coobybook Chapter 148 Was it you who killed him?
Chapter 148 Was it you who killed him?
General's Mansion.
With his daughter and son-in-law imprisoned, Ye Gengxin almost rushed to the palace to question the emperor.
Fortunately, Wen Yan and Wen Mo were there this time and stopped him together. In addition, Aunt Jiu comforted him, saying, "Even if the prince is imprisoned, no one can hurt him. General, please don't panic. Besides, the reason why the prince was thrown into the prison is too far-fetched. Maybe the prince did it on purpose. If you act impulsively now, you may ruin the prince's plan."
Wen Yan nodded repeatedly, "Ninth Aunt is right. It is common knowledge that the Prince and Consort Lan are estranged. In the past, nothing happened, but this time the Emperor has thrown him into the prison. This is somewhat unreasonable."
Wenmo continued, "General, the Princess sent us back to reassure you and the two young masters. Let's remain calm and wait and see."
Ye Gengxin rubbed his temples. How could he possibly stay calm after such a big incident?
"Ouch!" Aunt Jiu suddenly clutched her chest and cried out.
"Ninth Aunt, what's wrong?" Ye Gengxin quickly stepped forward to support her.
"My chest is aching for no reason. I guess it's a side effect of not getting enough rest," Aunt Jiu said weakly.
"Hao Fu! Quickly call Zhou Zheng over!" Ye Gengxin, without suspecting anything, picked up Ninth Aunt and carried her to the bedroom.
After watching them leave, Hao Fu was in a hurry to call the family physician, Zhou Zheng.
Wen Yan quickly grabbed him and said with a smile, "Butler Hao, Ninth Aunt is faking it. Remember to ask Mr. Zhou to cooperate."
Hao Fu was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and replied with a smile, "Yes, yes... I know what to do!"
Since the prince and the third young lady won't let the general get involved, we can only try to stall him for now!
……
The next day.
Yuchi Sheng was exempted from the morning court session.
While resting in his palace, he heard Wu Yue report, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince caught a cold last night, and the imperial physician says it's quite serious. The investigation into the Huaxiang Pavilion matter will likely be delayed."
Yu Chi Sheng coldly cursed, "What a coward! All we asked him to do was send him on a trip through the martial world, we didn't even ask him to attack Hua Xiang Pavilion, and he's already making excuses like this. If the enemy were to invade one day and we needed him to lead the troops in person, with his tendency to make excuses, how much territory of my Great Ye Kingdom could he possibly protect?"
Since yesterday, he has been reflecting on the relationship between Consort Lan and the Crown Prince and Prince Cheng over the years.
Because Consort Lan and the Empress were indeed as close as sisters in their early years. They entered the palace at the same time, became pregnant with the Emperor's child at the same time, and even gave birth on the same day.
During those days, there were never any rumors of discord among the women in the harem.
Therefore, after the Empress passed away, Consort Lan treated the Crown Prince as her own son, and no one doubted her in the slightest. The court officials, seeing her deep affection for the heir apparent, praised her even more.
In matters concerning the Crown Prince, Consort Lan can be described as possessing both benevolence and virtue, making her a model woman in the world.
Yet this kind and virtuous mother was extremely harsh on her own son, Prince Cheng. In the past, when she was harsh on Prince Cheng, he only thought that she was being strict and did not want Prince Cheng to steal the limelight from the Crown Prince, so as to avoid others saying that she and her son harbored ambitions.
But later, such severity became increasingly excessive.
It was so extreme that even he, as a father, couldn't stand it anymore!
He just couldn't understand why a woman who could tolerate another man's son couldn't treat her own child, whom she had carried for ten months, with kindness and gentleness...
As the two sons grew up, their differences became more and more pronounced.
He reflected on the Crown Prince's actions in court over the years, and found them to be more than just mediocre, but almost entirely ineffective!
Because he was the crown prince, he was deeply loved by the court officials from a young age. On the surface, he held several positions, but what he actually did wasn't done by others; how many things did the crown prince do himself?
Even during council meetings, he appears to make sound and decisive decisions. However, all his decisions are based on recommendations from his court officials. He only needs to endorse the best decision to make people believe he is a promising and capable ruler!
If someone like him can govern the country, then can anyone sitting on the dragon throne also rule the country and its people?
In contrast, consider Prince Cheng.
He has been independent since childhood, and his numerous achievements demonstrate his courage and resourcefulness.
The fact that he was chosen as the successor by the former head of Huaxiang Pavilion shows that he is kind-hearted. Otherwise, given the status of Huaxiang Pavilion in the martial arts world, if they had just found someone to succeed him as head of the pavilion, how could their good reputation have been passed down to this day?
"Your Majesty, you haven't eaten anything this morning. Are you feeling unwell?" Qi Sui asked, concerned when he saw Qi Sui staring blankly into space.
Yu Chi Sheng shook his head. "I have no appetite." As if remembering something, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he coldly ordered Wu Yue, "Under the pretense of investigating Hua Xiang Pavilion, go out and make a trip. You must find the people who were released from Fengqi Palace back then and bring them back to me secretly!"
Wu Yue frowned. "Your Majesty, more than twenty years have passed. The old women who served in Fengqi Palace back then are probably long gone."
"No matter what method you use, you must find their whereabouts. If they are dead, you must find out the cause of their death!" Yu Chisheng said through gritted teeth.
Looking back now, he felt that something was wrong with everything!
Not long after the Empress passed away, everyone in Fengqi Palace, regardless of age, requested permission to leave the palace. Consort Lan even spoke up for them, saying that if they continued to stay in the palace, they would be reminded of her by everything they saw, and it would be better to let them go than to see them spending their days in tears.
He was so grief-stricken at the time that he agreed without much thought.
Although Wu Yue did not know what he was going to do, he dared not disobey his orders. "Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to investigate!"
Yu Chisheng was in a low mood all day.
During this time, he asked Qi Sui about the situation in the imperial prison.
Qi Sui said, "Consort Yan had a lot of delicious food prepared and sent to Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng. Your Majesty, please rest assured that Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng have not been mistreated in the Imperial Prison. However, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess went to the Imperial Prison yesterday and had a quarrel with Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng."
yesterday?
Yu Chi Sheng angrily asked, "Why wasn't this reported yesterday?"
Qi Sui immediately knelt down and explained, "Your Majesty, I wanted to report this yesterday, but you summoned the Crown Prince late at night, and then Consort Lan came, so I forgot about it."
Just then, a palace maid rushed over.
"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?" Yu Chisheng asked impatiently.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister's wife, Lady Nangong, has passed away!" a palace servant reported.
"...!"
It would be a lie to say that Yu Chisheng was not surprised by the news.
He thought that Prince Cheng was just giving the Nangong family a small lesson, but he didn't expect him to be so powerful!
……
In the imperial prison.
Yu Chi Ling and Ye Shi Shu were enjoying the food sent by Jin Fu Palace when a spoilsport arrived.
"How dare you eat and drink here!" Upon arriving, Consort Lan's anger erupted as she looked at the sumptuous meal and ginseng soup on the ground. "Do you know the enormity of the mess you've made?"
"Caused trouble?" Yu Chi Ling sat cross-legged on the ground, showing no sign of getting up. He stared at her expressionlessly and asked, "Your subject and Shu'er have been in the imperial prison the whole time. When did we cause trouble?"
"Did you kill the Prime Minister's wife? Why did she suddenly fall ill after you left yesterday, and die in just one day!"