Chapter 104: Deceiving the Emperor!
Su Wan said calmly, "What are you afraid of? If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth." She looked in the direction of the palace and curled her lips, "It was Qinglan who exposed the dowry issue. She was the one who slapped the royal family in the face. I have nothing to do with it."
Xiao Tao was confused and didn't understand the meaning of Su Wan's last sentence.
Su Wan touched her forehead and said without explanation, "Go prepare the carriage."
"Miss..." Xiao Tao was uneasy. She felt Su Wan's confident and determined eyes and thought that she had a plan in mind. All the panic was suppressed in her heart. She hurriedly asked someone to harness the carriage, fearing that Su Wan's plan would be delayed.
Xiao Tao was young and efficient. Soon Su Wan got on the carriage.
"Miss, where are you going?" Xiao Tao lifted the curtain and got into the carriage.
"Into the palace." Su Wan said casually, "Stop Qinglan from filing a complaint."
Xiao Tao's eyes lit up and she quickly turned back to signal a servant that there was no need to ask the old lady for help.
The carriage rushed towards the palace.
Xiao Tao's heart was in her throat. She lifted the curtain of the carriage and stared at the carriage that was about to catch up. Her eyes suddenly lit up: "Miss, the carriage of the lady is in front. We will catch up soon!"
"Really?" Su Wan lifted the curtain on the other side of the carriage. Sure enough, he could catch up with her with a little more effort.
Xiao Tao patted the wall of the carriage excitedly and ordered the driver: "Hurry up and stop the lady's carriage."
Su Wan saw that the carriage in front seemed to have discovered them and suddenly accelerated. He squinted his eyes: "No, keep this distance all the time."
"???" Xiao Tao was confused and didn't understand what Su Wan meant: "Miss, didn't we want to stop the lady?"
"Yes, we didn't stop her." Su Wan didn't care.
Xiao Tao looked at Su Wan aggrievedly, with a very resentful look in her eyes.
Su Wan didn't explain, raised his hand and pinched Xiao Tao's face: "Be good."
Xiao Tao's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed instantly.
Su Wan took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, took out a fingernail-sized powder, and spread it evenly on his cuffs.
The carriage just stopped.
Su Wan jumped off the carriage first and said to Xiao Tao who got out of the carriage: "You stay here and wait for me to come back."
Holding the jade card in his hand, Su Wan entered the palace unimpeded.
——
On the other side, Qing Lan had already entered the palace and came to the Yangxin Palace.
"Eunuch Li, I have an important matter to ask the emperor to see. Please let him know." Qing Lan took out a purse and stuffed it into Eunuch Li's hand.
Eunuch Li was born with a white face and no beard, holding a whisk in his hand. He was the eunuch who was the confidant of Emperor Jing and the eunuch in charge of the seal.
He pushed the purse back and said with a smile: "The emperor is meeting the Taoist priest. Let's go and let him know."
Qing Lan was grateful.
Eunuch Li knocked on the door and entered the Yangxin Palace.
In the center of the Yangxin Palace was a low table and two yellow cushions. Emperor Jing sat cross-legged on the cushions. A few incense sticks and candles were lit on the low table. The smoke was shrouded in mist, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
The Taoist priest sat cross-legged opposite and placed a red pill in front of Emperor Jing: "Your Majesty, this is the pill I made this morning, which can prolong your life."
"Every time I take the pill, I feel younger than before, and I feel very energetic. I don't feel tired as easily as before." Emperor Jing trusted the Taoist priest very much and took the pill.
"Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. With the blessing of heaven, the effect of the pill can be brought to the extreme. I will withdraw first and will not disturb your practice." The Taoist priest bowed and withdrew.
Eunuch Li and others left, and then reported: "Your Majesty, the wife of Dingyuan Marquis wants to see you."
Emperor Jing looked uneasy: "If there is anything, let her find the queen or the regent."
Eunuch Li watched Emperor Jing stand up. His black hair was mixed with white hair. Although he was in his forties, he looked like he was in his fifties. His eyelids were black, his lips were dark purple, and the whole person looked very gloomy.
Eunuch Li lowered his eyes and spoke in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I have something to report. The news that the Crown Princess is the concubine of Marquis Dingyuan spread all over the city yesterday. The wife of Marquis Dingyuan may have come for this matter."
"Concubine?" Emperor Jing looked gloomy and said unhappily: "The Regent King never told me that, but only said that the father of Su Jihong's stepdaughter was a scholar. If so, even if this girl has national destiny and is beneficial to my pursuit of immortality, I cannot let the royal family be criticized for this."
Eunuch Li's eyes flashed. Emperor Jing was not satisfied with Su Mixue. Now there were only two options. One was to abolish the Crown Princess, or to depose the Crown Prince.
"Do you want to see her?"
Emperor Jing asked, "Where is the crown prince?"
Eunuch Li replied, "The crown prince went to Guangling Mansion."
Emperor Jing pondered for a while, and said with a flick of his sleeves, "Let her in."
"Yes." Eunuch Li stepped out and said to Qinglan, "Your Majesty, please come in."
Qinglan did not dare to be arrogant in front of Eunuch Li. She thanked him, tidied her appearance, and then stepped into the Yangxin Palace. Looking at the ground under her feet, she did not dare to look directly at the emperor's face. She knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please make a decision for me. My daughter returned to Beijing and hated the crown princess for snatching her engagement. She spread rumors that she was the concubine's daughter born to me and the marquis. Today, she even slandered me for snatching her dowry and giving it to the crown princess."
"The marquis is lying on the bed with his life or death uncertain. She is a skilled doctor, but she refuses to treat the marquis and forces me to hand over her dowry. If she does not hand over the dowry in full, she will make a fuss and let everyone know that the royal family has occupied her dowry."
"It's fine if I was wronged and my reputation was ruined, but she wants to discredit the royal family. I had no choice but to come to the palace and ask you to make the decision to stop her from doing anything reckless. Don't let the matter get out of hand because of a momentary anger."
When Emperor Jing heard her words, his temples swelled and he pressed his fingers on his forehead: "Is Su Mixue Su Jihong's biological daughter or your late husband's daughter."
Qing Lan argued: "I didn't..."
Emperor Jing: "Deceiving the emperor, death penalty!"
Qing Lan's face was pale, tears flowed from her eyes. She didn't dare to hide or tell the truth. She sobbed with tears in her eyes: "I, I had a one-night stand with the Marquis, but later the old lady expelled me from the Marquis' Mansion for the crime of seducing the master. After returning home, my mother married me to my late husband. Not long after the marriage, I found out that I was pregnant. I didn't know who the father of the Crown Princess was."
Emperor Jing felt that Marquis Dingyuan was really confused. He married such a lowly thing and caused so many things.
But then he thought about who the original wife of Marquis Dingyuan was, and decided to calm down the disturbance.
Emperor Jing felt a pain in his head, as if a sharp knife had cut out a nerve and pulled it out. He said coldly: "Go back, I will calm down the rumors outside. If she makes a fuss about the dowry again, I will give you justice."
Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to kowtow to thank the emperor for his grace.
"What nonsense!" Su Wan rushed into the Yangxin Palace regardless of the eunuchs' obstruction, and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, this is the one-sided statement of my stepmother. I asked her for a dowry, but what dowry, did she tell you the truth?"
ps: The eunuchs who hold the seal and the eunuchs who hold the pen are considered internal officials, so they can call themselves "ministers".