The whole room was silent. Some people were looking at Rong Xia, while others were looking at Ban Han.
Ban Han just glanced at Rong Xia, then lowered his head and continued to drink tea.
Rong Xia raised her eyebrows slightly. "Me?"
Shi Feixian laughed bitterly. "If it weren't for you, why would I go to that deserted temple?"
"But Miss Shi, I've never written you any note, and it's impossible for me to write you a note." Rong Xia looked at Shi Feixian calmly. "Can you show me the note?"
Shi Feixian sneered. "Now that something like this has happened, of course you won't admit that you wrote me a note." Although she was a little vain, Rong Xia was the only person in the world who could make her do this voluntarily.
Now, in front of so many people, including Li Chengkai from the Shi Party, Shi Feixian was not worried that Rong Xia would destroy the evidence, so she took out the note hidden in her clothes without hesitation.
Rong Xia did not reach out to take it. Liu Banshan looked at Li Chengkai. Li Chengkai hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the neatly folded note. He had seen Rong Xia's calligraphy and paintings, so when he opened the note and glanced at it, he felt that the words were indeed written by Rong Xia.
But Li Chengkai did not dare to say it directly. He just raised the note in front of Liu Banshan. "Lord Liu, look at this …"
Liu Banshan glanced at it, then shook his head with a smile. "This is not written by Lord Rong."
"What?" Shi Feixian suddenly looked up at Liu Banshan. "That's impossible!"
It was impossible for her not to recognize Rong Xia's handwriting. This was obviously Rong Xia's handwriting.
"Miss Shi, I also like the Lord Rong's handwriting very much, so I've collected several pieces of the Lord Rong's calligraphy over the years. But …" Liu Banshan turned to look at Rong Xia. "In fact, the Lord Rong's calligraphy is rarely circulated. Many of the so-called authentic Lord Rong's calligraphy outside are copies."
"Although this calligraphy looks like it was written by the Lord Rong, as long as we ask an old expert to take a look at it, he'll be able to prove that it's not written by the same person," Liu Banshan said to Shi Feixian. "Miss Shi, there's an official in the Supreme Court who can appraise handwriting. Even His Majesty has praised his eyesight. I'll ask him to appraise it now."
Seeing that Liu Banshan was so certain, Shi Feixian was already half convinced. She looked at Rong Xia in a trance and gradually became clear-headed. Rong Xia was usually so indifferent to her. How could he write a letter to ask her to meet him?
Her body swayed and she sat weakly on the cold ground.
Soon, the old man who could appraise handwriting came. He was still holding Rong Xia's handwriting. After a few glances, he shook his head with certainty. "This is written by two people. Duke Rong's handwriting is vigorous and forceful. Moreover, towards the end of his handwriting, there's a habit of a slight hook, which gives people a sense of amazement as if they're dancing dragons and phoenixes. But the handwriting on this note is only similar in appearance but not in spirit. Moreover, this person's handwriting is a little unsteady, probably because of insufficient wrist strength. "
"The person who wrote this handwriting is either a weak scholar or a woman." The old man put down the note and cupped his hands in obeisance to the three officials. "This is my personal opinion. But in order to make the case clearer, I'd like to ask more gentlemen to appraise it."
"Thank you, sir." Liu Banshan bowed to the old man and turned to Shi Feixian. "Miss Shi …"
"No need." Shi Feixian looked up expressionlessly. "I believe you."
Liu Banshan smiled. "In that case, can Miss Shi prove that you just happened to meet someone in the ruined temple?"
Seeing that Shi Feixian was speechless, Li Chengkai secretly shook his head. He was afraid that he couldn't explain the matter of the Miss of the Shi Family clearly. Everyone in the capital knew that the Second Miss of the Shi Family was good at handwriting. Perhaps she had deliberately copied this note as an excuse.
Moreover, many people knew that she had some feelings for the Lord Rong. She could have used this excuse to cover up the fact that she had killed Shi Feixian. Who could tell whether it was true or not?
"Miss Shi, before this matter is cleared up, I'll have to trouble you to stay here for a few days." Liu Banshan turned to look at Rong Xia and Ban Han. "But please rest assured that we won't let a bad person go, nor will we wrongly accuse a good person."
Shi Feixian didn't say anything. She could only blame herself for thinking that the note was written by Rong Xia when she saw it. She didn't even carefully identify the handwriting.
She knew that her only way out now was to wait for her father and brother to save her. But when she thought of her father's silent posture when she was taken away, she felt that it was ridiculous for her to have such thoughts. The girls of the Shi Family were born to sacrifice for the family.
The only extravagant hope she had was to marry the man she liked. However, this extravagant hope was shattered because this man didn't like her.
"I see. You can go now." Shi Feixian's lips curved into a mocking smile. "You don't have to put on such a hypocritical face."
Ban Han, who had been sitting next to them and hadn't said anything, suddenly stood up and said to Rong Xia, "I should go back."
"Wait." Rong Xia also stood up. "I'll take you back."
"Rong Junpo." Shi Feixian stopped Rong Xia and looked at him seriously. "Can you tell me why you'd rather marry a woman like Ban Han than look at me?"
Ban Zhu stopped and turned around to look at Shi Feixian. His expression didn't look good.
There were always some people in the world who believed that they were affectionate. Even if the other party didn't like them, they would insist on asking for an answer. If the other party didn't answer, they would be indifferent. Even if this person already had a lover or a wife, these people wouldn't think that their questions would be difficult to answer. Moreover, the other party had to answer in order to be polite.
They didn't think that it was impolite to ask questions regardless of the occasion, no matter what the purpose was.
And people were always moved by the inexplicable sacrifice. For example, right now, Ban Han saw that some of the people present were beginning to be moved.
Yes, a beautiful and weak woman fell in love with a man. What a wonderful thing it was. It was even worth writing a book about her love. If a man didn't feel emotional, how could he be called a romantic scholar?
"Miss Shi." Rong Xia stopped and said, "In my eyes, you're the same as the other girls in the capital, but Princess Fule is different."
"I hope you won't ask me this kind of question in the future, especially in front of my fiancee. This kind of question will only make people feel embarrassed and will also make my fiancee unhappy." Rong Xia raised his chin slightly. "Goodbye."
It wasn't until Rong Xia and Ban Han left that the crowd gradually came back to their senses.
Yes, this Miss Shi clearly knew that Lord Rong and Princess Fule were engaged, but she still asked this kind of question in front of them. Wasn't it a bit inappropriate? Princess Fule and Lord Rong had a good relationship, but because of her question, there was a problem.
Li Chengkai complained in his heart. What kind of situation was this? He was in a dilemma and couldn't advance or retreat.
He hadn't been put in an important position in Shi Chonghai's family and had some opinions about the Shi Family. Now, it was difficult for him to do his best for the Shi Family.
Walking out of the Supreme Court, Ban Han looked up at the sky. Seeing that the sky was still a bit gloomy, he said to Rong Xia, "Are you going back to the fu now?"
"I'll send you back first." Rong Xia climbed up the mountain. "I have something to tell you."
"About Miss Shi 'er?" Ban Han raised his eyebrows. "No need. I believe there's nothing between you and her."
Rong Xia looked at him in surprise.
Ban Han saw his surprised expression and couldn't help but laugh. "The way a man looks at a woman is different from the way a woman looks at another woman. In my opinion, the way you look at Miss Shi 'er is the same as the way you look at Assistant Minister Li. "
Rong Xia was stunned. After a while, he laughed and said, "Huahua trusts me that much?"
Ban Han nodded seriously.
Rong Xia looked at his black and white eyes and couldn't help but laugh a few times.
The news that the prime minister's daughter was taken to the prison of the Supreme Court quickly spread throughout the capital. Even some commoners began to describe the entire case vividly. They said that because Miss Shi was jealous of Princess Fule's beauty, she hired an assassin to assassinate Princess Fule. After the matter was exposed, Cheng Anbo flew into a rage and reported Miss Shi 'er to the Emperor. He would rather offend the powerful Marquis Shi to put Miss Shi' er in prison.
The final conclusion was that Miss Shi 'er was too evil. Cheng Anbo was infatuated with Princess Fule. And that poor Princess Fule. It must be because she was too beautiful that she was envied.
In this story, Ban Huai had nothing to do with it.
There were also people who said that Miss Shi was the number one beauty in Daye. How could she be jealous of Princess Fule? However, this claim was quickly slapped in the face. The reason was that when the Prince of Ai Po heard that Miss Shi was the number one beauty, he wanted to marry her as his consort. Who would have thought that he would call Princess Fule Miss Shi at the banquet?
What did this mean?
It meant that in the eyes of the Prince of Ai Po, the number one beauty was Princess Fule, not Miss Shi.
There were also people who asked, why did everyone think that Miss Shi was the number one beauty in the world?
Some quick-witted commoners said that it must be because Miss Shi attracted men. It was said that even Princess Fule's second fiancé was seduced by Miss Shi.
Thus, in this version of the story, there was no such thing as a brothel girl or a Yunniang.
In the mouths of the people in the capital, all kinds of love and hatred, as well as melodramatic grudges, were enough to be written into a book of a million words, and the plot was not repeated. It was said that in some teahouses, there were already storytellers who adapted the story based on this matter. They used these stories to earn a lot of money.
Shi Chonghai couldn't stand these rumors anymore, so he ran to the Emperor Yunqing to complain. However, not everyone could be like Ban Han, who could receive benefits just by complaining to the Emperor.
This time, the Emperor didn't give face to the Crown Prince and protect the reputation of the Shi Family. Instead, he reprimanded him in front of all the officials.
He said that he didn't teach his son well, that he was lazy and lax, etc. Although he didn't directly convict him, he lost all his face.
Shi Chonghai hadn't lost so much face in a long time. When he left the court, his legs were shaking, and he had to rely on his two colleagues to get into the sedan chair.
Xie Wanyu listened to the palace servant talk about the sorry state of the Shi Family. She sat in front of the bronze mirror with a smile and gently stroked her raised eyebrows: "What is there to be happy about? His Majesty likes the Crown Prince more. Even if the Shi Family is embarrassed for a while, it won't affect their foundation. At most, we will just watch the fun."
The palace servant saw that although her words were cold, there was still a smile on her face. She immediately understood and continued: "Wangfei, you don't know, but the rumors outside about Miss Shi 'er are very unpleasant. If this servant was the one being talked about like this, I would have died of shame and anger."
"Oh?" Xie Wanyu lowered her eyebrows and turned her head to look at the palace servant, "What are the people outside saying?"
The palace servant picked out some rumors that were suitable to be spread in the palace. When she finished, she saw that Xie Wanyu seemed to be in a very good mood, so she added: "I heard that she even asked in front of Cheng Anbo why he would rather marry a woman like Princess Fule than look at her."
Xie Wanyu gave a faint smile: "What did Cheng Anbo say?"
"Cheng Anbo said that in his eyes, Miss Shi is the same as any other woman in Jing," the palace servant frowned, "This probably means that Miss Shi doesn't have any special meaning?"
"No," Xie Wanyu laughed softly, "This means that from beginning to end, she didn't exist in his eyes."
Cheng Anbo was very distant from women. She had never seen him particularly close to any woman. The only time she had seen him like this was on the snowy grounds of the Emperor's birthday party. He and Ban Han were walking side by side. The atmosphere between the two made her feel that if she went out to disturb them, she would have made a huge mistake.
She had never been as lucky as she was today. That day, she had chosen to remain silent instead of telling the Shi Feixian.
Didn't the Shi Feixian think that she was very charming and that all the men in the world would bend over for her? She wanted to see, at this point, how many men were truly willing to bend over for her? She took out a tender and beautiful flower from a fine porcelain vase. She reached out to pinch off the petals on the corolla and giggled.
"What are you laughing about?" Jiang Luo walked into the room and saw Xie Wanyu sitting in front of the dressing table. He lazily leaned back in the chair, "In a few days, it will be Duke Cheng's birthday. Remember to prepare a birthday gift."
Xie Wanyu released her hand and let the petals fall to the ground. Then she used a handkerchief to wipe the flower juice from her palm. She lowered her eyes and said, "Your Highness, since it is your grandfather's birthday, you have to go in person to show your sincerity."
"I know this. I don't need you to teach me." Jiang Luo was a bit impatient, "You just have to prepare a birthday gift and go out with me."
He liked beautiful women. After marrying Xie Wanyu, he always felt that her face wasn't beautiful enough, so the two of them didn't share a room many times. Now that he saw Xie Wanyu's long hair, he suddenly became interested. He walked to her side and said, "Wanyu is very beautiful today."
"Is that so?" Xie Wanyu raised her head to look at Jiang Luo and smiled, "Maybe it's because I'm in a good mood."
"Then you have to smile more often." Jiang Luo walked forward and gently grasped her hand.
When the palace servants saw this, they bowed their heads and silently retreated.
Three days later, the four assassins who tried to assassinate the Duke Of Jingting were sentenced to death by beheading. The Shi Feixian was still locked up in the Supreme Court's prison.
The Crown Princess cried and begged the Crown Prince for several days. Even her eyes were swollen from crying. She repeatedly emphasized that this was not her younger sister's doing. The Shi Family was loyal and devoted to His Majesty. It was impossible for them to be involved with Prince Hui's former subordinates. It was even more impossible for them to arrange for this kind of hooligan to assassinate the Duke Of Jingting. Someone else must have set them up.
The Crown Prince's heart softened from her crying, so he went to the Great Moon Palace to plead with Emperor Yunqing on behalf of the Shi Family.
"Crown Prince." Emperor Yunqing looked at the Crown Prince with disappointment in his voice, "You are the Crown Prince of Daye and the future Emperor. You are not the son-in-law of the Shi Family."
Even though the Crown Prince's personality was somewhat gentle, he knew that Emperor Yunqing's words were inappropriate. He hurriedly apologized, "Imperial Father, I didn't mean anything else. I just feel that there are many suspicious points in this case and that it should be carefully investigated. Imperial Father, please reconsider."
"How can you be sure that this oversight wasn't intentional by the Shi Family?" Emperor Yunqing said expressionlessly, "They purposely hired hooligans to assassinate the Shi Family. If this matter was exposed, people would think that someone was trying to frame the Shi Family. After all, how could the Prime Minister's Estate not even be able to afford an assassin? Why would they hire a few hooligans to assassinate the Shi Family? "
"But don't forget, even if these were just a few hooligans, if the Duke Of Jingting hadn't coincidentally turned around, they would have succeeded by now." Emperor Yunqing threw away the brush in his hand and angrily scolded, "The Princess Royal sacrificed her life to save me. Now these people want to assassinate Aunt's only son. When have they ever taken me seriously?!"
Seeing that Emperor Yunqing was so angry, the Crown Prince lifted his robe and knelt down, "Imperial Father, please calm down. I didn't mean it that way."
"Calm down?" Emperor Yunqing looked at the Crown Prince's head and felt even more angry, "How do you expect me to calm down? That is your grandaunt's only son. You didn't care about them and instead went to plead for mercy for the Shi Family. When you said these words, are you not worthy of your grandaunt? "
"Imperial Father," the Crown Prince bowed his head and said in fear, "I don't have any dissatisfaction with the Duke Of Jingting. In my eyes, the Duke Of Jingting is half a relative of mine. How could I be so heartless? Imperial Father, please investigate this matter."
"As the Crown Prince, you actually listened to the words of a woman in the inner courtyard. How can I be at ease handing over the country to you?" Emperor Yunqing waved his hand dispiritedly, "Withdraw and think carefully about whether or not you should have come to plead for mercy for the Shi Family today."
The Crown Prince retreated in fear and didn't dare to mention the Shi Family again.
Emperor Yunqing was even more disappointed when he saw that the Crown Prince had retreated. If the Crown Prince had fought for the Shi Family, he would have thought more highly of the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince retreated after being reprimanded by him. How could such a coward become the Emperor of a country?
However, Emperor Yunqing was even more annoyed when he thought of his reckless second son. At most, the Crown Prince was indecisive, but his second son was simply brainless. If the country was handed over to his second son, it would sooner or later cause chaos.
In the early years, because his imperial father favored the illegitimate sons, they suffered a lot. Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he cut off the illegitimate sons' hopes. Who knew that his two legitimate sons would be so disappointing?
Emperor Yunqing's body swayed and his vision darkened. He barely managed to hold on to the imperial table so that no one would notice anything was wrong.
Recently, he had symptoms of dizziness from time to time. Even when the imperial physician came to check his pulse, the physician couldn't say anything. The physician only said that he had used too much energy and needed to rest.
Rest?
As the Emperor, how could he rest?
Thinking of what had happened in the early years and his aunt who had died for him, Emperor Yunqing sighed. Was this retribution from the heavens?
Although the news that the Crown Prince was reprimanded by the Emperor didn't spread, the atmosphere in the Eastern Palace wasn't very good. The Crown Princess was in a bad mood, and the Crown Prince stayed in the study all day. He didn't go to the Crown Princess' room or the concubines' room. How could the servants be at ease?
The Crown Princess didn't think that the Crown Prince would ignore her after he went to the Great Moon Palace. She only asked the Crown Prince to help her plead for mercy. Her cold husband and her family in trouble made her feel very distressed. Almost every night, she slept with tears on her pillow.
If this was just a simple fight for affection, it would be fine. However, it involved Prince Hui's former subordinates. The people outside the palace didn't know, but she knew very well who sent the assassins to kill the Princess Royal. If her family couldn't clear their name, in the Emperor's eyes, it would be the same as colluding with Prince Hui.
What good would it do for her family to be involved with a prince who wanted to rebel but failed?
"Did the Crown Prince still sleep in the study last night?" The Crown Princess looked at herself in the mirror and carefully rubbed the corners of her eyes. She felt that she had become much more haggard.
"Crown Princess … the Crown Prince didn't go to the other concubines' rooms last night."
The Crown Princess smiled bitterly. It would have been better if he went to the concubines' rooms, but he just had to sleep in the study. Was he blaming her, or was he expressing his attitude towards the Shi Family?
"Arrange for people to prepare a generous gift and send it to the Jingting Gongfu." The Crown Princess stood up and looked at the trees that were sprouting little buds outside the window. If the Ban Family was willing to compromise, the Shi Family still had room to turn things around. The Ban Family's actions were arrogant and reckless. They probably didn't even know that the Prince Hui Mansion was trying to rebel. As long as the Ban Family relented, even if the Emperor was dissatisfied, he wouldn't openly make things difficult for the Shi Family.
This way, the Shi Family would at least have a moment of respite.
Soon, the generous gift prepared by the Eastern Palace was sent to the Ban Family in the name of the Crown Prince.
The Ban Family looked at the room full of jewelry, medicinal herbs, calligraphy, and paintings. They were a bit confused. Was the Eastern Palace preparing to move the storehouse to their home?
Originally, they wanted to ask a few more questions, but they didn't expect the people from the Eastern Palace to leave after putting down their things. They didn't even dare to accept the pouch they had given them. Their fearful expressions made the members of the Ban family wonder if they were scourges.
"I'm afraid these gifts weren't from the Crown Prince." The Yin Clan flipped through the gift list. "Although the Crown Prince is meticulous, he wouldn't be this meticulous."
There were some things that only the women in the harem would notice. How could the Crown Prince think of preparing these things?
"Is it from the Crown Princess?" The Ban Han immediately reacted. "The Crown Princess wants to use this as a pretext to show goodwill to our family?"
"What's the use of her showing goodwill to our family?" The Yin Clan put down the gift list. "Today's matter isn't just a grudge between the Shi Family and our family. It's a political struggle. Does the Crown Princess think that our family is stupid or that we haven't seen good things before? Does she think that we'll plead for the Shi Family just because we received these gifts? "
"Then what should we do with these gifts?" The Ban Family asked. "Should we send them back to her?"
"Since these are gifts from the Crown Prince to your father, then we'll take good care of them." The Yin Clan chuckled. "What does this have to do with the Shi Family?"
They would accept the gifts. As for the rest?
Sorry, the people in their family weren't very smart. They couldn't understand complicated things.
"Tomorrow, go to the palace and thank the Crown Prince. Tell him to thank him for the gifts," the Yin Clan said to the Ban Family. "Do you understand?"
Ban Family suddenly understood. "Yes, I understand."
Even if these gifts weren't from the Crown Prince, they would make it seem like they were.
Ban Han hesitated for a long time. Then she looked up at the Yin Clan. "Mother, this … was it really the Shi Family who did this?"
"It doesn't matter if it was the Shi Family or not." The Yin Clan sighed. She gently stroked the top of Ban Han's head. "The important thing is that His Majesty thinks the Shi Family did this."
Ban Han was silent. After a while, she said, "But, I don't want to let go of the mastermind behind this." When she thought about how her father had almost died, her heart was filled with anger.
What happened in the imperial court was other people's business. But the Ban Family's business was her business.
The Yin Clan sneered. "Who said we'd let them go?"
These people all thought that the Ban Family was stupid. But who could really bully them?
Cheng Anbo's Mansion.
A middle-aged man in ordinary clothes strode into the study and came to Rong Xia. "Uncle, I've found out!"
"Speak."
"The eldest son of the Xie Family, Xie Chongjin!"
"Him?" Rong Xia's eyebrows twitched. "When did the Xie Family become so powerful?"
The middle-aged man hesitated. "I found out that His Majesty's other secret investigation team seemed to be involved in this matter."
"Was it before or after the Duke Of Jingting was attacked?"
"After the attack."
Rong Xia heard this and snorted. "It seems that he's not that ruthless."
"Uncle, do you need me to bring the suspicious points to the surface?"
Rong Xia stood quietly in front of the window. After a long time, he said, "No need."
He put his clean and white hand on the windowsill and listened to a bird chirping outside. "Arrange for people to protect Princess Fule. Don't let anything happen to her. Also, don't let the Ban Family get involved in this matter. "
"Anyway … they can't help much."
"Yes!" The middle-aged man's face showed surprise, but he quickly lowered his head.
The old generals and subordinates of the Ban Family were all rare connections. How could they not be of help?
What did Uncle mean by that?
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