Harem Daily Life

Prince Jing felt terrified when he looked at him, like a prey being targeted by a hunter.

"Have you heard any news about Princess Liang?" When Prince Jing wanted to run away, Prince Liang finally asked.

Prince Jing thought about it and shook his head: "I haven't heard that the palace has sent troops to capture Princess Liang." Prince Jing really hadn't heard about it, because Tao Yanyan really didn't send people after Prince Liang rebelled - she arrested people in advance.

King Liang breathed a sigh of relief. So many days had passed, and he was afraid that the princess was already on her way to the border between Zhou and Yan.

The relaxation on his face flashed away, and then he returned to indifference.

"Go away, don't forget what you promised me, you owe me that."

Prince Jing frowned even deeper, but a gentleman's word is as good as gold, so he naturally had no right to say anything about what he had promised. He clasped his fists and bowed to Prince Liang before walking out of the cell.

What Prince Jing did not expect was that he had just said in front of Prince Liang a day ago that the palace had not sent troops to capture Princess Liang, but today he heard that Princess Liang, along with the Crown Prince and two legitimate sons of Prince Liang's Mansion, were escorted into the palace.

As soon as he got the news, he hurried to the palace and ran into Prince Yong who was also there.

"Strange, why did you come to the palace today? And in such a hurry?" Today is not a day of three days of court attendance. Someone like Prince Jing who usually likes to be lazy would never take the trouble to come to the palace.

Prince Jing said anxiously, "Haven't you heard? The Queen has arrested Princess Liang. I came to the palace to take a look. You said the capital is at least five days' journey from Xiangcheng. How come Princess Liang was arrested just after the incident with Prince Liang? Could it be that the Queen had foresight and took action in advance?"

Prince Jing was horrified when he thought about it. If that was the case, then Queen Tao's methods were too powerful!

Prince Yong smiled and said, "The Queen must have suspected Prince Liang a long time ago, but she had no evidence, so she asked you for help to set up a trap to induce Prince Liang to self-destruct. As for Prince Liang's wife, I'm afraid she has been under constant surveillance by people sent by the Queen. If there is any sign of trouble, they will arrest her immediately."

Prince Jing shuddered and touched his head: "Haha, no wonder she was able to rise step by step from Liangyi to the position of Queen. Her mind is really very clever."

Prince Yong was somewhat dissatisfied with Prince Jing's tone in evaluating Empress Tao, and said unhappily, "The Empress is intelligent, and Prince Liang deserves his punishment. Don't forget, the Yixing Hall exploited the people, and he profited greatly from it."

Prince Jing felt a little embarrassed, as he always felt that Prince Yong was too protective of Queen Tao.

The two of them came to the imperial study one after another. Ningyuan Hou and his son were there, as was the Minister of Revenue, Lord Yuan. Princess Liang was kneeling on the ground with her three children, and Tao Yanyan was questioning them.

Seeing Prince Yong and Prince Jing coming, he asked them to listen together.

"After investigation, it was found that Prince Liang had amassed more than two million taels of silver through Yixingtang over the years. He had deposited hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in the Xiangcheng Money House, and all of this silver was taken out by you, Princess. You are also planning to sell off your property in Xiangcheng. Where do you want to go?" Tao Yanyan asked coldly as he flipped through the things that Ningyuan Hou had found.

Princess Liang remained calm. "Your Highness, I don't know where this money came from. The prince asked me to take it out, so I did. As for selling off my property in Xiangcheng, it's because my parents are old and my brothers are not very capable. I want to sell it all so that they can accompany me back to the capital."

After hearing this, Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Don't think I'll believe you just because you say you didn't know anything. And don't think I didn't know your original plan was to flee the State of Yan with your child just because you said you wanted to return to the capital."

Everyone in the imperial study was shocked.

"Defecting from the State of Yan? How is this possible?" Prince Jing was the first to ask in disbelief.

Tao Yanyan glanced at him, then turned her gaze to the equally shocked Princess Liang. "You know best whether what I said is true or not. Prince Liang has confessed, but you still refuse to admit it. You two are really interesting..."

Prince Jing's eyes widened again. When did Prince Liang recruit him? I've never heard of it.

King Yong was afraid that he would make mistakes, so he quickly pulled him aside and signaled him with his eyes to stop talking.

Princess Liang also had some doubts about what Queen Tao said. She did not believe that Prince Liang would reveal the whereabouts of her and the children, because the route to Yan State was decided by Prince Liang himself. He also told her that when she arrived in Yan State, she must unite with Prince Yan and help him when he wanted to raise an army in the future.

Princess Liang sneered, "Are you trying to trick me, Her Majesty? I don't believe it! My prince would never say that he was going to the Kingdom of Yan."

Princess Liang was very determined, making it difficult for Tao Yanyan to fool her.

"Whether you know it or not, it doesn't matter now. Prince Liang's rebellion is a capital crime, not to mention his organizing a dark force, wreaking havoc on the region and exploiting the people. His crimes are unforgivable and have been handed over to the Imperial Clan Court, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court for trial. And you, as his princess, are also jointly responsible. You illegally appropriated a huge amount of assets and are also under investigation. Come, take Princess Liang to the Sky Prison and interrogate her like Prince Liang!"

Princess Liang was a little anxious. She was a famous lady from Xiangyang, how could she bear this hardship?

Prince Jing also felt that Empress Tao was being a bit harsh in her treatment of Princess Liang. He quickly intervened, saying, "Princess Liang is a woman, and she has no involvement in the affairs of the Prince Liang's residence in Yuecheng. I beg the Empress to show some leniency and not imprison her in the Heavenly Prison. That is no place for a woman."

Tao Yanyan glanced at Prince Jing and said calmly, "Not involved in Yuecheng's affairs? But everything she uses and enjoys comes from Yuecheng's support. Do you know how many innocent people the Yixing Hall has harmed? Humph, if you do something wrong, you must punish it. Otherwise, the cost of crime will be too low. If everyone harms others in the future, how can we maintain good order?"

Prince Jing was speechless after what she said, and Prince Yong pulled Prince Jing back. Now he really wanted to stuff a rag into Prince Jing's hand to stop him from talking.

"Empress, I really don't know where this silver came from. No matter where you lock me up, I will say that I am wronged!" Princess Liang said loudly because she was sure that Prince Liang would not expose himself.

Tao Yanyan also lost his patience. With a wave of his hand, several guards came in and took Princess Liang away.

"Mother, mother..." The Prince of Liang and his two younger brothers went forward and tried to hug the Princess of Liang, but were separated by the guards, crying at the top of their lungs.

Tao Yanyan rubbed his brows, thinking, how come these children, who are about the same age, are so soft and cute? The children in the Liang Palace are really noisy.

"His Majesty has said that the crime of King Liang will not affect his children. You three children can be spared the death penalty, but you can no longer be the legitimate sons of the royal family. You all should go away. Be good people in the future and don't learn from your father." Tao Yanyan said sternly.

The three children thanked him. The Crown Prince of Liang was the older, already sixteen years old, but the two younger ones, eight and four, had left their former lives of luxury and comfort, and didn't know what to do next...