Chapter 181 Intricate Relationships
Mentioning the Zhen family, Lü Jiaying put down her chopsticks, seemingly losing her appetite.
"You don't know, Hong Xihai told me when he came back that the second young lady named Yu Rao was punished by the Emperor with a slap, and it's been so many days and she's still not getting better. Not only has the swelling not gone down, but it's gotten worse, and it looks like she might be disfigured."
"Sigh, it's also her fault for being so outspoken. The Emperor was already in a bad mood, how could he talk back like that?" Consort Jing patted her chest and sighed as she listened. "You said she was made a slave and her face was ruined. Who knows what kind of difficult days she will have in the future?"
Lu Jiayingfeng didn't think so. She waved her hand to dismiss the servants in the room and lowered her voice to say, "I saw her when she entered the palace. Even thorns and coarse clothes couldn't hide her beautiful appearance. She was even more beautiful than Zhen Huan. She was also wild and now that she was of low status, it would be really hard for her to live without anyone to protect her with such a face."
As they were talking, Lü Jiaying suddenly remembered someone, "Do you remember Huanbi, who used to be by Zhen's side? She was originally locked up there with everyone else, but a few days ago she was taken away for interrogation, and I haven't seen her since."
...
The Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Yinzhen lowered his gaze to Xia Yi, who was kneeling below reporting to him, his brows furrowed like a twisted rope.
He realized that he wasn't really suited to handling beaded bracelets and pendants; they would break one after another, so he gave up. At this moment, he was just rubbing his palms while thinking about something else.
Xia Yi opened and closed his mouth, uttering nothing but words the Emperor did not want to hear.
"Zhen's mother, Yun, was indeed related to Empress Chun Yuan. Yun's mother was also from the Gioro clan and was a sister to Empress Chun Yuan's mother. However, she was adopted out shortly after her birth. In a sense, Yun and Empress Chun Yuan were cousins."
Xia Yi's report probably doesn't need to care much about the Emperor's attitude. That's exactly what the Emperor needs from him—to tell him everything he finds out. Judging from his nonchalant attitude, it's clear that what he said earlier was just the tip of the iceberg.
"Zhen Yuandao was also aware of this matter. There were many old men who had served in the imperial court who had met the then Fourth Prince Consort, also known as Empress Chun Yuan. They jokingly said something at a banquet, and from then on, Zhen Yuandao stopped letting Yun Shi go out easily."
Yinzhen's face grew increasingly dark. He thought to himself, "No wonder...no wonder the three women in this family are all so similar. No wonder when I graciously allowed Lady Yun to visit Lady Zhen in the palace, she left in a hurry without even showing up. No wonder Zhen Huan can perform the 'Dance of the Startled Swan,' and no wonder she can recite the poem that Empress Chun Yuan loved most."
If he were to happen to encounter someone who bore a striking resemblance to Chun Yuan, it would be one thing, a case of finding something he had lost. But this one seemed to have been meticulously planned and orchestrated, delivered right to his face, watching him indulge in excessive pampering, as if he were playing a game with her...
Outrageous... Absolutely outrageous!
Yinzhen slammed his hand on the table in anger, and when he spoke again, his voice was filled with obvious rage—"What else? Continue!"
"And then there's Huanbi."
Xia Yi belatedly looked up at the Emperor's face, but after meeting his dark eyes, she wisely lowered her head. "Huanbi is the illegitimate daughter of Zhen Yuandao and a Han woman surnamed He. Before she was married, she was a close friend of the late Emperor's Consort Shu. However, Huanbi left her birth mother early and was unaware of this."
"Prince Guo...it's him again..." Yinzhen's voice was full of meaning. With all the clues connected, it was hard for him not to be suspicious. Moreover, he was by nature a suspicious and thoughtful person.
"The Zhen family is truly full of hidden talents. Zhen Yuandao may not hold a high official position, but his ideas are incredibly profound." He silently gathered his strength in his heart.
On a small scale, this matter is a long-standing, messy affair with complex and intricate relationships that are difficult to unravel. On a larger scale, however, it was a premeditated scheme that included the Emperor and the late Empress, a grand plan to seize control of the empire.
"No matter what, the Zhen family cannot be allowed to live." Yinzhen's gaze hardened, his eyes revealing a resolute determination—"You will handle Su Peisheng's matter personally. Regardless of the process, I only care about the result."
“Consort Shu…” Yinzhen thought for a moment. Normally, a consort should be kept in a state of luxury. However, this matter had become ugly, disgraced the royal family, and involved too many other people. Yinzhen would rather kill the innocent than let one go.
"Give the order: The Dowager Consort felt deeply ashamed and disgraced to the late Emperor because of the Prince's despicable act. In her grief and anger, she followed the late Emperor in death. Tell the Empress about the funeral arrangements; she will naturally understand what to do. It must be a grand affair, with all the proper honors and respects bestowed upon her, to demonstrate my filial piety."
"Yes, this servant remembers."
Su Peisheng bowed and went out to deliver the message. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the Crown Prince, his clothes fluttering, walking briskly towards him.
"Oh, Your Highness, please be careful not to fall. His Majesty is waiting for you inside." He smiled and bowed to the Crown Prince. Hongzhao quickly passed by him, leaving behind a sentence carried on the wind: "I know. Remember to bring an umbrella if it rains."
Before Su Peisheng could even express his gratitude, the young prince's voice rang out from the inner hall—"Father, have you decided on the people for the voyage? Let your son take a look."
Seeing this, Su Peisheng just shook his head and smiled. Over the past ten years, he had practically watched the Crown Prince grow up. The longer the time went on, the more he understood why the Emperor doted on the Crown Prince. The Emperor was in a high position and all alone. What he wanted was the intimacy of ordinary people, but the right balance was not so easy to grasp.
The Crown Prince seems to have been perceptive about this since childhood and has never made a mistake. Besides, how could anyone else be so close to him? Even if the Emperor gave them the opportunity, they wouldn't have the guts.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that his decision was correct. Su Peisheng walked out in a good mood, showing no sign of being about to deliver an imperial edict and take someone's life.
With a smile, Yinzhen handed the list he had prepared to Hongzhao—"Take a look and see if these people suit your taste."
Since Hongzhao had decided to do it, Yinzhen did not treat it as a child's game. From selecting people to choosing routes, he carefully selected every matter. Otherwise, he would not do it at all. Now that this matter had caused such a stir, he was determined to make a name for himself.
Hongzhao took the thick stack of papers and read them from beginning to end. His father, the Emperor, had indeed put in a lot of effort. In addition, lifting the sea ban was something the Thirteenth Prince had always advocated, and he naturally already had a plan in mind. Therefore, with the support of many parties, this detailed report was produced very quickly and completely, and Hongzhao naturally had no complaints.
"Father, my eyes are getting tired from looking at all this. I feel there's nothing better. It's all thanks to Your Majesty's thoughtfulness. But I'm thinking, how about adding one more person?" Hongzhao straightened the stack of papers in his hand and held them to his chest, smiling as he naturally made the request to his father.
Yinzhen raised an eyebrow slightly – “Who do you want to add? Tell me.”
“Father, you must know him. He’s Fu Yu, the one who’s by my side.” Hongzhao said the name he had already thought of.
“My son finds going out to sea novel and inevitably wants to go and see it. However, my son is reluctant to leave his father and dares not travel far and drift at sea at will. So I thought I would ask Fu Yu to go with the ship to see it for me and then tell my son about it when he comes back.”
Since Hongzhao had put it this way, Yinzhen naturally had no reason to refuse. He was genuinely worried that if he disagreed, this unruly brat might sneak onto the ship one day, and then he would have nowhere to turn to cry.
"You just stay here quietly, and I'll take a few Fu Yus with me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
