Jinwu Palace.
"Your Majesty, when I went to the Imperial Hospital just now, I heard that His Majesty left Zhaoning Palace in a huff today," the palace maid Peilan said softly. "The Empress seemed to be upset with the Emperor..."
"How dare you!"
Consort Yi slammed the medicine bowl down on the table, her beautiful eyes glaring angrily at Pei Lan, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Who gave you the audacity to speak ill of the Emperor and Empress?"
Seeing that Consort Yi was furious, Pei Lan hurriedly kowtowed, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was only thinking of you. I really didn't mean to gossip about these things."
"Thinking of me?"
Consort Yi protected her stomach with both hands, and her tone softened a bit.
"This servant is foolish and only knows that the Crown Prince is now feared by the Emperor, and the Second Prince has regained favor." Pei Lan's heart pounded. "But the Second Prince has a broken leg. Does that mean we should make a broken-legged prince the Emperor?"
"Smack—"
A loud slap landed on Perrin's face, but Perrin seemed to feel no pain.
“Your Majesty, I know you are devoted to the Empress, but you should also think about yourself and the child in your womb.” Pei Lan’s words struck Consort Yi’s heart. “The Third Prince is a stepson, and if this child is a prince… Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the Emperor only came to our palace a few days ago?”
"Her Majesty the Empress has been very kind to me, and I will never do anything to be ungrateful."
Consort Yi steadied herself and said, "Don't let me hear these words again next time."
"yes."
If one attempt fails, there will always be more opportunities. The Empress still has her heart set on the Empress, but if she were to give birth to a child... human desires are never-ending.
......
Gu Heng's instructions were quickly relayed back to Heng County, and Gu Qingyan had also completed all the preparatory work.
"We'll start tomorrow morning."
Gu Qingyan calmly gave instructions to everyone. During his trip to Heng County, Gu Qingyan had grown rapidly.
“We just need to control those people in Hengxian County, and Father will send people to rescue those women.” As soon as Gu Qingyan finished speaking, Chang Qing couldn’t help but ask, “Wouldn’t all the credit go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”
The truth they painstakingly uncovered turned out to be the work of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who were the ones who made the arrests. What kind of logic is that?
The soldiers also spoke up, clearly expressing their dissatisfaction.
"As long as we can find the missing woman, this trip will not have been in vain." Gu Qingyan said with a smile. If his father really attributed all the credit to him, he might not even be able to return alive.
"I know everyone has done their best. When I return to the capital, I will definitely report the situation to my father and ask for rewards for everyone."
"Thank you, Third Prince."
Gu Qingyan nodded slightly. His mother had told him not to focus too much on temporary gains and losses, which must be because there had been some unrest in the capital recently.
Qin Wei, who was waiting outside the study, listened to the commotion inside and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
The master and mistress are both diligently raising their young master...
The next day, Gu Qingyan detained the traitor in the county government office, and Gu Heng's Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) swiftly led their men into the homes of the officials involved. As one missing woman after another from Heng County was brought out, everyone realized that the case in Heng County had been solved.
"I will absolutely not allow my people to suffer. I will not let any of the officials involved off lightly!"
Gu Heng's words at the morning court quickly reached the ears of the people in the capital, who knelt down and kowtowed to thank this "virtuous" monarch.
Zhaoning Palace.
"Your Majesty, I sent someone to go outside the palace, but no one mentioned our Third Prince."
[This Gu Heng is utterly shameless. I thought he would at least mention A Yan, but he just took all the credit for himself.]
Jiang Yu sneered, "Does Ayan intend to sneak back to the capital as well?"
[They made such a big fuss about sending Ayan to Heng County, and now they want to hide Ayan's achievements...]
To Jiang Yu's surprise, Gu Heng once again exceeded the limits she had set for him.
"The Emperor said that Ayan should continue to stay in Heng County?" Jiang Yu could hardly believe her ears.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor says that Heng County is currently in chaos, and the missing woman must be sent back to Heng County. Therefore, he wants the Third Prince to finish dealing with the matter there before returning to the capital."
[This is to wait until everyone has forgotten about the events in Heng County before sending Ayan back to the capital.]
"I told Ayan not to compete too much because I didn't want him to get involved in the current conflict between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. But that doesn't mean Ayan is a pushover who can be bullied by others."
Jiang Yu stood up, her whole body enveloped in a chill.
"Next month is His Majesty's birthday, and Ayan, as a prince, will not attend." Jiang Yu was clearly angry. "Who knows how much slander will be thrown at my Ayan then!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Jiang Yu's eyes were sharp. Gu Heng had gone to such extremes, so she shouldn't be blamed for stirring up trouble.
"Go and fetch the imperial physician, and tell him that I am ill."
......
The Hengxian affair was handled exceptionally well, and the people of the capital were filled with joy at having a "wise ruler" and were full of hope for the future of Daqing.
But at this very moment, the Empress fell ill.
"Do you think the Empress fell ill because the Emperor also severely punished the Wenchang Earl's Mansion?" Some busybodies, not wanting to miss a good spectacle, started gossiping in the streets and alleys.
"I think it's pretty much true. That Marquis Wenchang is the Empress's maternal uncle!"
"Won't Fan Shen be released? That guy is a complete playboy."
Such discussions were clearly damaging to the royal family's reputation, but Gu Heng was delighted with them and didn't even send anyone to restrain them, allowing the news of Jiang Yu's illness to spread wider and wider.
As an emperor, Gu Heng was repeatedly turned away. He wanted to make Jiang Yu understand that he was the master of Daqing and that only by relying on him could she have a good ending.
As the situation escalated, Fan Shen of the Wenchang Earl's Mansion was imprisoned in the imperial prison, and everyone craned their necks to see if Jiang Yu would plead for Fan Shen's life.
If Jiang Yu pleads for leniency, she will once again be condemned.
But what no one expected was that Jiang Yu, who was at the center of the storm, was helped by palace servants to kneel on the road that officials had to take after court.
In front of everyone, she broke down in tears, saying, "I am just a woman who doesn't understand politics, but the Third Prince has been in Heng County for more than a month. Now that the matter has been investigated, the Third Prince has not returned to the capital."
"In order to find out the truth, the Third Prince has been assassinated multiple times in Heng County. Your Majesty, I know that you must have your reasons for keeping him in Heng County. I only ask that you send more people to protect his safety."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in uproar.
It was only then that they realized they had completely forgotten about the Third Prince, who had truly risked his life to go to Heng County.
Jiang Yu seemed unable to withstand such a shock and slowly fainted in front of the palace.
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