The Empress was indeed in a good mood these days.
Although the court had been in a mess recently and the entire Ministry of Rites had been thoroughly inspected, even the court was in a bit of a mess. However, with his uncle taking care of it for him, these kinds of trivial matters wouldn't reach him even if they caused a ruckus.
Therefore, he didn't care what official the Ministry of Rites had arrested.
However, his uncle did tell him that the official had embezzled money from the Qianqiu Banquet and was extremely disrespectful to him. Therefore, the embezzling official had to be severely punished.
Whether the punishment was severe or not, the emperor didn't care. On the contrary, in order to compensate him, his uncle secretly found two thin horses from Yangzhou City, changed their names, and disguised them as the daughters of officials, and stuffed them into his harem.
Women from brothels naturally had a charm that women from respectable families didn't have. Therefore, the Empress, who had been drunk in the comfort of women these days, felt that since his uncle said that the official should be severely punished, then he should be severely punished.
Then, less than two days later, an even better piece of news reached his ears.
His sickly fifth brother suddenly had a high fever and couldn't get out of bed.
Hearing this, the Empress was so happy that he immediately jumped out of bed and sent an imperial physician to Prince Jing's Estate to see if this incident could take his brother's life.
Not long after, the imperial physician came back to report.
"His Highness Prince Jing doesn't have a fever," the imperial physician said.
When the imperial physician came, the Empress was playing mahjong with Pang Shao. When they heard this, the two men's expressions turned ugly.
"Then what's wrong?" Pang Shao put down the cards in his hand and asked in a low voice.
The imperial physician continued, "Although he doesn't have a fever, he can't get out of bed. This official has checked His Highness Prince Jing's pulse and found that he is unsettled and weak due to excessive drinking and cold. "
When he heard this, Pang Shao fell into deep thought.
The Empress, who was next to him, said unhappily, "Then why did he report to me that he has a fever? How dare he lie to me when he's so sick … "
However, Pang Shao raised his hand, "Your Majesty."
"Uncle?" The Empress looked at Pang Shao.
A smile gradually appeared on Pang Shao's face.
"If I'm not wrong … I'm afraid the secret behind this is even more worthy of Your Majesty's delight," he said.
"Why?" Hou Zhu was puzzled.
Pang Shao said, "Does His Majesty know about Ji You?"
The successor thought for a long time before he reluctantly recalled this somewhat familiar name. "Ah, the official who embezzled my money?"
Pang Shao smiled and nodded.
"On the morning he was detained, Prince Jing hurried to the Ministry of Justice's prison to meet him in private," Pang Shao said.
Hou Zhu frowned. "And then?"
Pang Shao looked at him with a smile.
"After that, His Highness King Jing went drinking alone in the rain. Within two days, he fell ill. Your Majesty, what do you think is the reason for his' uneasiness'? "
After thinking for a long time, Hou Zhu's face gradually showed a bit of surprise.
"You're saying … he must have embezzled money and is afraid of being found out?"
Pang Shao smiled and nodded, but said, "I'm just guessing."
Hou Zhu's eyes suddenly shone with excitement.
"Then why don't you go and get someone to investigate?" he said. "As a subject, this person actually dares to have designs on me. Tell me, does this count as deceiving the monarch? Does this count as wanting to rebel?"
The more Hou Zhu spoke, the more excited he became. It was as if he could immediately execute Jiang Suzhou on the spot. At this point, he excitedly threw the cards in his hand onto the couch.
"Uncle, I'll investigate this matter. Is that okay?"
Pang Shao looked at him.
He knew how much His Majesty hated his Fifth Royal Brother.
Back then, the previous Emperor did not have many children. Several princes died at a young age. Only the Fifth Brother, who was born by his favorite concubine, was raised by the previous Emperor. He was protected in every possible way, so he was not harmed at all.
On the other hand, although His Majesty was the son of the first wife, he was almost invisible in the eyes of the previous Emperor. The people in the palace had always been snobbish. Pang Shao knew how much His Majesty had suffered because of his Fifth Brother and how much His Majesty hated him.
Therefore, if he wanted to please His Majesty, it was definitely not wrong to make a move on Prince Jing.
However, no matter what, Prince Jing was still of royal blood. Although he could torture and humiliate him, it was difficult to kill him easily. Now that the embezzlement case had been investigated, Jiang Suzhou would not be able to convict him of any serious crime. Even if his embezzlement was confirmed, he would not be convicted of any serious crime.
Since that was the case, it was better to hand him over to His Majesty and make him happy like a cricket.
With this thought, Pang Shao smiled faintly.
"His Highness, Prince Jing, is of noble status. I dare not overstep my boundaries," he said.
"Since Your Majesty wants to investigate, I'll immediately assign people to follow Your Majesty's orders."
— —
Once it started raining in Jiangnan, there would be no end to it.
Ever since the day His Highness went to Madam Gu's courtyard and fell ill, it had been drizzling outside for a few days without any signs of clearing up.
Even the atmosphere in the Anyin Hall became gloomy, making it hard for people to breathe.
The most direct victim was Meng Qianshan.
The last time he felt this gloomy atmosphere was when His Highness went to Madam Xu's for the night. But this time, it seemed to be much more serious than the last time. It made him feel uneasy in Anyin Hall, but he could not find the reason.
He thought that he still needed His Highness to come back.
However, His Highness stayed at Madam Gu's for one day and then stayed for the second day.
This was something that had never happened before.
His Highness should have come back on the third day, right?
Unexpectedly, on the third night, Gu Changyun sent news that His Highness was sick.
Meng Qianshan hurried to Gu Changyun's courtyard in a hurry, but he did not expect to be locked out by His Highness.
The person who chased him out was Gu Changyun.
He leaned against the door frame, looking gorgeous and charming in his red robe. Seeing that Meng Qianshan was stopped at the door and was pacing around anxiously, Gu Changyun smiled faintly and said, "What's the hurry? His Highness just drank too much wine these two days, and his body is a little weak. You just have to bring the news to the palace and the Ministry of Rites, and ask for a few days of leave for His Highness. As for the rest … just take good care of Madam Huo for His Highness. "
"This …" Meng Qianshan looked inside anxiously.
Gu Changyun raised his hand and blocked his gaze.
"His Highness has ordered that you are not allowed to enter." He said. "Ah, has it been raining these few days? His Highness said that he wants you to go back quickly and open up the Hidden Tranquil Hall. Burn some fire, you must not neglect that cripple. "
After saying this, he glanced at Meng Qianshan disdainfully, turned around, and closed the door.
In the room, Jiang Suzhou was lying on the bed. His breathing was uneven, and his face was a little pale.
"Have you given the order?" He asked.
Gu Changyun stood by the bed and nodded.
Jiang Suzhou closed his eyes.
He did not let Meng Qianshan in, purely because he was afraid that he would talk too much and ask questions that he should not ask.
He originally wanted to return to the Anyin Hall after these two days, but he did not expect that the medicine would take effect so suddenly and violently that he could not get up, let alone return to his own courtyard.
Gu Changyun comforted him from the side, "Rest assured, Your Highness. After a few days, the medicine will gradually become milder. When that time comes, the symptoms will just be heart palpitations and weakness. "
Jiang Suzhou nodded on the bed.
"When the palace receives the news tomorrow, they will probably send someone over." He said.
Gu Changyun nodded and said, "Yes. When the palace's imperial physician sees him, we will let him use the medicine. When that time comes, he will naturally not be cured, and we will have a reason to ask for treatment. "
Jiang Suzhou nodded and closed his eyes.
Seeing that he wanted to rest, Gu Changyun tactfully withdrew and went to the outer room to rest.
In the Anyin Hall, where the Anyin Hall was in full swing, the atmosphere was cold.
The manservants and maids were busy going in and out. They were about to finish the Anyin Hall tonight and start a fire to get rid of the humidity in the room. Meng Qianshan, who was bowing next to Huo Wujiu, carefully closed his mouth, not daring to say a word.
Huo Wujiu held a book in his hand, but did not turn the page.
"If you have something to say, say it." He said coldly.
Meng Qianshan said in a small voice, "Madam Gu said in the courtyard … said that Your Highness was unable to get up, so he rested there."
Huo Wujiu did not move.
After a while, he said calmly, "What illness did he have?"
Meng Qianshan was momentarily speechless.
Huo Wujiu waited for a while, but did not hear him speak. After a while, he raised his eyes and looked quietly at Meng Qianshan with a pair of dark, bottomless eyes.
"Speak." He said.
Meng Qianshan felt a chill run down his back when he was stared at by that pair of eyes. His entire body trembled, and he hurriedly said, "She said that Your Highness drank too much wine these past two days, and … exhausted his body, so … so he fell ill."
Huo Wujiu did not move. Only the hand that was holding the book suddenly tightened its grip, causing the pages to wrinkle.
Drank too much wine and exhausted his body?
Huo Wujiu held the book in his hand, and an indescribable sense of irritation arose in his heart.
Very well … this sickly person was very well.
That day, he was drenched in the rain outside and did not have enough to drink. He insisted on drinking in his concubine's room, and insisted on making a scene until his body was "exhausted" before he stopped.
Huo Wujiu never knew that a person could be so hateful.
He was not like Jiang Sunheng and Pang Shao, who were bad to the core. Instead, he was able to calm people down and deal with them calmly.
He was like a cat that wanted to crawl into people's hearts and have fun. When people's eyes could not leave him, he would do some dirty things to provoke them.
Although these were small things that people would not take to heart, because he was the one who did these things, it would inexplicably become like a bottom line. Once touched, it would make people anxious and irritated.
Huo Wujiu's fingers fiercely crushed the pages of the book in his hand.
Meng Qianshan, who was standing next to him, felt uncomfortable all over. The finger that crushed the book was like a rope that pressed down on his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.
At this moment, even someone as slow-witted as him could roughly understand the thoughts of this "madam" in front of him.
He was silently angry, or rather, he was jealous.
"… Madam Huo?" After a while, he struggled to call out softly.
He saw that the master paused and casually threw the torn book to the side.
He said. "You may leave."
Meng Qianshan was worried and asked softly, "Madam, are you alright? Please don't worry. His Highness's body is weak, so it's normal for him to get wind when he drinks … "
Huo Wujiu, who was sitting in the wheelchair, snorted coldly in a low voice.
The next moment, he raised his eyes to look at Meng Qianshan.
"I'm fine," he said. "It's just that I didn't expect the rules of Imperial Prince Jing's Estate to be so bad."
Meng Qianshan was puzzled.
He saw that the master looked out the window with a cold expression. His voice was so cold that it seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"If this concubine who seduced her master was in Marquis Dingbei's Estate, she would have been beheaded long ago."
He said slowly.
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