Chapter 47: Yu Zhongcheng’s Imprisoment
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yu Yunxi looked around before she reminded Xu Zhiyan in a low voice, “My identity is a little special now. It won’t do you any good to get close to me openly.”
Xu Zhiyan maintained the gentle smile on his face and said softly, “It doesn’t matter. I’m just a new top scholar. I don’t have a foundation, and I’m neutral.”
Yu Yunxi was stunned for a moment when she met his gentle gaze, but she quickly regained her composure and said, “You should go back to your work.”
“Alright.”
The two old friends who had not seen each other for nearly ten years were not too reserved with each other when they met again.
After Xu Zhiyan left, Qian Mei could not help but ask, “County Princess, who is
“He’s the illegitimate son of the Xu Residence. Back then, his mother and mine were good friends, and I grew up with him. However, ten years ago, the Xu family was exiled to Xibei because his father offended the Emperor with his words. I haven’t seen him since then,” Yu Yunxi explained patiently, looking emotional. In just a blink of an eye, ten years had passed.
Finally, Yu Yunxi said, “Let’s go back to the Prime Minister’s Residence to watch the show.”
“Yes, County Princess.”
When Xu Zhiyan saw Feng Yili from afar, he walked up to Feng Yili and said with a bow, “Greetings, Prince Regent.”
Feng Yili looked at Xu Zhiyan coldly without saying anything.
Perhaps Luo Xiuran felt the atmosphere was not right so he laughed awkwardly and asked, “Are you Lord Xu?”
“Yes, Young Marquis Luo,” Xu Zhiran replied politely.
“Then, then… you and that…” Luo Xiuran cleared his throat and probed, “What’s your relationship with the Princess Regent?”
When Xu Zhiyan heard the words ‘Princess Regent’, he could not help but frown. He said in a deep voice, “We’re childhood friends.”
‘Childhood friends?’
Feng Yili’s gaze darkened.
“Prince Regent, Young Marquis Luo, the Emperor summoned me so I’ll take my leave first,” Xu Zhiyan said with a nod before he entered the imperial study.
“Childhood friends? Is there such a pure relationship between men and women?” Luo Xiuran muttered to himself.
Jiang Ying was speechless. He moved closer to Luo Xiuran and said through gritted teeth. “Young Marquis Luo, you should talk less!”
“What? Oh, oh, I was just joking earlier. Yili, don’t take it to heart,” Luo Xiuran said, only just realizing his gaffe.
Feng Yili’s knuckles were white at this moment, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging. After a long silence, he suppressed the discomfort in his throat and said in a hoarse voice, “Jiang Ying, go to the Wei family and fetch the medicine.”
‘Hm?’
It was only at this moment that Jiang Ying noticed how pale Feng Yili’s face was. As it turned out, Feng Yili had been enduring the pain all this time.
The Prime Minister’s Residence.
Old Madam Zhou, Madam Chen, and Yu Wanrong were all waiting at the entrance.
“It’s almost dawn now. Why hasn’t the Prime Minister returned yet?”
Concubine Gao asked gloomily as she twisted the handkerchief in her hands.
“Don’t worry. How could the Prime Minister fall for the scheme of a cheap b*tch? Moreover, the Emperor trusts the Prime Minister so much. He’ll definitely be fine. If anything, it would be that wretched girl who’s punished,” Concubine Deng said.
Old Madam Zhou snorted coldly. “The Emperor hates Xinan. I believe he’ll take the opportunity tonight to peel a layer of skin from that cheap b*tch. I’m sure the Prime Minister has yet to return because he has to deal with some matters.”
All of them firmly believed that Yu Zhongcheng would be fine.
At this moment, a carriage pulled in front of the entrance.
“The Prime Minister is back! The Prime Minister is back!” Concubine Gao said excitedly. She ran to the side of the carriage and said in a delicate voice, “Prime Minister, we were just talking about you. You’re finally back. Yu Yunxi is probably dead in the palace now.”
A burst of laughter rang out before a slender and fair hand lifted the carriage curtain.
“Concubine Gao, thank you so much for thinking about me. However, I haven’t done anything wrong. The Emperor will not kill people indiscriminately, ” Yu Yunxi said mockingly.
Everyone’s expression changed.
“Why are you fine?” Concubine Gao asked in a high-pitch voice.
“Where’s the Prime Minister?” Madam Chen asked, feeling extremely uneasy. She stared at Yu Yunxi anxiously, desperately waiting for an answer.
“The Emperor has something to say to Father so Father had to stay behind,” Yu Yunxi said with a yawn. She was a little tired after not sleeping the entire night.
“What are they talking about?” Old Madam Zhou asked angrily.
“You’ll know soon enough, Grandmother,” Yu Yunxi said without looking at Old Madam Zhou.
At this moment, Lin De and a few other people rushed over. He said loudly, “Members of the Prime Minister’s residence, receive the decree!”
Old Madam Zhou and the others quickly kneeled on the ground, feeling uneasy.
Meanwhile, Yu Yunxi leaned against the wall lazily and yawned. She had no intention of kneeling.
Lin De wanted to say something, but when he recalled what happened last night, he quickly swallowed his words.
‘This County Princess of Xinan isn’t someone to be trifled with..
Lin De turned his attention to the members of the Yu family and said, “The
Emperor has decreed that Yu Zhongcheng will be stripped of his position as the Prime Minister and sent to prison to await punishment for failing to provide disaster relief. The Yu family seized the dowry of his concubine, bringing disgrace to Tianxia. The family is ordered to return the dowry to the County Princess of Xinan within two days.”
‘What?!’
Madam Chen felt dizzy and almost fell.
“Mother!” Yu Wanrong quickly moved over to support Madam Chen before she said, “Eunuch Lin, there must be a misunderstanding! What disaster relief? Why did things become so serious?”
Lin De was usually quite polite to Yu Wanrong, but at this moment, his expression was clearly much colder. He smiled perfunctorily and said, “Miss, I can’t say too much. I can only say that the Prime Minister was confused. It wasn’t easy for him to become the Prime Minister, but he lost the position overnight. ”
Yu Wanrong continued to ask anxiously, “Eunuch Lin, did the Emperor misunderstand something? Did the Prince Regent and Crown Prince help my father explain the matter?”
“Second Miss Yu, the person who produced evidence to prove Prime Minister Yu’s wrongdoing is the Prince Regent,” Lin De said in a low voice.
‘What?!’
Yu Wanrong stumbled back a few steps, almost losing balance.
Concubine Gao burst into tears, unable to accept the truth. She said through her tears, “T-this… This means that not only did the Prince Regent not help the Prime Minister, but he also helped put the nail in the coffin, right? Why did the Prince Regent do this? I thought he liked the Second Miss and treated the Prime Minister as his father-in-law?
“Shut up!” Madam Chen scolded as she pressed her temples. She suppressed her emotions and asked Lin De, “Eunuch Lin De, did the Crown Prince say anything?”
“Madam, because the Crown Prince spoke up for Prime Minister Yu, the Crown Prince has been grounded in the Eastern Palace. This matter has also implicated the Empress,” Lin De said expressionlessly.
‘What? Something happened to the Crown Prince as well?’
Madam Chen and Yu Wanrong’s last hope was shattered by these words.
Yu Yunxi stood at the side and watched the farce with a mocking gaze.
‘As expected, the Emperor chose to protect the Crown Prince. Grounding the Crown Prince, sparing Yu Zhongcheng, and only imprisoning him is just a perfunctory punishment… As long as the Empress’ faction doesn’t fall, Yu Zhongcheng won’t die. After all, if Yu Zhongcheng dies, the Crown Prince’s reputation will be lost.’
“That’s all I can say. Also, Madam, remember to return the dowry to the County
Princess of Xinan within two days. If you don’t do it within the deadline, the Emperor will be very unhappy,” Lin De said. Then, he told people to take down the plaque of the Prime Minister’s Residence before he left in a carriage.
“Wanrong, does this mean that your father lost his position and is being locked up?” Old Madam Zhou was in a daze, still unable to react.
Yu Wanrong’s mind was in a mess, and she simply was not in the mood to pay attention to Old Madam Zhou at this moment.
“Old Madam, that’s exactly what the eunuch meant!” Concubine Gao cried and made a fuss, “The Prime Minister has been an official for so many years. Why could he not even handle the disaster relief properly? Now that he’s lost position, what are we going to do? What’s Pinghua going to do in the future? I planned to ask the Prime Minister to arrange an official position for him when he grows up!”
“That’s right. What’s going to happen to us, the concubines of the Prime Minister’s Residence? Those women in the capital will definitely laugh at us!” Concubine Deng began to cry and complain as well.
“The Prime Minister isn’t dead yet. Why are you crying?” Madam Chen said harshly and turned to slap them fiercely. Her ears hurt from all their crying. All they could think about was themselves.
“Madam, you!”
Concubine Deng and Concubine Gao covered their faces and looked at Madam Chen indignantly. However, this was the extent of their courage. After being suppressed by Madam Chen for so many years, when they saw Madam Chen’s vicious gaze, they no longer dared to make a sound. They were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong.
Madam Chen turned around and stared at Yu Yunxi as though she wanted to break Yu Yunxi’s bones into pieces as she asked, “Yu Yunxi, what did you do in the palace?”
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