Chapter 48 The Prince Who Failed to Revolt
Zhang Xiaojia carefully carried the deceased Princess Anguo back to her own county mansion.
Zhang Yuncheng, Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, was waiting at the gate with the female coroner.
Duke Su's eldest daughter, the imperial physician Su Si, and the third princess were also waiting at the gate.
Zhang Xiaojia gently placed Princess Anguo in a place that had been prepared long ago, and then stood silently aside, waiting for the arrival of the second uncle.
There is no way to perform an autopsy now.
Princess Anguo was married to the prince of Hengguo during her lifetime. According to the law, her autopsy must be approved by the prince of Hengguo.
There was no way he would agree, and Zhang Xiaojia wouldn't even ask.
But things are not hopeless.
There is another way, that is, the second uncle, who is the head of the royal family, speaks out. Princess Anguo is a member of the royal family, and the royal family agrees to dissect the body.
This depends on the emperor's attitude. Duke Heng is the frontier ambassador and will step down this year. His status and influence cannot be underestimated. Moreover, he is also the family of the virtuous concubine.
Zhang Xiaojia thought about it and realized that if the emperor did not agree to an autopsy, it meant that the emperor would not punish the Prince of Hengguo.
She secretly made up her mind that if it really came to that, she would send An Yi to poison the Prince of Hengguo and the concubine tonight.
The third princess patted Zhang Xiaojia's shoulder and said softly, "Jiajia, stop making trouble."
Zhang Xiaojia is not a fool. She knows what the third princess means. Don’t make things difficult for the emperor and don’t lose his favor.
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After careful consideration, the Emperor specially dispatched the Military and Virtue Envoy to the Duke Heng's Mansion. His intention was self-evident, which was to send a clear signal to the Duke Heng's Mansion: he was about to enthrone the virtuous concubine as the queen, and as a relative of the emperor, the Duke Heng's Mansion should restrain its edge and abide by the law.
When the Wude Sishi came back to report, he heard that Zhang Xiaojia had ordered the guards to tie up the censors and take them to the Duke of Hengguo.
The emperor could not help but laugh and scold: "My sister is becoming more and more lawless because of my pampering." There was a hint of blame in his words, but more of it was his pampering.
The Military Commissioner continued, "Princess Anguo died in the arms of Princess Lin'an."
The emperor's expression darkened instantly, and he angrily slammed the pen in his hand onto the table with a loud bang. He angrily shouted, "This Prince Heng is completely lawless and has no regard for the royal family at all!"
After his anger subsided, the emperor asked with concern, "How is Jiajia now?"
The Wude Envoy quickly and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, upon hearing the news of Princess Anguo's death, the Princess of Lin'an was heartbroken and wept till her eyes were red."
The emperor sighed and asked, "How did Jiajia deal with it?"
"Your Majesty, the Princess of Lin'an has brought Princess Anguo back to her own residence. She wishes to perform an autopsy on her body and now requests the consent of Prince An."
The emperor did not speak for a long time, and finally said, "Tell the virtuous concubine about this matter. What is her opinion?" I hope the virtuous concubine will not let me down.
The Wudesi Envoy received the order.
On the way to the harem, Wude Sishi ordered his men to investigate all matters concerning the Prince of Hengguo.
As the emperor's confidant, he didn't dare to claim that he completely understood the emperor's thoughts, but he could guess about 70% of them.
There is an iron rule that the harem (officials' backyard) is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Although the behavior of Princess Lin'an seemed impulsive, she did not actually cross this line.
She was just worried about her sister being wronged, so she tied up the censor and went with him in a hurry, forcing him to uphold justice.
Although this move seemed reckless, it also revealed some wit. After all, she did not invite the censor, but tied the censor to go with her. In this way, it would not be easy to give her an excuse to interfere in politics.
What surprised him even more was that Princess Lin'an did not rely on the emperor's favor to immediately dissect the body, but instead followed the laws of the Great Zhou to handle the matter, which undoubtedly won her the emperor's favor and partiality.
The smartest thing about Princess Lin'an is that she is also the wife of Prince Jing. She did not bring Princess Anguo's body back to Prince Jing's mansion, but brought it back to Lin'an mansion. This is to tell the emperor that it is just a sisterly love. She will not use Prince Jing to force the emperor, and she will listen to the emperor in everything.
Who said that the Princess of Lin'an was a foolish beauty?
He knew very well the emperor's aversion to the harem interfering in government affairs.
The virtuous concubine's answer this time will undoubtedly be a test.
If Concubine Xian answered that everything was up to the Emperor, the Emperor would spare the life of the Prince of Hengguo and the position of Empress would be preserved.
If the answer is inappropriate, it will be difficult for her to plead for mercy, and it will easily be regarded as an act of interfering in politics.
I am afraid that not only will it be difficult for her to secure the position of queen, she may even risk losing the emperor's favor.
The Prince of Hengguo is probably finished this time.
When Concubine Xian learned of this, she felt a mixture of emotions: grief for Princess Anguo's passing, and anger and worry about the behavior of her brother, the Prince of Hengguo.
Concubine Xian thought about it for a long time. If she did this, her friendship with Lin'an would probably be broken.
The virtuous concubine wrote two notes and gave them to Nanny Wang, who handed one of the notes to her, saying, "Nanny, give this note to the Princess of Lin'an immediately."
The other one was given to her personal maid Xing'er, who was asked to give it to Duke Heng immediately.
Nanny Wang came to the Princess of Lin'an with a note.
Nanny Wang bowed respectfully and said, "Princess Lin'an, this is what my queen asked me to give to you."
Zhang Xiaojia took the note in his hand, opened it and saw that it said: Lin'an, can you spare my brother's life?
Zhang Xiaojia was about to write: No, blood debt must be paid with blood.
Zhang Yuncheng whispered in her ear, "The emperor hates harem officials interfering in government affairs the most."
Zhang Xiaojia immediately changed it to: Everything is subject to the emperor's decision.
Zhang Xiaojia handed the note to Nanny Wang, who hurried back to the palace and gave it to the virtuous concubine.
When Xing'er arrived at Duke Heng's mansion, there was no one guarding it, so she handed the note from Concubine Xian to Duke Heng.
After reading the note, Duke Hengguo burned it directly.
Xing'er also hurried back to the palace to report to the virtuous concubine.
When Concubine Xian opened it, she saw that her brother was finished. Zhang Xiaojia wanted to investigate. She knew better than anyone how much the emperor loved Lin'an. He loved her not as a sister but as a daughter. As long as Lin'an investigated, the emperor would definitely agree in the end.
After careful consideration for a long time, Concubine Xian decided to go to the imperial study in person to ask for an audience with the emperor.
She was dressed in plain clothes, her face was haggard, and there was a hint of pleading in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you," said the virtuous concubine, bowing.
The emperor looked up at her and said with a hint of coldness in his tone, "Xianfei, why did you come here?"
The virtuous concubine replied with a slightly trembling voice, "I am here to ask about the matter of the prince of Hengguo."
The emperor snorted coldly, "Your brother has gone too far this time. He's simply lawless! If I don't punish him, how can I convince the people? Go back immediately. I'll pretend you never came."
Tears welled up in Concubine Xian's eyes, but she fought hard to hold them back. "I know this matter is serious, but Your Majesty, please forgive him this time, considering that he is my only brother."
The emperor frowned. "Forgive? He committed a grave crime! If he is not severely punished, where is the dignity of the imperial family? Where is the law of the Great Zhou? Withdraw."
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