Thanks to the fact that the change of dynasties was not resolved peacefully, more than half of the Xiao family of the Great Zhou royal family were killed in an instant. There are only a few people left in the royal family, and there are only a few of them. There have never been many affairs in the clan affairs office.
Prince Fenyang was drinking tea in the yamen as usual, listening to the list of gifts distributed to the royal family in autumn. Normally, time passed quickly, but today, he had already decided on the regulations for Princess Mingchang's birthday, and only an hour had passed.
He couldn't help feeling a little flustered. He threw the gift list on the table with a clatter, stood up and went out. He saw a thrush hanging in a cage under the eaves. He raised his eyebrows and went over to tease it absentmindedly.
He walked around the yamen in a state of anxiety. Just as he was about to ask someone to go and see why there was no movement, he suddenly saw his confidant running in. He immediately stopped, coughed, and went into the house first.
His confidant followed him in, closed the door and said anxiously: "Your Highness, Zhan Changshi is dead."
Dead
The Chief Secretary of the Royal Palace was a fifth-rank official. Although that was nothing in the capital city where the powerful and wealthy were thronged, he was certainly not an unknown little person. Even if he was one of the Three Officials, there was no reason to execute him without questioning. How could he have died so soon
Seeing his shock, the confidant explained without delay: "Last night, Zheng Tao led his men out of the palace and went straight to Prince Zhuang's mansion. After searching, they went to Zhan Changshi's house. For some unknown reason, Zhan Changshi set himself on fire."
Set fire to oneself.
These few words sounded so light, but they were extremely important to Prince Fenyang. He sat in the chair and closed his eyes.
Something happened.
He clenched his fists, but soon calmed down and told his confidant expressionlessly, "According to my previous instructions, those people have evacuated, right?"
"Don't worry, they have already withdrawn." The confidant was very cautious: "Your Highness, even if it is Tie Cong's matter, you don't have to worry. Although you revealed Lai Bin's matter to His Majesty, you didn't say anything else. As for whether this matter is true or not, there is no evidence, and Tie Cong will not come back to life. Even if you are asked, you can just make excuses."
Just pretend you don't know, after all, they have no evidence.
The back of Prince Fenyang's head hurt so much that he stretched out his hand to press his neck and turned it. When he felt better, he spoke: "I know my limits. You go to the Xu family."
As he said this, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.
Just as the confidant reached the door, Eunuch Chen from the palace arrived. He was one of the great eunuchs in front of Emperor Yuanfeng, and Prince Fenyang always gave him some respect. When he saw it was him, he hurriedly stood up with a smile and asked, "Why are you here, Eunuch?"
Eunuch Chen didn't smile much today. He sighed and shook his head: "Your Highness, are there any records of the supplies that the clan office provided to Yue Shuren back then?"
The commoner Yue... ...the third prince Xiao Yue!
Prince Fenyang's right eyelid twitched suddenly, and he looked at him in disbelief, and asked in shock: "What do you mean, eunuch?"
He soon found out what it meant.
That morning, Emperor Yuanfeng issued three imperial edicts in succession.
They were to posthumously confer the title of Prince Sihuai on the former crown prince, build the crown prince's tomb, and relocate the imperial mausoleum.
Then he summoned Song Xiangyu back to Beijing and bestowed the title of Earl of Loyalty and Righteousness on him.
The third decree was also the one that shocked the court and the public - Song Heng was the orphan of the former crown prince, raised by the Earl of Loyalty and Righteousness. Now his status must be restored, and the Ministry of Rites, the Taichang Temple and the Ministry of Clan Affairs must formulate regulations to allow Song Heng to recognize his ancestors and return to his clan.
Song Heng... ..no, now it’s Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng's life experience shocked the court and the public.
The Wang family was shocked. Mrs. Wang was originally worried about the injury of her fifth brother-in-law. She was also concerned that Mrs. Wang Wu had not returned from the palace yet. She was so worried that she couldn't eat. Suddenly, she heard her husband say that Song Heng was actually the prince's biological son. She was stunned and didn't react for a while.
When she finally reacted, her eyes widened in disbelief.
Old Madam Wang suspected that she had heard it wrongly, and she almost couldn't hold the cup in her hand steady: "What did you say? Song Heng is the son of the late crown prince?!"
"Yes!" Master Wang had not yet come to his senses. He sat beside the old lady, his mind wandering. After a long while, he finally said under the old lady's urging, "The emperor has issued three decrees in a row, all of which ordered the cabinet to issue them to various places immediately. How could they be wrong?"
Old Mrs. Wang had no mood to drink tea. She put the cup on the table with a clatter and said, "This is really more bizarre and tortuous than a play. That old fifth... "
She thought about it and sighed, "This time, Prince Zhuang's Mansion said that the princess's pregnancy was not saved. They made so many troubles and asked Doctor Shen to leave... It must be related to this matter, right? And the fifth brother's wife was assassinated on the way to the palace... She and the fifth brother were not worthy of being assassinated. It seems that it is also related to Song Chenshi's life experience..."
We are all smart people, and when so many coincidences come together, they are no longer coincidences.
Master Wang nodded.
Mrs. Wang clutched her handkerchief and gnashed her teeth in hatred: "I have been worried and frightened these days. I can't sleep and have nightmares every day..."
King Zhuang is too hateful.
She became nervous again: "Then, what about my brother?"
Doctor Shen is just a doctor. Before, it was said that he plotted to murder Princess Zhuang, but now it is said that King Zhuang deliberately framed her, then her brother should be fine too, right
Mr. Wang didn't know much at the moment. He shook his head and said, "We have only heard about Song Chenshi's background. There is no conclusion about the matter of Prince Zhuang. The Ministry of Justice is investigating it intensively. There is still no news about your brother."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, "But, I'm afraid the Su family always has some news. They have always been close to Song Heng, and didn't your brother send a letter to Su Rong at the other manor before, asking for 100,000 taels of silver?"
Mr. Wang was actually very anxious and wanted to know what happened. He said to Mrs. Wang, "Take Fanfen to the Su family and ask around. You will have a better idea."
It’s so worrying. Now that Song Heng has become Xiao Heng, what will happen in the future
Mrs. Wang saw that her husband was uneasy. She also really wanted to know the whereabouts of Dr. Shen and what was going on, so she said, "Then I'll have someone prepare it. I'll take everyone with me. Anyway, our family is inseparable from the Su family, and now no one should be keeping an eye on us."
If it was really as they guessed, then King Zhuang would be in a difficult situation and could hardly save himself, so how could he have the time to care about them
Mr. Wang hummed, and Mrs. Wang hurriedly reminded him: "Be careful about your manners. They won't hide anything that can be said."