Chapter 327: The person that Emperor Tianhui fancies (1/2)

Chapter 327: The person that Emperor Tianhui fancies

Xiao Zhengxin immediately rebuked the second imperial prince for his impudence. “Tianqing, you cannot be rude to esteemed wangfei!”

Xiao Zhengxin was the second imperial prince’s maternal grandfather. If not for family hierarchy, he should be referring to his grandson as Second Imperial Prince. That was his usual custom, but everything had changed. If not for Xiao Zhengxin and the Duke of Qin’s backing, Noble Consort Xiao would definitely come to grief much sooner, much less this second imperial prince.

“Grandfather, we’re all supporters of the Duke of Qin. Of course she has to save mufei!” the second imperial prince said unhappily. He used to be the most favored imperial son and more popular than the crown prince. But now his status had dropped drastically, so he found things intolerable. Like his Imperial Father, he’d long harbored dissatisfaction towards His Highness Duke of Qin. It was the Crown Prince Long Tianmo who’d respected that man. And yet someone, his family had ended up on the Duke of Qin’s side thanks to his grandfather’s declaration!

He and mufei had suffered much, thanks to his grandfather concealing everything from them!

The second imperial prince was thoroughly discontent. If possible, he’d choose his Imperial Father, because Emperor Tianhui already had plans to get rid of the crown prince. As for pledging loyalty to the Duke of Qin–he’d already made a fool of himself at the birthday banquet, so how could the man ever let him stand out again?

“Tianqing, you cannot be impudent!” Xiao Zhengxin was stern.

Long Tianqing felt resentful. “In any case, she still has to save mufei!”

Han Yunxi had no idea why a man like Emperor Tianhui had once cast Long Tianmo aside in favor of this idiot! Despite Long Tianmo’s long-term illness, his IQ and EQ were better than Long Tianqing’s by leaps and bounds!

Of course, when Han Yunxi better understood Emperor Tianhui’s choice after she found out about the powers backing up the imperial uncle, Noble Consort Xue’s father. But these are words for the future.

“May esteemed wangfei forgive me. For the sake of His Highness, I ask that you save Yuru!” Xiao Zhengxin entreated piteously.

Actually, Long Tianqing’s words were completely wrong. It wasn’t the Xiao Clan who had helped the Duke of Qin. Rather, the only reason the Xiao Clan had their status and position today–with Xiao Zhengxin as the Prime Minster of the Left and Noble Consort Xiao as a favored consort–was due to the Duke of Qin’s help. Han Yunxi knew they were part of Long Feiye’s sphere of influence, so of course she’d help even without Xiao Zhengxin asking.

“Don’t worry. As long as she’s really innocent, I’ll definitely reveal the truth!” Han Yunxi said before getting on the palace sedan chair. She didn’t argue with Long Tianqing or blame him a bit. Xiao Zhengxin couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. Such a tolerant woman, it’s no wonder she’s the Duke of Qin’s proper consort!

Han Yunxi was taken straight to the scene of the crime, Noble Consort Yun’s sleeping quarters. There were quite a few people there already: the empress dowager, Noble Consort Xiao, Emperor Tianhui, and a few court ladies. Unexpectedly, Han Yunxi saw Duanmu Baiye, Chu Tianyin, and Chu Qingge there as well!

These were Emperor Tianhui’s household matters, so why were these Western Zhou outsiders mixing themselves up in the mess? Wasn’t Emperor Tianhui afraid that news of his family scandal would spread?

The empress dowager joyfully received Han Yunxi as she entered. “Yunxi, you’ve finally come. Everyone’s been waiting for you!”

This old empress dowager. Every time she sees me, she’s wearing that kindly smile. People who don’t know any better might even think we’re on close terms!

But Han Yunxi was used to it. She smiled and greeted the old woman. “Yunxi respectfully greets esteemed empress dowager and Your Majesty.”

At this, the empress dowager went to support her by the arm. Even if she acted usually acted affectionate in public, she’d never been so intimate before! The chances of her framing Noble Consort Xiao in the first place seemed to rise to 80 to 90 percent possibility. With evidence and a witness on hand, shouldn’t the case be wrapped up right again? Why was she even asked to investigate this in the first place? Strange!

Could it be that she’d greedy for the Medicine Fan? What kind of traps has she set?

“Yunxi, the evidence and witness testimony are all here. Noble Consort Xiao is the true culprit behind the poisoning. But Miss Chu here says that’s not the case, and that something’s wrong about the poison. It’s not that I don’t believe Miss Chu, just that…” the empress dowager trailed off into a helpless smile. “I can set my worries at rest if I find you.”

As it turned out, Noble Consort Yun had succumbed to poison at the same time Emperor Tianhui was meeting with Duanmu Baiye and the Chu siblings in the imperial gardens. When Eunuch Luo made the report, he carelessly allowed Chu Qingge to overhear. Immediately, Chu Qingge professed that she knew the poison arts and volunteered to come have a look. By the time they arrived at the scene, the empress dowager was about to pass the final verdict on Noble Consort Xiao. But Chu Qingge stated that there was a problem with the poison, so they couldn’t pass judgment just yet.

Emperor Tianhui had given Noble Consort Xiao the cold shoulder, but he hadn’t made any actual moves against her person. Under these circumstances, it would make sense for him to stand with the empress dowager and get rid of Noble Consort Xiao once and for all. Instead, he’d given merit to Chu Qingge’s words and wanted her to investigate the case.

How absurd!

The shrewd empress dowager immediately caught a whiff of something suspicious between Emperor Tianhui and Chu Qingge. If her guesses were correct, her lecherous son fancied Chu Qingge!

Chu Qingge was from a high-ranking general’s family in Western Zhou. If Emperor Tianhui took her as a wife, she’d definitely be a Noble Consort, if not the empress. That was due to the existing alliance between Western Zhou and Tianning, as well as the fact that she came from a Great General’s family. The empress dowager had the reins of the imperial harem tightly in her hands, so she wasn’t afraid of anyone doing investigations. Her goal was to push Noble Consort Xue into the position of empress, so how could she allow anyone else to compete with the woman for favor? As a result, the empress dowager thought of Han Yunxi, the very woman who’d thoroughly shamed Chu Qingge at the birthday banquet, to deal with this potential competitor.

Actually, Chu Qingge hadn’t volunteered to investigate the case to ingratiate herself with Emperor Tianhui. She was completely ignorant of the fact that Emperor Tianhui had already grown smitten with her when she first played the qin. Neither did she knew about the complicated relationships in his imperial harem. Her reason for wanting to help was simple: she wanted to cause a stir somehow, so Long Feiye would know she was still in the capital. So that Long Feiye would get news of her, somehow!

Han Yunxi might know the poison arts, but so did she!

What Han Yunxi didn’t have, she did!