Chapter 256
Tricky (2)
Empress Dowager scolded Jiang Mingwei, and hurriedly went back to her palace to check the situation.
Unfortunately, Jiang Mingwei was successful in offending not only the Emperor and the Empress, but also the Empress Dowager.
After the Empress Dowager left in anger, others looked at the Empress and Jiang Mingwei with knowing eyes, and also bid their farewell to avoid getting caught up in the conflict between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. After waiting for half of the people to disperse, the Empress gave Jiang Mingwei a vicious look, cursed “brainless” angrily. Then she also went away, leaving Jiang Mingwei alone on her own.
Seeing her mother-in-law walk away, Jiang Mingwei dared not to follow the Empress. All she could do was to endure the scolding and humiliation from the Empress.
‘What’s going on here? How… how did this happen? There should have been a fire already. How could…’ Jiang Mingwei was unable to think any further.
When Jiang Mingwei arrived at Xuande Gate Tower, many people were already there and the atmosphere above was not pleasant. The Emperor stood in the middle, behind him was Xie Xuanchen. Although everyone was praising the Emperor, his face didn’t get any better.
When the giant dragon lantern, which symbolised the true dragon blood descending to earth aka the Emperor, was lit, Xie Xuanchen was the only royalty present there, not the Emperor. So when people below cheered, it was only meant for Xie Xuanchen. Those unexpected incidents got the Emperor hot under the collar.
After seeing the Emperor and the Empress’s livid faces, Mu Mingtang knew that she and Xie Xuanchen had stolen the limelight from the both of them, so she quietly stood beside Xie Xuanchen acting as a wallflower.
Right after the Empress came up, the first thing she saw was the Emperor’s extremely unsightly expression, but she had to force a smile to alleviate the situation, and said with caution: “Your Majesty, Princess Jin has no courage to deceive you. It could only be a misunderstanding.”
After saying so, even the Empress herself felt ashamed. It was hard to pretend like nothing happened.
On the contrary, Xie Xuanchen was calm and didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Anyway, nobody could blame Xie Xuanchen for this situation. When he came up, the royal family was not present there, and no one could tell what was happening. Moreover, it was not Xie Xuanchen who instructed to lit the lantern, nor did he force the Emperor to escape. God’s will was such a miracle, so how could he be blamed?
Thinking that nothing could be done about the situation, the Emperor quickly adjusted his expressions and turned towards Xie Xuanchen with a smile: “I hope that Prince An and Princess An enjoyed the festival outside. I would also love to know what fun activities the two of you partake in.”
“Xie Xuanchen thanks his majesty for his concerns,” Xie Xuanchen continued slowly, “Yes, it was quite enjoyable, and we also gained some harvest from this exploser.”
“Oh?” the emperor asked with a smile, “Since you call it a harvest, it must be something extraordinary. I wonder if I can know what it is?”
“I caught a few spies on the way. They should have been sent by Xixia.” Xie Xuanchen continued leisurely as if he was merely talking about the weather, “There were thirteen people in the group, except for one who died on the spot, the rest are all alive. They have been taken to the prison by the guards. Once the Lantern festival ends, we should let the Ministry of War conduct the first trial. In my opinion, there are bound to be some surprises for us.”
The emperor initially pretended to be enjoying what Xie Xuanchen was saying, but as he continued to listen, his expression shifted and the smile on his face eventually faded.
“Is this true?”
“Those assassins are already in the prison and the guards who arrested them are waiting under the tower. The emperor can send someone to inquire about it.”
The emperor looked serious and he directly called the eunuch to come over and go down to inquire about the matter.
Jiang Mingwei stood behind the Empress and did not dare to make a sound. It was not until she heard Xie Xuanchen’s words that she showed some surprise, and a bad feeling started to envelope her heart, ‘Could the spies mentioned by Xie Xuanchen be the ones who originally set fire in the novel? Even if it was true, they should have been waiting for an opportunity to start a fire, why were they suddenly caught by Xie Xuanchen?’
As Jiang Mingwei was unable to come on terms with the situation, she couldn’t help asking, “Where did Prince An find the spies?”