В погоне за радугами

Глава 91

I rushed over immediately and found Madam Yang pressing Han for proof of the princess's gift. Han was furious and repeatedly argued with red eyes that the princess had given the gift in person and there was no proof. Madam Yang wouldn't listen and insisted that the servants not let her go.

I stepped forward and recounted the process of the princess bestowing her gifts to Madam Yang. She merely sneered, "I knew the princess would call on you as her savior. Princess Han and Mr. Liang are like mother and son. Over the years, they have covered for each other when one of them got into trouble, and today will be no exception."

I said to Yan, "If you don't believe what Huaiji said, you might as well ask the princess yourself to see if the gift is true."

“Princess? As long as you, Mr. Liang, say a word to the princess, the dead can come back to life, and the princess will naturally think that something that never happened has happened.” She leaned closer to me and said word by word in my ear, “You said I put drugs in her wine, I want to know what kind of bewitching potion you gave her, or what kind of curse you planted.”

I stared straight ahead in silence, ignoring her. She stopped pursuing the matter of the objects, but gave us a cold, defiant look before turning and leaving after a moment.

I sensed that she must have sent people to secretly monitor us, looking for an excuse to make a mistake. So I repeatedly warned the princess's attendants and maids to be careful in everything they did and not to cause trouble, but soon after, the thing I least wanted to see still happened.

The next day, I was discussing matters with Supervisor Liang when I suddenly saw Madam Yang enter with several servants. Two of the servants were escorting a disheveled maid. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Xiaoyan'er.

Supervisor Liang was also quite surprised and immediately asked Madam Yang, "Madam, what is the reason for this? Did Xiaoyan'er offend you?"

Madam Yang walked to the main seat and sat down gracefully before speaking: "Supervisor, please don't misunderstand. How could I dare to touch the princess's person in the slightest? Just now, I passed by Zhang Chengzhao's residence and happened to see Xiaoyan'er coming out of it. She looked just like this, tying her skirt as she walked. Her face was full of spring-like beauty. I was truly amazed. So I invited her over so that both of you, Mr. Liang, could see her and appreciate her together."

She was clearly implying that Xiaoye'er and Zhang Chengzhao had an affair, and Xiaoye'er did not refute or protest her innocence, but just lowered her head and sobbed. I had a bad feeling and exchanged a glance with Supervisor Liang, who also looked very serious.

"There may be a misunderstanding here. Has Madam asked the two of them?" Supervisor Liang asked cautiously before asking.

Madam Yang glanced at Zhang Chengzhao and replied, "I was afraid there might be a misunderstanding, so I went in specifically to find Zhang Chengzhao and ask him if they were playing chess or pitch-pot just now. But as soon as I pushed the door open, the boy saw me, grabbed a piece of clothing, and ran away, shirtless and with his shoes on the wrong feet. I don't know where he's hiding now. However, he did leave something on the bed, which I had someone bring here for you two to see."

After speaking, she gestured to the side, and immediately a servant stepped forward, opened a cloth bag, and poured its contents onto the table in front of us. We glanced at it and saw several erotic pictures, two or three porcelain powder boxes similar to the ones Yuqing had shown to the princess, a small bottle of pills with erotic illustrations on it, and the most shocking thing was a wooden male organ.

Zhang Chengzhao was always frivolous and often joked with the maids, while Xiaoye'er was not usually very composed. It was not surprising that the two of them did such a fake marriage, especially since Xiaoye'er's expression now was tantamount to admitting it.

I felt a surge of shame and anger; my face flushed as if it were on fire. Mrs. Yang, watching, rekindled her cold, sarcastic smile and deliberately asked me, "Mr. Liang, in your opinion, how should this be handled?"

I said, "I will bring Zhang Chengzhao here later. If the reason for his fame is true, it will naturally trigger them."

She was not satisfied, and glanced at me sideways: "So if he is not found, you will not punish him for a day? They have definitely done this shameful thing. There are witnesses and physical evidence. Even if Zhang Chengzhao comes, he cannot deny it. I urge you two gentlemen to make a decision on how to punish him as soon as possible, so as not to delay and cause people to speculate and spread unnecessary rumors."

Supervisor Liang then asked her, "So, how does Madam intend to punish them?"

Madam Yang pointed at Xiaoyan'er and said, "First, take off this little slut's top, whip her twenty or thirty times, then tie her hands and feet and make her kneel in the courtyard for three days as a warning. When Zhang Chengzhao comes back, treat him the same way. After three days, report this matter to the palace. Whether to kill or dismember her is up to the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyan'er immediately burst into tears, begging me and Supervisor Liang to save her. I felt a pang of sympathy and said to Madam Yang, "This matter has not yet been investigated. Besides, both of them are palace servants. The case must first be reported to the Emperor and Empress, and then we will ask them to send the Chief of the Inner Palace to handle it. Before that, it is not appropriate to punish them."

She persisted, saying, "If men and women in ordinary families commit adultery, they are arrested and paraded through the streets. How much more so for people in the palace? This defilement of the palace is a heinous crime, and of course, it should be severely punished and made an example of..." Staring intently at me, she emphasized her words, particularly the last part, "to make an example of someone."

I waved my hand and still tried to persuade them kindly: "To convict them without trial and to punish them in this way will surely make this matter known both at home and abroad, and will only cause controversy. Madam, allow me to find Zhang Chengzhao first and find out what happened. If this is true, I will ask the Ministry of Justice to intervene in the trial and determine their sentences according to the palace rules."

She chuckled, "Mr. Liang, are you now afraid of people talking about such shameful things? You're even defending them like this." As her smile faded, she glanced at me and said, "The other day, the Prince Consort told me a word, which I found quite interesting, but I've forgotten its meaning today. Now I'd like to ask you, sir, to explain it to me again."

After a brief pause, she uttered the phrase: "The rabbit mourns the fox's death."

For a moment after that, I remained silent, but I heard someone by the door answer: "I don't know what it means to feel sorry for someone who has died like a fox; I only know that someone is using another person's power to bully others."

It was the princess's voice. She slowly entered, followed by Zhang Chengzhao and Madam Han.

The lonely city is closed (The princess who fell in love with the eunuch) The wine is finished, leaving only sorrow on my brows. 7. Drinking together

Chapter word count: 4808 Update time: 09-07-05 10:36

7. Drinking together

(by 4393)

The princess walked straight up to Madam Yang, lowered her eyes, and coldly looked at Madam Yang, who was still sitting: "This place is my princess's residence; the person you are criticizing is my servant. Although you are the mother of the prince consort, you are not my aunt. To everyone in this house, you are just a passerby. So who gave you the audacity to bully my people?"

Madam Yang glanced at her, then indifferently looked away, raising her head slightly as she said, "Whether she is my mother-in-law or not, the world will judge. I won't argue with you now. Let's just talk about this scandalous affair in the house. Ordinary people would report a crime if they witnessed it, but this happened right under my nose. How could I ignore it? I'm not telling anyone to bully them, but to help the princess rectify the atmosphere in the house. Otherwise, if this kind of thing becomes the norm, all the servants in the house, whether male or female, will crowd into one room. If word gets out, people will probably say that the princess is not strict in her discipline, or even worse."

At this moment, Zhang Chengzhao suddenly took two steps closer, his eyes slightly wide with confusion, and said to Madam Yang, "Madam, if you want to report and expose someone, then go and arrest those who have truly committed serious crimes. I was just lazing around in my room taking a nap. Is it really worth you making such a fuss by having people rush into my room and drag me out?"

"Taking a nap?" Madam Yang chuckled and pointed at Xiaoyan'er, saying, "You know how to enjoy the company of beautiful women. Even taking a nap requires you to have a beautiful young lady accompany you. Am I not allowed to say anything about it?"

"Where did this all begin?" Zhang Chengzhao shook his head repeatedly, then turned to the onlookers in the hall and said, "I was sleeping peacefully in my room when the Empress Dowager suddenly barged in with her entourage. She dragged Xiaoye'er into the room, several of them tearing at her clothes, and threatened to lock us all inside. They even dumped a bunch of things on my bed. I was terrified, not knowing what we had done to offend the Empress Dowager and be treated like this. Just as the door was about to be locked, I came to my senses and thought, being framed like this, I myself am nothing, at most I'll lose my life, but if this matter is used against me and affects the princess's reputation, that would be terrible. So, I fought back, one against ten, and finally broke through the encirclement and escaped the room. Now I've come here with the princess to tell everyone the truth, and to prevent Xiaoye'er from suffering an injustice..." At this point, he turned to Xiaoye'er and asked her, "Sister Xiaoye'er, is that right?"

Xiaoyan'er probably understood what he meant at this point, stopped crying, and nodded hurriedly.

Madam Yang was furious. She spat at him and scolded, "You little slut, what are you pretending to be innocent for? If you didn't do anything wrong, why didn't you cry foul just now?"

Zhang Chengzhao immediately explained on Xiaoye'er's behalf: "At that time, Xiaoye'er had already been beaten senseless by you, Madam. Perhaps you said something to her after I left, which made her afraid to cry out for justice?"

Smiling, she nodded and whispered, "The Empress Dowager said that if I dare to protest my innocence, she will cut out my tongue in the future..."

"You damned little hussy, how dare you spout nonsense about me here with your bastard!" Madam Yang roared, slamming her hand on the table. "You two were doing shameless and filthy things in the room, and more than ten people in the house saw it. In full view of everyone, do you still want to deny it?"

The princess sneered upon hearing this and asked Madam Yang, "In full view of everyone? But who were the people who witnessed their crime?"

Madam Yang waved her sleeve and pointed to the servants she had brought: "It's them, they all saw it!"

The princess didn't answer. Instead, she moved to the bookshelf, took out a celadon-glazed tripod washer from the Ru kiln, and threw it violently to the ground. The washer shattered with a crash. Pointing to the broken pieces, the princess asked Zhang Chengzhao, "Chengzhao, who broke this tripod washer?"

Zhang Chengzhao bowed slightly to the ground and replied loudly, "Your Highness, it was the Empress Dowager's wife who broke it."

The princess smiled faintly and asked again, "How did she break it?"

Zhang Chengzhao said, "The Empress Dowager slandered me and Xiaoyan'er, and even tried to defame the princess. The princess refuted her with reason and evidence, leaving her speechless. In the end, she couldn't find anything to say and was filled with resentment, so she grabbed this three-legged basin and threw it at the princess. Fortunately, the princess dodged in time and was not hit. The three-legged basin was smashed to the ground and shattered!"

After saying that, he looked around at the eunuchs the princess had brought in the hall: "What do you all think, is that right?"

Most of the eunuchs had been mistreated by Madam Yang before, and when Zhang Chengzhao asked them this question, they all suppressed their laughter and looked at each other. Then one of them answered "yes" first, and the others immediately responded and said "yes" as well.

The princess then raised her chin at Madam Yang and said, "Look, more than ten people have seen what you did, and it was all in full view of everyone."

Madam Yang was furious. She stood up and rebuked the princess: "To protect the guilty and frightening woman, you have gone against your conscience and openly framed my mother-in-law. What kind of bride is you!"