Chapter 548
~ STABBED IN THE BACK ~
Mu Yunyao’s heart trembled. The words of the Su family’s Old Madam turned out to be true. “Yue Wang’s birth mother, the Empress, really have an affair with Luo Kun?”
Wei Yi shook his head. “No.”
“No? Then what exactly happened back then?”
Wei Yi shook his head and kept his mouth shut.
Mu Yunyao frowned, “You can’t say it?”
“This servant is not clear about the details of the situation, so I do not dare to mislead master.”
Mu Yunyao sighed, “I know. Do you know the itinerary of Ling Wang and Jin Wang?”
“Reporting to Mistress, Ling Wang will enter the Capital early tomorrow morning. Jin Wang stays in Jiangnan to help Qi Yun build the riverbank for a while and has begun his journey back to the Capital. He is expected to arrive in ten days.”
“Yes, did Grandmother and Mother have someone to protect from the Shadow Guard?”
“Reporting to Mistress, Grand Princess Yi De and Lady Huiyi have each sent two shadow guards to protect their safety.”
She asked about some things, and Wei Yi all understood very detailed. It was obvious that there were only twenty people, but the Shadow Guard seemed to be omniscient, making Mu Yunyao admire them in her heart. “Alright, you can leave first. I’ll come to look for you if there’s anything else.”
The main hall was quiet. After thinking about it carefully for a while, Mu Yunyao was still determined to hide the matter. If the Emperor and Grand Princess Yi De didn’t know about this matter, it wouldn’t benefit them to tell the Emperor about it. If the two of them knew about it but didn’t expose it, then there must be a secret behind it that she did not know. Since they had been hiding it for so many years, she might as well let this matter become a secret.
After Ling Wang entered the Capital, he didn’t even have time to change his clothes and directly entered the Palace to report to the Emperor.
The Emperor had just finished drinking the decoction. At this moment, he held a memorial handed over by Qi Yun with a deep look in his eyes.
“This Son greets Imperial Father. It has only been a few days. Why does royal father’s expression look so ugly?”
The Emperor sized up Ling Wang, staring at him earnestly with an indifferent look on his face, “Why did you come back alone? Didn’t I announce that you and Junjin would come back together?”
“Reporting to Imperial Father, this Son’s heart is always concerned about Imperial Father. After receiving the imperial edict, although I was also worried about the riverbank and the citizens of Linjiang City, I could not violate the decree, so I did not dare to linger for even a second. I had initially wanted to return to the Capital with the Third Imperial Brother, but the Third Imperial Brother had insisted on staying in Linjiang City. He patrolled back and forth on the riverbank all day, but I didn’t know what he was searching for all the time. This Son told him to go, but he has shown great reluctance. Therefore, I did not force him.”
Ling Wang had ingeniously said these words. Jin Wang had stayed in Linjiang City to help Qi Yun build the riverbank so that he could gain a good reputation. But after the matter passed through Ling Wang’s mouth, Ling Wang accused Jin Wang of violating the Emperor’s orders. This kind of crime could be big or small, depending on whether the Emperor was willing to make a fuss about it. He then hinted that Jin Wang had not stayed in Jiangnan to build the riverbank but that he had other secrets.
After the Emperor finished listening, there was no expression of joy or anger on his face. “This trip to Jiangnan was arduous. Since you’re back, go back to your residence to have a rest.”
“Yes.” When he heard that the Emperor did not reward him as he had done in the past, he could not help but worry. After leaving the Palace, he rushed back to his residence.
Li Yuanzhou had already sent someone to wait at Jing Wang’s Palace. Upon seeing Ling Wang, he submitted the handwritten letter.
After Ling Wang finished reading the first half of the letter, the worry in his heart immediately disappeared. So it turned out that Imperial Father didn’t bestow any rewards to Ning Junyue and Mu Yunyao. He wanted to wait for the disaster in Jiangnan to completely subside before discussing the reward merits. When he saw the contents of the second half of the letter, he was taken aback for a moment and then laughed out loud, “Hahaha, okay, come on, go and call Qi Ming over.”
After such a long time, he had been secretly searching for the whereabouts of the salt tax silver, but he couldn’t find any trace of them. He didn’t expect that Jin Wang would allow the victims to transport the salt tax silver into the Capital, which is a good trick! After the disaster, the victims were everywhere, so it was not very noticeable. If it weren’t for the equally famous Yi Bao Xuan, who paid extra attention to the situation, he would have been fooled by Jin Wang.
Soon, Qi Ming followed Ling Wang’s guard and walked into the room. “Qi Ming pays his respects to Your Highness Royal Ling Wang.”
“Hurry up and dispense with the formalities. Look at the seats.”
Qi Ming’s faces were slightly frightened: “Your Royal Highness Ling Wang, has this servant made a mistake?”
“No, you found out about Jin Wang’s scheme in the Capital and reported it in time, causing Jin Wang to suffer such a huge loss. It can be said to be great merit, and I will reward you handsomely.”
Qi Ming hurriedly shook his head: “Your Royal Highness has saved this servant, and you didn’t get angry with me because I had followed Jin Wang before. Instead, it was to help this servant manage Yi Bao Xuan, this servant’s heart is forever grateful, and this servant naturally should do everything for Your Royal Highness.”
“Good,” Ling Wang became increasingly satisfied with Qi Ming, “Although Yi Bao Xuan is developing well now, in the end, it is still too small. Seeing that you have contributed greatly, I will give you some other tasks. Do it well, and do not disappoint me.”
Qi Ming quickly knelt in salute, looking especially devout, “Yes, Your Royal Highness, please be at ease. This servant will do my best.”
“Mm, you can leave now.” After Qi Ming had left, Ling Wang instructed his trusted aides, “I remember asking you to investigate Qi Ming, saying that he has a family in Jiangnan?”
“Yes.”
“Send some people to control his family and relatives. If he is completely loyal, then forget it. If he has any other intentions, I will ensure he doesn’t have any of his family members alive.”
“Yes, this subordinate will do it immediately.”
When the news from Jiangnan reached Mu Yunyao’s hands, Bu Xian Lou’s renovation was almost finished. Jin Lan destroyed the letter and turned her head to look at Mu Yunyao, who was smiling.
“Qi Ming’s families are arranged by Liu Liang, Miss. The purpose is to let Ling Wang use Qi Ming peacefully. Now that his family is under Ling Wang’s control, does that mean he completely trusts Qi Ming and wants him to do something more secretive?”
Mu Yunyao nodded, carefully selected a begonia hairpin, and inserted it into her hair. “Qi Ming has a sense of decency, so there’s no need to worry about him. Recently, His Majesty’s health has been almost fully recovered. Send someone to inform the shopkeeper of Bu Xian Luo and let them prepare carefully. I plan to go with Grandmother and Mother to taste the flower fruit tea in Bu Xian Luo.”
“Yes.”
When Mu Yunyao arrived at the main hall of Yuhua Palace, the Emperor was in the middle of the hall talking to Grand Princess Yi De.
“Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Grandmother.”
“Stand up. Yao’er has been helping me recuperate my body for the past few days. She has done a great service. What kind of reward would you like?”
Mu Yunyao initially smiled, but after hearing this sentence, she quickly kneeled. “I originally wanted to tell the Emperor about this matter in a few days, but you mentioned it today. Yunyao dared to have a ruthless feeling and hoped that the Emperor would agree.”