Chapter 58 The Prince Who Failed to Revolt
He Fei waited quietly for Jia Jia to fall asleep before leaving.
In the study, his staff, A Da and Zhang Yuncheng had been waiting for a long time. He slowly sat down on the main seat, his eyes calm and deep.
"Prince Jing, may you be blessed with good health." The staff member stood up and saluted.
"Please sit down, no need to be polite." He Fei raised his hand gently, his tone revealing unquestionable majesty and friendliness.
After everyone sat down again, He Fei turned his gaze to Ah Da and said in a low and powerful voice, "Ah Da, have you checked everything? Did anything happen to Duke Heng on his way to Langya City?"
Ah Da's expression froze, and he immediately reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, all the spies from Chenqiao Post Station, Banjing Post Station, Chenliu Post Station, etc. have returned, and none of them found anything unusual.
Only at the Qi County Post Station did a slight setback occur.
According to Yicheng's recollection, when Duke Hengguo and his family arrived at the post station, it was the afternoon. After dinner, Qi County was hosting its annual fireworks festival, so Duke Hengguo took his family to watch it. Princess Anguo went back to her room to rest early because she was feeling unwell.
However, just after the fireworks festival ended, Yicheng heard a strange thing - Princess Anguo accidentally walked into the wrong room and mistakenly entered the residence of Duke Hengguo.
Upon hearing the news, the Prince of Hengguo was furious. Regardless of the occasion and his status, he severely reprimanded Princess Anguo on the spot. The intensity of his words and the excitement of his emotions attracted the attention of the entire post station.
Although Yicheng did not witness this scene with his own eyes, the sounds of beatings coming from the prince's room were clearly audible and chilling.
Inside the study, as Ah Da continued his narration, the atmosphere grew heavy and silent. Everyone silently digested this sudden news, each pondering the implications.
Zhang Yuncheng couldn't help but ask, "Duke Heng also went to Qi County to watch the fireworks, right?" There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice, trying to get confirmation from Ada.
Ah Da nodded, his expression solemn. "Yes, the post station was under strict protection by Duke Heng's guards that day, so everyone in the post station, including Duke Heng's family, went to watch the fireworks with great enthusiasm. No one expected such an accident to happen, but whether Duke Heng returned early or not is unknown."
The study fell silent again, and everyone was silently weighing the possible impact of this incident.
After a moment of silence, He Fei continued to ask, "What about the Concubine Xian? Is there any movement from her?"
Upon hearing this, Ah Da's expression became even more complicated. "Yes, upon learning of the report of Princess Anguo's body, Concubine Xian passed out. The palace urgently summoned the imperial physician, who, after a thorough examination, discovered that Concubine Xian was pregnant. Upon waking, Concubine Xian was extremely emotional. She immediately instructed her maid to go to Duke Hengguo's residence. The two of them had a long, private conversation in the study. The study was heavily guarded, making it difficult for us to approach. However, we could vaguely see people from the Wude Division eavesdropping, so we didn't dare to act rashly and only observed from afar."
Mr. Huang: "Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan?"
Mr. Zhu retorted, "If it was Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, Li Longji loved Yang Yuhuan with all his heart. If after the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, when passing through Mawei Slope, the soldiers mutinied and demanded the execution of Yang Yuhuan, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had no choice but to order Yang Yuhuan to be hanged at Mawei Slope, would Li Longji have been willing to execute Yang Yuhuan?
Princess Anguo was severely beaten all over her body, and the chronic arsenic poisoning eroded her internal organs.
What is happening right now cannot be compared with what happened between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan.
As for Duke Heng, we cannot touch him. If we do anything to him, the Emperor will surely suspect us, which will cause even greater trouble."
He Fei tapped his fingers lightly on the table. After thinking for a moment, he finally made a decision: "Withdraw everyone! We can't continue investigating."
As for how Princess Anguo died, it doesn’t matter now.
We must make every effort to take action against the Prince of Hengguo.
If I, the Prince of Hengguo, wanted to kill him, my royal brother would be displeased, but he would not punish me severely.
However, Duke Heng is different. He is a retired governor. If I kill him, the emperor will definitely punish me severely.
So now we must lock our sights on the Prince of Hengguo and attack him with all our might!"
He Fei was glad that Jia Jia was not there, because she could not listen to advice, but she had to try it before she would decide to listen to it. Just like this matter, she would investigate it thoroughly, just like this time, she would definitely get to the bottom of it before weighing the pros and cons and making a decision.
As for himself, since Duke Heng was unable to properly handle the matter, there was no need to pursue the matter further. He only needed to target the Duke Heng's son and make him pay for what happened to his wife.
After all, as a husband, he bears the unshirkable responsibility for his wife's beating and poisoning.
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The emperor held the note tightly in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes revealing a hint of deep thought.
These women in the harem are becoming more and more restless.
Not only was the virtuous concubine dissatisfied with her duties in the harem, she also interfered in state affairs.
Defei actually had a counselor behind the scenes who was giving her advice and trying to consolidate her position by currying favor with her.
"Bai Luonan, who exactly is he?" the emperor asked in a deep voice, with a hint of displeasure and curiosity in his tone.
The Military and Virtue Envoy quickly stepped forward and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, Bai Luonan is the younger sister of Consort De, and also a childhood classmate of Princess Lin'an."
The emperor frowned even more deeply: "Why don't I remember Jia'er having this classmate?"
The Wude Envoy was startled and quickly continued to report: "Your Majesty, the Princess of Lin'an was not close to her when she was a child, so Your Majesty may not know this person."
The emperor nodded, his eyes fell on the note in his hand again, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "So what did Bai Luonan do in the matter of Princess Anguo?"
The Wude Division Envoy reported this to himself, knowing the seriousness of the matter, and not daring to conceal anything: "She passed two notes to the Princess of Lin'an. The first was at the birthday hall, and the second was about the Second Young Master."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor's lips curled up into a playful smile. "Oh, every time is a critical moment. Go and hand this note to Concubine De quietly."
The Wudesi Envoy took the note and saw that it was clearly written on it: "Seducing the Emperor and winning his favor, everything is the Lin'an County Princess's fault." He muttered to himself that the Emperor's bad taste was becoming more and more unpredictable.
After receiving the note, Concubine De just glanced at it and burned it without hesitation.
Thinking back to when her younger sister had offended Lin'an, the emperor had actually beaten her maid with a stick. From then on, she felt disgusted with Lin'an.
However, in the matter of Princess Anguo, Lin'an was innocent, and she did not want to do such a despicable thing just to please the emperor.
What's more, Concubine Xian has done so many things but has not received the punishment she deserves. The emperor is obviously fond of her. How can I easily win his heart?
Princess Anguo was also her childhood friend. She could not show up in person, so she could only write Buddhist scriptures to pray for her afterlife.
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