Chapter 195: The Next Steps
“Has General Chai left today?”
“General Chai must leave today.”
“I bet he didn’t leave. He went to Dali Temple again yesterday.”
“So what? Ji Ying said personally that it wasn’t Marquis Yichun who ordered him to slaughter White Horse Town.”
“Heh, not ordering him doesn’t mean not ordering others. Haven’t you heard? Duke Ding’an’s younger sister who died in White Horse Town, she and His Majesty were…”
“So in the end, did they get married or just get engaged back then?”
“It must have been marriage. They even had a child…”
“That’s what I said. They said the princesses were reading, but how did the Libationer suddenly take the insignificant Miss Yang as a disciple.”
“So she was a princess too.”
“What what? Weren’t we talking about General Chai? How did another princess pop up?”
The teahouse was bustling early in the morning.
That day at the palace banquet, there was first an assassin, then Ji Ying, who was thought to be dead, appeared, and then Marquis Yichun’s second son, General Gaoyang, returned to celebrate a birthday, but after the birthday celebration ended, he was invited to Dali Temple.
The White Horse Town case, which had originally sunk into silence and was about to be forgotten by everyone, once again stirred up attention, but not because of the case itself, but because of the identity of the person involved.
The Emperor’s ex-wife, a princess who had fallen into the folk.
Of course, neither the Imperial Court nor Dali Temple mentioned this, but that didn’t stop the streets and alleys from spreading discussions everywhere.
Standing in the corridor, the old man looked at the noisy lobby, smiled, and turned to go inside.
“This Miss Yang’s princess identity is now known to everyone.” The companion sitting in the hall said, “Young Prince Mo didn’t fuss for nothing.”
“What fuss was there besides the princess identity.” The old man said, “There’s also Marquis Yichun’s family’s future prospects.”
This Young Prince Mo didn’t just make Miss Yang recognize a father and gain a princess identity; he also cleared dangers for Miss Yang and deterred the petty villains.
Only then could this princess sit securely.
Only then could he gain the princess’s full trust and also earn the Emperor’s attention.
However…
The old man frowned and asked: “No suspicious people have been found around Miss Yang yet?”
“It’s even worse than before now.” The companion said, “Before, when reading at the National Academy, there were plenty of male students at the National Academy. Ever since the assassination attempt, she’s only been by the Emperor’s side. Except for Young Master A Jiao, no one gets close.”
“Young Master A Jiao saved Miss Yang again?” The old man’s brows furrowed tightly.
The companion nodded: “The young master still hasn’t recovered from the injuries he got last time for this Miss Yang, and this time he almost lost his life.”
The old man stood up and paced a few steps.
“I always feel something’s not right.” He said, “Did you see their people yesterday?”
The companion nodded again: “I did, but Sheng You said that maidservant didn’t have time to see us, and now they don’t need our help, just told us to watch the show.” He said with a cold laugh, “Didn’t you see that woman named Tao Hua, with her arrogant face, as if they had already become the new masters of this new dynasty.”
He stood up.
“Do they know that their smooth sailing now isn’t because we did something, but because we did nothing.”
If they had leaked even a little to the government, they wouldn’t be able to help Miss Yang tear and bite at Marquis Yichun; this Miss Yang would have to disappear without a trace in the Capital City first.
“We should give this Young Prince Mo a little lesson, to stop them from being arrogant and mistaking our goodwill for servility.”
The old man hesitated in expression, about to say something, when the outer door was knocked on. As the person came in, the clamor from the hall surged in instantly.
“…go take a look—”
“…right at the city gate—”
“…that person with disheveled hair, holding a bloody letter—”
The door was immediately closed, blocking the clamor. The newcomer stood still in front of the two indoors.
“Sure enough, Chai Du can’t leave. The biggest trump card has appeared.” He said, “Just now, Marquis Yichun’s family made a big show of seeing Chai Du off at the city gate, but as soon as Chai Du mounted his horse, out came Chai Du’s deputy general, holding a bloody letter, accusing Chai Du of using private soldiers to slaughter White Horse Town…”
The old man and the companion didn’t show much surprise in their expressions; it was already within expectations.
“This time the Emperor is going to fall out with Marquis Yichun’s family.” The old man said, “I’ll write a letter to the Great General.”
“The news must have already been sent.” The newcomer said.
The Great General’s people in the Capital City each had their duties; they were responsible for dealings with Young Prince Mo and his group, while the movements in the Capital City were handled by others.
The old man still sat down: “I’ll tell the Great General about recent events in detail and ask him to decide whether to continue being kind to this Young Prince Mo or to give him some lessons.”
……
……
The noise on the street didn’t dissipate with the departure of Chai Du and the others; more and more people got the news, and even those who hadn’t seen it with their own eyes gathered on the street to inquire and discuss.
Even standing by the street-facing windowside, one could feel the clamor hitting in the face.
Hong Lin reached out to close the window, turned around, and looked at Mo Zheng sitting indoors.
“I didn’t expect her to use the Li family people like this.” He said softly.
It was already grabbing the Li clan’s handle, but Yang Luo didn’t directly have His Majesty arrest the Li family; instead, she continued using the Li clan’s evidence to frame Chai Du.
To say something inappropriate, after pulling out the Li family, she actually knew that the Chai Clan wasn’t the killer, and she had no grudge with the Chai Clan.
So why was she still doing this? Wasn’t it…
Mo Zheng gently poured tea: “Her doing this isn’t strange. Although the Chai Clan didn’t kill her and her mother, at that time they didn’t want to, or rather disdained to act, but from the moment Yang Luo walked out and reached the Emperor’s side, the Chai Clan wouldn’t tolerate her.”
She could understand; Miss Yang had died once and didn’t want to be fish meat on someone else’s chopping board again. Facing the Chai Clan full of malice, she had to strike first and wouldn’t give others a chance to harm her again.
Hong Lin frowned slightly: “I’m just afraid these pieces of evidence from the Li family won’t be enough against Marquis Yichun, after all, Marquis Yichun has status and power, and his ties with His Majesty are not ordinary…”
Mo Zheng held the teacup; indeed, according to what Yang Luo had said about that previous life, the Li clan must have used these things to frame Marquis Yichun too, but in the end there wasn’t any shocking result; ultimately, they still used Yang Luo’s death…
“Miss.”
Yang Luo’s voice came from outside, and the door was pushed open as she came in with light, brisk steps.
“You saw it with your own eyes, right.”
Mo Zheng gestured to the person outside the door, and the door was pulled shut, isolating the outside world.
Yang Luo also dropped her feigned joy. Mo Zheng handed her the teacup, and she took it and sat down.
“…I just saw it; Marquis Yichun’s face looked really bad.” She said with a light laugh, then looked at Hong Lin, “Uncle Hong, I’ve already told His Majesty that you all were left to me by my mother. Next, I’ll have His Majesty give you secret guard identities, specifically to protect me, so your identities will be safe, it’ll be convenient to do things, and you won’t have to worry about inquiries from the government.”
A smile appeared on Hong Lin’s face: “Thank you, miss. Now we don’t have to live in fear.”
Yang Luo looked at Mo Zheng and saw the admiring smile on Mo Zheng’s face; she breathed a sigh of relief.
She had no martial prowess and no reliable manpower; all along, she’d relied on Mo Zheng and these people for protection.
Now, she finally had a bit of power and could give back to them.
Although this power was borrowed from the Emperor.
But why not use it if she could borrow it? Yes, her mother didn’t recognize him as her husband, but their mother and daughter’s suffering was all brought by him.
Using his power was what she deserved.
“Miss.” Yang Luo drained the tea in one gulp and spoke again in the joyful, excited tone a maidservant should have, “Let’s go to Dali Temple and see how His Majesty interrogates Chai Du.”
Mo Zheng stood up but didn’t move, saying softly: “I have a new idea about what to do next.”
Yang Luo hurriedly said: “Tell me.” Then she nodded, looked at Mo Zheng with a smile, “I’ll listen to you.”
Although she hadn’t said it yet, she would listen to her on everything.
What Mo Zheng said was always beneficial to her.
Actually, this chapter isn’t finished; I have to go out for something, and I need to take a couple days off tomorrow and the day after. Everyone can save up chapters; we’ll soon progress to the next new plot point.
