flstandardbreds Chapter 109: Imprisonment
Chapter 109: Imprisonment
Lan Ye was the head maid of Yanyun Palace after all. She immediately stood up, took two steps away, and asked the restless palace servants in the courtyard loudly: "What are you shouting outside? Speak more quietly! Have you forgotten what condition our queen is in?"
"Every one of them was careless in their duties and really frightened the queen. Ten lives would not be enough to compensate for this!"
A small palace servant ran to the door, his face full of panic: "It's outside! People outside are shouting that there's a fire in the Sutra Hall, and they're all rushing over there to put out the fire!"
The three people in the room were all shocked, and Zhao Fangyu immediately realized that this move was aimed at her.
Zhao Fangyu immediately turned to Lan Ye and said, "Arrange some trustworthy people in the palace to go outside the Sutra Repository Hall to investigate overnight, especially those places that are easy to burn, and check for more traces to see if anyone set the fire outside."
Lan Ye nodded and quickly ordered a group of people to leave. Zhao Fangyu calmed Meng Yanzhen and originally wanted to go out to see the fire, but then he thought about it and stepped back.
He shouted loudly to everyone in the hall to light up all the candles, making sure that not a single corner was dark.
A group of people stood in the hall, guarding the master and his servant.
"Take a look and identify them. They are all the palace servants you have seen in Yanyunju before. If there is any that is not you, arrest them immediately!"
The palace maids stood in several rows and looked around, but found nothing unusual. Zhao Fangyu held the small knife for cutting bergamot in his hand and peeled off the thin skin of the bergamot bit by bit.
After a plate of bergamots were peeled, Lan Ye and others came back.
Soon, people from the Shangyi Bureau came to look for Zhao Fangyu.
The person who came was Zhao Fangyu’s boss’s boss, Liu Siji.
The Shangyi Bureau was divided into four departments, and the scriptures, desks, teaching papers and pens were all under the jurisdiction of Liu Siji and Wang Siji.
Liu Siji, who came to look for Zhao Fangyu, was the one who had sent her to the Sutra Hall.
Liu Siji was dressed in an official gown and a jade belt around his waist. He stood expressionlessly in front of the gate of Yanyun Palace, followed by several tall and strong guards.
"There was a fire in the Sutra Hall today, and Runyi is on duty. Please ask Lady Meng to let Runyi out and go back to the Shangyi Bureau with me to report."
Meng Yanzhen was afraid that Zhao Fangyu would never come back, so she held her belly and was about to stand up, but was stopped by Zhao Fangyu.
"Cousin, don't worry. Please tell my family not to worry."
Zhao Fangyu whispered beside Meng Yanzhen: "I left something under my cousin's pillow. If I don't reply within seven days, my cousin will help me send the letter back home."
Meng Yanzhen glanced at Zhao Fangyu deeply and said, "Don't worry, I won't ignore you when you come to the palace."
Meng Yanzhen always remembered that Zhao Fangyu had rescued Zhao Fangjin from the eldest prince twice, and even took care of Zhao Fangjin's troublesome concubine's daughter at home...
Meng Yanzhen once told Zhao Fangyu that she should protect Zhao Fangjin.
When Zhao Fangjin was by her side, he never made any mistakes, and now he lives a happy life away from disputes. Meng Yanzhen herself did not live the life that her beloved cousin did for her, and she was grateful for Zhao Fangyu's kindness.
Now that he is in his territory, he will never let anything happen to Zhao Fangyu.
Zhao Fangyu was taken away at night and the imperial prison was established overnight.
This move caught Meng Yan really off guard.
The Imperial Guards were the emperor's personal guards. She could never have imagined that a fire in a small Sutra Hall would be enough for the Crown Prince to send out the Imperial Guards to take charge!
“Madam, it was Wang Siji who said that Miss Runyi neglected her duties while on duty, which led to the fire in the Sutra Hall, and this is what caused the serious mistake.
She should have been dismissed from her post and sent to the imperial palace. But people around the eldest prince said that Miss Runyi had slandered Ms. Zhang in public and had ulterior motives. I'm afraid someone was secretly instructing Miss Runyi to deliberately destroy the literary world of Daliang! This person was thrown directly into the imperial prison!"
Meng Yanzhen's eyes were half closed, the candlelight beside her was dim, and the expression on that beautiful face was even more difficult to discern.
"Wang Siji... Jinyiwei..."
"Did anyone from the Shangyi Bureau come out to stop us?"
"They tried to stop her, but failed. The head aunt of the eldest prince brought the Royal Guards to personally escort Miss Runyi to the imperial prison."
"Did you find what Runyi asked you to find?"
Lan Ye shook her head: "The fire burned too fast, it doesn't seem like it could have been started by a normal fire. The people who followed Miss Runyi are also dead. Now there is no evidence. Only a trace of tung oil was found outside the palace."
·
As soon as Pei Yan returned to the palace and reported, he just returned to his duty room when he was pulled aside by Pei Pu.
Pei De looked around several times and checked all the places where people could be hidden before he told Pei Yan the news that Zhao Fangyu had been escorted to the imperial prison.
Pei Yan's hand was numb from holding the knife, and he was in doubt: "She killed someone in the palace?"
Pei De shook his head: "How is that possible? Brother Zhao knows Miss Zhao's temperament better than I do."
Then he thought of Hongzhu and said, "No, she didn't kill all of them."
"..."
Pei Yan became interested and knew that with Pei De around, Zhao Fangyu would not suffer any loss, so he asked him the whole story with peace of mind.
Pei De clicked his head, his expression subtle: "The maidservant beside Miss Zhao wanted to kill her, but was caught by Miss Zhao and stabbed on the shoulder a few times. If she had missed by a few points... she would have been killed."
"Killing fish? What's the point of revealing it?" Pei Yan didn't believe that Zhao Fangyu could be imprisoned for this reason. There must be some hidden story behind it.
He casually tapped Pei De on the head, urging him to speak quickly.
"Since you left, many people have come to Miss Zhao's place, including the second and third princes."
"A fire broke out in the Sutra Hall two days ago. Miss Zhao was imprisoned for neglecting her duties and plotting to murder Daliang's literary world."
Pei Yan's tone could not help but rise: "Plotting to murder Daliang's literary world??!"
"Ok!"
"Who?! She?!"
"Yes, it's Miss Zhao!"
“…Are you crazy?”
Pei Yan's hand involuntarily pointed in the direction of the imperial prison, and the cold expression he had maintained all the way shattered in an instant.
He really didn't expect that the eldest prince could be so shameless for his own selfish reasons!
He had understood since he was a child the principle of currying favor with the powerful and becoming forgotten when people leave. He had seen the eldest prince's character, so it was expected that the eldest prince would distance himself from him after his father passed away.
But what Pei Yan didn't expect was that the eldest prince could actually go so far as to make up the story and pin the murder of Daliang's literary world on Zhao Fangyu!
There were tens of millions of people in the Daliang literary world, but they could be murdered by Zhao Fangyu, a little girl who had not even reached the age of marriage. The fate of this literary world was too fragile.
You deserve to be cut off!
"There is no movement in the court?"
Pei Yan didn't believe that Zhao Fangyu's father could remain indifferent.
Pei Yan also agreed, and slapped his thigh excitedly: "This is what's weird!"
"Miss Zhao's father acted like he didn't know anything! He didn't move at all!"
Pei Yan closed his eyes, held his forehead and sighed.
I am really afraid of what will happen.
What's this? If the emperor isn't anxious, then the eunuch is?
His biological father hadn't made any move yet, and he didn't know what to do now.
"Which room does she stay in? I'll go there when dinner is delivered in the evening."
Pei De said, "I have been delivering meals these past two days. My brothers all know that Miss Zhao saved me in Longxi, so they all took good care of her. She was not tortured and was well fed and well cared for."
Pei Yan nodded, went back to the room and lay down for a while. Less than two hours later, Pei De called him to bring food to Zhao Fangyu.
Pei Yan opened the lid and took out a silver needle from his arms, but after thinking for a while, he put it back. He raised his hand and took out Pei De's silver needle jar from his arms. After measuring the meal, he took the jar away as well.
Pei De was stunned: "No, brother, return it to me when you are done?!"
The manufacturer of that little thing cost him three taels of silver!
Pei Yan said without even turning his head: "Go get another set, this one is useful to me."
Pei De watched Pei Yan walk away with the silver needle and the food box in his pocket.
There are no windows in the imperial prison. The only disadvantage is that the smell cannot escape.
The smell of blood and rotting flesh tormented Zhao Fangyu's sensitive nose all the time.
Because she has been making incense for many years, her sense of smell is far superior to that of ordinary people.
But now this talent only brings her suffering.
In desperation, I could only tear off a piece of the lining and cover my mouth and nose, which provided some relief.
When Pei Yan arrived, Zhao Fangyu was leaning against the wall and taking a nap.
After all, it was an imperial prison, not a good place. There was not even a bed. The bedding under Zhao Fangyu was brought by Pei De overnight.