RPAGF Chapter 1013 Eradication
Chapter 1013 Eradication
As Zhang Ping'an had predicted, while the Yang family was still overjoyed about Consort Yang's pregnancy and felt that her position as empress was a sure thing, Consort Yang soon fell in the imperial garden and miscarried.
At this time, Zhang Ping'an had secretly sent many people to the capital to suppress rumors, clear his grandson's name, and release new strange and unusual stories to suppress the matter.
However, fueled by those with ulterior motives, the rumors still spread far and wide, eventually reaching Zhou Pu's ears "inadvertently," which bothered him greatly.
Even knowing that the child had been sent to Jiming Temple outside the city for foster care was not enough to ease this unease.
His first reaction was to eliminate the threat completely, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free.
But upon calming down and thinking it over, the court is currently unstable, and Zhang Ping'an is involved with many forces. He has always been diligent and conscientious in the court and has a good reputation. It is not appropriate to deal with him casually. If we were to simply eliminate his family bloodline based on rumors, it would be rather disheartening.
So after careful consideration, Zhou Pu summoned Cui Ling and said, "You will handle this matter secretly. Send someone to Jiming Temple outside the city and deal with it discreetly. I don't think the Zhang family will dare to make a fuss about it and say that the child was murdered."
Cui Ling wasn't too surprised by the decision. After accepting the order, he hesitated for a moment before asking:
“Your Majesty, this child not only has an unfortunate fate, but his name is also poorly chosen. The character ‘邈’ clashes with Your Majesty’s name. Did Attendant Zhang have some intention in naming his son this? Are you just going to let this go so easily?”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Pu put down the hibiscus cream in his hand, looked at Cui Ling, and instead of answering, asked, "Then what does Minister Cui think should be done?"
"In my opinion, putting aside everything else, we should at least send someone to the Zhang residence..."
As Cui Ling spoke, he secretly looked up to observe Zhou Pu's expression. Seeing that Zhou Pu had a half-smile on his face, he immediately fell silent, knowing that Zhou Pu was just testing him and didn't really want to know how to deal with the situation.
Seeing that Cui Ling had stopped, Zhou Pu didn't press her further. He buried his head and took a deep sniff of the hibiscus cream in his hand, then let out a long breath, revealing an expression of intoxication.
Then he casually said, "Rumors stop with the wise. If I were to punish everyone who spreads rumors in the capital, the court would have been wiped out long ago. Who would still be there to help me? You?"
"I misspoke!" Cui Ling quickly bowed and admitted his mistake.
"Greed knows no bounds. You want to eat such a big pie, but you need to see if you have such a big appetite. You must remember that your current glory is given to you by me. I can give it to you, and I can give it to others, do you understand?"
"Your Majesty, I understand!" Cui Ling knew that he had been too hasty today and shouldn't have acted so rashly. He had underestimated Zhou Pu because of his laziness over the past few years.
"Alright, if you understand, then go down. Do a good job of handling things well," Zhou Pu said, waving his hand lightly before leaning back on the dragon throne, closing his eyes to rest, looking as if he didn't want to waste any more words.
Cui Ling slowly withdrew.
He loosened his collar and took a deep breath once he was outside the hall.
After walking a short distance away from the main hall, Cui Ling was stopped by a familiar-looking eunuch who said softly, "My lord, Her Majesty requests your presence."
Cui Ling nodded, said nothing, and followed.
Before long, they arrived at Yonghe Palace, where Cui Rong was.
When Cui Rong saw her father approaching, she gently turned her head and gestured to the left and right. The palace servants, being very perceptive, quietly withdrew.
After Cui Ling sat down, Cui Rong instructed her personal maid, Shaoyao, to pour him a cup of tea before asking, "Father, what was the result?"
"You still have the nerve to ask? I've told you before, don't be too hasty, don't be too hasty, but you won't listen to a word. If you want to court death, don't drag your whole family down with you!" Cui Ling's tone was very harsh. After saying that, she drank the tea on the table in one gulp, clearly very angry.
Upon hearing this, Cui Rong frowned, but didn't mind Cui Ling's tone, and pressed on, "What happened?"
Cui Ling sighed, glanced at Shaoyao standing to the side, and Cui Rong understood, waving her hand to let Shaoyao leave as well.
Then Cui Lingcai said, "His Majesty not only did not say he would punish the Zhang family, but also gave me a warning. I underestimated him. I thought he had been obsessed with alchemy and inhaling hibiscus ointment every day for the past few years, and that he was in a daze and was ruined. But after all, he is the Son of Heaven, and he was cultivated by the late emperor. He still has some sense of the situation in the court and in terms of personnel."
"What? How could this happen? This good-for-nothing! The rumors have spread like this, and he's completely unmoved!" Cui Rong gritted her teeth.
Cui Ling glanced at his daughter and sighed, "It's not that he was completely indifferent. He ordered me to secretly go to Jiming Temple to get rid of the child. But even if the child is dead, the Zhang family didn't really lose anything. Children can be born again."
"Really?" Cui Rong felt much better upon hearing this news. "It's good to disgust them. How pathetic! A child carried for ten months is about to lose its life because of a rumor. How utterly ridiculous! Hahaha!"
Cui Rong laughed triumphantly and maniacally.
Cui Ling frowned. "Are you doing all this to become Empress, or to target the Zhang family? Logically speaking, they haven't offended you at all."
"They didn't offend me, but I still hate them. Why am I the only one suffering in the palace!"
"I think you're getting crazier and crazier. I really regret helping you back then and letting you regain favor. Do you know that they're about to find out about the fact that you had me behind the scenes to seize the assets of the Wu family in Jiaozhou and the Ge family in Lin'an? With these rumors now, this feud is truly going to be a fight to the death."
Cui Ling is increasingly feeling that her daughter is an unstable powder keg that could explode at any moment, not only affecting herself but also the whole family.
He didn't regret dealing with the Zhang family; it's normal for political enemies to trip each other up. But what worried him most was his daughter's erratic behavior, driven entirely by emotions and out of control.
Cui Rong had long since stopped paying attention to such words and didn't care at all. "There's nothing I can do. Who told Father to have a daughter like me! Besides, if Father hadn't been so greedy and wanted me to take the position of Empress to promote the family, he wouldn't have listened to my wishes. We're in the same boat, so let's not laugh at each other!"
“I admit you’re right. Things have come to this point, so let’s be discreet and act cautiously for now! Like I said, our greatest support is His Majesty, understand? Don’t provoke him,” Cui Ling emphasized.
Cui Rong remained silent. To be obedient? That was impossible!