Chapter 217 Sunflower
His Majesty is unwell and bedridden, while the Crown Prince is busy handling state affairs; he has no time to concern himself with these matters.
Huan Zian laughed upon hearing this: "Hehe, if you ask me, no news from the palace is good news."
When it comes to solving cases and reasoning, Du Zhengming is a master, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he's completely clueless.
He didn't understand why this was good news.
Seeing his confused expression, Huan Zian said:
"Wait a little longer. If there's still no news after the palace has finished its busy period, then..."
That means the people in the palace have tacitly approved it.
Du Zhengming listened in a daze, and then acquiesced?
That can't be right.
"My family background is like this..."
Huan Shaoqing interrupted him, saying, "Perhaps they really are attracted to your family background?"
The Du family, which originated from Jingzhao, was considered a prominent family.
However, the house was relatively clean, with no parents to set rules, no brothers to fight over the family property, and no relatives to curry favor.
Princess Yongning is a bit spoiled; wouldn't it be better for her to find someone like you?"
After listening to Huan Zi'an's analysis, Du Zhengming felt that he was talking nonsense.
His Majesty and the Empress are not such shallow people.
Princess Yongning grew up pampered and spoiled in the palace, and was worthy of the young masters from top noble families. How could she possibly be chosen?
He immediately lost interest in discussing the matter with Huan Zi'an.
After that day, Yongning continued to send things over.
Occasionally, after finishing his work, Du Zhengming would look at the paperweight on his desk or the flowers under the window and fall into deep thought.
Is Huan Shaoqing right?
Yesterday, he encountered the Crown Prince and Xiao Ling when he came out of the palace. Judging from their attitudes, it seemed that what Huan Shaoqing said was also true.
Seeing his ambiguous smile again, she felt extremely embarrassed.
Huan Shaoqing then said, "Just trust me."
If you really have taken a liking to Princess Yongning, you should express your feelings as soon as possible.
If you continue to refuse like this, and His Majesty gets angry and arranges a marriage for her with someone else, you'll be in for a world of trouble."
Du Zhengming looked up and glared at him, but didn't say anything.
Finally, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices finished examining the bouquet of flowers and turned to Du Zhengming, saying:
Do you have any seeds of this flower?
Du Zhengming shook his head.
"That's quite rare, blooming so vibrantly and freely. Remember to give me some seeds if you get any in the future."
Du Zhengming had no choice but to nod and say, "Yes, Minister."
The two came to find Du Zhengming again, this time to discuss the matter His Majesty the Emperor had entrusted to them the previous day.
After the morning court session this morning, the emperor summoned the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to speak with him about this matter privately.
Due to the imperial decree, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had no choice but to consult with two of his capable subordinates.
After listening to the emperor's words yesterday, Du Zhengming pondered for a long time, and today he went to the imperial prison to interrogate Consort Rong and the Third Prince.
The three were imprisoned separately, with Prince Rui being the most tightly guarded.
The third prince was next, and Consort Rong was last.
Du Zhengming thought that since Consort Rong was a woman, she would be more likely to talk, so he interrogated Consort Rong first.
However, Consort Rong bluntly stated that at this point, speaking out or remaining silent would both lead to a death sentence, and told Du Zhengming not to waste his efforts.
Leave her with a final shred of dignity.
Seeing that she didn't intend to speak, Du Zhengming told her to go back.
They then interrogated the Third Prince.
The Third Prince looked at Du Zhengming with a sinister expression, cold and disdainful, as if Du Zhengming was not worthy to speak to him.
Du Zhengming, on the contrary, sensed the possibility of a breakthrough from him.
Du Zhengming had seen many prisoners in the prison.
The hardest people to get to open their mouths are those who remain silent.
Arrogant people like the Third Prince often cannot withstand scrutiny.
Once you find his weakness, you'll be able to get him to open up quickly.
Upon hearing the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' inquiry, Du Zhengming replied:
“The Prince of Rui’s case requires a joint trial by the three judicial departments.”
Before we can proceed, we need to get Rong Pin and the Third Prince to talk. I think we should proceed slowly.
The Third Prince's wife and child have been imprisoned, as have the Changping Marquis's residence and the Zhongshu Shilang's residence.
In such a long time, all the cases that needed to be reviewed have been reviewed.
We should first look for clues in the testimonies of these two prefectures.
Huan Zian nodded and said, "That's right, that's what I meant too."
We've already sent people to retrieve the statements from both prefectures, and they're being studied.
He tapped his hands on his knees as he spoke.
"As for the Third Prince, we should ask his wife first; she should have a solution."
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review nodded and said, "You don't need to worry about the joint trial by the three judicial departments. I will go and communicate with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate."
The two quickly cupped their hands and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Minister."
The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices waved his hand and said, "We are all serving His Majesty, so there's no need to talk about hardship."
Then, looking at the two men, he instructed them: "The matter concerning Prince Rui is of paramount importance at present, and we still need to make a breakthrough as soon as possible."
The court is currently waging war on the northern border. If we can extract anything from the interrogation that will benefit the front lines, that would be a great achievement for us.
After the three of them discussed and agreed on their plan, they split up and began to act separately.
The next day, the Third Prince's wife met the Third Prince in prison, holding her child.
Then the Third Prince gave his explanation.
Du Zhengming presented Consort Rong with the Third Prince's confession, and Consort Rong sneered upon hearing it:
"You're threatening him with the child, aren't you?"
After speaking, he glanced at Du Zhengming indifferently:
"Actually, the information you found about Fenghe Garden before was already very close to the truth."
I'm just a spy, only responsible for intelligence within the capital city of Yongjing; I know nothing else."
Du Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "Then let's talk about something else. How did you and Prince Rui meet?"
Consort Rong thought for a moment and said, "It's been too long, I've forgotten."
"Consort Rong truly has deep feelings for Prince Rui; even now, she remains silent for his sake."
"True feelings? Perhaps they existed in the past."
When Du Zhengming heard her say that, he was unsure of what she meant.
"Perhaps Prince Rui's true love is Ye Zhen?"
Du Zhengming asked tentatively.
"Ye Zhen? That's impossible, he doesn't love Ye Zhen."
"Then who does he love, his first wife?"
"Perhaps he doesn't love anyone but himself," Consort Rong sighed.
“That’s true. For someone like Prince Rui, the fate of the country and his ambitions for imperial power are perhaps the most important things,” Du Zhengming agreed.
"Not necessarily, maybe his mother is the most important."
Consort Rong suddenly sneered.
"Consort Ye? Can she compare to the world, to the power and wealth of the kingdom, to the beauty and the throne?"
"Men all dream of wielding power over the world when awake and resting their heads on the lap of a beautiful woman when drunk."
But he's different.
"What's different?"
"He wanted a complete family: his father, his mother, and himself."
He even hoped he would become the legitimate heir.
After saying this, Consort Rong looked up at Du Zhengming and said:
"Isn't it ridiculous?"
Du Zhengming nodded and replied, "It is quite ridiculous."
After he gains control of the world, he can claim to be the legitimate son and thus become so.
It's actually quite simple.
"Yes, that's what he's been doing all these years."
Consort Rong looked down at the ground and said with a smile.
“He’s a rather awkward person,” Du Zhengming said.
Then I asked, "So when did you realize he didn't love you?"
"After the baby is born."
Consort Rong recalled for a moment and said.
"After giving birth, His Majesty treated me very well, and I enjoyed a period of comfort."
Compared to His Majesty's affection for me, I suddenly realized that he might not love me as much as I thought.
Unfortunately, although His Majesty treats me very well, I do not love His Majesty.
I've asked myself this countless times, and the answer is that I've only ever loved him.
Upon hearing this, Du Zhengming realized that this person's mind was full of romantic love, as if he had been brainwashed.
He abruptly interrupted, asking, "Is the Third Prince the son of Prince Rui?"
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