Chapter 68 - Huang, follow me!”

Then Qi Jiulu came with a mask in the evening.

Facing Yun Fenghuang’s eyes full of reproach, Gongxiang Xiao coughed, “You can’t see Qi, can you?”

Then had met her requirement, so why was she still unhappy?

… It must be Qi Jiulu who came up with this idea!

Yun Fenghuang secretly grinded her teeth and was about to speak, but she heard Gongxiang Xiao say, “Someone submitted a report today to attack Mr. Lingshan.”

“Oh?” She suddenly did not care about Qi Jiulu’s coming. Her eyes flashed, and she said, “Who did it? What did he say?”

Gongxiang Xiao said, “It was a person from the Censorate Department (an ancient investigation authority). He said that he received the revealing from a fellow who came from Mr. Lingshan’s hometown.”

The content revealed was very horrifying: they suspected that the old lady of Wei’s Family didn’t die of illness. It was Wei Changkong who poisoned his mother for escaping from the court!

Yun Fenghuang wasn’t surprised, “What a coincidence. Wei Changkong just happened to avoid being a target of Ji’s Family at that time thanks to his retirement… It’s not impossible that the old lady’s death had other reasons. However, such a big matter, how could a villager know it?”

“So, the relationship between the villager and Wei’s Family is not simple.” Qi Jiulu smiled and said, “It is said that an administrator of Wei’s Family’s harem had a mistress, and she gave birth to a boy and a girl. The wife of the administrator who served the old lady of Wei’s Family was aggressive and jealous, but was trusted by the old lady, and even Wei Changkong respected her. The administrator therefore did not dare to let anyone know about his affair, and hid his mistress and children. Because his wife gave birth to only four daughters, and had no boy, so the administrator was more partial to another three outside. Therefore, the mistress saved a lot of fortune, and knew a lot of news of the harem of Wei’s Family.”

Anyway, it was a vivid story. The administrator and his wife both were servants of Wei’s Family for generations, and their daughters naturally served the children of Wei’s Family. At that time, Wei Changkong had already joined the Imperial Court. Suddenly he wrote a letter home, saying that there were a lot of businesses in Dijing and he needed extra people. The old lady of Wei’s Family did not dare to neglect and chose a group of people. Among them, there were the two daughters of the administrator and his wife.

Soon after the two daughters arrived in Dijing, the old lady of Wei’s Family died of illness… According to what the woman who claimed herself the mistress of the administrator, it was Wei Changkong’s plot. He deceived and got the two daughters as hostages, and then forced the couple to poison the hostess, so that he could retire and return home.

Of course, after the couple did this, they were killed quickly.

Fortunately, the mistress and her children had never been known, and escaped from it. However, they were very scared and pretended to be calm. After the thing passed, they packed their expensive clothing and other valuables quickly and moved to another place.

The reason why she came to Censorate Department, in her words, was that, “Although I didn’t marry him, he had regarded me as his wife. At that time, my children were young. My husband had already gone, and Wei Changkong was very powerful. It didn’t matter if I had died. However, if my children had died as well, I would have been shamed to face my husband. Now my children have grown up and they miss their father very much. Thinking for a long time, I have nothing to worry about. Therefore, I come to Dijing to avenge my husband… Please, I beg all Your Excellency for investigation to give justice to my husband!”

Hearing this, Yun Fenghuang chuckled and said, “Is this woman dead?”

“Of course.” Qi Jiulu said casually, “After she wept out her grief, she ran her head against the pillar and died. At this time, people all over Dijing City are talking about this, and some people even wrote nursery rhymes, such as the late Emperor valued Liu Shou, but Mr. Lingshan was as timid as a chicken; although his article was excellent and elegant; he killed his mother to keep away from imperial relatives… even the Prince Regent is included in these rhymes.”

Yun Fenghuang looked at Gongxiang Xiao, who wore a heavy look and said, “Maybe it was done by Ji’s Family.”

It was said that Prince Regent governed the Imperial City Division, which served the Emperor to monitor all officials except for safeguarding the Imperial Palace. Therefore, even the outsiders did not know that Wei Changkong once killed his mother, how could the Prince Regent not know? However, he still hired this man to be the tutor of his second legitimate son. Maybe he was more interested in the trick that Wei Changkong played by killing mother instead of his knowledge?

After all, many people knew that the relationship between the Prince Regent and Queen Mother Ji was really not good.

It was said that the early death of the Prince Regent’s biological mother had something to do with Queen Mother Ji…

“It is not strange.” Yun Fenghuang said, “It was originally directed at Prince Regent’s Mansion. How could it be possible to only expose Mr. Lingshan but let go of the Mansion? But I assume the Prince Regent could deal with this matter, right?”

Gongxiang Xiao was silent before saying, “My father did not want to see me and only said that I didn’t have to worry because he had arrangements.”

Although Gongxiang Xiao also knew that since his father had been able to be the Prince Regent for so long, it was indeed impossible for him to be dealt with easily. But the incident was more serious. He was upset in his heart and wanted to care about it, but was simply rejected by Prince Regent…

If there were only the Prince Regent and Gongxiang Xiao in the Mansion, maybe he could make excuses for his father, such as being busy. But because of the existence of his stepmother and his half-brother, it was very easy for Gongxiang Xiao to feel disappointed and rejected.

“Since the Prince Regent said that, you should just watch the changes.” But neither Yun Fenghuang nor Qi Jiulu meant to comfort him. Yun Fenghuang said indifferently, “It was your father who asked Mr. Lingshan to be the tutor anyway and Mr. Lingshan is the teacher of your younger brother. It has little relationship with you.”

Gongxiang Xiao was in a bad mood and asked with a sullen face, “Is there anything special about the Imperial Harem besides Jie Yu Yue’s pregnancy?”

“As for the current position of me, you should be clearer about the situation of the Imperial Harem.” Yun Fenghuang estimated that he wanted to investigate the Prince Regent’s response from her, and she spread her hands regretfully, “I found out today that the marriages of the three princesses are quite meaningful, but you should know it long ago, right?”

“You mean Ji Minggan and Jinyun?” Gongxiang Xiao frowned and said casually, “Ji Minggan really likes to tease Jinyun, but Ji’s Family originally plans to let him marry Minghui. Jinyun is not a fool and she didn’t dare to compete with Minghui. She only wishes their marriage could be finalized earlier.”

Yun Fenghuang froze for a moment. She just sounded out, but did not expect it to be true, “Then General Zheng and Princess Penglai?”

“Great-Concubine Shen wants to find a good family for her daughter wholeheartedly, but she was born in a humble family, and now is always in the Imperial Harem. How could she know the children of all families?” Gongxiang Xiao said, “She can only pick up from His Majesty’s reading partners. I am the cousin of the princess, Yuan Ke is the nephew of Earl Xingning and Yun Qike is the son of Duke Yi. Queen Mother Ji dislikes them. Both Great-Concubine Shen and her daughter live under her control, and they absolutely didn’t dare to get along with these two families. In addition, Ji Minggan has been matched to Minghui secretly, and Deng Chengzhai’s dismal temperament is not pleasing… Of course she could only count on Zheng Fengchen. However, Zheng Fengchen seems to have no crush on Penglai… He is thoughtful and short-spoken. I cannot understand him.”

He shook his head and changed a topic, saying, “The reason that you urge us to meet is for Jie Yu Yue’s pregnancy, right? Did she embarrass you?”

He glanced at Qi Jiulu, revealing a trace of dark pleasure, “I heard that she rushed to Tai Chu Palace to report happily today, but happened to see that you were flirting with His Majesty.”

“What flirting are you talking about? We just pretended.” Yun Fenghuang had no expression, and said casually, “Yuan Lianniang is not a threat to me. The reason I meet you is: Queen Mother Ji does not like Ji Minggan, and does not want to match Princess Minghui to him. But for the sake of Ji’s Family, she could not refuse it directly. Therefore, His wise Majesty took the opportunity to recommend me to think of an idea to cancel the marriage… I was bargaining with him, and Jie Yu Yue went there.”

Gongxiang Xiao smiled and asked, “And then? You haven’t suffered, right?”

“What can I suffer?” Yun Fenghuang chuckled, “Shizi, let’s get to the point: if the marriage between Princess Minghui and Ji Minggan is not smooth, the one to be blamed is His Majesty…”

“I am afraid that His Majesty is not so stupid.” Before she finished, Qi Jiulu interrupted, “And Queen Mother Ji has only one daughter, Princess Minghui. Once the princess has an accident, she will inevitably take it seriously. By then, not only you, the people arranged by the Imperial City Division, and even the arrangement of the Prince Regent in the Imperial Harem may be involved in this matter.”

Gongxiang Xiao glanced at him, didn’t reveal that he was just worried about Yun Fenghuang, and said, “Since Ji Minggan has no crush on Princess Minghui and Queen Mother Ji also opposes it, you can help them. It is not only good for you to show yourself in front of Queen Mother Ji, but also good for Princess Minghui.”

He sighed, “Although I don’t like Ji’s Family… Minghui is the daughter of the previous Emperor after all.”

The previous Emperor and the Prince Regent had a good relationship. As he was taught by the Prince Regent personally in his early years, Gongxiang Xiao also had the same feelings for the previous Emperor. Therefore, he had no hostility toward the three princesses. Instead, he cared about them like a brother.

Thinking it over, he said, “I heard that Jie Yu Yue was pregnant, and thought that you might be in trouble. But since Queen Mother Ji wants you to do something, we don’t need to worry for the time being.”

“Shizi?” Qi Jiulu immediately looked at Gongxiang Xiao when he almost finished his words.

Gongxiang Xiao twitched his lips and said helplessly, “I see.”

He got up and walked away.

Yun Fenghuang frowned to think about things, and then glanced at him after seeing this, “Since he has gone, why are you still here?”

“… I have something to tell you.” Qi Jiulu touched his nose through the veil and said obediently, “Promise me first, don’t be angry…”

Then Yun Fenghuang immediately got angry, “Don’t tell me the bitch Chao Jingyou is also pregnant?!”

“It’s impossible!” Qi Jiulu quickly said, “I never go to her room! If she is pregnant, Chao’s Family will be shameless!”

Yun Fenghuang sneered, and said softly, “Looking at your guilty look, it’s definitely not a good thing!”

Qi Jiulu said cautiously, “Prince Regent’s Mansion… um… gave… um… gave me two beautiful maids…” Seeing Yun Fenghuang looked at himself with big eyes, he became more and more nervous, “I didn’t want to accept them. But Shizi told me in private that the maids in the Mansion had already noticed that I had no crush on Chao Jingyou, so they suggested that the administrator should send me some beautiful maids. If I didn’t accept, probably, they would send me some handsome boys…”

“… It’s just two beautiful maids.” Yun Fenghuang narrowed her eyes and forced a smile after a while, “You don’t tell your wife about this kind of thing but me. It is not me who would accept their respect after they join your family!”

Qi Jiulu said seriously, “If you were my wife, it would not happen.”

The words made them silent for a moment. Yun Fenghuang sighed and said, “Well, it’s not a big deal. I’m a concubine in the Imperial Harem. Can I blame you for not being able to take charge of your life? But you have to be careful. Nowadays, you have a close relationship with Shizi. Prince Regent’s Step Prince may dislike you. As for the beautiful maids… the real master behind them is unknown.”

“If we are still in Kong Que Hill,” Hearing this, Qi Jiulu said sadly, “would you still treat me like you did to me before?”

That year, he went crazy and rode a horse out. He took a short cut to catch up with the team of Xie’s Family at Kong Que Hill. The team was supposed to send Yun Fenghuang to Dijing. He invited her to elope together with him.

At that time, it was very cold and snowy. Qi Jiulu rushed out and didn’t even wear a fur coat. He didn’t know how he could go so far only in a robe with two layers—maybe there was full of fire in his heart.

The fifteen-year-old boy stood in front of the team, with thick frost and snow on his hair and eyebrows, and a blood mark swept by the branches on his cheek. Without flowing, the blood mixed with sweat and snow and became pink ice which covered half of his face.

He was exhausted at the end, but his back was still as straight as a javelin. His eyes were dazzling, with a trace of unrelenting determination on his face. He ignored the scolding and warning of guards and maids of Xie’s Family, and even ignored several long bows slowly drawn in the team. With white-feather arrows pointing to his head, he neglected them and stretched out his hand towards the carriage, “Huang, follow me!”

He never thought Yun Fenghuang would reject him.

She simply refused him, as decisively as he wanted to take her away.