The Favorite of the Sick and Weak Lady - Chapter 75

She chose her words carefully, “I feel like I’ve been led step-by-step into a huge pit. Every step I take feels designed by someone else. From Chen Ziyi’s death, to me being forced to come to the capital, then so coincidentally becoming the emperor, and now it seems the mastermind wants to pull me down from this position. Actually…” She paused here, her expression showing a hint of grievance, “Actually, I just lied to you.”

Song Luoning was startled. Her obsidian-like eyes flickered, and her fingers under her sleeve clenched tightly. Distractedly, she said, “Oh? What did Your Majesty lie to me about?”

After listening to Xiao Yu’s words, she had lost some of her usual composure. Her thoughts couldn’t help but drift to that marriage certificate. Before leaving the capital, her father had repeatedly told her she must marry this person. And the person her father sent to protect her… Song Luoning’s eyes dimmed. She shouldn’t be so suspicious of her father.

Perhaps it was all just a coincidence?

She was a bit dazed and heard Xiao Yu continue, “Actually, it’s not just the literati in the capital who have a big problem with me. My father-in-law’s original words were that they were very dissatisfied with me and were ‘verbally attacking’ me.”

Verbally attacking?

How could that be?

Song Luoning’s brows furrowed. In history, even with a tyrannical ruler, the literati of the world wouldn’t dare to openly verbally attack the emperor. What’s more, this scoundrel had just ascended the throne. Even if she really did kill that person, what’s wrong with killing a rebel?

The most they could say was that she was petty, but verbal attacks?

She would absolutely not believe that there wasn’t someone behind this.

But this person behind the scenes…

For now, she suppressed her doubts, curved her lips, and softly asked, “Did Father say anything else?”

Xiao Yu shook her head. “My father-in-law has already gone to investigate the person spreading the rumors. I hope the mastermind is caught soon.” This mastermind was truly despicable, spreading such rumors. And those so-called literati… She hadn’t done anything, and without any evidence, they talked about her like this. They called themselves literati, but they didn’t even understand a truth a three-year-old child knows.

She hadn’t felt much about it before, but for some reason, in front of the eldest miss, she felt especially wronged and felt a particularly pathetic urge to cry.

And she did just that. The young girl’s eyes reddened slightly, and her body trembled as if she was trying hard to suppress something, like a wronged little animal burying its head in its owner’s arms, seeking comfort.

Song Luoning’s body stiffened, then slowly relaxed. She gently stroked her back. “Why is my husband crying?”

Looking down at the person in her arms, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. Her tone was gentle. “Husband is already the emperor now, you can’t cry anymore. People will laugh at Your Majesty if they see you.”

She called her husband. At this moment, they were just an ordinary couple, embracing each other.

After an unknown amount of time, the girl raised her head, her eyes wet. With red-rimmed eyes, she took out a familiar-looking porcelain bottle from her arms.

Song Luoning’s brows furrowed slightly. “This is…”

“An antidote. If you take it for ten consecutive days, the poison in your body will be gone.” With that, she didn’t care about Song Luoning’s expression, she just put it in her hand, sniffled, “Once you get better, we can go to many places.”

Another medicine.

Song Luoning’s gaze fell on the porcelain bottle, her eyes filled with a hidden meaning.

Where did these so-called miraculous medicines come from?

Also, was the wisdom this person displayed something a boy from the countryside could really possess?

What secret was this person hiding?

Song Luoning’s heart tightened. Could it be true, just as she had guessed before…

Reincarnation or body-snatching was indeed bizarre.

But the world is vast and full of wonders…

Seeing her staring at the porcelain bottle, Xiao Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She stood up and turned her back, feeling panicked. What if she asked about it? How should she explain?

She couldn’t help but worry.

Song Luoning pondered for a moment. “Thank you, husband.”

Huh?

Xiao Yu turned her head, blinked, and felt a huge sense of relief that the eldest miss hadn’t pressed for more information.

But the eldest miss’s eyes…

Xiao Yu’s heart pounded. The eldest miss was too smart. She must have been suspicious of her for a long time, but why didn’t she ask?

Could she have found out that I’m not the original owner?

Xiao Yu was startled and kept reassuring herself that the eldest miss had never met the original owner and shouldn’t be suspicious.

She was just afraid she would ask where the medicine came from.

However, since she didn’t ask, she would just play dumb. Once the eldest miss’s poison was gone, she wouldn’t have to take medicine anymore, and she wouldn’t have this worry.

Otherwise, if this happened a few more times, even if the eldest miss didn’t ask, she wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt.

She quickly changed the subject. “I’ve already asked Fushun to bring Mother into the palace. It’s not that I wanted to make the decision on my own. It’s just… Constable Liang suddenly returned to Linyang County, and I’m worried they’re not safe outside. Of course, I’m not saying my father-in-law’s people can’t protect them, it’s just that having them close by makes me feel more at ease.”

Xiao Yu rubbed her hands, her eyes unfocused. She would absolutely not admit that she was feeling guilty.

“What?”

Liang Chengqiu went back to Linyang County?

Why would she go back to Linyang County? Song Luoning pinched her fingers. “Does my husband know why Constable Liang went to Linyang County?”

Why? Xiao Yu shook her head, guessing. “Probably official business at the county office. Fushun said that she received a letter and left, and she left in quite a hurry.”

“Is that so?” Song Luoning was thoughtful.

For some reason, the atmosphere around the eldest miss suddenly felt a little heavy. Xiao Yu nodded heavily. “Wife, what do you think if I issue an imperial edict to summon her to the palace to work?”

Song Luoning hesitated, her expression pausing. She got up, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to her. “Husband, it’s better to make a decision after you’ve asked Constable Liang. What if Constable Liang doesn’t want to enter the palace? Wouldn’t that be forcing her?”

Xiao Yu thought about it. “Constable Liang probably has feelings for Xiaoyu, but what my wife says is also true. Then I’ll write a letter to ask for her opinion.”

Song Luoning looked at her and didn’t say anything more.

Hopefully, it was just her overthinking things.

Early the next morning, Xiao Yu wrote a letter and had someone deliver it to Linyang County on horseback. About half a month later, Liang Chengqiu returned from Linyang County, and at the same time, a bad piece of news came from the Dali Temple: the armored guard who had returned to report the message had suddenly died.

It was one thing that there had been no clues for many days, but now the only witness was dead, which undoubtedly made the case more difficult.

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the people kneeling in the hall.

Could it be that the mastermind truly couldn’t be caught?

The public sentiment in the capital had been boiling recently. They had already arrested a few of the leading literati who were causing trouble, but who knew that as soon as these few were locked up, others would pop up. What was more hateful was that some of them were from aristocratic families.

In the imperial court.

Grand Secretary Zhang: “Your Majesty, since the clues have been broken, this old official believes we should focus on suppressing the rumors.”

“No.” Xiao Qinya’s eyes swept over them coldly, her expression serious. “Those literati were merely misled. If the court suppresses the literati, it will disappoint the literati of the world. By then, if the court wants to recruit talent again, who will be willing to serve our Baisheng?”

Song Yunzhou: “This old official also agrees with the Grand Princess’s opinion.”

Just like the last time, most of the court officials sided with Grand Secretary Song.

Xiao Yu looked at the hall below, her expression inscrutable. After a while, she nodded. It was true that they couldn’t disappoint the literati. This way, the case fell into a dead end again.

As for how to investigate from now on, she had no direction for the time being. Sitting on the dragon throne, she secretly observed the reactions of each minister. To control the court, she had to understand where everyone stood.

She already had a general idea in her heart. For example, Grand Secretary Zhang seemed to be in the same camp as Grand Secretary Song on the surface, but whenever his opinion differed from the prime minister’s, his eyes would show dissatisfaction.

Another example was the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works, who belonged to the same camp but seemed to have a disagreement.

And then there was General Li. It seemed that he might already know about the matter between Xiao Qinya and Miss Li, otherwise, he wouldn’t have looked at Xiao Qinya first before stating his position.

If she remembered correctly, the Imperial Guard was the emperor’s personal army and only took orders from the emperor. However, one thing was the same as in the original novel: whoever Miss Li was with, General Li would be in that person’s camp.

In the original plot, Miss Li married the male protagonist, and General Li played an important role when the male protagonist attacked the capital. It could even be said that without General Li, the male protagonist would not have been able to break through the capital so easily.

Now he was on the Grand Princess’s side, and Xiao Yu wasn’t sure if Xiao Qinya had any rebellious intentions. If Xiao Qinya did, she probably wouldn’t even have a chance to resist, and her heart was in a tangled mess.

The morning court session began at the hour of Mao (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.), and in the blink of an eye, it was already the hour of Chen (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.). The court officials still hadn’t come to a conclusion.

Finally, Xiao Yu only kept the Prime Minister, the Grand Princess, the Minister of Justice, and the Grand Minister of Dali Temple for further discussion.

At this hour, the ministers hadn’t eaten yet, so Xiao Yu ordered tables to be brought in, and the ruler and her subjects ate together in the hall, while also summoning Liang Chengqiu to come over. They continued to discuss countermeasures while they ate.

There were only six people in the hall besides Fushun. Behind each person stood a servant, and the rest waited outside the hall.

Since the last imperial edict, the emperor’s breakfast had been simplified to six dishes, probably not even as elaborate as the meals in the homes of the officials present.

Xiao Yu glanced around and said earnestly, “Please eat your fill.”

Eat their fill of what?

The ministers didn’t dare to object. If the emperor could eat it, why couldn’t they? Were they going to show off their superiority in front of the emperor?

Which of the people present wasn’t a sharp-witted person?

When they were almost done with breakfast, Xiao Yu smiled and said, “Constable Liang has ample experience in handling cases and is skilled. Let’s have her join the investigation as well. I hope you will catch the culprit soon.”

“This…” The Minister of Justice looked at the cold-faced woman in front of him and then at the emperor.

Wasn’t this a farce?

What did a woman know about these things? Even if she was a constable, she was from a small place. What kind of experience could she have? He looked at the Grand Minister of Dali Temple, who was calmer than him. He opened his mouth and then secretly glanced at Grand Secretary Song. He was also very calm.

The Minister of Justice chose to obediently shut his mouth.

Sure enough, he was the only one who was out of line. But luckily, he had first observed the attitudes of the others, otherwise, not only would he not have gained the emperor’s favor, he might have also left an impression of deceiving the emperor.

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