newbobooks Chapter 229 Slapping the Princess
Chapter 229 Slapping the Princess
The tragedy stemmed from that batch of grain. Only by finding out where that grain truly went can we bring justice to Granny and the Shen family.
"Did you, Crown Prince, investigate what happened back then?"
“Ah Yuan understands me best.” The Crown Prince took out several files from his sleeve. The files were thin and covered with dust, having been found among older files.
After hearing what Eunuch Chen said and confirming that Lu Zhiyuan could handle things in the dungeon, the Crown Prince, accompanied by his steward, went to the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Justice. After nearly two hours of searching by all the officials, they finally found some clues; however, the specifics would have to be determined in Yanzhou.
Yanzhou is adjacent to Ganzhou and is a necessary passage for small southwestern states to invade Northern Liang.
The garrison commander of Yanzhou was surnamed Zheng, and his age was similar to that of Lu Zhiyuan's maternal uncle. Like the Xie family, his family had been generals for generations. However, unlike the Xie family, by the time of Xie Yu'an and Xie Yubai, the Xie family had abandoned the military for business and then for literature; none of their three sons became generals. The general's position was inherited by Lu Zhiyuan's mother, Xie Chaoyun. She was a woman, already married, and her only daughter had died young and become the Crown Princess, thus securing her position as a female general. Had she been unmarried, His Majesty, the Empress, and the imperial relatives would not have been so at ease.
The Zheng family had only one son per generation. Zheng Fang, the only son of General Zheng, was of mediocre talent, but he was not feared by the imperial court, which allowed him to live peacefully in the Northwest. Zheng Fang had the typical character of a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world), usually carefree and unconcerned about food and clothing, only loving to drink, and often mingling with the soldiers.
He was unpretentious, fair in rewards and punishments, and knew how to appoint capable people to their positions. Those who lacked ability and engaged in underhanded tactics were severely punished. In Yanzhou, he had just as many people who praised him as those who hated him.
Shen Chengnan joined the army in Yanzhou, and the person who promoted him and took a liking to him was Zheng Fang. It was Zheng Fang and his Zheng family army that fought to the death when they were besieged because of the lack of supplies.
The battle was extremely fierce; of the 40,000 Zheng family soldiers, less than 5,000 remained, and most of those 5,000 were seriously wounded or disabled. Despite winning the battle, Zheng Fang was dejected and spent his days in the wine cellar.
Fortunately, the deputy general he had promoted was quite capable, and over the years, there hadn't been any major troubles in Yanzhou, so he retained his position as General Zheng.
To find out what happened back then, we need to go to Yanzhou. In Yanzhou, we need to meet General Zheng, who is drunk and in a daze all day long.
The Crown Prince grasped Lu Zhiyuan's hand: "Would the Crown Princess be willing to accompany me on an incognito trip to Yanzhou?"
"A private visit? That sounds good." Lu Zhiyuan nodded: "Will the Crown Prince be able to leave? Father is seriously ill, and Mother is neglecting state affairs. If you leave, who will handle those official duties?"
The Crown Prince hummed a few times, then pinched the tip of her nose and said, "Then we'll have to trouble Second Uncle and the Prince Consort."
Without hesitation, they began packing. To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, Lu Zhiyuan sent Han Ting ahead to Yanzhou.
The plot to assassinate the Crown Prince could not have been committed by just the old nanny and Eunuch Chen; there must be a mastermind behind it all, and that person must still have spies within the Eastern Palace. Now that the old nanny is dead, and Eunuch Chen is dead, given their and the Crown Prince's modus operandi, they will surely investigate further. To prevent them from uncovering the truth, the person behind it will undoubtedly do something.
If Han Ting is fast enough, he can find clues and expose the truth they are trying so hard to hide.
Besides Han Ting, she also took the Xie brothers with her.
Although Han Ting, the leader of the Qinghe Gang, acts with secrecy, it's hard to guarantee that no one in Yanzhou recognizes him. Once he appears, they'll be able to guess their purpose. The Xie brothers are unfamiliar faces; shaving or sticking on a beard will easily disguise them. They've served under their uncle, making them semi-江湖人 (jianghu people, meaning people involved in the martial arts world), familiar with many of its open and covert methods. With their help, Han Ting will surely be able to capture them easily.
Before they even left the capital, the Crown Prince's Palace received an uninvited guest.
Princess Lin'an, the orphan of the Prince of Lin'an and his son. Although she was an orphan, she was already fourteen when she came to the capital. She was raised in the Empress Dowager's palace for a year and in the Empress's palace for half a year. After being granted the title of princess, she moved out of the palace.
This princess was extremely arrogant and domineering, often using her royal status to bully others. However, some of her actions were rather underhanded, so they didn't reach the Emperor or the Empress's ears. Rumors circulated in the capital that she was in love with the Crown Prince and determined to become his consort. However, since the Crown Prince was engaged to Lu Zhiyuan, she pinned her hopes on Lu Zhiyuan's early death or becoming the Crown Prince's concubine.
When the Crown Prince got married, he announced to the public that there would only be one mistress in the Eastern Palace, namely his Crown Princess Lu Zhiyuan. Everyone was both surprised and felt that everything made sense.
After seven long years of waiting, the Crown Prince finally married his Crown Princess. Newlyweds, deeply in love, naturally didn't want outside interference, which was understandable. Furthermore, the Crown Princess was born with an illness and was in poor health. If this concubine were unruly and caused trouble in the Eastern Palace, His Highness would have difficulty explaining himself to the Xie family. Finally, everyone knew that the Crown Prince would inherit the throne after the wedding. Whether or not the Eastern Palace took a concubine was unimportant; what mattered was that the new emperor would definitely take concubines upon ascending the throne.
Lu Zhiyuan didn't want to see this princess; she was busy and didn't want to waste her time on her. The princess barged in with her entourage, claiming to be there to visit, but her demeanor clearly indicated she was there to cause trouble.
Upon arriving at the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, she still acted haughtily towards the Crown Princess, not only ordering fine tea but also specifying that she wanted the Crown Prince's treasured tea set, and even insisting on eating the snacks made by Lu Zhiyuan herself.
Lu Zhiyuan asked Liu Ying for a handkerchief, wiped her hands clean, and then slapped the princess twice across the face.
Drinking her tea, using her husband's tea set, and even daring to ask her to cook desserts herself—even the King of Hell wouldn't dare say such things to her.
The princess was stunned. Not to mention when she was in Lin'an, in the two years since she came to the capital, apart from Princess Ping Le, no one dared to give her a hard time, let alone hit her.
Her eyes reddened with anger, her cheeks puffed out, and she pointed at Lu Zhiyuan: "You dare hit me?"
"Slap!" Another crisp slap landed on her face.
If you can use your hands, don't use your words. Since the princess is questioning it, then let's give her another beating.
Liu Ying glanced at the princess and took a handkerchief to wipe Lu Zhiyuan's hands: "Princess, you're shameless. You've even made Her Majesty's hands red. His Highness dotes on Her Majesty the most. If he sees this, he will definitely hold the princess accountable."
The princess's face was swollen from the beating, and she accused, "Are you all blind? It was clearly her who laid the hand on me, she was the one who hit me. Even if His Highness the Crown Prince came, he would stand up for me."
Liu Ying retorted defiantly, "Stand up for the princess? What is the princess thinking? What is the princess to His Highness? Would His Highness reprimand our lady for the princess's sake? Our lady is His Highness's precious darling, whom he cherishes dearly."
"Have you no shame? How dare a maidservant of the legitimate daughter of a marquis's mansion utter such vulgar words!" The princess covered her face and stamped her foot. "I'm going to find His Highness the Crown Prince right now!"
"No need for the princess to trouble herself, I've arrived!" As he spoke, the crown prince walked up to Princess Lin'an, bathed in sunlight: "Princess, you have angered my Crown Princess. How do you wish to apologize?"