HLnovel Chapter 174 Otherwise, it would be quite awkward to ask them to go down empty-handed.
Chapter 174 Otherwise, it would be quite awkward to ask them to go down empty-handed.
The cold-hearted words of the Prince of Ping were quickly transmitted to Lin Shiming through the bushes.
Hey, he knew about it even earlier than Hu Jiao, the garrison commander of Yizhou, another important party involved.
This is the benefit of picking up a scouting buff at the start of the game.
You think you're playing a game of court intrigue, backstabbing, and secret schemes, but actually I've got a cheat code for seeing through things. I've already dug the trap, just waiting for you to jump in.
Lin Shiming lay on the couch by the window, enjoying the cool breeze while eating watermelon and listening to Yu Sheng's report.
"...Using the pretext of the concubine entering the mansion, he returned to the capital to arrange many matters. On July 13, the Yizhou garrison sent out troops, advancing at full speed. All the checkpoints along the way were dealt with. It was expected that on July 15, at 9:00 PM, they would officially storm the imperial palace."
"The Ghost Festival?" Lin Shiming spit out the watermelon seed in his mouth with great inelegance. "It's an auspicious day."
It's perfect for sending people to hell, and the timing is also perfect; after the judgment, they can be reunited underground for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"You know what, Prince Ping really picked a good date." There are only two important periods in the second half of the year, and he just happened to run into them. "This Crown Princess, the young general, and the number one expert in the world fully support his decision. Go and tell the people along the way to cooperate so as not to miss this auspicious day."
The thought of sending those nasty devils to hell soon made Lin Shiming feel that the sun was shining brightly and his mood was exceptionally cheerful.
He even summoned Zhao Lei again, and with great interest asked him to go to the storeroom and pick out a few items as a congratulatory gift for Prince Ping to take a concubine.
"Remember to bring a box of mooncakes inside." Lin Shiming casually picked out a few rubbings of the Rebirth Sutra, embroidery, and screens, and then leisurely ordered, "Prepare some Mid-Autumn Festival gifts for our royal brother, Prince Ping, and our royal grandmother, the Empress Dowager, in advance. Otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing to send them off to celebrate the festival empty-handed."
Zhao Lei twitched his lips, looking at the "surroundings" of the Rebirth Sutra in front of him, and felt that Prince Ping might not even make it to the Ghost Festival before being angered to death by their prince.
"Your Highness, this is inappropriate, isn't it?"
Isn't it a bit too obvious?
“That’s true. Sending them all the Rebirth Sutras would be like I’m cursing them.” Although that was exactly what he meant, “Let’s send the mooncakes first, and we can send the rest for the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
"...This servant obeys."
*
The day after arriving at the temporary palace, Prince Ping turned back to the capital with two boxes of mooncakes and some inexpensive gifts, preparing to welcome his concubine into his residence.
Mirror Lake and Bright Hall.
Lin Shiming looked at Emperor Longyun with reproach.
"Father, you have plagiarized my idea."
"Hmph, what's there to plagiarize? I'm just giving him a Mid-Autumn Festival gift in advance."
Mooncakes! Save money!
Emperor Longyun was pleased with himself for having preserved his secret stash of money.
Lin Shiming silently rolled his eyes.
Lu Yuxi put down the secret letter in her hand, looked up, and promptly prevented the situation from deteriorating further.
"To get back to the main point. Shi Ming received the news yesterday, and this afternoon, he received a message from our spies via carrier pigeon. Hu Jiao also received a secret letter from Shen Lin this morning. He has agreed to the new plan, but requests that after Prince Ping ascends the throne, his concubine, Lady Hu, become the empress."
"That's not important." Emperor Longyun waved his hand. "Let's talk about something useful."
"The people who contacted the officials along the route from Yizhou to the capital were the connections of Zhuang Yijiang, the former tutor of the crown prince."
Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince? Lin Shiming felt the name sounded vaguely familiar.
Lu Yuxi could tell from his expression that he had already forgotten about the person.
"He was the grandfather of Zhuang Jingyi, the former second son-in-law."
That prince consort who cuckolded Prince Ping! The prince consort who bullied the princess and ultimately died in an "accident"!
Lin Shiming's eyes widened in shock. "Didn't his family all resign from their official posts and go into seclusion later?"
How could his family have anything to do with this?
Emperor Longyun, however, was not surprised. "When I chose the Crown Prince's tutor, I didn't just pick anyone. Although Zhuang Yijiang's family is not a prominent one, it is a long-standing scholarly family, though it has gradually declined in recent generations. But when it comes to connections and students, they are not lacking."
Otherwise, Emperor Longyun would not have assigned Lu Yuxi to the position.
At this point, Lin Shiming understood.
It was truly unfortunate that such a virtuous and scholarly family had to leave the capital and return to their ancestral home because of their unfilial son-in-law, the Second Prince Consort. Their once prosperous life had turned into a desolate autumn.
But they clearly couldn't get anywhere with the Crown Prince, so they might as well wipe the slate clean on the matter of the second prince consort and gamble on whether they could turn things around.
"In the end, it was because we were concerned about the little princess's reputation when we handled it that we didn't bring the matter to the forefront, thus leaving the Zhuang family room to turn things around."
"It's alright, we can deal with it all at once later." Emperor Longyun didn't take the matter to heart. "What about the sixth prince? Has he made any moves?"
This time, the Sixth Prince was confined to his residence and did not come along because of the previous incident. However, Emperor Longyun did not relax his surveillance on him in the slightest.
"Their actions are hidden behind King Ping's back, and we cannot be sure of the situation at the moment."
Lu Yuxi got a headache just thinking about this real "Sixth Prince". He was really good at hiding and acting! With the "cover" of Prince Ping, he didn't have to take any risks and didn't have to do much. If it weren't for that accidental discovery, they probably wouldn't have known that the Sixth Prince was behind the whole thing.
"Without action or evidence, there's nothing we can do about him."
"Hey—that's not right of you." Lin Shiming interrupted Lu Yuxi mysteriously. "Don't just look at his little tricks, take a look at his inner quarters too! The latest news is that the Sixth Prince knows that those two palace maids have no hope of being promoted, so he's started frantically plundering things from his private treasury to compensate them. He's also staying in their rooms every day, showing no respect to the Empress!"
"Whoa!" Emperor Longyun joined the gossip club. "So it seems that the sixth prince won't have any legitimate heirs? Tsk tsk tsk, how am I supposed to face our ancestors in the future? Of the seven princes, only your eldest brother has a legitimate bloodline."
As he spoke, Emperor Longyun looked Lin Shiming up and down with great regret, "Tell me, why couldn't you be more well-rounded and have a child for me to raise?"
"You really have a bold idea!" Lin Shi's eyes almost rolled to the sky. "Your son sees that you are still vigorous and have a lot of concubines in the harem. Why not have one of your own to be closer to your loved ones!"
"Hmph." Emperor Longyun ignored him and instead turned to ask Lu Yuxi, "Crown Prince, what do you think?"
Lu Yuxi, unusually, had a mischievous thought. "Father, I am working hard every day."
Lin Shiming: "..."
Lin Shiming was enraged by the two men's joint attack. He stopped discussing the matter and stormed off without saying a word.
They left behind the laughing Emperor Longyun and the smirking Lu Yuxi.
Just as she was leaving, she could still hear Emperor Longyun laughing heartily before asking Lu Yuxi with a wicked grin, "Aren't you going to pursue your Crown Princess? Be careful he doesn't give you a chance to 'try again' tonight."
"It's alright, there are still many days to work hard in the future."
An enraged Lin Shiming turned back, stomped on Lu Yuxi's foot in a menacing manner, and then quickly left.