Chapter 61 Leaving the Capital
The most capable maids under the Grand Princess at that time were Chunniang, Yaoniang, Yunniang, and an unknown Xinniang.
Xin Niang was good at mixing perfume and making medicine. She looked very ordinary, the kind that you would not find in a crowd. Standing behind the Grand Princess, she looked like a humble servant. However, God rarely gave all the luck to one person. He did not give her an extraordinary appearance, but gave her dexterous hands and a smart brain.
When Chunniang and Yaoniang were shining in the Forbidden Cavalry Division, Yunniang stayed in the Grand Princess's Mansion to take care of the internal affairs. Only Xinniang was like an inconspicuous servant, rarely appearing in public. Even Liu Chong only heard a little about her from Fu Chen after he was promoted to the pacification envoy.
Xin Niang was devoted to the eldest princess, and had the best relationship with Yao Niang when they were young, but after Yao Niang came back from South Vietnam, they had a disagreement. Since then, Yao Niang has been unrestrained, and the two have gradually drifted apart until they have nothing to say to each other.
For so many years, Yao Niang has been acting like a normal person, but today she finally behaved like a human being.
She stood for a long time, holding the back of the chair to calm her breathing. She finally calmed down and asked in a deep voice, "Are you saying that the concentric ball was stolen by a girl named Yinlan?"
"That girl didn't admit it, and she even framed a girl named Xuelian." Chunniang was an expert at interrogation: "It is said that the Prince of Nanyue went to Yuanyang Tower the first night, and stayed at Yinlan's place. Yinlan saw the concentric ball, but she didn't do anything. The next day, she stayed at Xuelian's place, but Xuelian was a gambler and a wine lover. She spent the whole night with the Prince of Nanyue. She said she was drunk, and when she woke up the next day, she didn't see the Prince, nor did she see anything left behind by him."
She said, "Later, I went to ask the prince about his whereabouts during those two days. I heard that when he left Yuanyang Tower, he didn't notice the purse. On the way, he encountered a stall of acrobatics and squeezed in the crowd. He also threw a lot of silver coins before leaving. Even he couldn't remember it clearly. I couldn't be sure that the things were lost in Yuanyang Tower."
The Prince of Nanyue was having fun with Lord Shen, just like Boya meeting Ziqi, they were truly soulmates for all ages, both were so happy that they didn't want to return to their homeland. Chunniang went to find him wearing a veil and in the name of the Forbidden Cavalry Division. The Prince of Zhao said that there were strange fragrances in the rooms of Yinlan and Xuelian, which were very intoxicating. If the Yuanyang Tower had not been sealed, he would have made several more trips there.
When Chunniang interrogated Xuelian, both she and the maid denied in unison that there was incense burning in her room.
It turned out that Xuelian had a cheerful personality and didn't like to indulge in cosmetics. She would often put some fruits in the room to add some scent, but she never created any strange fragrance.
In addition, the maid who delivered drinks that night also said that she smelled a strange fragrance in Xuelian's room when she went to deliver drinks for the last time. Fu Chen also mentioned that Yinlan's personal maid boasted that she was very good at mixing perfumes. He went to Yuanyang Tower to search it himself, and he became more and more certain that Yinlan had a close relationship with Xinniang.
When the four of them had a good relationship, Xin Niang would often send some of her prepared incense, rouge and the like to the sisters for testing, and pick out the best ones to give to the eldest princess, who was especially familiar with the incense she mixed.
Chunniang took out a small sandalwood box, opened it and handed it to Yaoniang: "This was found in Yinlan's room."
Yao Niang picked up a stick of incense and put it to her nose and sniffed it: "She didn't admit it, how did you find out?"
Chunniang sighed softly, "I asked someone to dress up as Xinniang and put on a show for her, and even brought up the title of Grand Princess, so that the girl would think that it was just a show for the higher-ups to give an explanation. I also tried to get close to her and took good care of her in the cell, but beat Xuelian next door half to death, so that she knew that Xinniang's disciples were also her own, and she relaxed her guard, and that's when she found out."
"It turned out that when she saw the concentric ball that day, she was amazed. She probably heard about you. Although Xinniang's craftsmanship has never been publicized, Yinlan should know about it. So she deliberately mentioned the various benefits of snow lotus in front of the Prince of Nanyue, and lured the Prince Zhao to the Snow Lotus room the next day. While they were half drunk and the waiters had gone out, she replaced the concentric ball with something of similar size and weight. When the Prince Zhao went outside, she had someone steal it secretly, and in this way she was able to take down the Yuanyang Tower."
Seeing that Yao Niang was distracted, Chun Niang continued, "The Ministry of Justice and Jingzhao couldn't find the whereabouts of the Heart-to-Heart Ball, mainly because the servants of Yuanyang Tower insisted that the purse that Prince Zhao carried with him was not lost when he left Yuanyang Tower. But the Imperial Cavalry Division investigated the case along the lines of the Yinlan Society's perfume making, and there was also the matter of you going to Nanyue. The two were linked together, so I guessed a rough idea."
The Grand Princess has been summoning Yao Niang frequently recently, which has caused Chun Niang to think more.
She finally said, "I guess the sphere is either in Xin Niang's hands or has already fallen into the hands of the Grand Princess. You should think carefully about it."
Yao Niang sat quietly for a moment, and said with a melancholy tone: "I thought that I had broken up with Xin Niang, but I didn't expect that there would be a day when she would scheme against me to the death."
The eldest princess is the master, and treats the servants like chess pieces, manipulating their lives at will. However, Xinniang has been her playmate since childhood, and the sisterly love between them cannot be faked.
Chunniang patted her shoulder and was about to say a few words to comfort her or ask about the affairs of the King of Nanyue and the Crown Prince, when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. One of her servants rushed in, her face full of panic: "Sir, Yinlan is dead!"
Chunniang and Yaoniang's expressions suddenly changed, and they almost said in unison: "What did you say?"
"Yinlan is dead!" The old woman also knew the seriousness of the matter and did not dare to delay at all. She came to report it immediately after discovering it.
Chunniang murmured: "Impossible? You said Xuelian is dead, so it's possible." In order to make Yinlan relax her guard, she personally led people to beat Xuelian until her skin was torn and her screams echoed throughout the inner prison. However, it was not an act, but a real beating.
The two men rushed to the cell, but saw that Yinlan looked alive, but had already died.
Chun Niang: “…”
Yao Niang: “…”
After a long while, Chunniang said, "It's Xinniang's medicine."
Yao Niang sneered: "They are... trying to force me to death!" She stood up suddenly, with a fierce look in her eyes: "Then don't blame me for the desperate situation!"
※※※
In the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, Huan Yanbo was chained and walked forward to listen to the verdict. The presiding judge was none other than the Minister of Justice, Mu Qingquan . In addition to the three officials who served as jurors, the fourth prince Yuan Jian was also sitting nearby.
There was a dispute in the court over the sentencing of Huan Yanbo for a while. The eldest princess secretly sent people to contact officials to plead for her son. Unfortunately, the Chief Censor Wang You insisted on his request, which led to an unprecedented unity among the officials of the entire Censorate to fight against Huan Yanbo.
The Fourth Prince also hinted to the Minister of Revenue Fang Jian'an and the Minister of Works Tian Zijian: "It has been nearly a year since I opened my palace, and it has only just begun to look a bit better. There is not even a place to hold a banquet. It is so shabby that I dare not even set out a warm wine."
The Minister of Revenue Fang Jian'an smiled and tried to shirk responsibility: "...I think the drawings provided by the Ministry of Works were not detailed enough and the budget was wrong, which delayed Your Highness's wedding. Why don't I send someone to recalculate and see what else Your Highness needs in his mansion." But in his heart he thought, this is definitely a threat!
Don’t look at the fact that the Fourth Prince used to be silent and seemed willing to endure any grievance. But ever since he threatened to commit suicide in the Golden Palace and even the eldest son of the eldest prince was imprisoned, who would dare to look down on this prince again?
If things go wrong, he will run to the Golden Palace to cause trouble. It is fun to see the Grand Princess being forced into a panic, but if it were me who was forced into a panic, the situation would be very bad.
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Works Tian Zijian tried to clear himself of the charges and then pulled the Fourth Prince to complain, "Your Highness, you don't know that our Ministry of Works is at best a laborer. Isn't it the Ministry of Revenue that decides whether the work is done well or not? The Ministry of Revenue gives more money, so the work is done well. Your Highness also knows that the Minister Fang of the Ministry of Revenue is stingy and unwilling to pay. Even if the people under my command want to renovate the mansion for Your Highness, they are powerless."
What he was thinking was the same as that of the Minister of Revenue Fang Jian'an. He was afraid that this young master would run to the Golden Palace and make a big fuss if he was unhappy, which would bring disaster to him.
Yuan Jian pretended to reserve the right to pursue responsibility, and it depends on your future performance. He said tactfully, "I am a lowly person with little influence, and I can't say much in the court. I am just upset to hear that you gentlemen are still hesitating to sentence Huan Yanbo!"
When the two heard this, wasn't this a hint for them to behave well?
Those who could become ministers were old foxes who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom for a long time. The Fourth Prince didn't even need to hint at them. The two of them put all their efforts into cheering for the Fourth Prince in the court. They stood firmly on the side of Chief Censor Wang You to seek justice for the Fourth Prince. Their expressions were as generous as if their own son was almost beaten to death by Huan Yanbo, and they were determined to seek justice for the Fourth Prince.
After several rounds of debate, seeing that the Emperor's birthday was approaching, the Southern Emperor had no intention of delaying the matter any longer, and the decree came down soon.
Huan Yanbo was stripped of all rewards and titles, demoted to a commoner, and exiled to Lingnan for the crime of beating and humiliating the prince and defying imperial power.
When the eldest princess heard this, she almost fainted and pounded the bed fiercely: "Yuan Yu! Yuan Yu! Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being ungrateful!" She struggled to get up, but Yunniang persuaded her: "Master, you are not feeling well. When you feel better, we will think of a solution."
"How can I sleep?" Yuan Heng's heart was frying in oil. She, who had always been strong, couldn't help but shed tears: "Yan'er has never suffered the slightest hardship since he was a child? Now he is being exiled to Lingnan. The journey is too long. Isn't this asking for his death?"
In the shadows at the head of the bed, a woman whispered, "Master, don't worry. There is a way to deal with the death penalty, not to mention exile. As long as we leave the capital, we may be able to rescue the young master."
The eldest princess' eyes lit up, and she sat up with renewed energy, as if she had grabbed a life-saving piece of driftwood in the huge waves: "You are right, as long as we leave the capital! As long as we leave the capital!"
