Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1706 Murder of the Crown Prince?

September 13th, Yijing, Imperial Palace

After removing her makeup, An Miaoyi was sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair and preparing to go to sleep. She usually had three main tasks: first, to be in charge of the daily operation of the palace; second, to be in charge of some internal affairs of the Ye clan; and third, to be in charge of her son Jingren's education, watching him study and write every day!

To be honest, for An Miaoyi, Jingren's education work was even more of a headache. After all, she could handle both the palace and the Ye clan's affairs with ease, using all sorts of methods to make the palace and the Ye clan the way she wanted them to be.

However, when faced with her own son, An Miaoyi was truly powerless. When the palace maids, eunuchs, and nannies made mistakes, An Miaoyi could beat them mercilessly, even to the point of beating them to death, without causing her the slightest ripple in her heart!
However, there is no doubt that An Miaoyi would never use such methods on her son. She herself couldn't bear it. Even a few slaps on the palm of his hand would make An Miaoyi feel bad!
Therefore, An Miaoyi also had a headache regarding Jingren's education. Sometimes she would complain that Ye Mingsheng was a hands-off manager who left the child to her to raise alone, only seeing the child a few times a month to chat with him!

However, An Miaoyi comforted herself by saying that Ye Mingsheng's lack of parental involvement had its advantages. When Jingren really did something stupid, he could drive anyone crazy. Even An Miaoyi, his biological mother, was sometimes driven to the point of suffocation by Jingren!

An Miaoyi sometimes even doubted how she, who was so smart all her life, could have given birth to such an mediocre child.
Therefore, if Ye Mingsheng were to actually oversee Jingren's studies, An Miaoyi would even worry that Ye Mingsheng might shake her belief in making Jingren the crown prince...

With this self-comforting attitude, An Miaoyi continued to manage Jingren's daily life and studies until recently when Ye Mingsheng took Jingren away from Yijing for an inspection!
After Ye Mingsheng and Jingren left, An Miaoyi was initially quite happy, feeling that she could finally rest for a while. However, after only two days of comfort, An Miaoyi actually missed her husband and son!

Moreover, compared to missing Ye Mingsheng, An Miaoyi misses her son even more. Jingren has been growing up by her side all these years, and An Miaoyi has become accustomed to Jingren's presence.

So now that Jingren has suddenly left, An Miaoyi feels very uncomfortable, especially worried about whether Jingren is eating well, sleeping well, and whether he is cold now that the weather has cooled down.

As An Miaoyi pondered, a hint of worry appeared in her eyes. Just then, a palace maid entered the room and reported to An Miaoyi:

"Your Majesty, Granny Huang from the Inner Court has urgent business to discuss with you!"

Upon hearing the name "Granny Huang," An Miaoyi frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask:
"What could she possibly want so late?"

"It's not clear yet. I asked her, but she didn't say. She just said she would report it to you!"

Upon hearing this answer, An Miaoyi immediately gave the order:
"Tell her I'm already asleep, and that she should come to me tomorrow morning to report anything..."

"Yes!"

"By the way! Has Qiqige come back?"

"not yet!"

Upon hearing this answer, An Miaoyi frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. She then prepared to go to bed. She was really sleepy, and she felt that most of what Granny Huang reported was about the Inner Court, and for her, those trivial matters of the Inner Court were not worth listening to Granny Huang's report all night.

The only thing that worried her was that Qiqige did not return at the agreed time. However, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. In the past, although Qiqige had encountered some problems, she always returned safely in the end. So An Miaoyi thought that this time should be no exception.

After extinguishing the kerosene lamp, An Miaoyi lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and began to drift off to sleep. Just as she was about to fall asleep, An Miaoyi suddenly heard a click.

After the "click" sound, An Miaoyi was stunned for half a second, but she quickly woke up from her dream and looked warily in the direction of the door. Just then, a voice came from the darkness.

"Your Majesty! It's me, Qiqige!"

Upon seeing that it was Qiqige, An Miaoyi clearly relaxed her guard, and Qiqige also emerged from the darkness.

Looking at Qiqige's serious expression, An Miaoyi couldn't help but ask:

"What happened?"

Without hesitation, Qiqige said:
"Your Majesty, I just received news that before the Ministry of Justice went to Yuyang to arrest people, Ye Zaiyuan went to Yuyang. He wants Zhao Jian to take full responsibility for everything!"

Hearing Qiqige say that, An Miaoyi wasn't surprised. She quickly thought for a moment and said:

"Does he want Zhao Jian dead?"

"Yes! Ye Zaiyuan wanted to kill Zhao Jian and make Zhao Jian take the blame so he could stay out of it. In fact, according to my investigation, Ye Zaiyuan was not only involved in what Zhao Jian did in Yuyang, but he also instigated Zhao Jian to kill Chu Zhiyi..."

An Miaoyi nodded slightly and said:

"Does Ye Zaiyuan have that much influence over Zhao Jian? I remember Zhao Jian isn't someone who's this ruthless to himself!"

"I heard that Ye Zaiyuan made two preparations, including going to Yuyang with his two assassins. I think he must have already prepared for the worst!"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi's face showed a hint of surprise as she said:
"Is Ye Zaiyuan really that ruthless? Does he dare to kill imperial officials?"

Upon hearing this, Qiqige gave a wry smile and said:

"Your Majesty, I didn't know this until I investigated. Ye Zaiyuan is incredibly audacious and his methods are absolutely insane. He definitely has the guts to do this!"

An Miaoyi was somewhat surprised by these words. Seeing this, Qiqige told An Miaoyi some of the information he knew about Ye Zaiyuan.

Although An Miaoyi wasn't a good person either, she was still somewhat surprised to hear about Ye Zaiyuan's actions.

After a moment of contemplation, An Miaoyi asked:
"Qiqige, what do you think about me telling His Majesty about Ye Zaiyuan's affairs?"

Now it was Qiqige's turn to be surprised:

"Your Majesty, haven't you always admired Ye Zaiyuan's ruthlessness? And Ye Zaiyuan has always been quite respectful to you!"

"Yes! I admire him very much. Among the Ye family, Ye Zaiyuan is the one with some ability. Although I know he's bad, I think if he could be used by me, his badness wouldn't matter..."

"But now it seems that Ye Zaiyuan is not so easy to control, so he is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to me. Keeping him around will only cause trouble sooner or later. Ye Baode was enough for everyone to suffer back then, so we definitely can't let him become the next Ye Baode!"

Qiqige nodded upon hearing this and said:
“Your Majesty, what you say makes sense. Ye Zaiyuan has indeed acted somewhat outrageously. Getting rid of him will reduce some potential dangers. However, the Empress Dowager seems to admire this younger member of the Ye family quite a bit!”

"Yes! This is indeed a headache! I shouldn't have intervened. I should have found a few censors to report Ye Zaiyuan's matter to His Majesty. Once His Majesty finds out, Ye Zaiyuan will surely die even if he has ten heads!"

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing I need to report to you!" "What is it?"

"Zhang Zhiwen left Yijing two days ago!"

"Zhang Zhiwen left Yijing? Wasn't he sick and hadn't gone to the government office these past few days, staying home to recuperate?"

"As far as I know, Zhang Zhiwen is not sick; he left Yijing under the pretext of recuperating at home!"

What was he doing leaving Yijing?

"We don't know yet, but he's heading in the direction of Zhuo County. And most importantly, before Zhang Zhiwen left Yijing, he tried to secretly meet with Minister Cui, but Minister Cui refused to see him!"

"Zhang Zhiwen eventually went to the Gu Mansion. After arriving, he went to work at the Provincial Administration Office as usual the next day, but fell ill on the third day and quietly left Yijing..."

Hearing Qiqige say this, An Miaoyi was also a little puzzled. Like most government officials, An Miaoyi paid close attention to her husband's whereabouts. She would check any news about Ye Mingsheng along the way as soon as possible, so she knew very well what had happened in Zhuoxian. The relationship between Zhang Zhiwen and Wang Chong was not a big secret. After all, Zhang Zhiwen had submitted several memorials to Ye Mingsheng praising Zhuoxian as a newly emerging industrial city.

Anyone with eyes can see that Wang Chong is Zhang Zhiwen's man. Therefore, it is both unexpected and reasonable that Zhang Zhiwen is now uneasy about Wang Chong's troubles and his removal by Ye Mingsheng.

It's understandable that Zhang Zhiwen went to Cui Shao; he wanted Cui Shao to plead for him. Cui Shao ignored him because he wanted to stay out of it, since he didn't have much of a connection with Zhang Zhiwen and it wasn't worth his time to stand up for him.

An Miaoyi was somewhat surprised that Gu Sansi was willing to meet Zhang Zhiwen. In her impression, Gu Sansi was not someone who liked to meddle in other people's business. However, what made An Miaoyi even more curious was what Gu Sansi said to Zhang Zhiwen.

Seeing An Miaoyi's expression, Qiqige was able to guess some of her mistress's thoughts, and then spoke up:
"Your Majesty, should I investigate the details of the conversation between Gu Sansi and Zhang Zhi?"

An Miaoyi hesitated for a moment and then waved her hand, saying:

"No need! Gu Sansi should know what he's doing..."

"Take a rest. You've had a long day!"

"Yes!"

After Qiqige left the room, An Miaoyi returned to bed and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, An Miaoyi woke up from her sleep, ate a simple breakfast, and then heard a palace maid come to report:

"Huang, the old woman from the Inner Court, requests an audience with Her Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi remembered that Granny Huang had been requesting an audience with her the previous night, and had come again early this morning. Clearly, something important was on her mind. Thinking this, An Miaoyi gave the following instructions:

"Let her in!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, Granny Huang entered the room. After exchanging greetings, Granny Huang began to speak:
"Your Majesty! I have something to report to you!"

After speaking, Granny Huang glanced meaningfully at the maid beside An Miaoyi. Seeing this, An Miaoyi became even more curious about what she wanted to report, but still calmly gave the order:

"They are all people close to me, so you don't need to hold back. Just say it!"

"Your Majesty, I have discovered by chance that a maid named Li Chunxiu who serves in the Imperial Study appears to be pregnant!"

Although An Miaoyi had already realized from Huang Mama's behavior that this matter was no small thing, she was still somewhat surprised to hear about it.

"What exactly happened?"

"Your Majesty, yesterday morning one of my maids reported to me that she noticed Li Chunxiu was wrapping her abdomen in a white cloth and gagging while working, so she suspected Li Chunxiu was pregnant. Therefore, she reported this to me. Since the matter was of great importance, I secretly observed Li Chunxiu and found that she did indeed have some symptoms of pregnancy..."

Hearing what Granny Huang said, An Miaoyi pondered for a moment and then said:
"You mean she served in the Imperial Study?"

"Yes! Li Chunxiu was transferred to the Imperial Study because she was quick and meticulous in her work."

After a few seconds of silence, An Miaoyi said:
"Is there a record at the Attendant's Office?"

An Miaoyi's words were cryptic, but Granny Huang immediately understood her meaning and said:

"Your Majesty, I haven't reported this matter to the Imperial Attendants' Office yet, and the imperial physicians at the Medical Academy haven't examined it either!"

An Miaoyi nodded slightly and asked again:
"What does this Li Chunxiu look like?"

Granny Huang thought for a moment and replied:

"Li Chunxiu is twenty years old this year and entered the palace a year ago. She has an average figure and is quite pretty!"

An Miaoyi was also a bit of a headache upon hearing this. Serving in the Imperial Study meant serving Ye Mingsheng, so the suspect was very likely Ye Mingsheng. In history, Ye Mingsheng had done similar things, favoring maids when he felt like it, but he never let any of them have children.

Thinking about this, she noticed some details. When Granny Huang reported to her, she used the phrase "suspected pregnancy," and the use of "suspected" was quite interesting!
She also told herself that she had not reported it to the Attendants Department, nor had the imperial physicians at the Medical Academy examined it!
So is she hinting at something to herself?

Thinking of this, An Miaoyi glanced at the respectful-looking Granny Huang without making a sound.

If she hadn't known that Granny Huang was an Imperial Guard, she might have had some thoughts. But now that she knew Granny Huang was an Imperial Guard, An Miaoyi couldn't help but suspect that this was a trap set for her, to frame her for murdering the imperial heir.

Having thought about this, An Miaoyi made her decision:

"Report this to the Attendant's Office and see if they have any records there. Have the Medical College send a doctor to investigate!"