Tianliangyuan

Chapter 164: The Cicada in the Nest?

This matter has caused a huge uproar.

Emperor Yong'an was furious. He never imagined that right under his nose, an unborn child would be murdered.

Consort Jiang looked terrified and was still kneeling in the hall, while the Empress sat beside the Emperor with a compassionate expression, occasionally offering words of comfort.

“Your Majesty, you are the ruler of the country and are busy with countless affairs of state. The affairs of the harem should be handled by me. The matter of Consort Jiang’s miscarriage is due to my poor management. I will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly and give Consort Jiang an explanation.”

Emperor Yong'an's anger had subsided considerably by this time.

"She's just a concubine, why should the Empress have to explain herself! It was her own carelessness that she didn't even let anyone taste the food properly before eating it. In my opinion, she's destined to be childless."

That sounds so heartless.

And that is indeed the case.

When Emperor Yong'an learned that Jiang Yu was pregnant, he generously gave her many gifts. The Empress also specially arranged for two experienced maids to come and take care of her. However, Jiang Yu was perhaps too arrogant. She disliked being managed and refused to listen to advice. Without waiting for the palace maids to try it, she started eating it herself.

Now that things have turned out this way, who can we blame?

Isn't it just that she wasn't careful enough?

That's what they said, but the Empress couldn't take it seriously. After all, the Emperor's will was unpredictable, and who knew if he would change his mind later?

"Your Majesty, Jiang has been wronged. We should let her recover first, as she will need to serve Your Majesty in the future."

Emperor Yong'an snorted coldly and reprimanded them a few more times before Empress Qu and Consort Jiang withdrew one after the other.

"Xie Zheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"You are in charge of interrogating Physician Liu's family. I want to see who is so audacious as to plot against me!"

"Your Majesty, may I ask what you wish to interrogate me about?"

Xie Zheng was a Lieutenant General, not a member of the Court of Judicial Review or the Ministry of Justice. He genuinely felt that His Majesty had made a mistake in appointing him.

But they dared not say it directly, and could only pretend to be stupid and ask.

"Let's find out who the Liu family accepted bribes from, or we can just confiscate their property!"

What Xie Zheng didn't know was that this was a scandal involving internal strife within the royal family, and Emperor Yong'an would never actually send the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review or the Ministry of Justice to investigate it.

If they get involved, wouldn't that be announcing it to the whole world?

Therefore, Xie Zheng has to investigate, and it has to be a secret investigation; not a single word can be revealed to anyone!

Xie Zheng felt this job was difficult.

But he dared not disobey the imperial decree and could only obey and return to the Liu residence.

Physician Liu is currently being held in the palace, presumably being interrogated by the Empress.

As for the Liu family, Emperor Yong'an specially arranged for a eunuch to accompany them.

Xie Zheng felt that with His Majesty's men accompanying him, things should be easier.

After a thorough search, Xie Zheng placed the items before the eunuch: "I have already inquired and found that this item was a gift from a lady named Wang Jing. This Wang Jing lives in Tong'an Ward and works in the Prince Zhong's residence, but she does not hold any official position. Moreover, everyone in the Liu family said that they do not know Wang Jing, but have only had a few interactions with his wife."

Xie Zheng presented several confessions, along with physical evidence, and asked the eunuch to take them back to the palace to report.

"I'll trouble you to make this trip, Your Excellency. I'm here with men to keep watch. As for how to proceed, I'll leave it to Your Majesty to decide."

"Alright, thank you for your help, General Xie."

Such a big matter made Xie Zheng feel as if he had stumbled upon royal secrets, and he felt somewhat agitated.

Soon, an imperial decree was issued: Physician Liu had prescribed the wrong medicine for Consort Jiang, causing her to miscarry. He was sentenced to beheading, his family was exiled a thousand miles away, his mansion was confiscated, and he was to leave the capital the next day!

That's incredibly fast.

With someone else taking over the rest, Xie Zheng was finally able to go home.

But he felt uneasy and started climbing over the wall to enter the Marquis's residence again.

This time, instead of seeing Xu Zhaozhao, I saw Lord Xu standing at the entrance of Ziyuan Garden with a lance in his hand, looking as if he was waiting to stab Xie Zheng, that flower thief!

Upon seeing his future father-in-law, Xie Zheng's legs went weak. Seeing Xu Hou walking towards him with a spear, he didn't have time to think and turned to run away.

Haha, we've gone back the way we came!

Enraged, Xu Han stood there cursing loudly, looking as if he wanted to go to the kid's house and give him a good beating.

After confirming that Xie Zheng had left, Xu Han tossed the lance to the guard and swaggered into the Purple Garden, only exchanging a few words with Xu Zhaozhao through the gate.

"It's getting late, so you should read less to avoid damaging your eyes. Tonight, I'll keep watch at the gate of your Ziyuan Garden, and I promise you'll sleep soundly!"

Xu Zhaozhao, inside the room, felt both amused and exasperated.

Is Father angry at Xie Zheng, or at himself?

“Father, it’s getting late. You should go back and rest. It would be bad if Mother came looking for us.”

Xu Han, who was afraid of his wife, glared at his daughter with great displeasure upon hearing this: "Hmph! If I find that brat climbing over the wall again, I'll break his legs!"

Xu Zhaozhao smiled and nodded, then stepped forward and took Xu Han's arm to walk out: "Yes, yes, Father is right. It's all because Xie Sanlang doesn't know the rules. When you see him in the future, you must give him a good scolding."

Seeing that his daughter was still on his side, Xu Han felt much better.

Xu Han really wanted to beat Xie Zheng up. This kid was so inconsiderate. They were already engaged. If he wanted to see Zhao Zhao, he should just come in through the main gate. It wasn't like the Xu family wouldn't let him in. Why did he have to be so sneaky?

If someone sees this, it will ruin Zhao Zhao's reputation!

When Xie Zheng was on duty the next day, he was scolded by Xu Han. Because they were in the palace, Xu Han tried his best to control his voice.

"Come to my house after you finish your shift today. Zhao Zhao is giving me some new wine as a gift, and I'll invite you to have a cup too. Remember, come in openly and honestly, don't act like you're doing something shameful."

"Yes, father-in-law!"

"Ok?"

Xie Zheng looked completely at ease and didn't think there was anything wrong with addressing him that way.

After all, the two had been engaged for a long time, so calling him "father-in-law" wasn't excessive.

But Xu Han just didn't like that title. He always felt that if he accepted it, his daughter would belong to someone else, which made him uncomfortable!

"Hmph! Slippery mouth!"

Xie Zheng grinned, but didn't dare laugh out loud.

That evening, the father-in-law and son-in-law drank several cups of wine, but because it was fruit wine, they were not drunk.

"Third brother, take him to the Purple Garden. Don't let the two of them be alone together. Keep a close eye on them, and don't let them talk for more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Got it?"

"Yes, father."

Xu Junting knew his father's intentions, and he also hated Xie Zheng, that bastard, for having the right to kidnap his sister.

Xu Junting made a decision: from now on, every time the two of them meet, he will keep a close eye on them, not missing a single detail. He refused to believe that the kid would dare to do anything improper!