Chapter 158: False Imperial Decree
"Wanyue, you..." Xi Lingyue wanted to say, let Ling Chan find a way to save Ling Rui first.
But Ling Chan waved her hand, "No, let's eat first."
In order to hurry on her way, she had been eating dry food all the way, and even at King Cheng's place she had only drunk hot tea.
She was really hungry at this moment.
Moreover, if she showed too much concern for Ling Rui, the Zuo family would think that she cared about them, which would be disadvantageous to them.
But the Zuo family obviously didn't want her to eat in peace, this...
Another person came and wanted to report to Jiuzhen.
Ling Chan: "Just tell me what you want to say."
"Reporting to the princess." The visitor had no choice but to answer loudly, "Lord Zuo brought people to invite the prince to the palace, saying that the emperor had something to ask the prince's opinion."
Xi Lingyue had already sat down, but after hearing this, she suddenly stood up.
Ling Chan glanced at her and signaled her not to say anything.
Judging from the affairs of Prince Duan and Prince Cheng, the Zuo family often uses some seemingly reasonable but unreasonable reasons to force people to do inappropriate things, and then bite back.
If there were any unusual movement in Prince Rui's Palace, it was unknown what the Zuo family would do.
"I'll go see him." Ling Chan walked out calmly.
Jiuzhen followed...
When he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he saw a man in his thirties standing there with a cunning and treacherous look on his face. When he saw Ling Chan coming out, he smiled smugly.
"Marquis Zhenbei." He saluted Ling Chan, seemingly respectful but actually not taking Ling Chan seriously at all.
Ling Chan smiled and said, "Prince Rui just returned home and was about to take a bath. The hot water is not yet ready, and Lord Zuo is here to invite him again..."
"Could it be that, among all the civil and military officials in the court, apart from Prince Rui, there is no one who can share the emperor's worries?"
Zuo Lun knew that Ling Chan would definitely be eloquent, but he didn't expect her to say such serious words right from the start.
His expression changed slightly, "Zhenbei Hou's words..."
"Could it be that I'm wrong?" Ling Chan directly asked, "Lord Zuo is the uncle of the emperor, the emperor's biological uncle. Is there anything the uncle of the emperor can do to help the emperor?"
Zuo Lun came here in such a hurry, probably because he thought that Ling Chan would definitely be afraid of him since he sent Ling Rui's family to jail.
If someone came to take Prince Rui away at this time, she would definitely not be able to refuse.
This was a slap in the face for her previous arrogance in front of the Queen Mother.
Yes, everyone has weaknesses, especially family members.
It’s a pity that Ling Chan is not from this world, not the original Ling Chan.
Even the former Ling Chan, who had been tortured and wasted in the Ling family for so long, might not care about Ling Rui.
So Zuo Lun’s calculation was wrong.
Zuo Lun, however, assumed that Ling Chan hadn't received the news yet. "Of course I can help the Emperor. Just now, didn't I have General Ling and his entire family thrown into prison for neglecting their duties? Are they awaiting their fate?"
He waited to see Ling Chan surprised, but Ling Chan was completely indifferent.
Zuo Lun emphasized, "It's Ling Rui, General Ling's family."
Ling Chan sneered, thinking, what does this have to do with me?
Zuo Lun frowned. Of course he knew about Ling Rui and Ling Chan's separate residences.
But he thought that even if they were separated and even if there were conflicts between father and daughter, they were still father and daughter after all. Ling Chan had Ling Rui's blood flowing in her body, so how could she not care about Ling Rui's life or death?
What's more, he also captured Ling Yu, the only young master of the Ling family.
Ling Chan must consider the future of the Ling Mansion, right?
Could it be that... he was wrong?
Ling Chan raised her eyebrows. "In that case, Lord Zuo should continue to share the emperor's worries. Prince Rui will not enter the palace today."
"Marquis Zhenbei, this is the emperor's decree. Do you dare to disobey it?" Zuo Lun said fiercely.
I thought to myself, if Prince Rui disobeys the order today, I will tie him up and bring him to the palace, give him medicine, and throw him on my sister's bed.
No matter how chaste a man is, once he has sex for the first time, he will be addicted to it and will never be satisfied.
Especially for a man like Prince Rui, who is twenty-five years old, let alone having a confidante outside, there is not even a woman in the backyard of Prince Rui's mansion.
He spent the past few years at the border with those men, and in the past two years, Ling Chan was the only woman by his side.
Even such a self-disciplined man, once he tastes the flavor of a woman, cannot stop himself.
"Disobeying the imperial edict?" Ling Chan looked at Zuo Lun. "Master Zuo, where is the imperial edict?"
Zuo Lun certainly didn't have an imperial decree. "I, it's the emperor's oral order."
Ling Chan smiled, "Master Zuo, an oral order is an oral order, and an imperial decree is an imperial decree. There is a huge difference between them."
"Lord Zuo keeps saying he's disobeying the emperor's order, but he doesn't have the emperor's order in his hand..."
"I would mistakenly believe that Lord Zuo is forging an imperial decree... intending to rebel..."
Zuo Lun's legs went weak. This was a serious crime...
In fact, there is a big difference between oral instructions and imperial edicts. Imperial edicts are formal orders, while oral instructions are just what the emperor said casually.
Normally, everyone has similar attitudes towards oral instructions and imperial edicts.
But strictly speaking, the imperial edict must have that piece of bright yellow cloth.
So what Zuo Lun said just now was the emperor's decree, but if you nitpick the words, it would be wrong.
"Marquis Zhenbei, this is the Emperor's intention. If you have any objections, please speak to the Emperor."
Ling Chan touched her chin, "What does the emperor mean?"
"How can Master Zuo prove that this is the Emperor's intention?"
Zuo Lun was stunned... How can this be proven? How can this be proven? They say it was an oral instruction...
"Since Master Zuo cannot prove it, please go back."
"Please come again when Lord Zuo can prove it."
"No need to see you off." He turned and went into the mansion, not forgetting to instruct the doorman, "Close the door."
Before the gates closed, Ling Chan complained, "What kind of people are these? They won't even let me eat in peace..."
Zuo Lun twitched the corner of his mouth, helplessly watching the door close...
The guard behind him stepped forward and said, "Sir, shall we just leave it at that?" Forget it?
Zuo Lun scoffed unhappily, "What? You want to invite someone?"
The guard retreated silently. He didn't dare to confront the Marquis of Zhenbei.
"Waste!" Zuo Lun swung his sleeves, "Enter the palace."
Zuo Lun learned that Ling Chan had taken Prince Rui out of the palace, and came to ask Prince Rui to go back in order to please Zuo Dongrou.
Everything he does now depends on his sister, the Queen Mother.
As long as they can satisfy their sister, the Zuo family will be rich and prosperous in the future.
Even if you want to take another step forward...it is not impossible.
Zuo Lun quickened his pace and couldn't wait to enter the palace.
As Ling Chan guessed, his so-called oral instructions were completely false.
In fact, the emperor had no idea that Prince Rui was imprisoned in the palace by his sister.
The emperor was only ten years old, and all he thought about was having fun.
How can I understand national affairs...
It is even more impossible to know what his mother is thinking.
Zuo Lun entered the palace and went directly to Zuo Dongrou's Ningshou Palace.
"Brother..." Zuo Dongrou called out helplessly, "You, don't mess with the Marquis of Zhenbei."
Zuo Lun originally came to the palace to ask Zuo Dongrou to give him an imperial decree, but he didn't expect that she would actually tell him not to provoke Ling Chan?
"Sister, Ling Chan is just a woman. It's a joke to give her a man's title, what with the title of Zhenbei Marquis or not."
"Just ask the emperor to issue an order to abolish her status."
"Let's see how long she can be so arrogant."
Zuo Dongrou seriously began to think about the possibility of doing so, but in the end she felt it was inappropriate.
"Her title of Marquis of Zhenbei was bestowed by the late Emperor. How long has the Emperor been on the throne? Is he going to depose the Marquis who was bestowed by the late Emperor...?"
"Besides, even if her status as Marquis of Zhenbei is abolished, she is still Princess Wanyue."
Zuo Lun muttered, "Who cares about her status? As long as I can find a fault with her, what does it matter if she was conferred the title by the late emperor?"
He was just about to say...the current emperor is your son, so you can do whatever you want. Why are you so taboo?
Zuo Dongrou didn't know what to think, and suddenly he scolded her in dissatisfaction, "Brother, don't say anything about women or girls..."
"So what if she's a woman? The Marquis of Zhenbei is a woman, but she's still guarding the border. It was thanks to her that Da He invaded before."
"We women are not much worse than you men."
Zuo Lun was puzzled. "Sister, if Ling Chan is really that powerful, wouldn't it be even more dangerous? Why are you still speaking for her?"
Zuo Dongrou glanced at Zuo Lun and said, "Brother, I'm not trying to speak for her, but I'm naturally dissatisfied with your words that look down on women."
Zuo Lun immediately flattered himself, "Yes, big brother was wrong."
All his current power depends on his sister, so naturally he cannot offend her.
"Then...according to your opinion, Queen Mother, what should we do next?"
Zuo Dongrou gathered her clothes and said, "Let's forget about it today. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
After lunch, Xi Lingyue went back to her room, leaving Ling Chan and Xiao Jin alone.
Ling Chan told him about how she saved King Cheng on the way.
"Have you seen the emperor during this period?" Ling Chan asked.
Xiao Jin: "I've only seen it in the main hall."
There is no chance to contact the emperor privately...
"Then who ordered the assassination of Prince Duan and Prince Cheng, was it the Empress Dowager or the Emperor?"
Xiao Jin was very sure, "It's the Queen Mother."
"How could the little emperor have such thoughts..."
Ling Chan reminded him, "The late emperor was only about ten years old back then, so his mind couldn't be simple."
Emperor Xiao Ze is the late emperor's biological son...
What if he inherited Xiao Heng's suspicion and Zuo Dongrou's ambition, then the situation might be different.
Xiao Jin remained silent, after all, they were his brothers and nephews.
Ling Chan also saw that he didn't want to talk any more, "You should go and have a good rest."
"Are you going back to Ling Mansion?" Xiao Jin asked.
"Of course." Ling Chan nodded as a matter of course. Since the man and woman were unmarried, it was not convenient for her to live in the palace.
"Don't worry, I will send someone to keep an eye on the palace. If Zuo Dongrou and the others come again, I will arrive in time."
Xiao Jin couldn't help but chuckle, "They just summoned me to the palace. As long as I don't compromise, nothing will happen."
That being said... Ling Chan glanced at him.
She felt uncomfortable when she thought that the Queen Mother actually coveted Xiao Jin.
"I should go back home, you should have a good rest." Ling Chan instructed him.
Xiao Jin sent the person out of the house and returned to the yard to have a good sleep.
Early the next morning, Xiao Jin got up early, feeling refreshed.
Jiuzhen came in and said, "Your Highness, someone from the palace has come to ask you to attend the morning court."
He muttered in dissatisfaction, "Prince, you will not be kept in the palace again, will you?"
Before...every time I was left in the palace after court, this time...
Xiao Jin glanced at him and said, "Don't talk too much."
Watching Xiao Jin leave, Jiu Zhen suddenly thought, "I should hurry and find the princess and ask her to take the prince back from court."
Jiuzhen felt that he had come up with a particularly good idea.
Rushing into the darkness, he headed straight for Ling Mansion.
At the same time, Ling Chan had woken up.
She set up a system that would alert people whenever someone appeared at the palace gate.
So when the palace maids appeared at the gate of the prince's mansion, Ling Chan had already noticed it.
But before she could change her clothes, she saw Xiao Jin leaving the house.
Then I heard Jiuzhen’s plan.
So she simply waited in the mansion.
About a cup of tea later, the doorman came to report that Jiuzhen had arrived.
"Let him in."
Jiu Zhen was very anxious, "Princess...my prince has been summoned to the palace again. Please go and pick him up from court, otherwise...the prince will be kept in the palace again."
"Don't worry, it won't happen."
Jiu Zhen disagreed, "Yes, the prince was left behind like this several times before."
Ling Chan had already thought it through. Now it was morning court time, and Zuo Dongrou would not do anything to Xiao Jin.
So he didn't need to rush, he just had to arrive before the morning court ended.
"Your prince should have gotten married and had children sooner, so that he wouldn't have caused so many troubles," Ling Chan said.
Jiu Zhen laughed awkwardly twice, "Princess, don't you know what our prince is thinking?"
"The prince is deeply in love with you, how can he marry someone else?"
Ling Chan blushed...
Even Jiu Zhen saw it?
Jiu Zhen curled her lips and said, "Princess, if you had married our prince earlier, the Queen Mother and the others would definitely not dare to covet the prince anymore."
His idea was very simple. Ling Chan was deeply respected by the soldiers on the border and was also the leader of the martial arts world. The Queen Mother and others would definitely not dare to offend her.
When Ling Chan heard this, she suddenly remembered an old story.
Last year... Xiao Heng had Fu Lu deliver an imperial decree granting marriage...
She was in a hurry to do other things at the time, so she put the imperial edict into her space and never looked at it again.
Just as they were talking, Ling Chan's glasses vibrated again.
Ling Chan picked up her glasses, and when she saw it, her face changed and she stood up and left.
"Princess, where are you going?" Jiu Zhen asked.
"Go back to Prince Rui's Mansion." After Ling Chan finished speaking, she was already in front of Jiu Zhen.
Jiu Zhen followed in a flash, "What are we going to the palace for? Princess, we should hurry to the palace."
Ling Chan helplessly informed, "If we hadn't gone to the palace, the tower in the Rui Palace would have been stolen."
"Ah?" Jiu Zhen didn't understand. "Princess, what do you mean?"
"Someone from the palace wants to invite Concubine Xi into the palace!"
A second later, Jiu Zhen quickened his pace, "No, we must not let them invite the Concubine Dowager into the palace."
"If they threaten the Concubine's safety, my prince's innocence will be in jeopardy!!"
Ling Chan rolled her eyes helplessly and quickened her pace...rushing to Prince Rui's Mansion.
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