"My Lord, you don't know that the newly favored Concubine Hui is pregnant, and His Majesty values this baby very much. But the maid in Concubine Shu's palace was so blind that she sent a plate of persimmon cakes. It almost hurt the prince, and His Majesty was furious. The Imperial Noble Consort quickly caught the maid. His Majesty immediately ordered the maid to be executed. It was apparently for Concubine Shu's sake, but it also confirmed Concubine Shu's reputation for jealousy and cruelty. Concubine Shu naturally hated the Imperial Noble Consort with a vengeance," Fang Zuotang said, taking a sip of tea. He continued. "Let's talk about the previous dynasty. Although His Majesty hated Concubine Shu, he always had a favorable view of Prince Hui. So this year during the Zhongyuan Festival, His Majesty sent Prince Hui to pay homage to the emperor's mausoleum on his behalf. This was a great grace, and Prince Rong was naturally resentful and angry. Not long after, word spread in the capital that the reason Prince Hui had been childless for many years was because he was a homosexual. Although no one knew who spread this rumor, I would never believe it if there was no one behind the scenes to fan the flames. After all, Prince Hui was a first-rank prince, and the most popular prince in front of His Majesty. Who would have the courage to point fingers at Prince Hui? And it was such a shameful rumor? Could it be that he was too old to live?"
Pang Yi sneered, "So the Duke of Hui is so busy dragging his brother-in-law to fight back. It's really like the east wind never wanes, but the west wind grows stronger."
"These two brothers are quite interesting. When I was in the capital, they were very harmonious and focused on dealing with me. Now that I'm away from the capital, the brothers have turned against each other," Zhong Mingwei sneered, taking a sip of tea and looking at Fang Zuotang, "What is the attitude of the emperor? Will he allow them to fight like a chicken?"
"Your Majesty is of course displeased, but they are princes after all, so His Majesty naturally has to consider their face, so he did not say it explicitly, but just asked the two princes to concentrate on state affairs and not waste time on anything else." Fang Zuotang said.
"Is the emperor so kind?" Zhong Mingwei was very surprised. He frowned and shook his head. "No, the emperor absolutely cannot tolerate anyone openly provoking him, especially the two princes."
"It may be because Concubine Hui has been unwell recently," Fang Zuotang said, "I heard that His Majesty is very fond of Concubine Hui. These days, he always goes to Changchun Palace to accompany Concubine Hui after the morning court session. It is said that Concubine Hui has been suffering from nightmares recently, and His Majesty is very worried."
"Master, now the Ministry of Justice has come to ask for An's remains, what should we do?" Pang Yi's mind was not here. The official letter from the Ministry of Justice clearly stated in black and white where An's remains were.
"What they want is not An's body," Zhong Mingwei said calmly, "what they want is for us to lend him a helping hand and bring down the An family."
Yes, in the letter that Zhong Mingwei wrote to the capital, it was clearly written that Duan and Xiao An died in the flood in summer, and their bodies were not found. Obviously, Zhong Mingwei's letter fell into the hands of Prince Hui and Zou Shijie, who were not satisfied with the cause of Xiao An's death, so they sent this official letter in the name of the Ministry of Justice, openly asking about An's body, but secretly wanting Zhong Mingwei to write another letter, changing the cause of Xiao An's death to something else, no matter whether it was a sword or a knife, it was an unjust death. In this way, they can also make a fuss about the cause of Xiao An's death.
Fang Zuotang naturally knew what was going on, and immediately looked at Zhong Mingwei: "Master, what do you mean?"
"As a commoner, I cannot afford to offend the nobles above me," Zhong Mingwei said in a deep voice. After a pause, he added, "But if it is to save my life, I can't help but offend one or two people."
Fang Zuotang said, "Master, do you not want to get involved in the affairs of the capital anymore?"
"I no longer have the money, nor the energy," Zhong Mingwei said calmly. He took a sip of tea and said to Pang Yi, "Pang Yi, get me some writing brush and ink."
"Yes." Pang Yi hurried to the study to get pen and ink and placed them on the stone table.
Zhong Mingwei rolled up his sleeves and wrote on the official letter with a pen, "Ms. An died in the flood, his body is not found, please know this." Then he put down the pen and said to Fang Zuotang, "Thank you, Lord Fang, for sending someone to the capital."
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