Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 802 Promise
Wang Bingchen called for a long time but couldn't get Wang Yan to come out. Instead, he summoned his own wife.

"What are you shouting for?" Madam Lin said. "The courtyard is so big, no one can hear you."

Wang Bingchen frowned. Wasn't this blatant lying?

How big is the courtyard? If word gets out, people will think he embezzled money and built himself a huge mansion.

Seeing that Wang Bingchen refused to give up, Madam Lin smiled and said, "What? Am I wrong? Back when I was flying kites at home, my brother was looking for you, but you couldn't hear him either, could you?"

Wang Bingchen's face immediately turned bright red. Unable to stay any longer, he turned and walked toward the main house.

Madam Lin followed behind unhurriedly. The two of them had different strides, one big and one small, and strangely enough, they entered the house almost at the same time.

Madam Lin brought a cup of hot tea to Wang Bingchen.

Wang Bingchen took a sip and immediately felt his anger dissipate considerably. He looked at his wife and asked, "I heard from the doctor that the person has woken up. Is there any serious problem?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin truly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "From now on, all I need to do is take good care of myself."

While Wang Bingchen was at the Dali Temple, although he used Xie Yuyan's safety as leverage, he was genuinely worried that something might really happen to the child. He could see that the rebellious son's whole heart was tied to her; he would fight for her, even risk his life. He had personally witnessed how badly the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple was beaten.

Even if he forcibly covered up the case, many officials had witnessed their rebellious son's actions, and the rebellious son would inevitably earn a reputation for being ruthless.

Stopping thinking about this upsetting matter, Wang Bingchen continued, "The Princess Consort of Qin hanged herself."

This was the message he wanted to tell Wang Yan.

Madam Lin was startled, but quickly recovered and said, "Good riddance."

Wang Bingchen's gaze darkened: "It's not that simple. Princess Qin took the blame and even wrote a will to the Empress Dowager. In this way, the Emperor and the court can no longer pursue the Prince of Qin's mistakes."

Madam Lin said, "I know perfectly well that the Jiang family is trying to exonerate the Prince of Qin. They are in cahoots with each other, and they will always use this method whenever they are dealt with. This method is effective, but once it is used, there will be one less. There will never be another Princess Consort of Qin to die in her place."

That makes sense.

"I just don't know if Jiang Zhenru was willing to die or if she was plotted against," Madam Lin said calmly. "She chose her own path, and since she doesn't care, others won't investigate further."

A dead person wouldn't care about these things. If there's something fishy going on, it's just that she lived her life in a daze.

At times like this, Madam Lin wouldn't feel sorry for anyone. In critical moments, it's either you die or I die; how could she hope for the well-being of others? Even if nothing happened to the Prince of Qin's mansion, she would still pray a few times before and after meals, hoping that they would return to their youth as soon as possible and be born again in ten months.

“No matter how Jiang Zhenru died, the Jiang family will not let it go,” Wang Bingchen said. “They will definitely repay a life lost.”

Madam Lin nodded and looked at Wang Bingchen: "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir, to handle things carefully outside."

So after all that, they still had to send him away. Wang Bingchen glared at him, saying, "A doting mother spoils her son. You'll call your son out in a minute. What's the point of keeping him in the women's room so late at night? Don't ruin their reputation."

Madam Lin glared at Wang Bingchen: "I've already made arrangements. Madam Zhang will stay in the house with Ayan, and Brother Yan will take Brother Yang back to his courtyard."

"I can handle all the affairs of the inner quarters perfectly, so you don't need to worry about it, sir."

Wang Bingchen was speechless at these words, which meant that he also had to handle all the external affairs.

Thinking of this, he had no choice but to continue toiling away at his old age, otherwise he would lose his status in the mansion.

Wang Bingchen stood up: "Let him rest for one night. He must wait in the study before I leave tomorrow."

“Understood,” Madam Lin said. “Sir, please rest for the night. You can take care of official business tomorrow.”

Wang Bingchen took a step forward, and subconsciously wanted to pull it back, but found that his wife had already turned around and gone back into the inner room.

It's clear how unwilling he was to ask me to stay.

Wang Bingchen sighed and was about to continue on his way when he heard footsteps returning. He turned around and saw his wife dressed in a cloak.

Wang Bingchen said, "What is this...?" Madam Lin smiled and said, "I just remembered that I needed to write a letter to the He family, and I just happened to go to the study with you, sir."

Wang Bingchen felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that his wife was keeping him company, and immediately turned to instruct, "Get another hand warmer, so you don't get cold."

……

Most people in the capital had gone to bed, but the Prince of Qin's mansion remained brightly lit.

Several children observed mourning for their mother, with the Prince of Huai kneeling at the very front.

The King of Qin's gaze fell on his eldest son, and then on the palace servants, eunuchs, and imperial guards who had come to help with the funeral arrangements.

If he were to attack his eldest son, these people would surely protect him and help him escape, thus adding the charge of treason to his record. Therefore, even though he desperately wanted to kill this rebellious son, he had no choice but to endure it for the time being.

King Qin took a deep breath, feeling ashamed before Jiang Zhenru. He secretly vowed that he would cut off the head of his rebellious son in the future, so that Jiang Zhenru could rest in peace if she knew.

"Your Highness, please accept my condolences." The eunuch said, bringing over a bowl of soup. "This was prepared on the orders of the imperial physician. It will calm your mind if you drink it."

The King of Qin took the medicine bowl, merely dipped his lips in it, pretended to drink a sip, and then handed it to the steward beside him, who hurriedly took it away.

Watching the eunuch retreat, the King of Qin clenched his fists. The Vice Minister of State Affairs was right; he had to act immediately, or he might miss his chance. It would be too easy for the Emperor to kill him; a bowl of medicine would suffice.

However, he doesn't have many people he can use right now; he can only rely on the founding nobles like the Chiang family.

In order to ensure the loyalty of the Jiang family, he was willing to posthumously honor Jiang Zhenru as Empress and establish Jingge'er as his heir.

Thinking of this, the King of Qin walked to his study. Soon after, the steward led the two men into the room.

The leader was Cao Dan, the commander of the infantry division.

The King of Qin stood up and immediately went to greet him. Cao Dan's eyes were red as he tried to suppress his grief and anger. He was the general on the Jiang family's list.

"The Emperor treats the Prince so well, and the Princess Consort is even more grateful because of this..." Cao Dan said, "The Duke of Wei has done me a great favor. Whatever the Prince wants to do, just give the order and I will do it immediately without the slightest hesitation."

The King of Qin revealed a hint of excitement: "I have wronged the Jiang family, but now I want to protect my children and cannot just sit idly by and wait to die."

As he spoke, he looked outside and said, "Did you see the Imperial Guard when you came? They weren't just there to monitor me, but also to protect my eldest son."

Cao Dan exclaimed in surprise: "Could it be that the Emperor intends to... change his heir?"

The King of Qin nodded: "Otherwise, he wouldn't have attacked me."

Cao Dan's gaze shifted several times before he finally made up his mind: "This humble servant will open the city gates and let the garrison troops outside enter the city to besiege the Forbidden City, helping the Prince to seize imperial power. Everyone knows that the Emperor is seriously ill. Once the Prince obtains the edict of succession, he can rightfully ascend the throne."

"However, before that, we need to get rid of a few treacherous officials."

King Qin certainly knew who Cao Dan was referring to: the Empress Dowager's faction and Wang Bingchen's group.

“And then there are the members of the imperial family,” Cao Dan said. “Those people might also question the prince. If they collude with the Empress Dowager and Wang Bingchen, they could shake up the political situation at any time.”

The King of Qin agreed wholeheartedly. Killing one rebellious son was not enough; those members of the royal family who were close to the emperor should not be spared either. Killing them was also to establish his authority and make those people obediently serve as his subjects.

“There’s no time to lose,” Cao Dan said. “I’ll go and contact those generals.”

After a careful and secret discussion with Cao Dan, the King of Qin finally released the man.

After leaving the Prince's mansion, Cao Dan did not immediately return to his own residence. Instead, he entered a courtyard and knocked on the door.

Once the messenger arrived, he whispered, "Send the message back; everything has been arranged as the master instructed."

(End of this chapter)