"What's the big deal?" Zhao Jingyu glanced at Cheng Zhiye disapprovingly. Hearing the way he addressed her, she felt that he was exaggerating. If something really happened, would he still have the heart to call her "Yu"? How corny.
He believed that Cheng Zhiye was deceiving him, so he sat down leisurely at the tea table, crossed his legs, picked up the tea and took a sip.
"You still have the heart to drink tea." Cheng Zhiye shouted anxiously, "Song Jingxing reported the matter of you raising soldiers privately to the emperor. The empress cooperated with him to put pressure on the emperor and asked him to punish you severely. The emperor had no choice but to summon you to the palace for questioning."
Zhao Jingyu spat out a mouthful of tea, put down his legs, and sat up: "Enter the palace, now?"
"Yes, now, immediately, immediately, it's urgent!" Cheng Zhiye said repeatedly.
Zhao Jingyu was only shocked for a moment, but soon calmed down: "Where's my dad?"
"You... which father?" Cheng Zhiye hesitated.
"Nonsense, of course it's the Marquis."
"Oh, Lord Marquis, the Lord Marquis has been called to the upper study. It was he who asked my father to inform you, so my father sent me here." Cheng Zhiye said.
"Okay, I got it. I'll change my clothes and go." Hearing that the Marquis had already left, Zhao Jingyu became calmer and walked slowly into the inner room to change clothes.
It really proved the saying that the emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuchs are. Cheng Zhiye was so anxious that he was furious, but the person concerned didn't take it seriously at all. He changed his clothes and combed his hair, which took him half an hour to finish. He didn't ride a horse, but sat in a carriage and slowly went out.
Cheng Zhiye sat in the carriage, sweating profusely, and complained, "Even if you don't ride a horse, at least ask the driver to drive faster. If you keep going like this, the sun will have set by the time you get into the palace."
"You know shit, this is called psychological warfare, you know?" Zhao Jingyu leaned back on the big, soft and comfortable pillow, swinging his feet and said leisurely, "When two armies fight, they must fight with all their might. The longer the battle line is, the easier it is to get tired. Anyway, they are the ones who are anxious, not me. Why should I rush to die when they are full of energy? If I delay a little longer, maybe my father can handle it himself."
Cheng Zhiye: "...Okay, you are awesome, and your military training was not in vain, but don't forget, it's not just the Queen and the Crown Prince who are waiting for you, but also the Emperor. You are the only one in my life who dares to make the Emperor wait."
Zhao Jingyu yawned lazily and simply closed his eyes to rest. The carriage passed by Qingxiangzhai and even sent Wei Jun to buy two boxes of golden taro crisps, which made Cheng Zhiye speechless.
When they arrived outside Donghua Gate, the carriage stopped and Zhao Jingyu and Cheng Zhiye got off. A young eunuch from the study had been waiting there. When he saw them, he immediately greeted the guards and brought them into the palace.
As attendants, Wei Jun and Huangfu were not allowed to enter and could only wait outside the door.
The young eunuch was walking in front, and Zhao Jingyu and Cheng Zhiye were following behind, carrying two boxes of snacks. As the young eunuch was walking, a folded piece of paper accidentally fell out of his sleeve pocket, but he didn't seem to notice and continued to walk forward in small steps.
Zhao Jingyu winked at Cheng Zhiye, and Cheng Zhiye squatted down while tidying up his shoes, picked up the paper, caught up with Zhao Jingyu, and quietly put it into his hand.
Zhao Jingyu looked around to see if there was anyone around, so he quickly glanced through it, then crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it into Cheng Zhiye's mouth.
"..." Cheng Zhiye protested in a low voice, "Why should I eat it?"
Zhao Jingyu said seriously: "Because I don't like eating paper."
Cheng Zhiye: “…”
When they arrived at the upper study, the eunuch politely asked Cheng Zhiye to stay outside the door and only took Zhao Jingyu in.
Zhao Jingyu walked in carrying some snacks and saw Song Wanji, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sitting on the dragon throne with a dignified look on his face. Queen Meng and Marquis Dingyuan were sitting on his left and right sides, facing each other. Song Jingxing was standing beside Queen Meng without taking a seat.
"Your humble servant Zhao Jingyu pays homage to His Majesty!" Zhao Jingyu lifted his clothes and knelt on the ground. He put down his snacks and prostrated himself before Song Wanji.
Song Wanji frowned slightly because of the word "common people" and said in a deep voice: "No need to be polite, just stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Jingyu stood up to express his gratitude, not forgetting to pick up his snacks.
"What are you holding in your hand?" Song Wanji asked.
"Your Majesty, these are the golden taro cakes from Qingxiangzhai," Zhao Jingyu said, "I just passed by there and bought them specially for your honor."
The word "filial piety" made Song Wanji's brows relax and a smile appeared in his eyes.
"Is it delicious?" he asked with a smile.
"It's delicious, Your Majesty, please try it." Zhao Jingyu walked forward with the snack in his hand. As soon as he took a step, Queen Meng suddenly scolded him, "How dare you! Your Majesty is worth a fortune, and you actually gave him something of unknown origin to eat. Do you know your crime?"
Zhao Jingyu was suddenly startled, his hands shook, and the snack fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
"I deserve to die, I deserve to die..." He was panicked and knelt on the ground again, kowtowed and apologized.
Marquis Dingyuan also hurriedly stood up and bowed to apologize on behalf of his son.
Song Wanji's face suddenly darkened, and he said unhappily: "The Queen is too cautious. How can he, a child, openly poison me?"
Before Queen Meng started to attack Zhao Jingyu, she was scolded by the emperor first. She was angry and said gloomily: "I am thinking about the emperor's health. You can't eat anything from outside casually."
"Forget it. I can't eat it now even if I want to." Song Wanji said regretfully as he looked at the broken snacks on the ground.
Queen Meng: “…”
As the king of a country, he has eaten all kinds of delicious food. He often throws away food that he cannot finish. Now he feels sorry for wasting this food that is not worthy of being served at the table.
No wonder the prince told her that in the eyes of the emperor, everything Zhao Jingyu did was good, and even when he got into trouble it was because he was eccentric and it was just his personality.
Was he so tolerant and caring towards a concubine's son just to win over Marquis Dingyuan
She felt that things were not that simple.
The night before yesterday, the prince came to her and told her that Zhao Jingyu not only met with the emperor in private, but also had a close relationship with Hu Qianshan. She was so shocked that she couldn't recover for a long time.
You know, Hu Qianshan even disdained the Prince's tutor, so why would he only fall for a bastard's son? Moreover, this bastard could not only see the emperor anytime and anywhere, but also followed the emperor's orders to make friends with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was the in-laws she had carefully chosen for the prince. Even though she was tricked by the Mansion in the matter of the real and fake daughter, she gritted her teeth and endured it for the sake of her son. But the Emperor used both coaxing and intimidation to prevent her from causing trouble for the Mansion, while at the same time asking Zhao Jingyu to make friends with it. What was his intention
After thinking it over, she felt that something was fishy. She discussed it with the Crown Prince and decided to find a reason to test the Emperor and Zhao Jingyu to see what secrets they had.
The prince said that his secret guards had heard that Zhao Jingyu had secretly raised a group of retired soldiers, so they used this as an excuse to ask the emperor to summon Zhao Jingyu into the palace for interrogation.
Look at the current situation. The interrogation hasn't even started yet, but the emperor is already favoring Zhao Jingyu. If she says there is nothing fishy going on, she won't believe it even if you beat her to death.
Song Jingxing also didn't believe it. In his opinion, Zhao Jingyu was a sinister and cunning person. Everything he did had ulterior motives. Even the fact that he spilled snacks when he was frightened just now was probably intentional. It not only diverted everyone's attention, but also caused his mother to be blamed by his father.
We must be on guard against such villains.
"Father, we have been waiting for the second young master Zhao for several hours. Let's not waste time on snacks and get down to business!" He suggested to the emperor, and at the same time satirized Zhao Jingyu's arrogance and rudeness, and he didn't even take the holy call seriously.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot something." Song Wanji sat up straight and cleared his throat. "Zhao Jingyu, someone reported that you secretly raised a group of retired soldiers. Is this true?"
Zhao Jingyu simply knelt on the ground and refused to get up. He said seriously, "Your Majesty, this is pure rumor. I am not an official, and I am not going to continue my family business. What is the point of raising soldiers privately? As for the soldiers your Majesty is talking about, they are all poor people who followed my father to fight on the battlefield and were disabled and unable to survive. My father couldn't bear to see his subordinates alone and helpless, so he took them in and let them work on the farm. I have been playing in the capital all year round and have never been to the farm over there. I have no contact with them. Please understand, Your Majesty!"
These words were all written on the piece of paper just now, and were also what Marquis Dingyuan said to the emperor before he came. Therefore, his previous delay was not entirely to torment Song Jingxing and Queen Meng, but also to give Marquis Dingyuan time to convey the message.
The father and son said exactly the same thing, so Song Wan basically had no intention of pursuing the matter. He nodded and said, "If that's the case, I'm relieved..."
"Your Majesty!" Seeing that the emperor wanted to let Zhao Jingyu go so casually, Queen Meng couldn't help but interrupt, "How can we determine the truth from just a few words? We must send people to the farm where the soldiers are raised for an in-depth investigation before making a final decision!"
Song Wanji was not happy about being interrupted and his face turned black on the spot: "The Queen is the mother of the country. Where have you learned the rules? Don't you take me seriously?"
"I dare not!" Queen Meng knelt down and apologized, "I was too impatient. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Privately raising soldiers can be a small or big thing. I am afraid that some people have ulterior motives and are detrimental to the country. Your Majesty, please understand!"
"Even if a manor is full of soldiers, how many can there be? How can it be serious enough to threaten the country?" Song Wanji said, "Marquis Dingyuan is my brother who fought with me through life and death to conquer the world. I will never doubt him. In the past few years, when I went to Xishan Autumn Encirclement every year, wasn't it he and General Wu'an who guarded the capital? If he wanted to rebel, he would have done so long ago. Why did he have to wait until now?"
Dingyuan Hou was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud, leaning forward and saying, "I am loyal to my country and have no second thoughts. Your Majesty, please understand!"
"Get up. I know what kind of person you are." Song Wanji said, and after thinking for a moment, he added, "The queen also knows."
Queen Meng: “…”
She and the prince were clearly here for Zhao Jingyu, so how did they become suspicious of Marquis Dingyuan after just a few words
The emperor's throne was secured by Marquis Dingyuan and General Wu'an with all their might. This was known to everyone in the world. Was there any need for her to question Marquis Dingyuan
What she questioned was the relationship between the emperor and Zhao Jingyu!
Seeing that the emperor and Marquis Dingyuan were trying their best to exonerate Zhao Jingyu, Queen Meng knew that there was no point in arguing any further, so she took the prince to say goodbye and left. She returned to Kunning Palace, dismissed the attendants, closed the door, and said to the prince solemnly: "I'm afraid Zhao Jingyu is not the illegitimate son of Marquis Dingyuan, but your father's."
"Mother!" Song Jingxing was shocked. "Mother, what are you talking about? Zhao Jingyu, how could he..."
"How is it impossible? Didn't you see your father's attitude towards him? As soon as he walked in, your father smiled immediately and spoke to him in such a gentle voice, even gentler than to you."
"No, it's impossible." Song Jingxing still didn't believe it. "If that's the case, Zhao Jingyu should have kept a low profile. Why would he be so arrogant all day long, afraid that others wouldn't notice him?"
"Doing the opposite is exactly what makes him smart!" said Queen Meng.
"..." Song Jingxing fell silent, his heart in turmoil.
"Your father's trick of hiding the truth is really brilliant," said Queen Meng. "The day before yesterday you complained that I cut off your limbs and left you alone. Now you have limbs, are you happy?"
Song Jingxing shuddered and blurted out "No". It was one thing to envy others for having brothers, but it was another thing to have brothers himself. Being born in an imperial family, being alone was his destiny.
He doesn't allow anyone to change his fate!
Based on the principle of rather killing someone by mistake than letting him go, no matter whether it is true or not, Zhao Jingyu must die!
(End of this chapter)