Tianliangyuan

Chapter 348 The Princess of the Former Dynasty?

There were two young men whom Lady Song had chosen.

One of them was a relative of the Jiang family, or rather, a member of her own clan.

Xiao Songshi came from the Song family. Xie Zheng's mother, Songshi, was the legitimate daughter of the main branch of the Song family, and had a noble status.

In addition, Jiang Yanhui's wife, Song, also came from this Song family.

Strictly speaking, the Jiang family and the Xie family are related in a roundabout way.

Jiang Yanhui's wife, Song, came from the main branch of the Song family, but not the direct line. In terms of status, she was not as noble as Xie Zheng's mother, but she was still of a high social standing.

The young Song family member from the Duke of Huguo's mansion happened to be closer to Jiang Songshi.

Therefore, the two of them often interacted in private.

The old lady of the Duke of Huguo's mansion turned a blind eye to this, letting her have her way as long as it didn't involve important court affairs or wrongdoing.

Now, Jiang Yanhui's wife, Song, manages the household affairs of the Jiang family. Although her husband has been convicted, she is still seen as an unapproachable matriarch of the Jiang family.

The Jiang family is low-key these days, and the Song family itself doesn't like to be ostentatious, so no one has noticed anything amiss.

However, those with a keen sense of smell will always notice subtle clues.

Sure enough, not long after, an urgent report was sent to the palace from a thousand miles away.

That afternoon, several ministers were urgently summoned to the Taiji Palace for a meeting, including Xie Xiaolin.

About half an hour later, the court officials filed out.

Gu Dongyang turned his head slightly and his eyes met those of Xie Zheng, who was constantly patrolling outside.

With just one glance, Xie Zheng knew that something was wrong.

He wasn't in a hurry; his father would definitely tell him when he got home that night.

Sure enough, who would have thought that Jiang Yanhui, who had been exiled to the frontier by the Emperor, would be able to return to the court!

Xie Zheng was stunned when he heard the news.

Given what Jiang Yanhui did, His Majesty spared his life out of respect for Grand Tutor Jiang. How could he possibly reinstate him?

This is too outrageous!

"Jiang Yanhui has made great contributions on the frontier. This time, he not only successfully wiped out a group of bandits, but also captured the remnants of the former royal family and even discovered the identity of a former princess. With such great achievements, it is only natural that His Majesty would allow him to return to the court."

A princess from the previous dynasty?

Cheng Yuan?

Who would have thought that Cheng Yuan would be a remnant of the previous dynasty's royal family?

And her status is quite noble; she's actually a princess?

When the Dali Temple went to interrogate Cheng Yuan again, they discovered that Cheng Yuan had been switched with another woman at some point.

Because so much time had passed, it was impossible to investigate further.

They didn't even know when this fake Cheng Yuan had been replaced.

But what kind of place is Dali Temple?

Even if it's difficult to investigate, we have to investigate!

What's more, the fake Cheng Yuan actually tried to kill herself during the interrogation, attempting to seize the yamen runner's knife and then running straight into the blade.

In this way, all the clues were cut off.

The real Cheng Yuan has disappeared without a trace, while the fake Cheng Yuan died right under their noses.

How can we investigate this?

The Dali Temple prison sees countless people coming and going every day; how could anyone possibly keep track of them all?

If Cheng Yuan was a princess of the previous dynasty, then what role did the Cheng family play in it?

Did the late Mr. Cheng know Cheng Yuan's true identity?

And what about Cheng Jin, who is missing? Is he dead, or is he hiding?

Jiang Yanhui hadn't even shown his face yet, and he sent back such a huge piece of news that it was enough to shock everyone in the court.

Jiang Yanhui is already on his way back to Beijing.

With the issuance of the imperial decree, the Jiang family seemed to have returned with a powerful force.

Even without Jiang Wenhe, the Jiang family still has other descendants. Now that Jiang Yanhui has returned to the capital, the political landscape will be reshuffled once again.

Xie Zheng did not hide anything from Xu Zhaozhao and told her about Jiang Yanhui and Cheng Yuan.

Xu Zhaozhao felt that everything seemed to make sense now.

The treasure that Master Cheng hid back then was enormous.

The imperial court took away a portion, the Xu family secretly kept a portion, and Xu Zhaozhao also hid a portion for herself.

Such a huge fortune was not solely due to the embezzlement of so-called disaster relief funds, since those funds were likely divided among many court officials.

Therefore, what Cheng Gong truly hid back then was not the disaster relief funds from the imperial court, but rather the start-up capital left by the previous dynasty's royal family for their attempt to restore the country.

With that said, everything makes perfect sense.

The portion of the official silver found during the initial search was left behind by Cheng Gong and others after they divided the spoils.

Most of the jewelry and gold and silver likely came from the assets of the previous dynasty's royal family.

Xu Zhaozhao never expected that this would bring up matters from the previous dynasty.

More than fifty years have passed since the previous dynasty was destroyed. In this era where people can get married and have children at the age of fourteen or fifteen, three generations have already passed. Yet there are still people who want to restore the previous dynasty.

How incredibly stubborn these people must be!

Isn't it better to live a peaceful and tranquil life?

Why force someone to your doorstep to kill you?

The last emperor of the previous dynasty was a debauched and tyrannical man who could not distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and whose hands were stained with the blood of countless loyal ministers.

So, who exactly were these people who remained loyal to the previous dynasty's royal family?

Xu Zhaozhao never expected that Jiang Yanhui would bring back such big news, and she never expected that Jiang Yanhui, who had been exiled and far away from the center of power, would be able to come back!

This time, Xu Zhaozhao also felt a faint sense of defeat.

She originally thought she had a cheat code, that she knew part of the plot, so she could recklessly target the Jiang family and even the entire Jiang family and the Prince Zhong's mansion.

Unexpectedly, the Jiang family had a backup plan.

Jiang Yanhui, a piece of trash forgotten by so many, has returned to Beijing in such a high-profile manner, and is even going to stand at the center of power once again.

The Jiang family is indeed not to be underestimated.

Similarly, Xu Zhaozhao is now even wondering if God is secretly helping the Jiang family.

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head, dismissing some unreliable speculations, and then began to slowly sort out Cheng Yuan's matter.

“No! I remember that the Jiang family was on the list that Cheng Yuan submitted, but His Majesty did not punish them. Later, Cheng Yuan was replaced and secretly taken away. I always feel that there is something we have overlooked here.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Zheng also began to recall seriously. Even now, he couldn't believe that the upright and learned Cheng Gong he thought he was was actually a supporter of the former dynasty's royal family.

Xie Zheng wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep that night.

Even Emperor Yong'an in the palace is now unable to sleep.

As an emperor, what he saw and thought was far-reaching and profound than what Xie Zheng had.

Jiang Yanhui escorted several bandit leaders to the capital, including the son of a famous general from the previous dynasty and an orphan of the previous imperial family.

Emperor Yong'an wasn't too concerned about how to deal with the two of them; what troubled him was where Cheng Yuan had gone.

Who was it that managed to rescue Cheng Yuan despite the heavy surveillance of the Dali Temple?