in2ebook Chapter 319 The incident came to light
Chapter 319 The incident came to light
The younger sister nodded: "Alright, you've had a long day, go back and get some rest."
After Chun Tao left, the younger sister gritted her teeth and said, "We didn't go looking for trouble with the Jiang family, but they came to us of their own accord. They dared to bully Second Sister; they don't take the Marquis's mansion seriously at all! I'll teach them a lesson!"
"Don't be impulsive," Si Muyan said. "My second sister has her reasons for doing this."
The younger sister said, "Second sister is just too soft-hearted!"
"It's not that she's soft-hearted, she just doesn't want to get involved in anything more. There's no longer any possibility between her and Prince Ning, so naturally she doesn't want any complications."
The younger sister said, "Then... are we just going to leave it alone? What if the Jiang family is still up to no good and tries to make a comeback? We can't expect Second Sister to be so cautious and never leave the house, can we?"
Si Muyan thought for a moment and said, "Tell Father to find someone he can trust to personally warn the Jiang family. They know what the Jiang family did to Second Sister in the past. As long as they behave themselves, no one will say anything. But if they are restless and have any wicked ideas, they'd better think twice."
After thinking it over, the younger sister seemed to have no other choice. In Prince Ning's view, the Jiang family was, after all, the family that raised him, and he had to protect them no matter what.
Si Muyan said, "Life is unpredictable, and no one knows what the future holds."
The younger sister went to check on the second sister again, and after confirming that she had taken her medicine and fallen asleep and was alright, she instructed the maid to take good care of her before returning to her own room.
After a busy day, she was exhausted.
Aunt Tian was skilled with her hands, so she came over to give her a massage while listening to her talk about what was happening in the palace.
Upon hearing her say that the Imperial Concubine actually wanted the eldest daughter to marry the second prince, Mama Tian stopped.
"Does the young lady mean that the Imperial Concubine originally intended to offer this advice, but the young lady refused?"
"Ah."
Madam Tian said, "Miss, if the eldest young lady becomes the second prince's wife, your path to the palace will be more difficult, but because of this... the emperor will find it more exciting, and his feelings will be more intense."
“I won’t agree,” the younger sister said. “Everything I do is for my family to have a better life.”
She turned over and let Aunt Tian massage her arms.
“If my elder sister and the second prince fall in love, I would be happy to see it happen. But the second prince is such a hateful person. He loves my second sister but despises her because she is a widow. He wants to marry my elder sister but orders his guards to humiliate her. How could I let my sister marry such a person?”
Mother Tian then said nothing more.
The younger sister closed her eyes to rest, and after a long while opened them: "But I feel that I am about to achieve my goal."
"what?"
The younger sister smiled slightly: "Mother Tian, today the Emperor clearly didn't dare to look me in the eye. He felt guilty towards me. It's very likely that his refusal to grant the Second Prince and Eldest Sister a marriage is because of me."
After all, if the Second Prince and Si Muyan were to be betrothed, and the Emperor were to want Si Muwan to enter the palace, he would be subjected to a torrent of criticism from the court officials.
As expected, Prince Ning confirmed the crimes committed by the Third Prince late at night on the last day.
The Third Prince used to be just a violent and tyrannical man who liked to beat and scold his servants to vent his anger, but more than three years ago, he developed a habit of torturing and killing people.
At its worst, at least one servant would die almost every month.
According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even slaves could not be beaten or scolded at will, let alone killed. If a servant of an ordinary household committed a crime, the government would deal with it; if it was a minor offense, the most serious consequence would be being sold off.
If someone like the Third Prince were to kill people every now and then, that would be a major case, let alone the fact that it was a brutal murder.
Besides the servants who attended to him, there was also a manor specifically given to the Third Prince by the Xing family, his maternal grandparents, after his birth.
The Third Prince was deeply favored by the Emperor, so what kind of imperial estate hadn't he seen? The Xing family's estate was just an exception, with a hot spring, but nothing else particularly special about it.
But the Third Prince would occasionally go to the estate, not for any other reason than to torture and kill people.
Most of these people came from other places and were introduced to work here, thinking they could earn some money to take back home, but in fact they were all brutally murdered.
Some of them didn't even have a complete corpse.
Prince Ning entered the palace that very night to report to the Emperor.
Meanwhile, outside the palace, a sedan chair arrived at the Zuo Guogong Mansion late at night; it was the Right Chancellor, Lord Hu, who had come to visit.
Inside the study, Lord Hu praised, "The Duke's plan was truly brilliant. That piece was placed perfectly. The young and intelligent Yang family son, tsk tsk tsk, I never expected that he would directly bring down the Third Prince, leaving him no room for maneuver."
As he spoke, he also prepared tea for the Duke of Zuo, respectfully handing him the teacup.
Duke Zuo stroked his beard and casually downed his tea in one gulp: "Lord Hu has raised so many adopted daughters with superb tea skills, but his own tea skills are still lacking."
Lord Hu didn't mind, and after laughing it off, he said, "However, I know that the Duke's original intention was to wait a few more years, until the Third Prince came of age, before taking action, right?"
Duke Zuo paused, then put down his teacup and let Lord Hu fill it with tea.
This time he didn't drink it all at once, but sipped it slowly.
Lord Hu continued, "I never expected that a mere Si family servant could be so capable, getting involved in such a major matter. Tsk tsk tsk."
"The young men of the Si family act without any regard for the consequences." The Duke of Zuo spoke of this with some contempt.
Lord Hu shook his head: "Then, has the Duke considered the consequences?"
The Duke of Zuo was taken aback: "What?"
"Given Prince Ning's temperament, His Highness the Third Prince will likely find it difficult to escape punishment this time. And as you and I both know, His Majesty dotes on his third son."
The Duke of Zuo said with a gloomy face: "That's his own fault. What does it matter if the Emperor loves him? He committed a heinous crime, and he wants to get away with it? Prince Ning is stubborn, but he is very useful at this time. He insists on dealing with him according to the law. No matter how much the Emperor loves his young son, he can only do as he is told. In the end, Prince Ning will bear the wrath of the true dragon emperor alone."
"Is that so? Does the Duke think that the Emperor will only blame Prince Ning for the loss of his young son?"
The Duke of Zuo paused, then said, "What do you mean by this? Besides Prince Ning and Si Jing'an, does the Emperor intend to blame us for this?"
Lord Hu put down the teapot: "You're mistaken. This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me. I only have one adopted daughter in the palace. She is young, charming, and very favored, but she has no children. She can't possibly get involved in the struggle for the throne, can she?"
Duke Zuo didn't understand for a moment, rubbing his hands together, but stopped drinking tea.
"Lord Hu's adopted daughter is just as cunning as you. Compared to her, I am much more foolish. Please enlighten me, sir."
"I dare not presume to offer any advice. I merely know the saying that those involved are often blinded, while bystanders see clearly," said Lord Hu. "This struggle for the throne has always been a contest between His Highness the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. On one side is the legitimate son of the Empress, and those old, rigid, and conservative ministers will undoubtedly support him. On the other side is the Third Prince, who enjoys the Emperor's favor, and some court officials are also stirring up trouble, believing they have guessed the Emperor's intentions."