zChapter 926 - Dear Wife, Look, It Is the Dead of Night (1/2)
After many months, the trial of the eighth prince about the mine incident was still carrying on. Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng had gone to visit Xu Jing Yuan. It had to be known that this case was not that easy to try. Although there were people acting as witnesses, the eighth prince claimed that those people were framing him. Adding in all of the concubines of the imperial harem helping him tidy up, a number of problems had been created. This led to the trial becoming more and more complicated.
Although the members of the imperial family that were part of the eighth prince’s faction were women that had been sent into the palace and ended up without children, which resulted in their maternal families not being able to stand as tall as the first and second rank officials, the Emperor had given these people quite the lucrative positions to make it up to these people. It was for the sake of keeping these people quiet and to ensure that they did not cause trouble by using Imperial Concubine Yun as a talking point.
It was also because of this that Xu Jing Yuan was running into all kinds of difficulties with this trial. It was practically every day that he would need to put up with difficulties that came from all angles. But while there was no actual progress in the case, Xu Jing Yuan had forced the eighth prince to report to the Board of Punishments every day, leaving him no time to worry about the matters of the court. Thinking about it that way, it was quite beneficial.
But Xuan Tian Ming said that ever since they had returned to the capital, the eighth prince had changed quite a bit, as had the path that he was taking. He began to inquire about the Emperor’s well-being. Aside from attending court, he would make daily visits to pay respects to the Emperor. He would say nothing else aside from asking if he was in good health and say some kind words. This information had come from Zhang Yuan. The Emperor was getting older and older. While he might have been proud and demanding of his sons in the past, when people reached this age, they would begin to cherish family bonds more and more. That was why the eighth prince’s actions were quite to the Emperor’s liking.
When Xuan Tian Ming said this, it was time for bed, and the two were laying in bed. Unable to fall asleep, they simply began to chat. Feng Yu Heng said: “How about you also go into the palace more often? Old eighth can’t be allowed to enjoy this on his own.”
Xuan Tian Ming shook his head and said: “I never wanted that throne. Why bother going to mess around with old eighth like this? If he really can focus his efforts on something proper and just, while no longer harming the circumstances of the common citizens for the sake of obtaining the throne, and while governing well, so what if the imperial throne is given to him? It’s just a pity that his heart is not in the right place. If I tolerate his sinister actions, I fear that the ones to bear the burden in the future will be the people of this world.”
“Yet you still won’t go and fawn on Father Emperor?” Feng Yu Heng said: “You even understand the reasoning, yet you still say that you won’t meddle with him?”
Xuan Tian Ming continued: “It’s not that I won’t go mess with him. Instead, I feel that him doing all of this isn’t going to have much effect. The old man is growing to be more and more muddled by the day, but he’s actually quite sharp! Or it might be that the old man wanted us to compete at the beginning, but old eighth’s actions have been exposed. I fear that he himself has already given up on that idea. Where is there any need for this prince to tear him down?”
“That’s also true.” Feng Yu Heng pondered to herself for a while then said: “I fear that the matter with the mine won’t be able to trip him up, but he can’t get off easily for that evil. I still want to think of a way to regain what we’ve lost from him. After all, the reparations that I paid added up to quite a large sum. I need to go and claim this expense.”
Xuan Tian Ming laughed, “Wasn’t that large sum stolen from his place? You didn’t suffer a loss. But regardless of who actually owned the stolen things, since they fell into our hands, they belong to us. Paying it out will feel quite distressing. Husband supports you in trying to seek recompense, but there is no need to rush on this matter. We can discuss it properly at a later time. Right now, the most pressing matter… dear wife, look, it’s the dead of night. The dark of night has spread, the night is silent, the moonlight is dim, and the wind is strong…”
“What are you trying to express?” Feng Yu Heng was completely speechless. He had even mentioned that the moonlight was dim and the wind was strong. Was he wanting to go and kill someone?
Of course, it was not to go and kill someone, but someone would definitely be eaten. A certain person rolled over and used their actions to express themselves…
The next day, Xuan Tian Ming went to court, while the little lamb that had been eaten for half a night slept until noon before waking up.
In the Imperial Palace, the eighth prince went straight to visit Noble Lady Yuan after court was dismissed. He then very helplessly spoke about the recent situation with the Board of Punishments.
Noble Lady Yuan was frustrated from hearing about it and could not help but complain: “You too, the things that you did were not done well. How many times have I told you not to trust people so easily? Since you intend to use people, you need to get a firm grasp on people to ensure that they will not turn around and bite you. You need to have a grasp of something or someone that they care about. Only people like that can be used.”