Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 116 Brewing Quietly
Jiaofang Hall.

When Empress Xie received the news from the prince in the villa, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile.

"No wonder……"

Prince of Wei Li Yan returned to the capital overnight and went straight to the Empress Dowager's palace the next day.

No one knew what the grandparents and grandchildren talked about behind closed doors. The only thing was that the old empress dowager claimed to be sick and stayed in bed in the afternoon. When she and the emperor went to visit her, the old empress dowager wet her silk scarf with tears and cried for a long time.

"The King of Wei's biological mother passed away early. I felt sorry for his loneliness and indulged him blindly, which made him even more reckless and willful. Now that he is getting older, if I don't teach and discipline him, I'm afraid that he will be deceived by treacherous villains and do something foolish..."

Empress Xie lowered her eyes and said nothing, but her mind was clear.

The King of Wei must have committed a monstrous disaster.

But even though she had expected this, she still didn't expect that the King of Wei could actually do such a treasonous thing -

If it is said that the King of Wei and Madam Gu had a secret meeting at night, it could at most be considered a romantic affair. Although it was immoral, it was only a personal flaw.

But collusion with Sitz, if there is irrefutable evidence, would be a capital crime of treason.

Since the previous dynasty, Xizi had been in constant conflict with the Zhongzhou Dynasty. After the establishment of Daliang, the previous emperor personally led an expedition to the city of Chishui and forced Xizi to sign a letter of surrender and pay tribute every year.

At first, at the end of each year, Xizi would send envoys to the capital to offer furs, minerals, jewelry, good horses and other items, and pay tribute. But as time went on, Xizi gradually revealed his wolfish ambitions and showed his fangs.

First, they unilaterally tore up the tributary agreement that had lasted for many years, citing the "decline of people's livelihood and lack of time to take care of themselves". Then they went even further, from superficial submission to open hostility, and repeatedly sent cavalry to plunder the border.

In order to protect themselves, countless people in Western Xinjiang had to leave their homes and become displaced.

There had been complaints in the court for a long time, and some ministers were filled with righteous indignation, and they wrote to the emperor to ask him to send troops to fight. However, during the reign of the previous emperor, there had been many years of war, which had greatly depleted the country's strength and made the people live in hardship.

After Emperor Chongzhao ascended the throne, he wanted to recuperate, develop national strength, and restore people's livelihood. In the past ten years, Daliang has not fought any major wars with foreign countries, and Emperor Chongzhao has worked hard to govern the country, and the country's strength has gradually recovered from the war...

The emperor did not want to reignite the war easily, so he kept it to himself.

But in recent days, Zuo Yiwei discovered that some spies from the Western Rong had sneaked into Shangjing in disguise and were moving around the city in a strange manner, as if they were up to some ulterior motive.

When Emperor Chongzhao learned of this, he immediately ordered Prince Duan to lead the Zuo Yiwei and investigate the matter with all his might.

If it were revealed at this time that the King of Wei had secretly kept the Xizi Jade Pearl, it would surely cause the Emperor to be furious.

This is why Prince Duan asked Prince Wei to return to the capital early to meet the Queen Mother.

Emperor Chongzhao valued his reputation and considered himself a wise ruler, so he naturally valued filial piety.

With the Queen Mother stepping in, and the King of Wei having no motive to collude with Xizi, I think he can be given a lighter sentence...

But that Madam Gu...

It all depends on whether the old empress dowager recognizes the fetus in her belly and what the Jingyuan Marquis’s Mansion will do.

"Prince Duan is really wise!"

Empress Xie stroked the golden phoenix hairpin inlaid with intricate gilt patterns on her high black hair with her fingertips, listened to the sound of the night watch, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Your Majesty is here!"

A message came from outside the palace, startling Empress Xie so much that her fingertips trembled slightly.

She quickly calmed down, straightened her appearance, stood up and went out to greet the emperor.

As an old couple, they have been married for many years and have become familiar with some habits.

She welcomed the emperor into the inner hall and served him tea. Seeing that Emperor Chongzhao's dragon robe was stained with night dew and there were deep furrows between his brows, she knew that he was uneasy.

The emperor took the teacup and suddenly asked, "What does the queen think of the prince of Wei?"

In the bronze mirror, the wrinkles on Emperor Chongzhao's face became more and more obvious against the backdrop of his bright yellow dragon robe...

Time flies, and the once vigorous and handsome emperor is now showing signs of fatigue.

Queen Xie gave a perfect smile.

"The King of Wei is the apple of my mother's eye. How dare I make irresponsible comments?"

The emperor put down his teacup heavily and snorted in dissatisfaction.

"You are also his mother!"

Queen Xie sneered in her heart.

When the Queen Mother said in front of her that the Prince of Wei was "lonely and helpless", wasn't she blaming her as the "Queen who didn't take good care of the prince"?

She hesitated for a moment: "But what disaster did the King of Wei cause?"

"The Queen is well-informed." Emperor Chongzhao glanced at her coldly as if unintentionally.

Empress Xie pretended to be frightened, and the incense in her hand suddenly stopped.

"Your Majesty, you are praising me. I am just a girl in the harem, how could I know any news? I just saw that the Queen Mother was worried, so I guessed a few things secretly."

Emperor Chong Zhao looked at her for a moment and sighed softly, "If there was someone who understood his feelings by his side, then the Queen Mother wouldn't be so worried..."

Queen Xie sneered again in her heart.

It had only been a year since the death of Princess Wei, and the father was already thinking of marrying his son off to a second princess. However, because he did not want the Crown Prince to share power, he was reluctant to arrange a marriage for him.

Empress Xie dug her fingernails into her palms and smiled dignifiedly. "Since Your Majesty has asked me, I will dare to give you advice. The King of Wei is erratic and willful. He had many disagreements with the late Princess Xie in the past, and the couple had constant friction. I thought that if I were to marry again, I should find someone who is smart and wise, preferably someone with a strong and resolute character, who can advise and restrain him, so as to avoid causing Your Majesty and the Queen Mother to worry."

This statement makes a lot of sense.

Emperor Chongzhao suddenly put the teacup down heavily.

"The Queen is right. In your opinion, which daughter is suitable?"

Don’t you know what kind of person your own son is?

What kind of boudoir girl do you want?
Queen Xie cursed in her heart but put on a gentle and generous smile on her face.

"I think the second daughter of Duke Zheng is good, but her family background is too high. I am afraid she will not be willing to marry the Prince of Wei, and she may be accused of oppression by the royal family. On the other hand, there are many beautiful girls in the family of Minister Xue. I think she is suitable. Princess Duan is virtuous, and it would be a good story if she could have a Princess of Wei. It can also be considered as a closer relationship."

Emperor Chongzhao's pupils suddenly shrank.

If the Crown Prince had not returned to the capital yet, he would have been certain that Empress Xie did not know what was happening in the other garden, and he would have almost thought that Empress Xie was making a veiled mockery of him...

Emperor Chongzhao thought for a moment and waved his hand, "Let's discuss this later. I have important matters to attend to, so I won't keep you tonight. Queen, please go to bed early."

"Yes."

When Queen Xie saw that he was about to leave, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She no longer has to make excuses not to sleep with him, and she feels less worried.

"Your Majesty, please take care..."

She escorted the emperor out of the Pepper Palace.

I can't help wondering...

When the emperor came over late at night and asked her those questions, was he simply asking her what the Empress of the Central Palace thought? Or was he testing how much she knew about the Crown Prince?

Queen Xie stared at the swaying pearl curtain, her sneer deepening.
-
Li Huan returned to Shangjing but did not enter the palace immediately.

After returning to Prince Duan's Mansion, he went straight into the study and called in the scouts.

Before returning to the palace, the servant had already cleaned the study room thoroughly. However, when Li Huan walked into the room and took a look, he seemed very dissatisfied. He raised his sleeve and brushed the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the desk to the ground.

The wolf-hair brush fell, and ink splattered on the corner of his robe.

Hearing the crackling sound of falling, several servants lowered their heads and dared not breathe.

Li Huan was not someone who got angry easily. He was usually very gentle and tolerant to others and rarely lost his temper in front of his subordinates. But this time, from the moment he got on the horse in the garden, his face was full of gloom and his expression was cold. He just endured it until this moment before he exploded.

The attendants held their breath, calmed themselves, and stood with their heads bowed.

After a while, Li Huan slowly sat down.

The armrests of the sandalwood chair in the study had become smooth and shiny because he often rubbed them while thinking.

After stroking it for a while, he suddenly spoke.

"You all go out, Xiangyang stays."

The two attendants responded and retreated.

The guard named Xiangyang stepped forward quickly and bowed.

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Li Huan's face was gloomy, his eyes were fixed on him, and his brows were very solemn.

"You came to the Villa to deliver a message saying that the secret envoy from the Old Mausoleum Swamp appeared in the Misty Rain Tower. I immediately wrote a letter ordering you to return to the capital to deliver the message—"

Li Huan's voice was cold, "Why did we lose the person and why didn't the letter arrive?"

Xiang Yang said, "I came to report after I got the confirmed news. Who would have thought that after the secret envoy checked out, he went to Pinglefang and Hongfu Casino. I didn't dare to move to avoid the eyes and ears of the East Palace. When I looked for him again... he was gone, and there was no trace of him."

"Waste!" Li Huan slammed the table, causing the sandalwood armrest to vibrate.

Xiang Yang knelt on one knee and said, "We have been doing our best to investigate."

"I'm investigating. I'm investigating. You always use this trick to deal with me!"

Li Huan's voice gradually became louder, and Xiangyang's head drooped lower and lower.

"It is my incompetence. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Li Huan looked at him deeply for a moment.

After a while, he took a deep breath and asked, "When will the prince return to the capital?"

Xiangyang stood respectfully with his head bowed, without looking up.

"At the end of the Wei hour, I entered the palace from the Donghua Gate. I sent someone to inquire about it. After the crown prince paid his respects to the emperor and empress, he went straight back to the East Palace. He has not seen any outsiders since then."

Li Huan closed his eyes, rubbed his eyebrows, and suddenly stood up.

"Call someone to change clothes, and I will go to the palace to see my father."

Xue Sui: See you tomorrow. Thank you for being so nice and coming to see me.

Li Zhao: I clearly came to see you, but I didn’t see you thank me?
Xue Sui: Thank you so much. Can we go through the front door?