mtl008 Chapter 153 Your Crown Princess order has been delivered, please check.
Chapter 153 Your Crown Princess order has been delivered, please check.
With Lu Yuxi absent and Lin Shihe busy with his wife and son, he had no time to deal with the idle Crown Princess. Therefore, Lin Shiming could only kill time with Lin Shi, who was being cared for by his elder brother.
What bothered him even more was that Lin Shi was raised by his upright and well-mannered elder brother to be so proper and dignified that he looked more like a noble young master than Lin Shiming when he sat on the veranda.
Moreover, this Lin Shih-ming showed utter contempt for the ball-catching game that his brothers Lin Ha and Lin Chi loved most, giving Lin Shih-ming no face whatsoever.
I'm so angry!
Lin Shiming viciously ripped the blades of grass in his hand, already planning in his mind to teach Lin Ha and Lin Qi a lesson when he got back. The difference was too obvious; it was a blatant humiliation!
This humiliation continued until it was dark. Li Yi and Yu Sheng, covered in sweat, returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with the intelligence they had gathered.
The two of them hadn't even had dinner because they were investigating this matter. Lin Shihe then told them to go wash up first, while he took the information he had found and went into the study with Lin Shiming.
The thin envelope lay on the table, but its contents weighed a ton.
...It has been confirmed that the palace maid Liu is not the Liu family member from Liujia Village, Fengyang County, as recorded in the original household registration. The palace maid Cao is not the Cao family member from Qiaotou Village, Shunjia County, as recorded in the original household registration. Their true identities are still unclear...
...On the 27th day of the eighth month of the 15th year of the Longyun reign (1650), she entered the Yeting Palace and was taught by the head maid, Lady Wang...On the 2nd day of the ninth month, Consort Wang personally went to the Yeting Palace to select palace maids for the Sixth Prince. Five were chosen, including Lady Liu and Lady Cao. They accompanied Consort Wang to Yaohe Palace for evaluation and training...During the 16th year of the Longyun reign (1651), the other three palace maids were gradually sent back to the Yeting Palace for reassignment. On the 21st day of the tenth month of the 16th year of the Longyun reign (1651), Lady Liu and Lady Cao entered the Sixth Prince's Qi'an Palace as palace maids. On the 20th day of the fourth month of the 17th year of the Longyun reign (1652), they left the palace with the Sixth Prince to establish his own residence...
"As expected." Lin Shihe slammed the letter in his hand back onto the table. "I underestimated these people. For the sake of a cause that may not even succeed in, they would send their daughter into the palace as a slave, starting as the lowest-ranking palace maid."
Although this will keep the families behind those two women well hidden, even if they regain their identities in the future, they will not be able to erase their past as slaves and palace maids. Their children will also inevitably be affected by this.
The Sixth Prince's current promotion of them is merely a gesture of mutual respect.
It's highly likely that those families will choose to abandon the two women and send new, untainted daughters to the palace. In the end, they'll just be two discarded pawns.
Lin Shiming chuckled, refusing to comment on the scum of this era. However, he did express his disdain for the pretentious behavior of Consort Yu and her son.
"But this mother and son are quite capable. On the surface, they married the daughter of a powerless Vice Minister of Rites, and Consort Yu comes from a middle-class family and is genuinely well-behaved. In reality, they've been secretly sending daughters from two different families into their household." Lin Shiming picked up the letter and glanced through it. "It's just a pity that we can't find out which families these two girls belong to yet."
In ancient times, there was no household registration system or technology as strict as in modern times. Li Yi and Yu Sheng had to secretly visit the addresses recorded in the palace registers of the two women and secretly inquire with the neighbors to confirm that the two women were indeed impersonators.
As for finding out who was involved and whose family these two came from, that would be extremely difficult. They've been in the palace for almost two years now; investigating them now would be less efficient than finding a way to interrogate Consort Yu.
"There's no need to investigate further; it's a waste of time." After weighing the options, Lin Shihe decided not to invest any more energy in this area. "If he succeeds, he can only do so by leveraging the influence of others and picking up the pieces after Prince Ping has made his move. Do you think Prince Ping can kill His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Grandson?"
Of course not.
I, Lin Shiming, the number one martial arts master and the young general of the Tingyun Army, am not just a figurehead.
Lin Shiming praised himself in his heart and was secretly pleased with himself for a while. He rolled up the letter and stuffed it back into his brother's hand. "You can go to the palace and tell Father about it. As for right and wrong, it's not too late to settle things with him after everything is settled."
Let the Sixth Prince pretend to be obedient if he wants to. He won't lose if he goes against us. After the big thing is done, how to handle the interrogation is just a matter of a word, isn't it?
It was about this matter of cheating in the imperial examinations... Lin Shiming fiddled with the jade pendant at his waist, pondering how to get a little revenge.
"Alright. I will go to the palace tomorrow to talk to His Majesty about this matter. Don't rush to target the Sixth Prince, lest he find out."
"...I'm not that stupid."
Lin Shihe glanced at him, but didn't believe a word he said.
"That's enough for now." After finishing their business, Lin Shihe naturally wanted to return to his room to be with his wife and children, and was unwilling to waste any more time on his younger brother. "The Crown Princess can go back to the East Palace now."
"?"
"So you didn't listen to a word I said today? I told you I don't want to be alone in the palace! I want to sleep at home!"
"The Crown Princess spent the night at a minister's house, and I don't want to be impeached by a group of people."
"So I'm just supposed to suffer?"
Lin Shihe stopped in his tracks. He sighed and turned back to explain, "I meant that the Crown Princess must return to the East Palace."
Lin Shiming looked puzzled.
"...You can send your carriage back and come back tomorrow. That's enough. Besides, is there anyone else who can climb into the Crown Princess's carriage to see if there's anyone inside?"
Only after this point did Lin Shiming finally realize what was going on, and happily bypassed his brother to arrange for the Crown Princess to return to the palace.
Lin Shihe, who had been left behind, shook his head helplessly and followed.
*
He said he was going to sleep at home, but when he returned to the empty room alone, Lin Shiming still felt a little uncomfortable.
He had been spending his nights with Lu Yuxi for the past few months, and suddenly being alone was something he really couldn't adjust to.
It wasn't yet their usual bedtime. In the past, the couple would review memorials, read books, and chat together... and time always seemed to fly by. Right now, Lin Shiming had already gone through three storybooks and had plucked a layer of hair from Lin Shi's hair, but when he looked up at the water clock, only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed.
"Ugh--"
Lin Shiming tossed and turned on the bed, deeply feeling that he could no longer continue to waste his energy like this.
Why torture yourself like this?
*
At three quarters of Hai hour.
Summer palace.
A flower thief stood atop the artificial hill, gazing into the distance. Then, as nimble as a swallow, he silently made his way to the only brightly lit palace in the imperial palace complex.
Today, His Highness the Crown Prince was unusually unhappy. He dismissed all his attendants and went alone to review the palace regulations.
The sound of dripping water came from the corner, which became increasingly irritating the more one listened.
Even a slight breeze blowing in through the half-open window couldn't soothe my mind.
Unable to concentrate any longer, Lu Yuxi simply threw down the book in her hand and walked to the window.
He had just reached out and pushed open the half-closed window when he suddenly saw a figure appear in front of him in the blink of an eye.
"Ahem, well, I have something important to discuss with you!"