Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 416 The Curtain Opens

Wang Xifeng tilted her head and stared at Daiyu's face, her gaze moving from her slightly trembling lips, to her constantly flaring nostrils, to her tearful eyes, and finally to her suddenly twitching eyebrows.

Wang Xifeng's heart trembled, and then she was secretly happy: This letter is really important! It's worth the effort I put in to get it!

I just don't know if it's enough to make up for my crime...

"The princess?"

Daiyu ignored her and read the letter again from the beginning. Finally, she frowned slightly, pointed at the "youyou" on the letter, and asked:

"It says here that the Second Master once gave some kind of talisman to King Jin, and there was an old man from the Wang family present. Is this old man Wang your father or your uncle?"

Wang Xifeng was confused for a moment: "King Jin? Who is King Jin?"

"The King of Xining's surname is Jin, and the King of Nan'an's surname is Huo. The King Jin here is the Prince of Xining, and the Huo is the King of Nan'an." Daiyu explained patiently. When she was about to continue asking, a light cough suddenly came from the inner room.

Wang Xifeng was frightened and grabbed Daiyu's hand.

The thick curtain was lifted up a little, and Zijuan nimbly stepped out, smiled at Wang Xifeng, and then extended her hand to Daiyu.

Daiyu remained silent and slowly handed over the letter.

Zijuan took the letter, turned around and went back behind the curtain.

By this time Wang Xifeng had already jumped up in fear and stood there at a loss. When she saw Zijuan lifting the curtain again, she bit her lower lip tightly and fell to her knees with a thud!

In the inner room, there was only the rustling sound of flipping paper, and no other movement.

Daiyu glanced over there, then stepped forward and helped Wang Xifeng up: "Sister Feng, I'm afraid the children have woken up. I'll go over with you to take a look."

Wang Xifeng was trembling all over and her face was pale. She stammered, "Okay, okay!" She was helped out by Daiyu on her weak legs.

It was not until they left the west side hall and stood on the corridor that Wang Xifeng regained her composure, stopped, gently grasped Daiyu's hand, and asked in a low voice:

"Good sister, tell me the truth, is that... the Queen Mother or...?"

Daiyu lowered her eyes: "Not the Queen Mother."

Wang Xifeng's body swayed, and she used her free hand to press hard on her pounding heart. After a long while, she took a deep breath and continued:

"In that case, you can ask someone to lead the way for me. Go back first, maybe... I have something to ask you."

Daiyu looked at her deeply, nodded, and squeezed her hand hard.

Then he called two palace maids and said, "You two accompany my sister to the side hall to look for Princess Yimin. Don't delay on the way."

Seeing the three people walking away slowly, Daiyu turned around and went back.

The curtain was drawn and lifted, and Emperor Zhaoming had already walked into the outer room. He stood beside the table where Daiyu and the other two had just sat, and lowered his head to read the letter.

Daiyu came back and knelt down first: "My family members are rebellious, Your Majesty, please calm down."

“Get up!

"Which of these greedy pigs and dogs is worthy of being your family? Your parents were loyal and filial, but they both died at such a young age at the hands of these pigs and dogs!

"I will never give up until I have such a deep vengeance for you!" The veins on Emperor Zhaoming's forehead were about to pop out. He sneered and shouted:

"Tao Xingjian! Chu ga!"

The two of them came out from somewhere and walked in together: "Your Majesty!"

Emperor Zhaoming was a man who remained calmer when faced with great events. At this moment, he regained some of his composure and sat down:

"How is the King of the East?"

Tao Xingjian glanced at the confused Daiyu, and then he tried to explain, saying in a gentle voice: "The two princes had woken up, but His Majesty asked them to confront each other. The two quarreled, and the Eastern Prince was so angry that he vomited blood and fell into a coma again.

"The imperial physician examined him this afternoon and said that the King of the East was old and had been overworked before, so his body was already weak. Add to that the poison, and it's really not appropriate for him to be over-stimulated.

"The coma is caused by anger. He will wake up at night."

Emperor Zhaoming asked again: "What about the Western King?"

"He said nothing, but sneered." Tao Xingjian lowered his head, "Without an imperial decree, Prince Duncheng dared not take any action, but only asked questions.

"When the Western King came up, he said: I won't embarrass you, and you don't embarrass me. That made Prince Duncheng speechless."

Emperor Zhaoming sneered, holding the letter and handing it to Tao Xingjian: "Look, the great emperor valued Lord Rong very much back then, and asked him to keep the general's talisman as a token of his longing. But the unworthy descendants of the old master gave it to the bad guys to do evil things!"

Tao Xingjian took the letter and read it.

Emperor Zhaoming looked at Chu Kai and asked, "Is Situ Sheng on duty tonight?"

"Yes. Lord Zhongqin was not supposed to be on duty tonight, but when he saw General Xiao Feng leading his troops out of the capital, he said that things might not be peaceful in the next few days and he was worried.

"I heard that he exchanged shifts with someone else and asked someone to go back to the mansion to get bedding and a change of clothes. He planned to rest after the Lantern Festival."

Chu Qian showed admiration on his face, "And Lord Lecheng, he was kept by General Feng after he went to Daming Palace.

"I heard that the Daming Palace is understaffed, so I have promoted Lord Le Cheng to be a squad leader, with a team of 24 people, specifically to guard the most important Imperial Study."

"Twenty-four people?" Emperor Zhaoming frowned slightly.

Tao Xingjian said without even looking up: "Although Lord Lecheng has just come of age, is taciturn and honest, his father has found a great master to teach him, and his skills on horseback and on foot are extremely outstanding.

"I heard from Lord Zhongqin that if Lord Lecheng really wanted to fight, he might not be able to defeat both of them.

"General Feng has a keen eye. Twenty-four people is the safest option."

Emperor Zhaoming said nothing.

After reading the letter, Tao Xingjian sneered and looked up to ask for permission: "Your Majesty, with this, can we arrest people directly?"

"Well. Let's ask Situ Sheng to come over." Emperor Zhaoming seemed to have finally thought it through, and then he slowly issued an order:

"Once the palace gates are opened tomorrow, order Situ Sheng to lead the team to seal the gates of the Jia, Wang, Shi, Xue, Jin, Huo, Niu and other families. All adult males will be locked up for trial.

"Send a letter to Jiangnan, escorting Zhen Xun to the capital to await trial.

"Order Prince Zhongshun to lead the team and invite Prince Yu to stay at Zongzheng Temple temporarily. You are allowed to enter Prince Yu's mansion but not leave."

Tao Xingjian was stunned: "King Zhongshun?"

Emperor Zhaoming smiled faintly: "It is Prince Zhongshun."

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Tao Xingjian, "Didn't Zhitong find the painting of the beauty of the nun from Gusu from Shui Rong?

"Give it to Prince Zhongshun, and ask him to return home to reflect on his mistakes after he captures Prince Yu. Yuanxiao will come to me later to defend himself."

After hearing this, Daiyu couldn't help herself, so she quietly moved half a step to the side and stood behind Emperor Zhaoming, then glared at him hatefully.

Emperor Zhaoming seemed to have eyes on his back, and said casually: "Well, by the way, before going to Prince Zhongshun's palace to convey the imperial edict, seal the door of Zhaoqing's princess's mansion as well."

After saying this, he turned around, looked directly at Daiyu, and snorted, "Are you satisfied with this?"

Daiyu lowered her head and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty is kind-hearted and thoughtful. I admire you very much!"

Emperor Zhaoming then rolled his eyes at her, looked at Tao Xingjian, and continued to issue a series of orders.

The inventory inspection, which was originally planned to be launched after the Lantern Festival, will begin on the tenth day of the first lunar month.