Chapter 344: Xie Shi'an's Scheme
Yun Chu was holding Jue Ge'er, who had just finished nursing, basking in the sun.
The physician said that newborn babies needed plenty of sunlight to grow strong bones and height.
Although she had two children before, this was her first time caring for an infant. Whenever the wet nurse finished feeding, Yun Chu would take the baby into her arms to soothe him.
After Jue Ge'er fell asleep, she would sit quietly by the cradle reading.
Soon, Ting Shuang came to report some matters, and she tiptoed out of the room.
"Princess Consort, Prince Gongxi has been placed under house arrest by the Emperor," Ting Shuang reported the palace news. "The Gui family has been implicated and removed from their positions for investigation. The situation in the palace has undergone earth-shaking changes. Originally, the Empress's authority over the six palaces was partially divided to Consort Hui. Now that the Gui family is in trouble, Consort Hui has also been confined to her palace. The Empress has regained control of the rear palace, and the Gongsun family is finally able to hold their heads high..."
Not only was Prince of Pacifying the West Manor discussing this matter.
The entire capital was also talking about it, making it the main topic of conversation among officials, nobles, and commoners during their leisure time.
"Hey, have you heard? Prince Gongxi has been deposed. Tsk tsk, being the emperor's son isn't such a good thing after all. How many have met with misfortune now?"
"Prince Gongxi brought it upon himself. Instead of doing proper things, he actually committed imperial examination fraud. If he weren't a prince, he would probably have lost his head by now."
"I always wondered why that exceptionally talented son of a humble family didn't even pass the Presented Scholar exam a few years ago. So it was because he didn't have connections with Prince Gongxi. What a pity."
"Who knows how many students from poor families have been ruined like this. Prince Gongxi truly deserves this."
"My grandson is so brilliant, he's definitely Presented Scholar material. He didn't pass last year - it must have been Prince Gongxi's doing. I won't let him get away with this!"
"My son was also ruined because of this!"
"..."
Family members of scholars, furious to the extreme, gathered and rushed to the gates of Gongxi Royal Mansion, throwing stones at the entrance.
Some passersby, filled with righteous indignation, continuously threw rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables.
Chu Mo stood in the front courtyard of the mansion, clearly hearing the curses of countless people at the gate and the thumping sounds of the main door being pelted.
He clenched his fists tightly: "Ruffians! A bunch of ruffians!"
Servants in the mansion knelt in terror.
A group of Counselors trembled under the corridor eaves. As members of Gongxi Royal Mansion, they were also confined along with it, including Xie Shi'an.
"Weren't you all so eloquent on ordinary days? Why are you mute now?"
Chu Mo looked at the several dozen Counselors, picked up a cup from his hand and threw it at them. The unlucky one standing at the front was hit on the forehead and collapsed to the ground.
The Counselors were so frightened they all knelt down, except for Xie Shi'an.
He had grown much taller over the past year, already reaching the height of a normal man. When everyone knelt, he appeared even taller.
He lowered his head and walked over: "Your Highness need not be disheartened."
"It's all your fault!" Chu Mo immediately slapped Xie Shi'an across the face. "If you hadn't told me that Chu Yi was investigating the imperial examination matter, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of silencing witnesses, and the witnesses wouldn't have fallen into Chu Yi's hands! Tell me, are you a spy sent by Chu Yi?"
He reached out and grabbed Xie Shi'an by the neck.Xie Shi'an was nearly choked unconscious. The servant by his side quickly reminded, "Your Highness, Xie Shi'an has always been clever. Perhaps he has some ideas. If he resorts to cunning words, you can always kill him later."
Only then did Chu Mo release him.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Xie Shi'an clutched his neck as he fell to the ground. A flicker of coldness passed through his eyes before being replaced by an expression of deference.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving Xie a chance." He knelt on the ground. "Everyone knows the Crown Prince is mediocre. The Fourth Prince is dead, the Fifth Prince has been deposed, the Sixth Prince is disabled, the Eighth Prince has been sent far away to his fiefdom, and the Ninth and Tenth Princes are still too young... Although the Emperor has ten sons, the only ones truly capable of great tasks are Your Highness and Prince Pingxi! If both the Crown Prince and Prince Pingxi were to encounter misfortune, the Emperor would be left with only Your Highness as a capable son to support the Great Liang. In that case, would the Emperor still punish Your Highness?"
Chu Mo narrowed his eyes. "Are you suggesting that I should simultaneously deal with the Crown Prince and the third brother? Hah, you overestimate me too much!"
Not to mention, he was currently under house arrest, monitored by his father's men. He didn't have such capability!
"Your Highness, Guogong Furen—no, I should say Consort Jin—should be put to use now. She should be more than sufficient to deal with the Empress. Once the Empress falls, the Crown Prince will naturally collapse." Xie Shi'an raised his head. "As for Prince Pingxi, Xie is willing to serve as the vanguard to prove my unwavering loyalty to Your Highness. I beg Your Highness to give the order!"
Chu Mo pondered.
Since he had formed an alliance with Li Jingshu, she had repeatedly targeted the Empress, causing the Empress to lose control over the harem.
This proved that Li Jingshu indeed had some destructive power against the Empress and could be coerced or tempted.
As for the third brother... dealing with him was truly troublesome. Using Xie Shi'an to test the waters wouldn't be a bad idea.
After some thought, he said, "Since ancient times, witchcraft has been the imperial family's greatest taboo. See if you can use this to target Prince Pingxi's Manor?"
Xie Shi'an cupped his hands. "Xie understands Your Highness's meaning. Xie will go and handle it immediately!"
Prince of Pacifying the West Manor.
In these troubled times, Yun Chu increased patrols to prevent anyone from breaking into the manor at night.
Guards were stationed outside the manor, and many more were inside, making the entire estate impenetrable.
Late at night, Chu Yi finally returned. Seeing Jue Ge'er asleep in Yun Chu's arms, he called the wet nurse to take the child away.
"Chu'er, I've made you worry along with me." Chu Yi lay down beside her. "As you predicted, Chu Mo isn't behaving even under house arrest. He sent people to secretly meet with Consort Jin, Li Jingshu. Next, the Empress will likely face unrest."
Yun Chu asked, "Has there been any progress after the imperial physicians treated that madwoman for a year?"
"That madwoman is too far gone." Chu Yi's eyes darkened. "I investigated and came to a conclusion—though without evidence, so take it as you will. The madwoman always calls out 'Er Lang,' which should be referring to my father. She likely had an entanglement with my father around the same time as Li Jingshu in their youth. Out of jealousy, Li Jingshu schemed to drive the madwoman insane and had her imprisoned in a manor for nearly thirty years."
Yun Chu pondered. "I don't think it's as you say..."
After a year of treatment with no improvement, it was probably hopeless.
To uncover the truth, it seemed they would have to visit the Li family.
Because of Li Jingshu, the Li family had been promoted and granted titles over the years. Now, Official Li held a second-rank position in the court.It so happened that the Lady Dowager of the Li family was celebrating her birthday next.
Under normal circumstances, a birthday banquet shouldn't be held at such a critical moment. However, the Lady Dowager happened to be turning eighty-eight this year—an extremely auspicious age. Moreover, invitations had been sent out half a year ago, making it inappropriate to cancel at this point. Thus, they had no choice but to proceed with the banquet despite the circumstances.
Yun Chu brought Changsheng to attend the banquet.
Over the past year or two, with Xie Xian serving as her study companion, Changsheng's personality had grown increasingly bold. She, who had never dared to attend banquets before, was gradually becoming accustomed to them.
At times, she would even chat with other young ladies from noble families of similar age at these banquets and had made two or three friends.
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