Chapter 65
Inside Yuhua Palace, the Queen was so happy looking at the dignified and polite Wan Zhuohua in front of her.
Anyway, it’s better than the one next to it...
She sighed unconsciously.
"Zhuo Hua, after hearing the report, I will immediately send someone to find you. It is a good thing that you are willing to get closer to me."
"Your Majesty, I came here this time to ask for your help."
Wan Zhuohua winked, indicating that Jian Xinyi should speak in person.
Jian Xinyi understood. She bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, I have evidence to prove who was behind the Poverty Relief Gang incident."
“…”
There was still silence in Yuhua Palace.
There were only three of them in the hall at this time.
"Lin Zhuiyu, have you forgotten what I said to you?"
"I dare not."
Jian Xinyi knelt respectfully, not daring to breathe.
"But you still came."
There was a cold and terrifying look in the queen's phoenix eyes.
It’s like Qian Yuan when I first met him.
She was certain of the blood relationship between the Queen and Qian Yuan, so she dared to disturb her again.
"Empress, the times have changed. His Highness Prince Geng is pressing me hard. Only you can save me from this dire situation."
"I don't want to waste any more words, Rong Gu..."
The queen turned around and wanted to order the maid to drive them away, but she saw the eunuch outside the door reporting.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Geng has arrived."
The three people in the hall were all shocked. They didn't expect King Geng to come so quickly.
Jian Xinyi was naturally helpless, so she quickly stood up and hid behind Wan Zhuohua.
Before the Queen could say anything to refuse, Prince Geng swaggered into the main hall.
"Your son pays his respects to the Queen Mother."
King Geng's eyes were sharp, and he saw Jian Xinyi hiding behind him at a glance.
The Queen's eyes glared, and she interrupted him, "Prince Geng, what's the important matter that has come to you uninvited?"
"Mother, I have heard that someone has spread rumors and slandered the current prince, so I have come here to prove my innocence."
Before he could finish his words, the Queen interrupted him, saying, "Who is so bold as to spread rumors and cause trouble in the palace? If I knew about this, I would punish them severely."
"My Queen Mother is wise. I'm sure she won't shield others for her own selfish reasons."
"Rumors are spreading, and I will definitely find out the truth. Then it will be clear who is right and who is wrong.
The Queen's words were fair and equal, which helped to block King Geng's attack.
But he obviously didn't give up.
"Since your mother is so confident, this must be a misunderstanding." Prince Geng changed the subject, staring at Jian Xinyi with a wolf-like gaze. "Then please, Miss Lin, come to the Qinzheng Palace and help me prove my innocence."
Prove innocence? It's clearly destroying someone's innocence.
Jian Xinyi was angry, but helpless. She could only think about how to deal with this person.
It only takes a moment to get from Yuhua Palace to Qinzheng Hall.
As soon as I entered, I heard a hoarse voice in the hall.
"Kneel down."
Jian Xinyi and King Geng knelt down together, not daring to act rashly.
A low voice came faintly from above, and it was terrifying just to hear it.
"Prince Geng, I have repeatedly tolerated you, yet you repeatedly act recklessly. Do you find it distasteful that I am too free?"
"Father, I did this all for the sake of Prince Xing."
King Geng, on the other hand, was not in a hurry and took out a speech that he must have prepared long ago.
"Since Yuan Gan was crowned king, he has been deeply favored by my father. But this woman is trying to sow discord and persecute our brotherhood. She even hid false evidence in the house in an attempt to frame me."
Jian Xinyi just found it funny as she listened to the charges one after another.
but.....
Yuan Gan.
This guy kept it a secret for long enough.
"She is not the one you want to deal with. She is just a commoner."
The emperor was obviously angry, but his tone was still so low, "Now the Ministry of Justice has tortured the criminal Lin many times. He can't do anything about the poverty relief gang, even killing the official is impossible."
"Do you think that without evidence, your plan is flawless?"
"Father, the information about the Poverty Relief Gang was found by the Dali Temple personnel in the back room of the bookstore. The Lin family is inextricably linked to this. And the false evidence was also discovered by your son during the search of the Lin family's residence."
King Geng boasted that his plan was meticulous and no one could do anything to him unless he admitted it himself.
"Then it's your turn."
The emperor walked up to Jian Xinyi and looked down at her.
"Lin Zhuiyu, is everything King Geng said true?"
Jian Xinyi thought about it. Prince Geng was a prince after all. Now that all the evidence in his home had been destroyed, it would not be a good idea to directly put all the blame on him.
"Your Majesty, I only know that my father did not kill anyone, and he has no connection with the Poor Relief Gang."
The emperor snorted coldly and turned around, "Minister Xue, you speak."
Minister Xue trembled as he stepped out from the back, "Your Majesty, Lin Zhimin closed the bookshop early that day and returned home. Someone confirmed that they saw him at the alley entrance."
"Also, although the Lin residence was broken into, some powder did indeed settle in the teacup. Upon examination by the imperial physician, it was confirmed to be a drug."
"What else do you have to say?"
The emperor spread out all the evidence on the huge camphorwood table, but it was difficult to arrange them properly.
"She framed you out of love. What about Minister Xue? Did he also take money from Prince Xing to frame you?"
Such harsh questioning is frightening.
The emperor's majesty cannot be challenged, even by a prince.
King Geng laughed coldly a few times, but his eyes were full of sarcasm and helplessness.
Then, there was another burst of unbridled laughter.
"Father, you are unwilling to trust me even once, not even once."
Everyone was shocked by the scene and dared not speak.
Jian Xinyi sighed quietly.
He let go completely, like a different person.
"From childhood to adulthood, have you always been partial to Prince Xing? From the smallest things like food, clothing, and daily necessities to the biggest things like tutors and companions, everything is top-notch. But are we ordinary princes worthless to you?"
The emperor frowned slightly when he heard these words. "Come here, Prince Geng is speaking nonsense. Take him away."
"Could there be a lie in what I said?"
He completely tore off the outer shell of a prince and accused his father in the most intense language.
"Just because my biological mother wasn't the Queen, she was bullied and looked down upon in this huge country. But he, Prince Xing, always sits high and mighty, receiving praise."
The eunuch standing by saw the two men in such a tense situation and tried to comfort them.
"Your Highness Prince Geng, please stop talking."
He pushed the man away and staggered to his feet.
"All of this is your fault. You are so biased, you turned a blind eye, and you forced me to commit suicide. You are not even worthy of being an ordinary person."
"Pull it down."
The emperor turned around and walked into the hall.
The palace guards dragged King Geng straight out of the hall, and only heard him shouting outside the hall.
"You are unworthy of being a father!"
Jian Xinyi watched this scene from afar and couldn't describe the feeling for a moment.
The power of heaven is unpredictable, and it is difficult to break into the heavenly palace.
Suddenly there was a squeak.
A person came out from the mahogany screen at the back.
When Jian Xinyi heard the noise, she subconsciously looked up and met the man's eyes.
It was Yuan Gan who was supposed to be in Luoshan.
"Did you see everything?"
The emperor turned and asked him.
"Father."
Uncharacteristically, he said nothing.
No pleading, no questioning, just very calm.
"I've already told you that he has evil intentions. Tolerating him will only make him worse."
"Your Majesty is wise. Now that the Poor Relief Gang has been eliminated, the court will surely be clear-minded and bright."
"Maybe."
Jian Xinyi was speechless about the strange atmosphere between the father and son. She followed Yuan Gan out of the hall and asked him impatiently.
"What's going on? Aren't you in Luoshan?"
"After I learned that you were in trouble, I rushed back after settling Luo Shan's affairs."
Yuan Gan adjusted his cuffs nonchalantly, but a hint of sadness still shone in his eyes.
"Prince Geng used the Spring Examination to amass wealth and secretly formed a clique to support his own interests, establishing the Poor Relief Gang. Earlier, I privately gathered evidence and presented it to my father, but he told me to wait."
"Wait for him to make a move?"
Jian Xinyi tilted her head to look at him, but there was no trace of joy of victory on his face, instead his brows were furrowed.
"He just wanted to test me." Yuan Gan sighed deeply, "To see if I can withstand it."
"Obviously, nothing could have happened, but he resorted to such despicable means, harming him, myself, and even you."
“But he promised me that he could incorporate your entire family into the Huyang Lin clan, and now you are the second daughter of the Lin family.
"What?"
The curve of Jian Xinyi's mouth corners slowly drooped, and after hearing the truth, she could no longer laugh.
The so-called truth is nothing more than a game between father and son.
As if she would not give up, she continued to ask, "Did he kill the official and the curtain official as well?"
"To be precise, it was the Poor Relief Gang that killed them. King Geng took advantage of the bureaucrats' mistakes, threatened them into doing his bidding, and killed those who knew the truth."
The midday sun shone directly on the two of them, making them feel uneasy.
"As for Mr. Geng, it was Prince Geng who had been using him to get close to you from the very beginning. Unfortunately, I was completely unaware of it."
His eyes became particularly resolute, but in Jian Xinyi's eyes, it meant something else.
"Yuan Gan, how long are you going to keep this secret from me?"
She grabbed Yuan Gan's sleeve desperately and pulled him in front of her.
"I know nothing about the Poor Relief Gang or the Second Miss Lin. Do you think it's fun to watch me being played around like this?"
"Sorry, it happened suddenly."
Yuan Gan pursed his lips tightly, forming a line.
"I don't have a choice."
Upon hearing this, Jian Xinyi's anger subsided a lot. She stammered and couldn't say anything for a long time.
The sun was at its highest point, and the two of them were completely exposed to the sunlight, without even a shadow.
"Even though the people in the court don't say I'm a noble man and kind to my subjects, I actually thought that was what a gentleman should be like. But an emperor is not a gentleman, and a gentleman cannot be an emperor."
From childhood to adulthood, his education was to make him a wise ruler, but he was never taught how to become a ruler.
Jian Xinyi looked at him and had never felt so sad.
"I believe that the throne is not that important to me. If possible, I would rather be Qian Yuan, the Jinwu Guard. But when my father put pressure on me, I could do nothing."
"Yuan Gan!"
Jian Xinyi interrupted him in time.
“If you have ideals and ambitions, you should pursue them at the highest level, where everyone can see them.”
The sun is blazing, but covered by soft clouds.
The two stood between light and darkness, holding each other's hands tightly.
In the third year of Linyuan, Prince Xing was appointed as the Crown Prince, and the second daughter of Huyang Lin was appointed as the Crown Princess.
In the fifth year of Linyuan, the emperor passed away, the prince ascended the throne, and changed the reign title to Zhenyuan.
In the misty small town in the south of the Yangtze River, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, the major events of the change of dynasties do not affect their lives, and everything remains the same.
The drizzle fell gently on a corner of the pleasure boat, causing ripples.
The studio is filled with freshly picked lotus flowers, and the fragrance hits you as you enter.
"Miss, you've been out for over half a year now. The young master is so worried that he's sent another letter."
"Put it here."
She took a sip of the freshly brewed Rain-Predawn Longjing tea and felt relaxed all over.
There was silence in the pleasure boat for a moment, with only the sound of the boatman rowing.
Seeing this, the woman next to him could only help out, "Zhuiyu, you've been out for a long time now."
Liu Qin looked at her and said mischievously, "Maybe you're missing your own lion dancer."
Bai Yuanyuan's face flushed instantly, "No."
"Bai Yuanyuan, you really don't know how to appreciate kindness."
Jian Xinyi glared at Bai Yuanyuan and let Qingyou go down.
"These past few years, ever since I became the prince's consort, I haven't had a single day of peace, not to mention being the queen. I've been so busy with everything, big and small, that I can't stop."
She sighed helplessly.
"The situation has finally stabilized, so I came out to get some fresh air. Look, the letters never stop coming."
Once King Geng fell and the Poor Relief Gang was eliminated, the bookstore resumed operations.
The person who took over President Zhao's position was an old scholar. He was a kind-hearted person. He helped Lao Lin get a job in a bookstore and even printed several more editions of picture books for her in the capital.
As more and more people read it, it spread quickly.
Even though she has come out many times to clarify that she has no relationship with the royal family, the rumors cannot be stopped and her works are still popular.
But once you enter the mansion, there are endless rules to learn, endless account books to look at, and endless anger to get into.
After she became the queen, court officials suggested several times to Yuan Gan to select a concubine, but they were all rejected with various reasons. All the pressure from the harem fell on her.
In a fit of anger, she quit the job.
As a result, the letters sent from the capital were like snowflakes, never stopping.
Yuan Gan was an extremely cunning person. He first said that Mu Qing was promoted, then said that Miss Qi and the second master Lin were employed at the Imperial College together, and that Miss Wan went on an expedition to the southwest alone. Finally, he revealed his true intentions and asked her to come back.
Seeing her worried look, Liu Qin slowly waved the round fan in her hand and smiled.
"It's getting hot now. I'd like to go to the grassland and take a look. The cattle and horses are fat and the sky is full of stars. It must be very beautiful."
"Okay, we'll go to the next stop."
Jian Xinyi smiled with her eyes curved as she watched the pleasure boat sailing forward.
(End of full text)
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