Emperor Jingming had been in a fairly good mood lately. After all, the New Year celebrations weren’t quite over, and maintaining a pleasant demeanor was the duty of a good emperor.
More importantly, since the Crown Prince had moved into the Eastern Palace, everything had been going smoothly without any mishaps.
As for the tutors’ frequent remarks about the Crown Prince’s rapid progress in his studies, it was a feeling of pride he hadn’t experienced in years.
Pan Hai approached and reported that Han Ran, the Commander of the Jinlin Guard, was seeking an audience.
Emperor Jingming’s eyelid twitched as he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: “Let him in.”
The Lantern Festival hadn’t even passed yet. If Han Ran was here to ruin his mood over some trivial matter, he wouldn’t let him off easily!
After this initial thought, Emperor Jingming changed his mind.
A small matter would be preferable; a big issue would be troublesome.
Han Ran soon entered and paid his respects to Emperor Jingming.
The Emperor tapped on his dragon desk: “Speak!”
Han Ran hesitated, then lowered his head and said, “Your Majesty, my subordinates have discovered a Princess from Northern Qi in a fragrance shop on West Market Street.”
Emperor Jingming almost thought he had misheard: “What did you say? A Northern Qi Princess?”
A Northern Qi Princess appearing in a fragrance shop on West Market Street?
“The Northern Qi Princess came to Great Zhou in disguise to buy fragrances?”
Han Ran quickly glanced at Emperor Jingming, then lowered his gaze and said, “The Northern Qi Princess is an employee at that fragrance shop.”
Emperor Jingming was stunned. He took a sip of tea to compose himself: “What exactly is going on?”
Han Ran explained how the Court of State Ceremonial official had exposed Lu Chuchu’s identity: “I’ve investigated, Your Majesty. The Northern Qi Princess has been working at that fragrance shop for two years.”
Emperor Jing Ming’s expression changed slightly as he muttered, “Could Northern Qi be planning something—”
Han Ran quickly added, “The fragrance shop belongs to the Crown Princess.”
Emperor Jingming almost spilled his tea.
“Does the Crown Princess know about the Northern Qi Princess’s identity?”
Han Ran looked troubled: “I haven’t had the opportunity to inquire with the Crown Princess yet.”
Emperor Jingming stood up, then sat down again, realizing a serious issue: “So, the news that a fragrance shop employee is a Northern Qi Princess has already spread?”
Han Ran lowered his gaze: “Not just that, someone also shouted about the connection between the fragrance shop and the Crown Princess.”
Emperor Jingming’s eyes flickered.
It wasn’t impossible for a Court of State Ceremonial official to coincidentally recognize a Northern Qi Princess, but for someone to dare to implicate the Crown Princess in public – could there be something suspicious about this?
If it weren’t for the previous troublesome events, Emperor Jingming would have been furious, angry at the Crown Prince and Princess for foolishly opening a fragrance shop. But now, his first reaction was suspicion.
Was this a coincidence, or was it another scheme targeting the Crown Prince?
“Pan Hai, summon the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.”
Pan Hai accepted the order and left.
At this time, Yu Jin had already finished his studies and returned to his chambers. He was chatting idly with Jiang Si when they heard of Emperor Jingming’s summons. Yu Jin said to the eunuch Xiao Le Zi who came to deliver the message, “Eunuch Le, please wait a moment. I’ll change my clothes.”
Xiao Le Zi wouldn’t deny this small courtesy and wait obediently in the hall.
As Yu Jin changed, he lowered his voice and said to Jiang Si, “Father Emperor summoning us both at the same time probably means that the old witch is up to something again.”
Jiang Si chuckled, “Weren’t we waiting for her to make a move?”
Yu Jin frowned slightly, “We’ve been behaving ourselves in the palace. The most likely place for her to strike would be your fragrance shop.”
While traveling south to rescue Jiang Zhan, Jiang Si encountered two men from Northern Qi who were searching for their princess. She had frightened them thoroughly, and as they left, Chen Guang had secretly assigned people to follow them.
The trail led back to the capital, where they watched the two men wander around until they were finally drawn to Lushengxiang.
To their shock, they discovered that the shop’s second-in-command, Miss Chuchu, was Princess Qiluo of Northern Qi!
One can imagine the impact this revelation had on Chen Guang’s subordinates.
The two subordinates quickly reported this shocking news to Chen Guang, who then hurriedly informed Yu Jin.
Yu Jin and Jiang Si had discussed the matter and decided to bide their time.
Lu Chuchu had always been well-behaved at Lushengxiang, and it was clear she truly enjoyed this life. Abandoning her status as a Northern Qi Princess to come to Great Zhou must have been due to her difficulties.
For Jiang Si, Lu Chuchu was a friend. To avoid her solely because of her Northern Qi identity would be too cold-hearted.
Of course, given Lu Chuchu’s special status, it was inevitable that people would be assigned to keep a discreet eye on her. This way, they could keep potential risks under control.
“Isn’t this within our expectations? Why are you frowning?” Jiang Si asked.
Yu Jin gently stroked Jiang Si’s hair, his tone resigned: “I regret involving you in this.”
Jiang Si gave him a look, “Don’t say such nonsense. We’re husband and wife. Do you expect to shoulder everything alone while I sit back and enjoy the benefits when I have more suitable opportunities?”
Yu Jin quickly lowered his head, “The Crown Princess is right to chastise me.”
After changing, they walked out together.
“We’ve kept Eunuch Le waiting for too long.”
Xiao Le Zi hurriedly said, “Your Highness is too kind. Please, follow me.”
Seeing Yu Jin and Jiang Si enter, Emperor Jingming’s lip twitched as he said irritably, “Do you know why I’ve summoned you?”
“Son (Daughter-in-law) does not know. Please enlighten us, Father Emperor.”
Emperor Jingming glanced at the two, considering that the fragrance shop was bought by his seventh son for his wife. In a way, the trouble was caused by his son, while his daughter-in-law was an innocent victim. Thus, he directed his anger towards Yu Jin, berating him severely before dismissing them.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Jiang Si didn’t receive a single word of rebuke.
After enduring an earful of scolding, Yu Jin sighed upon returning to the Eastern Palace: “I truly doubt whether I’m his biological son. You seem more like his own child.”
Jiang Si couldn’t be bothered with his quips and sighed, “It’s a pity Lushengxiang can’t continue operating.”
Yu Jin glanced in the direction of the imperial study and calmly said, “It’s alright. The day will come when we can reopen it.”
“Mm, let’s focus on resolving the current trouble first.”
Mentioning the present situation, Yu Jin sneered, “The Empress Dowager has lost several pawns and has broken ties with the Wumiao. She’s already in a panic. Official Zhen will thoroughly investigate that Court of State Ceremonial official, and our people have also kept an eye on those who tried to implicate you in the crowd. We’ll soon know if we can pull out the radish and bring up the mud with it.”
Jiang Si nodded slightly.
The Empress Dowager couldn’t easily leave the palace, so there was likely a group of people outside specifically tasked with spreading rumors to achieve certain goals.
Uncovering these people might lead to evidence against the Empress Dowager.
This speculation was proposed by Jiang Si.
She had always been suspicious about the matter of the deposed Crown Prince.
In her previous life, she knew about the deposed Crown Prince’s affair with Consort Yang because the rumor suddenly spread among the common people, quickly becoming common knowledge. The deposed Crown Prince likely took the desperate action of rebellion due to this pressure, leading to his second dethronement and death.
In this life, however, this matter concerning the deposed Crown Prince hadn’t been revealed.
Jiang Si suspected that because she and Yu Jin had entered the vortex of power struggles earlier, causing repeated setbacks for the deposed Crown Prince, the person scheming behind the scenes had changed their approach.
Now they could be certain that the person behind it all was the Empress Dowager.
Among the common people, the Empress Dowager likely maintained a group specifically responsible for spreading rumors.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to endure some hardship for a while,” Yu Jin sighed.
Jiang Si smiled, “It’s alright.”
As the couple had anticipated, rumors soon began circulating in the capital about the Crown Princess colluding with a Northern Qi spy. Later, people started mentioning the Crown Princess’s previous broken engagement.