Chapter 172 The News of Xiao Ren's Death
Seeing that Xiao Ling's attitude was not bad, Xie Yunyu ignored him.
Xiao Ling appeased his wife and, before leaving, instructed Qingquan to hand over the assassin from the previous night to the Princess for disposal.
After saying that, he kissed Xie Yunyu on the cheek before leaving, looking radiant.
Xie Yunyu saw that this person was shameless and didn't bother with him.
In the palace.
The Empress Dowager's mercury poisoning symptoms have eased considerably in the past two days, and the Emperor's health is also steadily recovering.
The Empress kept a tight watch on Consort Shu's palace.
Consort Shu clearly sensed the Empress's wariness towards her, but her Yong'an Palace remained completely calm.
Then, considering that the emperor and empress dowager had been poisoned, it was only right that the palace was thoroughly investigated.
This made her more vigilant and cautious, but she didn't make any major moves.
She also knew that the eldest prince had secretly left his fiefdom and gone to the border, so it was better to avoid trouble at this time.
So he stayed in Yong'an Palace every day and did nothing.
Consort Rong, however, was summoned to accompany the emperor twice.
After Xie Yunyu and Xie Yunman deduced that it might be related to Consort Rong, the emperor stopped allowing Consort Rong to accompany him.
The Crown Prince went to the Empress's palace yesterday and told her about Yongning and Du Zhengming. The Empress almost had a heart attack after hearing it.
The Crown Prince comforted her, saying, "Mother, Yongning may have just had a passing fancy and will forget about it after a while."
She was only enthusiastically pursuing him; Du Zhengming had no such intention at all.
Du Zhengming probably realized that you and Father Emperor wouldn't agree, which is why he made an excuse, saying he would ask Father Emperor for the imperial edict.
The Empress sighed and said, "There have been so many things going on lately. She had just recovered from the poisoning, and yet she still managed to cause this kind of trouble."
That's utterly nonsensical.
I think she's asking for it; she needs to be taught a lesson.
The Crown Prince advised, "Mother, things in the palace are at a critical juncture. Please summon her and explain the importance of this matter."
She can probably understand.
Then you can send someone to move her into a side hall of your palace under the guise of protecting her.
Without your permission, Du Zhengming would not have been able to set foot here.
Once things are settled in the palace, Yongning will probably have forgotten most of it.
The Empress nodded after hearing this, agreeing with the Crown Prince's reasoning.
That very night, they summoned Princess Yongning for dinner and successfully persuaded her to stay.
That night, Yongning slept with the Empress, listening to her recount the affairs of the palace, and became wary.
The next day, he cooperated very well, having his personal belongings brought over, preparing to stay permanently in the Empress's side palace.
When the emperor heard about Yongning's actions, he assumed that the empress was worried about her daughter and did not ask any further questions.
Just after Xiao Ling entered the palace at noon, news arrived from Wei Ningyan's side.
The eldest prince has returned to his fiefdom, and things seem to be going smoothly in the Western Regions. They are already arranging for people to go to the Northern Border to send messages.
Xiao Ling turned to the Crown Prince and asked, "Have our men followed them?"
"Um."
The Crown Prince also gave Xiao Ling another message.
Xiao Ling saw the message relayed by the secret guards: "[They have already joined the First Prince's retinue and headed to the Northern Border.]"
Xiao Ling nodded and said, "That's good. This time we should be able to find out some information about the Northern Border."
The Crown Prince then looked at Xiao Ling and said, "This morning I heard from Father that there's trouble in the Northern Border again."
"What trouble?" Xiao Ling frowned.
"Prince Rui submitted a memorial to depose Xiao Ren from his position as heir apparent and proposed to establish Xiao Yi as the new heir apparent."
Just as Prince Rui's memorial arrived, our spy, who was working for Xiao Ren, followed up with a message.
Xiao Ren escaped from the villa where he had been confined, but Xiao Yi and his men pursued him and killed him on the way.
"Are you sure Xiao Ren is dead?" Xiao Ling asked.
"Yes. Xiao Yi was seriously injured because of this, and it seems he will not live much longer," the Crown Prince sighed.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling knew that Xiao Yi's serious injuries must have been orchestrated by the Emperor.
"Within half a year, Prince Rui lost two sons in succession, and the third one is also on the verge of death."
It seems the measures to come will be even more drastic.
The crown prince nodded.
"Xiao Yi was a man of both literary and military talent, a good man, it's a pity."
The Crown Prince commented.
Xiao Ling chimed in, "And then there's Xiao Zhi, he's the smartest, it's a pity he can't see."
Xiao Li was a man of little ambition, but he was quite skilled in business.
Speaking of which, Uncle Rui was quite good at teaching his sons; each of his five sons had his own unique strengths.
Aside from the heir apparent, there's Xiao Yi. If the third, fourth, and fifth sons all wholeheartedly assisted him, he might be able to achieve great things.
Therefore, Xiao Yi was destined not to live long.
The crown prince listened without saying a word.
Xiao Ling looked at the Crown Prince and suddenly asked, "Alas, why didn't Lord Xie come today?"
"I was summoned away by my father."
The Crown Prince stood up as he spoke, and Xiao Ling followed behind him. The two strolled leisurely outside.
The two strolled along the corridors of the East Palace, chatting as they went.
"We need to tighten our grip in the palace. I'm worried that Prince Rui will retaliate furiously."
Xiao Ling still felt uneasy as he gave his instructions.
The crown prince gave him a disgruntled look: "How could I not want to?"
Xiao Ling said, "How about I call Yu'er over and take another look at what we've been investigating lately, and see if she's found anything?"
The crown prince agreed upon hearing this.
Xie Yunyu was playing with her child in the backyard when she suddenly heard Qingchen return and say that the Crown Prince had summoned her to the palace.
Xie Yunyu's heart skipped a beat, wondering if something had happened in the palace again.
Then he turned to Qingchen and asked, "Do you know what it is?"
Qingchen replied, "The Prince said he would have the Princess Consort help with the matter. But I don't know the specifics of what she should be consulting."
Xie Yunyu knew immediately that it was about the spy.
So he instructed Guyu to help him change his clothes.
She wasn't comfortable leaving her two children at home, so she sent them to her parents' house.
Mrs. Zheng was watering flowers in her yard. She had several pots of orchids, which were quite rare.
Suddenly, someone announced that Xie Yunyu had returned.
Zheng threw down the kettle she was holding and came out.
After seeing his daughter, he looked her up and down, and only felt relieved to see that she looked refreshed and in good health.
He asked with a smile, "Why did you decide to come back today? You didn't even tell me beforehand. I would have asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite food."
Xie Yunyu smiled, stepped forward, and took Zheng's hand.
"Mother, I need to go to the palace. I'm worried about leaving the child unattended. Please send the child back first."
"Please look after it for a day; I'll pick it up as soon as I leave the palace."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zheng beamed with joy, then gave Xie Yunyu a reproachful look.
“What trouble is there? You’re just spouting nonsense.”
As he spoke, he walked past her and looked at the baby stroller behind her.
Inside lay two chubby, fair-skinned children, whom Zheng adored.
As the two were talking, Xue Weiyang came running in all the way.
"Yu'er, you're back?"
He happily stepped forward and took Xie Yunyu's hand.
Xie Yunyu held Xue Weiyang's hand and smiled:
"I have to go to the palace immediately. Leave the child here for now. You and Mother can look after the child for me for a day."
Ever since Xue Weiyang met Yuan Zheng, she has been saying that Yuan Zheng is handsome and looks like her future husband.
Upon hearing that Xie Yunyu was going to leave the child at home, they were immediately delighted.
"Okay, you can go ahead without worry. I'll take care of the kids."
Seeing that she was happy, Xie Yunyu said, "I won't go in. Please tell my sister-in-law that I will come to see her again this afternoon after I leave the palace."
Xue Weiyang smiled and waved at her: "Go ahead, go ahead."
As she spoke, she craned her neck to look at the child in the stroller.
Xie Yunyu couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.
Upon arriving at the palace, Xiao Ling looked behind Xie Yunyu but couldn't see the child, so he asked:
"You came all by yourself? How can you leave the child home alone?"
Xie Yunyu rolled her eyes at him: "It's none of your business. I sent it to my mother."
When Xiao Ling saw Xie Yunyu roll her eyes at her, she pouted and looked aggrieved.
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