Master Jiang was being pulled and still looked at him, and said fiercely: "Jiang Mo, you are not allowed to agree to her!"
But when Jiang Mo saw Master Jiang and the familiar plants and trees in the courtyard, he bit his lips tightly to prevent himself from crying out loud. He looked at Fang Ying and nodded slowly.
If you don't agree to them and resist, no matter how many people you sacrifice, it may not necessarily achieve any results. After all, that person is the queen!
Fang Ying was delighted and signaled to the others: "Let's go. Some of you stay here to ensure the safety of the Grand Tutor, and the rest of you follow me back to the palace."
She actually didn't want this matter to become a big deal, and it would be best if it happened quietly. If they really force Master Jiang to rebel, they will not end up well. After all, if something really happens afterwards, they will definitely be the first scapegoats.
They all saw that the Queen had become increasingly anxious these days because the Third Princess had repeated fever attacks and had not woken up for a long time.
But no one expected that the empress would be so anxious that she desperately thought of a wedding to bring good luck and wanted to replicate the events of the fifth princess and the five princes.
However, he still had concerns about Master Jiang and did not dare to announce the matter directly in the court or the public, which troubled him a lot. Just then, they received the news that the princess and her entourage were returning to the capital, so they sent Fang Ying and a group of people to take advantage of the time difference and caught the two powerless people off guard.
She walked to Jiang Mo's side and said, "Mr. Jiang, please come in."
Jiang Mo moved his legs that felt like they were filled with lead, and followed Fang Ying quietly out of the Jiang residence and headed for the palace. He looked up at the azure sky, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with the light.
Your Highness, where are you?
Once he leaves, he will never be clean again, and will never be... worthy of Your Highness again!
Master Jiang looked at Jiang Mo who left with Fang Ying, and was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
She used to be conceited about her intelligence and had many students all over the world, but she only realized today that "the imperial family is the most unfaithful." She looked up and laughed.
If she had another chance, she would never let Jiang Mo have anything to do with the royal family.
…
Xue Cang set off with the people from the palace who had hurried over, only to find out that they were asking her to thoroughly investigate the matter of the Third Princess and Li Qi colluding with bandits.
Xue Cang couldn't help but roll his eyes in his heart, wondering if the memorials on the Empress' desk could no longer be suppressed. Unexpectedly, I found out the reason the next moment. It turned out that the princess was holding the emperor in front of me. She couldn't help but smack her lips. Is this... going to completely get rid of the Third Princess?
However, the Queen had dared not to investigate the matter before, and she was extremely concerned and nervous about the Third Princess who was seriously injured and unconscious. Many ministers had noticed something, and it would probably be difficult for Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess to investigate now!
Xue Cang didn't hold out much hope, so she said, "Then let's go to Minister Li's residence first."
Minister Li is one of the people in charge as rumored, so it is reasonable to go to Li Mansion to investigate the case. Her son had just hurried to the Li residence. She didn't know what had happened. She could go and check it out under the pretext of investigating a case.
"Okay." The person who came to deliver the imperial edict was also someone close to the empress. She had been reminded and was lazy. She just wanted to complete her mission, so she naturally followed Xue Cang's arrangements completely. The group rode fast horses to the Li Mansion, dismounted, and then, holding the imperial badges, rushed in.
"Surround the Li Mansion. No one is allowed to move without permission. Let's go and see Minister Li."
Li Qi also had a high fever when she came back, but compared to the third princess, she was smarter and more careful about her life.
Her previous injuries were not as serious as the Third Princess', and she was not as thorough in faking a recurrence of her injuries as the Third Princess. This made her injuries on the way back to Beijing not as serious as they seemed. But in order to share the joys and sorrows with the Third Princess and avoid being held accountable in the future, he pretended to be more authentic. She still hardened her heart and did not apply any medicine for the last two days. She pretended to be dying and was carried back.
She had originally planned to return home to recuperate, and then rely on the Queen's favor for the Third Princess to escape the disaster. But she is old after all. After returning home, she really fell into a coma. When she woke up again, she found that she and her people were under control.
Li Yuxin stood in front of her bed, playing with a sharp dagger in her hand, smiling: "Mother is finally awake!"
In the night, the white blade gleamed, piercing Li Qi's eyes. She realized something was wrong, frowned, and became defensive, but she still smiled kindly: "Yuxin, what are you doing? How can you play with a dagger in your mother's room?"
Li Yuxin held the dagger in her hand with an innocent look on her face: "I was just thinking, where should I stab my mother so that it would hurt more? Oh, no, it's my mother who would like it more."
Li Qi's face turned pale, and he forced a smile and said, "Yuxin, stop playing."
"Who wants to play with you?" Li Yuxin asked. He had been preparing for this day for a very long time. This time, with the help of the people that Gu Jinke asked Xin Shuang to arrange for him, he was able to control all of Li Qi's guards, both in the open and in secret. He has worked so hard for so long, why would he just play around with Li Qi?
"Li Qi, I want to ask you, have you never felt the slightest bit of guilt? You used your grandma and grandpa's money to rise up in the capital step by step. And in the end, you killed your grandma and grandpa, seized their property, and bullied their son? Hmm?"
Li Qi frowned. He didn't expect that Li Yuxin could remember these things so clearly. But, she said, "Am I not good enough to your father? He didn't give birth to a girl, and he didn't take care of the family. He is still the Lord of Li Mansion, enjoying unique respect. Isn't that enough?"
She looked at Li Yuxin: "Yuxin, you are the one with my last name!"
"Puh!" Li Yuxin made a mocking sound and suddenly felt tired. What's the point of him saying more to such a heartless thing? She doesn't realize her mistakes at all. She just thinks she has done well enough and that you are being unreasonable.
She had greedily seized her husband's property, killed two elderly people who had been very kind to her, and invisibly humiliated and belittled her father, making him dependent on her and as humble as mud in front of her. She had also trained her son to be a tool and a step up since he was young, but she actually thought she was doing very well.
Your Highness is right. For people like this, we must take a hard approach!
He steadied the dagger in his hand and cut again along the original knife mark on the wound that Li Qi had just sutured.
Li Qi groaned, but she had been fed medicine in advance, her limbs were limp, and she couldn't resist at all, cold sweat covered her forehead.
When Li Yuxin stopped, she seemed to have been fished out of the water, and her voice became weaker: "Stop, stop, stop, Yuxin! I am your mother, and I can give you whatever you want. Stop! If I die, you and your father will be completely without support! You know what will happen to a handsome man without the protection of a woman."
Perhaps it was a crisis, people's brains worked faster, she suddenly had an idea and said directly: "Also, have you received the imperial edict? You have been granted marriage to the princess and become the concubine. Although it is not as good as being the principal monarch, your wife is the princess after all. As long as the princess successfully ascends the throne, you will be the noble monarch! At that time, if you want to gain a foothold in the deep palace, a strong mother's family is very important! Your mother will be your strongest support at that time!"
Li Yuxin's hand paused, and his substitute who stayed in the mansion naturally received the imperial edict.
But so what? He had already deceived His Highness once again. He touched his sleeve pocket, where two sleeve straps were placed close to his body.
Besides, how could Li Qi and the third princess dare to do that? They dared to surround and kill His Highness, causing His Highness to be injured. She also wants to covet your Highness's position as the Crown Princess!
He smiled, and he would not go back on his promise to help His Highness deal with Li Qi and the Third Princess this time! He would also not let down his grandmother and grandfather who doted on and loved him when he was a child.
He stabbed again. Cutting meat with a slow knife is the most painful, so I also prepared some coarse salt and sprinkled it slowly on the wound. Li Qi's mind was confused by the torture, and he heard Li Yuxin laugh and say, "If you still want to live, sign your name and put your fingerprints on these documents."
She was held by the hand and seemed to sign a lot of documents.
Such torture is just the beginning.
…
Xue Cang led his men to Li Qi's courtyard according to the servants' testimony. Li Qi's main courtyard was very exquisitely built. Passing the restrained servants, they saw Li Qi in official uniform being supported by two strong maids. His face was full of regret. When he saw Xue Cang, tears welled up in his eyes: "Master Xue, please take me to see the emperor. I want to apologize to His Majesty!"
Xue Cang: "? Lord Li..."
Li Qi interrupted her hastily, in a very urgent tone: "Master Xue! Let's go to the palace to see the emperor. I have something important to apologize to His Majesty for! It's about colluding with bandits!"
Xue Cang could only satisfy her and lead his men back. This time when he walked to the gate of the mansion, he finally met Master Xue and Xue Luan who came in a carriage. Li Yuxin was standing beside them. They all smiled brightly, so it should be nothing serious.
Xue Cang was stunned and felt a little strange. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Li Qi who had also seen those people.
Her face suddenly turned pale, her eyes turned away in fear, and her body even began to tremble slightly.
Xue Cang raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked in the direction she was looking, only to see the smiling, glamorous Li Yuxin.
Xue Cang was a smart person. She didn't ask any further questions. She just smiled at them and then took Li Qi straight to the palace.
Therefore, when the empress heard Li Qi's voice outside saying that he wanted to apologize, her face suddenly changed, and she looked at Gu Jinke with an ugly expression.
Gu Jinke smiled calmly on the surface, but he was actually quite surprised in his heart. Because according to the agreement between her and Li Yuxin, she should only be able to find some written evidence. Unexpectedly, Li Yuxin actually had the means to make Li Qi come and plead guilty himself!
It was impossible not to see him. The Queen summoned the two people with a stern face, and then her eyes were fixed on Li Qi.
Li Qi shuddered, and almost wanted to change her mind at the last minute, but thinking of the torture and threats that were worse than death every night, she shuddered and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am the Minister of Revenue Li Qi, and I come to plead guilty and sue the Third Princess!"
The Queen's expression completely darkened.
Li Qi seemed not to notice the empress's increasingly dark complexion. He explained clearly how he and the third princess had colluded with the bandits with evil intentions, and then took out the letters they had exchanged at that time and the documents of confession.
He also reported the repeated injuries of the two people on the road, even down to the details of when they used what medicine, when they stopped taking the medicine, and what consequences were caused. He also provided a signed document.
Then he reported the two men's sudden plan to murder the princess, and even told them about their conspiracy to kill the guards and bury them on the spot on their way back to avoid the news leaking out. Then, as usual, a signed document was provided.
Xue Cang's eyelids twitched when he heard this. He then looked at the signed documents and confession prepared by Li Qi, and even wanted to make an inappropriate compliment: He is familiar with the process and has made thorough preparations. This really saves them time and effort in the Ministry of Justice!
It's really a fully automatic case-solving system!
In contrast, the Queen's face became increasingly gloomy, but that was not the end. Li Qi changed the subject and said, "I have been favored by your majesty and have been promoted to the position of Minister of Revenue. Not only did I team up with the Third Princess to commit a serious mistake, but I also did many wrong things before that!"
She tearfully described how she relied on her husband's parents to climb up the social ladder from a poor scholar, and how she was exposed as a hypocrite by the old man when she was about to achieve success. After the old men forced her to sign the divorce agreement, she killed the two old men, seized her husband's property, and ignored her husband from then on. After she finished telling about her sins, she skillfully took out the evidence of the signature and the old divorce agreement that she had been forced to sign before.
Then Li Qi bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
The empress wished she could cut Li Qi into pieces, but now Xue Cang was here, and the princess was here. When she summoned Xue Cang, the censors from outside were watching, and the attendant naturally came as well. Everyone was watching her with eager eyes, it was impossible for her to do nothing, and the evidence was too sufficient!
She dared to guarantee that within an hour, all the ministers in the capital would know the truth.
She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her voice steady: "Fang Rui, draft the imperial edict."
"The third princess colluded with mountain bandits, disregarded the people, embezzled the money and grain of the Great Jin Dynasty, and attempted to murder the princess. She was ambitious and the government was unstable. Now I punish her for multiple crimes. I demote the third princess to a commoner and confine her to the imperial mausoleum for life!"
"Li Qi, the Minister of Revenue, disregarded human ethics and killed his elders. He still ignored the emperor's grace and did not repent. He also colluded with mountain bandits and plotted to murder the princess. He deserves death and his entire clan should be exterminated. I pity her husband's family for being killed by Li Qi. Her husband and his children shall be exempted from punishment!"
The Queen still couldn't bear to kill the Third Princess, but Gu Jinke didn't care. She reminded the Queen, "Your son remembers that the Queen Mother arranged a marriage for the Third Princess a few days ago. Master Jiang has made great contributions to teaching you, and he has devoted himself to the country. Now..."
The empress was furious and originally wanted to pretend to be unconscious, but since Gu Jinke openly proposed it, this marriage was naturally untenable. She could only throw her sleeves in anger and said, "Forget about this marriage!"
Gu Jinke finally revealed a somewhat sincere smile. She had rushed to the capital to force the empress to do something just to resolve this engagement. Now, after hearing these six words from the empress, her resentment towards the empress's previous partiality subsided a little.
Anyway, the Queen is used to being partial, so it’s not worth it for her to be angry about it!
Moreover, it would be better for the Third Princess to be alive. Being a commoner and imprisoned would be more to Gu Jinke's liking than letting her die quickly. Let her also have a taste of what it's like to be a former princess, what it's like to be a commoner, a taste that will be out of reach from now on.
After the Queen finished speaking, she asked everyone to leave. Everyone left, with Gu Jinke walking at the end.
Gu Jinke said, "Yes, then, Mother Queen, I will go to Zhaoxian Palace with Minister Xue now."
"Gu Jinke! Can't you even tolerate your sister drinking one more bowl of medicine?" the Queen suddenly shouted.
Gu Jinke raised his eyebrows and said, "Then I will not take Minister Xue with me. I will go to see the Third Sister as the Emperor's younger sister for the last time."
After all, after being demoted to a commoner, she could no longer call her sister. This was like a stab in the empress's heart, and her lips trembled.
Gu Jinke didn't care. She just pretended not to see it. When she left the hall, she found that Xue Cang was still standing there.
Gu Jinke was stunned: "Master Xue."
Xue Cang looked at her, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Your Highness, what you did today, I saw clearly, but after all, the Queen is still the Queen, Your Highness must remember not to be too sharp. People are like a sword, out of the sheath, the edge is exposed, but you must be able to hold it back and release it."
Gu Jinke's expression changed, and he looked grateful. He bowed and saluted her: "Thank you for your teachings, sir."
Xue Cang was reminding her not to be too aggressive and not to completely anger the Queen and do something foolish regardless of the consequences.
Indeed, after Gu Jinke reflected on it, the time of the marriage was later announced through news, and Gu Jinke was able to quickly understand the Queen's thoughts.
The empress wanted to protect the third princess, so she felt a sense of crisis after seeing the memorial she submitted. She couldn't wait to make an engagement with her in order to control her, and even sent people to clean up the mess. If it weren't for Li Yuxin, she would have undoubtedly lost today. Xue Cang's sincere reminder made Gu Jinke naturally appreciate it.
Xue Cang smiled and said, "I just hope that Your Highness will be more considerate of Luan'er. This child is devoted to Your Highness and has a simple personality. I hope Your Highness will be more tolerant in the future."
Gu Jinke opened his eyes wide. What did Xue Cang say?
Xue Luan is in love with her?
She looked up to confirm again, but saw that Xue Cang had already left with Li Qi.
Gu Jinke's head was buzzing and she was a little confused for a moment, but this was not the most urgent matter. She looked towards Zhaoxian Palace, discarded the complicated thoughts in her mind, and went there.
She should check the results first!
Look at what Gu Jinxiu looks like now.
The Queen has been feeling very uncomfortable these past two days, and he keenly sensed that something was wrong, something very wrong!
He believed that he knew the Empress very well as they had been husband and wife for many years. However, it was not until the Third Princess was seriously injured and sent to the palace that the Queen realized for the first time that he did not know the Empress well enough.
The eldest princess she gave birth to was named the Crown Princess. The Queen could pat her chest and say that the Queen doted on her very much. She really doted on her. After all, she was the Queen's first child. The husband and wife personally raised her every word and action when they were in hiding. Naturally, their relationship was extraordinary. As soon as the Queen ascended the throne, she made her the Crown Princess without hesitation.
Later, the eldest princess died unexpectedly. The king and queen were heartbroken, and they remained obsessed with protecting the eldest princess' position as the crown princess.
There are people in the family who have the same idea as him. The two parties reached a consensus, and he hurriedly picked the best-looking man from the family, sent him to the palace, fed him a strong drug, and then sent him to the empress's bed. As expected, he gave birth to a daughter, Gu Jinke.
Perhaps it was because he was too painful after losing the eldest princess during that time. In the queen's vague memory, she only remembered that the empress was particularly considerate to her because of the pain of losing her daughter. Even when he chose someone to favor her and later adopted Gu Jinke under his name, the empress was very obedient to him. She even quickly named Gu Jinke the crown princess, which made his position as queen very stable.
The Queen once worried that the Empress would transfer her affection to Gu Jinke, but later, she saw clearly that the Empress's favor for Gu Jinke was false, which was exactly what the Queen wanted. After all, Gu Jinke was just a tool of his eldest princess, so how could he deserve the love of his parents that the eldest princess had. So she never looked into it. Anyway, in the end, as long as Gu Jinke can secure the position of the Crown Princess, that will be enough.
But this time, the incident involving the third princess aroused the Queen's suspicion.
The Queen had no problem doting on the Second Princess, the Fourth Princess, and the Fifth Princess, but she became particularly anxious about the Third Princess, who was usually ignored and adopted by Lord Xian Guijun! Even wrote a letter for her!
The Queen had only seen the Empress show such an expression of anxiety when her eldest princess was sick in her childhood. The other princesses had never had such an expression. Even when the fifth princess was in a coma last time, the Empress had never been so anxious. This was not acceptable!
No one in the palace can surpass her, the eldest princess!
The Queen immediately took notice and ordered someone to secretly investigate the Third Princess.
The third princess was born in a year when he was extremely grief-stricken. The eldest princess was seriously ill and he had no time to take care of her. However, the empress particularly favored an ordinary maid named Yuan!
Her eldest princess died, and Yuan Shiren also died after giving birth to the third princess. When the queen was completely unaware, the third princess was adopted by Lord Xian Gui, and grew up in an ordinary way!
The Queen immediately covered her heart with her hands, and was overwhelmed by great panic. Even though the information he found was only a few lines, he could already keenly feel the difference.
The man's intuition about his wife told him that everything was not simple. There were so many servants in the palace, and this servant Yuan was just ordinary. Yet, she gave birth to a daughter when the king and queen had no time for other things and the harem was in the most chaos. And she grew up safely?
He took a deep breath and said, "Someone, change your clothes and go to Zhaoxian Palace!"
He wanted to take another look at the Third Princess, who had been jumping around under his nose for so long, but he had never paid any attention to her.
The position of the Crown Princess can only be Gu Jinke, and there will be no room for any accidents or mistakes.
He led his men in a hurry, walking quickly and hastily, and even made people take a narrow path to shorten time.
Jiang Mo, who was brought by Fang Ying and changed into ordinary clothes, covered his face and took this path to avoid others.
The two sides met on a narrow road.
Fang Ying's heart skipped a beat. Why did the Queen choose to take this small road instead of the main one? She quickly pushed Jiang Mo to the side and knelt down, with her head lowered, hoping not to attract the Queen's attention.
Jiang Mo did not dare to attract the Queen's attention. He was disheartened and felt that he had severed ties with Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess the moment he agreed to Fang Ying. Why would he want the Queen to discover him, see through his shameful behavior, and even let Her Royal Highness know?
But the Queen was also lost in her own thoughts, constantly recalling her past memories, hoping to find out something unusual about the Queen.
He kept thinking back to the childhood of Gu Jinke, Gu Jinxiu and others. Jiang Mo and Gu Jinke were particularly close when they were young, so this was naturally also in the Queen's memory.
So, when the sedan chair passed by the two people, the queen, who was leaning lazily on the sedan chair, took a glance and felt that the kneeling person was strangely familiar.
"You, raise your head!" He pointed with his bare hand and looked straight at Jiang Mo.
Fang Ying's eyelids jumped and his heart sank. Jiang Mo also pursed his lips unconsciously.
The author has something to say:
The retribution of the Queen is coming... I will drag the Third Princess out and torture her later, okay?
That's all for today. My period is here. I'm going to sleep first. Good night, babies~
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2022-06-13 00:04:53~2022-06-13 23:46:57~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: ~\(≧▽≦)/~ 2 bottles; Yi Guang Xian Shi, Super High School Level Laziness 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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