Chapter 91
The morning sun filtered through the diamond-shaped windows of Changle Palace, casting tiny specks of light on the gilded floor tiles. Inside, a gilded bronze crane blew wisps of smoke, mingling with the rich aroma of ginseng soup, gently circling the hanging bright yellow gauze curtains.
Ji Ke, dressed in casual clothes, carefully took the swaddling clothes from the wet nurse's arms. His fingertips gently rubbed the baby's pink cheeks, and the gentleness in his eyes almost overflowed.
He teased the child's soft little hands, and from time to time he looked up at Ji Zelan on the couch, and said in a very soft voice: "How have you been taking care of yourself recently? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ji Zelan was lying on the couch wearing a nightgown embroidered with lotus flowers, with her long black hair loosely tied behind her head. Hearing this, she raised her hand and stroked her temples with a smile, her tone full of lightness: "Maybe it's thanks to the prince, she is more energetic than before giving birth." As she spoke, her eyes fell on the child in her father's arms, and a trace of imperceptible nervousness flashed in her eyes, which was quickly covered up by tenderness.
The prime minister leaned on a jade staff and came forward to look at the swaddled child. His deeply wrinkled face was full of kindness, and his voice was filled with uncontrollable joy: "This child is born very beautiful, with regular eyebrows and eyes. He will definitely be blessed in the future."
"Yes!" Ji Zelan immediately chimed in, her tone deliberately intimate, "I told Your Majesty yesterday that this look is exactly like your childhood."
As soon as these words fell, Ji Zeming, who had been standing in the corner, suddenly spoke up, his voice as cold as the bluestone ground outside the palace: "Are you happy?"
The atmosphere in the hall froze instantly, even the smoke in Tonghe's mouth seemed to pause for a moment.
The smile on Ji Ke's face froze, his brows furrowed slightly, and he turned to look at Ji Zeming, his eyes full of blame, as if saying that he was ignorant and disturbed the festive atmosphere.
Ji Zelan tightened her grip on the quilt, then loosened it again, still wearing a proper smile on her face. She softly said, "Of course I'm happy. This joy is beyond words."
Ji Zeming glanced at her blankly, without any warmth in his eyes, and said lightly: "So happy? I'll leave first." After that, he turned around and left without waiting for everyone to react. When his black robe swept across the threshold, it brought a cool breeze, blowing away some of the warmth in the hall.
After leaving the palace, Ji Zeming did not return to the Prime Minister's Residence. Instead, he turned his horse around and headed towards the red-light district in the south of the city.
The midday sun was at its brightest, the bluestone slabs in the alley were scorched by the sun, and the flower buildings on both sides were hung with colorful gauze lanterns. Although it was not yet the bustling night time, sporadic sounds of stringed instruments could be heard from the buildings.
He dismounted and just as he reached the entrance of Zuichunfang, the madam, dressed in a brightly colored silk dress, came up to him with a broad smile on her face. Her voice was sharp and thin: "Oh, Master Ji, you're here! Please come in! I'll call Lady Liu out to serve you!"
However, Ji Zeming raised his hand and indicated in a cold tone: "No need, I can go in by myself." The madam was also a discerning person. Seeing that he looked unhappy, she immediately put away her smile and responded with a nod and bowing: "Okay, then you can do whatever you want. Call me if you need anything." After that, she turned around to greet other guests.
Ji Zeming went straight up to the second floor and pushed open the door of the innermost room.
Inside the house, Liu Niang was sitting by the window embroidering. When she heard the door open, her hands paused, her expression instantly becoming alert, and she looked up. When she saw that it was Ji Zeming, her tense shoulders relaxed quietly. She stood up, walked forward, saluted, and said softly, "Sir, you are here."
Ji Zeming did not respond and walked straight to the curtain behind the bed.
He reached out and lifted the curtain, revealing a white and tender baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, fast asleep on the crib inside. Its face was flushed, a trace of saliva hung from the corner of its mouth, and its breathing was even. He looked at the child, his voice unconsciously lowering as he asked Liu Niang behind him, "How have you been lately? Is the child okay?"
Liu Niang shifted her gaze from the child, walked over to him, and whispered, "Thanks to you, my Lord, the child is very well behaved and rarely cries. With this child here, our house is much more lively, and we are living a relatively happy life."
As she spoke, she turned to the table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Ji Zeming. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked, "Sir, to be honest, I still don't understand why you asked us to take care of the child. Whose child is this, and why do you care so much about it?"
Ji Zeming took the teacup and his fingertips touched the slightly cool wall of the cup, but his thoughts suddenly went back to the day his sister gave birth.
The Changle Palace was brightly lit that day. He had come to visit his sister, but outside the palace gate he ran into his sister's personal eunuch, Eunuch Zhang, sneaking out through the back door.
Suspicious, he quietly followed. He saw Eunuch Zhang walk all the way to the alley outside the palace and hand a cradle covered with a black cloth to a stranger. As Eunuch Zhang turned to leave, he immediately stepped forward, knocked the man unconscious, and lifted the black cloth from the cradle—unbelievably, a newborn baby lay inside.
At that moment, he understood everything.
My sister used a trick to replace her newborn baby, and the one left with her is probably not her biological child.
As a member of the Ji family, he could not expose this matter, otherwise the entire Ji family would be in dire straits; but as the child's uncle, he could not watch the child disappear.
After much thought, he decided to send the child to a brothel, where there were many people around and it would be less likely to attract attention.
Seeing that he had been silent for a long time and was just staring at the teacup in a daze, Liu Niang shook her head gently, with a hint of helplessness in her tone: "It seems that you still don't want to tell me."
Ji Zeming came back to his senses, put the teacup on the table, and said in a low voice: "You don't need to know too much, just know that this is a child who was forced to become an orphan and has no home to go."
Liu Niang looked at him with a firm gaze and solemnly promised, "Sir, don't worry. As long as I am here, I will raise her wholeheartedly and will never let her suffer any injustice."
——
In the solemn and dignified atmosphere of the Purple Palace, Crown Prince Li Yin sat high on the throne. His stern gaze, without a trace of warmth, was like a sharp cold sword, quickly sweeping across the ministers in the palace who had different expressions.
After a brief pause, he casually dropped a bombshell. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, like thunderclapping from a clear sky, booming through the hall. "The person who broke into the East Palace last time and attempted to frame me with false information for treason has been found."
As soon as these words were spoken, the court erupted in a frenzy. The ministers whispered among themselves, their expressions filled with shock and confusion. Sun Xing, as the representative of the crowd, was the first to step forward, kneeling on one knee. With a hint of urgency and disbelief in his tone, he asked, "Your Highness, are you serious?"
Li Yin looked calm, as if this was just a trivial matter. He nodded slightly and continued, "However, he confessed that he was instigated by someone."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang, the Minister of Justice of the Dali Temple, hurried out, clasped his hands together, and said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, please hand this prisoner over to me. I will do my utmost to make him reveal the mastermind behind this."
However, Li Yin ignored Liu Yang's request. His lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of interest. He said in a slightly teasing tone, "However, I do have an idea. This person claims he's eager to reveal the person behind this. Why not have him publicly identify the mastermind in front of all the nobles in the court in three days?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers fell silent. They looked at each other, their eyes flickering with complex emotions, yet they all tacitly chose silence. Ultimately, the matter was decided without any objection. Three days later, the traitor would be allowed to publicly expose the person behind the plot in the court.
After the court session, Xu Jiang hurriedly followed Sun Xing. He looked around cautiously, and seeing no one paying attention, he leaned closer to Sun Xing and asked in a low voice with a hint of anxiety, "What should we do?"
Sun Xing also had a serious expression on his face. He observed his surroundings vigilantly and replied in a low voice, "Don't panic too much. He knows in his heart that if he reveals the person behind the scenes, he will have no chance of survival."
After hearing this, Xu Jiang's brows didn't relax, but instead frowned even tighter. He whispered a reminder: "That being said, shouldn't we go see him before that, just in case?"
The two looked at each other, the meaning in their eyes was self-evident, and they understood each other tacitly.
The night was as dark as ink, covering the entire capital, and all was silent. In the middle of the night, Sun Xing and Xu Jiang took a large sum of money, quietly bribed the jailer, and tiptoed into the prison.
However, they never expected that as soon as they entered the prison, they found that Li Yin and his group had been waiting there, like hunters waiting for their prey.
Li Yin looked at the two trapped men in front of him, trembling slightly with fear, with a half-smile. His voice seemed to come from the Netherworld, with a hint of chill: "What brings you two gentlemen to this prison in the dead of night?"
Sun Xing suppressed his inner fear, his body trembling slightly. He tried to remain calm and asked, "Why is Your Highness here?"
Li Yin's eyes were icy, and he replied calmly, "Of course I've come to see who is so bold as to falsely accuse me of treason."
Sun Xing stammered, explaining, "Your Highness, I... Your Highness is concerned about me. I want to find out who has committed such a heinous crime of treason."
Li Yin's gaze was as sharp as a torch. He looked at the "traitor" huddled in the corner with his back to the crowd and said, "Are you talking about him? But I have never mentioned his appearance or name to you. How do you know it's him?"
At this time, the man called "the traitor Gou Qi" seemed to be sleeping very deeply. Despite such a loud noise, he did not move at all.
Li Yin then turned his head and looked at Wei Zheng behind him and asked, "Master Wei, do you know the name of this prisoner?"
Wei Zheng looked serious, bowed, and replied solemnly, "Your Highness, I don't know."
Li Yin sneered and said, "Since that's the case, and since everyone is here, let's ask together who is behind this."
After receiving Li Yin's order, Wei Zheng strode into the prison and reached out to wake Gou Qi.
But when he gently pushed, Gou Qi's body collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud. Wei Zheng was startled, realizing something was wrong. He quickly reached out to feel his breath, and his face turned pale. He turned to report to Li Yin, "Your Highness, he is no longer breathing."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin's expression instantly turned gloomy and uncertain. He angrily demanded, "Who was it? Who was it that had been to this prison before us?"
Xu Jiang and Sun Xing stood outside the prison, looking at each other, cold sweat oozing from their foreheads, their hearts filled with fear and anxiety, as if an invisible big hand was tightly strangling their throats.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
