Proud Feather

Chapter 110 Unfinished
At midnight, the Funing Palace finally dispersed.

After seeing off the gentlemen, Chu Ling stayed a little longer than usual.

"Father."

When the emperor saw her return, he asked, "Have Prime Minister Zhang and the others left? Is the Crown Princess alright?"

Chu Ling replied, "Yes, Sun Shouquan arranged for a sedan chair to escort them all the way back to the palace gate. Sister-in-law..." She paused for a moment, "...I'm afraid she'll cry for a while when she gets back."

The emperor sighed deeply: "She was pitiful too. They were young lovers, with deep feelings for each other, but it all happened in just a few years..."

He seemed to be thinking of himself, and became even more sorrowful: "A-Ling, your father only has you left. I hope this matter will be resolved smoothly and without any further trouble, so that you can stay peacefully by your father's side."

“Father!” Chu Ling was deeply moved. She leaned on the emperor’s lap and murmured, “Don’t worry, my elder brother has avenged himself. Everything will be alright.”

The emperor smiled and stroked her head: "I hope so."

……

As soon as Chu Ling stepped out of the Funing Palace, Sun Shouquan caught up with her and handed her a cloak: "Princess, it's chilly at night, His Majesty asked you to put this on."

She nodded, gesturing for the palace servant to accept the gift: "Please thank my father for me."

This cloak belongs to the emperor, so it is inevitably large, but no one will complain. Not just anyone can wear the emperor's clothes; only the princesses in the palace have this privilege, and others can only dream of it.

"Your Highness, Consort Shu." A voice came from below the steps.

Chu Ling turned her head and saw a small sedan chair parked in front of the palace. Consort Tian was helping palace servants out.

"Your Highness, Consort Shu." She bowed and greeted, "Why have you come? It's so late. Your health is not the same as before, so you must be careful."

Consort Tian nodded her thanks, then her gaze lingered for a moment on the cloak the princess was wearing, and she said, "I heard it's all over here. I was worried about the Crown Prince, so I came to check on things. Princess, is everything alright?"

Chu Ling nodded: "Minister Lin has confessed, the murderer has been found."

"That's wonderful!" Consort Tian cried with joy. "The real culprit has been found! The Crown Prince can finally rest in peace. Your Majesty, did you hear that? The Crown Prince's innocence has finally been redressed!"

Chu Ling watched her quietly until Consort Shu sensed something was wrong and stopped: "Princess, you..."

"Your Highness, you haven't asked me who the murderer is yet!"

Consort Tian reacted quickly, asking, "Wasn't it Minister Lin? You said he confessed..."

"Yes, Minister Lin confessed that he deceived his superiors and covered up for others."

"That's the real culprit..."

"The real culprit is Fang Wu. He is the eldest brother's close follower and conspired with others to poison him."

He answered Chu Ling's questions.

"So he was just a lackey, how hateful!" Consort Tian said angrily, then asked with concern, "Has His Majesty dealt with him? Such a treacherous slave cannot be let off."

“Your Majesty is right. A traitorous servant must not be let off!” Chu Ling’s face turned cold. “Father sent him to the Imperial City Guard. He’ll have a hard time getting into trouble!”

Princess Mingming was merely responding to her words, but Consort Shu felt a chill run down her spine and lost the will to continue. She said, "Now that the murderer has been found, Princess can rest assured. It's getting late, go back and rest! I'll also go see His Majesty; he must be very sad."

Chu Ling nodded in agreement: "I'll go back right away. Your Highness, please go in quickly!"

After speaking, she bowed her head in greeting, turned around, and boarded the palanquin.

As the palanquin disappeared from sight, Consort Shu touched her chest and turned to enter the palace.
-
Back at Nanming Palace, the palace servants withdrew, and Zheng Qiu finally showed his expression, excitedly saying, "Congratulations, Princess! The murderer who killed the Crown Prince has finally been caught!" Chu Ling, however, showed no joy, slowly removing the hairpin from her head: "It's still early! What we've caught so far is just a knife; the one who actually wields it hasn't shown up yet."

Zheng Qiu replied, "Pulling out a radish brings out the mud along with it; it's only a matter of time. Before, we had no clues and no way to start, but now we have Fang Wu, Minister Lin, and the officials they implicated. With so many people involved, we have more openings to make."

That's very true. Take Fang Wu, for example. How did he make contact with the abbot of Dahuai Temple? How did he administer the poison? What was his reason? As long as he opens his mouth, we can find loopholes.

"Fang Wu and Manager Cai have both entered the Imperial City Guard. I wonder if Xue Wang is reliable." Chu Ling pondered.

Zheng Qiu replied, "Xue Wang has a past relationship with the Marquis of Jingping's family and obeys His Majesty. As long as His Majesty orders him to conduct a thorough investigation, he will not be let off lightly."

Chu Ling nodded; she thought so too.

"Princess, please rest early!" Zheng Qiu gently comforted her after she had washed up. "You can rest assured that Lord Gao and Mr. Jiang are handling things outside."

Chu Ling nodded and obediently went to sleep.

The bed curtains were drawn, and the calming incense in the room wafted softly, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Perhaps she was too focused today, because she was still dreaming about the Fu Ning Palace.

She knelt before her father, the emperor, and tearfully accused her second brother of his crimes.

"Father, the nanny who serves my sister-in-law told me that it was my second brother who poisoned her. He killed Jin'er first, and then poisoned my sister-in-law! He didn't even spare the orphan and the widow. My eldest brother must have been the one who killed her!"

"Father! Rumors are circulating that Second Brother coveted the position of Crown Prince and murdered Eldest Brother. Otherwise, with so many people around him, how could he have fallen into the water? You must investigate this thoroughly!"

However, her father frowned and did not believe her: "A-Ling, I know that A-Yi's death has made you very sad, but He'er is also your brother. How can you slander him? Your brother's death was an accident. So many people saw him fall into the water. How could he have been murdered?"

"no……"

"And Jin'er, you haven't raised children, so you don't understand. It's normal for children to get sick, and it's common for them to die young. Several of your younger siblings didn't even make it to adulthood. As for your sister-in-law, she got sick after losing her husband and child. There are medical records to prove this. Don't just believe whatever that old woman says..."

"Father!"

After being pestered by her for a long time, the Emperor became very impatient: "A-Ling, don't be so ignorant! You have no evidence for these things, so you can't just say things recklessly. Your second brother is the Crown Prince now. If you ruin his reputation, what will the world think of the royal family? Your younger brothers are still young, and your father is getting old. We will still have to rely on him in the future, do you understand?"

"I don't understand!" she blurted out. "I may not have evidence, but I can investigate! Why won't you investigate, Father? If Second Brother is innocent, then investigate! If he really did it, isn't it terrifying that such a person becomes the Crown Prince and will eventually rule the country?"

"Ah Ling!" The emperor's face was ashen. "I think you've lost your mind in grief! Why don't you go to the Sanqing Temple to clear your mind, listen to Master Lingxu's sermons, and even copy some scriptures yourself? Consider it a way to pray for your elder brother's family!"

"Father!"

Chu Ling suddenly woke up, saw that it was already daylight outside, and called out, "Qiu Niang! Qiu Niang!"

Zheng Qiu rushed in: "Princess, why are you awake so early?"

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's only 7 AM, you can sleep a little longer."

Chu Ling paused for a moment, then said, "Oh."

It's Chen Shi (7-9 AM), that's still early. The government offices probably haven't started working yet.

She wanted to lie back down, but she couldn't fall asleep anymore. Last night's dream kept replaying in her mind, so she simply sat up.

"Forget it, let's go to the Museum!"

Let's change the scene.