothes to lead her inside.
She turned aside without saying a word, then walked into the room and closed the door.
Zhao Yi didn't want to go in, so he stood outside the door calling out to her repeatedly. After a while, seeing the shadow inside getting closer, he called out again, "Zhuangmu!"
It was very quiet inside. After a quarter of an hour, a soft "hmm" was heard.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you."
Zhao Yi spoke hurriedly, as if afraid she would get annoyed and leave, "That night I presented Elder Wang's information to His Majesty, and His Majesty summoned Zhang Jiao directly. From that day on, this plan was formulated, and only three people know about it."
“When you face these things, you must have acted impulsively. You were thinking of arresting Xiao Zhong and then holding him accountable. However, I didn’t pay attention to your feelings, and I was wrong.”
Shen Zhuangmu understood what she was saying. She didn't think she had any reason to be angry with him, but she felt uncomfortable because they were keeping it from him.
I avoided him simply so I wouldn't give him the cold shoulder.
She said sullenly, "Did I disrupt your plans?"
A soft laugh came from outside the door, followed by the voice: "No, you've actually done me a great favor. Zhang Jiao and I have a long-standing feud with him in court, but your reputation for impartiality and integrity is renowned throughout Huijing. This way, even if the search yields some results, everyone will just think that Xiao Zhong went too far."
The story of his "upright and incorruptible" dates back two months. He was rushing to the Dali Temple in a hurry when his carriage was spotted by patrolling police officers, who immediately stopped him.
Upon seeing his face, she was terrified, her forehead beaded with sweat. She left her maid and coachman behind, saying, "Pay the money first, and I'll collect the fine when it's paid."
So, amidst the sighs of the crowd, he hurriedly left, the guard secretly marveling that he had met such an easy-going person.
No one took Chen Zhuangmu's suggestion of receiving punishment seriously. However, after being dismissed from her post, she actually received five lashes. Although she was in pain and grimaced, she didn't utter a single cry. This story spread far and wide and everyone knew about it.
Ultimately, it's nothing special. After all, even the emperor is guilty, and everyone is equal.
That's what they say, but very few can actually do it.
Knowing that Zhao Yi was just trying to make her happy, Chen Zhuangmu's awkwardness suddenly vanished. She gently pushed the door open through the crack with both hands and saw Zhao Yi with his head slightly lowered, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, and his bright eyes staring at her.
The hair on his forehead had drooped a little after a long day, slightly obscuring his sharp eyebrows.
Chen Zhuangmu's heart pounded, and for some reason she secretly turned her head back, but then she felt a warm hand touch her left cheek.
With a slight exertion of that hand, Chen Zhuangmu's face was gently turned back.
Under the moonlight, I could clearly see the love in the other person's eyes.
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