Chapter 205: Buck-passing
After weighing the pros and cons, the Dali Temple Secretary finally decided to send the news that the old lady of the general's mansion was critically ill to the palace.
An hour later, the Minister of Dali Temple personally accompanied Prince Anding to the General's Mansion.
The guards escorting the carriage walked steadily and silently, alertly capturing any slight movement, as if ready to deal with any emergency at any time.
Wen Wan stood on the steps, and seeing this, her expression became even more gloomy.
Standing next to the prince was a thin old man with a slightly hunched back and shrewd and sharp eyes.
This person is none other than Lord Feng, the Minister of the Dali Temple.
Zhao led Wen Wan forward, and when she saw the prince getting off the carriage, she went to greet him.
In front of Lord Feng, Zhao wiped her tears hesitantly, "Your Majesty, please go and see her quickly. I'm afraid the old lady is..."
When the prince heard this, his whole body swayed, but he managed to steady himself.
"Walk."
As he said this, he went to the mansion.
The Dali Temple Minister frowned and quickly followed.
Zhao led Wen Wan to follow behind them. When they were halfway there, Wen Wan turned around and parted ways with them without saying a word.
*
The old lady's room was filled with the bitter smell of medicine.
A half-empty bowl of medicine lay on the table. The doctor sat beside the bed, shaking his head. "The old lady is critically ill, yet she can't get the medicine down."
When Prince Anding approached, the doctor gave him his seat.
He picked up the medicine bowl himself and tried several times, but still couldn't feed the medicine in.
The black medicinal juice flowed out from the corners of the old lady's mouth, making the indigo brocade quilt extremely dirty.
Prince Anding's eyes were red. He put down the medicine bowl, knelt in front of the bed and kowtowed repeatedly.
"I'm such an unfilial son! I was framed and even frightened my mother! If anything happens to you, how can I face my ancestors?"
Lord Feng stood in the distance, his expression calm, his eyes fixed on the old lady's face with a hint of suspicion.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I've already reported the situation to His Majesty. The palace physician will be here shortly. He's highly skilled and will surely be able to save the old lady."
It sounded nice, but he just didn't believe that the old lady would die soon, so he asked the palace physician to come and check on her condition.
Prince Anding nodded indifferently.
There was a sudden loud noise in the yard, which immediately attracted the attention of several people in the house.
Prince Anding's face darkened. He raised his hand and pointed at Zhao, "What's going on in the yard? Mother is still sick. Go and take a look. Don't startle her again."
Zhao responded and went out to check immediately.
Soon, she hurried back, looked in the direction of Lord Feng, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Prince Anding: "What happened? You don't need to look at Lord Feng. The situation in the palace is like this now. What is there to be afraid of?"
He thought that something scandalous had happened in the mansion and Zhao was not in a position to speak of it in front of outsiders.
Zhao shivered and whispered, "I'm not afraid of losing face, but the guards brought by Lord Feng injured an old woman in the mansion. The woman's two sons only know how to use brute force, and they are now entangled with the guards. During the scuffle, they knocked over the longevity lamp that the old lady had lit for the Empress Dowager."
Prince Anding was startled. "But that lantern that my mother lit when she returned home after receiving a reward at the palace earlier this year? It was personally blessed by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. They said it must be well-preserved and offered to the Huguo Temple on an auspicious Mid-Autumn Festival this year."
Zhao's face was also filled with worry. "It's that lamp."
Prince Anding was so angry that his hands were shaking. "My mother is a Buddhist, and so is the Queen Mother. To have the longevity lamp overturned at this time is extremely unlucky!"
Zhao was timid and began to wipe away her tears again. "Don't blame me, father. It wasn't us who knocked it over. It was Lord Feng's subordinates..."
Lord Feng now understood that the two men were working in unison to implicate him.
Lord Feng has been in officialdom for many years and is quick to shift the blame.
"Madam, please don't jump to conclusions. The matter hasn't been thoroughly investigated yet. You also said that the longevity lamp was knocked over during a fight between several people."
Zhao cried, "How can I, a woman, make a final judgment? I don't understand these arguments. Anyway, the lamp was fine in our house. Your subordinate knocked it over when he came. This matter has nothing to do with our Chen family."
As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, he cannot explain his reason clearly.
Women also have their advantages, especially those in the harem. They can just brush off the problem with a simple "I don't understand" statement.
Lord Feng was so angry that he blew his beard and glared when he saw that he couldn't explain it clearly to Zhao.
He turned to ask Prince Anding, "Your Majesty, this is your house, you must uphold justice!"
Prince Anding looked embarrassed. "Lord Feng, you are wrong. This is the General's Mansion, not my Prince Anding's Mansion. The mansion was personally given by the Emperor to Yu'er to live in. I cannot be the master of the General's Mansion."
He sighed, "Besides, my mother's life is at stake. I'm deeply troubled and don't have the mood to debate these matters. I have to stay by my mother's side, just in case something happens to her..."
Lord Feng stroked his beard and thought.
If Zhao were to handle the matter, he would definitely put the blame on his subordinates for knocking over the Empress Dowager's longevity lamp. If he was blamed by his superiors later, it would be his fault for failing to manage his subordinates well.
Prince Anding refused to show up, so he had to handle the rest personally.
But if he doesn't personally guard Prince Anding...
On the hospital bed, the old lady happened to groan twice. When Prince Anding heard it, he immediately leaned back to the bedside, held the old lady's hand and asked about her well-being.
Outside the door, the maids and servants in the mansion and the guards brought by Lord Feng were cursing at each other.
Lord Feng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and walked out of the room.
He pointed to two guards and said, "Stand guard at the door. The prince is currently involved in a murder case, and he cannot be allowed to leave."
As the door closed, the sad expression on Prince Anding's face immediately disappeared, replaced by a look of relief.
"From the moment I entered the house, I noticed that everything in the mansion was well organized. After the incident between me and the old lady, you still had this kind of composure, acting like a mistress."
In the past, although this daughter-in-law had no major faults and the housekeeping in the harem was adequate, she was born into a family of civil servants and was too gentle and lacked courage.
He had always been worried that for a military family like theirs, if something big happened, she might not be able to withstand the storm.
This time, King Anding was impressed.
Zhao was suddenly recognized by King Anding. She was stunned for a moment and her face turned red.
Her eyes flickered and she hesitated for a moment, not having the courage to say that these were not her ideas but were arranged by Wen Wan.
King Anding thought that Zhao was too concerned about his reputation and did not care.
He asked anxiously, "You planned to get Lord Feng out of the way, but do you have anything to ask me?"
Zhao was shocked and stammered, unable to speak.
Prince Anding was anxious. "Don't waste time at this moment. I just shook my mother's hand and knew she wasn't on her last legs as you said."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
