Yang Ling did not dare to be negligent and quickly replied, "Yes, your subject will go immediately." Finished speaking, he saluted and hurriedly walked out of the hall. Ma Yongcheng stood behind Emperor Zhengde, his eyes darting around, watching him leave with a very anxious expression.
Seeing that Yang Ling had already disappeared outside the palace gate, Ma Yongcheng could not bear it anymore and hastily said to Zhengde, "Your Majesty, your servant is in charge of the procurement department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If there is a servant rat stealing in the inner palace, your servant will recognize it at a glance. Why don't your servant go and take a look?"
Zhengde grunted and did not take it to heart. He only waved his hand and Ma Yongcheng hurriedly followed him out. Gu Daeyong stood behind Zhengde. Seeing his panicked appearance, he could not help but reveal a faint smile.
Who would not covet the lucrative position of the procurement department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs? In the beginning, Gu Daeyong was also very envious of this position, but Ma Yongcheng was originally in the procurement department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he was able to get it first.
Ever since he took over this position, he became very close to the West Factory's Manager, Miao Kui. Once he climbed this high branch, he did not put Gu Daeyong and the others in his eyes. Gu Daeyong did not say it, but he already had a grudge in his heart. He knew that today's matter was related to him, so he could not help but feel a little happy at other people's misfortune.
Zhang Fubao did not know what Yang Ling had given her. She pinched it and felt a little strange. She hurriedly returned to her seat and raised it to take a look. Her sleeve fell down, and unexpectedly in her hand was a large flat cake with meat slices. There were still teeth marks on it. Zhang Fubao did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Seeing this, Taoist master Zhang frowned. He put on the appearance of an elder brother and said, "How old are you? The reincarnation of a hungry ghost? You're a young lady going to see His Majesty and you're still reluctant to put down the flatbread. You've lost all of Mount Longhu's face. "
"I … I …" Zhang Fubao was so angry that his cheeks bulged, but he couldn't say a word.
Yang Ling followed the palace maid out of the palace door and saw Princess Yongfu with a little maid standing under the pillar. Seeing Yang Ling come out, she couldn't help but be overjoyed and came forward to welcome him. She had just taken a few steps when she remembered her identity. Out of modesty, she had no choice but to stop. However, the anxiety between her brows did not decrease in the slightest.
Today was the Emperor's wedding. Princess Yongfu had also changed into a colorful embroidered palace dress. The sleeves of her red gown were embroidered with gorgeous peonies. The sash of her skirt fluttered in the wind, making her look graceful and luxurious. Her whole person was like a peony among flowers. Yang Ling hurriedly came forward to greet her. "This official greets Your Royal Highness. Is this the harem … the harem …?"
Princess Yongfu waved her hand and said to the two maids who followed her, "Walk ahead. General Yang, we'll talk as we walk."
As soon as she pulled away from the two palace maids, Princess Yongfu immediately said with a panicked expression, "General Yang, this princess has no one to discuss this with, so I had to find an excuse to call you over. Now that this scandal is known by the imperial family, what do you think we should do?"
Yang Ling was stunned. "What scandal … happened?"
Yang Ling said, "Could it be that the theft in the harem was all a lie to deceive the Emperor? What scandal did she have? Such a dignified and beautiful young lady, she can't be cheating, right? "Yang Ling sized up Princess Yongfu's innocent face and immediately dispelled this kind of dirty thought.
Princess Yongfu stomped her feet and said, "Imperial sao brought two imperial consorts to visit the harem. All the married princesses also went to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to congratulate. Imperial Aunt Ningqing gifted the pair of 'coiled dragon jade' bracelets that the late Emperor bestowed upon her to the Empress."
Yang Ling stupidly interrupted, "What? Is it that the things bestowed by the late Emperor cannot be gifted? "
Princess Yongfu rolled her eyes and angrily said, "If it cannot be gifted, how would Imperial Aunt dare to cross the line? But … But that pair of coiled dragon bracelets is fake. Princess Feng An is very knowledgeable about jewels and could actually tell the real from the fake. She and Ningqing Gugu have always been at odds so she revealed it in front of everyone, causing Ningqing Gugu to seek death. What do you say should be done? "
Yang Ling said embarrassedly, "Since Princess Ningqing cannot bear to give it away, she should not have used a fake to deceive others. Now that it has been seen through, she has lost face anyway. What is the big deal?"
Princess Yongfu stomped her feet and said, "Gugu has lost face, how would she have the face to continue living? The Empress Dowager will not let her off easily. She did not intentionally deceive the Empress with those jade bracelets. It is because the real thing has been swapped by Imperial Sister Xiuting. "
If it wasn't for Yongfu blurting it out in a moment of impatience, Yang Ling most likely would never know Princess Yongchun's name in his entire life. Now that he heard that the little girl had actually swapped Princess Ningqing's jewels, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Swapped? Ah! But because of what I said back then … "
Princess Yongfu cast a glance at him and said, "That's right, the female official in Gugu's residence is too unbridled. Everyone in the residence has been bribed by her to help her deceive the Empress Dowager. Imperial Sister thought … since she wanted to frame her, she would find a reason to chase her away, so … so she secretly swapped her jewel bracelets. Who would have thought that Imperial Aunt would give the jewel bracelets to the Empress? "
When Yang Ling heard this, he was both angry and anxious as he said, "How could Princess Yongchun … How could she be so willful? It would have been fine if she had just stuffed some valuables in, but how could she steal a priceless treasure and dirty it? "
Princess Yongfu said with hidden bitterness, "How could it be so easy? We women are said to be descendants of the Emperor, but sometimes we are not even as good as a servant. That female official has served the Empress Dowager for close to thirty years and is even more favored than Gugu Ningqing.
Even if this was a treasure bestowed by the late Emperor, she would only receive a whipping and be demoted to a servant in the Bureau of Clothing. Do you think ordinary items would be able to punish her? Gugu didn't know the truth and cried her heart out. She was sure that someone in the residence had stolen her treasure and asked the Empress Dowager to investigate the princess residence to prove her innocence. "
Yang Ling thought about it and said, "Since that's the case, instead of waiting for the Empress Dowager to act up, why don't we strike first? Didn't we originally want to punish that wicked servant? Even though there are some deviations in the plan, we can only go with the flow."
Princess Yongfu said embarrassedly, "But … But we didn't have the chance to put the jewel bracelets in the housekeeper's room. Even if we went to investigate, we wouldn't be able to find anything."
Yang Ling asked anxiously, "Where is the bracelets? Quickly hand them to me. "
Princess Yongfu's charming face turned red and she said while twisting her body, "On … on me." She was too embarrassed to reach into her bosom to take something out in front of a man. Seeing a rock garden and a pavilion appear in front of them, Princess Yongfu hurriedly took a few steps forward and hid behind the rock garden and wisteria. She hurriedly took out the pair of jade bracelets.
This pair of jade bracelets was a priceless treasure. Princess Yongfu was afraid of damaging it, so she wrapped it in a brocade handkerchief and hid it in her bosom. She took out a small package and ran out to pass it to Yang Ling. Yang Ling didn't even look at it before putting it into his bosom.
Princess Yongfu opened her mouth, but she bit her lips and didn't make a sound. That brocade handkerchief was something she always carried with her, and her name was even embroidered on it. How could it be taken away by someone? She hesitated and didn't know how to ask for it back. From afar, Ma Yongcheng's voice shouted, "Mister Yang? Mister Yang, wait for me … … "
When Princess Yongfu heard this, she couldn't care less about asking for more things. She hurriedly said, "General Yang, be careful of that Ma Yongcheng. He is in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has a close relationship with that female official. I … … I'm leaving first … …"
Yang Ling stopped walking and saw Ma Yongcheng holding up his robe and chasing after him in a flustered and exasperated manner. Seeing Yang Ling from afar, Ma Yongcheng couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief. He quickly caught up with him and said with a smile, "Mister Yang, His Majesty wants me to accompany Daren to investigate this matter."
Yang Ling had just heard Princess Yongfu mention this, so he calmly smiled and said, "Very good. With you coming forward, it's perfectly justifiable. Otherwise, it really isn't appropriate for this official to always ask about the affairs of the Inner Palace."
Ma Yongcheng's long face squeezed out a smile and said, "In the past, if there was a case in the affairs of the Inner Palace, it was inconvenient for the Niangniang to come forward. It was always the Ministry of Internal Affairs and members of the Imperial Family who came forward to investigate. Mister Yang accepted this task because His Majesty doted on him."
He rolled his eyes and glanced at Yang Ling. Seeing that he didn't look flattered, he couldn't guess what he was thinking. He could only beat around the bush and say, "Mister Yang probably doesn't know. Hey! In fact, in this Inner Palace, every household has a big business. Sometimes it's very common to lose something, so everyone just turns a blind eye.
Speaking of the housekeeper in Princess Ning Jing's fu, we're quite familiar with her. She's very diligent in disciplining the servants in the fu. Normally, no one would dare to break the rules. Ay! It's not easy to be a servant. Sometimes, we have to take the blame for others. Mister Yang, we have to be more considerate of them. "
That female official looked kind on the outside, but she was sharp and unkind on the inside. Yang Ling was extremely disgusted with her. Listening to Ma Yongcheng's words, his heart became even calmer. Looking at her appearance, it seemed that the female official really had stolen a lot of things. It was just that she didn't dare to touch these registered national treasures. If they could find the Princess's belongings in her room this time and take advantage of the chaos to put them in, who would suspect that someone had framed them?
Yang Ling calmed down and said with a smile, "This official is carrying out an errand by imperial edict. How could I dare to wrongly accuse a good person? We'll just go and investigate. As long as we can handle the errand and not let His Majesty question us, it'll be fine. Gonggong, please rest assured."
Hearing this, Ma Yongcheng was relieved. In his opinion, no matter what, he, as the head procurement manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the favored attendant of the Emperor, was more important than a married princess who lived deep in the inner palace and was of no help to Yang Ling's career. It was impossible for Yang Ling not to give him face.
In Cining Palace, Princess Ningqing knelt on the ground with tears streaming down her face and refused to get up. She had good intentions to give her beloved treasures to the new Empress, but unexpectedly, she made such a big fool of herself. How could she put down her face? Normally, she had been bullied by that female official. Now that the items had been switched, she immediately thought that it could have been stolen by that female official. Thus, she insisted on the Empress Dowager to investigate the princess fu and prove her innocence.
The things that Jin offered to the Empress were actually fake goods. Being exposed in front of so many close relatives of the Imperial family, the Empress Dowager was so angry that her face turned ashen. Hearing the personal attendant report that the Emperor had sent the head procurement manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the commander of his bodyguards to investigate the case, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
There were many valuable items from the princess fu in the room of that female official, but she really didn't dare to touch that pair of bracelets. She thought that it was one of her maids who was daring enough to steal the bracelets behind her back. Just as she was about to go back and interrogate all the maids in the upper room, she heard that the Emperor had sent people to investigate. If the items in her room were found, wouldn't it be like the fish in the moat being caught in a fire? Instantly, her face turned pale with fright.
The Empress Dowager originally didn't believe that the personal maid who had served her for so many years would be an evil servant who deceived her master and stole the treasures from the fu. But looking at her guilty expression, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but be suspicious.
The new Empress had just entered the palace and received a fake gift, so she felt very embarrassed. She could only hope that the people sent by the Emperor would find out that someone had stolen the treasures. After all, it was fine if it was stolen, but if it was Imperial Aunt who used fake goods to swindle her, it wouldn't look good on her. The Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful quieted down. Everyone had their own thoughts as they waited for news from the Tenth Wangfu.
When Yang Ling and Ma Yongcheng arrived at the Princess Ningqing Mansion, they rushed all the eunuchs and maids into the courtyard and searched the rooms one by one. The rooms of the ordinary eunuchs and palace maids really didn't have many valuable things, but the female official's room had many good things. Yang Ling didn't recognize which of the female official's belongings belonged to her, so he dug out everything that looked valuable and filled the table.
Ma Yongcheng watched as he dug out some of the valuable accessories and household items that were hidden in secret places. His face couldn't help but become longer and longer. Finally, he couldn't hold back his anger and gloomily said, "Sir Yang, there are no jade bracelets in this female official's room, so why are you finding these things? His Majesty told us to investigate the bracelets, shouldn't we not complicate things? "
Yang Ling glanced at him and said with a smile, "Since we think it's suspicious, we should at least investigate a bit. Otherwise, if we feign ignorance, if His Majesty asks, how are we going to answer? Oh … that's right, we only found these few things in the female official's room, ben official doesn't recognize them. Why don't you call those palace maids and eunuchs in to identify them? See if these things really belong to the Princess Mansion. "
Hearing this, Ma Yongcheng was secretly delighted. Just now he was worried that Yang Ling would not be willing to follow his secret, but it turned out that he was being too careful. He wanted to give me face, but he was afraid of taking responsibility. If the Princess Mansion's people all confessed that these things were the female official's personal belongings, and he didn't recognize them, then even if there were any mishaps in the future, it would have nothing to do with him.
Thinking to this point, Ma Yongcheng couldn't help smiling and said, "Yes, yes, yes, we should call someone to identify them. Sir Yang can rest assured." He excitedly walked out of the door and called the steward eunuch over to give him some instructions in a low voice.
Ever since he became the head procurement manager of the Inner Palace, all the little stewards and little eunuchs of the Six Palaces and Twenty-Four Bureaus all looked up to him and naturally obeyed his orders. After Ma Yongcheng finished giving his instructions, he led the group of eunuchs and palace maids into the room. The steward eunuch casually glanced at the things on the table, then nodded and bowed before rushing to say, "Reporting to daren, gonggong, these things are not recorded in the Princess Mansion's records, they don't belong to the mansion."
As soon as he opened his mouth, who would dare to say anything else? The palace maids and eunuchs repeatedly shook their heads, saying that they didn't recognize them. Ma Yongcheng proudly looked at Yang Ling. Yang Ling laughed and said, "Mmm, that's good. Ben official and Eunuch Ma are only following imperial edict, if we don't do it carefully, it's hard to avoid His Majesty's scolding!"
While saying that, he casually picked up a blue and white porcelain urn and said, "This is from the Chenghua period, right? But it's good porcelain. Hmm, let me see if it's true. "
He flipped the blue and white porcelain urn over to look at the markings at the bottom. To his surprise, as soon as the urn opened, two jade bracelets suddenly fell down from the urn. Luckily the table was full of things that were found, there were four bolts of Nanjing silk jacquard brocade on the floor. The two bracelets bounced several times on the brocade, but did not break.
Yang Ling put down the blue and white porcelain urn and picked up the bracelets to look at them. He cast a sidelong glance at the room full of dumbstruck people and said with a smile, "These two bracelets, ben official doesn't recognize them either. Do you think they belong to the Princess?"
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