good season

Chapter 216 After the Lantern Festival (Two chapters combined)

As the emperor departed, the princes, princesses, and members of the imperial clan followed suit. The third prince and his wife, Feng Jiahe, did not go with the other members of the imperial clan; instead, they accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Feng Ke back to the Feng residence. The body of the eldest master of the Feng family had already been sent back earlier.

Zhao Shiqing spotted the Princess Consort of the Prince of Fu's residence in the crowd. She walked silently behind the Prince of Fu's son. She hadn't uttered a word all day, yet she had garnered everyone's sympathy.

The battle at Wangxian Tower was fought on her behalf by her son, but the battle back in the mansion belonged to her.

Lady Yu, the wife of the Duke of Wei, spotted Zhao Shiqing at a glance. Her eyes lit up. "Miss Zhao the Second has arrived too?"
She grabbed Zhao Shiqing's hand: "That scoundrel Xiao Shiyi, he didn't even tell me you came to see the lights."

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "I met him at the lantern festival and came along with him."

Mrs. Yu hurriedly asked, "Were you frightened?"

Zhao Shiqing shook her head: "We were downstairs. By the time we heard the noise, it was already over. We weren't scared."

Madam Yu said to Zhao Shiqing in a low voice, "It's good that you weren't scared. Please don't misunderstand. The capital is actually quite peaceful. Today was just an accident. Besides, the Feng family are all civil officials, powerless to even kill a chicken. Our Yan family is different. We are all military officers. When the eldest princess comes to the capital, she won't need bodyguards. We will definitely protect her properly."

Zhao Shiqing understood. This wasn't about whether she was frightened or not; it was about whether she would tell her sister what happened today, making her sister mistakenly believe that the capital was unsafe and that even seeing lanterns could lead to encountering assassins. What if her sister didn't want to marry into the family?
Zhao Shiqing repeatedly promised that she would not create any tension for her sister, and only then did Madam Yu feel relieved. She smiled and took off the bracelet from her wrist and put it on Zhao Shiqing.

Zhao Shiqing. Is this the legendary bribery and corruption?

Madam Yu left her maidservant behind to accompany Zhao Shiqing home. Zhao Shiqing was a young girl, and it would be impolite to have the Yan family's boys escort her back.

Zhao Shiqing did not refuse. The more courteous Madam Yu was, the more it showed how much she valued her sister.

When Zhao Shiqing and the others walked out of Wangxian Tower, they found that the lantern festival outside had already ended.

Yan Ba ​​said, "With such a big incident, they're definitely going to arrest the accomplices. The Five City Divisions don't even need to chase them away; everyone's already scared off."

The entire Bao'en Temple was under martial law. Zhao Shiqing was worried about the four guards and looked around. When she saw the four of them standing with the attendants from various mansions, she breathed a sigh of relief, waved to them, and told them to follow.

From Bao'en Temple to Tianjing Hutong, there were guards every three steps and a sentry every five steps. Even when they saw that it was a carriage from the Duke of Wei's mansion, the Imperial Guards still stopped the carriage. Only when the old woman showed the sign of the Duke of Wei's mansion did they let it pass.

When we returned to Tianjing Hutong, we could see a light shining at the entrance of the hutong from afar, and an old man was standing there with two dogs on a leash.

Zhao Shiqing's nose tingled with emotion, and she quickly walked over: "Grandpa, I'm back."

The old man looked her up and down and said, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Back home, Zhao Shiqing asked, "Grandpa, have you heard about what happened tonight?"

The old man nodded: "I know a little, but I heard from people who came back from the lantern festival that someone was killed in Wangxian Tower."

Zhao Shiqing then recounted how Lan Caihe attempted to assassinate Feng Ke but mistakenly killed Master Feng.

Sure enough, the old man frowned deeply: "Something's not right. Which assassin is so stupid? Why did they have to kill him in front of the emperor? It's almost as difficult as assassinating the emperor himself."

Zhao Shiqing was thrilled to find that her suspicions resonated with others. She had been holding back all the way here, not daring to say anything in Wangxian Tower or on the way back. Her grandfather was indeed her grandfather; they always seemed to think the same way.

She then mentioned her suspicion that Lan Caihe was also the murderer of Deng Qian. The old man pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head, still unable to understand what was going on.

This assassin clearly knows how to kill; look how well he killed Deng Qian. So why did he suddenly become stupid when it came to killing Feng Ke?

The grandfather and grandson stared at each other, completely baffled.

If you can't figure it out, then stop thinking about it. Zhao Shiqing then brought up Zhao Tingluo's impressive display of skill today, and the old man laughed heartily: "No wonder he grew up in the palace, he's just a bit more clever than ordinary children."

Zhao Shiqing knew perfectly well that the reason Zhao Tingluo was so determined to kill her father was because of the words she had spoken earlier.

Getting Xiaobao to acknowledge his ancestors is actually a very easy thing. The difficult part is what will happen in the future. The Prince of Fu's mansion is keeping an illegitimate child outside. Now that the Prince of Fu is alive, the heir doesn't dare to bring that illegitimate child back. But what if the Prince of Fu dies? At that time, the Prince of Fu's mansion will be the heir's domain. Not to mention one illegitimate child, even ten or twenty, he can openly bring them into the mansion.

Or perhaps, since Zhao Tingluo was raised in the palace from a young age, and Xiaobao was indirectly abandoned by the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince doesn't feel close to these two sons, would he then create another accident to cripple them?

If it were anyone else, Zhao Shiqing wouldn't have thought much of it, but this prince had a criminal record, and Zhao Shiqing certainly wouldn't judge him by normal moral standards.

After all, Mudskipper found Xiaobao in front of the brothel.

Making a member of the imperial family a male prostitute is worse than killing him.

Therefore, Zhao Shiqing reminded Zhao Tingluo that day in Tianjing Hutong, but she only said a few more words. She didn't expect a ten-year-old child to do anything, after all, that person was his biological father.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Tinglu reacted quickly and hit the target precisely.

Before the first month of the lunar calendar was over, and before the news of the Second Prince's death had been announced, three imperial edicts arrived at the Prince of Fu's residence in succession.

The first ruling is that the Prince of Fu's heir has moral failings, and his position as heir should be revoked.

The second decree was to appoint Zhao Tingluo, the grandson of Prince Fu, as his heir apparent.

The third one was Zhao Tingzan, the second grandson of the Prince of Fu, who was given the name Zhao Tingzan and the rank of General Zhaoyong, a third-grade official. He could take up his post after the age of fifteen.

In fact, those who were at Wangxian Tower on the Lantern Festival already knew that the Prince of Fu's mansion was about to undergo a change of power, but the imperial edict still came as a great surprise.

Was the heir apparent of the Prince of Fu deposed just like that?

After the death of Prince Fu, Zhao Tingluo will be able to inherit the title, bypassing his father.

The Prince of Fu's mansion was not hereditary, but the eldest son of the Prince of Fu was not granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank, but rather the title of Heir Apparent. This led many people to believe that the emperor might make an exception for the Prince of Fu's mansion and retain the title of Prince.

Now that such a big incident has occurred in the Prince of Fu's mansion, and the heir has been deposed, the emperor has bestowed upon Zhao Tingluo the title of grandson of the heir, instead of a prince. Zhao Tingluo is only ten years old. What does this mean? It means that the Prince of Fu's mansion's title of prince can be retained for at least another forty years!
As for his younger brother Zhao Tingzan being granted the title of Third-Rank General Zhaoyong, this is only temporary. If he can win the emperor's favor after his elder brother inherits the title of Prince, he will most likely be granted the title of County Prince.

For a time, countless people envied the Crown Prince's wife. Interestingly, although the Crown Prince was deposed, her status as the Crown Prince's wife was still retained. In other words, the eldest branch of the Prince Fu's mansion only had the Crown Prince—no, now he is Zhao Huaiying—and Zhao Huaiying was the only commoner in the eldest branch.

Prince Fu breathed a sigh of relief. That night, the family returned to the manor, and the Crown Princess made another scene. As a result, Prince Fu gave Zhao Tingzan two estates and ten shops from his private account.

Princess Fu also bestowed a lot of gifts upon Zhao Tingzan, and even gave him two houses and a small estate that were part of her dowry.

At only five years old, Zhao Tingzan was already a wealthy baby on his very first day back at home.

Even Mudfish received five thousand taels of silver, two shops, and a house from the Crown Princess.

He happily led everyone to see his house and shops. The house was located in Hongyun Hutong next to Tianjing Hutong, a place that the Crown Princess had clearly chosen on purpose.

The two-courtyard house was spotless, with all the necessary furniture and utensils. Looking at the snow-white walls and the old pomegranate tree in the yard, Mudfish's eyes reddened. This was the first decent home he had ever had. As a child, he lived with his grandfather, moving almost every month. His grandfather was a thief and couldn't stay in one place for long. After his grandfather died, he and his son lived in the most dilapidated and cheapest house in the tenement compound—a drafty, leaky house in winter and a rainy house in summer, where they had to get up in the middle of the night to swat mosquitoes.

It wasn't until he followed Zhao Shiqing that he realized a quilt could be so soft and warm, and that he didn't have to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes while sleeping in the summer.

Shen Wangxing walked around the house and said to Mudfish, "Mudfish, when are you moving in?"

Mudfish shook its head: "I'm not moving. I'll still live in Tianjing Hutong."

"Why don't you move? You didn't have a home before, but you have one now," Shen Wangxing asked, puzzled.

The loach wiped its eyes: "I have a home now. I know this is my home, and that's enough. But I still like living with you all. If I miss home, I can come back and visit."

Shen Wangxing sighed: "I was hoping to come to your house for a housewarming party."

Loach: "Drink, of course we'll drink, whether we move or not, we'll drink."

So everyone booked a table outside and ate and drank heartily in the new house, making a ruckus for a whole day before going back.

The uproar caused by the death of Master Feng was suppressed with the deposition of the Prince of Fu's heir.

The capital city is never short of gossip. These days, the most talked-about topic on the streets is Zhao Huaiying's romantic affairs. After discussing it, people always add: "See? This is what happens when you can't control your lower body."

From prince to commoner, Zhao Huaiying was eliminated early. Feeling depressed, he went out to drown his sorrows in alcohol, got completely drunk, and was dragged into an alley where his leg was chopped off.

Fortunately, his attendants found him, otherwise he would have died from blood loss.

After all, he was his eldest son. What could Prince Fu do when he saw his son half-dead? Even though he knew in his heart that the Crown Princess was probably behind it, he could only pretend not to know. Once Zhao Huaiying's injuries had healed a little, he sent him to the estate.

That's right, it's the manor where the illegitimate son lived; the father and son have finally been reunited.

Zhao Shiqing finally met Xiao Zhen.

The reason it is "finally" is because after the Lantern Festival, she went to Ruyi Pavilion, but Xiao Zhen was not there.

She went there twice more later, but Xiao Zhen was not there at all.

If everything hadn't remained the same at Su's Tea Shop, Zhao Shiqing might have thought that something had happened to Xiao Zhen.

It wasn't until the story of Zhao Huaiying's broken leg was finally replaced by new gossip that Zhao Shiqing finally met Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen has lost weight and looks taller.

Zhao Shiqing rarely saw his true face, so she quickly asked, "Where have you been?"

Xiao Zhen said, "I'm going to Daguo Village."

“Daguo Village?” Zhao Shiqing paused, feeling as if she had heard of this place somewhere before, but couldn’t quite place it.

Xiao Zhen reminded him: "Stilts."

Zhao Shiqing slapped her forehead: "Look at my memory."

She remembered that the stilt walking team was from Daguo Village, and the Emperor Emeritus's Longevity Palace was located on Daguo Village's land. Even the stilt walking team only came about because of the Emperor Emeritus.

"Hmm, could Lan Caihe's matter really be related to you?"

Xiao Zhen asked, puzzled, "What Lan Caihe?"

Zhao Shiqing remembered that she hadn't seen Xiao Zhen for a while, and she hadn't had a chance to tell him about Lan Caihe.

"Tell me first, what are you going to do in Daguo Village?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

"The Emperor Emeritus performed religious rites for more than ten days, and Yang Shengqiu was sent there. Since he made such a big commotion, of course I had to go and see."

Zhao Shiqing hurriedly asked, "You saw the Emperor Emeritus? Was he Zhao Xingzhou?"

Xiao Zhen nodded: "It's him."

Although she had always suspected that Zhao Xingzhou was the retired emperor, Zhao Shiqing still couldn't believe it when she heard the affirmative answer.

She met the Emperor Emeritus so easily?
"Does he perform a religious ceremony every year?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

“No, it’s been over ten years, this is the first time,” Xiao Zhen said.

"Why? Is he getting impatient because he can't ascend? There's no need for rituals then. He could just hang himself with a rope and ascend!" Zhao Shiqing said.

Xiao Zhen almost laughed at her and said, "He probably wants money. Do you know how much silver he squeezed out of Emperor Yongjia by making such a big fuss?"

Zhao Shiqing shook her head: "How much?"

Xiao Zhen smiled and said, "Fifteen hundred and fifty thousand taels!"

Zhao Shiqing was taken aback: "It's just a religious ceremony, how can it cost 150,000 taels of silver? Is he just burning money?"

"I don't know if money was burned, but I do know that the Longevity Palace asked for 200,000 taels of silver, but in the end they gave 150,000 taels. The Emperor Emeritus was very angry about this, and he didn't even give the palace the golden pills that were given every year during the New Year."

Zhao Shiqing's lips twitched. This old man was really stingy.

"You met with him alone? You went to the Longevity Palace?"

Zhao Shiqing was extremely curious. She knew something that even the Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn't been able to find out: Lan Caihe was a stilt walker, the stilt walker was from Da Guo Village, and Da Guo Village was the territory of the retired emperor.

Xiao Zhen nodded: "I saw him, but he didn't recognize me."

In a flash, Zhao Shiqing thought of a possibility: "You went to talk to him about cooperation? He knows he's been cuckolded, so he wants to storm the capital and reclaim the throne?"

Xiao Zhen, you're overthinking it.

"No, I just let him meet Xiao Yue."

Zhao Shiqing jumped up from her chair with a "Wow!" but then realized how unladylike she was and sat back down properly: "What was his reaction? Is he going to have to do a blood test with Xiaoyueyue? I wonder if the blood of a grandfather and grandson can mix."