Chapter 1276 - 1276 Cunning Prime Ministers
Chapter 1276 Cunning Prime Ministers
After suffering from cruelties, she hanged herself when no one was around. It was because she couldn’t stand the torture?
Chu Liuzhou was struck dumb with astonishment. He opened his mouth and anxiously defended himself loudly, “Father, it’s not like that. I only asked someone to flog this woman a few times. We didn’t abuse her.”
The Emperor looked at him with disappointment in his eyes. This son made such a scene, but the matter still ended up like this. A consort was of little significance, but she was the daughter of an official. Before she was convicted for her part in the crime, they abused her so brutally that she even committed suicide by hanging herself. When such a thing happened, even the royal family couldn’t find any reasonable excuse to convince the public.
A daughter from an official family happily married into his mansion. But a few days later, she was forced to hang herself. No matter what charges others pressed against her, she was innocent before she was officially convicted.
This son was a little stupid!
“Father, trust me. I’m wronged!” Prince Zhou cried out his grievances loudly.
“Guards, take Prince Zhou away to reflect on his mistakes. Send Qi Tianyu back to his home. Consort Qi died of illness. Record her death and bury her as a consort.” The Emperor rolled his eyes and ordered lightly. At this point, it was impossible to trace what had happened. The key figure was dead: she actually hanged herself.
“Father, it’s not me. I did nothing wrong.” Prince Zhou said at the top of his voice, still trying to defend himself. However, two guards pulled him away, one guard on each side.
The Emperor fixed his eyes on Chu Liuyue. Though he didn’t say anything, his sharp eyes looked penetrating.
Chu Liuyue lowered his head and inexplicably panicked. Although the crisis brought by Chu Liuzhou had been solved perfectly, he couldn’t gain an insight into his father’s mind.
The Imperial Study quieted down, and everyone’s breathing became much lighter.
After a long while, he heard the Emperor ask, “Commandery Prince Qing, what do you want to say?”
“Is he asking about Chu Qing?” That was a great weight off Chu Liuyue’s mind. Sweat glistened on his forehead. At this very moment, he thought his father had seen him through.
“Your Majesty!” Chu Qing knelt in a daze.
“Are you related to the former dynasty’s royal family by blood?” The Emperor asked lightly.
“Your Majesty… Well… It’s totally groundless. My mother has the same surname as one of the eight aristocratic families in the previous dynasty, but she is just a very distant relative.”
Chu Qing felt a chill on his back.
He had a feeling that the Emperor might talk to him about these rumors, but little did he know that the Emperor would be so straightforward. When Chu Liuyue vaguely mentioned that he was secretly stirring up trouble, Chu Qing fell into a panic. He kept shrinking back for fear that the Emperor would notice him.
More and more rumors appeared outside. Chu Qing had not been living a peaceful life these days. There seemed to be a sword hanging over his head. Now the sword fell, and he s.h.i.+vered all over.
“Prime Minister Wen, how’s your investigation going?” the Emperor asked in a deep and slow voice.
Prime Minister Wen presented a memorial to the throne from his sleeve and handed it to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, I’ve checked it out in the past few days. Consort Dowager Qing does have something to do with the aristocratic family of the previous dynasty, but she is indeed a very remote kinsfolk.”
Chu Qing’s face looked a little better, and he felt like a weight had been slowly lifted from his shoulders. His family background was true. No matter how thoroughly others examined this, they couldn’t find anything. His mother also told him to rest a.s.sured and said others couldn’t discover anything improper.
“But I found something else!” Chu Qing’s face turned livid at this moment, and his fingers pressing on the ground twitched.
“Before Consort Dowager Qing entered the Palace, she seemed to have had contact with the people of the previous dynasty. The fleeing prince of the previous dynasty appeared in that area and contacted the family of Consort Dowager Qing. At that time, the deceased emperor got the news and personally took people to investigate it, but found nothing. But because of this, he met Consort Dowager Qing!”
Prime Minister Wen reported.
Not many people knew about this past. It took Prime Minister Wen a long time to find it out.
Chu Qing could feel the sweat trickling down his back. Motionlessly, he knelt there, trying hard to appease his thumping heart. “They cannot find anything. It’s impossible to find anything.
“Mother told me not to panic. Take it easy. Don’t panic!”
The Imperial Study quieted down again. After a long time, Chu Qing heard the Emperor say lightly, “So, you didn’t find anything special?”
“Yes, there is nothing special about it. The prince of the previous dynasty was later found in another place and killed by the deceased emperor.” Prime Minister Wen nodded.
The Emperor waved his hand, and Prime Minister Wen stepped back.
“Commandery Prince Qing, get up!” The Emperor said.
“Thank you, His Majesty… Thank you so much!” Chu Qing choked with sobs and said excitedly.
“Get up. I will give you justice since it has nothing to do with you. Get up first!” The Emperor said slowly.
When Chu Qing stood up, he staggered and almost fell. At that moment, he thought he was doomed, and all his plans failed.
Chu Qing considered himself very lucky… Luckily, his secrets hadn’t yet been discovered.
“Chu Liuyue.”
“Yes!” Chu Liuyue said hurriedly.
“You have been quite unsettled recently. So, enjoy a peaceful time in your mansion! The conflicts between you and Prince Zhou gave me a headache,” the Emperor ordered languidly.
Since the Emperor fell ill, he had been in poor condition. As a result, he could only recline on the voluminous armchair for rest and drawled slightly. Somehow, Prime Minister Wen inexplicably felt such a scene looked quite familiar. Looking up at the Emperor, he saw him narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. Somehow, he felt such a scene quite familiar.
His heart skipped a beat. Then, he raised his eyes and looked at Prince Chen on the other side. Prince Chen was usually in such an idle state. Although he had recovered, he still viewed everything with a languid att.i.tude. Without saying a word, Prince Chen slightly closed his eyes. Surprisingly, they were alike in appearance and spirit.
“Alike? Familiar?”
Prime Minister Wen’s heart throbbed twice. Suddenly, he lowered his head with horror in his eyes.
Why did the Emperor treat Prince Chen so well? Prime Minister Wen had thought of all kinds of reasons. All this should be done for fame and social compliments. Raising a useless Prince Chen was good for the Emperor’s reputation.
After Prince Chen had recovered, he posed a threat to the throne, but even so, the Emperor still doted on and spoilt Prince Chen. Only Prince Chen remained safe despite the storm when the Emperor suppressed Prince Yue and Prince Zhou. Anyway, Commandery Prince Cheng couldn’t be the heir to the throne.
Others might not know it, but Prime Minister Wen did. Many memorials to the throne had been sent to the Prince Chen’s Mansion, and Prince Chen helped the Emperor review them. When the Emperor was not feeling well, he could ask his sons to check and reply to these memorials. But why didn’t he ask Prince Yue and Prince Zhou to do that? “Isn’t it more justifiable for the two princes to do that?”
Prime Minister Wen clutched his fist. Slowly, his grip loosened, and his face graudally calmed down. He heard that Prince Yue had left. Afterward, the Emperor asked Prince Chen about his health calmly and patiently.
When the Emperor learned that Prince Chen was in good health, he nodded with a smile.
Next, the few ministers reported to Prince Chen about what had happened. Most of the time, the Emperor just sat aside and listened. He would let Prince Chen decide everything and only occasionally make some comments.
Only the heir to the throne could enjoy such special treatment. When Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Wen inadvertently looked at each other, they saw the meaningful look in each other’s eyes. Then they smiled cunningly at each other before looking away.
The matter about Prince Zhou was a big deal for the Prince Zhou’s Mansion, but it had little influence on the capital city. It was because the problem was minimized. First, Qi Tianyu forgave Prince Zhou so that the matter wasn’t blown up, and Qi Rongzhi was buried quietly. Though she was buried as a consort, very few people knew a consort in the Prince Zhou’s Mansion had died.
After all, her death was suspicious.
Qi Tianyu was even promoted because of this. He was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and became Wen Xichi’s subordinate.
They became officials in the imperial court at the same time. Wen Xichi soared up into the sky with one start, but Qi Tianyu didn’t have such a good fate. He was far inferior to Wen Xichi though promoted to a higher rank.
Shao Wanru had been living a peaceful life these days.
Prince Yue and Prince Zhou returned to their mansions to “reflect on” their deeds. Their family members had to follow suit. Shao Wanru didn’t see the few people who liked kicking up a row in the Palace, and days suddenly became peaceful. But during such a quiet period, Shao Wanru didn’t expect Qi Tianyu to come — he officially presented a post and asked to see her.
It was unreasonable, but Chu Liuchen let Shao Wanru make her own decision.
After thinking for a while, Shao Wanru went to the front hall to meet Qi Tianyu.
Qi Tianyu had been waiting in the front hall for a long time. When he saw Shao Wanru coming in, his eyes fell on her face. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Now when they met again, it felt like a lifetime had pa.s.sed.
The lively girl had become the steady Princess Chen, but he became a good-for-nothing. Subconsciously, he took a step back and bowed to Shao Wanru.
“Greetings, Princess Chen!”
“Lord Qi, you’re too polite!” Shao Wanru said calmly and sat in the main seat in the middle, “Please sit down!”
Qi Tianyu sat down in the chair silently. When he looked up at Shao Wanru, he smiled bitterly and said bluntly, “Do you still hate me?”
His words sounded extremely rude. Yujie looked annoyed and was about to scold him, but Shao Wanru reached out and stopped her.
“Well, what you said is wrong. So many years have pa.s.sed. Even if you let me down back then, now I have nothing to say about it!”
Shao Wanru said calmly.
“It was my fault. For Qin Yuru, I… I was determined to ruin you.” Qi Tianyu said. His smile grew bitter. “The little girl who followed him had been so kind to me, but I made up my mind to destroy her. How could I be so vicious?
“She disturbed the marriage between Qin Yuru and me, but I didn’t actually care much about it, did I?”
“Lord Qi, a long time has pa.s.sed. I can’t clearly remember it. If you come here today just for things in the past, I’ll tell you it’s all over!” Shao Wanru said. She reached out to pick up the teacup, took a sip, and put it down. It was apparent that she wanted him to leave.
“Yes, it’s all over. Everything is over. Rongzhi is dead because of me!” Qi Tianyu lowered his head and said with sarcasm in his eyes. He had made mistakes again and again and suffered the consequences of his deeds. There was indeed nothing to say. He took a letter from the pocket before his chest. “I owe you an apology. Today, I’m here to pay off the debt!”
“What’s this?” Shao Wanru asked. Her deep and solemn eyes fell on the bulging envelope, but no one could tell whether she was happy or angry.
“Princess Chen is no longer the innocent little girl she used to be!” Qi Tianyu felt a sharp pain in his heart. “Maybe after I framed that girl, she was no longer that innocent!”
He lowered his head to hide the pain in his eyes and said, “I’m going back to Jiangzhou. It’s useless to keep it. If you need it, you can use it. If not, you can throw it away!”