Chapter 106 Don't Trust Me
Among the brothers, no one can compare with Yuan Lang except the prince.
His mother was an imperial concubine, while the rest of his brothers were not even a little bit inferior to him in terms of the emperor's favor, the status of their mothers, or even the support in the court. This made Yuan Lang feel confident that "the throne of the crown prince takes turns, and this year it's my turn."
Who would have thought that the unreasonable Emperor of Southern Qi would not appoint his son as the next crown prince, but instead appoint his grandson Yuan Yi. This is really unbelievable.
"My royal brother's passing has dealt a heavy blow to our father, and he has become a little confused." He said this to the eldest princess when she went to visit her who was ill.
The eldest princess had been ill since last winter. At first, she did not attend the palace banquet for the Wanshou Festival. Then, Huan Yanbo's body was brought to the capital. Fortunately, the body was easy to preserve in winter. She cried bitterly in front of her son's coffin. When she was about to start arranging the funeral for her son, she encountered the funeral of the late crown prince.
When the Crown Prince died, all officials and their wives from various mansions went to the palace to mourn on schedule. The funeral in the Grand Princess's mansion was conducted quietly. Apart from the Second Prince who took time out to come and help, there were no other mourners.
No amount of burial objects could make up for the loneliness of her son's death. Yuan Heng sent her husband away and then her son away, but the funeral in the palace was not over yet.
She announced to the public that she was ill in bed and did not even attend the funeral of the Eastern Palace. No one knew what the Emperor of Southern Qi was thinking when he was furious, but she could no longer care.
After the crown prince's funeral was over, the second prince came to visit every now and then. She would hold the second prince's hand and shed tears, "I have been competitive all my life and rarely show weakness. However, since Yan'er passed away, I have experienced the fickleness of human nature and I know that you are a good person. I'm sorry that you have been tired during this period of time. I can't let you run errands for your aunt in vain." She turned around and summoned all her subordinates to the second prince, including her old friends from Yuanyang Tower, as well as people from two banks and the escort agency.
The Second Prince understood the feelings of middle-aged and elderly women, not to mention the eldest princess who had lost her husband and son. Even though he took all her subordinates under his control, he did not forget to bring some food and small things to visit the eldest princess every few days, which made Yunniang and others praise him: "The Second Prince is really thoughtful and treats the master like his own mother."
The eldest princess was also quite relieved: "Ever since Yan'er passed away, I felt that there was no hope. Now that I see Lang'er from time to time, my heart feels a little comforted."
When the news of the establishment of the young crown prince reached the Grand Princess's residence, Yuan Heng first stood up for the Second Prince: "Why didn't they establish a virtuous prince like Lang'er, but instead appointed a young boy as the crown prince?" When the Second Prince came over, she tried to comfort him: "Your father is in his prime, who can predict what will happen in the future?"
The second prince accepted her kindness and confided his grievances to the eldest princess: "I always felt that my father still loved me, although I couldn't compare with my brother. But since my brother passed away, I realized my position in my father's heart. I am not even as good as Yuan Yi. In the future, will I, as an uncle, be required to kneel down and pay homage to my nephew?"
"It's all fake!" he sighed.
His words simply spoke out the thoughts of the eldest princess. They used to be very affectionate siblings, but for the sake of her son, she didn't even care about her son's life or death: "Yeah, it's all fake!"
It's rare that the aunt and niece are in the same mood. Now there seems to be no major conflict of interests. Their relationship has become even closer, almost like that of biological mother and son.
Yuan Yi was worried about his uncle in the East Palace, probably because Yuan Lang stood in front of him on the left during the morning court session the day before, which made the Emperor of Southern Qi very angry. He reprimanded Yuan Lang in front of all the civil and military officials, accusing him of overstepping his authority.
According to state etiquette, the future crown prince should naturally sit in front of Yuan Lang's left. However, now there is only an imperial edict and the regulations drafted by the Ministry of Rites have not been approved yet, and the crown prince ceremony has not yet been held. According to family etiquette, Yuan Yi must call him "Second Uncle", which is not considered as presumptuous. Unfortunately, he met the Emperor of Southern Qi who was determined to establish the prestige of his little grandson, and he took the opportunity to scold the second prince.
Needless to say, Yuan Lang couldn't look at Yuan Yi in a good mood anymore.
Yuan Yi was distressed. On the one hand, he was touched by the love that the emperor grandfather showed him, but on the other hand, he felt that he should not be so harsh to his second uncle in front of the civil and military officials. What's more, he had already begun to consider how to deal with the situation in the future, so he summoned Fu Chen and Tang Ying to the East Palace to discuss the matter.
But now that the Emperor of Southern Qi is still alive, the Second Prince treats him with his usual gentle attitude. Even if there is no smile on his face, there is no sign of a falling out. He feels vaguely uneasy in his heart, but he doesn't dare to say much to the Emperor of Southern Qi, for fear that the Emperor's attitude towards his uncles will become even harsher, which would make the relationship between uncle and nephew even worse.
Fu Chen couldn't say much about this kind of thing unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, royal family affairs would not separate the relatives. Behind closed doors, they were father and son, uncle and nephew. He was just a minister and could only say a few words of comfort to the crown prince before leaving the Eastern Palace with Tang Ying.
Tang Ying was silent all the way. When they arrived at the palace gate, their followers led the horses over.
She was riding Tengyun today. After climbing on the horse, she followed Fu Chen slowly.
Fu Chen rode in front, thinking that there was nothing to do at the Forbidden Cavalry Department, he simply went home to rest. Unexpectedly, Tang Ying followed him all the way. They were on the same road, so he didn't say much. However, when he saw that they were at the door of his house, he turned his chin up, and Tang Ying seemed to have just come to her senses: "You actually followed the adults here." She turned over and dismounted: "Since you are here, why don't you treat me to a cup of tea?"
Fu Chen: "Please come in, Mr. Tang." No one comes to see you for no reason. I guess this girl finally can't help herself, right?
He had expected this to happen, but he still remained polite and invited Tang Ying into the main hall.
Fu Chen's servants were all delighted to see Tang Ying. Xiong Yu, who was serving tea, grinned from ear to ear. He kept running back and forth to deliver snacks and fruits. He ran four times in a row. Despite Fu Chen's dagger-like eyes, he even tried to keep her here for him: "It's rare for the princess to come. Uncle Wen from the kitchen said that he bought donkey meat yesterday and made donkey meat with five-spice sauce. He wants to invite the princess to stay and taste his cooking skills."
Fu Chen: "Get lost!"
Tang Ying: "My Lord, do you not welcome me?" She scratched her head in frustration: "I know I am shameless and came here uninvited."
Xiong Yu: "No, the master told me to get out." If it wasn't too unbecoming, he would have wanted to perform a 18-roll performance in class.
Fu Chen was helpless: "You know that's not what I meant." He looked at Tang Ying with gentle eyes: "Since Uncle Wen wants to keep you to taste his cooking, there is no need for me to stop him."
Tang Ying: You said it very reluctantly.
But for her own affairs, she couldn't care less: "Thank Uncle Wen for me."
"Hey! Uncle Wen will definitely be happy!" Xiong Yu trotted away and disappeared.
Fu Chen couldn't help but think of the days when she was taken in with no money. It was also the food on the Fu Mansion's dinner table that changed drastically, which made him start to pay attention to whether this little girl was doing anything mischievous every day.
Tang Ying took a sip of tea and used the hot steam to calm her emotions. She had to admit that there was a time when she almost treated the Fu Mansion as her home. This huge mansion in the capital city also gave her warmth.
She first talked to Fu Chen about the affairs of the Imperial Cavalry Department, and then talked about the undercurrent between Yuan Yi and Yuan Lang, and finally brought the topic back: "Well, there is a man named Li from the East Palace who is imprisoned in the Fengbu Imperial Prison. I have something to ask him. I wonder if you can help me?"
Fu Chen was prepared: "You are looking for the man surnamed Li. Did you hear that he was the first to suggest to His Majesty that Baicheng should change its defense and mobilize troops?"
Tang Ying did not want to hide it in front of him: "Yes, I want to know whether he brought up this matter at the beginning because of the instruction of the Crown Prince or it was purely a personal behavior?" This was also her way of expressing her attitude of loyalty to Yuan Yi in front of the Emperor of Southern Qi. In fact, she did not have any good feelings towards this little grandson of the emperor.
If the incident in Baicheng was originally planned by the Crown Prince, it would be impossible for her to be loyal to the little grandson of the emperor.
"You don't have to check anymore. I've checked it out for you. Although Li Tong is the secretary of the Prince's Mansion, this idea was not the idea of the late prince. You may not know the late prince very well. The late prince is a benevolent monarch, much more tolerant than your majesty, and will not do such a self-destructive thing. I have recently made a careful investigation. Li Tong is ostensibly an official of the Prince's Mansion, but since the prince became seriously ill, he has secretly started to make plans for himself, and in fact has leaned towards the second prince. The two officials who supported him in the Ministry of War at that time seemed to be neutral, but in fact they also had a close relationship with the Wan family." He stood up: "Come with me."
Tang Ying followed him into the study, her heart still in shock: "You mean... these are all the ideas of the Second Prince Yuan Lang?"
Fu Chen took out a stack of confessions from the secret compartment in his study: "Take a look at these. I also arrested the two officials from the Ministry of War who had agreed with me at the beginning and tortured them thoroughly. These are their confessions."
After Tang Ying arrived in Beijing, what she wanted to investigate most was the Baicheng Incident. However, she had never entered the center . She had neither the power to arrest officials nor the connections to help her find the culprit of the Baicheng Incident. She could only climb up step by step. If she wanted to find the final murderer with her own ability, it would take some effort. However, she did not expect that after searching for a long time, she would get it without any effort.
"Where are the officials from the Ministry of War?"
Fu Chen's eyebrows did not move, and he said calmly: "The relationship between the two people is all in this confession, including how they contacted the Wan family and received instructions from the Wan family. As for the officials who delayed the grain and grass, they are also related to the Wan family. The Minister of War is a fence-sitter, and the grain and grass issue is also related to the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. Didn't a group of officials execute a few days ago? I found a crime to put Li Tong and the two officials of the Ministry of War in it together. Keeping their lives will also be a disaster if people find out that you are investigating the matter of Baicheng."
"Li Tonglian, the two officials from the Ministry of War are dead?"
The Feng Ministry often secretly executed officials, so it was no trouble to add a few people to the list, so Fu Chen easily killed them.
"When they took advantage of the Wan family, they should have considered that this day would come." Lord Fu lowered his head, his eyes lingered on his fingers for a moment, then raised his head and looked directly at Tang Ying: "Of course, if you don't trust me, just think that these testimonies are all made up by me, and you can also slowly investigate on your own."
