Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 539 Marquis Zhenbei Requests an Audience

From the day the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion was embroiled in a corruption case and the Empress's Renming Palace was heavily guarded by imperial guards, the atmosphere in both the imperial court and the harem became extremely tense.

As soon as Lady Yun entered the palace, she went to Cining Palace to pay her respects to Empress Dowager Jiang according to etiquette, and then Mengzhu led her to Huining Palace.

Inside the study, Consort Chun was so shocked by the news her mother brought that she stood up: "The Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion actually dares to secretly raise a private army?"

Meng Shu frowned in thought, while Madam Yun looked at her daughter and sighed softly.

“This matter is probably not as simple as just hoarding private soldiers.” Meng Shu leaned forward slightly. “Those are soldiers who have already been reported dead, yet they have now gathered together as bandits. If they were just ordinary private soldiers, why would they need to cause such a commotion in Yuzhou?”

Lady Yun then spoke up, “What Consort Jin said is absolutely right. If it is only for stationing troops, then they should hide in the mountains and forests without leaving a trace. Manager Fan of Yongfeng Grain Shop has been transporting and selling grain in Yuzhou for many years. Although there were bandits in the past, they were just a rabble and could not amount to anything.”

She paused slightly, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes: "What's strange is those infants. What use would ordinary private soldiers have for toddlers under one year old? I'm afraid there's a more horrifying secret involved than that of private soldiers."

Meng Shu pondered for a moment and said, "The young girl that the Marquis mentioned is also quite important. Although there are few clues at the moment, I suspect that this matter must be related to Doctor Chu."

She looked up at Madam Yun, her tone becoming serious: "Madam, three days ago, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was ordered to travel along the official road to find Marquis Zhenbei and deliver the imperial decree. He will be returning to the capital soon. The Marquis is currently far away in Lin'an, and this news should be disseminated in due course. However, the specifics of how to proceed require careful consideration by Madam and the Marquis."

Madam Yun nodded solemnly and brought up another matter.

"Baolian will soon travel by water to Jinnan. She holds crucial evidence of the Jiang family's dealings with the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion. The Marquis has already given her detailed instructions. In any case, the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion will find it difficult to escape punishment in this corruption case in Yuzhou."

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun's eyes brightened slightly. "Mother must send people to protect Baolian along the way. Young Master Qin is currently the magistrate of Jinan County. Does Father intend to have him handle this?"

Madam Yun said, "Although Magistrate Qin is born out of wedlock, he treats his legitimate sister Baolian with great affection. After the incident, he sent many people to Yuzhou to help her. To the outside world, he said that he had found his sister."

As she spoke, her tone turned slightly somber, "But Prefect Qin has remained indifferent. It seems that Baolian has suffered a lot of injustice since Madam Qin passed away."

The year after the Tang family moved to the capital, Qin Baolian's birth mother passed away. The following year, Prefect Qin arranged for her to marry into the Jiang family in Yuzhou.

Meng Shu comforted her gently, "Miss Baolian has made a great contribution this time. Not only are the people of Yuzhou grateful, but even the Emperor has mentioned it twice. Once this matter is settled, he will surely issue an imperial decree to allow her to enter the palace to meet Wan'er."

Consort Chun's expression softened slightly: "If only that could be so. If Baolian ever has nowhere to go in the future, I hope Mother will secretly look after her."

Madam Yun replied, "In the letter from Lin's daughter-in-law, Baolian mentioned that she has no children in the Jiang family and is currently depressed and has no intention of remarrying. I have a plan. If Baolian agrees, I will write a letter to Mr. Lin and ask him to take Baolian in and let her go to him for refuge."

“When Mr. Lin was in the manor, he often saw Baolian, so I don’t think he would refuse.” Consort Chun felt a pang of sympathy, wondering how she could persuade her if she could see her old friend.

After spending half an hour in Huining Palace, before leaving, Madam Yun instructed, "The Zhen family physician has collected a lot of medical books from the Southwest these days, and it can be almost concluded that Doctor Chu was preparing materials for practicing witchcraft before his death... Fortunately, the Empress is currently under house arrest by the Emperor, but you still need to be on high alert."

Consort Chun and Meng Shu rose and acknowledged.

......

Consorts Yang and Ye were confined to the Renming Palace and were not allowed to leave. The Emperor had not visited Consort Mu's palace since, and had also rarely entered the inner palace recently.

Two days later, Physician He went to Funing Palace to report that the Empress's health was no longer a major concern.

From then on, no one was allowed to enter Renming Hall; only daily necessities were exchanged at the palace gate.

Although the Empress had recovered from her illness, her anxiety grew increasingly difficult to bear. At this moment, she dared not hope for anything else, and her only wish was to see the Emperor, or to receive any news from the Marquis's residence, even just a few words.

On this day, the Funing Palace was brightly lit with candles.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review brought Xu Yizhao into the palace to meet the Emperor.

Xu Yizhao, currently serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was on official business leading a team out of the capital. He stepped forward and solemnly kowtowed: "Your Majesty, when my team reached a valley outside the jurisdiction of Zhen Ding Prefecture and met up with Marquis Zhenbei, we encountered a band of bandits causing trouble there, and the two sides clashed..."

The Emperor listened quietly, his brows furrowing slightly. "Bandits... carriages... how many soldiers did the Marquis of Zhenbei lose?"

"Your Majesty, according to my count, there are a total of 68 dead and over 100 wounded by arrows."

On the emperor's desk lay a memorial, delivered by the Marquis of Zhenbei from Yuzhou ten days prior by express courier. It stated that bandits in Yuzhou had occupied three mountain ranges, numbering over a thousand. The Marquis of Zhenbei led seven hundred personal guards to quell the rebellion, suffering a loss of fifty-five.

Most of the bandits were refugees, a motley crew, whose strength and equipment were far inferior to the imperial army. Even if there had been an ambush beforehand, such a disparity in casualties would be illogical.

The Emperor tapped the memorial lightly with his fingertips, his eyes growing darker.

"When I arrived, a wildfire had already broken out in the valley. However... there was a rather strange burnt-out carriage in the army. I went forward to examine it closely and found only a few fragments of pottery... which I have brought back to the Dali Temple."

The emperor asked a few more questions, and his expression gradually calmed down.

Xu Renshou, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, prostrated himself and reported, "Your Majesty, I am guilty and beg for your forgiveness. The copy of the account books circulating in the capital a few days ago, despite days of investigation, has not yet been traced back to its source. The officers sent to Yuzhou to search for Madam Jiang reported that two other groups are also searching for her, one of which was dispatched by her elder brother, the Magistrate of Qin County in Jinan… Regarding the Jiang family's properties mentioned in the account books, I have already sent officers to apprehend the person…"

Just then, Jingming bowed and stepped inside, saying, "Your Majesty, Marquis Zhenbei is requesting an audience outside the palace gates."

The emperor's gaze narrowed slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of coldness flickered across his lips.

"Xuan."

......

Inside the Cuiyu Hall, Meng Shu stayed in the warm pavilion for a while, and only left quietly after Yu Nu'er's breathing gradually became calm and she fell asleep peacefully.

As soon as she sat down in the study, Green Willow returned from the outer room, lifting the curtain, and whispered, "Your Majesty, Marquis Zhenbei has just entered the palace to request an audience and is currently meeting with the Emperor in the Funing Hall."