good season

Chapter 307 Closing the Net (Part 1) (Two chapters combined)

Jiayi and Princess Jia'an entered the palace together, and the imperial physician came to treat Fan Qiuyun. It was clear that a good show was about to unfold.

Zhao Shiqing was itching to go, but unfortunately, she couldn't go to the palace to watch the play.

A show like this, you'll miss it for a lifetime!

“Mother, let’s go too,” she said to Wan Ruyi.

"Okay." Wan Ruyi was reluctant to leave. She was like a child entering the world for the first time, and everything was new and interesting to her. Especially today, she had watched a play. Although she did not understand it at first, Zhao Shiqing explained it to her and she understood. Interesting, really interesting!
"Qingqing, let's go home. I'll make you chrysanthemum pastries, but I don't know if I can make them."

Wan Ruyi likes this place for another reason: she ate several pastries made with chrysanthemums today. They were both beautiful and delicious. She likes all things that are meticulously crafted, and she is interested in anything that is handmade.

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "This might be someone's family recipe. Why don't you try making it first? Let's not worry about the taste for now, let's just make the pattern first."

Wan Ruyi nodded repeatedly: "Qingqing is right, let's make the flower pattern first."

Just as she was about to leave, two small figures suddenly darted out with a whooshing sound. Zhao Shiqing was taken aback: "What are you doing here?"

The little demon snorted arrogantly: "The cat can come and go as it pleases, what's it to you?"

Big Fatty: [Hehehe.]

Zhao Shiqing: I actually saw a lewd expression on a cat's face.

What did Da Pang go through?
She wanted to ask immediately, but she was afraid that if the boy saw something indescribable and corrupted Wan Ruyi, that would be bad.

Never mind, I'll just ask again when I get back.

Clearly, she forgot that no one here, except herself, could understand Big Fatty's cat-like speech.

Xiao Zhen, who was still in Yunzhong Garden, finally confirmed after repeated inquiries that what happened at the Linjian Yaju today had not been leaked.

“Young Master, please rest assured, all the guests know that Princess Huixin left early because she was unwell, and no one suspects anything,” Shuisheng said.

Xiao Zhen then asked, "Where is Princess Nanyang?"

Shui Sheng: "Princess Nanyang has already left with Princess Jiabao. They and their entourage stayed by Her Highness's side the whole time."

Xiao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that Zhao Shiqing was unaware of what had happened at the Linjian Yaju today.

But why does it always feel like something's not right?
Did he miss something?
What's missing?

“Young Master, your clothes are frayed. Would you like to change?” Shui Sheng reminded him, noticing two frayed areas on Xiao Zhen’s Hangzhou silk robe.

Desiccation?

Xiao Zhen was stunned for a moment; he finally realized what he had missed.

Big Fatty!

Big Fatty is a simple and honest man; he'll definitely tell the truth without exaggeration.

Fortunately, it was Big Fatty today; it might not have been Little Demon. Little Demon dislikes everyone, every dog, and every bird equally.

Xiao Zhen, who was clueless about cats, never dreamed that as soon as she got home, Da Pang would tell Zhao Shiqing everything she had seen and heard at the Linjian Yaju that day.

But this is what he said—

[The big ice block was sleeping with the big fat guy when a woman came along. She smelled nice and wanted to sleep with us.]

If Big Fatty hadn't yelled, they would have slept together, meow~

The woman cried and gave Big Ice Cube a painting. Big Ice Cube accepted it, meow~

!!!

! !
!

That evening, Deng Tuo, the heir of the Duke of Dingguo, returned to his residence and went to his father's study without even changing his clothes.

It wasn't until the third watch of the night that the father and son emerged from the study, both with solemn expressions.

When the Duke of Dingguo returned to his bedroom, his wife was still not asleep.

He sat under the lamp, gazing silently at the flickering candlelight for a long time, his heart pounding like a thousand horses galloping.

He's getting old, and this family business will eventually be handed over to Deng Tuo.

The Duke of Dingguo's family was a founding noble family, but in recent years it has been declining. Although there are many descendants, only Deng Tuo is capable of great things. As for the others... well, let's just say they're lucky if they don't drag the family down.

He was originally worried that Deng Tuo would be unable to carry the burden alone, but now a great opportunity suddenly presented itself.

If this succeeds, it will be a great achievement for the emperor.

With this merit of supporting the emperor, the Deng family can prosper for at least several more decades. With these decades, how could they not have a few capable descendants?

The Duke of Dingguo clenched his fist, determined to fight for the future of his mansion.

The same thing happened at the Duke of Wei's residence.

Today's banquet was hosted by Princess Jiayi, and the female guests included both young and old. The list of male guests was drawn up by Xiao Zhen, and most of them were young people who could hold their own in their families. None of the good-for-nothing second-generation or third-generation rich kids were invited.

Therefore, it was Madam Yu and Yan Xia who came from the Duke of Wei's mansion. The Duke of Wei did not come, nor did he want to go. Usually, on such occasions, his wife would inevitably get into a fight with someone, and then someone would come to him to complain, as if he could control his wife.

So if you can avoid going, then don't.

But today, as soon as Yanxia returned, he took him on a small boat to the center of the lake to fish.

It's so late at night, could that brat have gone crazy and decided to drag his old man into the lake with him?

The Duke of Wei said cautiously, "My son, don't do anything foolish. At worst, I'll ask for permission tomorrow to pass the title to you."

"I met the Emperor Emeritus and Zhao Yuan today."

Duke Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Young people, they just can't keep their composure. So what if they met the Emperor Emeritus? What's the big deal!
Wait, Zhao Yuan? Who is Zhao Yuan?

Why does this name sound familiar?

Zhao, Zhao!
Zhao Yuan?

Duke Wei's robust body jolted, and he stared at Yan Xia in disbelief: "You mean Zhao Yuan? Really Zhao Yuan? He's still alive?"

Yan Xia nodded: "He is still alive. He is Zhao Guanyue, and also Xiao Yue!"

After a long pause, the Duke of Wei finally came to his senses and asked, "The Emperor Emeritus wants you to assist Zhao Yuan? What does he want to do?" Yan Xia said coldly, "You've heard about Princess Jiabao, haven't you? Aren't you curious about who Princess Jiabao's birth mother is?"

Duke of Wei: "Who else could it be? The Emperor Emeritus's romantic entanglements outside the palace when he was young."

The Duke of Wei's idea was also the idea of ​​everyone, including Emperor Yongjia.

"If I told you that Princess Jiabao is the same age as His Majesty, and that her birth mother is Consort Li, would you believe me?"

Duke Wei was stunned again: "How is that possible? Unless Consort Li gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, it is absolutely impossible."

"What if the Emperor Emeritus said this himself? Would you believe it? By the way, Consort Li didn't give birth to twins; she only gave birth to one," Yan Xia asked again.

Duke Wei was dumbfounded, his mouth opening wider and wider. Yan Xia had no choice but to reach out and help him close his mouth to prevent drool from dripping everywhere.

After a long while, the Duke of Wei finally found his voice: "You mean, you mean, the prince was replaced by a cat? No, this is a princess, not a prince. What's this called again? What's it called again?"

Yan Xia: "Substituting a plum for a peach."

"Yes, yes, a substitution. In other words, Consort Li gave birth to a princess, but she brought in a boy to replace the princess and lied that she gave birth to a prince? Oh my, that's incredibly audacious. This is the palace! How dare she do that? I really misjudged her. I used to think she was just stupid, but I didn't expect her to be so ruthless. When stupid people get ruthless, they are much bolder than smart people. The stupider a person is, the bolder they are."

The Duke of Wei got more and more excited as he spoke, and even wiped the drool that had spilled from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Yan Xia: "Although Consort Li is stupid, she has fooled everyone. That person has been sitting in that chair for more than ten years."

Duke Wei thought about it and agreed. The retired emperor was indeed powerful. No one could become emperor without being an ordinary person. If it were him, and he knew that Yan Xia was not his biological son, he would definitely be spitting at him with a knife by now. No way to compare him like that. No matter how you look at it, Yan Xia is his biological son. He is as handsome as him, as majestic as him, and as wise as him.

"Father, Zhao Yuan"

Before Yan Xia could finish speaking, Duke Wei interrupted him: "Zhao Yuan is not a name you can just call anyone. He is the grandson of the emperor, no, he is the grandson of the crown prince, the imperial grandson of the emperor! A legitimate descendant of the founding emperor!"

Without Emperor Taizu, our family would still be herding cattle. You'd be nothing more than a cowherd. Dream on if you wanted to marry a princess from the Liang Prince's mansion!

Kid, you should know how to repay kindness, do you understand?

Don't go to class at the Imperial College tomorrow; it's pointless for you to go anyway.

"Tomorrow I'm treating those old guys to drinks, and you'll accompany them. Even though we've handed over the tiger tally, we still have face, and we can still command respect."

That night, many people in the capital couldn't sleep, and the Third Prince tossed and turned.

He already knows everything that happened today, down to the last word.

The matter has been investigated and found out that the group of people who stormed into the Qiao family's villa were hired by Wu Yanyan, but the mastermind behind it was Feng Jiahe.

The Third Prince wished he could kill Feng Jiahe.

It wasn't that he had much affection for the unborn child, but rather that this incident put him in the spotlight.

He wished the night would be longer, much longer, and that it would never end.

However, morning still came, and the sun still rose.

During the morning court session, Imperial Censor Wu took the initiative to apologize, admitting that he had not managed his household properly and that his daughter's willfulness had led to the unfortunate miscarriage of Lady Fan. He was willing to accept the punishment.

Then, the Duke of Wei stepped in to smooth things over: "Oh dear, Imperial Censor Wu, why bother? It's just the young girls playing around. That Lady Fan hasn't even married into the Qiao family yet, and she's already pregnant. It's just an illegitimate child. If she's gone, she's gone."

Duke Wei was a rough and straightforward man, but everyone could tell that he was not only speaking well of Imperial Censor Wu, but also offering a way out for the emperor.

As long as this matter is attributed to the infighting among women in the inner quarters, it preserves the dignity of the royal family.

Emperor Yongjia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his high regard for the Duke of Wei's mansion had not been in vain.

Just as he was about to speak, another person stepped forward—none other than the unreliable Prince Lu.

Prince Lu glared at Duke Wei: "Duke Wei, you think you can just turn a big problem into a small one and a small one into nothing with a few words? Do you even have any respect for the Emperor or for imperial power? Lady Fan miscarried, but was the child she gave birth to just an ordinary mortal? It was a royal bloodline, a royal bloodline!"

Prince Lu's knees buckled, and he knelt down with a thud: "Great Ancestor, ancestors, did you see that? A royal bloodline is gone just like that, gone! That was the flesh and blood of the Third Prince, the Emperor's grandson, gone just like that, gone! The royal bloodline, gone, gone!"

Everyone
Emperor Yongjia's face grew increasingly dark. He said in a deep voice, "Someone, quickly help the Imperial Uncle up. The Imperial Uncle is old, and excessive grief may harm his health. Summon the Imperial Physician!"

The morning court session ended abruptly with Prince Lu fainting from crying. Emperor Yongjia returned to his study, where the Third Prince arrived and knelt outside. Consort Qiao removed her hairpins and knelt with her son.

By the afternoon, Consort Qiao could no longer hold on and fainted. Emperor Yongjia finally ordered that the Third Prince be fined one year's salary, Consort Qiao be confined to Jingyu Palace, and Feng Jiahe be punished by copying the "Admonitions for Women" a hundred times and confined to the Prince's residence, under the strict supervision of the nannies sent from the palace.

Wu Yanyan was sent to the Zizhu Temple overnight. Wu, the Imperial Censor, was demoted one rank and fined a year's salary.

Feng Ke submitted a memorial to apologize, acknowledging that, like Imperial Censor Wu, he had failed to properly educate his daughter.

Although Emperor Yongjia did not punish the Feng family, he sent Feng Ke's memorial back and ordered him to rewrite it.

Feng Ke knew that the bond between the emperor and his subject had come to an end.

He secretly instructed his trusted confidants to send his two grandsons out of the capital, but less than a hundred miles from the capital, a group of men in black rushed out and blocked the carriage and the men. The Feng family guards were no match for them and were all killed. The two grandsons of the Feng family, one six years old and the other five years old, were stabbed through the heart and died on the spot!

Upon hearing the news, Feng Ke's hair turned white overnight.

Feng Jiahe, who was under house arrest, also received news of the murder of her two nephews. This news was not sent by the Feng family, but by a nanny sent from the palace.

Feng Jiahe stared blankly out the window, where petals were falling in profusion. Suddenly, a large bird landed on the windowsill. Feng Jiahe recognized it as the Divine Bird General.

The divine bird general spat out a letter he was carrying in his beak in front of her. She picked up the letter, and upon reading it, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

It turns out that the reason she hadn't been able to conceive wasn't because of her health, but because she had been given medication!
The medicine was added to her supplements; the more supplements she took, the more severe the poisoning became.

The poison wouldn't kill her, but it would cut off her lineage of descendants.

Feng Jiahe cried. Only the Third Prince could poison someone in the Prince's residence for a long time and make her ingest the poison!
She cried and then laughed. How ridiculous! She had sacrificed her family and herself for him, but in the end, her family was on the verge of death, her nephew was dead, she had been poisoned, and the man had only been fined a year's salary and hadn't even been confined to his home!
That evening, Feng Jiahe hanged herself.

Three days later, the Emperor Emeritus was poisoned and was in critical condition!

Emperor Yongjia was secretly delighted, but his face showed anxiety: "The Emperor Emeritus has been poisoned? Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"

The eunuch who delivered the message shook his head, weeping: "Most of the Imperial Hospital is at Wuji Temple right now, and they're at their wits' end!"

Emperor Yongjia asked, "Where is Zhao Guanyue? Where is Zhao Guanyue?"

The eunuch hurriedly replied, "Young Master Guanyue is currently attending to the ailing Emperor Emeritus."

Emperor Yongjia roared, "Guards, prepare the carriage for Wuji Temple!"

News of the Emperor Emeritus's poisoning quickly reached Cining Palace. Consort Li breathed a sigh of relief; that old man was finally going to die.