The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Based on this, Shen Jun guessed that the emperor wanted to protect the crown prince and crown princess. He was also thinking that if the emperor did not allow the investigation, he would have to call more people to impeach them together.

The emperor himself was in a real predicament and immediately went to the empress's Phoenix Palace.

Seeing that the Emperor looked unwell, the Empress quickly signaled Xuehua to bring over a bowl of tangerine peel, goji berry, and autumn pear soup. She then personally served it to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please have some soup to relieve the dryness of autumn."

The emperor looked at the empress, took the soup, but didn't drink it. Instead, he let out a long sigh.

Chapter 195 There's More to the Story, the Emperor is in a Dilemma

Seeing the Emperor's expression, the Empress guessed that it was due to troubles from the previous dynasty, and hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what troublesome matter has you encountered?"

The emperor could say anything to the empress, but he sighed heavily, "The Censorate is really incompetent, actually bringing up Lin Ruhai's case from back then."

The Empress was stunned, several thoughts flashing through her mind, before tentatively asking, "What case is it?"

The emperor looked troubled: "They say Lin Ruhai forced the salt merchants to donate silver to him."

The Empress was stunned for a moment, and her face immediately turned somewhat ugly. As for this matter, the Empress knew a little about it: at that time, the Emperor Emeritus had just abdicated and given the throne to the current Emperor, but while the position was given, the power was not.

His Majesty has little affection for many of the former officials, and sitting in that position, he faces considerable difficulties. That's not all; what's even more challenging is that the private treasury he had as a prince is vastly different from that of an emperor.

Generally speaking, not only the emperor himself, but also the women in the harem, had to pay for everything from their private treasury, except for the prescribed monthly allowances of silver, rice, flour, and cloth. Other expenses, such as rewards for subordinates and summer retreats, had to be paid for from their private treasury.

The royal family had gardens and estates belonging to the emperor, but even though these produced something, they were still controlled by the retired emperor at that time. So, the newly enthroned emperor had a lot of places to spend money, but very few places to make money.

At this time, the emperor thought of several officials he trusted, one of whom was Lin Ruhai. He wrote to them to ask if they had any solutions, and Lin Ruhai proposed this method.

There are many wealthy merchants in Jiangnan. If they voluntarily donate a little, it will be enough for Your Majesty to spend.

Although this method was somewhat underhanded, the emperor had no other choice at the time and had to agree.

For the next three years, Lin Ruhai received silver from wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, meticulously recorded each transaction, and then transferred it to the emperor's private treasury.

The donation only stopped when the retired emperor felt he was no longer fit and handed over power and royal property to the emperor.

So in the end, Lin Ruhai did the work, but the emperor spent the money.

The two previous Governors-General of Liangjiang and the salt officials in recent years all tacitly pretended not to know about this matter. It wasn't that they were truly unaware, but rather that they were well aware that Lin Ruhai was actually his confidant. Even if they didn't know back then, seeing the Third Prince marry Lin Ruhai's daughter made it clear to them, so naturally they wouldn't be foolish enough to investigate Lin Ruhai's accounts during his tenure. Some officials even knew about the donation but pretended not to know. The Ministry of Revenue's accounts had always been very clean; the money involved wasn't for grain transport, river repairs, disaster relief, or other public welfare purposes, so everyone tacitly agreed to ignore it.

This was also one of the reasons why the Emperor was willing to take care of Lin Ruhai's only daughter. The Empress knew very well that if Lin Ruhai hadn't died, he would probably be the Minister of Revenue right now.

The Empress knew about this because the Emperor was short of money at the time, and she, as his wife, had helped him out quite a bit.

Now that the Censorate has exposed this matter, it's directly embarrassing for the Emperor.

The Empress couldn't help but feel troubled as well: "The Censorate is really clueless. This happened so many years ago. I think they're just bored. As soon as Lin Ruhai's daughter became the Crown Princess, they had to find something to do."

His tone was entirely one of complaint, and he was also expressing his indignation on behalf of the emperor.

Unexpectedly, this aroused the emperor's suspicion: "Tell me, how did the Censorate come up with Lin Ruhai's past? I thought Lin Ruhai handled this matter very well back then. How did the Censorate, which is far away in the capital, find these clues in Jiangnan?"

The Empress actually had her own thoughts, but for the moment she pretended not to know anything: "Your Majesty, I think the Censorate has always been like this. Speaking of which, during the Han Dynasty, the trees in the Censorate were full of crows, so it was called the Crow Censorate. I think these censors are just as annoying as crows."

After hearing this, the emperor shook his head and sighed: "I don't think it's that simple. It happened at the perfect time, right when the second prince took a concubine. Don't forget, Prince Teng is now the Governor-General of Liangjiang."

Seeing the Emperor say this, the Empress remained silent. Seeing the Emperor pick up the tangerine peel, wolfberry, and autumn pear soup, she hurriedly told the maid to change it so it wouldn't get cold.

"It's alright, it's just the right temperature." The Emperor sipped the wine spoonfully, and after finishing, he had the maids take the bowl away before turning to the Empress and saying, "I was originally thinking of having you speak to the Crown Princess to ease her anxiety, but then I reconsidered. She's the Crown Princess now; she should have the composure to handle many things. So this time, you mustn't say a single word to her. I want to see just how far she, as the Crown Princess, can go."

Upon hearing this, the Empress felt a mixture of worry and joy. Her worry stemmed from concern for the third prince and his wife, especially for Yu'er, as this involved her deceased father. However, after observing her closely over the years, she realized that Yu'er was a composed and patient child, and that she had to face many things on her own.

The good news is that His Majesty seems quite satisfied with the Empress Dowager and her husband, at least for now, and is patient enough to nurture them.

So the empress quickly agreed.

"As for the Censorate, let them investigate. I will not only not stop them, but I will also have the Ministry of Revenue help them. I want to see what they can find out." The Emperor's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

The Empress silently mourned for certain people in the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice.

"If they want to investigate, I'd like to see what kind of evidence they have in Yangzhou and Jiangnan." The emperor had already made up his mind, and his expression improved. He said that he hadn't seen his daughter for many days and then went to Consort Guo's place.

The Empress, having received the Emperor's order, pretended not to know anything, but she never expected that some people would be so impatient.

The next morning, Princess Consort Song Huilan went to the palace to pay her respects and then went to Delin Palace, saying she was going to visit the Crown Princess. She even carried a cloth tiger, saying it was for the princess to play with.

Jia Yue accepted the cloth tiger from Song Huilan and smiled at her second aunt, "Tiger, thank you, second aunt."

After teasing the little girl for a while, Song Huilan couldn't help herself and asked Daiyu seemingly unintentionally, "Has the Crown Princess heard any news from the previous dynasty?"

Seeing that something was amiss, Xueyan came up with the wet nurse and took Jiayue away. At the same time, she coaxed the cloth tiger out of the little princess and handed it to Mengshi.

As a female physician, Meng has now entered the palace to serve the Crown Princess and the young princess.

For Ms. Meng, this was an easy job with a good monthly salary, and she was very happy with it.

Upon hearing Song Huilan's question and seeing her amused expression, Daiyu knew it couldn't be anything good, so she immediately replied, "I haven't heard about the events of the previous dynasty, but I have heard that the new concubine in your household is quite beautiful."

One sentence was enough to infuriate Song Huilan.

Chapter 196 Sisters-in-law's Quarrel: Daiyu's Counterattack

Song Huilan has actually been having a very difficult time lately.

After all, any husband would be unhappy if he took a concubine, let alone a secondary wife. Although the ceremony of marrying a secondary wife was not as grand as that of marrying the principal wife, it was still more formal than a commoner taking a concubine.

Looking at the red silk hanging high in the Ruijun Prince's Mansion, filled with joy, Song Huilan felt layer upon layer of grievance and sadness. Looking at the smile on Xiao Tingkai's face, Song Huilan felt like she could hardly breathe.

What saddened Song Huilan even more was that the newly arrived concubine came to greet her and offer her tea in a very open manner.

Consort Wang Xiyun wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), the hem of which swayed gently in the breeze. A matching belt was tied around her waist. Her delicate nose was straight and upturned, and her cherry lips, naturally red without any makeup, were slightly upturned in a smile. Her round face was flushed with a faint blush, just like the clouds on the horizon reflected on her face.

Such a beautiful concubine, whose father was the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was a formidable rival to Song Huilan.

What's worse, this concubine was so well-mannered that even Song Huilan, who was determined to find fault, couldn't find anything wrong with her for the time being.

Since taking a concubine, Xiao Tingkai hadn't visited Song Huilan's room even once in half a month. Song Huilan, who was weeping in front of the mirror, finally received some happy news from Xiao Tingkai, who had finally come to her room the night before.

The Crown Princess's father's old stories have been dug up.

Upon hearing that it was embezzlement, Song Huilan was even more delighted. She thought of her maternal grandfather and uncle. The confiscation of the Zhang family's property had also severely damaged their Ruijun Prince's Mansion. Now that the evidence against the Crown Princess's father had been found, even if he was no longer alive, it would at least implicate the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.

Song Huilan couldn't resist going to the palace. She wanted to see if the Crown Princess could still be as smug as before.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess hit a nerve right away, and Song Huilan, already furious, immediately lost face and gave a cold laugh: "We don't need the Crown Princess to worry about our affairs. Instead, the Crown Princess should worry about herself."

Seeing Song Huilan's exasperated state, Daiyu remained silent.

Seeing that the Crown Princess remained so calm and did not seem to have any intention of asking her questions, Song Huilan finally couldn't help but say, "I have heard that the Censorate has submitted a memorial impeaching your father."

Father? A flash of sadness crossed Daiyu's eyes, but it was only for a moment. She just looked coldly at Song Huilan and remained silent.

Song Huilan was startled by Daiyu's imposing manner, but she still mustered her courage and said, "I heard that your father embezzled a lot of money when he was alive. This time, the Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation and asked the Ministry of Revenue to cooperate. The Crown Princess should be careful, or she might get implicated."

Upon hearing that it was about embezzling money, Daiyu immediately relaxed and even gave Song Huilan a smile: "I must thank Second Sister-in-law for coming to the palace to remind me, especially since you yourself are probably overwhelmed with troubles, yet you still think of your sister-in-law. I am truly touched."

When Song Huilan saw the Crown Princess smiling so brightly, she was stunned for a moment, but when she heard the Crown Princess's sarcastic words, she became angry again.

"You, you don't appreciate kindness." After saying this, Song Huilan herself felt that she was too weak.

Daiyu smiled gently and said, "Second sister-in-law, I don't know whether to thank you or not. It's really putting me in a difficult position."

Although Daiyu said this, she didn't look embarrassed at all, which made Song Huilan even angrier. But this was in Delin Palace, so she had nowhere to vent her anger and could only leave with a belly full of resentment.

She cursed inwardly as she walked, wanting to see if the Crown Princess would still be so arrogant after the Censorate's investigation. She feared that she would have her moment of tears then.

Zijuan bumped into Princess Rui, who was walking out. Seeing that the princess looked annoyed, Zijuan didn't know what had happened, but she could guess that Princess Rui must have been provoked by the Crown Princess again. So, after entering the room, she couldn't help but sigh to Daiyu, "Sometimes I really don't know what Princess Rui is thinking. She comes to make trouble for the Crown Princess again and again, but she never gains any advantage verbally. She gets angry every time. Why does she have to do this?"

Zijuan knew the Crown Princess's personality very well; she would never ridicule or belittle others unless they provoked her.

Daiyu was also somewhat moved by what Zijuan said.

When Xiao Tingjun returned with news from the previous dynasty, he was surprised to find his wife calm. He was afraid that Yu'er would worry and overthink after hearing other people's stories, so he rushed back as soon as he had free time.

Seeing Yu'er's reaction, Xiao Tingjun couldn't help but ask curiously, "Yu'er, you already know?"

Daiyu nodded: "My second sister-in-law came earlier and specifically came to tell me."

"She must have come to see the joke, right?" That's a no-brainer.

"But I disappointed her." Daiyu shook her head, thinking of Song Huilan's angry departure.

"Yu'er, are you really not worried at all?" Xiao Tingjun was surprised.

"I can't say I'm not worried at all, but I trust my father." As long as the Censorate and Yangzhou can't frame someone, Daiyu felt there wouldn't be any problems. And now that the Emperor has taken charge of this matter, along with Crown Prince Xiao Tingjun, they'll have to think twice before trying to frame someone.

Hearing his wife's words, Xiao Tingjun immediately admired her: "Yu'er is so calm. I'm the one who's panicking. In that case, I'll have to keep a close eye on the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue. But now that my fifth brother is in the Ministry of Revenue, they won't dare to openly deceive a prince."

Yes, Daiyu had considered these things: the Fifth Prince was in the Ministry of Revenue, and at the same time, Daiyu also knew someone in the Censorate, namely the father of Xu, the second daughter-in-law of the Eldest Princess. Uncle Xu was an upright man, and moreover, he and her father had been classmates, so even if someone had ulterior motives, it would be difficult for them to fake it.

Most importantly, Daiyu trusted her father. Even though she was young at the time, she always knew what kind of person her father was.

"So just focus on your work and don't worry about me," Daiyu reassured Xiao Tingjun.

Xiao Tingjun shook Daiyu's hand before getting up. He did have something to do, and as he walked to the door, he turned back and said, "Don't wait for me to come back for dinner. I'm afraid I'll be busy until very late. You should get some rest."

Daiyu nodded. Since entering Delin Palace, the couple had become even busier.

The emperor was quite satisfied that the crown prince and his wife did not interfere in the case at all: since he had made the arrangements, the emperor did not want the crown prince and his wife to interfere, otherwise it would be a blurring of public and private matters.

They didn't interfere, and the satisfied emperor summoned his son instead.

The emperor summoned Xiao Tingjun and brought up Lin Ruhai's case to him.

Chapter 197 Father and Son Have a Heart-to-Heart Talk: Thorough Investigation of the Two Rivers

After summoning his son, the emperor asked him directly, "Are you really not concerned at all about the case of the Crown Princess's father?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Xiao Tingjun immediately replied, "I dare not deceive Father. After learning of this matter, I did rush back to Delin Palace, fearing that Yu'er would overthink it. But I did not expect that she already knew about it. She said something that made me realize something."

In short, there were two points that the emperor was very concerned about: First, how did the Crown Princess find out so quickly? Second, what did the Crown Princess say?

The emperor first asked about the second point: "What did the Crown Princess say?"

Xiao Tingjun immediately replied, "She said she absolutely believes in her father."

This short sentence deeply moved the emperor: he absolutely believed that even at this moment, the girl could still speak so firmly, which showed the deep affection between father and daughter.

The emperor couldn't help but sigh, realizing that human affection was something his imperial family could hardly comprehend. For instance, his summons of the crown prince was, to some extent, a test.

So when the emperor spoke, he sighed, "The Crown Princess and her father have a deep bond. It's such a pity. If only her father were still alive."

From this somewhat subtle statement, Xiao Tingjun understood: it seems that the Emperor had long planned to handle Yu'er's father's case.