blogombal Chapter 1671 We had a relationship
Chapter 1671 We had a relationship
"Lord Lin, you are quite the big shot these days." Prime Minister Shen looked at Lin Rong with a deep gaze.
Lin Rong cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister, you flatter me. Where does this humble official get his airs? I'm just usually quiet and reserved."
He's already been very low-key, okay?
"Luo Qiu is in prison now. Surely Lord Lin won't resort to torture?" Prime Minister Shen cut to the chase.
"What are you saying, Prime Minister? I know that she is your beloved concubine. How could you possibly resort to torture before His Majesty has issued an order for a thorough investigation? The Court of Judicial Review always acts in accordance with the law, and there has never been any torture without cause."
Lin Rong looked at Prime Minister Shen with an expression that said, "Don't you dare slander me."
"Since the Emperor has not issued an edict, why is Lord Lin arresting people arbitrarily?"
Luo Qiu did not show his face in front of the emperor and officials.
Those things happened on the pleasure boat. According to Shen Xiangjun, Luo Qiu didn't do anything on the pleasure boat at first, and Lin Rong didn't get on the pleasure boat either, so he couldn't possibly know anything. Why did Luo Qiu end up in his hands?
Shen Xiangjun said that initially it was just her and a few dancers dancing for Prince Jin...
Shen Cheng, on the contrary, did not see that scene, but he confirmed with Shen Xiangjun several times whether it was just dancing and that no one had attacked Prince Jin.
Having received a definite answer, Prime Minister Shen knew that no matter what tricks Lu Zhaoling and Yin Changxing had figured out, there was still a chance to exonerate Wu.
What complaints they later made, or what affected their emotions, is not a serious offense.
Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that the piece was played by Luo Qiu.
As for what happened next, it can be said that it was because Yin Changxing and the other men suddenly barged in that Luo Qiu was frightened, which led to Luo Qiu fighting with them.
In the end, no one was hurt, right?
If it were someone else, they certainly wouldn't dare to take down Luo Qiu directly, and at least they wouldn't dare to imprison her in the Dali Temple so easily.
Even when beating a dog, you should consider its owner.
Lin Rong is incredibly bold; he's truly not afraid of offending him at all.
But you've only been back in Beijing for three years, and now you want to be demoted to some remote, godforsaken place again?
Lin Rong seemed oblivious to Prime Minister Shen's anger and threat. "Prince Jin was almost murdered on the pleasure boat. As the owner of the boat, and also on the boat at the time, he was fighting with Sect Leader Yin and the others. Can't he be arrested? If something happens to Prince Jin and not a single suspect is caught, how will I, the Prime Minister, explain myself if His Majesty blames me?"
"Or does the Prime Minister think that the Emperor doesn't care about the Prince? The Prince has gotten into such a big mess, and they can't even control a courtesan on a pleasure boat?"
Lin Rong asked Prime Minister Shen this question in return.
It's like asking, do you think the Emperor doesn't care about Prince Jin? Prince Jin has gotten into such a big mess, doesn't the Emperor need to hold him accountable?
Could a concubine in the Prime Minister's residence possibly be more powerful than the Emperor's own brother? Faced with Lin Rong's question, Prime Minister Shen was momentarily speechless.
Finally, Lin Rong took the first step back, saying, "If the Prime Minister has nothing else to say, then this humble official will leave the palace now."
He has to go to the Prince of Jin's wedding banquet, so he doesn't have time to sit here and play mind games with Prime Minister Shen.
Lin Rong left in a hurry.
Seeing this, the other officials also hurried out, many of them going to the Prince of Jin's residence for a wedding banquet.
When the Second Prince hurriedly entered the palace to see Consort Shu, she was slamming her fist on the table and throwing a tantrum.
The fact that Consort Yu stayed overnight in the Emperor's palace last night had already infuriated Consort Shu. This morning, the Emperor was unable to get up and attend the morning court session, so Consort Shu felt that it must be Consort Yu's fault.
Consort Yu even dared to take it upon herself to send someone to summon Prince Jin to the palace!
Although Consort Shu was not on Prince Jin's side, she did not want to see Consort Yu so arrogant now.
"Mother, shall we go to Prince Jin's residence today?" the Second Prince asked.
Consort Shu naturally didn't want to go, but she glanced at the Second Prince and said in a bad mood, "You are, after all, a junior. It's such a big event as your uncle's wedding. How can you not be there? Even your father has to do such a grand ceremony. Who do you think you are? How dare you not go?"
The second prince had only asked for her opinion, but he was unexpectedly rebuked by his mother as soon as he said a word.
He looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "Then how about I take Zhaoyun with me?"
A calculating glint appeared in the second prince's eyes.
He said, "Isn't Lu Zhaoling very averse to Zhaoyun? Besides, Zhaoyun knows how to make her unhappy, so how about taking Zhaoyun along?"
Although he couldn't do anything else, the Second Prince thought it was good to annoy people.
He just couldn't stand seeing Zhou Shiyue and Lu Zhaoling so happy.
Consort Shu was actually quite disgusted when she heard him mention Lu Zhaoyun, but she really wanted to make things difficult for Zhou Shiyue and Lu Zhaoling.
Just as she was about to speak, a bodyguard suddenly rushed over.
"Your Majesty, the matter you previously ordered me to investigate has yielded results."
Consort Shu perked up and immediately sat up straight.
"explain."
The second prince was curious. What was his mother asking him to investigate? Why was she so agitated?
The guard took out a silk handkerchief and handed it to Consort Shu.
"This servant secretly searched through Her Majesty the Empress's belongings from back then. After Her Majesty the Empress went into seclusion in the Buddhist temple, many things in her palace were locked up. This servant went to great lengths to find this silk handkerchief among them."
The second prince leaned closer, glanced at the silk handkerchief, and asked, "What does a silk handkerchief signify?"
The guard said, "Your Majesty, please look. This silk handkerchief uses embroidery techniques from Nanzhao, which are not found in the capital."
"Moreover, there is a white pear blossom embroidered on the back. I heard that Lu Zhaoling's biological mother's given name was Cui Liyue. In the past, her handkerchiefs were always embroidered with such a white pear blossom, which means that she had met the Empress and had a relationship with her."
The second prince was somewhat shocked upon hearing this and turned to ask Consort Shu, "Mother, why are you investigating this?"
Then he noticed that Consort Shu's expression was very strange; he couldn't tell if she was excited or angry, but it looked quite complicated.
Consort Shu waved for the guards to leave, then suddenly stood up, grabbed the Second Prince's wrist, and asked him excitedly, "Ling'er, do you know what this means?"
The second prince was quite bewildered and asked, "What does this mean? The Empress and Lu Zhaoling's mother had a relationship, so what does that mean?"
Consort Shu slapped his arm, sounding exasperated.
"You're just stupid," she cursed.
Why are you scolding him again?
"You just said you were taking Lu Zhaoyun to the Prince of Jin's wedding banquet. Is she even able to leave the house now? Isn't she acting crazy?" Consort Shu asked again.
"She somehow got some medicine; one pill can calm her down for two or three days. She seems alright these past two days; she's presentable enough to be taken out in public." The Second Prince is now quite tired of Lu Zhaoyun.