Harem Daily Life

Chapter 775: Fleeing from Disaster

Upon learning that Princess Liang and her three children had safely left the city, Prince Liang finally felt relieved.

He hadn't slept much all night, his mind kept active with worry, and now that the first of his worries was resolved, he took a short nap.

But not long after, Aunt Fang came, and he had to get up again.

Seeing the beautifully dressed Concubine Fang, Prince Liang lost his usual enthusiasm and said coldly, "What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Aunt Fang was a little annoyed by his attitude, but she still greeted him with a smile. "I went to pay my respects to the princess this morning, but I learned that she had left the city with the prince and his family. I thought someone needed to take care of the affairs in the backyard, so I came to ask Your Majesty if you would like me to take over for a few days."

Prince Liang glanced at her and said, "No need. Butler Zhao will take care of it. If you have nothing to do these days, please don't come to me. I'm busy and can't take care of you."

Concubine Fang's heart suddenly sank. This was the first time she had encountered such an indifferent Prince Liang. Even when Prince Liang and the princess had quarreled in the past, he had never been so cold to her.

She was a little angry, but looking at the unhappy face of King Liang, she knew that today was not the time to ease the relationship by acting coquettishly, so she respectfully replied "yes" and left King Liang's yard with her maid Xiaoqing.

"Xiaoqing, do you feel that the prince is very different from before?" Aunt Fang asked in a low voice.

Xiao Qing looked around to see if there was anyone around and nodded, "Yes, he is a little different. He seems to be worried and has a bad temper. Aunt, please don't come over recently. Hide in the yard to avoid the public."

Aunt Fang felt the same way. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Didn't your cousin say last time that he seemed to have seen the prince in Yuecheng? He said the prince appeared mysteriously and disappeared mysteriously. Try to find out why the prince appeared in Yuecheng. Also, go to the princess's courtyard and ask why she was in such a hurry to go to Xiangcheng."

Aunt Fang had a bad feeling, feeling that the prince must be deliberately hiding something, and it was not a good thing.

Xiaoqing was well-informed. It would take some time to inquire about her cousin, but she knew a cleaning boy on the princess's side, so she gave him some change and found out the news.

She hurried to report to Aunt Fang, "I heard that before daybreak, Butler Zhao arranged a carriage to ask the princess to leave with the Crown Prince and the two young masters. The princess even had a conflict with Butler Zhao, and was ultimately forced onto the carriage."

Aunt Fang was even more shocked: "So, even the princess was kept in the dark and had no idea that I was leaving the city today?"

Xiao Qing nodded. "The three of them were also forced onto the carriage. The third young master was still young and was made to cry. The princess wanted to ask the prince for clarification, but was stopped by Butler Zhao. He just told them to stay in Xiangcheng for a while, saying that the prince had something to do and refused to see her. Then she was taken away directly."

Aunt Fang knew that Butler Zhao must have received orders from the prince to treat the princess like this, otherwise which butler would treat the mistress like this?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She grabbed Xiaoqing's hand and said, "Guess why the prince was so determined and quick to send the princess and the others away?"

Xiao Qing's hand was pinched by Aunt Fang, and it hurt. She said helplessly, "How would I know? But you look so anxious, as if you are trying to avoid disaster before it happens."

The words awakened Fang Yi Niang's confusion. "You're right. It's like fleeing a disaster. But what exactly happened?"

In Changle Palace, news was delivered to Tao Yanyan one after another.

"Your Majesty, General Qi has sent back news that all fifteen branches of Yixingtang have been taken under control, with over 1,400 people arrested. He's currently negotiating with Yixingtang's leader, Han. Some branches were raided empty-handed, likely having gotten the news and already deserted."

Eunuch Zhang presented the report, and Tao Yanyan took a look at it. "Tell him a message: conduct a thorough investigation. Those whose hands are tied to human lives will be handed over to the authorities for investigation and prosecution. No leniency will be shown. All other cases will be handled by General Qi."

"The Ministry of Justice sent someone to the palace to report that they had discovered someone had hired a killer and bribed a jailer to poison Zhao Songde's food. Fortunately, they had been prepared in advance, and the jailer failed to succeed and was caught red-handed."

Eunuch Zhang handed over the jailer's confession, which had been sent by the Ministry of Justice. Tao Yanyan flipped through it and took a look. "Continue the interrogation. If he refuses to speak now, then torture him. Check his family; we'll probably find a way to get him to talk."

Eunuch Zhang retracted his confession and continued, "Things are calm at Prince Liang's mansion. Aside from the princess, her mother, and her two children, no one else has left. Even Prince Liang hasn't left the mansion in the past few days."

Tao Yanyan frowned and said, "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Everyone has to go to the palace to pay their respects, right?"

Eunuch Zhang nodded and said, "Yes, it is normal that the Princess of Liang would come to the Liang Palace in previous years. This year, the Princess is not in the capital, and I don't know how the arrangements will be made."

"No matter who comes, try to get some information." Tao Yanyan had been rather lazy in previous years, using the excuse of taking care of the children to avoid attending these kinds of social events, leaving them to Concubine Xian. This year, in order to gather information, she felt compelled to attend.

King Liang was in a complete mess. He had never imagined that after planning to this point, Zhao Songde was still alive and well, while the jailer was arrested.

Butler Zhao stood in front of King Liang with a bitter face.

"Your Highness, it's a good thing we didn't find them. The jailer had a grudge against Zhao Songde. Back then, the jailer's sister was raped by Zhao Songde, and he committed suicide in anger. Our people only provoked the jailer, and he took action on his own. Even if we investigate to the end, it will have nothing to do with us."

Prince Liang closed his eyes and said, "It would be best if nothing is found." He was a little exhausted. "How is the princess doing?"

Butler Zhao had been busy with Zhao Songde's affairs recently, and thinking that the princess was already living in Xiangcheng, he hadn't followed up. When the prince asked, he felt a little guilty and quickly lied, saying, "Everything is fine with the princess. The silver bank in Xiangcheng opened an account many years ago, so there's no need to worry about the money. It's just...it's the second young master of the Jiang family. His love of living a life of luxury has never changed. I'm afraid he's been taking a lot of money from the princess lately."

Speaking of his brother-in-law, Prince Liang was also very angry. Most of the quarrels between him and the princess over the years were because of this unmotivated brother-in-law.

"Send a letter to the princess, telling her that the money given to her is for her to live on. She has three children to support, so she shouldn't be cheated out of it by her brother."

Butler Zhao quickly agreed and prepared to write and send the letter later.

At this time, Nanny Chang, who was responsible for helping Butler Zhao with the affairs of the backyard, came and asked for permission to pay a visit to the palace tomorrow.

Prince Liang had a headache. The princess was not at home and no one could enter the palace.