Consort Shu's gaze sharpened slightly: "Where is the Prince of Yan?"
Uh! The little palace maid was taken aback, not understanding why Consort Shu's thoughts had jumped so drastically. It was the Jingzhao Prefecture that arrested Duke Mu, so why was the Consort asking about Prince Yan? Confused, she still answered truthfully, "Prince Yan should be at his residence!"
The Prince of Yan was eccentric and unpredictable, and he didn't have any special hobbies. Apart from the palace, he stayed in the Prince of Yan's residence.
Consort Shu smiled coldly and ordered the Jingzhao Prefecture to arrest Duke Mu. Prince Yan sat in his residence watching the spectacle like an outsider. What a refined taste he had.
"His Majesty has arrived!" Accompanied by the eunuch's distinctive high-pitched voice, a figure in bright yellow entered Chang Le Palace, his eyes sharp and his presence imposing.
Consort Shu was startled. Why had the Emperor come to Chang Le Palace? Before she could even clean up the scraps of paper scattered all over the floor, the Emperor was already close at hand. She forced herself to bow and say, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects! Long live the Emperor!"
"Rise!" The emperor gazed at the scattered debris, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Is my beloved concubine in a bad mood?"
Consort Shu thanked the Emperor and stood up. She glanced at the piece of paper stained with black ink, her heart tightening, her gaze flickering unnaturally. Beneath her sleeve, her pale right hand pinched her left arm hard, and tears welled in her beautiful eyes. "Your Majesty," she said, "my father has come from the border, weary from his journey. He had just stepped into our home and hadn't even had a chance to rest when he was arrested by the Jingzhao Prefecture. In my shock, I tore up the newly written scriptures. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness..."
The Emperor looked at Consort Shu calmly, his eyes unfathomable: "I only just received the news that the Jingzhao Prefecture had arrested Duke Mu. My beloved consort is under house arrest in Chang Le Palace. Your information network is even better than mine!"
Consort Shu trembled, lightly covering her eyes with a silk handkerchief, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I have been living in the deep palace for a long time and miss my family. On the first and fifteenth of each month, I send someone back to my residence to bring back my favorite pickled cucumbers. Today is the fifteenth, and the palace maid went to the Duke of Mu's residence and was the first to receive this shocking news..."
"Oh!" the emperor responded lightly, and then sat down at the sandalwood table, leisurely sipping his tea.
Consort Shu looked at the Emperor, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. If the Emperor continued to press her for an explanation, she could provide a flawless one. But he remained silent, and she couldn't guess what he was thinking. She felt completely uncertain.
Was it the matter of Duke Mu that spurred him on? His focus was not on his own source of information, but on Duke Mu's embezzlement of funds: "Your Majesty, Duke Mu is my father. I know his character very well. He would never embezzle funds. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
The emperor put down his teacup and said coldly, "Someone has accused him of embezzling a huge sum of money, which has alarmed the court and the capital. I must give an explanation to the civil and military officials and the common people. He cannot be released arbitrarily!"
"Your Majesty, I understand." Consort Shu smiled, stepped forward, and personally poured tea for the Emperor, subtly testing the Emperor's opinion of Duke Mu: "Judging a crime requires both witness testimony and physical evidence. If the evidence is insufficient, Duke Mu's innocence will naturally be cleared..."
"The Duke of Mu's crimes will not be so easily cleared!" The Emperor's deep voice slowly echoed in the room. Consort Shu was slightly taken aback and frowned, saying, "Your Majesty, I do not understand!"
The Emperor glanced at the tea in his cup, his voice slightly cold: "When the Duke of Mu's mansion moved, more than a dozen carts were filled with gold and silver treasures. They swaggered all the way to their villa, and tens of thousands of people in the capital saw it..."
Consort Shu was shocked and gritted her teeth. That couple was in cahoots with Prince Yan, plotting to make Mu Tao lose the bet and seize the Mu family mansion. When the old lady and her family moved, they would definitely take all the wealth with them. There were more than a dozen cartloads of money. Along the way, many people in the capital watched and knew that the Mu family mansion was very wealthy. If it were to be exposed that the Duke of Mu had embezzled government funds, who would still believe that the Duke of Mu was innocent...
"Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. Those silver coins were left by the ancestors of the Duke of Mu's family. It was the accumulation of several generations, so it was entirely possible for them to have that much money!"
"I will order a thorough investigation. I will not wrong an honest official, nor will I let any corrupt official go unpunished!" The emperor turned to look at Consort Shu, and the cold glint in his sharp eyes made her shudder.
Every time the Ministry of War issued a salary, it was after layers of embezzlement. By the time it reached the soldiers, there was hardly anything left. All the civil and military officials in the Western Liang Dynasty had some money involved. If you really investigated carefully, even Duke Mu was not entirely clean.
"Your Majesty, which official is in charge of the Duke of Mu's case?"
"The case will be temporarily handed over to the Jingzhao Prefecture and Minister An of the Ministry of Justice for joint trial!" The emperor did not hide anything, and his tone was calm.
Consort Shu was shocked again. The Jingzhao Prefecture was under the control of the Prince of Yan, and the An family in the Ministry of Justice were from the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion. With the two of them jointly presiding over the trial, how could Duke Mu possibly survive?
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Mu embezzled the Ministry of War's funds. It may not be appropriate for the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice to handle the case. How about letting Minister Wang of the Ministry of War preside over the trial?" Minister Wang is on the same side as them. If he presides over the trial, the Duke of Mu may suffer some minor punishment, but the final result will definitely be his acquittal.
The Emperor glared at Consort Shu: "The Prince of Yan and I just decided on the presiding judge in the Imperial Study. How can we change it so easily!"
The Prince of Yan, it's the Prince of Yan again!
Consort Shu was taken aback, then gritted her teeth in anger. If she had only suspected it before, she was now 100% certain that the Prince of Yan was against them. The Duke of Mu's mansion had never offended the Prince of Yan, so why was he targeting them at every turn?
The Emperor's cold gaze swept over Consort Shu's gloomy face: "My dear consort, there is no need to worry. If Duke Mu is innocent, he will certainly be released without charge!"
"Your Majesty, I understand. Thank you for your comfort!" Consort Shu smiled, but her smile was somewhat stiff. Duke Mu had embezzled silver, and with two enemies joining forces in the trial, how could he possibly be innocent...
"Copying scriptures more often can help calm your mind. As for the matter of Duke Mu in the court, I and the civil and military officials will handle it. My beloved consort, there's no need to worry. It's been a long time since I've seen you write. Has your calligraphy improved?" the emperor said calmly, bending down to pick up the scraps of paper on the ground.
Consort Shu was suddenly startled. The face on the scraps of paper must not be seen by the Emperor! She stretched out her fair hand and quickly grabbed the scraps of paper closest to the Emperor.
"What do you mean, my beloved consort?" The emperor reached out and picked up the empty bowl, then looked up at Consort Shu with a sharp gaze.
Consort Shu was slightly startled, realizing that she had been too hasty and that the suspicious emperor had become suspicious of her. She gently raised the corners of her mouth and smiled warmly: "Your Majesty, I am not at peace with myself and my writing is very disorganized. I'm afraid it will not meet your approval."
"As the saying goes, one can see a person's true heart most clearly when they are troubled. This calligraphy written by my beloved consort expresses her innermost feelings. If I don't take a look, how can I understand her!" The emperor's calm voice carried an indescribable chill in Consort Shu's ears. Her heart trembled slightly, but her face remained smiling.
"I was feeling a bit upset, so I just scribbled on this paper. It's not writing, it's just a jumbled mess. I don't even know what I wrote. I hope it won't offend Your Majesty's eyes!"
"I wonder what kind of pattern my beloved concubine has drawn?" The emperor's sharp gaze fell on the scraps of paper on the ground, his expression slightly contemplative.
"It's just some lines and lines, not words or pictures. Looking at it will only make you more annoyed!" Consort Shu smiled gently, took the Emperor's arm and stood up, leading him to the table. She picked up the wolf-hair brush from the inkstone: "If Your Majesty likes it, I will immediately write a longevity character for Your Majesty as a blessing!"
Turning to the young palace maid, he sternly instructed, "Fei'er, quickly clean up the broken pieces on the ground, so as not to disturb the Emperor's peace of mind."
"Yes!" The little palace maid walked in, squatted down, quickly picked up the scraps of paper and put them into a paper bag. Her clear eyes looked around, and after confirming that there were no more scraps of paper on the ground, she slowly withdrew from the palace with the paper bag.
Consort Shu breathed a subtle sigh of relief. A faint scent of ambergris wafted around her, and her most captivating smile appeared on her beautiful face as she looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, do you think a large 'longevity' character looks better, or several smaller ones?"
The emperor watched the young palace maid leave and said casually, "My dear consort, please continue writing. It's getting late, and I have other matters to attend to. I'll return to the Imperial Study first. Once you've finished writing, have someone deliver it to the Imperial Study." With that, he flicked his sleeves and strode out of the palace.
Consort Shu was taken aback. Hadn't he just wanted to watch her write? Why did he suddenly leave like that?
Though puzzled, she didn't ask further. He left, and she was more than happy to oblige. She placed her hands on her hips, curtsied, and said, "Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off!"
The emperor, with one hand in front of him and the other behind his back, slowly walked into the sunlight and quickly disappeared. Consort Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, slowly stood up, and only then did she realize that her back was almost soaked with cold sweat. She took a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
When the concubines were in confinement, the emperor never set foot in their palaces. But today, he actually came to Chang Le Palace, almost causing her to expose her secret. Was it because of the Duke of Mu's embezzlement of silver?
The capital city is home to many prominent noble families, especially the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion and the Mu State Duke's Mansion. Both families have daughters who have entered the palace as concubines. For many years, they have been engaged in open and covert struggles, mutually restraining and controlling each other, which has allowed the Western Liang court to maintain a balance.
The Emperor should know that the Ministry of Justice is under the control of the Marquis of Zhenguo and that the Jingzhao Prefecture is under the control of the Prince of Yan. Why did he still agree to allow these two to jointly preside over the trial of the Duke of Mu?
Want to put Duke Mu to death? No, no, no. If Duke Mu dies, no one in the capital will be able to rival the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion. At that time, the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion will be all-powerful and control the military power on the border. If they support the Third Prince to ascend the throne, it will be the emperor who will suffer.
The emperor, that cunning fox, has always protected Ye Qianlong and wholeheartedly hopes that the idiot will inherit his throne. He will never allow the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion to overstep its bounds. The emperor also needs the Mu State Duke's Mansion. Even if the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion and the Prince of Yan join forces to deal with the Mu State Duke's Mansion, the Mu State Duke should be fine.