northernbook Chapter 187 Rewarded by the Queen
Chapter 187 Rewarded by the Queen
Ye Yucheng and Master Murong could not have imagined that the matter would be resolved so quickly.
They had only been there for the second day when they heard that the emperor was furious after learning that the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion was relying on the power of others.
Fortunately, the Queen did not say that the person who sent the letter and evidence was Ye Yucheng, the Imperial Envoy. Otherwise, if Baihu was not caught and he took care of matters beyond his duties, if Eunuch Yao, the Chief Envoy, knew about it, he would probably be in trouble.
Ye Yucheng was also puzzled. Although Miss Luo Yu was very smart, how could she make the queen, who wanted to hunt her down, actually think of helping her?
He asked Master Murong while drinking tea. Murong smiled and said, "Didn't Master Li say that Concubine Mo's fifth prince was interested in competing for the throne?"
"So Miss Bai is using a knife to kill someone?"
Murong didn't nod. He became even more suspicious that there was a deeper reason... which was enough to make the Queen believe that Miss Luo Hong was on her side.
If Qin Bingrui knew what Master Murong was thinking, he would probably be thinking about how to deal with him...
"Miss Luo Yu is very smart. She will find a way to protect herself and get things done."
Ye Yucheng chuckled: "Master Murong admires Miss Luo Hong very much? But her identity is not clear."
"Her intelligence is well-placed. She's able to put herself in other people's shoes. People like her shouldn't be sacrificed. Isn't that what Lord Ye thinks as well?"
"I am only working for the court. It doesn't matter who she is."
"..."
The two witnesses who were brought to the court by the Duke of Anguo were scared to death when they saw the emperor. They didn't expect that they were just trying to make money for the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion, but they actually sent themselves to the palace and met such important people that they would never see in their lifetime.
Whatever, it's worth it to see the Emperor die. If I just confessed my crime, maybe my family could still keep their bodies intact.
The emperor was furious after hearing this and wanted to execute the entire family of the Marquis of Qingyang. In the end, after Concubine Mo's pleading, his family was only confiscated and exiled to the northwest border area, never to return to Beijing.
The two witnesses confessed a lot of people involved and finally saved their families' lives. They were executed on the same day, which was very satisfying.
The Queen hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. It seemed Concubine Ying wasn't completely useless after all...
The Fifth Prince no longer has the influence of his relatives. Even if other officials want to assist him, when they think of the evil deeds committed by the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion, who would dare to openly support the Fifth Prince?
I'm afraid that even Concubine Mo will lose the emperor's favor because of this... Foolish woman, taking her temporary favor too seriously and angering the emperor, death is only a matter of time, God never favors fools.
The Queen returned to Ciyuan Hall and sipped her tea while asking someone to call the palace maid Xiaotao. After explaining everything in detail to Xiaotao, she took out an exquisite jade pendant carved from the finest mutton-fat white jade seed jade and asked Xiaotao to give it to Concubine Ying, saying that it was a reward from the Queen.
It can be considered that the Queen temporarily agreed to her alliance.
Xiao Tao opened her pupils wide in disbelief. How could Concubine Ying be so capable? Could she and the Queen make peace?
……
Ye Yucheng and Master Murong were preparing to return to Wangzhou, but unexpectedly, the queen sent a little maid with a round face and big eyes, who looked particularly cautious.
Seeing the two gentlemen, she timidly introduced herself: "Hello, sirs. My name is Xiaotao, and I am a maid in the palace."
The Queen also didn't allow her to tell Concubine Ying's secret, so she simply said nothing.
Seeing that the girl was young and timid, Murong said gently, "Did the Queen send you to accompany us grown men back home?"
"The Queen said that she would give Miss Bai a good thing, and would also give me as a servant to her."
Ye Yucheng said coldly: "Why would the Queen send a slave girl so far away to Miss Bai?"
"Because, because I used to have the best relationship with Miss Bai."
Ye Yucheng and Master Murong looked at each other. It seemed that this girl was not stupid. She knew exactly what to say and what not to say, and it was impossible to get anything out of her.
As for that secret, it would be better for them not to ask about it for the time being.
……
After the Qingyang Marquisate was raided, they discovered over four million taels of silver, eight hundred thousand taels of gold, and countless other gold, silver, and jewelry. Furthermore, they also had over a hundred and seventy to eighty shops in Yanzhou, Wangzhou, and the capital, not to mention the five or six hundred acres of fertile farmland found throughout the region. The sheer amount was truly staggering...
When the emperor saw the figures in the account book, he was shocked. The figures were almost as high as the national treasury's wealth, and yet the whole family of the Marquis of Qingyang were still finding ways to be greedy.
If it weren't for Concubine Mo using the Fifth Prince as a pretext to play the victim, the Emperor would have really wanted to kill the entire family...
However, getting so much money from a house raid doesn't seem bad.
At the court, Duke Anguo managed to save the queen's face. He suggested that one-tenth of the money confiscated from the Marquis of Qingyang's mansion be donated to Wangzhou as disaster relief, and the rest should all be deposited into the national treasury. In this way, the military pay for the important border areas would be provided for in the future.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor thought that the Duke of Anguo was quite good. He had only raised one-tenth of the money, and the rest went into the national treasury, so he could dispose of it at will. This money could be considered earned with the help of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion and the Empress. He could then reward the little prince with 100,000 taels of gold.
If Luo Yu knew that Concubine Ying's son had such a huge fortune since he was born and was not even eight months old, her heart would be even more upset...
How difficult it is to make money. She used to have nearly two thousand taels of silver notes, and now she only has one thousand taels...
……
Several days later.
As soon as the news of the confiscation of the Marquis of Qingyang's mansion reached Wangzhou, the people cried for joy, as if they had filled their stomachs without even having to eat.
Luo Yu took advantage of this day to open the first library in Wangzhou.
If it goes quickly, Ye Yucheng and Master Murong will be able to return to Wangzhou in just a few days. By then, I'm afraid the matter of the White Tiger will have to be resolved.
She was feeling a bit melancholy now. The more Baihu became famous, the more the Emperor wanted to capture her. This was more difficult than dealing with the Empress...
The opening day of the library was extremely lively. Mr. Li, the governor of Wangzhou, was the main spokesperson. The wrinkles on his face deepened several layers. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep well for several nights.
For the first time, he felt that being demoted to Wangzhou and serving as a prefect was actually quite good.
Wangzhou hasn't been this lively and full of human touch for a long time. Just borrowing a few words for free made the eyes of a group of scholars moist.
Feiying stood in the crowd and watched with a cold look. Although the atmosphere of this opening was slightly less than that of Liangzhou City, the excitement among the crowd was still enduring...
Everyone was sighing at the righteousness of the Fang family, Prince Rui, and Prince Ning, but no one knew about Miss Luo Hong and Miss Qin.
What are they really after? This was the first time Feiying had such a question in his mind.
It's clear they've been using despicable tactics, using someone else's knife to kill someone, doing shady business, and making shady money. Yet, they've also been helping disaster victims, opening free lending libraries, and even donating all their earnings...
These kinds of personalities make it impossible to associate them with just two women...