In an instant, the princes and princesses turned their heads to look at the Grand Princess. Even Princess Lin’an, who was clinging to Emperor Yuanjing’s arm, couldn’t help but glance over.
The Crown Prince cast a sidelong glance at the Grand Princess.
They all had the same thought: Huaiqing wanted to promote one of her people again.
There were two ways for princes and princesses to expand their influence. First: win over court officials and make them supporters. Second: promote their confidants.
The former was risky due to Emperor Yuanjing’s strong desire for control and his mastery of imperial politics. Even the Crown Prince dared not openly form factions.
The latter was their usual method.
But timing was crucial, and the assembled princes and princesses felt this wasn’t the right moment, given the task’s difficulty.
Emperor Yuanjing narrowed his eyes and smiled, “Who does Huaiqing have in mind?”
The Grand Princess replied, “Xu Qi An, the Bronze Gong from the Night Watchmen’s Office.”
The Second Princess suddenly realized, exclaiming with feigned innocence, “Oh! Isn’t he the Bronze Gong who showed such admiration for his elder sister during the ancestral worship? The elder sister was chatting and laughing with him.”
How malicious!
She was subtly undermining the Grand Princess in front of Emperor Yuanjing.
It was well known that the Grand Princess was yet unwed. Although Emperor Yuanjing had been obsessed with cultivation in recent years and paid little attention to his children’s marriages, it was unseemly for a princess to be seen flirting so openly.
The Grand Princess continued, “Father Emperor should have heard of this man. He’s the nephew of Xu Pingzhi, the Hundred-Household Commander of the Imperial Blade Guards who was implicated in the tax silver case.”
Emperor Yuanjing finally showed interest, “I remember. There was such a person who even created counterfeit silver. If it weren’t for the inconvenience of preserving the fake silver and its enormous salt consumption, I would have had the Directorate of Celestial Observations produce it in large quantities.”
The fake silver’s main ingredient was salt, which was too expensive. After hearing the report from the Directorate’s officials, Emperor Yuanjing abandoned the idea of mass-producing counterfeit silver.
“Not only that, this man performed exceptionally well while serving in Changle County, solving numerous murder cases,” the Grand Princess added fuel to the fire.
Emperor Yuanjing smiled, “If that’s the case, you needn’t go to such trouble, right?”
The Grand Princess lowered her head respectfully, “Father Emperor is perceptive. Just yesterday, Bronze Gong Xu Qi An had a conflict with a Silver Gong in the office and gravely wounded him with a sword. For assaulting a superior, according to the law, he should be cut in half at the waist.”
“He’s currently detained in the dungeon. Your daughter humbly requests Father Emperor to allow him to atone for his crime through meritorious service.”
The Grand Princess didn’t explain the reason for the conflict or defend Xu Qi An, because she knew these details were irrelevant.
Her father wouldn’t care about who was right or wrong; he only cared about who was useful and who could get things done.
As expected, Emperor Yuanjing didn’t hesitate or ponder. He nodded, “Very well. Since Huaiqing is pleading for him, I’ll allow him to atone through merit. He shall assist in the investigation. If the true culprit who damaged the Ancestral Emperor’s Temple isn’t caught within half a month, I’ll have him executed immediately.”
“Thank you, Father Emperor.”
…
As the princes and princesses left the Imperial Study and reunited with their guards, the Grand Princess retrieved her sword from her chief guard.
The Second Princess linked arms with her twin brother, the Crown Prince, and whispered, “Oh my, Huaiqing beat us to it.”
The Crown Prince shook his head, “It may not be a good thing. Even Wei Yuan finds this case challenging. Huaiqing is just making a casual move. If that Bronze Gong solves the case, it’s an unexpected bonus. If he fails, Huaiqing loses nothing – he was already sentenced to death anyway.”
“Hmph, Huaiqing is so cold-hearted,” the Second Princess wrinkled her delicate nose and asked, “Brother, what’s going on with the Eternal Mountain and River Temple?”
As they walked, the Crown Prince looked around and lowered his voice, “This case isn’t simple, otherwise Wei Yuan wouldn’t be so troubled. The secrets behind it are probably known only to Father Emperor.”
Of course, I’ll know them too in the future… he silently added in his heart. At the same time, the image of the female National Preceptor’s immaculate face floated in his mind, filling him with resentment.
“Lin’an!” the Grand Princess suddenly called out, stopping the siblings.
The Crown Prince and Second Princess turned back together. Princess Lin’an snapped back fiercely, “What!” while tightening her grip on her elder brother’s arm.
The Grand Princess approached, sword in hand, saying, “Nothing much…”
Just as the siblings relaxed, she suddenly struck the Second Princess’s perky bottom with her sword.
Amid the sharp pain, the Second Princess’s face first turned pale, then a few seconds later she burst into tears, pointing at the Grand Princess and screaming, “Huaiqing, I’ll kill you!”
The royal siblings hypocritically came over to mediate, acting as peacemakers.
The Crown Prince put on a stern face and said gravely, “Huaiqing, you’ve gone too far.”
“I was merely testing Lin’an’s martial arts skills. If Lin’an is dissatisfied, she’s welcome to test me in return,” the Grand Princess turned gracefully, her dark hair swirling beautifully.
The Second Princess, staring at her retreating figure, cried out, “I’m going to tell on you! I’ll report this to Father Emperor!”
The Crown Prince sighed, “Another day, perhaps. Father Emperor has no time to deal with this right now.”
If conflict or fighting broke out among the princes, Emperor Yuanjing would certainly intervene and punish them severely.
But when it came to squabbles among the princesses, everyone tended to adopt a conciliatory attitude.
Mainly because most princes had martial arts training, and their fights could result in injuries. Among the princesses, only the Grand Princess practiced martial arts. When other princesses fought, the more refined ones would slap faces, while the hot-tempered ones would resort to hair-pulling and biting.
To avoid tarnishing the royal family’s image, they preferred to settle such matters privately.
Princess Lin’an gritted her teeth, muttering curses, “Just wait, and I’ll take everything from you.”
…
The next morning, at dawn.
Wei Yuan, who had just finished his morning meditation, received an oral edict from the palace.
“This humble servant brings Your Excellency the Emperor’s oral edict. Lord Wei, please retrieve that Bronze Gong from the dungeon,” the small eunuch who delivered the edict said respectfully.