Chapter 78 The Emperor Knows the Truth!
Yu Zhengde understood the emperor's meaning almost instantly.
His job was to manage the emperor's money, not to make money for himself, and he should not have been involved in the Huangshaling case.
How could the emperor not see that Liu He did it on purpose when he revealed the fact that he collected money from Beiling in such a high-profile manner?
The emperor did not want the Huangshaling incident to become a big deal, and Yu Zhengde reaffirmed this understanding.
But why?
I thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t figure it out!
He suddenly shuddered and quickly regained his composure. "I know I was wrong. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
At such a critical moment, how could he have the mind to think about anything else? Yu Zhengde pinched his thigh hard.
The emperor noticed his little action, his eyes darkening. "I really can't punish you enough. Yu Zhengde, you took my people away. Now, you should help me find my child."
Yu Zhengde felt as if he was struck by lightning.
What does your Majesty mean by this?
What do you mean he took away His Majesty's people?
He was the one who took His Majesty away, Concubine Li.
Your Majesty, does he know?
Yu Zhengde's eyes widened inch by inch, his face turned pale and then blue, and he was completely stunned.
How does Your Majesty know?
When did you know?
How much do you know?
If you knew it, why did you keep it secret?
Yu Zhengde's cold sweat was oozing out from every pore of his body.
The emperor was worried about Lan Shu and could not bear to waste time with him, so he said bluntly, "I know you understand what I mean.
Let her come back and tell me if she was the one who swapped my child. If not, then find her for me. If you can't find her, then I will take your child's life as compensation."
He glanced at Yu Zhengde's somewhat plump figure and said, "You've been living well in recent years. I guess you've benefited a lot. The national treasury is still not full, so why don't you take out 200,000 taels and put it in."
"As you wish." Yu Zhengde finally came back to his senses from his shock and responded in a trembling voice.
Two hundred thousand taels could almost empty the Yu family's assets, but compared to life, money was nothing.
He kowtowed and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your grace."
No matter what the emperor was thinking, he kept the secret and did not punish the Yu family. Yu Zhengde was sincerely grateful to the emperor at this time. After all, it was he who committed a heinous crime and cuckolded the emperor.
"Alright, words of thanks are the least valuable." The emperor waved his hand. "I'm waiting for you to shed your heart and soul for me, so please leave.
If you leave the palace now, you might be able to catch up with Xie Shen. I heard that you and he used to have a good relationship."
After saying this, the emperor looked at him meaningfully, then stood up and left the council hall.
Yu Zhengde used all his strength to punch Xie Shen in the face, and before his follower could react, he punched him again.
He grabbed Xie Shen's collar and said, "You bastard, I treated you as a brother before, but you actually wanted to torture Liu He into confessing and make her identify me as the mastermind behind Huang Shaling.
I was sitting at home when a pot fell from the sky. I was almost killed by you. I will beat you to death, you hypocritical and heartless thing..."
He cursed and punched and kicked Xie Shen.
Although Xie Shen was the Minister of Justice, he was a weak scholar who had no martial arts skills. In addition, he was thinking about the Queen and was not prepared for Yu Zhengde's sudden rush. He was beaten by him without any resistance.
By the time Prime Minister Xie was howling in anxiety and had Yu Zhengde pulled away, Xie Shen's face was already blue and purple.
Yu Zhengde wiped the corner of his mouth that was scratched by Xie Shen and spat in the direction of the Xie family father and son, "Bah, what a shitty friendship! From now on, my Yu family will have nothing to do with your Xie family."
"You reckless man, you reckless man." Xie Shen pointed at his back, his fingers trembling with anger.
Yu Zhengde turned around and glared at him fiercely, then walked out of the palace with his neck stiffened.
The Yu family had already sent a carriage to pick people up. As soon as Yu Zhengde climbed into his own carriage, he collapsed in the carriage.
The cold sweat on my forehead kept coming out.
I have been shocked so much today.
He opened his mouth wide and bit his own palm. The pain made his mind gradually clear.
The emperor knew that Concubine Li was taken away by him, but he kept it secret for many years. Firstly, he had no feelings for Concubine Li, and secondly, he wanted to hold something against him so that he could control him when necessary.
Just like today, whether out of gratitude or fear, he can only be completely loyal to the emperor in the future.
Thinking about how his impulsive behavior almost killed his entire family, Yu Zhengde was so scared that he wanted to slap himself twice.
The second shock was that the emperor's words just now clearly set him against the Xie family. The relationship between the emperor and the Xie family was far from as good as it seemed.
Yu Zhengde even had a bold guess that the emperor wanted to take action against the Xie family, but he did not find the right time and manpower, so he held the handle on him until today.
But why is it posted today?
Yu Zhengde bit his hand and walked all the way to the gate of Yu Mansion.
The news of him beating Xie Shen soon reached the emperor's ears.
After listening to this, the emperor nodded without saying anything.
A moment later, Feng Ruobao came in, bowing, "Your Majesty, I have found out that Concubine Shu went to the Anyuan Marquis' Mansion.
The girl following her today is Marquis Anyuan's sister Chang Qingnian, the one who was lost that year and was found a few days ago. Concubine Shu came to the capital today.
That girl calls our Concubine Shu "A-gu", and Concubine Shu calls her "Miss". It looks like they are master and servant, but not really..."
Feng Ruobao looked at the emperor's expression cautiously and said nothing more.
"Miss" is usually the name servants use to address their masters. Concubine Shu doesn't even want to be the master in the palace, but wants to be a servant to Chang Qingnian. His Majesty must be very angry.
I don't know where that girl came from.
"Let's check again. What's Chang Qing thinking about? Has Lan Shu been with her all these years? What's her current situation?"
Seeing the emperor's gloomy face, Feng Ruobao quickly agreed.
Just as he was about to bow and leave, he heard the emperor's order again, "Pass on my order, the Crown Prince is confined to the Eastern Palace for three days, and the Cold Palace is under close scrutiny..."
The emperor paused and said, "If Lan Shu comes, don't hurt her."
"Your Majesty, do you mean that Concubine Shu will cause trouble for the deposed queen?" Feng Ruobao asked carefully.
The emperor's face showed a complicated expression, "Xie Yunmian killed her child. If she doesn't seek revenge, she is not Lan Shu."
Feng Ruobao thought about Lan Shu's personality and realized that this was indeed the case.
Thinking about what the emperor had just said, my heart skipped a beat.
Your Majesty knew that Concubine Shu would come to seek revenge, but you still confined the Crown Prince to his quarters. Isn't this just giving Concubine Shu an easy way out?
The queen's life is in danger.
After figuring out the key, Feng Ruobao became even more concerned about investigating Lan Shu. As the chief eunuch, no one knew better than him how much His Majesty had disliked the Queen over the years.
But no matter how much he disliked it, His Majesty endured it, but today he wanted to kill the Queen.
It’s for Concubine Shu.
In the emperor's heart, Concubine Shu is more important.
Feng Ruobao reminded himself to be more respectful to Concubine Shu in the future, and hurried to the East Palace.
In the Anyuan Marquis's Mansion, Wei Qingyan told Lan Shu about Luo Congyun's affairs in detail.
Then he handed the things he had exchanged from her to Lan Shu, "Aunt, these are now returned to their original owners. I will help you find your child as soon as possible."
Lan Shu looked at those things and her eyes became red again. "I lost my mother when I was young, but my father loved me and never forced me to learn anything I didn't want to learn.
So, until I reached the age of 15, I had never touched needle and thread. When I had children, I thought about doing something for them.
Concubine Li suggested that I make some small clothes and shoes for the child, and she taught me step by step, but I didn’t expect…”
Unexpectedly, her children had no chance to use the things she made with great joy.
Wei Qingyan's thoughts turned to something else. "Aunt, are you and Concubine Li very close?"
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