Proud Feather

Chapter 99 Taking It Out
When the two arrived at the East Palace, Lü Chan was in a hurry.

When a large group of people entered the palace in the morning, Jiang Shijun was instructed to go to the East Palace to find Zhu Shan, and then consulted the Crown Princess before waiting at the palace gate with the evidence he had gathered over the past few days.

But they never received a summons; instead, the emperor and his entourage went to the Ministry of Justice. By noon, news arrived that the case had been closed.

Both of them were anxious. Unable to contact Chu Ling for the time being, they could only report to Lü Chan first.

If Chu Ling had arrived any later, she might have already gone to the Funing Palace to request an audience with the Emperor.

……

"Outrageous!" After hearing what she had said, Lü Chan slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her face contorted with rage. "That old scoundrel Lin Wenyu dares to smear the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince is an upright man; even if he truly liked that girl, he would have explained it to me. What 'private affair,' 'love turned to hate'... How could someone of his high rank say such things? Has he been reading too many low-class romance novels?!"

Chu Ling chuckled. Her sister-in-law's description was spot on; Minister Lin's line was exactly the kind of love entanglement that was most popular in popular folk tales! Hmm, she'd buy a hundred or so copies and send them to the Lin family later!

Seeing how relaxed she was, Lü Chan became suspicious: "A-Ling, there's obviously more to this than meets the eye. Aren't you worried?"

Chu Ling said, "Sister-in-law, you haven't heard what happened next! Originally, Lord Gao and I had decided to back down for the time being and plan for the future, but who knew that Master Lingxu would arrive, and things took an unexpected turn..."

Lu Chan's expression gradually relaxed, but her face remained saddened: "I knew the Crown Prince was a man of great loyalty. His frequent visits to Xianle Tower must be to clean up the layout of the Water Conservancy Bureau. Since he couldn't use his own people, he entrusted others to take care of Zhu and her son..."

Chu Ling nodded slightly; this was also her idea.

Lu Chan composed herself and said, "A-Ling, we can't let those who slandered the Crown Prince get away with it! The evidence sent by Master Lingxu has cleared Miss Zhu of suspicion. Let's take advantage of their momentary lapse in vigilance and find out who really poisoned her!"

Great minds think alike, and this was also Chu Ling's thought: "What my sister-in-law said is very true."

Lü Chan then began to calculate: "Then we need to hurry. How long can we delay Lord Gao? Three days? Seven days? Is that enough time? Time is too tight..."

"No!" Chu Ling interrupted her, his expression serious. "I want them all dead today!"

……

At noon, Princess Jiahe, who was expected to stay at the East Palace for lunch, was escorted out.

"Ah Ling, thank you so much for making this trip. Otherwise, I would still be in the dark." Lü Chan's eyes were red, as if she had been crying for a long time.

"It's only right." Chu Ling looked ashamed, opened her mouth several times, and finally said, "No matter what, the murderer who poisoned my brother has been found, which is a good thing."

Lü Chan nodded, her expression a mixture of sadness and despondency: "You're right. He's already gone, why should I care about anything else? I wish he were still alive, so we could have a proper showdown."

Chu Ling comforted him, "Of course, you, my sister-in-law, are the most important person in my heart. Besides, there's also Jin'er!"

“Yes, and there’s Jin’er too!” Lu Chan murmured, as if comforting herself, “When a person dies, the light goes out; now Jin’er is the most important.”

After saying this, she bowed to Master Lingxu and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you to make this trip. Please take good care of the ritual."

Master Lingxu returned the greeting: "This is what I should do."

Lu Chan forced a smile: "I still have to take care of Jin'er, so I won't see you off any further."

Chu Ling knew she was in a bad mood, so she quickly said, "Sister-in-law, go back and rest! I'll take Master Lingxu home."

Lü Chan said no more and watched them leave.

Once everyone had gone far away, she no longer concealed her resentment and said to Zhu Shan beside her, "Where's Fang Wu? Bring that scoundrel back to me!"

Zhu Shan glanced at her expression and cautiously replied, "Yes."
-
Inside the Ministry of Justice, Fang Wu asked several times, "Brother, when can I leave?" The clerk, busy as could be, replied impatiently, "I'll tell you when you can leave, what's the rush?"

While sorting through the documents, he muttered to himself, "Even the Crown Prince is gone, and they still think they're still the most favored person in the Eastern Palace!"

Fang Wu heard it all clearly, and was both angry and annoyed.

This mere ninth-rank official dares to boss him around like that, even though his own rank is higher! Really…

But he quickly remembered something, and his mood brightened again. Oh well, his good days were yet to come; he wouldn't bother arguing with these fools!
Just as he was preparing himself to be locked up for a few days, the clerk led someone in.

"is it him?"

The man nodded: "It's him."

Fang Wu looked up and saw Zhu Shan's face, then panicked: "Brother Zhu... Brother Zhu!"

Zhu Shan remained indifferent as he watched the clerk step forward to open the prison door and signaled the guards to take over.

Fang Wu panicked even more: "Brother Zhu, what are you doing?"

Zhu Shan said coldly, "Of course I'll get you out of here! You're a member of the Eastern Palace, you can't die anywhere else. The Crown Princess has shown mercy and ordered me to take you back!"

"Huh?" It sounded like good news, but Fang Wu wasn't stupid. How could he really believe it was good news? He quickly defended himself, "Brother Zhu! Brother Zhu! I had no choice! His Majesty was right in front of me. If I didn't answer, wouldn't that be deceiving the emperor? Besides, I didn't say a single bad word, just some facts..."

Zhu Shan ignored him, turned around and left the Ministry of Justice, had his guards throw him into the carriage, and then drove away.

The carriage quickly disappeared at the street corner. Someone asked Lin Wenyu, "Sir, are we just going to release Fang Wuxing like this? He's an important witness."

That morning, I dragged the princess along because of him.

Lin Wenyu snorted lightly and said indifferently, "He was a treasure this morning, but he's useless now. He confessed to His Majesty himself, and we can't overturn that."

After saying that, he added maliciously, "This kind of despicable person needs to be taught a lesson."

The confidant laughed and said, "The Crown Prince is quite upright, but I never expected him to have such a villain by his side. He really misjudged him."

Lin Wenyu smiled lightly.

The Crown Prince misjudged far more than just Fang Wu.
On the other side, Fang Wu was quickly brought into the East Palace and thrown in front of the Crown Princess.

Upon gaining his freedom, Fang Wu immediately knelt down, bowing his head low: "Your subject greets the Crown Princess!"

Lü Chan looked at him coldly: "Why are you bowing your head? Are you afraid to see me?"

Fang Wu hurriedly looked up, forcing a smile: "Your Majesty, I simply dare not cause any trouble for the Crown Princess..."

Upon hearing this, Lü Chan's face showed a fluctuating mix of emotions. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and threw a teacup at him, which shattered into pieces in front of him with a "crack".

"You still know how to cause trouble? Why didn't you say anything about those things? Because of you, I've lost all face! After this case is closed, who knows how many people will secretly laugh at me! Not only did I lose my husband, but also... and..."

"Your Highness, please calm down!" Zhu Shan spoke up in time. "You still have your young grandson, so please take good care of yourself!"

Lu Chan took a deep breath, finally calming herself down, and coldly asked, "Speak! What's going on between the Crown Prince and that musician?"