Chapter Twenty-Six

  The black boots of the man who had just left were fading into the distance. Zi'er hastily helped Nalan Mingyue to her feet and picked up the hairpin that had fallen to the ground. Nalan Mingyue's face was pale as she gazed blankly at the maids standing around the courtyard, as if only now seeing their faces clearly for the first time. Every pair of eyes seemed to be mocking her, devoid of the kindness they had shown before.

  Nalan Mingyue walked towards her own house with difficulty, seeing the window of Li's house next door open, and Li's triumphant smile seemed to flash by, everyone was laughing at her.

  Ruan Yu changed into a casual cherry blossom pink dress and sat on the kang to tease Bao Ge'er who had just woken up. Yin Zhen also changed his clothes, washed his hands and sat down beside them: "This child seems to have a different look every day."

  Nalan Mingyue's little episode was not intentionally brought up by anyone, and Yongzheng thought that such a small matter would naturally be handled clearly by Quan Pei, while Quan Pei had not yet put this matter in her heart.

  After coaxing the children, waiting for the lights to be turned on in the house, Yongzheng sat at his desk busy with his own affairs, Quan Pei sat beside him and inadvertently glanced at several official documents.

  "Is this referring to impeaching Guangdong and Zhejiang Governor Guo Shilong?"

  Yu Zhan's hand paused for a moment: "Mm."

  Guo Shilong is now the emperor's favorite minister, and just a few days ago, the emperor praised Guo Shilong as a model for senior officials. In just a few days, Yin Zhen will be impeached, and it may not go too smoothly.

  "Why so anxious?"

  Yin Zhen put down his pen: "If I didn't know about these things, it would be fine, but since I do know, there's no reason to ignore them." In fact, Yin Zhen had many reasons for doing this. As a new prince entering the court, he needed to make a name for himself and gain recognition from the officials. One of the big things he planned to do was impeach Guo Shi-long.

  Quan Pei lit up the lamp: "Since we've made up our minds, let's just do it."

  The fragrance of the palace ladies' cosmetics had not yet dissipated, and the Empress Dowager was sitting on a couch with her eyes closed, resting. Eunuch Yang Qing whispered in her ear: "Regarding the incident at the Imperial Garden that day, I've been investigating and finally have some leads." The Empress Dowager's eyes slowly opened: "What is it?"

  "On that day, there were ten palace maids and eunuchs nearby, as well as the Fourth Imperial Concubine and her maid."

  "Fourth Imperial Concubine?" The Empress Dowager rubbed her hands together, the purple sandalwood rosary in her hand: "You think Fourth Imperial Concubine is also possible?"

  "This slave is not good at making arbitrary judgments."

  The empress dowager narrowed her eyes again: "What you did was also right, not unjust, but it can't be forgiven either."

  Outside the palace, a girl's clear laughter was heard. The empress waved her hand to signal Yang Qing to stand aside, and a few affectionate smiles appeared on her face. Princess Jianning walked in with a plate of pastries: "What is Your Majesty busy with? These are new pastries made by the imperial kitchen at my daughter's request."

  The peony-like red-colored pastry looks very good-looking, the empress dowager smiled and asked: "What is this pastry called?"

  The ninth princess smiled and said, "It's called 'Guifei Red', it was specially thought of by my granddaughter to show her filial piety to you!"

  The empress dowager's smile grew even more brilliant: "Indeed, you are Ah Yin's little cotton-padded jacket!"

  Jiuhuangzhu was born to De Fei and had been raised in front of the Empress Dowager, who liked her very much.

  Mu Jin was reading by the window when Su Peisheng rushed in, his hat askew: "Madam! Master has been locked up in the ancestral temple!"

  "What's going on?" Quan Pei's hand trembled.

  Originally, before Yin Zhen took action, the Governor of Hebei and Henan, Yu Chenglong, had already impeached the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Guo Shilong, for embezzling river engineering funds. Yin Zhen also chimed in with a few words. The Emperor was already furious after reading Yu Chenglong's straightforward memorial, and Guo Shilong was a favorite minister of the Emperor. No one else dared to speak out, except Yin Zhen who spoke out of turn. The Emperor sneered coldly: "You dare to speak without evidence?" Without waiting for Yin Zhen to explain himself, he ordered: "Send him to the Imperial Clan Court for a few days' reflection!"

  Yu Chenglong was fine, but Yin Zhen was locked up. Although the emperor was just venting his anger, who can be sure what this means?

  Quan Pei sighed, from the beginning, Yongzheng's path was destined to be full of hardships, but she didn't expect it to be so difficult. She got up: "I'll go with you to the Zongren Mansion to see Grandfather."

  The girls packed up some of the things Yongzheng used every day, and also packed a basket of food, to ask for the meaning of De Fei, took out the palace token.

  At that time, the Imperial Clan Court was built together with the Ministry of Rites and other six ministries in the Dongjiang Rice Alley. As soon as you leave the palace gate, it's just a few steps away. The Imperial Clan Court is one of the places where the imperial family used to educate their children, so it doesn't look like an ordinary prison outside. Even if it was locked up, it was a clean little house with tables, chairs and beds, but there were fewer decorations compared to the previous days.

  The eunuch led Kuan into Yongzheng's small house, then retreated to the side. Yongzheng, who was sitting at a table in a daze, saw Kuan enter and his face lit up: "How did you come by yourself?"

  Xiao Yue arranged the food on the table, and another maid laid out a new quilt. Quan Pei sat down beside Yongzheng: "I brought some things for you to try, and I also wanted to see how you're doing. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest assured."

  Yongzheng forced a smile: "It's not too bad, it's just that you have to worry about it."

  "What does Grandpa plan to do?"

  "Emperor Mama is just temporarily angry, I think after a few days she will let me out, you don't have to worry too much, just wait for me at home."

  Yu Chenglong is a straightforward official, he won't give up after just one attempt, he always makes trouble, and the emperor will not calm down for a while.

  Yin Zhen smiled wryly at Quan Pei: "You see through it so clearly, I'd be lying if I said I could hide it."

  A small silver-plated incense burner lit up with fresh green sandalwood, and the charcoal in the small copper basin also ignited, driving away the dampness in the house. It was almost October in Beijing, and it was still very cold at night. Yongzheng stretched his muscles unconsciously, and even the expression on his face relaxed a lot.

  Quan Pei sighed lightly: "There's no need to always say it's fine, hasn't your memorial not been presented to the Emperor yet? When we get back, I'll personally deliver it to the Emperor."

  Yongzheng hesitated: "What if it implicates you?"

  "I'm a woman who follows the traditional way, even if the emperor gets angry, it's just a matter of being confined to my quarters or reciting Buddhist scriptures. When people say the emperor is angry, they're mostly just following rumors, but if they saw what I've prepared, they'd know it's not just empty talk... and maybe he wouldn't be angry at all..."

  What Ruan Wan said wasn't unreasonable, it's just that after all, it was too risky: "I don't want you to suffer."

  Wei Wan smiled shallowly: "It's not necessarily going to be humiliating, don't you still trust me?"

  Yongzheng thought back to the past and felt that with Quan Pei's intelligence, handling this matter properly didn't seem impossible after all. He deliberated repeatedly: "Whatever you do, don't force it; if something happens to you, our household will be in real chaos."

  Su Peisheng stayed behind to attend to Yongzheng. Wei Pao and Yongzheng had a brief conversation before he also stood up.

  It seems that Rong Yu's arrival has made Yongzheng feel much more at ease, lying in the soft blankets and smelling the familiar scent. His mood is better than ever before. He might as well sleep first, otherwise, worrying about it here won't do any good.

  The crown prince specially reminded the crown princess: "If your fourth brother and sister come to ask for your help, don't promise anything rashly. The fourth brother's affairs are not a big deal, but he is too reckless, and it's time for the emperor to put some pressure on him."

  The crown prince wants to use Yinzhen, but at the same time is also afraid that he will truly rise up and become a threat to himself. So even if he can speak out and plead for mercy, he still has to wait, waiting for an appropriate opportunity to open his mouth. The imperial consort agrees, but in her heart flashes the image of Quanpei, thinking that with Quanpei's intelligence, she probably wouldn't need to resort to pleading here.

  The crown prince left, and the crown princess ordered her subordinates: "Keep an eye on the fourth imperial concubine and see what she's doing."

  The carriage master ordered the little bun following him: "Go find Mr. Qing and let his men keep an eye on Yu Chenglong's movements for a few days, then go to Nara Fu and tell my mother not to take the lead in this matter for now, wait a few more days before talking."

  Xiao Mantou hastily responded with a "yes", and Xiaoyue gave him some small change to hail a ride, watching as he ran far away before returning to the horse carriage.

  Quan Pei was closing her eyes to rest, and in the face of such a major event, she still looked so delicate and elegant, even the folds on her clothes had a certain number, not one less. Xiao Yue knelt beside her, massaging Quan Pei's legs, following such a master, it seemed that even she herself had become bolder, as if even if Fourth Master really encountered trouble, as long as there was still Furen around, everything would be fine...

  Yin Zhen's imprisonment was no small matter. Even if no one had specifically told the Li sisters, news from outside had still spread into the courtyard. The three gege stood under the corridor, and when they saw Quan Pei busy, they all rushed to greet her. Nalan Mingyue was so anxious that she shed tears: "Fu Jun, is Master okay? Is Master alright? Did the Zongren Fu have any grievances against Master? How could such a big thing happen out of nowhere?"

  Weiwei furrowed her brow slightly, and Xiaoyue stepped forward to scold: "What's wrong with you, Princess? If outsiders see this, they'll think something's wrong with the master. Quickly wipe away your tears, don't let people see it, it's unlucky!"

  At this time, even if Nalan Mingyue was given a face, she was choked with her face flushed red, but no one had the heart to laugh at her. Song Shi went forward and handed Quan Pei tea: "Madam is tired!" Even if there were more words, she didn't dare ask casually at this moment.

  Li stroked his belly, his complexion not very good either. Quan Pei saw him and slowly composed his expression: "Sit down, don't get anxious for now, Master's matter isn't a big deal, after a few days when the Emperor's anger subsides, Master will return."

  Li gripped her handkerchief tightly, trying to calm herself: "Something big happened all of a sudden, and the servants' hearts are almost jumping out of their chests. Mistress, what can we do to help?"

  It was either Song Shi or Li Shi who knew more about Quan Pei, and whatever they said sounded pleasant to Quan Pei's ears.

  "Stay in your own house, and keep the people in our yard under control. Don't let them wander around or talk nonsense, and absolutely don't let outsiders come in at will. If you can stabilize our yard, that's the greatest contribution."

  Song Shi was shocked: "Fujin, what is this?"

  "I'm going to request an audience with the Emperor!"