Chapter 1289 - 1289 Prime Minister Zhang Makes Gaffes
Chapter 1289 Prime Minister Zhang Makes Gaffes
“Your Highness, please wait!”
Chu Liuchen stood still, turned his head, and saw Prime Minister Zhang running over with sweat all over his head. Unlike his behavior usually, Prime Minister Zhang, who had always been steady, looked panicked. Prime Minister Zhang entered the Palace gate from outside, lifting a corner of his robe. Apparently, he was chasing Chu Liuchen.
Chu Liuchen thought, “It’s been delayed a lot of time in the street. If Prime Minister Zhang is well-informed, he must have known something roughly. Now he tries to stop me at the gate of the Palace.”
“Your Highness, greetings!” Prime Minister Zhang ran up to Chu Liuchen, tidied up the robe in his hand, and bowed to Chu Liuchen.
“Prime Minister Zhang, you’re welcome,” Chu Liuchen said lightly with clear eyes.
“Your Highness, I heard that something happened to Princess Chen on the street ahead. Is she all right now?” Prime Minister Zhang got his breath back, took a handkerchief out of his sleeve, wiped the sweat on his forehead slightly, and asked Prince Chen.
It seemed that Prime Minister Zhang was going to plead for mercy for his daughter. What a cunning guy! No wonder he could mingle in the officialdom for many years. He was quite skillful in asking questions. If the answer was that Shao Wanru was fine, would everything be easy to say?
“My wife is still in a coma.” Chu Liuchen put on a straight face, and his eyes immediately became cold.
When he saw Shao Wanru lying on the ground, injured, Chu Liuchen almost stopped breathing. He couldn’t imagine what he would be if he saw Shao Wanru had an incident one day! There was only one thing he was certain of, and that was to destroy everything. If she were dead, no one else could survive.
The thick dark color seemed to have invaded his eyes. Prime Minister Zhang had seen various people, but he had never seen such a vicious one. The feeling of dragging everyone into the deep dark abyss almost suffocated him.
Prime Minister Zhang took a step back involuntarily, and his expression changed slightly. Just now, he could actually feel the emotions of Chu Liuchen, which was as if an ancient fierce beast was being released and destroying everything, and his heart couldn’t help beating wildly a few times.
“Your Highness, I heard that my daughter happened to be at the scene when the incident occurred. I wonder if she was involved?” Prime Minister Zhang had been a high-ranking official for many years, so he could immediately calm down. He took a step back and cupped his hands to salute Chu Liuchen.
“The matter of Princess Yue might be complicated. I need to go to the Palace for some business now. Would you like to go with me?” Chu Liuchen squinted at Prime Minister Zhang and said.
“I happen to have something to report to His Majesty, so I’ll go in with you, Your Highness,” Prime Minister Zhang said.
So they went to the Imperial Study together.
Not long after they left the Palace gate, Chu Liuyue also arrived. He got off his horse and hurried into the Palace.
When Chu Liuchen and Prime Minister Zhang arrived at the Imperial Study, Derong walked out with a smile. He bowed to Chu Liuchen first and then to Prime Minister Zhang. Then he stepped aside and said with a smile, “Your Highness, the Emperor asks you to go in.”
Chu Liuchen nodded and walked inside. Derong turned around and was about to catch up with Chu Liuchen, but Prime Minister Zhang reached out and pulled his sleeve.
Derong turned his head.
“Why does His Majesty … want to meet Prince Chen alone?” Prime Minister Zhang and Derong were quite familiar with each other, so he asked.
Prime Minister Zhang thought, “Prince Chen and I came together. In this case, His Majesty often summoned us together before. Why is it different this time?” It was not like Zhang Xiang overthought, but he had to think much at such a moment.
The Emperor’s health declined with each passing day. He relied more on the two Prime Ministers than on the several princes, but what did he mean now?
“Prime Minister Zhang, the affection between the Emperor and His Highness Prince Chen is beyond that between a monarch and a minister,” Derong said with a smile, but his eyes were not as kind as before.
Prime Minister Zhang made gaffes now. If it were before, he would not have asked such a question. As a minister, he should not inquire about the reason for what the Emperor did. Otherwise, he would inevitably get into big trouble.
For the sake of their many years of friendship, Derong gave Prime Minister Zhang a piece of advice.
However, Derong’s advice didn’t work today. This matter was related to his daughter. As a father, Prime Minister Zhang was deeply troubled, and he had already panicked earlier. Therefore, he didn’t get the point of what Derong meant. Instead, relying on his good relationship with Derong, Prime Minister Zhang continued, “I also have something important to report to His Majesty. Would you please inform him?”
Derong was going to leave, but he stopped when hearing what Prime Minister Zhang said. The smile on his face faded, and he said in a cold voice, “Prime Minister Zhang, say no more. I have to go serve His Majesty.”
After that, Derong turned around and went in, leaving a view of his cold back to Prime Minister Zhang.
Prime Minister Zhang’s face turned gloomy, and he was unhappy inwardly. He was the Prime Minister, but he was ignored by such a eunuch. This feeling made him quite uncomfortable, but he knew that he couldn’t pester Derong at this moment. He had to take a few steps back and stood outside the Imperial Study quietly, waiting for the summons inside.
After a while, he heard footsteps from outside. He looked back and found that it was Chu Liuyue. Prime Minister Zhang felt relieved and greeted Prince Yue with a smile, “Your Highness.”
“Father-in-law!” Seeing Prime Minister Zhang at the door, Chu Liuyue revealed a smile and greeted politely. “Why are you here?”
“I came here with His Highness Prince Chen at the Palace gate just now. His Majesty has summoned His Highness Prince Chen to the Imperial Study,” Zhang Xiangyi said meaningfully.
He was just a minister, but Prince Yue was different. He was the eldest son of the Emperor, so he was much closer to the Emperor than Prince Chen, who was the nephew of the Emperor.
A hint of a smile appeared on Prime Minister Zhang’s face. He didn’t believe that the Emperor would treat his nephew better than his son. Everything was just a show made by the Emperor for others to see.
The Emperor was really capable, for he could make so many people believe that he doted on Prince Chen out of his heart.
On the surface, Prime Minister Zhang also believed it, and he even sighed with others together sometimes. But in his heart, he didn’t believe it.
The reason why the Emperor raised Prince Chen was to prove to the world that he did not intend to seize the throne of the deceased emperor. Could anyone believe that?
“Then let’s just wait.” On the way to the Palace, Chu Liuyue had thought of various negative possibilities, and he also guessed that Chu Liuchen would inevitably report it to the Emperor first. Therefore, he was not surprised. Instead, he was a little more steady than Prime Minister Zhang.
“Your Highness, Prince Chen has been inside for some time. Why don’t you have the eunuch report to His Majesty about your arrival?” Prime Minister Zhang was a little anxious and reminded Chu Liuyue.
“Father-in-law, no rush. I’ll just wait for His Majesty to summon me.” Chu Liuyue cast a glance at Prime Minister Zhang. He could tell that Prime Minister Zhang was anxious, so he hinted at Prime Minister Zhang.
“Is Qilan all right?” Prime Minister Zhang also knew that it was inappropriate to disturb before the Emperor summoned him, but he was really worried, so he couldn’t help asking.
“She is okay. She has returned to the mansion,” Chu Liuyue said implicitly. If it was considered a good thing not to have been injured, Zhang Qilan was indeed a lot better than Shao Wanru.
“That’s good. That’s good as long as she is fine. I heard some bad rumors before I came here, and I thought Prince Chen had captured Princess Yue,” Prime Minister Zhang said with lingering fear on his face.
Chu Liuyue looked at Prime Minister Zhang speechlessly, thinking, “Prime Minister Zhang, who has always been calm, seems to have changed into another person today. Not only did he behave unusually, but he also came to the Palace. He even stands with me here together, waiting for His Majesty to summon him. What would Father think of me? Would he say that Prime Minister Zhang is omnipotent or me?”
“Prime Minister Zhang…” Chu Liuyue was about to remind his father-in-law again. Just then, Derong came out of the Imperial Study with a smile and bow to Chu Liuyue. “Your Highness, His Majesty summons you in.”
“Thank you.” Chu Liuyue stopped talking. There was a slight smile on his face. Then he nodded to Prime Minister Zhang and followed Derong into the Imperial Study.
Prime Minister Zhang tried to say something, but when he saw they had left, a trace of anxiety appeared on his face. He stamped his feet, but he did not dare to say anything more in the end.
In the Imperial Study, the Emperor’s face was paler than before. Although there was sandalwood to calm the mind, the Emperor was not in better spirits. When he saw Chu Liuyue come in, his cold eyes fixed on Chu Liuyue’s face.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Chu Liuyue stepped forward carefully and bowed to the Emperor.
“Tell me what’s going on with your Princess Yue? From where did she get the Changxing Grass?” The Emperor went straight to the point.
“Father, I don’t know. I don’t even know what she is doing there. When she went out today, she said that she was going back to Prime Minister Zhang’s to visit her parents.” Chu Liuyue knelt down with a thud.
“Are you saying that the matter of the Changxing Grass has nothing to do with you?” The Emperor gazed at Chu Liuyue.
“It absolutely has nothing to do with me. Father, if you don’t believe me, you can send someone to investigate Zhang Qilan,” Chu Liuyue said decisively. He would swear to God if needed.
Of course, even if he swore, the Emperor would not believe him. When did the royal family swear to God to distinguish the authenticity of what they said?
“I heard that Prime Minister Zhang is also here, right?” The Emperor didn’t answer him but changed to another topic.
“I saw Prime Minister Zhang when I entered the Palace. Prime Minister Zhang inquired about Princess Yue just now,” Chu Liuyue said. He meant to clarify that Prime Minister Zhang entered the Palace by himself, which had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t contact Prime Minister Zhang.
Chu Liuchen didn’t say anything. He leaned against his wide chair and listened to Chu Liuyue’s explanation quietly. His eyes flickered a few times and then slowly returned to gloom. His long eyelashes fell, leaving irregular shadows on his pale face, which enabled him to look like he was resting with his eyes closed.
“The matter of the Changxing Grass is related to the Xu State…” The Emperor said slowly in a low voice. Then he tilted his head and coughed a few times. He gently wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before turning around again with a weak look. “Many things happened before, and all have something to do with the Changxing Grass. We have been looking for spies from the Xu State.”
“Father, I really don’t know anything about the matter of the Changxing Grass. I didn’t go there until Third Brother asked me to, and it was Third Brother who told me what happened.” Hearing what the Emperor said, Chu Liuyue panicked. Chu Liuzhou had just got caught. Chu Liuyue was supposed to be very happy, but now he got into trouble. If he got involved in this matter, it would be a big deal that he couldn’t bear.
“Can we investigate it?” the Emperor asked.
“Sure. Father, please take Zhang Qilan away and interrogate her carefully,” Chu Liuyue said with a righteous face, “If it’s her problem, I will never cover her up. But if it’s not, please let her come back… After all, she is Princess Yue, my wife!”