Wanjin Lady

On the outskirts of the capital, Lieutenant General Liu reluctantly spoke to her, "This time, you and I are seeking the late emperor's decree. Now that the eldest princess is dead, if His Majesty holds you accountable..."

He glanced at the woman from the corner of his eye, remembering her panic in the inn room. He half-considered, "If His Majesty asks, you and I must have a way to respond."

Wen Wan said with a serious expression, "The eldest princess used the late emperor's decree to threaten Your Majesty. Heaven has sent down thunderbolts as punishment. She deserves the punishment."

Brigadier General Liu smiled.

He didn't need to remind her much, she was a smart woman.

Wen Wan rushed to the palace in a dusty state. She had only been to Empress Wei's Chonghua Palace. Now she entered the Zhenghe Palace and saw the flying eaves and brackets, the splendor and solemnity, the gilded pillars, the towering platform, the roof decorated with immortals and beasts, and in the center of the interior was a gold-painted throne with carved dragons. The ground was covered with gold diamonds, leading up to the supreme seat.

Wen Wan lowered her head and dared not look around. She followed behind Brigadier General Liu, knelt on the ground, and shouted "Long live the general" three times before she saw the man.

The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, a thin, middle-aged man with a vigorous spirit and eyes as sharp as knives. He wore a crown with dangling pearls, twelve jade tassels covering his half-closed brows. His black robe was embroidered with twelve patterns of the sun, moon, and stars, and golden dragons glimpsed faintly as they fell from his sleeves.

Wen Wan only thought of one word.

The precious appearance is majestic.

Wen Wan lowered her head.

I thought to myself that this old ghost was playing Wei Zheng in the palm of his hand.

She could only deal with it carefully.

Bao Xiang looked unhappy. He threw the document heavily onto the dragon table. Then he noticed the two people kneeling in the hall. His eyes drifted to Wen Wan. "Are you Wen Wan?"

"The woman is here."

"Lift your head and let me take a look." After a moment, after seeing Wen Wan's appearance, "She is indeed quite pretty. No wonder she was able to coax Jin Yu into becoming her son-in-law."

Wen Wan: ...

Do big guys also gossip?

Could it be that Queen Wei was whispering in my ear?
Before Wen Wan could argue, the emperor changed the subject, "On the day mentioned in the secret letter, you and the imperial sister lived in the same room. What happened? Why was she struck to death by lightning?"

Wen Wan's face was filled with resentment and fear. "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I felt the room was too hot and stuffy, so I opened the window wide. Perhaps Your Highness felt cold at night, so he walked to the windowsill and reached out to close the window—"

"I saw with my own eyes that His Highness's hair stood up completely..." Her voice grew uneasy. "I once heard from an old man in the countryside that hair standing up for no reason is a sign of lightning. But before I could react, a bolt of lightning struck me. When I opened my eyes again, His Highness had collapsed to the ground, his hair scorched and his skin covered in the obvious red marks of tree stumps..."

Wen Wan lowered her eyes, tears welling up in them, "If Lieutenant General Liu hadn't rushed into the house in time, I'm afraid I would have—"

The emperor looked gloomy and turned to Lieutenant General Liu, "Ask someone from the Imperial Observatory to take a look."

Wen Wan frowned.

The emperor was very suspicious, and she had already expected that he would not believe it easily, but the scientific level of the Great Chen Dynasty was limited, and even if people from the Imperial Astronomical Observatory came, they would not be able to reconstruct the scene of the lightning.

There was silence in the hall.

Wenwan raised her eyes and looked at the emperor.

Obviously, the emperor was not satisfied.

After Zhao Yingzhen's death, the emperor had no way of knowing whether the imperial edict was true or not, and he could not sleep or eat peacefully from then on.

Lieutenant General Liu said, "Your Majesty, the night of the incident, there was torrential rain and thunder and lightning. The lightning struck and set the trees on fire. It was truly a natural disaster! Perhaps it was the will of the gods. Tell Your Majesty whether the imperial edict is true or not. Please do not investigate this matter any further."

Wen Wan also kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial edict may be true or false, or it may be a ploy for Her Highness to escape. From my observation, the eldest princess has been troubled since leaving Kyoto. She tosses and turns at night, unable to sleep, and has difficulty eating, and is becoming increasingly thin."

"That night, I, a humble woman, tried to verify the truth of the imperial edict. Her Highness the Princess said..." Wen Wan paused at the opportune moment, and as expected, the Emperor was furious. "What did she say?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my outspokenness!"

The emperor frowned, "Just tell me!"

"She only replied to me with a few words."

"She said, whether the imperial edict is real or not, it doesn't matter."

"I... guess..." Wen Wan's voice gradually lowered, "Perhaps Her Royal Highness the Princess is really trying to get something for nothing. She went out to sea to seek the imperial edict under false pretenses, and is really trying to escape and make a comeback!"

"How dare you!" the emperor rebuked, neither lightly nor harshly. "I haven't yet held you accountable! You were in the same room with the eldest princess, and it was a thunderstorm. Why didn't you warn her beforehand?"

Wen Wan quickly lowered her head and said, "I am guilty."

Wen Wan thought this was a retreat to advance, but she never expected that after a moment of silence above her head, the emperor suddenly said, "You are indeed guilty."

You could hear a pin drop in the hall.

"Her Royal Highness, the Princess, has deep feelings for you and considers you a true friend, yet you failed to protect her. Even now, you still dare to sow discord between me and my sister! You deserve death!"

Wen Wan: ???
The more Wen Wan listened, the more she felt something was wrong.

She gradually came to her senses!
The emperor doesn't trust her!

The emperor may trust Wei Zheng, but he does not trust her as a merchant girl!
The imperial edict is an extraordinary matter, so naturally the fewer people who know about it, the better.

This is to use Zhao Yingzhen's death to find fault and silence her!

She and Wei Zheng had no status or position, so it would be easy for the emperor to kill her!
Thinking of this, Wen Wan suddenly felt a chill on her back!
No matter how much I planned, I never expected the emperor to be so cruel!
Even Brigadier General Liu was startled, his eyes lowered in shock and he remained silent.

Wen Wan's heart was beating like a drum and sweat was pouring down. Just as she was thinking about how to respond, she saw the eunuch coming hurriedly to report that Wei Zheng, Duke of Wei, wanted to see her.

Wen Wan became even more frightened when she suddenly heard Wei Zheng's name.

Wei Zheng, who was supposed to be the rear guard, marched back to Beijing at almost the same time as her. As the wheelchair rolled over the jade floor, Wen Wan's gaze unconsciously fell on Wei Zheng's legs.

How could his legs bear such a haste?

As if sensing Wen Wan's worried gaze, Wei Zheng gave her a reassuring smile, then turned his wheelchair to face the emperor, "Your Majesty."

Perhaps seeing Wei Zheng's crippled leg reminded him of the tragic death of the old Duke, and the Emperor's expression softened. He excused Wei Zheng from his formalities. "Your legs are cramped and you need to rest. I originally allowed you to accompany me on this investigation, but your aunt has already complained to me. Now that you've returned in such a hurry, aren't you going to worry the Empress again?"

As he spoke, the emperor glanced at Wen Wan vaguely.

"The princess is dead, but the matter is still unresolved." Wei Zheng turned the wheelchair and landed beside Wen Wan. He squeezed her hand. Wen Wan regained her strength and managed to stand firmly. "Wen Wan is right."

Ignoring the emperor's darkening expression, Wei Zheng continued calmly, "Her Royal Highness, the Princess, remains ruthless. She relies on smuggling to win over officials, cultivates a clique, and raises private soldiers on the islands, constantly harassing our borders. Her evil ambitions and remaining cliques must be guarded against."

"The late emperor's imperial edict may not involve a dispute over the throne, as the princess claimed. But this matter... is ultimately a disaster."

"I believe that even if the princess dies, this matter cannot end here."

"In fact, my wife has already come up with a good plan. Your Majesty, please dismiss the attendants and allow me and my wife to present it in detail."

Soon, everyone else left, leaving only the emperor and one or two trusted eunuchs. (End of Chapter)