Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

At 3:00 pm, Emperor Zhaoming summoned important officials. At the beginning of the evening, Emperor Zhaoming announced that he would hold an early morning court session the next day. At 10:00 pm, it was already dark and the palace gates were closed.

The serious business had not yet been discussed, so Emperor Zhaoming kept the officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, as well as Prince Dong and Feng Tang, in the imperial study for a night meeting.

At the same time, the emperor's special envoy rode into the capital, first to Prince Yu's Palace, then to Prince Zhongshun's Palace, and then to the Dali Temple.

Until sunset, the last stop, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, pushed open the door of Rongguo Mansion.

In just a cup of tea, the special envoy left Rongguo Mansion and entered Taiji Palace.

At midnight that night, countless cries were heard from three mansions and a large prison.

In the Daming Palace, Empress Wan, Concubine Yang, and Concubine Kou, who had heard that Emperor Zhaoming had returned to the palace, were all leaning against the door waiting.

But Emperor Zhaoming did not meet anyone and did not give any news to anyone.

Instead, it was Concubine Dou's third prince who received rewards and lengthy exhortations from Emperor Zhaoming.

Queen Wan started crying again, saying that she was in such a miserable state today because she had not given birth to a child.

Su Hong was watching her from the side and felt that the title of "Queen" was the mother of the world and a role model for women, and her young lady really tarnished these two words.

I don't want to persuade you anymore.

Anyway, he already knew everything about the fact that the uncle of the king was colluding with Prince Zhongshun and intending to kidnap the third prince for rebellion.

I just find Empress Wan annoying and haven't told her yet.

As for Concubine Yang Shu, although she also hoped for the favor of Emperor Zhaoming, she knew that her status was not as good as Empress Wan's, and she did not have the authority like Concubine Kou to assist in the management of palace affairs.

I could only be a resentful woman in the deep palace, drinking wine to the moon, shedding tears in the wind, acting like a romantic and talented man, and going to bed at three o'clock in the morning.

Only Kou Zhaorong received the news secretly sent by Nanny Cui at the end of the day: the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess and Concubine Jia were all dead!

Kou Zhaorong was so scared that she dropped a teacup!

The trusted maid immediately thought of Daiyu's hint two days ago, and was also trembling with fear: "If it was an accident, how did Princess Zhaoqing know about it in advance..."

"Of course, it's not an accident!" Kou Zhaorong calmed down for a long time, finally came to his senses, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

He took a deep breath, quickly calmed down, and whispered, "Everything is normal.

"This news can only come from His Majesty. We shouldn't know it in advance!"

The trusted maidservant was immediately anxious: "In order to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the palace is all red! Isn't this just to irritate your majesty?"

"But Your Majesty returned to the palace at the end of this afternoon, and has not yet announced the Crown Prince's death. Why do you think that is?"

Kou Zhaorong looked coldly at the Seventh Prince who was running around and playing with the palace maids and eunuchs in the side hall, and snorted softly:

"After the Crown Prince passed away, the Eastern Palace became vacant.

"The Situ family has always believed that a son is honored by his mother, and a mother is honored by her son.

"Although the Second Prince is older, the Seventh Prince's birth mother is a Noble Consort, the Fourth Prince's birth mother is a Consort Shu, and I am just a Consort Zhaorong..."

The trusted palace maid's face changed drastically. She clutched her clothes tightly and dared not say a word.

Kou Zhaorong raised her head and said, "It's alright! Your Majesty is in the prime of life! We should just keep everything as usual and live a quiet life by keeping our mouths shut!"

"In fact, since Princess Zhaoqing can show her goodwill to Her Majesty, maybe..." The trusted palace maid's eyes lit up, and it was obvious that she had some ideas in mind.

Kou Zhaorong hesitated for a moment, then shook her head firmly: "She is a smart person. Smart people won't be so eager to take sides.

“When she hinted at me earlier, I didn’t understand.

"Now that I think about it, she was reminding me that something had happened to the Crown Prince, and that someone might be planning to target the young princes in the palace.

"Besides, there is a Queen who is not in the right mind in Kunning Palace.

"Since I am in charge of palace affairs, I must be careful not to let anyone take advantage of me."

The trusted palace maid was at a loss: "Is that so?"

Kou Zhaorong nodded firmly: "That's it!"

Dusk fell and the palace gates were locked.

That night, the Daming Palace was quiet and peaceful.

It was as if today was not the Lantern Festival. No thieves were killed in the early morning in the Wengcheng, no one forced the emperor to abdicate in the Hanyuan Hall early in the morning, no verbal sparring at the banquet in the Linde Hall at noon, no envoys from the West passed by the Honglu Temple in the afternoon, and no one cried blood or committed suicide in the capital at night.

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month is the hour of Yin.

The Hanyuan Hall was opened again, and Emperor Zhaoming called a grand court session.

All officials above the seventh rank in Beijing were not allowed to take leave and were required to attend court on time.

Those who make mistakes when attending court will be dismissed from office and sent back to their hometowns.

The Hanyuan Hall was packed with people.

Emperor Zhaoming had lost weight and looked haggard. He sat there without saying a word, but only gestured towards Tao Xingjian.

Tao Xingjian unfolded a scroll of imperial edict that he had prepared long ago, announcing the death of the prince and others, and arranging the funeral affairs:

"…The Crown Prince was posthumously named Yide…The Crown Princess was posthumously named Jingduan.

"The Imperial Concubine Jia died in a panic, and the Imperial Concubine Gong was moved to a new place and buried with the rites for an Imperial Concubine."

Everyone looked down at each other in surprise.

How did Concubine Jia die? The imperial edict actually used the word "disoriented"! Moreover, she was dead, but she was demoted to a lower rank! She became a concubine!

Someone who was well-informed quietly told his friends: "Thinking about the things that happened in the Rong Mansion... Last night, I heard that their old lady passed away..."

Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhaoming asked about the situation in each prefecture next: "I heard that Prince Yu and Prince Zhongshun both committed suicide last night?"

Cao Feng took a step forward, sighed, and bowed to answer: "Yes."

"Oh. There are so many news of death today. Are there any more?" Emperor Zhaoming's face looked extremely ugly.

He was just about to capture the two and cut them into pieces, but the Supreme "special envoy" turned around and left the bodies of the two traitors intact!

When Cao Feng heard Emperor Zhaoming's irrepressible sarcasm, he knew that this gentleman was really angry.

But there was too much news, and Zhitong, that bald thief, was so slippery that he said "no salary and no rank" and pretended to be dead at home today.

These messy and unbelievable things have to be reported by myself.

"Also... the prisoners in the Dali Temple were reprimanded by the Supreme Envoy and felt extremely guilty. Male prisoners such as Jia She and Shi Nai, as well as female prisoners from Xining, Beijing, Wang, Shi, Xue and other prefectures, all committed suicide!"

The ministers were in an uproar!

"How is it possible? Are the people guarding the prison blind and foolish?" A young man blurted out and questioned the emperor in public.

Emperor Zhaoming looked at Cao Feng coldly: "Where is Zhitong?"

"Master Zhitong said that he is an outsider and can investigate the truth of the matter, but he cannot decide life and death."

Cao Feng sighed again, looked up at Emperor Zhaoming, saw the obscurity in the emperor's eyes, his heart moved slightly, stood up straight, and said slowly,

"There is also the old wife of the Duke of Rongguo Mansion, Shi, who has been seriously ill for several days due to her anger at her unfilial descendants.

"Last night, the Supreme Envoy informed me of the Imperial Concubine's death, but I let her go with peace of mind. She has passed away."

Emperor Zhaoming hummed with an unclear expression.

Cao Feng knew that his bet was right, so he continued, "The ancestors of these people were all former ministers of the Supreme Lord, and they had made contributions to the country.

“Although the later generations are disobedient and have gone astray, it is regrettable if this brings disgrace to our ancestors.

"The Supreme Lord is merciful. He called it a reprimand by a special envoy, but in fact he granted death. He gave him an intact body and preserved the dignity of his old minister.

“What’s more, there are royal family members among them.

"I think the Highness is also very sad and disappointed, but he can't bear to make things difficult for Your Majesty, so he dealt with it first."

All the officials in the capital lowered their heads and listened attentively, then cursed in their hearts: Those who are good at making flattering statements are seldom kind!

Otherwise, he would have become the prime minister overnight!

Look at this talking thing!