He patted Xiao Heng's shoulder, looked him over, and then nodded with a smile: "Good! Your Highness's demeanor is indeed extraordinary. Over the years..."
He looked a little sad again: "Forget it, no more, no more. Your Highness is of noble status, and now he has returned to his original position. It is Tianyi who did this, and I am happy for you."
The Fifth Prince knew that they would have a lot to talk about when they met again after separation, so he said goodbye before Xiao Heng could speak, and patted Xiao Heng on the shoulder: "Your Highness, you must know more about what I just told you than I do since you came into the palace from outside. If you have anything to ask, just ask your Highness. I'm leaving first."
Xiao Heng nodded at him.
The Fifth Prince exchanged a few more words with Song Xiangyu before going to Fengzao Palace to pay his respects to Concubine Pang.
Concubine Pang was talking to Aunt Cui about Tian Xun: "She is indeed a smooth talker, and now she is the favorite of the Empress Dowager. Since she is coming of age, why don't we do her a favor? On the day she leaves the palace, you will personally send her ten pieces of brocade and a pair of gold-threaded pomegranate seed bracelets."
Aunt Cui agreed, and couldn't help but sigh: "This girl has rarely been to the palace before, but I didn't expect her to be so capable. Speaking of which, she is much smarter than the older girl. I'm afraid the Queen Mother has high hopes for her."
"That depends on her fate." Concubine Pang disagreed. She gave things to Tian Xun just to give face to the empress dowager. As for the empress dowager's thoughts, she saw through them, but did not take them seriously. If Xiao Heng was a man without his own opinions, he would not have come this far.
Whether she can become the Emperor's eldest grandson's consort depends on Xiao Heng, not the Queen Mother.
"What fate?" The fifth prince heard it and came in from behind the curtains: "Who are you talking about, mother?"
Seeing her son, Concubine Pang smiled a little more: "Why did you come here so early today? I think you are like a horse without a bridle now."
He winked at Aunt Cui again.
Aunt Cui left with a smile, and Concubine Pang talked to the Fifth Prince about business: "Your grandfather is going to celebrate his birthday. Our family is now in a state of prosperity. Fifth Prince, you must be clear-headed and alert. This is a time of trouble. Everyone is eager to keep an eye on us. If your father wants you to go out and celebrate your grandfather's birthday, you must be sensible, understand?"
The fifth prince immediately understood what his mother meant, and nodded hastily to assure her: "Don't worry, you have reminded me of this countless times, and I know it very well. Father had previously favored my fourth brother, and later doted on Ah Heng, simply because he was concerned about the power of the Pang family. I have thoughts that I shouldn't have, and I will never make a mistake and give others a handle on me."
Concubine Pang was really pleased that her son could think of this so quickly. She sighed and said, "You've finally figured it out. It's a good thing that your aunt came to the palace a few days ago. I said you were stupid and that you were not so lucky. Now it seems that you are not that stupid."
After teasing for a few more words, Concubine Pang leaned back on the pillow behind her, holding her waist with a tired look, and slowly exhaled.
The Fifth Prince felt distressed when he saw the tired look on her face: "Mother, you have been worrying too much lately..."
"How can I not worry about it?" Concubine Pang smiled bitterly, "It seems to be something outside the palace, but in reality, it's not that simple. Your father is in a very bad mood because of the death of Prince Fenyang. He has been sending people to prison at will these days. How many people have suffered from this? And the Princess of Fenyang, she has come to the Queen Mother and me to cry many times... A few days ago, Princess Yongning and Princess Mingchang had to fight a lawsuit. Everything is a big deal."
The closer you are to the center of power, the more you can feel the intricacies of it.
Now that all forces are ready to make a move, she, a noble concubine who raised the fifth prince, must be extremely careful. Otherwise, if she is not careful, she might fall into someone else's trap and become someone else's pawn.
The Fifth Prince was feeling a little depressed, and couldn't help but say, "Don't worry too much, mother. The matter of Prince Fenyang has been investigated, and father should make a decision soon."
"Where did you hear this?" Concubine Pang straightened up and said solemnly: "You..."
"Don't worry, mother. I didn't ask about it!" The fifth prince said confidently, "My father asked me about my homework today, and I heard it openly. He Zhizhou also wanted to kill Yongding Bo and Qiao Danning together. This matter is not small, and you will hear about it soon."
Concubine Pang's eyes darkened. After a while, she tapped the table with her fingers. After a long while, she slowly said, "Okay, okay!"
That afternoon, the cabinet's documents were sent to various government offices. Qiao Danning was sentenced to death, and He Zhizhou was ordered to be severely interrogated and forced to explain everything clearly. As for the Qiao family's property, it was all confiscated into the national treasury.
In addition, he ordered the Wucheng Military Department and all government offices to make every effort to arrest those who colluded with the Qiao family and hid prohibited weapons.
Martial law was immediately imposed and checkpoints were set up everywhere in the capital. Suddenly, everyone knew that someone had instructed the Qiao family to kill Prince Fenyang and frame Chen Dong, a captain of the Imperial Guard.
Naturally, Chen Dong came out of the Ministry of Justice unharmed.
And what a coincidence, as soon as he returned to the Jinyiwei, he led the team to arrest the group of people whose origins were unknown.
With the participation of the Jinyiwei, the matter that had been originally clueless immediately began to have some clues. Within a few days, Chen Dong led his men to a private house in the eastern suburbs and caught several veteran soldiers red-handed.
According to the identification by the old woman imprisoned in the Qiao family, these veteran soldiers were the ones who escaped from the capital late at night that night.
The situation was turbulent, and it inevitably affected many people. The Taoist priest in white pushed the door open and walked into the room. He had a completely different cold expression on his face and shook his head at Qi Yunxi: "No, he was caught after all."
It was difficult to escape. He thought that he had established so many connections and hid in the suburbs, so he would be fine after the storm passed. But who knew that even so, he would still be caught.
The Jinyiwei were as capable as ever in their work.
Qi Yunxi raised his eyebrows, and the cup in his hand was suddenly clenched, and then thrown to the ground.
The Taoist priest in white robes didn't even look at it, but just said: "This time, we have to bleed. Otherwise, if something goes wrong with He's place and our side, and we are implicated, wouldn't it be more trouble than gain? Don't fight for a moment."
Qi Yunxi's eyebrows were gloomy, and his face was full of clouds. He slapped the table with a loud bang and said, "So who do you think is the most suitable person to be the scapegoat?"
That's a compromise.