Chapter Thirteen: Letters (Two)

  "His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness have arrived!" As Wang Cheng'en shouted loudly, the entire grand hall and courtyard fell silent.

  Zhu Yinglong held Zhou Yining's hand, followed by Tian and Ye two women from the back hall into the grand living room. Zhu Yinglong wanted to play his role well, with no joy or anger on his face. Zhou Yining was the queen consort of Xin Wang, her husband's birthday celebration, she had nothing to hide, naturally walking out with a smile. For a moment, she stole the attention of many men in the scene, even Tian and Ye two women behind her received more attention than Zhu Yinglong, the birthday star. Tian Shuying was the mastermind who robbed the queen on the street a few days ago, beautiful and elegant, humble and polite, some people were even jealous in their hearts, wondering how this "foolish" Xin Wang had such good fortune to marry such a woman as his concubine. Unfortunately, Xin Wang turned out to be a useless person, three beautiful queen consorts still remained virgins, previously there were rumors that Xin Wang was a philanderer, but after the queen's robbery case, Xin Wang led people to surround Kaifeng Prefecture and rescued the person, calming down many people. Now it seemed that Xin Wang was indeed an incompetent person? Many people had such thoughts in their hearts, feeling sorry for him.

  "His Majesty, I pay my respects!" A middle-aged eunuch in the attire of a fifth-rank imperial eunuch, accompanied by Cui Chengxiu, the Governor of Henan, approached Zhu Youjian and made a bow, but the smile on his face was clearly fake.

  Zhu Yinglong had not spoken, when Wang Chengen, who was standing beside him, stepped forward with a smile all over his face and said: "So it's Gou Gonggong from the Imperial Kitchen. You're not serving the Emperor in the capital, how did you end up in Kaifeng?"

  That official smiled, revealing two rows of yellow teeth, and said with a chuckle: "We are here on the emperor's orders to congratulate King Xing on his birthday. You know, King Gong, imperial decrees are hard to disobey!" He even let out a sigh at the end, full of helplessness.

  Wang Chengen secretly sneered a few times, stopped talking, retreated to one side, and his face was also calm.

  "His Majesty the Emperor, hear the edict!" Eunuch Tu pulled out a yellow silk imperial decree from his bosom, on which were embroidered two flying dragons and the words "Sacred Edict", and shouted in a loud voice.

  With a loud "thud", Zhu Yinglong led the way and knelt down, followed by everyone inside and outside.

  "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: On the 16th birthday of my imperial brother, I specially bestow upon him: two pairs of white jade scepters, eight sets each of gold and silver utensils, sixteen pairs of jade and agate, twenty rolls of various silks and fabrics, and forty jars of imperial wine. Let this be obeyed!"

  "Thanks for your great kindness!" Zhu Yinglong exclaimed loudly after hearing the imperial edict.

  Zhu Yinglong stood up to receive the imperial edict, and suddenly, Tu Gonggong smiled mysteriously, took out a letter from his pocket, and quietly handed it to Zhu Yinglong when no one was paying attention. Zhu Yinglong hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should take it or not, but then heard Tu Gonggong whispering in his ear: "Your Highness, before leaving the palace, the Empress Dowager entrusted me to hand this letter to you, and after reading it, please burn it immediately!"

  Zhu Yinglong's whole body shook, trying to keep his emotions from showing on his face. He had no choice but to accept the letter now. The matter between him and the Empress should not have been known to anyone, so why was the letter entrusted to this eunuch, and secretly handed over to himself? And who was this eunuch anyway? For a moment, his mind was completely confused, and he responded vaguely with a single sound.

  The inner guards are not allowed to socialize with the outer vassals, and the Tou Gonggong who came to announce the imperial edict is not allowed to stay here for long. After completing the reward, he received a generous red envelope and quickly returned to the hostel with his entourage.

  The next procedure of the birthday ceremony was like a wooden puppet being manipulated by others, his mind was completely tied up with the queen's letter in his arms.

  The wine table was not yet ordinary, and Zhou Tingning carefully discovered that her husband's thoughts were heavy, not at all like he was intentionally pretending, but she didn't know it was a letter that caused it, and she felt suspicious in her heart. She found an opportunity to ask quietly: "Wang Ye, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable?"

  It's not just uncomfortable, it's completely bewildering. Brother Biao suddenly bestowed a reward that was within expectations, but what he's worried about is why Zhou Huai'an didn't pass on the news in time this time. Did something happen to him in the capital? And the empress's letter, wasn't it cut off before she left? How could she write a letter to herself? And entrust someone to secretly deliver it? This eunuch was originally Wei Zhongxian's person, even if she wrote a letter to herself, she wouldn't entrust it to him. There must be some conspiracy behind this, is it targeting myself or the empress? Hearing Zhou Yingning's concern, he followed the current and said "not feeling well" and left with Xu Yingyuan.

  Zhu Yinglong's heart was in a mess, and he hastily rushed past the birthday banquet to the back courtyard of the Wang Mansion. Xiong Zhaokun's inner anxiety was even more urgent, as he had important intelligence to report, which had been transmitted through several twists and turns by Zhou Huan in the capital. The two happened to bump into each other.

  "Your Majesty, something is amiss! Wei Zhongxian has persuaded the Emperor to depose the Empress!" Xiong Zhaoxun hastily said as soon as he and Zhu Yinglong entered the study.

  "What did you say?" Zhu Yinglong was shocked, and he suddenly sat down in the chair. Suddenly, he had an epiphany, everything became clear, and he asked: "What reason?"

  "Zhou Dage passed on the message that Wei Zhongxian planned to bribe a death row prisoner to say that Empress Zhang was born out of an illicit relationship between him and Lady Zhang, the wife of Taikangbo Zhang Guoji, and that she had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and was not worthy of being the empress, and to persuade the emperor to depose her." Xiong Zuoqi recounted.

  As far as he knew, Tianqi Emperor and Empress Zhang had a good relationship, and Zhu Youjian was able to ascend to the throne with the help of Empress Zhang. The matter of deposing her should not have succeeded, but after borrowing a corpse to return to this time and space, history has already changed. Perhaps what he knew was impossible may now be possible, and Wei Zhongxian's move to depose the empress might succeed. At this time, Empress Zhang entrusted a eunuch who had defected to Wei Zhongxian with a letter for him. Was she seeking his help? It didn't seem like it. Not to mention that this eunuch surnamed Tu was Wei Zhongxian's man, or perhaps he was an undercover agent arranged by Empress Zhang. But all of these were just his speculations, and it was difficult to make a judgment. If it was really Empress Zhang seeking his help, what should he do? No, she would never write a letter asking for his help. This must be a trap. Did Wei Zhongxian want to kill two birds with one stone? At the same time, he felt a little uneasy that the letter in his hand was not written by Empress Zhang.

  Zhu Yinglong took out the letter from his pocket, tore open the envelope, and unfolded it. The elegant calligraphy on the fragrant rice paper described a deep longing, one word at a time. For a moment, Zhu Yinglong was lost in thought, knowing that what was written wasn't true, but he couldn't help but think of Zhang Yan, who was far beyond his reach. Perhaps, considering his mental age, Zhang Yan should have been his best choice, but she was already the wife of his older brother. The forbidden love was enough to drive someone crazy, and Zhu Yinglong was no exception.

  Xiong Zhaokun and Xu Yingyuan stood on one side, not even daring to breathe. They didn't dare disturb Zhu Yinglong's thoughts. Although their eyes were filled with doubts, no one dared to ask where the letter in Zhu Yinglong's hand came from or who wrote it.

  "Xu Yingyuan!" After a while, Zhu Yinglong woke up from his contemplation, folded the letter and put it back into the envelope, saying in a low voice.

  "Ah, you're here." Xu Yingyuan exclaimed, hastily walking over.

  Zhu Yinglong raised the letter in his hand and shook it, saying: "Immediately send this letter to the post house and hand it over to the Gou Gonggong who came to the Wangfu tonight to announce the decree."

  "Prince Wang, isn't this letter for you?" Xu Yingyuan took over the letter and looked at the name on the envelope, asking in puzzlement.

  Zhu Yinglong's face suddenly sank, and he coldly said: "Is it that everything I do needs to be explained to you?"

  "How dare I!" Xu Yingyuan hastily lowered his head and said, "However, if Master Tu asks, what should I say?"

  "You say, this letter is too profound for me to understand, the words are complicated and abstruse, I don't understand it. It's better to let Tou Gonggong take it back." said Zhu Yinglong after a moment of thought.

  "I know." Xu Yingyuan responded and immediately turned around and ran out.

  "Wait!" Zhu Yinglong suddenly thought of something and called out.

  "Is there anything else you'd like to instruct, Your Highness?" Xu Yingyuan hastily turned around and asked.

  "Come closer!" Zhu Yinglong called out to Xu Yingyuan, who leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear. Xu Yingyuan nodded repeatedly, then took off running.

  As soon as Xu Yingyuan took the letter out, Zhu Yinglong finally let out a long sigh of relief. Although he couldn't be certain what Wei Zhongxian's purpose was in having someone forge Zhang Yan's handwriting to write this letter, he felt that there were already traitors among Zhang Yan's trusted followers. If Wei Zhongxian were to obtain evidence of his unusual relationship with the Empress, not only would she be deposed, but he himself might lose his head. What a clever move by Wei Zhongxian, a plan to kill two birds with one stone! He immediately ordered Xiong Zuoqi to speed up the construction of the communication road from Kaifeng to the capital, ensuring that news could reach him in time. This time, it was fortunate that the news arrived in time, allowing him to quickly understand the plot. If the news had been delayed, even if he had realized what was happening and sent the letter back, it would have been too late. With Wei Zhongxian's manipulation, the Tianqi Emperor would only become more suspicious. What a clever plan indeed!