RPAGF Chapter 934 Meeting the Emperor in the Palace
Chapter 934 Meeting the Emperor in the Palace
Li Chengye kept his word. After informing Sanya, he went straight back to the hot spring villa and didn't care about Sanya's whereabouts afterward.
Xiaoyuer only found out in the afternoon that his third aunt had not returned to Qing County.
His expression immediately darkened, and he questioned his subordinate, "What's going on? Didn't we find out from the landlord that she was going back to Qing County today?"
The subordinate was somewhat uneasy: "Master, we did ask the homeowner about everything, but then, for some reason, the old nun suddenly disappeared. She didn't even leave the village. We waited and waited until we saw that something was wrong, so we sent someone into the village to check. We found out that she probably climbed over the mountain behind the village."
"Useless! Have I been feeding you all all day long? You can't even handle such a small matter," Xiaoyuer scolded rudely.
He had originally intended to take action against his third aunt as soon as he returned from Yangyuan County, after all, if you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust.
Unexpectedly, the Second Prince impersonated someone else, so he thought that maybe he could use this Third Aunt to restrain Yuantong. If it came in handy, he let her go for the time being.
This delay has led to today.
What I thought would be a simple, trivial matter actually went wrong.
At this moment, Xiaoyuer hadn't considered that someone had tipped him off; he only thought that Sanya was too cunning. He secretly blamed himself for being careless. No wonder his father often said that even a lion has to go all out to catch a rabbit.
That makes sense.
Li Chengye watched this scene from a distance without showing any emotion. When he saw Xiaoyuer impatiently wave his hand to dismiss his men and then go back to playing, he knew that the matter had not been accomplished.
He couldn't quite describe his feelings; there was relief, a sense of liberation, and a touch of sadness.
Wen Xiange leaned closer and said, "These winter bamboo shoots are really fresh today. I wonder how they were made. Why aren't you eating? Are you troubled? Ever since you came to the capital, you haven't seemed happy."
Li Chengye smiled and denied it, "No, I just didn't sleep well last night. New Year's Eve is just around the corner, and the provincial examination will be held soon after the New Year. I've been thinking about it a lot."
"With your foundation, what is there to worry about?" Wen Xiange joked as she ate, showing no trace of her previous embarrassment and sadness.
His eyes darted around, then he suddenly chuckled and teased in a low voice, "You're not married yet, you might get a husband through the imperial examinations!"
"Don't talk nonsense, I'm already engaged, you know that," Li Chengye said seriously, his smile fading.
Wen Xiange couldn't help but purse her lips. "But that girl is not good enough for you at all. She wasn't good enough when you were a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), and she was even less good enough when you were a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). If she becomes a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest-level imperial examinations)... sigh, I really don't know how much good fortune she accumulated in her past life to be able to meet you for this marriage. This arranged marriage is really worth it! I think Old Man Miao will be proud of this for the rest of his life!"
“I think it’s pretty good. Don’t feel sorry for me anymore,” Li Chengye said, his voice becoming more forceful.
Wen Xiange knew his temperament and dared not joke anymore. Instead, she changed the subject, "By the way, while you were out, they talked about some important things while they were playing around. They said it was reliable information. I'm telling you this so you can keep it to yourself, but don't spread it around!"
"What?" Li Chengye asked, following up on the question.
"The King of Qin and the Imperial Preceptor Yuantong are both dead. The announcement will be made in the next couple of days. It is said that they committed serious crimes involving royal secrets. We are about to take the imperial examination, so we must not discuss these matters, lest we give them a handle against us," Wen Xiange said, his face still showing some lingering fear. Royal matters now seemed like the most important thing to him.
Although Li Chengye already knew, he still feigned curiosity and asked, "Then we should be careful with our words. Is there anything else?"
Wen Xiange nodded emphatically, "Yes!"
He then lowered his voice and said, "The King of Qin's family is still on the run. It is said that anyone who can provide information will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver, and anyone who can capture them will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold. They are really rich!"
Li Chengye was speechless, but perhaps it was precisely because the other person was so forgetful and didn't hold grudges that he had been able to be friends with him for so many years!
Thinking of this, he casually patted the other person on the shoulder, "Stop dreaming! We're not short of money, why get involved in this mess!"
Wen Xiange retorted softly, "We're not short of money, but we're not exactly rich either!"
The two chatted and laughed, and didn't feel bored at all. As expected, they didn't go home that night.
Everyone stayed overnight at the hot spring villa.
On the morning of the second day, when I returned to the city, I did not see any notices posted by the government office announcing the deaths of the Prince of Qin and the Imperial Preceptor Yuantong. Instead, I heard a servant from a household rushing to report that the eldest prince was seriously ill.
The eldest prince is only six years old now, and if he is seriously ill, the risk of him dying is very high.
Most of these scions of prominent families are very measured in their actions; they may play around, but they are also quite decisive when it comes to real matters.
They dispersed immediately, each returning to their own home and to their own father.
At this time, Zhang Ping'an was meeting the emperor in the palace.