That night the clan's mansion.
Ever since the manpower deployed in various palaces was removed in one fell swoop by Emperor Yong, the news about the second prince has lagged behind a lot.
By the time he found out that the eldest princess had been punished, it was already late at night.
It was Liu Yun who heard about the raid on Zhaohua Palace and tried his best to find out.
She had no way of knowing some detailed details. She only knew that the prince, Qiao Zhongguo, Tan Hanchi, and Duke Yan were all present. Concubine Wan was also there. It was obvious that there was no way to save her life.
The second prince knew that today was the wedding of the eldest son of the Qiao family, so he never slept peacefully, waiting for news about the eldest princess.
Zhufeng stood in front of the couch, and after relaying the news from Liuyun, he couldn't help but feel worried.
"Your Highness, the eldest princess and Concubine Wan have always been close to you. Now that they have both suffered heavy losses, our help is really getting less and less."
The second prince's eyebrows were heavy, but there was not much surprise on his face. Instead, he murmured in a low voice:
"Knew it--"
When Zhufeng heard this, his face was full of confusion, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"
The second prince stood up slowly. No candles were lit in the room. He stood barefoot on the ground. He seemed to have completely adapted to the simplicity of the clan mansion.
"Zhufeng, didn't you notice?"
Zhufeng looked confused, what should he find?
The second prince walked up to the window and opened it.
The moonlight shines in, and it is clear and cold, which can make people clear their heads.
The second prince chuckled lightly and said pointedly: "Every matter, as long as it involves the Qiao family, this palace will definitely fail, right?"
Zhufeng was shocked when he heard this, is that so?
The second prince ignored Zhufeng and slowly made a very clear line in his mind.
"In the initial Chunwei case, if we can intercept and kill Tan Hanchi on the way to the Jinluan Palace, the whole situation will be solved, and the Qingguo Duke's Palace can be used by our palace."
"However, Qiao Zhongguo stood up."
"During the Dragon Boat Festival Palace Banquet, the fourth brother 'resurrected' from the dead. According to Liu Yun's later information, the fourth brother had a conversation with Miss Qiao before leaving Funing Palace."
"After the fourth brother left Funing Hall, Qiao Diyi followed closely with Miss Qiao in his arms and followed him out."
"It's hard not to think that it was Qiao Diyi who fished the fourth brother out of Yuhua Lake."
"And Ah Sheng's death..."
"The Duke of Yan's Palace and the Qiao Family are so close. I don't believe it. The Qiao family did not have any hand in Ah Sheng's death!"
"There is also the matter of the military power in the southern border. This military power was originally in the hands of General Xiao. But by chance, Qiao Zhongguo asked his second son Qiao Diyi to become his disciple."
"And on the night when I designed Guo Gaoyi, the Qiao family went to the Xiao Mansion as a guest."
"Then our palace's plan failed. General Guo made a prompt decision and took Guo Gaoyi into the palace to apologize. In the end, he took over the military power in the southern border as he wished, and Guo Gaoyi was spared his life."
"Zhufeng, do you see clearly? The word 'Qiao' is inseparable from every single one of these things."
"This time, I guided Sister Huang to design Tan Hanchi in the Qiao Mansion. Look, it failed again."
The second prince looked calm and spoke out the thoughts that had been lingering in his mind these days.
When Zhufeng heard this, he looked at the thin back of the second prince with shock and fear in his heart.
What’s surprising is that the Qiao family is so hidden!
What's scary is that it turns out that His Highness deliberately lured the eldest princess to take action on Qiao Dalang's wedding day, just to... verify a conjecture!
So, the eldest princess was... treated as an outcast by Her Highness?
At this time, the second prince slowly turned around, his handsome face was facing away from the light, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
As if he understood what Zhufeng was thinking, the second prince said calmly:
"Zhufeng, the royal family doesn't care about family ties. How could the royal sister be plotting against me...?"
"She has obviously fallen in love with Tan Hanchi for a long time, but she still wants to act out this drama in front of me. If she tells me frankly and asks me to give her advice, I will be more soft-hearted."
"After all, even with a purpose, she still gave me a lot of warmth in the palace."
"Pity......"
The second prince's voice suddenly became low, and he seemed really melancholy and sad.
The next moment, he laughed at himself again.
Sometimes, even he felt that he was just like his father, as cold-hearted, selfish and cruel.
"That's all. If this palace can get what it wants in the future, it will naturally release the imperial sister, and then we will slowly compensate her."
"Fortunately, Sister Huang's failure still has some value. Obviously, it is the Qiao family that has been stirring things up from behind!"
"Qiao Zhongguo, Qiao Zhongguo, I already think highly of you, but I didn't expect that I still underestimate you!"
"How on earth did you do it? It's as if you had divine help..."
Zhufeng's heart also stirred up a storm.
He always thought that the man behind the obstruction of His Highness was the prince!
"Your Highness, where is the prince?"
The second prince turned around and walked to the couch and sat down, and said calmly: "Brother, of course, we should not underestimate him. After all, he is the one who can give this palace a fatal blow..."
Seeing that the second prince spoke so calmly, Zhufeng couldn't help but feel his heart tighten.
"Your Highness, what should we do next?"
The second prince's fingertips tapped the bed, making a very regular "tap" sound.
"There's no rush. Whether it's the Longevity Festival or the congratulatory delegation from Nanli Kingdom, there's a lot to do in it."
"The difficult thing is how to get around the Qiao family, or... how to drag the Qiao family down with them!"
"Zhufeng, please carefully repeat the news reported by Liuyun. Be careful not to miss any details."
How dare Zhufeng make any omissions? He quickly slowed down his voice and spoke clearly every word.
The second prince listened carefully, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
When Zhufeng finished speaking, the second prince suddenly started talking to himself:
"The Qiao family's status has been stable for too long..."
————
On the second day, a decree came from the palace, and everyone was in an uproar.
In order to pray for the people of the world, the eldest princess Shen Yuanxian was willing to enter the palace and temple for the rest of her life. From then on, she often accompanied the ancient Buddha with green lanterns, eating fast and chanting sutras.
Smartly, he quickly thought of the wedding banquet at Qiao Mansion last night.
After all, the eldest princess also went there last night, but according to the wife at home, the eldest princess went out to change clothes not long after the banquet started, but she never returned until the banquet was over.
When we think about the fact that the prince left the banquet early and Qiao Zhongguo, the host, "disappeared" halfway, everything became suspicious.
All the ministers secretly guessed that the eldest princess must have done something terribly wrong in the Qiao Mansion last night, which was why she was punished so severely by the Holy Emperor.
Why praying for the world is just an excuse that the royal family came up with to save face. Isn't this a life sentence?
Although everyone knew it, no one dared to gossip.
On the contrary, Qiao Mansion managed to escape unscathed from such a turmoil, which made everyone in the capital look down upon her even more.
