tallest building

Chapter 69 Seeking Clues

Feng Tianzhu and Gong Chang'an returned to Madam Gong's room, still preoccupied with the matter of establishing an imperial empress, and kept muttering to Gong Chang'an.

Ms. Wei asked with a smile, "What are you two little monkeys chattering about?"

Feng Tianzhu wasn't one to hide things, and besides, he wasn't allowed to talk about it at Song's place, but it should be fine here, so he said, "We were talking about the imperial goods. There are imperial goods in Aunt Song's room!"

"What kind of goods?" No one understood. Old Madam Gong asked with a smile, "What kind of strange gadgets are they?"

“It was a tiny little person who disappeared in the blink of an eye in the room,” Feng Tianzhu said.

“But that’s nonsense,” said Madam Feng. “There’s no such thing.”

"I'm not kidding, it's true! Chang'an, Gong Bao'an, and I all saw it." Children are most afraid of being disbelieved, and Feng Tianzhu's eyes widened in anxiety.

Madam Feng and Madam Wu were worried about offending him, so they quickly coaxed him, "Alright, alright, you're not talking nonsense."

"Chang'an, you speak!" Feng Tianzhu pulled Gong Chang'an over to testify for him, "But am I lying?"

Gong Chang'an explained: "Some time ago, I was playing with Bao'an in Aunt Song's room when I saw a child wearing a red jacket and green pants run into Aunt Song's room. I chased after him and saw him crawl under the bed. When I went over to look more closely, he was gone."

I went back and looked it up in a book. It says this thing is called something like "Emperor's Treasure," and it can predict the past and the future five hundred years in advance—it's a treasure!

Hearing his words, everyone's expressions turned somewhat grim. Children don't know any better; it's obvious that this is an evil spirit, not some kind of treasure.

Especially Madam Gong and Madam Wei, outsiders may not know, but their own family certainly does. When Song's first son, Gong Kang'an, was murdered on his first birthday, he was wearing a red shirt and green pants.

The scene of Song holding her already dead child and refusing to let go is still vivid in my mind.

Seeing the awkward situation, Madam Wei smiled and said, "Chang'an is probably mistaken. Children are prone to overreacting."

Only Wen Mingqian remained calm and said to Gong Chang'an, "You don't concentrate on your studies and instead dabble in those miscellaneous subjects, which is not good. When you enter the academy, you must study diligently."

Madam Feng seized the opportunity to speak up: "But, I was just about to say that I have already prepared the writing brushes, inkstones and other items that your fourth young master will need for school, just like Tianzhu's, so you don't need to prepare anything else."

Madam Gong and the others expressed their gratitude, saying, "You've gone to so much trouble, Madam."

"No need to worry, just having a companion for our child is better than anything else." Madam Feng also regarded Feng Tianzhu as her only hope, so she naturally valued him.

After chatting for a while, the Feng family members took their leave.

The Gong family insisted on keeping him for a meal and refused to let him leave no matter what.

Feng Tianzhu was reluctant to part with Gong Chang'an, so Wu told him that if he didn't listen, she wouldn't let him go to school. Only then did the rebellious son reluctantly let go of her hand.

He didn't forget to remind Gong Chang'an: "You absolutely must find that Emperor Li."

After seeing the Feng family off, Wen Mingqian said, "The old lady must be a little tired after entertaining guests for so long. I'll take Chang'an back. Please have some peace and quiet. I'll have Zhang Ma bring over some vegetables later."

After Wen Mingqian and his mother left, Madam Wei had someone tidy up the house and personally helped her mother-in-law to the bed to rest.

Seeing that Madam Gong looked unhappy, Madam Wei asked cautiously, "Is something bothering you, Madam?"

Madam Gong said, "How can you not feel annoyed by what those two children said?" Madam Wei comforted her, "Children's words are innocent, please don't take it to heart, Madam."

Madam Gong said, "That's true, but it's still a bit too strange. Even if a child made it up, it might not make sense. I don't think she would tell Chang'an about that."

Lady Wei said, "Yes! Chang'an is still young and can't bear to hear such things, and besides..."

Lady Wei didn't finish speaking, but Old Madam Gong knew what she actually wanted to say.

Besides, this is a stain on Wen Mingqian's life, how could she tell her son?

Madam Gong said, "I was thinking that Aunt Song has been making a fuss ever since she became pregnant, which is probably bad luck."

"Let's wait and see, maybe they'll stop making a fuss later," Madam Wei said gently. "Grandma, don't worry about these baseless things."

Wen Mingqian brought Gong Chang'an back to Lingyue Pavilion. She sat down to drink tea, while Gong Chang'an stood to the side with a smile.

Wen Mingqian took a couple of sips of tea and asked him, "Did you go over there causing trouble today?"

Gong Chang'an nodded in agreement: "It's not my son's fault for causing trouble; it's just that they have something fishy going on their side!"

"Tell me more," Wen Mingqian slightly raised his chin, "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Song is pregnant with a wicked child, and her son wants to take this opportunity to scare her. It just so happens that the young master of the Feng family is here today. As the saying goes, 'three men can make a tiger,' so if the three of us are all making such a fuss, people will definitely become suspicious."

I left a loophole: Gong Baoan would play tricks on Madam Song. If he acted convincingly, Madam Song, feeling guilty, would inevitably reveal something.

“Even if Song feels guilty, she has to let everyone see it. Why don’t you put on a show when you go to the old lady’s place tonight?” Wen Mingqian advised his son. “Anyway, the old lady has already noticed it today.”

“I understand,” Gong Chang’an said immediately. “We must find out what happened back then and clear Mother’s name.”

“I was indeed innocent back then, but there’s something I’ve never understood all these years. If it really was Song who framed me, how could she bear to poison her own son?” Wen Mingqian frowned slightly. “Back then, Wu Zetian framed Empress Wang for strangling her own daughter. Firstly, Wu Zetian was ruthless, and secondly, it was because it was a girl. Song only had that one son. If she couldn’t have another son in the future, even if she tried her best to drive me away, it would be useless.”

“The young lady is right, that’s the crucial point! Otherwise, we can’t possibly convince everyone that Song Shi intentionally framed you, because no one would believe that a mother would kill her only son.” Zhang Ma sighed as well.

"Madam, how did this Song family member come to our residence?" Sang Er, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. "To be honest, she is quite resourceful, but unfortunately, she is wicked and only uses treacherous schemes."

"She entered the family on the third day of the second month of the year Yichou. As early as the winter of the previous year, Gong Xu had quarreled with me and the old lady several times because of her."

"We all knew he kept a mistress outside the marriage, back when her brother hadn't yet climbed the social ladder to marry the Prince of Zhao," Wen Mingqian said, recalling the past. "The old lady originally refused to let her in, but then Song attempted suicide. It caused such a big commotion that she had no choice but to allow her in."

"Madam, was she pregnant at that time?" Sang Er asked.

Wen Mingqian shook his head: "Not yet. I remember that the old lady specially invited a doctor to take her pulse. As you know, large families are particularly concerned about the origin of a child, and they would never keep a child whose origin is unclear."

"Has your wife examined this child's birth date and time? Is there any saying that he will bring misfortune to his father or mother?" Sang Er asked again.

Generally speaking, if a child's birth chart is unfavorable, it is believed to bring misfortune to the parents.

If this child is truly like that, then it's understandable that Mrs. Song would abandon him.

(End of this chapter)