Chapter 472 Crown Princess and Princess
Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, it began to drizzle.
Sun Shaozong climbed the stairs and absent-mindedly crossed the threshold of the Prince's Mansion.
Although the "Crown Prince Case" has now reached a stalemate and no clues have been found to identify the real culprit, the special task force has not been disbanded. Therefore, after returning to Beijing, Sun Shaozong should come over to report for duty.
Not to mention, after being away for about seven or eight days, the situation in the front yard of the Prince's Mansion has improved quite a bit - the fallen leaves and weeds that had originally accumulated there have been cleared away, and as it had just rained, the bluestone slabs were washed shiny by the rain, and it looked extremely clean.
"May I ask if Lord Sun is here in person?"
Sun Shaozong was standing in the doorway, looking at the situation in the courtyard, when a short fat man suddenly appeared from the gatehouse, trotted over, and introduced himself in a flattering manner: "I am Wang Dexiu, the chief clerk of the Zhanshi Mansion. I was transferred here a few days ago and am responsible for serving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all the adults."
The Chief Clerk of the Zhanshi Palace is only a seventh-rank official, but the one who was able to be stuffed into the Prince's Palace at this critical moment must not be an ordinary person.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong did not dare to be too negligent. He returned the greeting slightly and said with a smile: "Wang Zhubu has been waiting at the door since early morning. Could he be waiting for me?"
This was originally just a casual joke, but Wang Dexiu nodded his head and said seriously: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince heard that you have returned to the capital, so he specially ordered me to wait for you here, saying that he will summon you when you arrive at the palace."
Tsk~
I've been hiding for more than half a month, but I didn't expect the prince to be so warm.
This was not in line with Sun Shaozong's desire to avoid suspicion.
Fortunately, the matter had been negotiated when they went to the government office two days ago. After the festival, Jia Yucun would write to the court, formally recalling Sun Shaozong back to the government office on the grounds that Shuntian Prefecture was short of staff.
This is not entirely an excuse, but a fact of Shuntian Prefecture's predicament.
Now the position of prefect has been vacant, Sun Shaozong has been seconded to the special task force, and Wei Ruolan is detained in the Dali Temple [even if he can be released from prison in the future, it is estimated that he is unlikely to continue to serve as the criminal judge]. It is really stretched to support the overall situation of Shuntian Prefecture with only one prefect and two judges.
Anyway, this task force is at a standstill. I believe it will be able to withdraw smoothly in a few days. For now, we should just try our best to appease the prince for a few more days.
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong raised his chin slightly. Just as he was about to ask Wang Dexiu to lead the way, a servant came running over from the side, splashing water all the way to the front, and said breathlessly: "Master, the Princess of Prince Beijing is here to ask to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. She is waiting at the west gate now. Look..."
"Prince Beijing's Princess?!"
Wang Dexiu's pupils widened when he heard this, and he stamped his feet anxiously and said, "Are you stupid? How can you let the princess wait outside the door? This..."
"cough."
Sun Shaozong interrupted him with a dry cough and said sternly, "Nowadays, things are different. No outsiders are allowed to enter or leave the mansion without permission. Even if the princess of Prince Beijing comes, she should first inform His Highness and then wait for His Highness to make a decision."
Wang Dexiu was initially intimidated by the title of Princess of Beijing, but after hearing what Sun Shaozong said, he suddenly came to his senses. He slapped himself twice on the face and said with a wry smile, "Look at my poor memory. In a moment of urgency, I actually forgot the rules of the mansion. I will report this to His Highness right away!"
As he spoke, he hurriedly took a few steps forward, then suddenly remembered something, turned around and said with a smile: "Please come with me, sir."
This panicky look should not be deliberately pretended.
It seems that the judgment just now was wrong. This guy was stuffed into the Prince's Mansion. I'm afraid that he may not have any background or ability, but was just forced to do it.
Having come to such a conclusion, Sun Shaozong naturally did not bother to waste words with a small clerk, so he raised his head, motioned Wang Dexiu to lead the way, and then followed him silently to the back house.
As he walked, his mind was naturally busy, secretly wondering what the long-legged and fierce concubine's intention was in suddenly coming to the prince to ask to see him.
What is basically certain is that her visit this time must be related to Wei Ruolan's case - but this case doesn't seem to have much to do with the prince, right?
Besides, even if they were really related, the prince would be eager to see the Niu family and Shui Rong fight each other and would be watching the fun from the sidelines. How could he come out to mediate or simply favor one side?
Or...
What bargaining chips did Wei bring with her, and were they confident that they could persuade the prince to save Wei Ruolan?
Since it was just a random guess, it was naturally difficult to figure out any result. Therefore, when he arrived at the prince's residence, Sun Shaozong was unable to figure out anything.
When they reached the door, Wang Dezheng was about to ask someone to report, but the eunuchs ignored him and gathered around Sun Shaozong in a fawning manner, expressing their joy nonstop:
"Congratulations, Lord Sun, on being promoted to the fourth rank councilor."
"I meet Councillor Sun!"
"Among the important officials in this court, you are probably the youngest and most promising one!"
The leader kept making way for them, saying that the Crown Prince had been feeling depressed for more than half a month and was looking forward to Sun Shaozong coming over so that they could have a few private words.
What I said...
Where does the Crown Princess stand?
Seeing Wang Dexiu standing aside, embarrassed and at a loss, Sun Shaozong only had time to give him a look to indicate that he would help him report the matter of Princess Beijing, and then he was surrounded by several eunuchs like the moon surrounded by stars and led into the main hall.
When he reached the bedroom door, Sun Shaozong bowed slightly towards the tightly closed door. Just as he was about to introduce himself, he heard the prince inside shouting anxiously, "But Lord Sun is here? Come in quickly and talk!"
Listening to the joyful tone, it really seemed like he had something on his mind and wanted to let it out to me.
When Sun Shaozong pushed the door open, he saw the prince sitting on the head of the bed with his legs spread out, and his complexion was obviously much better than before.
In fact, the newly castrated eunuchs in the palace can go out to work in the fields in less than two months.
The prince is a hundred times better off than the young eunuchs in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and he has an imperial physician serving him personally all day long. Logically, his recovery from injuries should be much faster than that of the young eunuchs.
But the prince was spoiled after all. If he felt any pain, he would rather lie on the bed like a corpse. So until now, he could only sit steadily on the bed.
"My dear Sun, there is no need to be so polite!"
As soon as Sun Shaozong stepped forward to greet him, he heard the prince anxiously ask, "You have been back to the capital for two or three days now, but I wonder if you have any decent research on the case of the Niu family's eldest son being shot to death? Was Wei Ruolan framed, or did she really kill someone by accident?"
It turned out that he wanted to see me because of this case.
That's right. Although at first glance this case has nothing to do with the prince, the prince has actually long since determined in his heart that it must be the Niu family who murdered him. Now that the eldest son of the Niu family has suddenly died, he can be said to have let out a sigh of relief.
but……
Sun Shaozong hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "It's been nearly ten days since this happened. Your Highness has been in the capital, so you should have made up your mind a long time ago, right?"
The Crown Prince really didn't treat Sun Shaozong as an outsider. He spread his hands and said depressedly, "I originally had some speculations. I thought that it might be that my father wanted to avenge me, so... But I asked the Crown Princess to go to the palace to inquire several times, and it really didn't seem like it was my father's doing."
When he said this, his eyes flickered and he opened his mouth several times but stopped talking.
It's not the work of Emperor Guangde? !
And looking at the prince's behavior, it seems that there is some other hidden secret.
Since the Crown Prince had already spoken frankly to him about his doubts about the Emperor, Sun Shaozong naturally had nothing to worry about, so he lowered his voice slightly and asked, "Your Highness, do you have any other discoveries?"
"this……"
The prince was still hesitant, and after a long while he said seriously: "I have not found anything else, but I am a little worried about my father's health. I heard that my father sent people to collect a lot of tiger and wolf recipes. Recently, he has been showing favors to the harem without caring about his health... Alas!"
At this point, he sighed heavily: "I am really worried that my father's dragon body will not be able to withstand this kind of torture."
Hehe~
He said he was worried about Emperor Guangde's health, but looking at the Crown Prince's uneasy look, I'm afraid what he was really worried about was that Emperor Guangde was in too good a health and that he would really give birth to another son!
At that time, it goes without saying what choice Emperor Guangde will make between the fake crown prince and the real prince.
However, since it concerns the imperial succession, how could Sun Shaozong dare to interfere in it - the matter of the fake imperial grandson does not count, that was a response he had to deal with and was not something Sun Shaozong did on purpose.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong just pretended that he didn't understand, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and you have the imperial doctors around you, so I think your health should be fine."
As he spoke, he was afraid that the prince would continue to dwell on this topic, so he hurriedly added: "As for the murder of the eldest son of the Niu family, there is no need to rush to speculate on it for now. Your Highness, please meet someone first, and then it will not be too late to discuss this matter with me."
"Meet someone?"
The prince was very puzzled and asked, "Is there anyone in this world who is better at investigating cases than Sun Aiqing?"
"It's not the one investigating the case, it's actually..."
Sun Shaozong briefly informed the prince that Princess Beijing had come to ask for a meeting and was now waiting outside the west door.
The prince was completely confused and frowned, "Why did this fierce woman come to me instead of staying at home to force Shui Rong to rescue the people?"
Then, he raised his head and said, "No matter what, since she came to me on her own initiative, I have to meet her. Lord Sun, please go and stop all the people she brought with her outside the door, and then have someone search her thoroughly."
It would have been fine to keep Princess Beijing's entourage out of the door, but ordering people to search her seemed a bit excessive.
Sun Shaozong was just about to persuade him, but he heard the prince sneer again, "Uncle Wang has always been close to me. Since this fierce woman has embarrassed him, I will naturally seek justice for him!"
It turned out that he wanted to stand up for King Zhongshun.
Looking at the prince's expression, you can tell that it's useless to persuade him. After all, the young lady from the Wei family has long been hostile to the Sun family, so no matter how much she offends them, that's all.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong did not insist too much. He bowed and retreated to the inner room, briefly conveyed the prince's intention, called two eunuchs and four palace maids, and walked towards the west door with a crowd of people following.
No conversation along the way.
When we arrived at the west gate, we saw a luxurious carriage parked outside, with eight female soldiers in leather armor standing by it. Even the coachman was a big and strong woman.
This scene...
Isn’t Prince Beijing already heavily in debt?
"By order of His Highness."
Sun Shaozong arrived in front of the carriage and said in a neither humble nor arrogant voice: "Except for the princess, no one else is allowed to enter the palace - besides!"
Halfway through his speech, the women soldiers started to make noise, so Sun Shaozong had to raise his voice and continued, "Because the assassination case has not been investigated, no one is allowed to bring any weapons into the palace, so if the princess wants to meet His Highness, I'm afraid she will have to endure some grievances."
Before he finished speaking, the curtain of the carriage suddenly opened, revealing a pretty face with a murderous look in it, and said coldly: "When did you change the guard dog of the Prince's Mansion?"
What a shrew!
Sun Shaozong had only met her twice in total. The first time, she shot an arrow in vain with her bow, but this time, she belittled him as a watchdog.
Sun Shaozong's eyes fixed, and just as he was about to retort with ridicule, someone behind him suddenly said, "These two eunuchs were just transferred from the palace. It's normal that you haven't seen them before."
Looking back, I saw the Crown Princess, dressed in an elegant long dress, coming towards me accompanied by several palace maids.
When they got closer, the Crown Princess bowed to Sun Shaozong solemnly and said softly, "Sister Wei is an old acquaintance of mine. Please be lenient and spare her from the body search."
Her attitude, on the one hand, proved that Sun Shaozong was not falsely conveying the imperial edict, but had a purpose; on the other hand, it highlighted her respect for Sun Shaozong. As for the so-called watchdogs, naturally, they could only fall on the heads of the two little eunuchs.
"I don't dare."
Sun Shaozong bowed and said, "I will follow your majesty's orders."
The man lowered his head and half squatted, which was already a condescending posture. Especially since Sun Shaozong's height was extraordinary, he could immediately see an alluring whiteness from the collar, as well as the outline of a royal blue bellyband.
I wonder if this bellyband was ever placed in the closet that day...
Thinking this way, he was naturally half a beat slow to retract his gaze, and was caught by the Crown Princess. His face immediately turned red, and he glared at Sun Shaozong in shame and anger, but then he tried hard to suppress the annoyance in his heart, turned around and greeted Wei.
The two of them whispered something to each other, then linked their arms and walked into the Prince's Mansion.
Speaking of the Crown Princess and Lady Wei walking away arm in arm, it was really like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with its own merits. One was heroic and valiant, the other was graceful and dignified; one was graceful and elegant, the other was plump and well-proportioned; one...
Uh, now is not the time to YY.
Sun Shaozong shook his head, put those inappropriate thoughts behind him, and followed from a distance, ready to wait until Princess Beijing met the Crown Prince before asking him about her purpose and bargaining chips.
