FBC – Chapter 355 Taking Control

The old man was both panicked and furious. “You people must have taken benefits from the Prince’s Manor, that’s why you speak for her! Didn’t you see how cruel and ruthless she was just now when she punished her own servant? She’s a jealous and vicious woman!”

The woman also began screaming: “Move aside, we’re going to report this to the authorities! I must seek justice for my son!”

But all of them were restrained by the Mu family soldiers and couldn’t move an inch.

Gu Hua smiled lightly. “Stop making a fuss. The yamen officials will be here soon. If you want to report to the authorities, do it face‑to‑face. Otherwise you’ll shout yourself hoarse and won’t be able to speak when you see the magistrate.”

The old man’s eyes darted around in panic. “You’re all shielding each other! The prefecture yamen in Ju State naturally listens to Yong Prince’s Manor! Who will help my poor daughter seek justice? We’re going to the capital to cry before the emperor!”

A stern voice cut in: “This official has never colluded with anyone. Yong Prince’s Manor has always been upright and impartial.”

Wu Qiming arrived with a group of yamen runners.

He first saluted Gu Hua, then turned to face the troublemakers.

“You are Yintao’s family?”

The old man stammered, and the others shrank like frightened quails.

A yamen runner barked: “Speak! Yes or no!”

Seeing the situation turning bad, the old man quickly fell to his knees with a thud. “Great magistrate! I—I was deceived! I don’t know any Yintao. Someone told me my daughter had been sold into the Prince’s Manor and made a concubine, so I came to look for her.”

Zhou Zhilan coldly snorted. “Nonsense. Just now you clearly said your daughter was Yintao, and that since she was promoted to concubine, you wanted to see her. There are signed documents for proof.”

Gu Hua instructed, “Show them to the magistrate.”

After reading the document, Wu Qiming’s expression darkened. “Scoundrels! Utter nonsense! When Yintao entered the manor, this official checked her slave registration. Her parents are both deceased with no family remaining. And you—this woman is barely thirty. Yintao was nineteen. Are you saying you gave birth at eleven? Then where is the household registration from when you entered the records with your newborn daughter? Can you produce it?”

He swept a cold gaze across the others. “Whether you are a family can be verified just by checking household records. Men! Take them all back for interrogation.”

The old man paled in terror and kowtowed desperately. “Magistrate, someone gave us silver to deceive the Prince’s Manor! Please have mercy!”

Wu Qiming waved his hand. “To dare deceive the Prince’s Manor—according to the law, it is punishable by immediate execution!”

The old man and his group collapsed limply on the ground, wailing in despair.

Wu Qiming had no patience. “Take them away at once.”

The gathered onlookers erupted in shocked murmurs.

At this moment, the old matron who carried out the punishment and a maid walked out.

Someone in the crowd cried out sharply, “Eh? That maid wasn’t beaten!”

“I knew it! How could Yong Princess Consort do something like that?”

“Ah… so it was all to trick those wicked people!”

“Princess Consort is so wise.”

“Yes! She is virtuous and capable. How could she be slandered!”

Gu Hua stopped Wu Qiming. “Magistrate Wu, we just discovered that Yintao was poisoned to death. Please send someone to investigate inside the manor.”

Wu Qiming nodded. “I brought the coroner with me for this very reason.”

Gu Hua personally led him to the manor gate, but Wu Qiming hurried to stop her. “Princess Consort, please rest. Leave everything to this official.”

Gu Hua nodded and quietly added, “Keep the bookshop’s shopkeeper and waiter. The others can be detained first and await the Prince’s judgment.”

Wu Qiming replied, “Understood.”

After the coroner examined Yintao’s corpse, it was soon carried away.

Gu Hua thought for a moment, then took out a letter from Bianjing and handed it to Zhou Zhilan.

“Take a look and tell me your thoughts.”

Zhou Zhilan opened it and was shocked. “A letter from Zhao Chufei? She doesn’t want to be Crown Princess?”

“Mhm. I’ve always been doubtful. But I’ve met Zhao Chufei—she’s a talented and thoughtful girl. Ziyuan and Mister Min analyzed the situation. With the First Prince deposed and Zhao Cuizhu tonsured as a nun, Jingwen Marquis remains the most stable of the imperial kin.

“As the Grand Chancellor, he holds the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue—two major positions of power. As long as he doesn’t side with anyone, even if His Majesty’s health worsens, nothing will collapse. That’s one reason why, even though Empress Sun threw the court into chaos, everything still functions normally.”

Gu Hua continued, “She wrote to me to ask for help. I’ve been hesitant. Imperial power is unpredictable—one wrong move and it’s eternal damnation.”

Zhou Zhilan nodded. “Caution is good. What if she’s testing you?”

Gu Hua pondered. “The capital… I still need to stir it a little. I’ll write back to probe her true intentions.”

After discussing with Zhou Zhilan, they finalized the content. Gu Hua personally wrote a confession letter to the Empress.

She stated that she had failed to care properly for the beauty the Empress had sent, allowing evildoers to infiltrate the manor and poison Yintao, and begged the Empress to punish her.

She then wrote another letter to Zhao Chufei—first advising that becoming Empress in the future was a good thing, then asking, as a friend, why she wanted otherwise.

After putting down the brush, Gu Hua let out a long breath.

She could finally sleep soundly.

The next day, Wu Qiming personally finished investigating Yintao’s death, wrote a memorial, and sent it to the capital along with Gu Hua’s confession.

The memorial stated:

Yintao, after becoming a concubine of the Prince’s Manor, became arrogant. Over a flower‑hairpin incident, she quarreled with the female gardener and insulted her, even threatening to beat her to death. The gardener held a grudge, purchased arsenic, smeared it on her own wooden hairpin, and intentionally let Yintao touch it while working in the manor—causing her poisoning and death.

…

When the Empress read Gu Hua’s confession and then Wu Qiming’s memorial, she angrily tore them both apart.

“Nonsense! Do they think this palace is easy to fool?!”

Crown Prince Zhao Yuxuan walked in at that moment and jumped in fright.

“Mother, what happened?”

She didn’t want him to know, so she forced herself to calm down. “Do you need something?”

Zhao Yuxuan said, “Mother, a memorial came from the south. Yongzhou, Gongzhou, and Xiangzhou all suffered severe floods. Yong Prince went to rescue Yongzhou with the Mu family army and accidentally saved a group of officials wrongly persecuted by the Jiang clan. One of them is the prefect of Gongzhou—a master of water management. Yong Prince took him along to help relieve Gongzhou.”

“Ridiculous!”

The Empress was furious.

“There is the imperial court for disaster relief! Why is he going? He’s not saving victims—he’s winning hearts!”

Zhao Yuxuan panicked. “Ah? Mother… what do we do then? They’re recruiting soldiers and gathering support. What if—what if he develops rebellious intentions?”

Empress Sun couldn’t endure his cowardice and snapped, “Why panic?! You are the Crown Prince—the future Son of Heaven! You must remain composed! If ministers see you like this, how will they view you? And don’t forget—you haven’t even ascended the throne yet!”

Zhao Yuxuan fell silent, not daring to speak.

After taking a few deep breaths, Empress Sun calmed down and ordered the palace attendant:  “Quickly summon Prince Cheng.”

Prince Cheng, now the Senior Grand Secretary, was the first to read all memorials and already knew what had happened. He had been discussing countermeasures with trusted aides. Hearing the Empress’s summons, he immediately entered the palace with two advisers.

“We’ve discussed it thoroughly,” he said. “The only way is for the Crown Prince to win the people’s hearts first. Even if Mu Junyan wants to win support, it would be unjustified. If he dares revolt, the world will condemn him. Court ministers won’t support him. Even if he forces his way into Bianjing with the Mu army, such a long battlefront is unsustainable. Then we can immediately mobilize troops across the realm to quell the rebellion.”

The Empress frowned. “You mean the Crown Prince should go to provide disaster relief? But his wedding is soon.”

“The wedding can be delayed. Disaster relief is urgent. Besides, releasing word that the Crown Prince is willing to delay his wedding for the people—what better reason is there?”

The Empress finally relaxed.

“Yes… that’s an excellent reason.”