Chapter 207 The Bodhisattva-like Duke of Qi
The second prince had a deep-set face, slightly curly hair, and distinctly foreign features. He remained calm and composed, speaking softly:
"Each book you read is one less to read, so take your time and you'll finish it soon."
Seeing him like this, the Fifth Prince covered his forehead and complained of a headache.
The second prince ignored him and continued to review and comment.
The Fifth Prince finally slumped onto the table in despair, flipping through the memorials in his hands like an invertebrate.
Ahead, the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess are discussing matters with their court officials.
Xiao Ling and Xie Yunman sat on either side of him.
Xie Yunman organized the notes, while Xiao Ling listened from the side. Due to an injured arm, he asked a young eunuch to help him find the files and write them down.
The princess was in a good mood after a satisfying meal, and her attitude towards the court officials was much better.
Seeing that the Princess was still alive, all the officials had no choice but to sit up straight, fearing that if they accidentally offended this ancestor, they would be finished.
I heard that the decrees issued to the Thousand Feather Guards and the Golden Guards yesterday were either to implicate their entire families or to order them to come forward with their heads.
Unexpectedly, the eldest princess only accompanied the crown prince today and didn't say much.
The Crown Prince has always been the one issuing orders and handling state affairs.
After the matter was discussed, the eldest princess finally spoke:
"The morning court session will continue tomorrow."
His Majesty is unwell and recuperating; the Crown Prince will preside over the morning court session.
The court officials all bowed in unison: "That is only right."
After the officials left the Eastern Palace, they were all still shaken.
"Why is the Princess being so agreeable today?"
The Minister of Revenue next to him chimed in: "I arrived early this morning and met the Duke of Qi when I went to visit His Majesty."
He brought a food box, and the princess sat quietly by the window to eat.
This must be thanks to the Duke of Qi.
Upon hearing this, the court officials suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! Duke Qi is truly a bodhisattva who saves people from suffering!"
The next morning at court, the emperor's throne was empty.
However, there were two seats under the dragon throne, one for the crown prince and the other for the eldest princess.
The eldest princess rarely speaks.
Except when the Imperial Guard impeached the Prefect of Jingzhao, the Princess was furious and ordered the Prefect of Jingzhao to be removed from his post and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison to await trial.
He was promoted to the position of Vice Magistrate of the Capital Prefecture, temporarily assuming the post of the Capital Prefecture and assisting the Imperial Guard in catching spies.
They didn't say anything else.
But this one incident alone was enough to alarm the court officials.
Finally, someone discovered that the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess were playing opposite roles, one the bad cop and the other the good cop.
The eldest princess either doesn't speak, or when she does, someone is doomed.
The crown prince, on the other hand, acts like a peacemaker; as long as you cooperate, he's very easy to talk to.
In the following days, the Duke of Qi went to the palace every morning to bring the Princess some food, drink, clothing and other necessities.
The eldest princess's emotions remained stable.
The main reason was that these people were so frightened that they dared not make any mistakes, and the princess simply didn't get a chance.
Therefore, it appears relatively stable on the surface.
Prince Rui was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, and the two generals of the Thousand Bull Guard kept a close watch on him every day.
There was no news from the northern border for a long time, and the news from the palace was blocked by the eldest princess and the crown prince.
Therefore, the North remained peaceful for the time being.
Only Xiao Zhi, who was blind, felt a sense of foreboding.
News from the Crown Prince's southern campaign has arrived, but there's been no news from the palace.
This made Xiao Zhi very uneasy.
When Prince Rui left the northern border, he handed over power to Xiao Zhi, but asked Princess Rui, Ye Zhen, to assist him.
Xiao Zhi deduced that Prince Rui might be in trouble, so he went to Ye Zhen to discuss sending troops.
However, Ye Zhen believed that no news was the best news.
Xiao Zhi didn't have all the information he had, so he wasn't very sure and didn't insist any further.
However, his hesitation gave the Crown Prince a chance to catch his breath.
...
Meanwhile, at this moment, Wei Ningyan, a resident of the First Prince's residence, was leisurely strolling in the back garden in the evening breeze.
Soon, a figure appeared and disappeared quickly in the rockery not far away.
Wei Ningyan sneered inwardly, "Hmph... They really are like a leech, thinking that by monitoring me, I can't do anything."
After walking around the garden, she finally stopped in front of her favorite patch of peonies.
He stepped forward, personally picked the largest and most beautiful peony flower, and said to his maid Chunqing behind him:
"Let's go back and put it in the bottle."
Chunqing took the flowers and followed Wei Ningyan back to the main courtyard.
As soon as Wei Ningyan left, four people appeared in four directions in the garden, one of whom went to the peony garden.
After carefully checking the surrounding area, nothing was found.
As the four of them disappeared, a person appeared on the two-story pavilion not far away, separated by only a wall.
The woman, with her slender, white hands, pushed open the window, glanced at the garden, and then closed it.
Soon he opened two windows facing the inner courtyard, then sat by the window, drinking tea and gazing into the distance.
This person was naturally Huai Qing.
Since entering the First Prince's residence, he has never seen Wei Ningyan.
The two pretended not to know each other.
However, this does not affect the exchange of messages between the two.
The first and fifteenth of each month are the default times for the two people to exchange messages.
Huai Qing's message was placed in a fixed location, and after Wei Ningyan's people retrieved it, it was delivered directly.
If Wei Ningyan assigns a task, then go to the flower field below Huaiqing's pavilion and pick the biggest and best blooming flower.
Huaiqing could see the flowers every day from her attic. She could tell whether Wei Ningyan came or not, and whether she cut the flowers, just by looking through the cracks in the window.
If Wei Ningyan cut the flowers, it means there is a new task to be assigned.
Huaiqing only needed to sit by the window in the inner courtyard and carefully observe the things hanging under the eaves of Wei Ningyan's courtyard.
At this moment, he saw various sachets and ornaments hanging under the corridor of the main courtyard.
Huaiqing quickly deduced that Wei Ningyan wanted him to steal the First Prince's military deployment map.
He also stated that after doing this, Huaiqing would be free.
Huaiqing understood the meaning of freedom; she no longer needed to obey Wei Ningyan and could choose to leave the First Prince herself.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd had enough of spending these past few months by the Crown Prince's side.
The eldest prince is a complete pervert. He doesn't know how to cherish women. If it weren't for the use of the best secret medicine to maintain her health, she would have been ruined by the eldest prince long ago.
Fortunately, the eldest prince has been preoccupied with plotting a rebellion lately, which has taken a lot of his energy away from him, so he has been less likely to cause trouble for himself.
This allowed Huaiqing to rest and recover.
At this moment, he was already thinking about how to steal the troop deployment map.
The defense map must have been placed in a hidden compartment in the study. Huaiqing already knew the location and how to open the mechanism.
The problem now is that, as the war progresses, the Crown Prince's study is being guarded day and night in shifts.
Stealing the defense map without making a sound or being detected is quite difficult.
We still need to plan carefully.
Huaiqing fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Xie Yunyu was having Chunqing pack up her valuables in preparation for leaving.
“Miss, we just gave Huaiqing instructions that it would be inappropriate for us to leave on our own tonight.”
Wei Ningyan calmly sat on the chair by the window and said:
“There’s nothing wrong with it. This task is not simple. If he can complete it, someone will send the message out.”
If we fail to complete the task, they will definitely expose us.
"Let's go first. Even if the Crown Prince is angry later, he won't be able to do anything about it."
Upon hearing this, Chunqing thought it made some sense, so she stopped talking and focused on packing her things.
Wei Ningyan looked up at the window, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, he spoke again: "The eldest prince, the person he most wants to kill right now is me."
Then he chuckled again and continued, "Coincidentally, he's the person I most want to kill right now."
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