Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 107 I Don’t Want to Be a Prince Consort (Part )
Lu Bing walked into Princess Yongchun's mansion and immediately found Li Yuying who was trapped in the backyard.

Princess Fanglian stood under a tree, her skirt swaying like ripples, the tassels on her pearl hairpins gently swaying, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, she had both exotic charm and the dignity of being educated in the palace.

"Shisanlang has good taste!"

Lu Bing secretly praised him and stepped forward to clasp his fists: "Princess Li!"

"Lu Sheren?"

Li Yuying was originally in a trance, with a hint of uneasiness between her brows. When she saw him appear, she hurried forward to salute.

Lu Bing said seriously, "Haiyue is here, right outside the princess's residence."

Li Yuying was delighted at first, but then she was shocked: "No! Why is he here?"

Lu Bing said, "A maid named Huixiang said she went to the Imperial College to look for someone at your request."

"I don't!"

Li Yuying gritted her teeth and said, "This maidservant is from the palace. She must have done this on purpose. She pretended to lure him over to help, but in reality she wanted to frame us. She wanted to ruin his future and make it even harder for me to explain myself!"

Li Yuying's trusted servants were all killed when Mo Zhengyong led the assassins to catch up with the Annan envoys. The servants she has now are all provided for her by the Ming Dynasty.

There was one group in Qiongzhou Prefecture, and then another group in Guangzhou Prefecture. When they entered the women's courtyard of Huitongguan in the capital, the palace sent four female historians and eight palace maids to serve them personally.

Li Yuying was flattered by the arrangements made by the palace, but she did not trust any of the people sent, treating them all as spies.

So it was impossible for her to send these maids to invite Haiyue, but she could not control the other party from cheating under her name. Her eyes were eager and there was a sharp look between her brows.

Seeing this, Lu Bing comforted him, "Don't worry, Shisanlang didn't fall for the trick. He sent someone to inform me directly that Huixiang has been apprehended. Once we can interrogate the key evidence from her, you can also clear yourself of suspicion!"

Li Yuying breathed a sigh of relief: "Now that Brother Lu is here, we can all rest assured!"

"Haha! I love hearing this!"

Lu Bing patted his chest without hesitation and said, "With me here, those villains can't harm you. Let's go!"

The two walked towards the main hall, talking as they walked: "What happened to Her Royal Highness the Princess?"

As an old member of the Prince Xing's Mansion, Lu Bing had deep feelings for Zhu Houcong's family. Princess Yongchun was the same age as him. Although they had little contact when they were young due to the difference in gender, Lu Bing was still shocked and angry when he suddenly heard that something had happened to the princess. This was also the reason why he took the initiative to volunteer.

The Jinyiwei's investigation was legitimate, so Li Yuying naturally told them everything: "Mr. Lu, are you aware of a new illusion troupe, the 'Yunyin Society,' that has recently arrived in the capital?"

Lu Bing said, "I heard that he is replacing the Harrier Squad."

Li Yuying said, "This magic troupe is quite famous for their charity performance at Tianqiao. A steward of the Princess's residence invited them to perform at the residence."

"Who's in charge?"

"I heard others call him Cai Sizheng."

"Si Zheng Cai Yong, it turns out to be him. He is also an old man in Prince Xing's Palace."

"The princess' birthday is approaching, and she's tired of the same old performances from previous years. Chase has specially invited this troupe, which has been gaining popularity lately."

"When did you enter the mansion?"

"I visited your residence yesterday and heard that the Yunyin Society moved into the residence nine days ago. They've been busy setting up the stage and preparing the equipment. They've also promised to present an unprecedented and spectacular performance on your birthday, a spectacle that will amaze the princess!"

Lu Bing calculated the time and frowned, "But His Highness's birthday is still half a month away? Is this an early performance?"

Li Yuying said, "Yes! The princess has been waiting anxiously, urging her to come every day. Seeing this, the matchmaker from the Yunyin Society suggested performing a 'Magpie Bridge Fairy' trick for the princess first."

"I was there last night, and the magic trick was truly spectacular. I don't know how those magicians managed to create a colorful magpie bridge in the hall, a dazzling starry sky, like a fairyland. Everyone was mesmerized, and then, without knowing when, the princess actually walked onto the magpie bridge!"

"Everyone in the hall panicked and hurried to pull the princess back. But just as the trick was over, she stared blankly into space, muttering to herself, 'I want to go to the Magpie Bridge, too,' and then she fell into a deep sleep."

"The maidservants in the mansion thought she was tired from drinking, so they carefully helped the princess back to her room to rest. But this morning, no matter how hard we called, the princess fell into a deep sleep!"

"We invited the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital to diagnose it. At first, they said it was the poison of the Datura flower, but soon it changed to the hemp flower, which is unique to our Annan!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing raised a question: "If that's the case, then isn't the Yunyin Society, which performs magic tricks, more suspicious?"

"The four illusionists from the 'Cloud Hidden Society' have been imprisoned."

Li Yuying said, "But the imperial physician said that this kind of poison is usually taken with hot wine. The Yunyin Society did perform the 'Magpie Bridge Fairy' trick, and the princess also approached them. In public, there was no opportunity to poison her. On the contrary, I was drinking with the princess at the banquet. If the poison really came from Annan, it would have been easier for me to poison her!" "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext!"

Lu Bing's expression became serious.

Now, the court is fiercely discussing the Ming Dynasty’s future attitude towards the secession of Annan. The two factions of court officials have different opinions, and the debate is becoming more and more intense.

At such a sensitive moment, any small matter may affect the whole body, and any behavior may be magnified unlimitedly. Li Yuying is Princess Fanglian, and she appears in the Ming Dynasty court as a representative of the foreign vassal. Fortunately, she is a female relative, and the ministers of the previous dynasty cannot come to her directly. If it were a prince, they might have blocked her way long ago.

Now that the princess is in trouble, it just gives the opponents an opportunity. Who cares whether you are innocent or not?
Even the person who deliberately implicated you knows that you are innocent!

"This matter is of great importance. Go discuss it with Shisanlang!"

Lu Bing was originally full of confidence, but after hearing how bizarre the process was, he became a little unsure. He instructed, "Don't leave the Princess's Mansion, and don't let him enter. A wall between them will avoid trouble! Hong Qi, follow them and be a witness!"

"it is good!"

Li Yuying bowed and left without any delay.

At the same time, Haiyue had already walked around the princess's mansion and observed it carefully.

The location here is close to the imperial city and is also in the residential area of ​​nobles, which conforms to the site selection principle of "close but not presumptuous" for princesses' mansions in the Ming Dynasty. The design of the three-way and five-courtyard structure is also unique.

The east road is the residence of the imperial concubine, the middle road is the main hall of the princess's mansion, and the west road has a garden, backyard and servants' quarters.

These could not be seen from the surface, but when he walked outside, he pricked up his ears to listen to the movements in the mansion and roughly determined the division of this area.

The middle route had the most frequent traffic, the west route was the most cautious, and from the east route, faint cries could be heard: "I want to see the princess! I want to see the princess! Why won't you let me see my wife?"

"Is it the Prince Consort Xie Zhao? He's a bit pathetic..."

Haiyue was not surprised.

In later film and television works, the prince consort is always in a glorious position. He marries a wealthy family and has the most honorable father-in-law in the world, so he must be domineering. But in fact, the status of the prince consort in all dynasties was not high.

There were more rules for the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty. He was not allowed to participate in politics, lead troops, or take the imperial examinations. His close relatives had to end their official careers. Those who were already in office had to retire early, and his descendants could only inherit a nominal position.

For this reason alone, it was destined that anyone with a little future would never become a royal consort in the Ming Dynasty.

Similarly, some princesses of the Ming Dynasty also had tragic circumstances. For example, Wanli's sister, Princess Yongning. At that time, the son of a wealthy man named Liang in the capital was suffering from tuberculosis. He bribed Feng Bao and was chosen as the prince consort. On the wedding day, the rich man had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop, soaking his dress and making it almost impossible to complete the ceremony. The eunuchs insisted that hanging red was a good omen, and then took the opportunity to extort money from the rich man. As a result, less than a month after Princess Yongning's marriage, the tuberculosis prince consort died. Princess Yongning died of depression after being a widow for more than ten years, and she never knew the affairs of the bedroom until her death.

This is an extreme example. Not all princesses are like this, but many of them are dissatisfied with some aspects.

Of course, no matter what, the material conditions that the princess and her husband can enjoy are far beyond the reach of ordinary people. It can only be said that they do not have as much freedom and glory as imagined, but ordinary people do not need to sympathize with them.

Haiyue was now standing from an outsider's perspective, silently listening to the movements in the mansion. After the prince consort had argued with the servants, his voice became increasingly sad and angry. He rushed out and happened to reach a corner not far away, muttering: "Why! Why do you treat us like this! We are husband and wife!"

Haiyue observed the young man in his early twenties through the hollow brick carving. He had a slender figure and handsome features, but there was a look of sadness between his brows, so he had no temperament at all.

Since they bumped into each other, Hai Yue walked over and called out, "Thank you, Captain?"

"what!"

Prince Consort Xie Zhao was startled when he realized someone was standing outside the wall. "Who are you?"

Haiyue bowed and said, "Imperial College student Haiyue, I greet Captain Xie."

Xie Zhao, the son-in-law, was a little bewildered. He obviously didn't understand why a student from the Imperial Academy was outside the princess's residence. The name seemed vaguely familiar, but he didn't have time to think about it for the moment. He hurriedly said, "Something happened in the residence. If you don't want to bring unnecessary disaster upon yourself, leave quickly!"

Hai Yue felt a little fond of this person for giving such advice to a stranger. She smiled and said, "I'm here for Princess Li."

"Princess Fanglian of Annan?"

Prince Consort Xie Zhao blinked, and the image of the most beautiful woman at the banquet surfaced in his mind. He suddenly understood, and blurted out, "You also want to be a prince consort?"

"Do not want to."

Hai Yue said calmly: "Annan returns to the Ming Dynasty and Jiaozhi. She will no longer be a princess, and I will naturally not be a prince consort."

"what!"

The son-in-law Xie Zhao laughed angrily, and then suddenly burst into tears: "It's better not to be a son-in-law! It's better not to be a son-in-law! How can an ordinary person be willing to be such a cowardly son-in-law, and even hurt his wife..."

(End of this chapter)