No one expected that since the people from Dingguo Palace returned to Beijing, they would change their usual behavior. In the past, Dingguo Palace acted very low-key in the court. Even if someone made a petition, they would at most argue with reason, but they would never ignore the emperor as they did now.
After a while, Prime Minister Mu walked into the hall supported by the eunuch.
"Your Majesty, long live the emperor."
"Stand up!" Emperor Tianshun said in a low voice, "How is your health, my dear minister?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am in good health." Prime Minister Mu said with his head down, "Yesterday, I took my wife and daughter to visit Prince Ding's mansion. I got drunk accidentally and my old illness relapsed. I just need to rest for a few days."
Before the emperor could ask more questions, Prime Minister Mu had already explained the reason for his illness clearly, which made Wei Yan swallow back the words he was about to say.
"I see." The emperor pondered for a moment, then asked, "But people said that they saw your wife and daughter being carried out as well. Why is that?"
Prime Minister Mu said with some embarrassment: "It's all because of the two of them drinking too much. The wine in the prince's house." He looked at He Yuwen and He Jingheng, lowered his head again and said: "It's really too strong."
Emperor Tianshun looked at Wei Yan and said angrily, "Did you hear it clearly?"
Wei Yan knelt on the ground, his body trembling, and said in a trembling voice: "I know my crime. It was my fault that I failed to make things clear. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"Hmph! As an official appointed by the imperial court, you don't think about how to do your job well, but instead make wild guesses every day. This is really abominable. I hate this behavior. Come here!"
After that, several imperial guards stepped forward.
"He was dismissed from his post, severely beaten with ten sticks, and expelled from the palace as a warning to others."
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong!"
No matter how Wei Yan begged for mercy, the emperor's expression did not soften at all.
"If anyone does something like this again, no matter who it is, this will be the end!"
After the court session, He Lingsheng was called to the imperial study by the emperor and reprimanded for a long time. The Minister of Rites was He Lingsheng's man, and the emperor knew that what happened in the court today was instructed by the prince, otherwise the Minister of Rites would not dare to contradict He Yuwen and He Jingheng even if he had the guts to do so.
"Useless person!" The emperor cursed angrily, "If you can't even handle this little thing, what else can you do? I think you are too comfortable sitting on the throne of the crown prince."
"Father, I am just trying to vent your anger for you."
"How dare you! Why do I need you to do my work for me?" He threw the memorial on the table at him and said, "Get out!"
He Lingsheng clenched his fists, but still retreated respectfully.
Just then, the eunuch came in: "Your Majesty, Concubine Rou is here."
He Lingsheng walked out of the hall and his eyes fell on a woman outside the Yangxin Palace.
"Empress Roupin." He Lingsheng said in a low voice.
"Your Highness." Concubine Rou smiled and said, "The Emperor is in a bad mood today, Your Highness, please don't take it to heart."
He Lingsheng smiled and said, "Thank you for your comfort, Madam."
Just then, the eunuch came over and said, "My lady, the emperor invites you in!"
Concubine Rou smiled at He Lingsheng and walked into the Yangxin Palace.
"Is this Concubine Rou the new concubine taken in by the Emperor?"
Hearing this, Eunuch Zhang smiled and said, "Your Highness, this Concubine Rou has only been in the palace for more than a month, and she has been promoted from a noble lady to a concubine. Now she is the most favored." At this time, the sound of the piano came from the Yangxin Palace. Eunuch Zhang shook his head and said, "This person is just fate. The one in the harem is the Empress Dowager who has extremely high piano skills. The emperor loves to listen to her playing the piano the most. Now he summons Concubine Rou to come every day. In addition, the general of the Western Cavalry once rescued her, so the emperor naturally values Concubine Rou even more." Eunuch Zhang looked at his thoughtful expression and hurriedly said, "But the emperor still cares a lot about the imperial concubine."
He Lingsheng smiled and said, "Eunuch, there is no need to explain. Father and mother are naturally in love. I just didn't expect that a man as rough as General Xiqi would have such a beautiful daughter."
"Your Highness, you don't know that the wife of General Xiqi was once a famous beauty in the capital. After marrying the general, she gave birth to a daughter, but she died not long after. I guess Concubine Rou took after the general's wife."
He Lingsheng nodded, glanced at the gate of the Yangxin Palace again before turning around and leaving.
Back at the mansion, Shang Yufu hurriedly brought in the ginseng soup after hearing what was said.
"Your Highness."
As soon as she walked into the door, she saw a book coming straight towards her. She couldn't dodge in time and the book hit her head directly. The corner of the book hit her forehead and blood flowed down.
"Your Highness, I don't know how I have offended you."
"I don't know?" He Lingsheng said coldly: "If it weren't for your bad idea, how could I be scolded by my father today?"
"I don't know. I just want to ruin her reputation. Her biological father is unknown, so she will definitely be disliked by Prince Ding's palace. If I divorce her, His Highness will lose the opportunity to welcome her back to the palace, right?"
"Humph! Trash!"
At the moment, it seems that not only is Shang Ruoyi not disliked by He Jingheng, but he protects her even more closely.
"Your Highness, I will definitely think of other ways. Please give me another chance."
He Lingsheng glanced at her and said, "I never give anyone a second chance."
"Your Highness, I know one more thing. It's about my second sister. Your Highness will definitely be interested in it."
"you say."
"Your Highness, my second sister is still a virgin."
"What?" He Lingsheng's eyes tightened: "How did you know?"
"That day, I went to the Dingguo Palace to ask my second sister to let my father go. When I was struggling with her, I saw the toad's blood on her arm. Although it was only for a short moment, I could conclude that it must be the toad's blood."
Hearing her firm tone, He Lingsheng's heart moved slightly.
"It's been such a long time since the marriage, but the second sister is still a virgin, which means that she and Prince Ding are not as loving as they seem." Shang Yufu said in a deep voice: "In time, as long as there are enough rumors, she will definitely be disliked by the prince. If Your Highness comforts her at that time, maybe the second sister will be kind to Your Highness..."
She didn't finish her words, but she knew that this was enough.
He Lingsheng looked at her and said in a deep voice: "You don't need to serve here anymore, get out."
Shang Yufu hurriedly retreated.
Ever since she told He Lingsheng about Shang Ruoyi's life experience, she moved out of the servants' quarters, and now she and Madam 꺶 lived in a courtyard at the back of the Prince's Mansion.
She returned to her room, fiddled with it under the bed for a while, took out a box, opened it, and inside was a fragment of a sheepskin map.
If he looked carefully, He Lingsheng would find that this map was so similar to the one in his hand. Only by looking carefully could he find the subtle differences.
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