Chapter 100 Rumors
Shen Chuo asked this casually, sounding like a joking question between friends.
Ling Qingyan didn't think much about it. She smacked her lips and shook her head like a rattle.
"No, the bracelet was too valuable and had too much meaning, so I sent it back." Since Chen Chuo and Mansheng both said they were willing to help.
Ling Qingyan didn't plan to hide anything from them. Without the mission, they were just friends. Asking them to help her could indeed solve a lot of problems.
"Since you are not afraid of trouble, then I, your good friend, will be frank with you. This is not an ordinary trouble. I will give you a warning first to avoid startling you." Ling Qingyan smiled with her eyes curved, and there was no tension among them at all.
When being with Ling Qingyan, the atmosphere is rarely tense, and most people will feel more relaxed than ever when they are with her.
Although Chen Chuo could probably guess the answer in his mind, he still listened attentively.
There were only three of them in her palace. The guards from the East Palace were guarding the door and could not hear any sound from inside.
The doors and windows were closed, and beautiful flower arrangements were placed in the hall. Ling Qingyan slowly put down the teacup in her hand.
"My brother, the Crown Prince, likes me and is forcing me to stay in the Eastern Palace at night. He might even make me the Crown Princess in three months, so I'm planning to escape during the blessing ceremony."
Ling Qingyan stated the facts calmly like a bolt of thunder out of the blue.
There was a moment of silence in the house.
Chen Mansheng stood there in a daze, his pupils constricted, his brain rapidly digesting the news.
Chen Chuo was not as shocked as his sister, but he knew how to pretend, and he did it very well. He was stunned at first, but then seemed to accept the news quickly. He took a breath and said:
"I never thought the Crown Prince would actually...actually harbor such thoughts about Your Highness!"
"I grew up in the countryside and mingled with the common people. I've heard of some of the scandals in the homes of ordinary people and wealthy merchants, their shameless and immoral behavior. But I never expected His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to..."
As if feeling that his words were inappropriate, Chen Chuo tried to make amends, "But Your Highness is extremely handsome and charming, and Your Highness the Crown Prince... is also excusable."
"How can this be excused?" Chen Mansheng's emotions fluctuated rarely. "Her Highness is his sister. Even if they are not related, she is still his sister. He shouldn't have such thoughts about his sister."
"Even if you do, you should calm your mind and chant Buddha's name to dispel those thoughts instead of forcing His Highness to do something His Highness doesn't like!"
"Sister is right." Shen Chuo said with a reasonable look.
Chen Mansheng began to ponder, frowning, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince holds a high position of power. If His Royal Highness is in Kyoto, he will be found soon."
"So I'm leaving Beijing."
Chen Mansheng met Ling Qingyan's smiling yet determined eyes.
"The two of us will do our best to help Your Highness."
…
At the end of the Spring Examination, Chen Mansheng and Shen Chuo both achieved excellent results. Duke Chen died unjustly, and the emperor already felt guilty about it, so he promoted both the Chen siblings.
Chen Mansheng was promoted exceptionally to be the fifth-rank councilor of the Ministry of Public Administration, and Chen Chuo was promoted to the sixth-rank deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue. It can be said that their official positions were greatly favored by the emperor.
Most of the students who passed the exam were sent abroad, and Lu Xingxia was sent to Yingzhou as a magistrate.
There are still five days until the blessing ceremony, and these five days are not peaceful.
Rumors spread from somewhere in the capital, saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was behaving badly, had ill intentions towards Princess Tangning, the emperor's younger sister, and wanted to imprison her in the Eastern Palace.
The news came suddenly and swiftly, and spread over a wide range. It was obvious that someone had done it on purpose.
The story was so vivid that some people didn't believe it, some were skeptical, and some linked the prince and the emperor together, saying that Ling Qingyan and her mother were beautiful and charming, and brought disaster to the country and the people.
Although most of the news was about how the prince abused his power to bully others, the one who was scolded by the world was the princess who was rumored to have been forced.
Naturally, Ling Qingyan also heard this rumor.
Xi Lan was furious. "Your Highness, don't take the words of those unscrupulous people to heart. They don't know the truth and dare not say anything bad about the Crown Prince, so they directed their words at the Princess. I don't know who started these rumors!"
Xi Lan was very angry.
It was clearly His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's fault, so why are they all scolding their princess?
They are the foxes, their whole family are foxes!
"It's okay, Xilan, I'm not that angry. Why are you angry? Let them say what they want. They can't enter the palace, and I'm not losing any weight." Ling Qingyan lay comfortably in the rocking chair under the tree in her Yaohua Palace, feeling the warm breeze and swaying in the sun.
Everything has been explained almost completely, and her father has arranged many things for her. Mansheng has made careful preparations, and Chen Chuo has many friends among the people who can help her a lot. Now she just needs to keep her energy and wait for the door to the new environment.
As for this rumor.
Ling Qingyan also had to thank the person who helped her spread rumors at this time.
The blessing ceremony is held every four years. It is a very important ceremony for the State of Ling to pray to heaven and earth and all royal officials must participate.
There can't be any mistakes. Making such remarks at this time will only make things more difficult for Ling Zhuoan.
The blessing ceremony is held in Dongshan. It is a grand ceremony and is held every four years. It is said that there are always some people causing trouble every time.
Disobedient ministers, spies from other countries, or those who are interested in the throne...
Such remarks at this time would be very disadvantageous to the prince. People in the world are quite awed by the concepts of ghosts and gods. If Ling Zhuoan made such remarks at this time without avoiding suspicion with her, it would lead to people with ulterior motives finding concrete evidence.
If some "accident" happened in the prayer hall at that time, it would be easy for people to understand that the prince was behaving badly and was being punished by heaven, which would easily bring disaster to the State of Ling.
So Ling Qingyan was quite understanding. As soon as she heard the rumor, she took the initiative to tell the prince that she would return to Yaohua Palace in the evening. As expected, Ling Zhuoan agreed considering these rumors.
So instead of being angry, she felt refreshed and proud.
It's just a rumor in the capital and it won't affect her future life.
In the Taifu Mansion, Mu Xianzhi leaned lazily on the back of the chair, looking at the painting in his hand.
The painting that has not yet been modified.
The little white rabbit revealed its fox tail, and the truth of the deception was exposed bloodily. Only then did Mu Xianzhi begin to regret it.
I regretted being too kind to the girl.
He should have half forced and half coaxed the girl to paint with him. He had been pretending to be a good person for so long that he actually developed a kind heart towards the girl.
You deserve to be cheated.
But before he could settle his score with the girl, the deceitful prince got himself into another trouble of hers.
That's tricky.
Mu Xianzhi sighed and looked at his subordinates who had returned to report.
"Has it been cleaned up?"
"It's clear. According to the master's instructions, the source of the rumor was led to Prince Yong's Mansion. The palace can't find out what we are doing."
"I got it. Go ahead." Mu Xianzhi stared at the girl's face in the painting with utmost obsession and a certain madness without even opening his eyelids.
He gently touched the face of the girl in the painting, his movements so gentle that it seemed as if he was really caressing the girl's skin.
"I can't compete with the East Palace by force, so can't I use other means?"
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