During the night, Wei Yun opened the door of time and space in the room next to Xie Tao’s, returning to the study in another timeline.
He had handed Gou Yingguang over to the Dali Temple because he had calculated that the Minister of Dali Temple, He Mingrui, was a man of integrity.
Indeed, as Wei Yun predicted, even though He Mingrui traced the clues back to the Crown Prince, he still reported the matter truthfully to the Emperor.
Now, where did Emperor Qi He have the mind to care about the suffering of the people? But after the incident with Wu Fuqing, Emperor Qi He’s affection for the Crown Prince, Zhao Zhengtan, had indeed diminished slightly.
And now, the memorial presented by He Mingrui in front of the civil and military officials of the court also made it impossible for Emperor Qi He to brush the matter aside.
Moreover, the Crown Prince’s actions of forming factions and selling information through Nongyue Tower were a major taboo in Emperor Qi He’s eyes.
In a fit of rage, Emperor Qi He directly ordered the Crown Prince, Zhao Zhengtan, to be confined to the House of Clan Members.
All officials involved were either dismissed, exiled, or directly executed.
Suddenly, the court was engulfed in a storm.
The Grand Tutor, Xu Dian, fell ill and had not attended court for many days.
As for the matter of Nongyue Tower, it was solely the Crown Prince’s doing, and Xu Dian was completely unaware of it. Now, with such a change, the Grand Tutor found it difficult to accept.
Wei Yun had been investigating this matter for a long time, and now, with the successful conclusion of the investigation, causing significant harm to the Crown Prince, Zhao Zhengtan, it was certainly aided by the pushing and shoving of Prince Xin, Zhao Zhengrong.
Princess Heyu, Zhao Shuwei, was also involved.
After this incident, perhaps due to excessive consumption of golden pills, Emperor Qi He finally fell ill and slipped into a coma.
Thus, with the support of Empress Dowager Yu and her party members in court, Prince Xin, Zhao Zhengrong, began to take control of the regency.
No one had expected that Prince Xin, who was not favored by Emperor Qi He, would defeat the Crown Prince and take sole control of the regency upon his return to the capital that year.
Thus, many court officials who were originally inclined towards the Crown Prince now rushed to join Prince Xin’s side like grass on the top of a wall.
And the Prime Minister, Song Jinián, who seemed to have a good relationship with Grand Tutor Xu Dian and was inclined towards the Crown Prince, managed to remain untouched in this turbulent and intricate game of chess.
As the letter sent to Wei Yun by Zhao Shuwei stated,
Song Jinián was originally Prince Xin’s man.
Though he appeared to be close to Xu Dian and seemed to belong to the Crown Prince’s faction, in reality, he was the most hidden and crucial blade that Empress Dowager Yu had placed beside the Crown Prince for Prince Xin, Zhao Zhengrong.
Regarding this, Wei Yun had begun to suspect since the assassination attempt at the Lantern Festival.
If Prince Xin did not have such a crucial and hidden piece next to the Crown Prince, how could he have known that the Crown Prince was planning to assassinate him that night?
And Prince Xin, appearing on the flower boat by the river that night and witnessing the assassination attempt by the Crown Prince’s men on Wei Yun, remained indifferent throughout.
Zhao Zhengrong did this to tell Wei Yun that he was not just a piece to be summoned and dismissed by Emperor Qi He at will; he also had the capability to compete with the Crown Prince.
He hoped that Wei Yun would choose to join him.
But so far, he had not succeeded.
The current court was no longer under Emperor Qi He’s control. Prince Xin and his mother, Empress Dowager Yu, were eliminating dissenters in court, firmly establishing their foundation, wishing they could completely eradicate all remnants of the Crown Prince.
Even though Wei Yun maintained a neutral stance, not siding with the Crown Prince nor intending to join Prince Xin at this time, his position as the Imperial Advisor, with profound influence and significant power in court, made him highly regarded with apprehension by both Empress Dowager Yu and Prince Xin, Zhao Zhengrong.
But they were always concerned about the Shaoqi Order in Wei Yun’s hands, so no matter how turbulent the court was nowadays, the fire never reached Wei Yun himself.
Facing the current situation, Wei Yun always appeared particularly calm.
After all, he had anticipated the situation as it is today.
However, recently he inevitably had to go to the Forbidden Palace daily to inquire about Emperor Qi He’s illness.
After all, Empress You had not easily fought for everything her son has now, and presumably, she would not want Emperor Qi He to regain consciousness at this time.
Perhaps, it would be best if he slept through this and never woke up.
But for Wei Yun, preserving Emperor Qi He’s life is the top priority now.
Emperor Qi He deserves to die.
But his time to die is certainly not now.
So, that night, Wei Yun walked out of the study, hurriedly changed into a crimson gauze robe, commanded Wei Jing to prepare the carriage, and entered the palace overnight.
When Xie Tao woke up the next day, looking at the white ceiling above her, it took her a while to realize she had left the place she had rented before.
The bed was soft, the room was large, and as Xie Tao turned her head, she was dazzled by the light shining through the half-opened dark curtains.
She had almost never lived in such a spacious and beautiful room.
It felt like a dream, always leaving her with a sense of unreality.
The cellphone by her pillow rang, snapping the still somewhat dazed Xie Tao back to reality.
It was the alarm she had set the night before.
Glancing at the time displayed on the screen, Xie Tao hurriedly threw off the blankets, got out of bed, and ran into the bathroom.
Several sets of unopened skincare products were laid out on the bathroom vanity, all bought in advance by Meng Lichun with Wei Yun’s money for her.
Xie Tao didn’t have time to look, hurriedly finished washing up, tied her hair into a ponytail, and then ran out wearing slippers.
When she pushed open the door made of huanghuali wood again, she couldn’t help but be dazzled by the variety of clothes and shoes inside.
“……”
Silently, Xie Tao took her blue and white school uniform off the rack and hurriedly changed into it.
The clothes she wore yesterday had already been thrown into the washing machine.
She ran downstairs with her backpack, the entire villa empty, with only her inside.
This day was the day Xie Tao suddenly became rich and moved into a large villa, and also the day she was late for half a class for the first time since transferring schools.
Because it took her more than half an hour to walk out of the villa area.
It took her quite a while to finally find a bus stop.
After all the trouble, Xie Tao finally got to school, half a class had already started.
There was a math quiz yesterday, and today it was time for a liberal arts quiz.
Missing half a class, Xie Tao has been writing furiously since the moment she sat down, not daring to be distracted at all.
After school in the afternoon, as soon as Xie Tao walked out of the school gate, she was immediately met with Xie Lan’s deathly glare.
In that instant, Xie Tao couldn’t help but recall how Wei Yun had taken her mobile phone away last night, speaking the word “scram” coldly and calmly to the person on the other end of the phone.
Then, Wei Yun turned off Xie Tao’s phone.
Xie Tao didn’t dare to turn it back on.
This morning, after the alarm clock rang, Xie Tao saw, as expected, a barrage of calls from Xie Lan, who didn’t spare even texts and WeChat messages.
“…Why are you here?” Xie Tao asked, holding the strap of her backpack and laughing awkwardly.
“What do you think?” Xie Lan asked with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Xie Tao pursed her lips, “About yesterday…”
“Your boyfriend, he came over?”
Xie Lan cut her off.
Xie Tao blinked and nodded.
Seeing her nod, Xie Lan rubbed his forehead, disbelieving, “Damn, he actually came over??”
If it weren’t for hearing that man’s voice last night for sure, Xie Lan would never believe such a bizarre thing.
All the way, Xie Lan kept asking Xie Tao, “Then tell me, on what basis does he tell me to scram?”
“Who is he to dare tell your brother Lan to scram?”
“Let him come over, I definitely have a score to settle with him!”
Until all the surrounding bustling scenes began to blur into shadows, the bluestone path beneath their feet, and ahead was the tavern that always had two lanterns lit under its eaves.
As soon as Xie Lan stepped into the tavern, he shouted loudly, “Old Xi! Old Xi, come out!”
As if hearing Xie Lan’s voice, Old Xi really did lift the curtain and came out from the back.
He was wearing a simple gray and white robe, his face marked with the traces of years, always carrying a calm and kind smile.
Upon seeing Xie Tao, he smiled and said, “Tao Tao is here?”
“Uncle Xi.” Xie Tao nodded and greeted him.
When Xie Tao had finished cooking, and the three of them sat down at the table to eat as usual, Xie Lan still couldn’t help but mutter in Xie Tao’s ear about bringing her boyfriend over.
