There is a god in the sky

Chapter 309 Killing Two Birds with One Stone (Part 2)

"This humble servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince." Consort Lin, supported by Xiao Xi's arm, walked over to pay her respects to the Crown Prince.

The crown prince sat motionless in the sedan chair and did not speak.

Lin Miaoniang knelt on the ground and didn't dare to move.

After a long pause, the Crown Prince finally spoke as if to grant a favor: "So it's Consort Lin. I thought it was some noble master. Did you just come from the Hall of Mental Cultivation?"

Lin Miaoniang pulled her thin cloak tighter around herself. "Yes, I just returned from His Majesty's residence."

"Someone, quickly help Consort Lin up. If her precious body is injured, Father Emperor will be heartbroken."

Lin Miaoniang didn't know how to respond, so she stood up and stepped aside, saying, "This concubine respectfully sees off His Highness the Crown Prince."

The crown prince gave Li Ge a wink, and the latter nodded.

After the Crown Prince's entourage left, a group of imperial guards patrolled over and escorted Lin Miaoniang back to the palace.

One of the imperial guards helped Lin Miaoniang up when she twisted her ankle as she got out of the sedan chair.

Their eyes met, and the imperial guard blushed instantly, then withdrew his hand in fright.

Lin Miaoniang stared blankly at his face, whispered her thanks, and then returned to her palace in a daze.

A palace maid brought over a bowl of bird's nest porridge and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Do you know that young general from earlier?"

"No, I don't know him." Lin Miaoniang only felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

"It is most taboo for concubines in the harem to get too close to guards. Now that the mistress is favored, she should keep her distance from other men to avoid being plotted against."

"I know. Go down."

Lin Miaoniang sat for a while, and when she came to her senses, she found that there was another person in the room.

"When did you come?"

"While you're daydreaming," the person said, walking confidently to sit down opposite her.

"Has the Crown Prince taken the bait?"

"Of course, he's such an arrogant person."

"What's next?"

"He wants to kill two birds with one stone, which suits me perfectly. Just follow my instructions and don't act rashly."

Before leaving, the visitor repeatedly warned, "Remember, go to bed early tonight, and you won't know anything!"

Lin Miaoniang nodded, feeling uneasy. She tugged at the man's sleeve and asked, "Does it have to be her? She... she's a really nice person."

Li Ge pulled out his sleeve, looked down into her eyes, which were devoid of any emotion.

"You can't bear it? What does it matter to you whether she's a good person or not? If she doesn't die, you will. To put it bluntly, your life is not as valuable as hers."

Lin Miaoniang stared blankly as he left, then slumped into a chair, covering her face with her hands, at a loss for what to do.

In the latter half of the night, the palace was quiet, with only the patrolling imperial guards still keeping their spirits up.

Liu Siyun yawned. "Hey, after we change shifts, is everyone going to the East Street market for morning tea?"

"Traveling all this way for morning tea is just too much trouble."

"Yeah, what good food is there?"

"The meat buns over there are amazing. They sell out every morning, and I've only managed to get one a few times. Today I'm on the night shift, and there's still plenty of time before my shift ends, so maybe I can get the first batch of buns when I get over."

Everyone was hungry at this point, and they were somewhat tempted by what they heard.

Just as they were about to agree, they saw a dark shadow flash by.

"Who's over there..." They quickly chased after him, turning east and west along the way, and finally found the dark figure darting into Shuyu Palace.

"This is Consort Li's palace! Quickly knock on the door and protect her safety!"

Lin Miaoniang heard the noise when the Imperial Guards knocked on the door, but she remained lying in bed without moving. Instead, she called out softly, "Xiaoxi, are you there?"

No one answered; her palace seemed unusually quiet, with no servants present.

Oh, right, how could we let the palace maids and eunuchs interfere with tonight's scheme against her?

So did the Crown Prince kill all the servants in her palace or knock them unconscious?

The window rattled, and someone jumped in.

Lin Miaoniang sat up, still holding the dagger, without taking off any of her clothes.

"Who?"

"Your Highness, please leave with me quickly, their people will be here soon."

Lin Miaoniang quickly got out of bed and saw a young eunuch who usually followed Li Ge. She followed him and climbed out of the window.

"Where are we going?"

The young eunuch handed her a basket and whispered, "Your Majesty, go to Linhua Palace. Today is Consort Wu's birthday. Please go to the apricot grove behind Linhua Palace to pay your respects to her."

Lin Miaoniang took the basket and ran away. This reason was reasonable, and it was remarkable that they could think of it.

Unexpectedly, even after her death, Wu Meiren could still provide him with assistance.

The crown prince waited for news not far outside the palace.

He saw Zhao Jinxiao enter the palace, and then he saw the imperial guards who were guarding the palace gates being urgently summoned into the palace, which meant that something had happened in the palace.

The crown prince smiled and said to his trusted eunuch, "Li Ge is indeed swift in his actions."

"Li is quite clever, but most importantly, he is ruthless in his methods."

"What? Are you jealous of him? The most important thing for a servant is to share the burdens of his master, and he has indeed done so. No wonder the Empress Dowager values ​​him so much."

If it weren't for Li Ge's competence, and the fact that the Crown Prince still needed him for the time being, he would have already torn this man to pieces and thrown him out to feed the dogs.

"This servant dares not, but I feel that he is too shrewd, and I am worried that it will backfire."

Send someone into the palace to check. If things go smoothly, fine. But if something goes wrong, remember to have someone cut off the tail so as not to implicate us.

"Yes, Your Highness, why don't you return to your residence and wait for news?"

"No need. It's almost time for the morning court session, and I'm going to watch the excitement today."

Eunuch Qin went down to arrange for someone to serve him, and a eunuch surnamed Chen came to serve him instead, replacing the tea with wine for the crown prince.

The aroma of wine overflows.

The crown prince couldn't resist taking a sniff and asked, "What kind of wine is this? Where did it come from?"

Eunuch Chen said obsequiously, "This is bamboo leaf wine that I found in the south. It has a light flavor but is very sweet and not easy to get drunk. It is suitable for Your Highness to enjoy a little."

The prince first took a small sip and found it to be mellow and mild, not as strong as the wines from the north.

He felt that the wine was not intoxicating, so he didn't avoid it. After drinking it, he felt warm in his stomach and a little dizzy.

But he was fully aware that he was not drunk.

When Eunuch Qin returned, he saw that His Highness the Crown Prince was drinking wine. He wanted to offer some advice, but seeing his radiant and energetic appearance, he remained silent.

As dawn approached, officials began to enter the palace.

"Any news?"

"Your Highness, it won't be that quick. Why don't you go to court first?"

The crown prince got up and stretched. Despite not having slept all night, he wasn't sleepy at all.

He drank another cup of wine and praised Eunuch Chen, saying, "Give him ten taels of gold; this wine is indeed excellent. Is there any more?"

After expressing his gratitude, Eunuch Chen said, "This servant still has some. The wine merchant said that this wine is only available in the spring, and after this season, we will have to wait a year."

"Find him, and no matter what method he uses, I want ten cartloads of this wine, and he can name his price."

Eunuch Chen's eyes narrowed with a smile; this must be incredibly lucrative.

He readily agreed and respectfully escorted the Crown Prince to the palace for court.