Planning to marry the third master

Xie Yunxiao and the emperor were in two cells, the emperor and Duke Du were in one cell, and Xie Changkang was opposite Xie Yunxiao.

Yu Huai prepared two sets of undergarments without the word "prisoner" on them, which looked no different from pajamas.

The Minister and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice wanted to stay in prison with His Majesty, but Xie Yunxiao refused. He said directly: "If nothing unexpected happens, someone will come to the Ministry of Justice. The Minister and the Vice Minister should find a way to deal with them."

The emperor became interested and asked, "Who do you think will come?"

Xie Yunxiao said: "There are always people who come to inquire about it. Who doesn't know it?"

The emperor nodded and said to Yu Huai, "Go and help me keep an eye on what's going on outside. Don't let anyone see any clues."

Yu Huai responded: "Yes."

The Minister and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice had to leave the dungeon. Yu Huai also left the dungeon, changed out of his clothes as a chief eunuch, and put on the clothes of a minor clerk in the Ministry of Justice.

The dungeon is staffed by personnel from the Ministry of Justice, all of whom are wearing prison uniforms. The guards outside are loose and there are only a few of them. The important thing is to lure the enemy into a trap. If they really encounter the situation from last time, they will definitely avenge themselves.

Cheng Lin was Prince Yu's man. In broad daylight, he went to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the presence of the Minister and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Yu Huai happened to see them red-handed. He asked who they were and after confirming, he immediately went into the dungeon to report.

The emperor's face turned cold, and Duke Du was even more frightened.

Since when did the political situation begin to change? In the past, following Prince Yu, I thought that things were stable. But now it seems that the world is unpredictable and man proposes, God disposes.

On the other side, Gu Pinting was in a hurry to find Du Chengmao, and just happened to enter Prince Yu's Mansion at the same time as Cheng Lin.

Gu Pingting came to see Du Chengmao, so he naturally would not stay in Prince Yu's study. He came out to respond to Gu Pingting and looked at her and said, "Princess, what do you want to see me about?"

Gu Pingting stepped forward and pulled Du Chengmao aside to talk. She looked around with a very cautious expression and whispered to Du Chengmao, "Just now, when I went to my brother's house, I accidentally heard that Duke Du was in prison. When I went to the Duke's house, I heard people from the Fu Mansion say that the Duke had gone to the palace. For a moment, I didn't know whether it was true or not. It's getting late today. If the Duke hasn't returned to the Duke's house by now, he must have been in prison."

Du Chengmao's face turned pale. How could this happen? He said, "Really?"

Gu Pingting said, "I am a woman and I don't participate in state affairs. Considering you and me... you can think about it yourself." After that, she left without saying anything more. She didn't like Du Chengmao but knew his feelings. She couldn't say she liked him, but she could make him misunderstand her.

Du Chengmao watched Gu Pingting leave, and then entered the study room of Prince Yu's Mansion in a daze.

Du Chengmao's expression was not right.

Fang Shilin asked: "What happened to make you so distraught?"

Du Chengmao looked at Prince Yu and said, "My father is in prison. I will go and confess my crime. I did it all. I will confess my crime."

Fang Shilin said, "No, let's wait and see. What the Sixth Princess said may not be true."

Du Chengmao said, "It's getting late and my father hasn't returned home yet. This is 80% likely to be true. She wouldn't lie to me at this time."

Fang Shilin supported Du Chengmao and said, "If the emperor wants to settle accounts with Duke Du's Mansion, why don't you two work together to seize this country. If Prince Hui takes the throne of crown prince, he will not let Duke Du's Mansion go either, so why not give it a try."

Du Chengmao widened his eyes and said, "You are crazy!"

Fang Shilin slapped his mouth and said, "I was just talking nonsense."

Those words were originally meant for Prince Yu to hear. Sure enough, Prince Yu had a gloomy face and sat quietly before starting to think.

The situation in the court today is not as good as it was before. Given the attitudes of his uncle, the Tong family, and his father, he is getting further and further away from that position.

As it got dark, the person sent to see if Duke Du had returned home had reported back that Duke Du had not.

The building is about to collapse, so why not try your best and win to rule the world? If he doesn't try, he will not have a good ending either. After all, if Prince Hui succeeds to the throne, his final decision will be the same. Today is just an advance decision.

Prince Yu looked at Du Chengmao and said, "Lian Qing, why don't we fight hard together."

Du Chengmao shook his head. No matter how brave he was, he would not dare to use the military power without authorization.

Prince Yu stepped forward and said, "Your father's imprisonment means that the emperor no longer trusts your father. Why are you still hesitating?"

Du Chengmao said: "I, I will confess all the sins."

Prince Yu curved his lips and said, "Do you admit to the crime of dereliction of duty or the crime of selling official positions and titles?"

Du Chengmao's face turned pale and his eyes turned red with fear.

"If you admit your dereliction of duty, then the person behind this is me. It's up to you whether you admit it or not. If you admit everything, you alone cannot bear the wrath of the emperor. At that time, the military power of your family will all belong to General Qilin, and I will not even have a chance to turn things around. Lian Qing, you and I grew up together, and we are inseparable. Now we are on the same boat. If one of us is missing, we can't turn things around."

Du Chengmao felt like he was backed into a corner, not knowing which way to go and remained silent.

At this time, what Du Chengmao needs to do is to figure it out.

Prince Yu and Fang Shilin remained silent.

After a long while, Fang Shilin reminded: "Time is running out. If we really want to take that step, we have to do it secretly and take the initiative."

It was already dark, and everything seemed to indicate that they didn't have much time left to discuss.

Du Chengmao was hesitant. He didn't have the courage to do so, and his father and mother would not agree with him doing so.

Fang Shilin: "If you really can't bear it, at least, Xie Changkang must not be kept, and General Qilin must not be kept either."

Prince Yu almost forgot about Xie Changkang and Xie San, so he decided to kill them both at once and then take the woman away. He would not have to worry about not being able to support his troops. Thinking of this, he immediately sent someone to make arrangements.

……

Feng Zhuohua had just finished his work in Prince Yan's Mansion and returned with his men. He had just had time to take a break when Bai Li arrived.

Feng Zhuohua sat there without getting up and asked directly, "Is there anything wrong, mother-in-law?"

Baili smiled and said, "Last time you said you were going to hold a chrysanthemum viewing banquet. When do you plan to hold it?"

Feng Zhuohua said, "I have heard that my mother-in-law has invited many wives of officials. How about leaving the invitation and all other matters to the eldest and second sisters-in-law?"

Baili's smile froze, and she heard her concubine's daughter-in-law say, "You know the expenses of the mansion, and they have been reduced a lot recently. I can give you 500 taels to prepare for the expenses. What do you think?"

Five hundred taels was not a lot, and it seemed a bit stingy, but compared to the amount of money his two sons could not earn in several years, he felt it was a considerable sum of money.

Baili looked at the concubine's daughter-in-law in front of her. She was very careful with her words and her every move was elegant. In comparison, the eldest and second daughters-in-law were nothing. It was inevitable that she was jealous. She curled her lips and said, "I'll listen to you."

Feng Zhuohua nodded, turned to Shuangxi and said, "Shuangxi, help me get five hundred taels to give to my mother-in-law."

Shuangxi was reluctant, but had to answer: "Yes."

Feng Zhuohua didn't want to move. Baili received the money, her eyes sparkling, and she said, "I know you are tired, so I won't bother you."

Feng Zhuohua nodded and said, "Go slowly, mother-in-law."

As soon as Baili left, Shuangxi started to complain: "It will be convenient to get money from the same mansion in the future."

Feng Zhuohua said indifferently: "It's better to use money to get rid of it than to work hard yourself."

Shuangxi knew that her elder sister was tired, and said, "I just hope she won't come to bother her all the time."