When Gu Shao reached the Palace of Xuanming, it happened that a few palace maids crowded round a gorgeous woman in green with accessories on her thick and beautiful hair and came out. Seeing that a eunuch led an old man dressed in an official uniform, a dark red robe with a high hat and uncommon imposing manner, the woman knew that he must be a high official at the imperial court. She turned the fan which covered her face and looked at him, as if lost in thought. Then she got into a small carriage under the stairs with the support of the maids and went away.
“Is that Beautiful Lady Nuan?” Gu Shao didn’t want to pry into the emperor’s concubines, but he met one by accident, so he inevitably caught a glimpse of the passing beauty. After the glimpse, he frowned involuntarily. “Perhaps there is only one woman with such a beautiful face which can cause the downfall of cities even in the imperial palace, so it must be her.”
At his age, although he couldn’t say th
Consort Cui lived in the haram and couldn’t get the news from outside as quickly as the crown prince.Hearing that the crown prince had come, she thought that he came to see her, so she said with a smile, “Come in.” Noticing his son’s unusual expression, she hurriedly dismissed the maids and told him to sit in front of her, asking with concern, “What happened?”“There are rumors in the imperial capital that I was behind the scenes when the grandson of the Su Family was disabled.” The crown prince didn’t conceal his worry from his biological mother, and he quickened. “I don’t like these words, and I didn’t take them to heart. However, when Prime Minister Gu saw me just now, he told me that he suspected this matter might be…”He paused for a while. When Consort Cui got nervous, he continued with difficulty, “It might be Grandma who did that.”“What?” Consort Cui’s pupils became narrow, and she grasped the handkerchief subconsciously.
The crown prince walked to the Qingxi Hall nervously and suddenly awakened when he heard a eunuch greet him. He calmed down and asked, “Is Grandma available now?”The eunuch entered the hall to report. Then he came out soon and said, “Her Majesty is waiting for you in the side hall.”“What brought you here?” Seeing her eldest grandson come in, the Empress Dowager raised her hand and told him to get up. Then she asked gently, “The emperor is unwell these days, and he entrusted the state affairs to you. You should work hard.”“Although I am busy with the state affairs, I can’t neglect the elders.” The crown prince’s heart sank after he heard that. When he grew up, Emperor Xianjia was certainly his closest and most familiar elder, and the second was the Empress Dowager. Because the emperor was anxious to cultivate him and make him a qualified heir to the throne, he had much to study since childhood. He just relaxed a little as he started to learn
All people at the imperial court focused their attention on the case in Qingzhou currently, while what the women in the imperial capital cared about recently was the marriage of Yuan Xuepei and Jiang Muting.As they agreed to get married on Cuihua Mountain, the two families started the official process after returning to the imperial capital. Yuan Xue’e didn’t go to Cuihua Mountain to avoid summer heat this year but lived in the manor with her husband because Lu Guanlun was in poor health these days and the doctor advised them not to move.Now hearing that her legitimate elder brother would get married, she naturally came back to help as Lu Guanlun was not so sick that she couldn’t leave.As soon as she saw Song Yixiao, she complained, “You said that you take me as a sister, but you informed me of such a big event only before the six ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. You didn’t tell me any information earlier. It’s a pity that I trust you s
On the way back to the mansion of Duke of Yan after the banquet, in the carriage, Song Yixiao told her husband what she had seen at the banquet. In the end, she frowned. “I don’t know if there will be something wrong with Princess Consort of Liang after she ate two crabs.”She had watched all the time. Obviously, Princess Consort of Liang liked eating crabs. After she opened a crab, she didn’t feel satisfied and opened another one before stopping. Although till they came out of the imperial palace, Song Yixiao didn’t see that Princess Consort of Liang looked unwell, thinking of the princess consort’s prominent belly, she always felt restless.“Since she didn’t feel unwell just now, I think there will be nothing wrong with her.” Even though the legitimate paternal grandmother of the two young ladies from the Sikong Family, Great Grand Princess Zhenyang was Jian Xubai’s great-aunt, and he was their cousin, they had never stayed together, so they were not as c
Jian Xubai responded, “There is something indeed. Helou Duhan visited me today.”“He went to see you?” Song Yixiao immediately thought of the blind date when they were on Cuihua Mountain and asked in surprise, “Does he fall in love with Yourui?”“He said that he always highly esteems such a dignified and reserved girl who respects the elders like Yourui.” Jian Xubai nodded. “When she refused him politely after seeing him earlier, he didn’t feel frustrated. But it happened that Virtuous Consort Jiang wanted to choose him as Princess Yushan’s husband. Later although he asked us to tell Lady Muting to remind Virtuous Consort Jiang in private and prevent it, he was afraid that if he immediately expressed his love for Yourui, it would harm her, so he has been waiting till now. Seeing that nobody talks about Yushan recently, he came to see me and said that he is willing to wait until Yourui finishes mourning. He wondered if she likes him.”Song Yixia
However, Madam Chang didn’t plan to tell Song Yixiao in details. She just cursed the maids who had served Princess Consort of Liang and then thanked Song Yixiao a lot for her reminder. Later, she insisted on leaving the valuable gifts and then said goodbye.Although Song Yixiao suspected that somebody else was behind the scenes when Princess Consort of Liang was harmed, she couldn’t insist on asking more. After all, even though there was no outstanding man in the Sikong Family now, Great Grand Princess Zhenyang was still alive. This was the first emperor’s daughter, and she had seen a lot as she had gone through the ups and downs of life.She personally asked about her granddaughter’s pregnancy, so who could do anything evil to Princess Consort of Liang?Madam Chang didn’t talk about more information and perhaps she had thought that the insider information couldn’t be revealed to the outsiders. After all, Song Yixiao sent a secret message to th
A fifth-rank official was not a big deal at the imperial court, but he was an official in the imperial capital after all, and he was a director with real power in charge of something in the Ministry of Punishments, of the same level as Jian Xubai before he was transferred to the Council of Censorate. Moreover, as soon as Su Bofeng’s case was exposed, it would be brought to trial at the imperial court. How would the Ministry of Punishments dare to delay it?Therefore, they would never send an old or weak man to finish this job. After all, Qingzhou was far away from the imperial capital. If an old director or somebody in poor health took this business trip, as he wouldn’t have a break on the way to go and return, perhaps before the prisoners arrived, he might have fallen sick because of the fatigue on the long journey.So it could be conjectured that this director from the Ministry of Punishments who had just died at his post must be in the prime of his life.
Expectancy could hardly be concealed in the tone of the crown prince’s biological mother. Without looking back, he knew that it was scorching in Consort Cui’s eyes, but he seemed to have fallen into an icehouse.“Mother, do you know…” The crown prince felt that his voice had never been so intricate and obscure. “Do you know what you are talking about?”“Of course I know what I am talking about.” Consort Cui took a deep breath and sneered. “This year, it’s the twenty-first year after Emperor Xianjia took the throne, and I have borne with the bitch Daiguo for nearly twenty years. All people in the country think that I am an honorable noble consort and the crown prince’s biological mother. Even though I was degraded, I am a consort anyway, while in the eyes of the Empress Dowager and Daiguo and even your father, I am only one of his concubines.”She grasped the crown prince’s shoulder with more strength on her fingers subconsciously and almost pin