A storm is brewing.
After the Crown Prince's sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, Lichuan, which had been without rain for a long time, finally received the long-awaited downpour. The rain lasted for three days and three nights. After the rain stopped, the sky was covered with clouds, and the sun shone down, making the horizon appear somewhat reddish. The people said it was an auspicious sign from Heaven. In the imperial court, the civil and military officials all said that it was because the Crown Prince's prayers were effective, and that his sincerity moved Heaven. The Crown Prince's sincere prayers for the people had moved Heaven. Emperor Yun sat on his high dragon throne, coldly looking at the kneeling officials below, and then said, "The Crown Prince did well this time, calmly and appropriately. In that case, I can go to the Grand Palace with peace of mind."
Li Yunrui stepped forward and bowed, saying, "It is my duty to share your burdens, Father. On this journey to the Grand Palace, I urge you to take care of your health. I will do my utmost to handle everything in the palace."
At this moment, Tang Zhaonan and Zhang Ruoming stood to the side, exchanging a glance. Tang Zhaonan shook his head. The Crown Prince was truly eager for quick success. Logically speaking, Li Yunrui's words weren't problematic, but his father was none other than the Yun Emperor. Tang Zhaonan raised his ceremonial tablet slightly, blocking the Yun Emperor's gaze from above, and then whispered to Zhang Ruoming, "Li Yunrui's position as Crown Prince is truly frustrating."
"Old Tang, are you tired of living? Saying that here!" Zhang Ruoming raised his official tablet higher and bent his back slightly. "Let's go back together later! We'll talk in the carriage."
After leaving the court, Zhang Ruoming called out to Tang Zhaonan, "Old Tang, Old Tang! Why are you running so fast?"
"Hey! Look at Li Linglan's eyes, he looks like he wants to devour us. What else can we do but run? He hates even his own son, let alone us!"
Zhang Ruoming grabbed Tang Zhaonan's arm. "Alright, alright, stop talking! You're asking for trouble, but your Xiaofeng wants to live too." Then Zhang Ruoming called for a carriage. "Let's go! Let's go back together. There are some things I need to talk to you about." Tang Zhaonan frowned. "Talk to me? We see each other every day, what's there to talk about?" Tang Zhaonan was pulled into the carriage by Zhang Ruoming. Once the carriage started moving, Zhang Ruoming slowly began to speak. "It's nothing else, it's just that Xiaofeng came to my house for a meal a few days ago and suddenly mentioned Ali. Although he told me that someone mentioned it to him unintentionally, I know that someone definitely said it on purpose."
Upon hearing Zhang Ruoming mention Su Zili, Tang Zhaonan opened his eyes, looking at Zhang Ruoming incredulously. "Feng'er knows about A-Li?" Zhang Ruoming nodded. "But don't worry, I heard the child ask some rather trivial questions, and he just said some nonsense under the influence of alcohol. But I'm really puzzled, how come someone mentioned A-Li? Over the years, mentioning him has led to everyone's death. Do you know who told Xiao Feng?"
"Who is it?! Could it be Li Linglan?!"
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Ruoming nudged Tang Zhaonan's chest with his elbow. "How did you even come up with that idea? Your son is really lucky to get to see him in private."
"It's that old codger who guards the pawnshop."
"Uncle Ao? That old bastard, trying to fool my son? A few years ago it might have worked, but now... hahaha... how could he have fooled him? Could it be that the Crown Prince ordered him to do it? To be honest, when Xiao Feng went to court to receive his rewards, I never heard the Crown Prince praise him like that. I suspect the Crown Prince wants to win Xiao Feng over to participate in his struggle for the throne."
Zhang Ruoming frowned, clearly disagreeing with Tang Zhaonan's statement. "You say the Crown Prince is trying to win over Xiao Feng? I haven't said that yet. In my opinion, the Crown Prince is just desperate, so he's blindly trying to recruit people. Ever since the pawnshop account book incident, I think Li Linglan has lost all trust in the Crown Prince. You know how things are in the court; fortunes change. Ministers are used to going with the flow, not caring who ultimately gets the throne! But..." Zhang Ruoming shook his head. "You say the Crown Prince instructed Uncle Ao? I disagree. When did Zili leave? Twenty-six years ago! The Crown Prince wasn't even born then! His mother hadn't even married into the family yet. Even Consort Yan didn't know about it. How could the Crown Prince possibly know!"
After Zhang Ruoming finished speaking, the carriage suddenly fell silent. After a long while, Tang Zhaonan finally spoke, "Is there something you need? If not, come to my house for a couple of drinks."
"Hey, what are you going to drink! My little rascal hasn't been home for seven or eight days. He's home today, and I have to go back and see him." Zhang Ruoming waved his hand, got off the carriage, and then helped Tang Zhaonan up. "If you want to drink, we can talk about it when we have time! Call Lao Zhou, let's all drink together."
Tang Zhaonan looked towards the palace and sighed, "If you're going to drink, you'd better do it now. Xiling is probably about to change."
"You're afraid of this?" Zhang Ruoming smiled, then put his arm around Tang Zhaonan's shoulder. "You weren't like this when we followed Li Linglan north!"
"It's different, it's different. Zi Li's story tells me that the winner doesn't necessarily live, and the loser doesn't necessarily die. Life is full of surprises, and the world is unpredictable! Alas, let's pray for our own good fortune! Once the Xiling Incident occurs, we old ministers will definitely be the first to die."
At this moment, inside the Xianhe Palace, a palace maid knelt outside the door and said, "Your Highness, our Fourth Prince has arrived."
"Let him in!" Consort Rong had just woken up. She casually picked up a jade hairpin and piled her hair up in a high bun. She draped a thin robe over her shoulders and knelt down in front of the table.
Seeing that Consort Rong was already sitting there waiting for him, Li Yunheng quickly bowed and said, "Come and sit down!" Li Yunheng then lifted his robe and stood up, kneeling down. Consort Rong handed Li Yunheng a piece of pastry and asked, "How have you been lately? I've noticed that the Crown Prince is making quite a stir these days!"
“A few days ago, the Crown Prince offered sacrifices to the gods. Although the civil and military officials praised him to the skies, I could clearly sense that my father was not happy. I am too weak now and cannot stand firm in the court. Although I have a way to bring down Li Yunrui, I am currently willing but unable to do so.”
"So you want to drag the third brother into this?"
"You knew all along?"
Consort Rong rose and took a piece of paper from the dressing table's vanity case. "The third prince was never born with a combative nature; he's used to being unrestrained. If you really want to win him over, how can you go to him without any proof? Take a look at this."
After Li Yunheng opened the letter, he was startled. "Mother, where did you get this? Consort Xiao is, after all, one of Father's people. If this information is inaccurate, it will be very difficult to handle!"
"I have my own way of doing things. Don't worry about the rest. Just tell the Crown Prince about this. Although the Third Prince and Consort Xiao don't get along on the surface, I know he is a filial son in private."
Seeing Consort Rong sipping her tea without a trace of fear on her face, Li Yunheng seemed to finally make up his mind. He stood up to leave, saying, "Then I'll go now and tell the Crown Prince about this." Just as Li Yunheng was about to leave, Consort Rong grabbed him, saying, "You child, so reckless! How can you shoulder great responsibilities in the future? You should think carefully about why Li Yunye is closer to Li Yunrui. It's because he believes Li Yunrui will be a wise ruler in the future and won't interfere with his life. Now you're hastily revealing this to Li Yunrui; what can he do?" If you truthfully report to your father, the Emperor, you'll at most receive a mild reprimand. As for Li Yunye, since the Emperor is handling this matter, he won't dare say anything, no matter how light or heavy the punishment. But if you wait until the Emperor goes to the Grand Palace for summer retreat and the Crown Prince takes charge, and then you report, given the Crown Prince's upright and incorruptible character, he will definitely imprison Consort Xiao to await her fate. At that time, Li Yunye will see his trusted brother personally putting his loved one in jail, and then you can add fuel to the fire. Wouldn't that be enough?"
Li Yunheng pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "I will obey Mother's wishes." According to annual custom, on the eighth day of next month, Emperor Yun would go to the Grand Palace for summer retreat. Important matters would be handled by messengers delivering memorials to the Grand Palace for Emperor Yun's review, while minor matters would be handled by the Crown Prince. After returning home, Li Yunheng thought long and hard, deciding to wait until after Emperor Yun left to catch him in the act before reporting to Li Yunrui. It wasn't that he didn't trust his mother, but rather that this matter, if handled incorrectly, could easily backfire.
As Li Yunheng left Xuanhe Palace, he turned to the young palace maid who had come to see him off and said, "These next few days, try to visit Consort Xiao as often as possible. If you discover anything, come and inform me. You're quick-witted, understand?"
At this moment, Li Yunye was completely unaware that a huge conspiracy was lurking behind him, like a sword piercing towards him.
"Brother, sister-in-law is here too! This is some Mu Bai I brought from the manor, would you like to try some?" Li Yunye saw Li Yunrui and Lin Xiaomei chatting together as soon as he entered. Lin Xiaomei stood up when she saw Li Yunye and said, "Then I won't disturb you, you two chat." Li Yunye smiled, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? Sit down and chat with me."
Seeing Lin Xiaomei hesitate, Li Yunrui stepped in to help her out, saying, "Xiaomei wasn't feeling well a couple of days ago. The imperial physician came to check on her and said she's about a month pregnant. You should let her rest!" Li Yunye was overjoyed to hear this, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Sister-in-law!"
Lin Xiaomei blushed and said, "Then I'll be going. You two have a good chat. I'll ask the kitchen to make you some snacks."
"Brother, you're amazing! Empress Yan is pressuring you to have a baby, and you've been so busy. You just took a break recently, and now my sister-in-law is pregnant. Everyone in the palace knows! Does Father know?"
Li Yunrui unpacked the teacup Li Yunye had brought and poured it into the teapot to scald it. "My little sister is newly pregnant. The imperial physician said the fetal development is unstable, so I think we shouldn't talk about it for now. However, I've secretly sent someone to inform Mother. You know, I'm incredibly busy every day, especially since Father will be away at the Grand Palace in a few days and won't be able to return home. I owe my little sister so much. This child has come at just the right time. In the future, when I'm not in the manor, my little sister won't be lonely anymore."
"Well... I won't say anything more. You're the Crown Prince now, with so many eyes watching. It's best not to talk about your sister-in-law's matter now. Oh, right, I haven't told you yet, the fourth prince conspired with me a few days ago." Li Yunye poured the boiled tea into a cup and then pushed it towards Li Yunrui. "But I rejected him."
Li Yunrui smiled. "I knew you'd refuse even if you didn't tell me. Alright, alright, why come all this way for tea? Let's chat about something pleasant. I heard you're going to..."
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