Find a Scapegoat (Part Two)
“That sly and silver-tongued Imperial Consort Xian!”
Princess DanYang paced back and forth in the hall, her face distorted with rage.
The second prince was even more displeased, “If I knew sooner, I would never have listened to you. Capturing Imperial Consort Xian’s spy clearly put us in the right. But now- what a situation- Imperial Consort Xian whispered a few words, and father Emperor has even begun to suspect us!”
After hearing that Imperial Consort Xian’s spy had heard about appointing a crown prince, he suspected that Imperial Consort Xian and the eldest prince had poisoned him, leaving him unable to appoint a crown prince before he passed away.
After a visit to QingHua Palace, he had a different suspicion.
The second prince wanted to ascend the throne sooner thus decided to poison him to have him pass away sooner. He would then push him to quickly appoint a crown prince.
As for the palace maid or spy, it was entirely possible that the second prince colluded with Princess DanYang to frame Imperial Consort Xian and the eldest prince.
Both of these possibilities were quite high, and Emperor Ning could not figure out which side was more likely to have done it. He did not even have someone to talk about this with.
Gu HuaiJiang was loyal and never sided with either of the two princes. He was not alone. The loyal court officials, like Ji GongDao, were also the same.
But the more loyal the official, the more he was afraid of them getting involved in the competition.
The cabinet had not yet been established, and he did not feel that Yin Shuo was worthy of trust. He had no choice but to throw himself at this difficult task. He would not see the eldest prince or second prince. He would not even see Imperial Consort Xian and Princess DanYang.
“Now, father Emperor even suspects me. What is Imperial Consort Xian working off of? Is it not just pillow talk with father Emperor? If mother Empress was still around, we siblings would not be subject to such bullying!”
Princess DanYang slammed the table, her chest rising and falling out of anger, “If mother Empress was still around, she would definitely be reluctant to marry me to someone as useless as Yin Shuo!”
“Enough!”
The second prince was annoyed: “Your constant mentioning of mother Empress is blaming me for not being able to take care of you. Is it not? Father Emperor’s imperial edict decided this marriage. Not to mention how I’m currently not the crown prince, but even if I was, I would be powerless to do anything about it. Could it be that you want me to go and anger father Emperor at such a critical time?”
Princess DanYang seemed to suddenly think of something, “You don’t dare to anger father Emperor, so let’s have someone else take the blame for this.”
…
Princess DanYang caught the tail-end of spring and hosted a spring banquet, inviting everyone from Marquis Gu’s Manor and the children of the noble families of the capital.
The setting was not in the palace. Instead, it was in a garden outside the city owned by the imperial family.
“Princess DanYang won’t still have any ideas about eldest brother, right? At such a critical time, there are people from Western Kun in the city, and the people of Western Kun on the border could attack at any time. How can she be in the mood to host a spring banquet!”
After receiving their invitations, everyone from Marquis Gu’s Manor gathered in the Western Wing to discuss the matter.
Gu Xiang and Gu Yi disliked Princess DanYang the most. In the past, they considered the possibility that she would become their eldest sister-in-law and remained a little respectful. Now, that respect had completely vanished.
With a prospective sister-in-law like Yu Fu, who was charming and beautiful, who could possibly desire Princess DanYang? Even harder to come by was how lively and well-behaved she was.
Any time that she wanted to try and do anything to get closer to Gu ShuBai, they would resist!
Gu WenQing said: “It’s precisely because people from Western Kun are in the capital, with the princess from Western Kun present, that Princess DanYang has an excuse to host the banquet under the guise of welcoming guests. Think about it, the princess is a daughter of a noble family. It would not do to have the eldest prince or the second prince welcome her, right?”
Since a prince could not receive her, it naturally meant that only Princess DanYang could take the stage.
Gu Yi grimaced, “Western Kun’s people don’t care about that at all, alright? I think that Princess DanYang has an ulterior motive. Eldest brother, will you really be going?”
Gu ShuBai did not look up, simply gesturing with his chin toward Yu Fu, “It depends on Yu Fu. If she wants to go, I will go with her to play.”
Yu Fu rested her cheek on her hand, “What sort of place is that imperial garden? Is it pretty?”
Well, she did not consider Princess DanYang’s scheme in the slightest. She only cared about what the scenery looked like.
Gu Xiang hated this about her, “Little Yu Fu, are you not worried that Princess DanYang will use this chance to do something to eldest brother that cannot be taken back, like turning raw rice into cooked rice?”
“What do you mean turning raw rice into cooked rice?”
Yu Fu was familiar with the classical language, but she was not too familiar with Eastern Ling’s dialect. She could not understand what Gu Xiang meant.
Just as Gu Xiang was about to explain, he heard his eldest brother cough a couple of times and shoot a sharp look in his direction.
Such filthy words, were they fit for Yu Fu to hear?
Gu ShuBai turned his head and looked at Yu Fu, “The scenery there is quite nice. The imperial family has a total of five gardens on the city’s outskirts. They are all situated in the places with the best views. You have always liked the scenery of Lin’An, so why not take this chance to go and take a look?”
“Alright, it would be such a pity to not take advantage of the great spring weather. Fourth brother, fifth brother, sixth brother, let’s go together?”
As Yu Fu spoke, she suddenly said: “Huh? Where did second brother go?”
Gu ShuBai burst out laughing, “He won’t go. These past few days, he has been taking care of the manor’s affairs, spending his days hidden away in the treasury. Don’t bother asking him. He won’t participate in the spring banquet.”
He had not asked, so how did he know that Gu JiuGe would not go?
Gu ShuBai noticed the puzzled look in her eyes and continued: “Your status is now different. You can go to the imperial family’s gardens whenever you want. If second brother wants to, you can bring him along next time. This time is no good. Princess DanYang also invited Yin Shuo and his sister.”
Everyone came to a sudden realization.
Gu JiuGe was afraid of seeing Yin JiYao thus was hiding, right?
This was also true. Yin JiYao had told him her secret. If he did not cool things down, it was very possible for the girl to fall for him.
With Yao Yue as an example, Gu JiuGe did not dare be negligent.
Yu Fu quietly muttered: “Princess DanYang invited the man she likes and her future husband. She then invited people from Western Kun. The situation will surely be quite extraordinary…”
Find a Scapegoat (Part Two)
“That sly and silver-tongued Imperial Consort Xian!”
Princess DanYang paced back and forth in the hall, her face distorted with rage.
The second prince was even more displeased, “If I knew sooner, I would never have listened to you. Capturing Imperial Consort Xian’s spy clearly put us in the right. But now- what a situation- Imperial Consort Xian whispered a few words, and father Emperor has even begun to suspect us!”
After hearing that Imperial Consort Xian’s spy had heard about appointing a crown prince, he suspected that Imperial Consort Xian and the eldest prince had poisoned him, leaving him unable to appoint a crown prince before he passed away.
After a visit to QingHua Palace, he had a different suspicion.
The second prince wanted to ascend the throne sooner thus decided to poison him to have him pass away sooner. He would then push him to quickly appoint a crown prince.
As for the palace maid or spy, it was entirely possible that the second prince colluded with Princess DanYang to frame Imperial Consort Xian and the eldest prince.
Both of these possibilities were quite high, and Emperor Ning could not figure out which side was more likely to have done it. He did not even have someone to talk about this with.
Gu HuaiJiang was loyal and never sided with either of the two princes. He was not alone. The loyal court officials, like Ji GongDao, were also the same.
But the more loyal the official, the more he was afraid of them getting involved in the competition.
The cabinet had not yet been established, and he did not feel that Yin Shuo was worthy of trust. He had no choice but to throw himself at this difficult task. He would not see the eldest prince or second prince. He would not even see Imperial Consort Xian and Princess DanYang.
“Now, father Emperor even suspects me. What is Imperial Consort Xian working off of? Is it not just pillow talk with father Emperor? If mother Empress was still around, we siblings would not be subject to such bullying!”
Princess DanYang slammed the table, her chest rising and falling out of anger, “If mother Empress was still around, she would definitely be reluctant to marry me to someone as useless as Yin Shuo!”
“Enough!”
The second prince was annoyed: “Your constant mentioning of mother Empress is blaming me for not being able to take care of you. Is it not? Father Emperor’s imperial edict decided this marriage. Not to mention how I’m currently not the crown prince, but even if I was, I would be powerless to do anything about it. Could it be that you want me to go and anger father Emperor at such a critical time?”
Princess DanYang seemed to suddenly think of something, “You don’t dare to anger father Emperor, so let’s have someone else take the blame for this.”
…
Princess DanYang caught the tail-end of spring and hosted a spring banquet, inviting everyone from Marquis Gu’s Manor and the children of the noble families of the capital.
The setting was not in the palace. Instead, it was in a garden outside the city owned by the imperial family.
“Princess DanYang won’t still have any ideas about eldest brother, right? At such a critical time, there are people from Western Kun in the city, and the people of Western Kun on the border could attack at any time. How can she be in the mood to host a spring banquet!”
After receiving their invitations, everyone from Marquis Gu’s Manor gathered in the Western Wing to discuss the matter.
Gu Xiang and Gu Yi disliked Princess DanYang the most. In the past, they considered the possibility that she would become their eldest sister-in-law and remained a little respectful. Now, that respect had completely vanished.
With a prospective sister-in-law like Yu Fu, who was charming and beautiful, who could possibly desire Princess DanYang? Even harder to come by was how lively and well-behaved she was.
Any time that she wanted to try and do anything to get closer to Gu ShuBai, they would resist!
Gu WenQing said: “It’s precisely because people from Western Kun are in the capital, with the princess from Western Kun present, that Princess DanYang has an excuse to host the banquet under the guise of welcoming guests. Think about it, the princess is a daughter of a noble family. It would not do to have the eldest prince or the second prince welcome her, right?”
Since a prince could not receive her, it naturally meant that only Princess DanYang could take the stage.
Gu Yi grimaced, “Western Kun’s people don’t care about that at all, alright? I think that Princess DanYang has an ulterior motive. Eldest brother, will you really be going?”
Gu ShuBai did not look up, simply gesturing with his chin toward Yu Fu, “It depends on Yu Fu. If she wants to go, I will go with her to play.”
Yu Fu rested her cheek on her hand, “What sort of place is that imperial garden? Is it pretty?”
Well, she did not consider Princess DanYang’s scheme in the slightest. She only cared about what the scenery looked like.
Gu Xiang hated this about her, “Little Yu Fu, are you not worried that Princess DanYang will use this chance to do something to eldest brother that cannot be taken back, like turning raw rice into cooked rice?”
“What do you mean turning raw rice into cooked rice?”
Yu Fu was familiar with the classical language, but she was not too familiar with Eastern Ling’s dialect. She could not understand what Gu Xiang meant.
Just as Gu Xiang was about to explain, he heard his eldest brother cough a couple of times and shoot a sharp look in his direction.
Such filthy words, were they fit for Yu Fu to hear?
Gu ShuBai turned his head and looked at Yu Fu, “The scenery there is quite nice. The imperial family has a total of five gardens on the city’s outskirts. They are all situated in the places with the best views. You have always liked the scenery of Lin’An, so why not take this chance to go and take a look?”
“Alright, it would be such a pity to not take advantage of the great spring weather. Fourth brother, fifth brother, sixth brother, let’s go together?”
As Yu Fu spoke, she suddenly said: “Huh? Where did second brother go?”
Gu ShuBai burst out laughing, “He won’t go. These past few days, he has been taking care of the manor’s affairs, spending his days hidden away in the treasury. Don’t bother asking him. He won’t participate in the spring banquet.”
He had not asked, so how did he know that Gu JiuGe would not go?
Gu ShuBai noticed the puzzled look in her eyes and continued: “Your status is now different. You can go to the imperial family’s gardens whenever you want. If second brother wants to, you can bring him along next time. This time is no good. Princess DanYang also invited Yin Shuo and his sister.”
Everyone came to a sudden realization.
Gu JiuGe was afraid of seeing Yin JiYao thus was hiding, right?
This was also true. Yin JiYao had told him her secret. If he did not cool things down, it was very possible for the girl to fall for him.
With Yao Yue as an example, Gu JiuGe did not dare be negligent.
Yu Fu quietly muttered: “Princess DanYang invited the man she likes and her future husband. She then invited people from Western Kun. The situation will surely be quite extraordinary…”
