195. No matter what, it's impossible to catch up.
The Duke of Anguo's Mansion.
The candlelight illuminated the room warmly, and Duke Anguo, dressed in a plain robe, was playing pitch-pot with Lin Fuman at the table.
He deliberately placed the pot closer, and Lin Fu, holding a thin arrow in her hands, squinted and threw it. Although she missed, Duke Anguo clapped his hands with a smile: "Fu Fu's posture is getting more and more accurate. Try again, and you'll definitely hit it!"
Lin Fuman beamed with joy at the praise, picked up another arrow, and took a serious aim.
Li Yuniang sat at the desk, an account book spread out in front of her, a pen in one hand and an abacus in the other, busy with her work.
Finally, after finishing the last calculation, she folded the ledger, got up and walked to the father and daughter, and said softly, "Fufu, the almond cake you said you wanted to eat yesterday is just ready in the kitchen. Why don't you try it? I've already had the maid put it in your room. Go to sleep after you eat, it's getting late."
"Really?" Lin Fu's eyes lit up, and she immediately put down the arrow. "Then I'll go eat!"
After saying that, she skipped and hopped out of the room.
The door closed gently, and Li Yuniang turned to look at Duke Anguo. Her tone was less gentle than before, and more worried: "My lord, although you seemed happy to return from court today, I still feel uneasy. Now that the old prime minister has lost power, is the situation in court truly stable?"
Duke Anguo pulled Li Yuniang to sit beside him, stroking the back of her hand, his tone relaxed and smug: "Don't worry, the old prime minister's people have been dismissed or demoted. Now in the court, the Prince of Shu's mansion is on my side, and His Majesty is on my side too. There's nothing to worry about."
Li Yuniang gently shook her head, her eyes full of worry: "But the old prime minister has been in power for many years. Even if he falls, it's hard to guarantee that there aren't any old subordinates hiding in the shadows. Besides, always leave a way out. If we push things to the limit, something bad might happen. My lord, we should be lenient when we can. It's better for us to live in peace."
“I know you mean well,” Duke Anguo said, brushing away a stray hair from Li Yuniang’s temple. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing and won’t act recklessly.”
He said, "Once the situation is completely stable, I will spend more time with you and the children, and you will no longer have to live in fear. When I become the prime minister, I will divorce that Lady Gan, throw her and her daughter out of the house, and make you and your daughter my legal wives, okay?"
Li Yuniang shook her head: "Master, there's no need to mention this anymore. If you throw them out, how are they supposed to live?"
"To be honest, sir, I always feel a sense of danger. Lately, I've been quite uneasy. I'm somewhat aware of the situation at court, but I still have some doubts."
“My lord, think about it. Lord Xie was clearly promoted by His Majesty, who intended to use him to deal with the old prime minister. But why did His Majesty side with you when you argued with the old prime minister, and even tacitly approve of you dealing with Lord Xie? Don’t you find that strange?”
"I have a feeling there's something fishy going on here. Sir, why don't we just stop here? I think life is pretty good right now."
She made perfect sense, but people blinded by victory can't listen to such heartfelt words.
Duke Anguo was inwardly unconvinced, but outwardly he comforted her, saying, "Yu Niang, don't be afraid. Standing in the court, I know more information than you, and I see things more clearly."
"Perhaps that Xie had some argument with His Majesty, which aroused His Majesty's suspicion?"
"Besides, His Majesty is the emperor. How could he possibly place all his bets on just one person? Perhaps he thinks I have more potential than that Xie guy."
"Anyway, Yu Niang, don't worry. I promise you I will be fine. You and Fu Fu can rest easy and wait for me to bring you back with a bright future, okay?"
“I’ll get you an imperial title and make Fufu a county princess.”
Seeing how determined he was, Li Yuniang knew she couldn't persuade him otherwise.
She sighed softly, "I hope so. I don't ask for any imperial title, nor do I expect you to become a prime minister. I just want our whole family to be safe and sound."
Duke Anguo nodded: "Alright, may we all be safe and sound."
-
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
The little dumpling was woken up by Bai Qingzhong.
"Princess! Wake up! The people outside are asleep, we can leave now!"
The little dumpling, who was still half asleep, suddenly opened his eyes upon hearing this, his drowsiness instantly vanishing: "Really?"
“Yes!” Bai Qingzhong took the little dumpling’s hand, and the two tiptoed and quietly climbed out of the window into the yard.
The courtyard was quiet, with only the early birds chirping softly on the branches.
They hid and made their way to the front yard, where they bumped into the early-rising housekeeper.
"Steward!" Bai Qingzhong tried to appear calm. "Quickly help us hitch up the carriage. We're going to the palace. The county princess has business there."
Seeing the two children's barely concealed anxiety, the steward, though full of doubts, dared not delay and quickly nodded, "Young master, rest assured, I will arrange it right away!"
In no time, the carriage was ready.
Little Dumpling and Bai Qingzhong climbed into the carriage, and the new coachman cracked his whip, sending the carriage rumbling and speeding towards the palace.
The little dumpling's first reaction was to ask her parents for help.
However, Bai Qingzhong told her that even if they sought help from the Marquis of Beiding and his wife, they would not be able to rescue Xie Wenling from the old prime minister. They could only go to the palace to report to the emperor and have the emperor mobilize troops to rescue him.
Going back and forth like this would only waste time; it would be better for them to go directly to the palace to ask the emperor for help.
The little dumpling thought about it and seemed to think it made a lot of sense.
The two then reached a consensus and decided to go to the palace.
As dawn broke and the morning mist swirled, the carriage traversed the quiet streets and finally arrived at the palace gates at the end of the Yin hour (3-5 AM).
"Stop! This is forbidden territory of the Imperial Palace. No trespassing allowed!" Imperial guards, armed with spears, blocked the carriage.
Bai Qingzhong immediately poked his head out and shouted, "I am the young master of Xixiang! This is the Lady of Fukang County, please do not stop us!"
The imperial guards looked at the two children, verified their identities, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Then you cannot enter the palace by carriage. You can only enter on foot, and you can only walk on the palace roads. You cannot wander around."
"Okay! Let's walk!"
Xiao Tuanzi and Bai Qingzhong immediately jumped out of the carriage and ran quickly towards the palace.
Bai Qingzhong had only been to the palace twice and was completely unfamiliar with the terrain.
The little dumpling was only familiar with one route to the Wenhua Hall.
The two tacitly decided to go to the Wenhua Hall first, where they would find the familiar little princess, little prince, or Grand Tutor, and ask them to take them to the Emperor for help in rescuing Brother Xie.
The palace was too large, and the two wandered around for a long time before finally seeing the eaves of the Wenhua Hall.
The little dumpling was overjoyed and pulled Bai Qingzhong over. They pushed open the half-closed door, only to find the inside empty, with tables and chairs neatly arranged, and not a soul in sight.
"Nobody's here..." The little dumpling froze on the spot, her eyes instantly turning red. "Yue'er forgot that today is a day off... If we can't find anyone, how can Yue'er tell His Majesty that Brother Xie is in danger..."
Bai Qingzhong was also panicking, but he patted the little dumpling's hand and tried to calm himself down: "Don't worry! Let's look again! Maybe we'll run into some familiar palace servants!"
"Hmm..." The little dumpling lowered her head and wiped away her tears, when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the Wenhua Hall behind her.
The two turned around and saw that it was Qu Zijin.
"Grand Tutor!" The little boy's eyes lit up, and he instantly forgot his crying. He stumbled over and hugged Qu Zijin's leg tightly with his little arms. "Grand Tutor, please save Brother Xie!"
Qu Zijin, who was preparing for tomorrow's lesson in the Wenhua Hall, was startled by the sudden commotion. Looking down, he saw the little girl's tear-streaked face and quickly bent down to help her up: "Teacher?...Young Master Bai? What are you doing in the palace? What happened?"
Bai Qingzhong hurriedly grabbed Qu Zijin's sleeve and quickly explained the situation: "The Prime Minister has placed Lord Xie under house arrest in the teahouse and forced him to impeach Duke Anguo together!"
"We escaped while the guards were asleep, hoping to find the Emperor to help rescue people, but we didn't know the way, so we ended up here..."
"Grand Tutor Qu, please take us to the main hall quickly! It will be too late if we wait any longer..."
He and the little dumpling took turns explaining what had happened.
Upon hearing this, Qu Zijin's face turned pale: "Oh no! His Majesty has already begun court!"
He scooped up the little dumpling, grabbed Bai Qingzhong's hand, and ran towards the main hall: "Quick!"
The little ball of fluffy hair ornament on her head swayed back and forth, and tears fell again: "Grand Tutor, can we really make it in time? Yue'er is afraid something will happen to Brother Xie..."
"...Don't panic."
Qu Zijin avoided answering, as if he were telling himself something.
Because he knew very well that he couldn't catch up.
From receiving the news to organizing manpower to rescue Xie Wenling, the entire process would take at least an hour, and it had to be done before the morning court session.
By now, the morning court session has already begun.
No matter what, it's impossible to catch up.
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