NFBE Chapter 85 As They Wish
Chapter 85 As They Wish
Consort Lan stared at the private seal in his hand, her face drained of color, and asked in return, "Your Majesty, how did my private seal end up at the scene of a murder?"
"I'm asking you a question!" Yu Chisheng roared.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent!" Consort Lan knelt down with a thud, explaining anxiously, confusedly, and fearfully, "My personal seal is clearly in my palace. Someone must have deliberately stolen it from my palace and placed it at the scene of a murder, so that I would be guilty of murder!"
"Ha!" Yu Chisheng laughed, but with a hint of sarcasm. "Such an important item could be stolen. Do you think the palace guards are just for show?"
"Your Majesty, I am truly innocent! I have no grudge against the family that was silenced. Not only did I have no reason to kill them, but even if I did, I am too weak to do it!" Consort Lan said excitedly.
"If you can't kill people, can't you at least send someone to do it?"
"Your Majesty! I swear, I would never do such a thing!"
"How did you convict the Second Young Master of arson and the killing of the Crown Prince that night?" Yu Chi Sheng stared at her and suddenly asked sharply.
"..." Consort Lan's beautiful eyes widened, and her kneeling body stiffened violently. Suddenly, she caught sight of the Ye family father and son beside her out of the corner of her eye, and as if realizing something, she raised her hand and pointed angrily, "You father and son did this? How dare you steal my private seal! You have such audacity!"
Ye Gengxin quickly stepped forward and knelt down before Yuchi Sheng, saying urgently, "Your Majesty, please understand that this matter has nothing to do with my father and me! This jade item is the private seal of the Imperial Concubine, and it is kept in the Imperial Concubine's palace. My father and I have neither the courage nor the ability to steal it from the Imperial Concubine's palace. I beg Your Majesty to do justice for my father and me!"
"If it's not you, then who are you? Don't try to deny it!" Consort Lan said angrily.
"Enough!" Yu Chisheng shouted coldly. "They came here today to plead for Ye Shijun. If it were their doing, why would they need to come here? Wouldn't it have been better for them to stay in the mansion and watch you make a fool of yourself?"
Consort Lan was rendered speechless.
Looking at the private seal in his hand, Yu Chisheng's tone softened a bit. "To conclude that the owner of a jade pendant is the murderer based solely on a piece of jade is indeed not rigorous. It seems that Ye Shijun was indeed wronged in the matter of arson and murder of the Crown Prince."
Compared to her aggressive demeanor in the Golden Palace that day, Consort Lan couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal at this moment.
This is clearly someone retaliating against her by 'treating her as she would like to be treated'!
As for who?
It's either the Ye family father and son, or Prince Cheng and his wife!
"Qi Sui".
"Your Majesty, this servant is here."
"By imperial decree, Ye Shijun and his wife are pardoned. Furthermore, they have been unjustly imprisoned and are hereby granted one hundred taels of gold as an appeasement."
"Yes!" Qi Sui accepted the order and left the imperial study.
Consort Lan lowered her head and showed no dissatisfaction with the verdict.
Ye Gengxin and Ye Shiting knelt down and kowtowed, saying in unison, "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"
……
Upon hearing that Ye Shijun and Gu Simo had been pardoned, Ye Shishu rushed back to the General's Mansion immediately.
Upon learning what had happened in the Imperial Study, Ye Shishu was astonished. "This...this is too much of a coincidence!"
It's more than just a coincidence; it's downright bizarre!
Putting aside how heavily guarded the palace was, how could Consort Lan's private seal be stolen so easily, especially at such a crucial juncture? Nobody would believe it wasn't done intentionally!
But who can do this?
Is it the King's will?
They've been together these past few days, with Wenyan, Wenmo, and Ninth Aunt all around, but I haven't seen them do anything. Besides, this is about rescuing her second brother; even if they did something, there's no reason for them to hide it from her.
"Brothers, what do you think?"
"Your second brother and the others have already come out, so let's let this matter rest," Ye Shiting said with a slight smile.
"Hmm." Ye Shishu understood what he meant. This matter had dragged Consort Lan into it as well. If he said too much, it would be a reference to Consort Lan. Second Brother had finally escaped danger, so there was no need to provoke Consort Lan again.
The three of them chatted while Ye Shijun and Gu Simo buried themselves in their food at the table.
"Second brother, were you deprived of food in prison?" Ye Shishu felt extremely distressed seeing them wolfing down their food.
“I didn’t skimp on anything, it’s just… hehe!” Ye Shijun was interrupted by Gu Simo’s touch, so he chuckled dryly. “You can imagine, people won’t starve to death in that kind of place, but they won’t get full either. I have a big appetite, and after several days, I’m naturally starving.”
Ye Shishu didn't miss Gu Simo's obvious body language, but she was tactful and didn't expose her. She just said with concern, "Second sister-in-law, don't eat so fast. There's plenty of food in the kitchen."
"Mmm..." Gu Simo nodded as she stuffed meat into her mouth.
No one knew that for the past five days, one of them ate steamed buns laced with medicine at every meal, and the other ate only vegetable leaves without any oil. Now that they were finally home, how could they not be greedy?
If it weren't for her family keeping an eye on her, Gu Simo would have loved to just pick up the plate and shovel it into her mouth!
"General," a gatekeeper suddenly reported, "The Grand Secretary and his wife heard that the Second Young Master and Second Young Mistress have been released without charge, so they came to see them."
Upon hearing this, Ye Shijun and Gu Simo were taken aback at first, and then, as if by prior arrangement, they tacitly put down their bowls and chopsticks.
Ye Shijun said to Ye Gengxin, "Father, tell them that Mo'er and I have been feeling unwell since we came back from prison, and we are resting in our room now!"
Then he said to Ye Shiting and Ye Shishu, "Big brother, little sister, let's talk in my room!"
Before Ye Shishu and the others could speak, he grabbed Gu Simo and disappeared.
"This..." Ye Gengxin was completely bewildered, not understanding what the second brother was trying to do.
"Father, do as Second Brother says. You keep them calm for now, and Eldest Brother and I will go to Second Brother's place to see what's going on." Ye Shishu could tell that her second brother and sister-in-law were hiding something from them.
Before long, Gu Yong and Li entered the main courtyard.
Ye Gengxin greeted him in the garden.
After exchanging pleasantries, Madam Li, with a loving mother's smile, said, "I heard that Shijun and Mo'er have been pardoned and released without charge, and my husband and I are finally relieved. But we are still worried and don't know how they have been these past few days, so we came to check on them."
Ye Gengxin remembered what his second brother had said and suddenly sighed, "How good can a place like a prison be? As soon as they came back, they said they weren't feeling well, and they had no appetite for the food we prepared for them."
"Is it that serious? I heard there's a physician in the household. Have you had him examine you?" Madam Li asked with concern.
"The physician couldn't find any symptoms, but guessed it was because they had been in prison for too long and were depressed."
Upon hearing this, Li looked at Gu Yong.
After exchanging glances, Gu Yong cupped his hands in greeting to Ye Gengxin, saying, "Father-in-law, Mo'er has been frail since childhood, thank you for your concern!"
Ye Gengxin smiled and said, "You're being too polite. Ever since Mo'er entered the Ye family, I've treated her like my own daughter." He then raised his hand and said, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, please come in. I'm usually busy with military affairs, so it's rare for me to have a chat with you today. Please do me the honor of staying and having a few more drinks."
Gu Yong and Li Shi originally wanted to visit Ye Shijun and Gu Simo, but after being warmly received by him, they suppressed their impatience.
After a short while, Gu Yong and Ye Gengxin were discussing matters concerning the Northwest frontier when Ye Shishu suddenly rushed into the hall in a panic, exclaiming, "Father! Something terrible has happened! Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law are coughing up blood non-stop, and Uncle Zhou can't find the cause!"