Chapter 42

Ji Yanming entered the capital at exactly 3:30 pm that evening.

They followed the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Lord Ge, into the palace to meet the emperor, only to learn that the emperor was holding a banquet in Changle Palace and that it was not appropriate for anyone to enter.

Fortunately, Eunuch Gao, who stayed behind as the deputy general manager of Xuanzheng Hall, was a kind person. He asked them to wait in the side hall first and said that he would notify them as soon as there was any news.

After Ji Yanming and others waited in the side hall for a long time, there was finally movement outside. Eunuch Gao asked his disciple to come over and explain that the Prince of Chu had come to see the emperor, so they were asked to be patient and wait for a while.

After His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu left, Ji Yanming and others waited here for a long time. Probably until the emperor had rested, Gao Zhen came over and invited someone in to report. He also said that the emperor was tired and that the ministers would see him tomorrow. He only let Minister Ge in.

Even if Ji Yanming did not go, he could probably guess how Minister Ge exaggerated the facts, elaborated on the case-handling process, and did his best to show off his achievements to the emperor. However, he would not talk about how he helped the prince eliminate dissidents, ganged up on others, and would rather kill someone by mistake than let him go.

It was not until Ji Yanming arrived in Jinzhou that he found out that the imperial examination cheating case that he was originally supposed to supervise was just a lead-in. The real goal was to drag down a few officials and then, through the trial of several key individuals, make them confess to more crimes besides the imperial examination cheating, thereby implicating the greater crime of plotting to usurp the throne and the mastermind.

The case was ingeniously designed, with one thing leading to another, and finally pointing to Prince Ke, who had been relatively active in the court recently. The thirteen officials who were interrogated were also involved in the old story of Prince Rui’s participation in the rebellion of the Eight Princes ^[1]phrase used to describe a power struggle involving multiple princes.

The battlefield after that was not Jinzhou, but the most hidden imperial prison in Zhili Prefecture.

They were detained there for nearly two months. Not only were there people involved in the imperial examination fraud case, but also the rebels who were arrested with the emperor’s personal approval, and Prince Ke’s chief secretary and ministers.

During the days that Ji Yanming participated in the interrogation in the imperial prison, he witnessed the darkness of human nature, the cruelty of party struggles, and the brutality of the fight for the throne.

He had always known that getting involved in the fight for the throne among the princes would bring unpredictable consequences, but this time when all the blood and darkness were laid out on the table, it once again touched his heart.

But he was the man chosen by the emperor to be the King of Chu. He no longer had the chance to change his position. Once he embarked on this path, he could never turn back.

His own life was nothing, but in addition to his own honor and disgrace, he also had people he really wanted to accompany and protect, such as his mother and Tao Sheng.

Even though the emperor did not summon them and only called Lord Ge in, as the relevant handling personnel of this case, they still had to wait here to be questioned by the emperor.

Later, as Lord Ge spent more and more time in the palace, the chances of everyone being called to see the emperor became less and less.

Two of the younger officials joked that after all, they were not the princes of the Duke of Lingguo, and it was impossible for everyone to be personally received by the emperor after returning to the capital. They should be very grateful for the emperor’s grace if they could have a place to stand in the morning court ^[2]referring to the emperor’s daily assembly with officials..

The two of them had a good discussion. After Minister Ge finished his audience, the emperor did not summon them. One of his enthusiastic colleagues asked Ji Yanming, “I’m about to go home now. Do you want me to give you a ride?”

Ji Yanming politely declined the other party’s kindness.

No, he wanted to go out for a walk alone.

Even though he had now left the Zhili Imperial Prison and returned to the capital, when he walked on the street, his mind kept recalling the scenes of interrogating prisoners in the Imperial Prison. He inevitably fell into the emotion of becoming a weapon of the state, and could not get rid of it for a long time.

It was not until he saw Tao Sheng jump out of the car and gently call him “cousin” that Ji Yanming finally felt like he had returned to the human world.

Tao Sheng didn’t expect that she would meet Ji Yanming here.

She didn’t ask any further questions, just like the time when he went to the mansion to pick her up. She just raised her head and smiled at him, inviting him to get in the car and go home together.

Ji Yanming was probably very tired, with traces of rushing still on his body. He fell asleep as soon as the car started, right after he got in and sat down.

Tao Sheng is a young woman. Although she is good at horse riding, as a woman, it is inconvenient for her to ride a horse in the capital, so she chooses to travel by car after work.

The parking spaces in the government offices in the inner city are not very big, and Tao Sheng wanted to walk less and park her car in the parking lot of the government office, so she usually used the smallest car in the family when she went out.

At this time, Ji Yanming was sleeping beside her. As the car swayed, his forehead gradually slid down and finally landed on her shoulder.

In this way, the two of them were very close. Tao Sheng could feel Ji Yanming’s dense breathing on her neck, and his breath enveloped her whole body.

Tao Sheng felt a tingling sensation on her neck and could not help but gently push him twice. However, she found that he did not move away. Thinking that this distance was not long and it would be fine in a while, she finally gave up the idea of ​​pushing him.

The car soon arrived outside Ji’s house, and Ji Yanming woke up the moment Tao Sheng stood up.

He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes darker than the night. Tao Sheng felt that he was clearly looking at her, but it was as if he could see something more through her.

Tao Sheng broke the silence by saying, “You must be hungry after coming back so late. Do you want me to ask Sister Liu to prepare a midnight snack?”

Ji Yanming shook his head.

During the months in Zhili when he was detained in the imperial prison, he would always dream of her sitting at the table with her head bowed, the pearl flowers on her hair falling on her sleeves, and she was concentrating on playing the zither.

In the dream, he was very close to her, so close that she could touch him. He held the pearl flower on the table, warmed it with the warmth of his palm, and gently tied it on her hair bun…

Now he was finally able to return to Beijing and meet Tao Sheng in person.

Ji Yanming slowly said, “Ah Sheng, please play a song for me.”

_

Ji Yanming got up very early the next day. When Tao Sheng went out in the morning, he was already standing in the courtyard, fully dressed.

Last night, when Tao Sheng was halfway through playing the zither for Ji Yanming, he fell into a deep sleep.

Tao Sheng couldn’t help but think of the first time she played the zither for him. It seemed the same as last night, giving her the feeling that the past was repeating itself.

Ji Yanming seemed to have rested well. His expression was just like the cold and aloof boy in Tao Sheng’s memory.

At this moment, Ji Yanming was playing with Xiao Feng in front of the chicken coop. Xiao Feng obviously still remembered him. He flapped her wings and moved around, though it was unclear what he was trying to express.

Tao Sheng looked closely and saw that Xiao Feng had folded his wings together, as if holding something. He bowed twice to Ji Yanming, as if to say thank you.

“Are you talking about Xie Huaian?” Ji Yanming asked softly, looking down. “Yeah, I understand.”

Tao Sheng found it amusing to see him and the chicken communicating so seriously, but Ji Yanming had just returned from a business trip, so he was resting at home as usual and didn’t need to get up early to go to work.

But Tao Sheng didn’t have such luck. Even though she had worked hard in Changle Palace all day yesterday, she still had to get up early today to work at the Taiyue Office.

In the past, Ji Yanming would get up early to go out, while Tao Sheng would sleep until noon. Now, Ji Yanming stayed home to play with the chickens, and Tao Sheng got up early to earn money to support the family.

Tao Sheng sighed. Things really do change over time.

Not long after Tao Sheng arrived at her workstation, Lord Shi Guanshi came in. The moment he entered, Mr. Zhu frowned.