0p0 Chapter 190 The Heartbroken Madam Lin
Chapter 190 The Heartbroken Madam Lin
“Sister, Granny Tian came to keep me company on the orders of the Emperor. I didn’t want her to come, but I can’t go against the Emperor’s good intentions. If you dislike her, let her stay for a few days first, and then find a way to get rid of her.”
Seeing that Wei Ming understood her thoughts, she quickly shook her head in denial.
"You brat, do you think your sister is such a petty person? It's a good thing that she's here to take care of you, but you'd better keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't bully Nana and Mao Mao, or the servants in the manor."
Wei Ming immediately gave his assurance, guaranteeing that Granny Tian would not dare to act as domineeringly in the Crown Prince's residence under his name as before.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Lan Zhi his real purpose in sending Granny Tian.
When he was talking to her, his eyes would always unconsciously dart away.
On the way here, Granny Tian told him to always remember that Lan Zhi was his enemy and that he had to get rid of her before the Crown Prince returned. When the Crown Prince returned, he would surely be weakened by her, and in that case, he would have avenged most of his revenge.
Although Wei Ming wasn't sure if he really wanted to do it, he at least remembered what Granny Tian had said when he saw Lan Zhi.
……
At dusk, Ling Jiawei returned. After confirmation, the female corpse in the east of the city was not Ling Lanhua. This finally put Lan Zhi's mind at ease. However, Lanhua's disappearance was true. So where did she go?
Ling Lanhua was not the only one who mysteriously disappeared; news came from the palace that Princess Yujie had also gone missing.
When Lan Zhi first heard the news, she was stunned. After listening carefully, she roughly guessed that this girl might no longer be in the capital.
Because Yu Jie had stayed indoors for several days, by the time someone discovered that she was not in Shuxiang Palace, her maids Azhu and Caifeng had also disappeared along with her.
This doesn't seem like a disappearance; it's more like running away from home.
As if realizing something, Ah Qi cried out in alarm.
"Master, Linglan Flower is missing, and Princess Yujie is missing too? Could it be a flower thief from the capital?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
Lan Zhi looked up and glared at her.
"Have you ever seen a notorious womanizer get into the palace? Besides, Yu Jie left with her two personal maids, which clearly means she deliberately left home. I think I can guess where she went!"
Ah Qi blinked curiously a few times.
"Can you guess? Where did she go?"
"How long has the Crown Prince been gone?"
"About ten days..."
"How long has she been missing?"
"You mean she left with the Crown Prince?"
Lan Zhi smiled slightly, tapped her fingers lightly on the table, and nodded.
"If I'm not mistaken, she's very likely gone to find her Brother Yuan."
Ah Qi immediately exclaimed:
"So, the Crown Prince might not know she's traveling with the army? What do we do now? The palace is frantically searching for her, and we can't tell them our suspicions!"
"You're right, this is just my speculation, and we can't bring it up publicly. Let's put it aside for now!"
"By the way, Your Majesty, I heard that the Emperor has recently promoted a young concubine."
"hehe!"
Lan Zhi's slender fingers held the teacup, deftly twirling it a few times before she smiled disdainfully.
"The Emperor is the ruler of the country. What's so surprising about him bestowing a title upon a concubine?"
"But it is said that because of this concubine, the emperor has not attended the morning court for many days, and even the empress dowager cannot listen to him. Isn't this a harbinger of disaster for the Northern Wei Kingdom?"
She looked up at Ah Qi and rolled her eyes at her.
"Little girl, how dare you speak so freely about the Emperor's affairs? Aren't you afraid of having your tongue cut out?"
Ah Qi stuck out her tongue and pouted, "There's no one else here. Besides, it wasn't me who said it. It's all over the capital. Apparently, this Consort Lan is actually a commoner."
Lan Zhi smiled nonchalantly.
"For a woman from the common people to possess such supernatural abilities is quite remarkable..."
At this point, her hand, which was holding the teacup, paused in mid-air, and she looked at Ah Qi in surprise.
"What did you say? What's her name?"
"Consort Lan!"
Consort Lan? A commoner?
Lan Zhi suddenly gasped as if she had just thought of something.
On the day she married the Crown Prince, the Emperor left without saying goodbye, and at the same time, Ling Lanhua also disappeared.
Now, a commoner woman has suddenly appeared in the palace and has been promoted to the rank of Consort Lan...
It can't be such a coincidence, right?
She immediately gasped, while Ah Qi looked at her, puzzled.
"Master, what's wrong with you?"
Lan Zhi shook her head.
"It's alright. The New Year is coming soon. Prepare a few things for me. I'm going to the palace to see the Empress Dowager first thing tomorrow morning."
Of course, her desire to see the Empress Dowager was a pretense; her real intention was to see Consort Lan.
Lin Mansion
Madam Lin held the pair of silver bells, completely absorbed in looking at them.
Lin Xingliang stood beside her and watched her for a long time, but she didn't even notice.
"lady……"
Lin Xingliang called out, pulling Madam Lin back from her memories.
"Master, you're back?"
Lin Xingliang sat in the chair, let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with helplessness. Madam Lin quickly asked softly,
"What's going on? Has the Emperor not yet held his morning court session?"
Lin Xingliang shook his head.
"No, a few days ago the Emperor didn't hold morning court, and we all thought he was sick. But today we learned that the reason the Emperor didn't hold morning court and didn't handle state affairs was because he spent a long time on the imperial bed with a commoner woman. Moreover, the Emperor disregarded the Empress Dowager and the Empress's objections and directly promoted this woman to the rank of concubine."
Mrs. Lin was not curious about this.
She still clutched the pair of small silver bells, murmuring:
“A commoner woman who has the opportunity to meet the emperor is certainly not an ordinary commoner woman.”
Her words seemed to make Lin Xingliang realize something.
He frowned and nodded.
"You're right. This woman from the common people is probably no ordinary woman. Could she be a spy planted in the palace by someone else?"
Madam Lin remained silent, but Lin Xingliang could no longer remain seated.
"No, I need to go and discuss this with my father."
"master……"
Madam Lin called out to her, and Lin Xingliang, who was about to sit up, sat back down in his chair, looking at her in surprise.
"Does Madam find something amiss?"
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Don't rush things. Besides, the Crown Prince isn't in the capital right now. If you impeach the Emperor now, the other two princes, who are eyeing the throne, will definitely take this opportunity to cause turmoil in the court. At that time, you and your father won't be able to control the situation. Let's wait a few more days and see!"
After pondering for a moment, Lin Xingliang felt that his wife's words made sense, and immediately nodded.
"Madam is right. I was too hasty and almost caused a disaster."
At this point, he looked at the silver bell in his hand.
"Madam, are you missing your daughter again?"
Madam Lin let out a long sigh, her eyes beginning to redden.
"Poor child, only a few days old, before she even had a chance to see her mother, she was devoured by a wild beast, ooh ooh ooh!"
“Alright, madam, ever since you took these little bells back, you’ve been hiding in your room crying all day. If you keep doing this, I’ll throw them away.”
"you dare!"
Madam Lin held the pair of small bells protectively to her chest.
"If you dare touch them, I'll take your life."
"Ugh!"
Lin Xingliang let out a long sigh.
"My dear wife, I miss our daughter too, but she's no longer alive. What good will it do you to miss her? Just treat Yuwei as your own daughter!"