Chapter 367: Lady Han’s Death
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“Don’t try to persuade me anymore. This child is softhearted and easily confused.” The Great Empress Dowager lowered her eyes and whispered, “Go see who County Prince Sien was in contact with just now.”
She wasn’t that confused. If Mu Gugu could also think of the suspicions, she would also know. If someone wanted to incite, there would be someone to incite.
Mu Gugu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reported the situation. The places where County Prince Sien, Yuwen Fu, usually went were just a few, the school, the Changxin Palace, and occasionally he would visit his Royal Mother, Consort Li. The people he contacted were also simple, no more than those few people. The wet nurse, Lady Han, was quickly singled out.
Lady Han knew she had violated the taboo of gossip and was so scared that tears flowed, knocking her head vigorously until it bled. “This slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die. Please spare this slave’s life for the sake of nursing County Prince Sien when he was young.”
Yuwen Fu hadn’t expected that he couldn’t protect his wet nurse after all. He tried to push forward the eunuch who delivered the message, to replace Lady Han’s crime. “He deceived the wet nurse. The wet nurse is not the kind of person who likes to gossip. It’s him, it’s him.”
The Great Empress Dowager didn’t comment, letting people drag Guo Laoxi, the eunuch, over. Guo Laoxi confessed unreservedly, still insisting on his previous statement, that he heard it directly from Ying Wangfei’s mouth. Even if he underwent many rounds of torture, was on the verge of death several times, and was revived to breathe again, he still maintained this statement and did not admit that he had malicious intentions or deliberately incited anything.
Why did they inform Yuwen Fu’s wet nurse, Lady Han? Naturally, it was because Lady Han had saved his life. County Prince Sien was a good child, so he wanted to repay the favor and remind them of certain things. Liang Youyi continued to investigate, but didn’t find any suspicious connections involving Guo Laoxi. Instead, they discovered Guo Laoxi’s affair with Lady Han, which was definitely a scandal.
There were examples in the palace of eunuchs and palace maids forming illicit relationships, but during the reign of Emperor Wen, due to the distasteful rumors between Great Empress Dowager Fu and the deceased eunuch Rong Ming, Emperor Wen was deeply disgusted. He had strictly forbidden palace maids and eunuchs from forming such relationships, and violators were punished by beating to death.
After Emperor Zhengqian ascended the throne, intentionally or unintentionally, he continued this tradition. Yuwen Bai was even more indifferent to this matter. He even tried to bring up the affair between the Great Empress Dowager and Rong Ming. Now, with Rong Ming sacrificing himself to defend the Great Empress Dowager’s innocence, it turned out to be a scandal involving County Prince Sien’s wet nurse and a eunuch.
In such a sensitive period, such scandals could not be tolerated.
That night, Lady Han fell seriously ill and died. Guo Laoxi was secretly detained and continued to be interrogated and tortured.
As the drizzle continued, Yuwen Chu sensed the cold air coming towards him as he emerged from the carriage. He exhaled a breath of white mist and joked softly with Jing Song, “It’s not as cold as last year. It’s only starting to get cold now that winter is almost here.”
Jing Song thought, where isn’t it cold? It’s clearly very cold, alright? Frost has formed early in the morning, and riding a horse in the morning is freezing. While you, old man, lie on a soft bed, satisfied, holding your young wife, going in and out of carriages, and being served with hot soup and water, of course, you don’t feel cold. However, he didn’t want to spoil Yuwen Chu’s good mood and chuckled, “It’s not too cold.”
Yuwen Chu sensed the difference in his words and immediately gave him a sideways glance. “You don’t marry and insist on being single. Now you’re jealous of me? Come on, who in particular have you set your eyes on? I’ll have Wangfei help you.”
Jing Song awkwardly scratched the back of his head and smiled, “No, it’s not urgent for now.”
Yuwen Chu knew that his aspirations were lofty and wouldn’t be satisfied with just marrying any woman to carry on the family line. Therefore, he didn’t force him and gave a few instructions in a low voice before entering the hall.
Su Lan had been waiting at the door early on. When she saw him coming, she hurriedly greeted him and softly reported what had happened that day.
Yuwen Chu couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that Mingzhu had been diagnosed with pregnancy but then frowned when he heard the rest of the story. “Send for Tang Chunlai.”
Entering the room quickly, Mingzhu had already gotten up and was sitting at the table in a daze. When she saw him coming in, she smiled faintly and was about to get up to greet him. Yuwen Chu hurriedly stepped forward to press her shoulder, not allowing her to get up, scolding gently, “If you’re not feeling well, lie down. Why aren’t you listening and still getting up?”
Mingzhu had pretended to be unconcerned before, but when she heard him speak like this, she knew he had already learned about what had happened. Unable to control her tears, her eyes turned red, and she fell into his arms, crying, “I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t know that day. Why is everything so complicated?”
Seeing her crying, Yuwen Chu felt uneasy. If it were someone else treating Mingzhu like this, he would have scolded them long ago. However, he and the Great Empress Dowager were now at odds. He couldn’t speak well of the Great Empress Dowager, nor could he speak ill of her. He could only hold Mingzhu tightly, comforting her like a child by patting her back gently and saying softly, “Stop crying. Crying too much is not good for the baby. This situation, someone must have said something to the Great Empress Dowager behind your back. Don’t worry, let’s go to the palace tomorrow and personally tell her the good news. She will only be happy for you and won’t hold it against you.”
“Really?” Mingzhu looked at Yuwen Chu with teary eyes, somewhat disbelieving his words but wanting to believe them.
“Of course it’s true. Look, you’ve done so many unreliable things before. Has the Great Empress Dowager really ever held it against you?” Yuwen Chu pretended to be relaxed as he persuaded, “I heard that if a pregnant Mother cries a lot, the baby born will also cry a lot, and will have red eyes. Red eyes, do you know? Like a white rabbit with red eyes.”
“Who are you trying to fool?” Mingzhu was amused by his exaggerated expression and tone, wiping away her tears and lightly hitting him. Then she couldn’t help but feel sad again. “This time is different from before. The Great Empress Dowager is really angry with me. I can feel it.”
Yuwen Chu originally wanted to say that different paths cannot converge, and even if the Great Empress Dowager doesn’t get mad at you this time, she will next time. However, he didn’t want to hurt Mingzhu’s feelings. He smiled, “Don’t overthink it. Do you want to give birth to a child who cries all day long with a mournful face? Come on, smile! Otherwise, I’ll get angry! What do you want to eat? You can eat whatever you want tonight.”
Mingzhu had no appetite and shook her head. “I don’t want to eat anything.”
This time, it was Yuwen Chu who was anxious. “Why don’t you want to eat anything? No, you must eat!”
As the two of them were entangled over whether to eat or not, how much to eat, and what to eat, Tang Chunlai finally arrived. Yuwen Chu gave Mingzhu a vigilant look, instructed Zheng Momo and Su Lan, “Take care of Wangfei and don’t let her act recklessly, or else I’ll hold you accountable!” Then he went outside to chat with Tang Chunlai.
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