Reborn to marry, the short-lived prince lived a hundred years

The next day.

It was already very late last night when Meng Tingyue finished listening to the story, and when she woke up it was already past three quarters past noon.

While she was dressing, Qingdian whispered in her ear, "As the Crown Princess predicted, something happened to Qiao Lige. However, our people have been keeping watch in the dark and have already captured the thief."

Meng Tingyue glanced sideways upon hearing this, a faint smile of "everything is under control" flickering across her lips. "How is Qiao Lige doing right now?"

Meng Tingyue nodded slightly, her eyes piercing through her own reflection in the bronze mirror as she softly asked, "Where's the thief?"

"He is being held in the dungeon. We will go and deal with him as soon as the Crown Princess has breakfast." Qing Dian said respectfully.

After Meng Tingyue finished breakfast, he went to the dungeon.

Under the dim light, a familiar silhouette quietly came into view, causing Meng Tingyue to raise her eyebrows slightly and open her red lips in a hint of surprise: "Ling Qi? How could it be you?"

Hearing the voice, Ling Qi called out softly, "Crown Princess."

This unexpectedness, however, seemed to be somewhat predictable. After all, in the Crown Prince's mansion, every move was subject to his observation, so how could she easily conceal anything?

Meng Tingyue's thoughts were in a whirlwind of thoughts.

Ling Qi bowed respectfully and said, "Crown Princess, the person has been confessed."

"This person's background has also been investigated clearly."

As he spoke, Ling Qi presented a booklet with both hands.

Meng Tingyue raised her hand to take it and read it carefully.

Ling Qi stood to one side, his voice low and clear, and he slowly stated, "This man is actually a trusted confidant of Butler Zheng..."

Meng Tingyue's eyes swept across the detailed description in the book. The man's past experiences were spread out like a scroll, along with those weaknesses that could be exploited by others, all listed one by one, clearly.

This detailed report undoubtedly revealed that what happened last night had already caught the prince's attention, and he had secretly arranged for assistance to lend her a helping hand.

After a moment's silence, Meng Tingyue's eyes shifted slightly, and she asked softly, "When did your Highness begin to doubt Steward Zheng?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Qi's expression became even more respectful, and he replied, "Whenever the Crown Princess became suspicious, Your Highness became suspicious as well."

Meng Tingyue nodded slightly, holding the booklet lightly in her hand. She already understood in her heart that by handing the booklet to her, Shen Yunheng tacitly agreed to her taking action against Butler Zheng.

Just as the thought faded, Ling Qi's voice rang out again, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said that since Butler Zheng has made a mistake, he must be punished. The Crown Princess only needs to punish him according to the law. His Royal Highness will not interfere, and the Zheng family has no right to interfere."

When Meng Tingyue heard this, her mind suddenly became clear, as if the clouds had cleared and the sun had appeared.

The Zheng family relied on the Queen's influence, and Ling Qi's words were intended to make it clear that the Queen would not intervene in this matter. Even if the Zheng family brought the matter before the Queen, they would only bring humiliation upon themselves and ultimately return home in disgrace.

After realizing the key, Meng Tingyue's worries disappeared and she was able to concentrate on dealing with the affairs of Butler Zheng.

Holding the evidence she had collected, she walked up to Butler Zheng and mercilessly threw the hard evidence at his feet like falling leaves.

At first, Butler Zheng tried to make up his mind and make excuses, but when Qingdian brought the witness before him, all his excuses were shattered.

Meng Tingyue watched quietly as the guards escorted Butler Zheng step by step towards the Dali Temple. Her eyes were deep and calm.

At this time, Qinglan approached lightly and whispered in her ear: "Crown Princess..."

Meng Tingyue's face was as calm as water, and her tone was unquestionable and steady: "Let him go. Only when Butler Zheng completely gives up will he stop stirring up trouble. Perhaps, in despair, he will reveal more inside information..."

Before he finished speaking, Meng Tingyue suddenly stopped.

She knew full well that the Zheng family was far from innocent. In this prosperous capital, every powerful family had their share of dirty deeds, the only difference being the severity.

The reason why Butler Zheng dared to act in this way was undoubtedly because he had the Zheng family as a solid backing, silently cleaning up the mess for him.

However, Meng Tingyue couldn't help but wonder in her heart, if this matter really involved a wide range of people and affected the Zheng family, would the queen still be as kind and lenient as before and remain unmoved?

Meng Tingyue's mind was full of thoughts, which gradually turned into worry.

This worry did not last long. It was like a breeze blowing by, and she gently exhaled the anger in her chest, and her mood calmed down.

Forget it, now that things have come to this, we can only deal with the situation as it comes: meet the enemy with our troops, block the water with earth, and adapt to the situation.

The news that Butler Zheng was imprisoned spread quickly to every corner of the Zheng family like wings.

The Zheng family was eager to find Shen Yunheng, but was turned away and did not even see him.

The Zheng family, unwilling to give up, prepared a heavy visiting card and attempted to enter the palace to meet the queen.

Unfortunately, the queen did not see them either. She left them waiting outside eagerly but she never opened the palace gates.

After all the trouble, the Zheng family had no choice but to put away their pride and leave in disgrace, feeling unwilling and helpless.

The moment Butler Zheng learned that he had been ruthlessly abandoned by his family, a raging fire of resentment ignited in his heart. His former loyalty turned into resentment in an instant, and he poured out all the unknown private matters of the Zheng family like a treasure trove.

When the officials of the Dali Temple heard this, they all looked embarrassed. They did not dare to take over this hot potato easily, so they could only secretly look for Shen Yunheng.

The Zheng family is Shen Yunheng's maternal grandparents after all. Although Shen Yunheng was angry about what the Zheng family did, he had to consider the queen's face and report the matter to the queen.

The queen found out that they were using her name to do evil things behind her back, and she was so angry that she smashed many exquisite teacups.

But in the end, she still remembered that it was her mother's clan, and the blood connection was hard to give up.

After some struggle, she finally made a decision to let the Zheng family use gold, silver and treasures to compensate the innocent people who were harmed by their evil deeds.

But this still caused the Zheng family to suffer heavy losses, and the Zheng family gradually declined.

This farce lasted for a long time.

It wasn't until Lord Meng's birthday that everything calmed down a little.

At that time, the Meng Mansion was bustling with people inside and outside, with guests coming in an endless stream, almost breaking down the threshold of the Meng Mansion.

Lord Meng was grinning from ear to ear, his face filled with joy.

The shadow of the recent loss caused by selling Ningxiang Pills with Meng Qingjiao in the shop has now been forgotten by him and disappeared without a trace.

The servant leaned close to Lord Meng's ear and whispered, "Sir, I've heard that because the ministers learned that His Majesty would be coming in person, they have prepared generous gifts and want to use this birthday banquet to congratulate His Majesty."

When Lord Meng heard this, his eyes flashed and a look of surprise crept up his eyebrows.

"Is this certain?" he asked in a low voice.

How could he not have heard anything?

The servant nodded firmly: "Absolutely true."

An indescribable joy suddenly welled up in Lord Meng's heart. If His Majesty could truly come on his birthday, it would undoubtedly be a great affirmation and respect for him.

Looking back, even on the birthday of the old lady of Marquis Pingyang, His Majesty did not show up, and he was just an ordinary minister, so this favor was really rare.