Proud Feather

Chapter 146 Scheming
After entrusting the cleanup to his subordinates, Gao Mian followed Qingcha quickly to the other side.

The restaurant here was temporarily booked out, and all irrelevant people were asked to leave. At this moment, only Chu Ling and his group were on the second floor, and the entire clinic was in sight.

"Your subject pays respects to the Princess." Gao Mian bowed respectfully.

Chu Ling nodded: "Rise!"

The two had not seen each other for a while. The emperor had relinquished power, so Chu Ling could no longer summon foreign officials, and Gao Mian was also unable to enter the palace to request an audience.

But when our eyes met, that familiar feeling returned.

Chu Ling smiled slightly and said, "Lord Gao, I just happened to be passing by. I heard that a student died from drunkenness. Is that true?"

Gao Mian did not answer immediately, but instead glanced around.

Chu Ling waved her hand: "Green tea."

"Yes." Qingcha led the people out, while she stood guard at the door.

Gao Mian replied softly, "Your Highness, this person did not die from drunkenness."

"Oh? So it's because of a heart condition?"

"It's similar, but it's not."

Chu Ling stared at him: "Then why?"

Gao Mian replied, "...like poisoning."

"You mean, this student died from poisoning, and just happened to be drinking at the time, so he was mistaken for being drunk?"

Gao Mian nodded: "To be precise, he drank too much alcohol, which triggered the poison in his body."

Chu Ling didn't know whether to consider herself lucky or unlucky, and asked, "Does Lord Gao want to open a case?"

“If it was poisoning, then it's homicide, and naturally a case must be filed.” Gao Mian noticed her expression was off. “Princess, is there a problem?”

Chu Ling said solemnly, "Lord Gao, I advise you not to file a case yet."

"why?"

"I heard that this student is a candidate for the imperial examination in the capital next year. He has caught the eye of a certain important person and will rise to prominence after passing the exam next year."

Gao Mian asked in confusion, "What does the princess mean...?"

"This esteemed person is someone you probably can't afford to offend," Chu Ling said softly.

Who could be someone the princess said she couldn't afford to offend? Gao Mian pondered.

"I have some news from Mr. Jiang. If Lord Gao is interested, you can go and listen." Having said that, she waved her hand. "I should return to the palace now. Green tea!"

"Yes," Qingcha instructed her attendants. "Princess, depart."

The imperial carriage started moving and slowly made its way towards the palace gate.

Only after disappearing down the street did Gao Mian raise his head, pondering what to do next.

"Sir," an official came to inquire, "how should we handle the situation at the clinic?"

With his mind racing, Gao Mian said, "The cause of the student's death is suspicious and cannot be determined at present. First, detain the presiding doctor, and bring the student's relatives back as well."

Although the clerk was puzzled, he thought it might be the princess who had inquired, and the official, wanting to be more cautious, replied, "Yes."

So the constables parted the crowd of onlookers and escorted the deceased's body, the doctor from the clinic, and his relatives back to the yamen.
-
By the time the emperor finished dealing with the memorials at hand, the sun was already setting in the west.

He casually asked, "Has the princess returned?"

Sun Shouquan replied, "Your Majesty, not yet."

The emperor thought for a moment and then ordered, "Go and take a look. The Prince of Fu's residence is nearby; it's not worth taking so long."

Sun Shouquan was slightly surprised, but said nothing and sent the man away.

The emperor noticed this and said, "Do you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?" Sun Shouquan quickly replied, "Your Majesty has your reasons."

The Emperor sighed deeply: "It was only when I left the palace last time that I realized that although A-Ling seemed fine on the surface, she actually harbored resentment. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought solace with that boy from the north. In the end, I still haven't cared for her enough. Now that the Crown Prince is gone and the Crown Princess has children to take care of, I can only keep a closer eye on her myself."

“Your Majesty is truly compassionate,” Sun Shouquan said sincerely. “There is no father in the world who loves his daughter more than you.”

The emperor smiled faintly: "How could I not love my own daughter?"

After chatting for a while, the eunuch returned and reported, "Your Majesty, the princess has left the Prince of Fu's residence and met Minister Gao of the Court of Judicial Review on the way. They are talking."

The emperor's smile vanished, and he asked in a stern voice, "Gao Mian? They've met again?"

"Yes……"

……

As soon as Chu Ling entered the palace gate, she saw the eunuch waiting there.

"Xiao Shunzi!"

"Princess, you're finally back!" Xiao Shunzi greeted her with a smile. "Aunt Zheng saw that you hadn't returned for so long, so she specially ordered me to wait for you at the palace gate."

Chu Ling's gaze lingered: "Really? I'm sorry to have worried Qiu Niang."

Xiao Shunzi asked with concern, "Did something happen to you on the way? It's really unusual to be delayed for so long. No wonder Aunt Zheng was worried."

Chu Ling followed his gaze and saw it was in the direction of Funing Palace. She understood and said, "I did encounter something. You go back and tell Qiu Niang first. I'm going to see Father Emperor."

Xiao Shunzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his face beaming with a smile: "Alright!"

And so Chu Ling made his way to the Funing Palace.

Upon hearing the report from the guard, the emperor raised his eyes: "The princess came of her own accord?"

"Yes," the eunuch reported truthfully. "The princess came here as soon as she returned; she hasn't even gone back to Nanming Palace yet."

The emperor then nodded: "Summon them."

A moment later, Chu Ling entered with light steps: "Father, I've come to report!"

Seeing the beaming smile on her face, the emperor smiled slightly and asked, "Did you have fun today?"

"It was so-so!" Chu Ling said. "When I went to the Prince of Fu's residence, the Grand Minister of State and the Prince of Kang were playing chess. They thought I talked too much, so I watched for a while and then left."

"Then why are you coming back so late?"

Chu Ling suddenly remembered something and tugged at the emperor's sleeve: "Father, I encountered something on the road. A scholar drank too much and was rushed to the clinic, but it was too late to save him. They caused a scene over the cause of his death. It just so happened that Lord Gao took on the case, so I asked him about it. Father, the trend of holding banquets in the capital is really bad. It's harmed a young man for no reason!"

At this point, she sighed: "I heard that this scholar was exceptionally talented and was widely expected to pass the imperial examination next year. It's such a pity that he died like this. I feel sorry for my father."

The emperor listened with a smile at first, but as she launched into a long, detailed explanation, his smile gradually faded.

"So that's why you met with Gao Mian!" he said softly.

Chu Ling blinked: "Huh? Otherwise?" She continued, "Gao Mian said that he didn't seem to have died from drunkenness. It's possible that he really had a heart condition. If that's the case, there won't even be any compensation. I felt sorry for his family, so I sent some money over as a way of comforting them."

The emperor said, "Ah Ling is truly kind-hearted."

Chu Ling was a little embarrassed by his praise and said, "All the people in the world are Father Emperor's subjects. You work so hard every day to manage state affairs, isn't it all so that they can live well? Protecting them is protecting Father Emperor."

Hearing this, the emperor smiled genuinely: "You are a good child, your father has misunderstood you."

Chu Ling asked, puzzled, "What have you misunderstood about me?"

"It's nothing." The emperor patted her head, thinking to himself, this child really doesn't have that much scheming...

　Still waiting, trying to stay normal!

　　(End of this chapter)