sjar Chapter 110 The Ruthless Royal Family
Chapter 110 The Ruthless Royal Family
Within a day or two, news of the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet spread among the common people, sparking much discussion.
When the news reached the emperor's ears, he was furious.
He ordered the Marquis of Guangde to thoroughly investigate the matters concerning Qingzhou and Yu County.
Wen Xiangyu was confined to the Wen residence and was not allowed to leave without an imperial edict.
The entire Wen family was worried, and even Wen Yanran had no interest in playing or learning etiquette.
Wen Xiangyu was confined to his home, and Wen Yanran wanted to see his father, but was ruthlessly stopped at the door.
“Father, what does His Majesty mean? You should explain things to your daughter clearly. I am not confined to my quarters. I can go to my cousin or my aunt to find a solution.”
Wen Yanran pleaded repeatedly outside the door, "Please open the door and let my daughter in. She wants to see you."
Wen Xiangyu was leisurely painting in his study. Despite the turmoil in his heart, his expression remained calm in the face of the plea outside the door.
The old steward of the Wen family stood by Wen Xiangyu's side, earnestly advising, "Master, Miss is your only child, and there are some things she should know."
Wen Xiangyu did not answer until he finished writing the last stroke of his pen, then said, "Huo Huo is quite grown up now, but there are some things she should not know. Perhaps this way she can save her life."
The old steward then advised, "Your Majesty cannot be so heartless. You have served him faithfully all these years and have never disobeyed him. And there is Prince Jing, whom you are his uncle. The Imperial Noble Consort will not stand idly by."
Wen Xiangyu snorted coldly.
“Jiana won’t help. Besides, her good son discovered the iron ore but deliberately didn’t report it and even ordered people to mine it privately. If such a crime is confirmed, it’s the same as treason. At the birthday banquet that night, she spoke up for me on the surface, but actually it was for her son’s sake. She wanted her son to be clean in this matter. My sister knows what’s important.”
"But you are, after all, her brother. So what? This is a conflict between her and His Highness Prince Jing. Without you, would she still be so prominent?"
“Glory? She’s not entirely thanks to me, and besides.” Wen Xiangyu stared at his painting. “I’ve been so cautious all these years, I never imagined that my own nephew would hand a knife to the emperor.”
The old steward looked worried. "Why doesn't Master send a message to Marquis Zhongjing? If he admits it, Master can clear his name."
"You think Kana's movements are slower than mine?"
“Yuan’er has been in private contact with Marquis Zhongjing. He appears to be on good terms with me, but he has long since sided with him. A prince and a minister, which side do you think he will choose?”
"But the person who mined the mine is Marquis Zhongjing, so he absolutely cannot escape responsibility. Doesn't he want to save his own life?"
Wen Xiangyu waved his hand, "Why do you think I'm obediently staying in this mansion, waiting for the emperor's judgment? It's because I also have a pitiful daughter. Marquis Zhongjing is also a human being, with children at home. Rather than confessing honestly, it's better to let the emperor's son owe him a favor, so that his family won't be implicated."
His words were tinged with helplessness.
He sighed and said, "Since we can't escape it anyway, we might as well take a gamble and try to gain the greatest benefit for ourselves."
"So you're really just going to let them distort the truth and take all the blame upon themselves?"
"What else can we do?"
Wen Xiangyu's eyes were deep. "The emperor's biggest flaw is his paranoia and narrow-mindedness. If he hadn't been so paranoid, how could he have sent the Prince of Liang to the Northern Barbarians? What's done is done."
Moreover, he has a younger sister in the palace and a nephew who is a prince, so he has even more unspeakable helplessness.
"Since ancient times, the imperial family has been ruthless." Wen Xiangyu seemed to have come to terms with it, and his words carried a sense of relief.
The old steward was puzzled. "So who put that 'Book of the People' inside?"
"It doesn't matter who it is." Wen Xiangyu looked at the painting, which had dried, rolled it up, put it into a painting tube, and handed it to the old steward. "Have someone secretly send this painting to the Liang Prince's residence and give it to the Liang Prince."
The old steward hesitated, "Master, we have no connection with the Prince of Liang."
They not only had no friendship, but were even at odds with each other.
"It's alright," Qin Qi said. "If he refuses to accept it, just burn it. However, if he hears that it was sent by me, he will definitely accept it."
"My lord, you might consider a different approach. After all, the court will need some time to investigate this matter, so perhaps there will be a turning point?"
Wen Xiangyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, the emperor isn't going to kill me right now."
"Yes, sir, I will send someone to deliver it right away."
"If Miss asks about it in the future..."
"You don't need to tell her anything, she'll just stay there perfectly fine."
Wen Xiangyu had already planned where his daughter would go in the future, but he still couldn't bear to part with her.
After all, if he weren't there, wouldn't her daughter be bullied? Her daughter was his only remaining hope.
-
On the other side is the Prince Jing's Mansion.
Gu Yuan waited a long time at the Prince Jing's residence but did not see Liu Yunzhu.
Guard Xiao Feng knelt before Gu Yuan, looking at her with a complicated expression.
"Your Highness, we've searched everywhere. We still can't find Liu Yunzhu."
Gu Yuan sat at her desk, frowning. "How could he be dead? Where could he have gone? How could he have disappeared?"
"Xiao Feng, continue sending people to search. You must find him."
"You must arrange all other defense matters for the Prince Jing's residence properly, and make sure no one with malicious intent enters the Prince Jing's residence."
Xiao Feng nodded and turned to leave.
A perfectly ordinary tavern on Qinghe Street.
A young gentleman sat at the very back, with several banknotes for payment on the table.
He held a jar of wine, and as he drank, he gradually felt as if someone was beside him, which made him dare to get drunk.
"Yan'er..."
"Today is our wedding day, and we haven't drunk the nuptial wine yet." He poured himself a small cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
"Only then is the ceremony complete, and we are now husband and wife..."
He had finally made it to their wedding day, but the nuptial wine made him drunk and collapse.
Seeing the young man drinking so much, and noticing the sword at his waist, the shop owner could only guess and dared not ask any further questions.
-
Jiang Zhi sat at his desk, listening to Wu Shi's words.
"He will take all the actions."
Jiang Zhi's eyes darkened. "We can only lend Liu Yunzhu a hand and guide him."
"Afterwards, he had someone leak his physical characteristics to the Imperial Guards."
At noon, she nodded, "Yes, Your Highness."
“However,” Wu Shi asked, puzzled, “is Your Highness just going to stand by and watch Prince Chu act so recklessly?”
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "He naturally has his own plans."
At noon, I was somewhat confused.
“What’s strange,” Jiang Zhi frowned, “is that His Majesty has not yet appointed a crown prince. What does that signify?”
He both doted on Gu Liang and was wary of her, but he wasn't entirely at ease with Gu Yuan either.
Doesn't he want to pass the throne to someone else?