Jiang Yuan's heart suddenly turned cold. Seeing Bao Yun's appearance, he knew that the matter was likely to end inconclusively. With a glance, Bi Fan immediately knelt down.
“Your Majesty, a few days ago I was ordered to go to the Cold Palace to tell the former Empress Dowager of the previous dynasty about the alteration of her clothing. I met Jiang Yanting’s former personal maid, who said she had something important to report.”
“What is there to see in a mere servant girl?” Jiang Yuan said.
"This concerns Madam Xie, so this servant dares not conceal anything." Bi Fan looked up, and the concubines sitting around her whispered among themselves.
"Let's settle this together." Song Yanji knew this was Jiang Yuan's plan, but he only pretended to be annoyed and waved his hand, saying, "Bring it up."
Her small face was sunken, and her body was as thin as a stick, as if she would fall over in the wind. She knelt down in front of him and poured out everything, except for concealing the true identity of Jiang Yanting's child.
"If you have no evidence, then you are slandering me."
Xiaoqiao recalled Jiang Yanting's dying words, and with trembling hands pulled out a tightly wrapped piece of brown paper from her bosom. "This is the evidence. We were forced to fill the clothes."
Xie Jiayan frowned slightly. Before she could figure it out, Bi Fan rushed forward and opened it in front of everyone, filling the air with fragrance.
The crowd exchanged glances, their eyes involuntarily glancing at Xie Jiayan. This was the Beauty Fragrance!
Apart from Xie Jiayan, no one else in the palace could concoct this prescription.
Author's Note: I guess this story will be finished by the end of the month~ ^ ^~
Chapter 90 The Fall of the Tree Spreads
"You bastard!" Xie Jiayan was stunned for a moment, then became furious and slapped her across the face. "Who do you think you are, daring to frame me?"
Xiaoqiao was slapped to the side and crawled to Song Yansi's feet in tears. "Your Majesty, believe me! Every word I said is true. If I have lied, may I be punished by heaven and earth." Then she quickly added, "This was given to our young lady by the Madam herself. Who else in the palace has this besides the Madam?"
"Nonsense!" Xie Jiayan looked at the weak figure kneeling in front of her, her anger rising even higher. Suddenly, she remembered the strange smell she had smelled in Jiang Yanting's palace. She had used a lot of medicine and spices to mask and blend the fragrance, to blend the beauty scent on Jiang Yanting's body. That useless thing actually schemed against her when she was about to die.
Xie Jiayan was filled with hatred and was about to slap Xiaoqiao again when Song Yanji stopped him before he could hit her face, saying, "Enough!"
He had barely finished speaking, and before he could finish his sentence, someone came to report from outside the door.
"Your Majesty, this was found in Lady Xie's palace." Zhang Xianggui followed a group of guards inside and presented a jade-green porcelain bottle with both hands.
Song Yansi glanced at it twice, then called over the imperial physician beside him, "Go and see what that is."
Physician Lin bowed, then took the porcelain bottle, examined the powder inside, and smelled it. His expression suddenly changed drastically. "Your Majesty, it is Moon Seed Vine."
Moon Seed Vine, bitter in taste, cold in nature, and highly toxic.
The expressions of everyone in the hall changed drastically, and their gazes towards Xie Jiayan became certain. As a daughter of the Xie family from Yanzhou, relegated to a subordinate position and deprived of favor, it was inevitable that she would harbor other thoughts.
"I see." Xie Jiayan looked at the porcelain bottle in Physician Lin's hand, as if she had figured something out, and laughed heartily, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned to look at Jiang Yuan, her smile twisted, filled with uncontrollable malice, "The Empress is indeed meticulous, I am ashamed of my inferiority."
"Take them away." Song Yansi waved his sleeve in disgust, extremely annoyed. "All of you, leave!"
Once everyone had left, he returned to his usual self, quietly resting his forehead on one hand.
Jiang Yuan poured him a cup of fresh tea. "Doing this might anger the Xie family."
"Now you know how to talk back after the event?" Song Yansi beckoned, and when Jiang Yuan came closer, he reached out and touched her not-so-protruding belly. "However, for the sake of the baby in your belly, I have to keep her locked up for now."
Seeing Jiang Yuan's eyes darting around as if he had thought of something, Song Yansi reached out his hand.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Yuan asked, confused, and habitually placed her fingers in his palm.
"Hand over the Moon Seed Vine." Song Yansi gripped her fingertips, watching her eyes widen and then narrow again, shaking his head and smiling, "No discussion."
"I use it for self-defense." Knowing she couldn't hide it from him, Jiang Yuan pouted and snuggled closer to Song Yansi.
I don't want to give it!
"Nonsense." Song Yansi cupped her cheeks and kept kneading them. "Who would use such a dangerous thing for self-defense? Hand it over."
So on this sunny day, Jiang Yuan got a chance to teach Xie Jiayan a lesson, but at the same time lost the Moon Seed Vine that she had worked so hard to obtain in the army.
Afterwards, out of consideration for the Xie family, Song Yanji suppressed the matter, and Xie Jiayan was only banished to the Cold Palace.
But Jiang Yuan knew in his heart that the overall situation was already decided, and Song Yan was about to make his move.
But the Xie family's tree was too big, with its branches, leaves, and roots intertwined, impossible to cut down completely.
"What does A-Yuan think?" After reading the secret letter handed to him from below, Song Yanji found that A-Yuan had actually condoned officials colluding with mountain bandits and incited the people to confront the officials he had sent to the local area.
"With the emperor far away, sometimes what's fake can become real." Jiang Yuan held her slightly protruding belly and looked at the storybook she had bought with great interest, "For example, plotting rebellion."
Strike first, and you'll have the upper hand. They say officials and bandits are colluding, so just pin some other charges on them. When you're determined to find fault, you can always find a pretext. Song Yanji is the emperor, and emperors have the highest authority. Why worry so much about the truth?
Song Yansi tapped the table, "A Yuan's words make sense, but in the end, it will alert the enemy and leave some fish that escape the net."
"Don't strive for perfection in everything." Jiang Yuan put down the storybook in her hand, walked over and sat down next to Song Yansi, resting her head on his shoulder and saying, "You've done enough."
Not enough, far from enough, Song Yansi's eyes darkened slightly, "I want to leave Yu'er a peaceful and prosperous world."
"Haste makes waste. He'll grow up eventually, and he'll inevitably face some hardships." Jiang Yuan held Song Yanji's hand. "You'll have to let go eventually."
Song Yansi held her slender white fingers and stared at them for a long time before laughing in bewilderment, "I'm actually not as open-minded as A-Yuan."
He wasn't being delusional; he was just terrified of making a mistake. Jiang Yuan leaned against Song Yanji without saying a word. In his past life, just how chaotic must his empire have become to make him so cautious and hesitant?
On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the osmanthus blossoms were golden all over the ground, and their fragrance permeated the city of Lin'an. The case of Wei Zhijing had far-reaching implications. At the same time, local officials submitted a memorial saying that a considerable rebellion had broken out in Yanzhou. Song Yanji ignored the opinions of the people and directly ordered the suppression. Li Yuanxi stormed into the city, killed the prefect Xiao Fanhuai, cut off his military defenses, and replaced the garrison commander, thus indirectly taking control of Yanzhou.
In the same month, Xie Shengping fell ill and did not leave his residence. Qu Si'an was assassinated in his mansion. Guo Lingwen, Xie Taifu's protégé and deputy general, temporarily took command of the Imperial Guard and transferred troops to Yuande Hall. Lin'an City was heavily fortified with troops. Heshan County was close to Lin'an, and the county governor Jiang Zhong raised troops in response.
Song Yanji did not show it on his face, but in private he secretly formulated a plan with Fu Zhengyan, Feng Xiuyuan, and his confidants, including Wang Shigan and Zhang Yunan.
At the end of August, Song Yanji summoned Guo Lingwen at Chang Le Palace by using horses from the idle stables and more than 200 imperial guards. He arrested Guo Lingwen on the spot and then arrested Duan Qishan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and Cen Zong, a senior official, in the court. He found charges against them and ordered the three of them to be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public.
Song Yanji's act of eliminating Xie's right-hand men marked a complete break with the Xie family. He then ordered the siege of the Grand Tutor's residence, only to find it empty. Xie Shengping secretly fled and could not be found after a long search. Enraged, Song Yanji took ruthless action, killing over a hundred of his close associates and confiscating all their property.
His ruthless methods caused widespread panic in the court. Fu Zhengyan intervened in time, stating that the country was unstable and that the matter should not be implicated too widely. In addition, Jiang Yuan privately persuaded him to seek stability first and then find a way to eliminate the perpetrators, emphasizing that he should not be too hasty and cause a greater backlash. Only then did Song Yanji abandon his idea of exterminating the entire group.
In early September, a rebellion broke out in Heshan County, officially confirming the Xie family's past treasonous crimes.
Wei Guo was watching with predatory eyes, and Mu Qing, who controlled the border troops, was willing to help Song Yanji, but ultimately dared not make a move. Song Yanji was not in a hurry either. He simply ordered Guo Daojun to mobilize 100,000 troops from Nanping and send them directly through Pinghu. Prefect Ge Zhentang received the imperial order to open the city gates wide, while comforting the panicked people and spontaneously replenishing the Nanping army with supplies.
Midway, the army split into two groups, passing through Shouyang and Wanli respectively. Yu Huai'an was a shrewd man, and at this time he was only concerned with guarding Jingzhou, ignoring everything else and having no intention of getting involved. He only sent someone to lead a troop of soldiers to take a shortcut through the dense forest.
In Heshan County, Xie Shengping, who had always been high and mighty, had never been so humiliated. Looking at the letter handed to him by Meng Xizhi, he was furious. What a treacherous person! He had spoken so sweetly when he agreed to help him, but now he had turned his back on him!
"Cousin, are you really not going to lend a hand to the Xie family? Shuobei helped you a lot back then." In the Jiaoyang Palace, Tao Cui carefully dyed Lü Qiong's nails with balsam flowers. The bright red juice fell onto her smooth nails, looking exceptionally beautiful.
“He promised to hand over Shuobei to me, but this land is still on the map of Shu.” Meng Xizhi let two palace maids massage his legs. He reached out and lifted the chin of one of the maids. Her face was shy and she was without makeup. “Cousin, the maids in this palace are getting more and more beautiful.”
"If you like it, you can take it with you." Green Jade smiled gently, just like back then.
"Not even a fraction as beautiful as my cousin." Meng Xi waved his sleeve, and the palace servants all rose and took their leave in fear. He reached out and pulled the woman into his arms, inhaling her fragrance. "I'm not leaving today."
"I ruined your plans, don't you blame me?" Green Jade lay in his arms. She could never hide anything from him, so she didn't mind telling him the truth. "You should know that I stole the person from your mansion."
She knew perfectly well how the rumors about Wei State had started and what Meng Xizhi was planning to do.
"Is a fake worth so much trouble for my cousin?" Meng Xizhi untied the grape-shaped ribbon on her chest and leaned down to kiss her.
Green Jade reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. She wanted to sever all his thoughts about that woman, even the slightest possibility, "It's worth it."
The hall was bathed in the warmth of spring.
"Empress Dowager, Father Prime Minister, Your Highness requests an audience." A clear voice rang out from outside the hall, carrying the crispness befitting a young boy.
Meng Xizhi stopped what he was doing, and Lü Qiong quickly gathered her robes. Once everything was in order, she freed her hands to straighten Meng Xizhi's clothes and re-fasten his waist belt. He looked at the woman half-squatting in front of him, his fingers lightly stroking her cheek, and suddenly felt that this was quite nice. What you can't have is the most precious, isn't it?
At the end of September, Heshan County fell. Xie Shengping, unwilling to be captured, hanged himself in the city. The pillar of the Xie family in Yanzhou had completely fallen. His crimes were listed on several sheets of paper, each one deserving of death.
Song Yanji ordered the confiscation of Yanzhou's property. The Xie family's wealth was piled up like mountains, with treasures and artifacts comparable to the imperial treasury. The sheep and horses kept in the stables, the fields and gardens they owned, and the interest earned from lending money were all recorded. The officials who came to seize the property were astonished. They roughly calculated that it would probably take several years to collect it all.
The Xie family's house collapsed, and the fallen trees scattered everywhere.
Because of Jiang Yuan and Fu Zhengyan's insistence, Song Yanji issued an edict to pardon the whole country, and the crime of treason was only attributed to Xie Shengping, while the rest of his accomplices were not investigated.
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, many court officials came forward to plead guilty the next day. They were indeed only demoted and stripped of their titles, without the serious disaster of having their families wiped out. However, their official careers were almost over.
Author's Note: Q: Has the second female lead brought her dog yet? A: Soon~
I can go home tomorrow!! *sobs* I'm so tired from this business trip QAQ
Chapter 91 Life is Like a Dream
The weather is fine and sunny.
Xie Ruanyu, who had originally planned to take a nap, was forcibly dragged out of the mansion by Seventh Master Shen's men and brought to Xinbaimen. The ballroom during the day was lifeless, devoid of any decadent extravagance. Xinbaimen was Shen Pei'an's business, frequented by local gentry and dignitaries. Madam Shen didn't trust anyone else, so she had Seventh Master Shen oversee things for a while, preventing him from getting to the heart of the business while still forcing him to come and go through the motions.
Xie Ruanyu was standing behind him, massaging his shoulders. She watched as Master Chen squinted and pretended to be asleep. Despite the frequent good news, he wasn't worried at all.
"Seventh Master!" Ding An knocked on the door, followed by silence.
Xie Ruanyu, who had lived for decades, was not lacking in tact. She quickly stopped, saying, "I'm not going to pinch anymore, I'm exhausted. It's rare for me to go out, but I can't even go out for a stroll."
Today she wore an apricot-red robe embroidered with silver lace, her waist was extremely slender, the cuffs were slightly gathered, and her fair wrist was just revealed when she raised her hand, on which she wore a string of pearls the size of peas.
It was blindingly white.
"Go ahead." Master Chen smiled and pulled her fingers together tightly. "This bead is too small and stingy. Later, have Ding Zhi accompany you to go out and see if there's any jewelry you like."
"Alright." Ding Zhi was Seventh Master Shen's confidant, and his presence with her was somewhat of a surveillance exercise. Xie Ruanyu wasn't stupid; of course she knew this, but she was still overjoyed. Spending Seventh Master Shen's money and using his men, she could practically walk around Baoning City with her nose in the air. Was there anything more enjoyable than this kind of backing and audacity? No!
When Xie Ruanyu left, she even gave Master Shen a beaming smile, almost bursting into laughter. Her joyful appearance was somewhat contagious to Master Shen.
Today is truly a good day. Seventh Master Shen held a telegram in his hand, his eyes behind his glasses curving beautifully. His fingertips traced a line of text:
The cigarettes arrived in port smoothly.
It looks completely ordinary.
Thousands of miles away in northern Xinjiang, a scene of bloodshed and carnage unfolded.
"Young Marshal, we're surrounded!" Their squad hadn't even left Wen County when they were hit by bullets, and they were most likely trapped and died in this deserted city.
Shen Pei'an's shoulder was stained with a large patch of scarlet blood, roughly bandaged with an unknown color of cloth. The pain contorted his handsome face. "Did you send out a distress signal?"
"It was sent, but we haven't received a reply from our side." Gritting his teeth, the soldier added, "We can't hold out for much longer."
How many people are left?
"Less than three hundred."
Being trapped and killed in Wenxian was something Shen Peian never expected. The war was going surprisingly smoothly, with Bailuhai being driven back by their army and eventually resorting to guerrilla warfare in the Hengshan area.