Proud Feather

Chapter 76 Suspect
Gao Mian was indeed quite capable. Just a few days after the list was handed to him, he got the news.

"Princess." Seeing Chu Ling coming in wearing riding clothes and holding a horse whip, Gao Mian bowed and apologized, "I am rude and disturbed your pleasure."

"It's okay. Your business is the most important." Chu Ling took the tea handed to him by Zheng Qiu, took a sip, and took a deep breath. "Tell me, what did you find out?"

Gao Mian glanced outside, Qingcha understood, and turned around to guard the door.

Only they and Zheng Qiu were left in the room. Gao Mian reported, "I received the list from the princess and went to check the files. Before the Crown Prince took over the river repair, the Water Conservancy Commissioner had already dismissed two judges for ineffective repairs. Last year, the riverbank was breached again during the flood season, and His Majesty was furious, so he handed the matter over to the Crown Prince."

"After the Crown Prince took over, he first investigated the Dushuiguan, combing it from top to bottom. Half of those below the level of judges were dismissed, and those with serious offenses were exiled and their property confiscated. I followed the list given by the princess and carefully investigated the whereabouts of those people and their families one by one. Suspicion basically fell on one person."

"Who?"

"Zhang Qianyi, the son of the former judge of the Metropolitan Water Conservancy Bureau."

"Why is he suspicious?"

Gao Mian explained in detail, "The Zhang family comes from the water conservancy industry, and three generations have worked at the Metropolitan Water Conservancy Bureau. His father, Zhang Chuanze, was originally the Chief Justice, and had considerable experience in water management. He was promoted after the previous judge was dismissed. Someone secretly informed the Crown Prince that he was a remnant of the previous judge. The Crown Prince ordered a thorough investigation, and indeed, discovered that Zhang Chuanze was involved, so he dismissed all the relevant personnel in one fell swoop."

"Zhang Chuanze's condition wasn't serious, and since manpower was needed to repair the river, the Crown Prince didn't implicate his family. Zhang Qianyi was only demoted one rank and is currently serving as a water engineer."

Chu Ling remembered that the water engineer was mainly responsible for construction matters, which means that under normal circumstances Zhang Qianyi was on the dam.

She had an idea: "Will I come into contact with him when my eldest brother goes on river patrol?"

Gao Mian nodded in agreement. "The Crown Prince personally went to the riverbank to inspect the work and meet with the veteran craftsmen, including Zhang Qianyi. Zhang Qianyi is a scholar, and his logic and speech are much better than those illiterate craftsmen. The Crown Prince often summoned him to give his opinions."

"Has Zhang Chuanze been exiled?"

"He was sentenced to exile, but the prince was merciful and only ordered him to repair the river bank downstream."

Chu Ling pondered: "According to what you said, Zhang Qianyi's target is obvious, why didn't they find him in the beginning?"

The Sanfashi took over the case and immediately investigated the prince's whereabouts, thoroughly checking everyone he came into contact with. Zhang Qianyi was a river engineer, and with such a "grudge" before him, there was no reason for him not to be noticed.

Gao Mian was ashamed. "I did investigate before, but he was sincere and said frankly that his father was coerced by the previous judge and that simply repairing the river embankment was a mercy. Moreover, the prince promised him that if he made meritorious contributions to the river repair, his father would be pardoned. So he had no complaints and was only focused on achieving merit."

"Then why is the finding different this time?"

"Because... Zhang Chuanze died," Gao Mian said. "He slipped into the river while repairing the embankment and couldn't be rescued. This happened several months ago, and the news just came in."

Chu Ling understood. Gao Mian had previously thought that Zhang Qianyi's motives were insufficient, but with the news of Zhang Chuanze's death, his motives were complete.

"Where's the person? Has he been caught?"

"I have already sent someone to arrest him."

Chu Ling nodded. At this point, there was actually no evidence, but having a specific suspect was better than having no clear direction before.

"I understand. Call me when you catch him."

"Yes."

After Gao Mian left, Chu Ling asked, "Qiuniang, do you think this is true?"

Zheng Qiu replied, "Princess, perhaps I've been prejudiced, feeling that this incident couldn't possibly be unrelated to that person." Chu Ling nodded. Her elder brother's poison originated from the Dahuai Temple and passed through the hands of the Wei family. Given the Wei family's relationship with the Jingping Marquisate, she couldn't believe there was no connection.

"Send a message to Mr. Jiang and ask him to investigate the relationship between Zhang Qianyi and the Wei family."

"Yes."

With Gao Mian's allegiance and Jiang Shijun's gradual rise, Chu Ling now has a lot of people he can use.

Gao Mian was in charge of investigating the open affairs, while Jiang Shijun was in charge of the hidden clues. Even the secrets between the aristocratic families like the Wei family were explored by Miao Niang, who was given by her grandmother. With the help of her eldest sister-in-law in the East Palace, she finally felt that she could handle it with ease.

Gao Mian acted quickly and news came in the afternoon: Zhang Qianyi had escaped.

"He ran away?" Chu Ling questioned, "Where did he get his information? Are you in the Dali Temple like a sieve? You couldn't even catch a mere river worker?"

Gao Mian was ashamed: "I am incompetent. When we were looking for him, a worker on the dike saw him and let him know the news. When we went to look for him, he had just escaped and is now being hunted down."

"A small worker? So, does that mean Zhang Qianyi is quite popular?"

Gao Mian nodded in agreement. "The Zhang family, father and son, are practical and decent people. The river workers all trust them. I think the prince also had this in mind when he spared the Zhang family."

Chu Ling understood and said, "There are only a few days left. Even if I can protect you, there must be some progress, right?"

Gao Mian felt the pressure: "Yes, I will pursue you relentlessly!"

This was his first assignment after being voted for by the princess. He had to show off his biting ability, otherwise how could he be qualified to receive the princess's protection?
Chu Ling left the Bowun Hall and headed towards the harem.

Seeing an imperial physician hurriedly passing by on the road, Zheng Qiu asked, "Is that the direction of Yongchun Palace? Is Concubine Shu sick again?"

Last time I tried to gain her sympathy, but ended up causing her to overturn the table. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to use the same trick again this time?

Zheng Qiu called the eunuch to whisper a few words, and soon the eunuch came to report: "Princess, the Concubine Shu is pregnant."

???

Chu Ling and Zheng Qiu looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.

What shocked Zheng Qiu was that the Second Prince was already in his early twenties and Concubine Shu was nearly forty, yet she was still pregnant?
While the Empress was alive, only the Empress and Consort Shu had children in the harem. After the Empress's death, the Emperor gradually brought in a number of beauties. Over the next seven or eight years, a few princes and princesses were born, but none survived. The two young princes in the palace were both born to young concubines, and it was unclear whether they would survive to adulthood.

Shufei was said to be the most favored concubine in the harem, but she was old after all, and the emperor needed her company. Most of the concubines he summoned were young, and no one expected Shufei to be pregnant.

If this baby is born, won’t it be smaller than the one in Princess Xin’s belly?

What Chu Ling didn't understand was that this had never happened in her previous life! She had only been back for a month or so. According to the timeline, Concubine Shu should have been pregnant before her eldest brother's accident. How could the two lives be so different?

"Does Father know?"

"They just went to Funing Palace to report the news."

Chu Ling didn't hesitate: "Let's go to Yongchun Palace too."

She wanted to see what tricks Concubine Shu would come up with!
I don't have any reason today, I'm just stuck. I'll try to write a day in advance, updates are rare to begin with, so this instability is not a big deal.