There is a god in the sky

Chapter 341 Revenge 10

The Crown Prince, being well-informed, already knew what had happened at the court meeting.

He secretly left the Crown Prince's residence, intending to enter the palace to discuss with the Empress how to help the Tong family get out of trouble.

The prescription is in the Emperor's hands; he will not allow this case to be confirmed.

But he was also worried that the emperor would use the Tong family as scapegoats.

"Oh, Your Highness, are you going to the palace now?" The guards at the palace gate stopped the Crown Prince's carriage.

"Make way! I need to go to Kunning Palace to visit my mother."

The news that the Empress was bedridden was no secret, and it was perfectly reasonable for the Crown Prince, as her son, to visit her in the palace.

"But Your Highness, you are still under house arrest. The Emperor has ordered that you are not allowed to enter the palace for three months!"

"Outrageous! Times have changed. Do you intend to stop me from fulfilling my filial duties?"

"I dare not!"

The imperial guards said they dared not, but they did not allow them to pass.

They were not without fear, but Commander Zhao had instructed them that the Crown Prince must not be allowed to enter the palace today under any circumstances.

"What if I insist on entering the palace?"

"Your Highness, please forgive us. Without His Majesty's decree, we dare not disobey!"

The crown prince was furious and drew his sword to kill the guards when a young eunuch from Kunning Palace rushed out.

"Your Highness... Your Highness the Crown Prince, please don't act rashly!"

The Crown Prince rebuked, "What? You're all trying to stop me from entering the palace? What are your true intentions?"

The young eunuch produced a token and waved it in front of the imperial guards. "Look carefully, this is the Empress's token. Her Majesty wishes to see His Highness the Crown Prince. You will all be allowed to pass at once!"

The imperial guards looked at each other in dismay, but ultimately had no choice but to let them pass.

The young eunuch, surnamed Wang, leaned close to the crown prince and whispered, "Your Highness, please calm down. The head eunuch has sent me to deliver a message to you."

"Say!"

"The steward said that you should not rush to interfere in what happens at the court meeting."

"what for?"

"The matter is not yet at an extremely urgent point. If you intervene too easily, I'm afraid the Emperor will be displeased."

The Crown Prince thought it made sense. He had just been punished by his father, and if he went to plead for his uncle so soon, his father would definitely think that he had someone in the court.

"How is Mother's health?"

"Her condition fluctuates. The imperial physicians say that Her Majesty has been overworked for too long and her body has not recovered. She needs to rest for a long time."

When the Crown Prince arrived at Kunning Palace and was led into his bedchamber, he only saw his sleeping mother.

Judging from her appearance alone, one could not tell that the Empress was unwell; on the contrary, she looked radiant.

The Crown Prince was somewhat relieved, assuming that the Empress would recover with some rest.

He left the palace and saw Li Ge guarding outside. He pulled him aside to talk.

"It's past noon already. Has any new news come from the court session?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, Lord Tong is not fighting alone. There are so many of our people in the court, we will not let anything happen to Lord Tong."

The Crown Prince scoffed, "Then how could Shen Lan be..."

He glanced at Li Ge and took back the rest of his sentence. Li Ge was unaware of that matter, and it was better if the fewest people knew.

Li Ge, on the contrary, advised the Crown Prince: "Although I do not know the details of that case, I know from the few words that have been revealed that it is a major case. Your Highness, it would be best if you did not get involved in such a major case concerning the people."

The crown prince needs to win over the people's hearts; if he gets implicated, all the goodwill he has built up over the years will be destroyed.

"Then don't care?"

"You can't do anything about it even if you want to. The Emperor is presiding over the trial, and the main hall is currently surrounded by the Imperial Guards. No one can enter or leave."

The Crown Prince always felt that since the prescription was in his father's hands, he would certainly not favor the plaintiff.

If he had known Shen Lan's true identity, he would never have let her go.

And then there's Xiao Ji. He's the one who brought people into Bianjing. Could it be that he had planned this all along?

"Your Highness must be hungry. Why don't you eat something and rest for a while? We'll know the answer after the court session."

After calming the Crown Prince down, Li Ge turned to leave and saw the palace maids beside Lin Miaoniang peeking around outside Kunning Palace.

He walked over and asked, "What is it?"

"Sir, Consort Lin requests your presence."

Li Ge was also preparing to look for Lin Miaoniang.

She must have known about Shen Lan's appeal to the emperor by beating the drum. This was a great opportunity, and they couldn't just sit idly by.

"I know, you can go back."

Li Ge wasn't worried that the Crown Prince would leave Kunning Palace, as he had arranged for people to be there inside and out.

He went to see Lin Miaoniang and saw her pacing anxiously back and forth in her bedchamber.

"Don't rush, the more you rush, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Let's think about what we can do now."

Lin Miaoniang asked worriedly, "How is Lan'er's health? I heard she was beaten. Can she withstand not seeing a doctor for so long?"

"Don't worry, the medicine was already applied halfway there."

Li Ge was very glad that he had replaced Eunuch Huang early on, otherwise he would not have been able to make the plan smoothly today.

Why did she choose this time to bring it up? Did something happen?

Li Ge only received the news this morning that she had arrested Liu Engui.

Perhaps she just felt that this was a good time.

But bringing the case to the emperor in this way was something he had never imagined.

Did Shen Lan not know that the Shen family's medicine prescription was in the Emperor's hands?

"She has her reasons. Since it has already happened, we should just try our best to cooperate."

"How can we cooperate? What do you need me to do?"

After thinking it over, Li Ge realized that since Shen Lan had targeted the Tong family, the best outcome would be to confirm the Tong family's guilt.

If the Tong family falls, half of the Crown Prince's faction will be gone, and the Crown Prince's strongest backing will be lost.

"You stay in your palace and don't make any big moves. Let me think about it."

Li Ge glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs outside, then stared at Xiao Xi and said, "You still can't bear to get rid of her? Aren't you afraid she'll plot against you behind your back?"

Lin Miaoniang followed his gaze and said softly, "She has already betrayed me once. I spared her life not because I trust her, but because I think she can be of use."

"If you're willing to part with them, that's fine. I'm taking them with me."

Lin Miaoniang nodded, without asking him what he was going to do with Xiaoxi.

The case is still under trial.

Liu Engui wanted to take the blame upon himself.

He thought it was the Emperor's will, and that he had no choice but to do it for the sake of the Liu family and his family.

But he realized that something seemed amiss.

Why does Shen Lan keep focusing on the Tong family? And Xiao Ji, although he doesn't say much, he always manages to lead everyone to suspect the Tong family.

"Someone, go and summon Old Master Tong to the palace."

Minister Tong was both happy and worried.

He wasn't afraid of the officials present having any doubts about the Tong family; he was only worried about the Emperor's attitude.

The Emperor's attitude today is really strange.

The moment the eunuch who had gone to deliver the imperial decree left the palace, Li Ge arranged for someone to follow him out.

He guessed that Shen Lan's target was the Tong family, or more precisely, Tong Yiwen.

Since that's the case, let's sweep this mountain aside first. Whether we can achieve victory in one fell swoop depends on today.