Proud Feather

Chapter 122 Heartless
Lin Wenyu died, in a way Chu Ling had never imagined.

She stood there, stunned, unsure of what to do.

After a long while, she turned her head and asked, "Where is the murderer?"

Xiao Yu gently shook her head: "Once it's in the woods, it's impossible to find."

It was dark, and they were unfamiliar with the terrain. Xiao Yu was still blind, so it was impossible to force them to search.

Chu Ling closed her eyes and gave a bitter laugh.

She's such a failure! She managed to get Lin Wenyu to talk in this way...

“Princess.” Wu Zhiyong walked over and handed her a token. “Look at this, I picked it up from the ground.”

Chu Ling took it, and the hazy moonlight faintly illuminated the words on it, causing her gaze to freeze.

Qingcha gasped, "The Imperial City Guard!"

Xiao Yu frowned: "Are you sure?"

After carefully examining it, Qingcha nodded affirmatively: "It's real..."

Everyone was silent.

After a moment, Xiao Yu said, "This matter is a bit strange. There are plenty of opportunities to kill Minister Lin. The simplest way would be to have two constables do it on the way, and no one would be able to find out. Why rush to do it, and why use this method?"

Chu Ling shook her head blankly: "I don't know why, but... in the capital, no one dares to impersonate the Imperial City Guard..."

The Imperial City Guard represents imperial power and the supreme will of the emperor. In the twenty-first year of the reign, the emperor is at the height of his power, and no one dares to show disrespect.

Chu Ling covered her face with her hands, unable to deceive herself any longer.

Without the emperor's authorization, the Imperial City Guard would not be mobilized. Without the emperor's permission, no one would dare to fabricate the cause of the crown prince's death.

Lin Wenyu, relying on his family's influence, could have lived a life of leisure without doing anything, but now he is disgraced and dead in the wilderness, yet he dares not utter a single word about the murderer.

There is only one person in this world who can do that.

"Why?" Tears dripped from between her fingers, and Chu Ling could not help but break down.

Was all that filial piety and parental love over the years fake? Was all that usual care and concern for my elder brother fake? Was all that grief and sorrow after my elder brother's death fake?
How can this be? !
"The death of the Crown Prince was the will of Heaven..."

Minister Lin's words kept echoing in her ears.

What is the will of Heaven? The will of the Emperor?
Silence reigned all around; no one uttered a sound. The others remained silent, none able to comprehend the ruthlessness of the imperial court.
-
In the stillness of the night, the emperor emerged from Yongchun Palace and closed his eyes to rest in his imperial carriage.

After a while, Sun Shouquan caught up and whispered, "Your Majesty, Consort Shu has finally stopped vomiting and has fallen asleep."

The emperor grunted in response, without even opening his eyes.

Sun Shouquan was unsure of the emperor's thoughts. If he didn't care about Consort Tian, ​​he had been frequently visiting Yongchun Palace recently; if he did care about Consort Tian, ​​he never inquired about the child in her womb.

Consort Shu suffered greatly during this pregnancy. From the moment she was diagnosed with pregnancy, she vomited constantly. In order to maintain her figure, she didn't eat much to begin with, and now she became even thinner and more emaciated.

Helpless, in order to protect the pregnancy, they had to force-feed the medicine. So every day, she drank medicine, ate, vomited... and so on, causing unrest throughout the entire harem.

Sun Shouquan originally thought that the emperor valued Consort Shu's pregnancy, after all, she was a favored concubine who had been with him since childhood, and the second prince was about to rise in power, but it seems that this is not the case.

After walking in silence for a while, the emperor suddenly asked, "Is there any news from the Duke of Anguo's residence?"

Sun Shouquan perked up and replied, "Today, the Consort Xian sent tribute oranges to the Duke of Anguo's residence. I heard that the princess and the Third Miss went outside to listen to music."

The emperor said no more, but Sun Shouquan finally felt at ease.

So His Majesty misses the princess. After all, she's the daughter he raised himself; a daughter who hasn't even been born yet can't compare. Hmm, I should send someone to the Duke of Anguo's residence tomorrow. If they can persuade the princess to come back, they should do so as soon as possible. She's stayed long enough this time... Back in the Funing Palace, the emperor neither handled state affairs nor summoned his concubines. He sat alone by the window, playing chess with himself under the moonlight.

After an unknown amount of time, a soft knocking sound came from outside the window, and a shadow climbed in.

As the emperor placed his chess piece, he said, "You're back late. What's wrong? Did things not go smoothly?"

The man was still wearing black clothes, but the veil covering his face had been removed, revealing Xue Wang's face.

He knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered, saying, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and have failed in my duty. The person is dead, but someone else witnessed it."

The emperor frowned: "You handled it personally? And something went wrong?"

"Yes." Xue Wang lowered his head.

The emperor wasn't particularly pleased, but he wasn't angry either. He continued to place his piece: "For you to mention this specifically, it seems this person's identity is extraordinary. Who did he run into?"

"……Princess."

The emperor stopped his outstretched hand and turned to look at him: "Say it again."

"It was the princess," Xue Wang reported in a low voice. "The princess brought people to cause trouble and happened to run into them."

After a while, the emperor chuckled and threw the chess piece back into the chess box.

"Her ideas are getting wilder and wilder!"

Xue Wang didn't dare to reply.

After a while, the emperor asked again, "Did she recognize you?"

Xue Wang replied, "I didn't have it at the time, but... I lost my token."

The emperor exclaimed incredulously, "Such a mistake could happen to you?"

Xue Wang said with shame, "I am incompetent."

The emperor took a deep breath, somewhat speechless. Xue Wang rarely handled matters personally anymore, but tonight he happened to go, happened to be caught in the act, and happened to lose his token—how could there be so many coincidences? Did fate love to play jokes like this?

"Your Majesty, I...I can explain to the princess," Xue Wang said guiltily.

"Explain what?" the emperor said coldly. "I don't need to explain anything I do to anyone!"

"But the princess already has a misunderstanding about His Majesty, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" the emperor suddenly roared. "I am the emperor, her father! Her status and honor were given to her by me! What right does she have to throw a tantrum at me? One is like this, and the other is like this!"

Xue Wang lowered his head and silently endured the situation. Only after the emperor's anger subsided slightly did he say, "Your Majesty, the princess is still young and doesn't understand many things. Please give her some more time, and she will become sensible."

The emperor, still furious, asked: "Are you speaking up for her?"

Xue Wang spoke sincerely: "I am speaking for Your Majesty. You have devoted more than ten years of family affection to us, and I hope that you can enjoy your family life."

The emperor remained silent for a long time before finally waving his hand.

"Of course I cherish her. I've watched her grow from a little baby into the young woman she is now. How could I not cherish her? But my patience is limited. She should be learning some things by now!"

Xue Wang felt a chill run down his spine. Having served the emperor for decades, he immediately understood the underlying tension within the words.

"His Majesty……"

The emperor stopped him from speaking further, returned to the chessboard and sat down, his tone calm but tinged with coldness: "It's good that you've been discovered. Let her choose what to do next!"

The emperor wasn't jealous of the crown prince; the truth will unfold layer by layer.