King Duan was not sentenced to death, but everyone knew that he would not survive.
Because of the Green Forest Rebellion, not many of the surviving members of the imperial family were alive. On the surface, the emperor just deposed Prince Duan as a commoner and imprisoned him. However, as soon as things cool down, news of Prince Duan's death will surely come.
This high-profile rebellion case has finally come to an end.
Outside Wangfu Street, a low-key carriage stopped at the street entrance.
Xu Yin sat in the car and looked through the window.
Prince Duan's Mansion is now desolate, most of it has been emptied out, leaving only a small courtyard as Prince Duan's confinement.
That small courtyard was surrounded by Forbidden troops in front and behind, with posts every ten steps and sentries every five steps, and they were heavily guarded.
It's a little hard to kill someone...
Xu Yin thought in his heart.
"Miss, how about I sneak in and work as a maid, then I can poison him."
There was a voice in his ears. Xu Yin looked over in shock and found that it was Xiao Sang's idea.
"What did you say? Who wants to poison me?"
Xiao Sang asked in confusion: "Miss... aren't you thinking about how to kill King Duan?"
Xu Yin almost wanted to ask, how did you know.
Xiao Sang thought he had misunderstood, and said sheepishly: "I'm overthinking it. Every time I follow the lady wherever I go to follow him, I have to deal with that person..."
In short, she is used to it.
Xu Yin said: "The confinement of King Duan is a sacred mandate. The palace maids and chamberlains who come in and out are all assigned by the palace. It's not easy for you to sneak in."
"I can disguise myself!" Xiao Sang said immediately.
Xu Yin still shook his head: "No need, it's too dangerous."
After a while, the emperor will take action himself, so there is no need to take risks himself. If the secret is revealed, the Duke of Zhao will be implicated. Yan Ling has helped her a lot, and he can no longer bear the risk.
After making up her mind, she ordered the carriage to turn around, and then she saw Yu Manqing, who was also sitting in the carriage.
Yu Manqing was wearing mourning clothes, her eyes were red, and she looked very haggard. There was no smile on her face, and her eyes were dull and cold, making her look more like a living person than her usual rigid appearance.
Xu Yin didn't want to deal with her at this time, but Yu Manqing turned around and gave instructions and took the initiative to drive over.
The Yu family's carriage stopped nearby, and the two looked at each other through the window.
"Miss Xu San, what are you doing here?" Yu Manqing looked at her with wariness and suspicion.
For a moment, Xu Yin had an idea in his mind and said with a smile: "Of course I'm here to see the fun."
"Business?" Yu Manqing glanced at Prince Duan's Mansion, "Where can I see the excitement?"
"The excitement is in my heart, so if you want to see it, you can see it." Xu Yin said with a smile, completely ignoring the fact that she had just lost her father, "If it weren't for these forbidden troops not allowing anyone to come close, I would really like to send some gifts to His Highness Prince Duan."
Yu Manqing frowned and expressed confusion: "What do you mean?"
"Thank you!" Xu Yin said with a smile, "I thought I would be second to others in this life, but I didn't expect God to be so kind to me."
Yu Manqing's face suddenly darkened.
She understood. What this girl meant was that the Yu family had lost power and her marriage to the prince was about to be ruined. She would no longer be burdened with it in the future.
"You think you can get what you want?" Yu Manqing couldn't help but sarcastically said, "I don't know how many noble girls there are in the capital. They have countless family backgrounds above yours. Why should you be chosen? Because you have a good relationship with the princess?"
"Why can't you choose me?" Xu Yin waved his fan slowly, "Just because I'm more beautiful than them all!"
"You..." Yu Manqing was so angry that she wanted to refute. After careful consideration, she found that this was not impossible.
In the past, the government was controlled by Zhang Huaide, and the military power was in the hands of her father. Zhang Huaide was a eunuch, so she was the only noblewoman in the capital. No matter how she was chosen as the crown prince, she could not be bypassed.
Now that Zhang Huaide has fallen and her father is dead, the emperor can use whomever he wants. According to the current situation, it is best for the princess to help the weak imperial power, that is, a powerful person with soldiers and food.
If Duke Zhao had a daughter, he might be tempted. By analogy, the governors and governors of various places would be good candidates. Although Nanyuan is not very powerful, it currently has great momentum, and Xu Huanming can be considered a royalist.
…
When she thought about the possibility of Xu Yin becoming the crown princess, Yu Manqing didn't want to stay any longer.
"Let's go!" She told the driver with a tight face, "Let's go back home."
Watching the Yu family's carriage drive away, the smile on Xu Yin's face slowly faded away.
Now, Yu Manqing shouldn't doubt her anymore, right?
…
After watching Prince Duan, Xu Yin went into the palace to visit Princess Changning.
Her favorite uncle suddenly became a treasonous criminal. She was in a bad mood recently and didn't even go to school for several days.
When she saw Xu Yin, a smile finally appeared on her face: "Ayin, why are you here?"
"If you don't go to school, aren't you urging me to come?" Xu Yin held her hand and asked, "Aren't you happy?"
Princess Changning threw herself on the bed and sighed, looking depressed.
Xu Yin was made to laugh. He sat next to her and persuaded her: "You thought Concubine De was a good person before, right? But what happened?"
"I know." Princess Changning pouted and said, "But it's still quite sad. I always thought that the emperor's uncle was good to me. Because I wanted the dragon boat team, he let me name him, but I didn't expect that he would..."
Xu Yin looked at her with pity and thought, you haven't seen how cold and heartless he really is. In the previous life, your good uncle deliberately sent you to get married and watched you die there!
However, King Duan lost power early, and Princess Changning would not repeat the tragic fate of her previous life.
The two exchanged a few words, and Jin Shu came in with someone bringing snacks.
Xu Yin glanced behind her and asked, "Where's Aunt Chen? Why didn't I see her when I came in?"
When this matter was brought up, the palace maids looked a bit off. Finally, Princess Changning herself said: "Aunt Chen was taken away. General Liao said she was an accomplice of King Duan."
Speaking of this matter, Princess Changning couldn't help but think of what she had come to ask after the dragon boat race that day. At first, Princess Changning just thought it was a little strange, but now that she thinks about it, Aunt Chen came here on purpose to find out the news.
But why did the emperor want to ask if A Yin had left? Princess Changning couldn't help but think about the dirt on her skirt he saw that day.
Thinking like this, she turned her eyes to Xu Yin: "Ayin..."
"What?" Xu Yin, who was eating lotus seed soup, raised his head.
Princess Changning hesitated for a moment, but in the end she didn’t ask any more questions and said with a smile: “I haven’t played Cuju for a long time, shall we play a game later?”
"Okay!" Xu Yin agreed without hesitation, "Let me see if the princess has made any progress!"
"Um!"
After the two had finished their snacks, they rested for a while, then summoned the maids from Yongshou Palace and started playing football enthusiastically.