The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 469: Crown Princess, Princess Consort

The Mid Autumn Festival had just passed, and the drizzle was sweeping.

Sun Shaozong climbed up the stairs and absentmindedly crossed the threshold of the Crown Prince's Residence.

Although the ”Crown Prince case” has now reached a stalemate and no clues could be traced to identify the true culprit, the establishment of the special task force has not been revoked. Therefore, after returning to the Capital, Sun Shaozong should have come over to take action in both emotion and reason.

In the past seven or eight days, the situation in the front courtyard of the Crown Prince's Residence has improved a bit. The fallen leaves and weeds that had originally accumulated have been cleaned up completely, and in addition, the green stone slabs have just been washed away by the rain, making them look extremely clean and tidy.

“May I ask, are you Lord Sun?”

Sun Shaozong was standing in the doorway, looking at the situation in the courtyard. Suddenly, a short and chubby man flashed out of the gatehouse and trotted towards him. He flattered himself with a slanted shoulder and reported, "I am the Chief of the Attendant Mansion, Wang Dexiu. I was just transferred a few days ago to serve the Crown Prince and all the adults.”

The Chief Clerk only held a seventh-official position, but those who could be pushed into the Crown Prince's Residence at the forefront of this storm might not be ordinary people.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong didn’t dare to be too negligent. He gave a slight salute and smiled, saying, "Lord Wang has been waiting at the door all morning. Are you specifically waiting for me?”

This was just a casual joke, but unexpectedly, Wang Dexiu nodded his head and said sternly, "The Crown Prince heard that you have returned to the Capital, and specially appointed me to meet you here. He said that whenever you arrive at the residence, he will summon you.”

After hiding for over half a month, he didn't expect the Crown Prince to still be so passionate.

This was not in line with Sun Shaozong's desire to avoid suspicion.

Fortunately, when he went to the government office two days ago, it had already been negotiated. After the holiday, Jia Yucun would submit a letter to the court, citing the shortage of manpower in the Central Judicial Office, and officially recall Sun Shaozong to the government office.

This was not all an excuse, but a fact of the Central Judicial Office.

Nowadays, the position of Minister has always been vacant. Sun Shaozong has been seconded to a special task force, and Wei Ruolan has been detained in the Supreme Court. Even if he could be released from prison in the future, it was unlikely that he would continue to serve as a judge. Relying solely on one Magistrate and two Judges to support the overall situation of the Central Judicial Office, it was indeed a bit tight.

Anyway, this project team was also in a stagnant state, and it probably wouldn’t take a few days. It should be natural to withdraw and leave. For now, he should try his best to please the Crown Prince for a few more days.

Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong slightly raised his chin and was about to ask Wang Dexiu to lead the way. But they ran into a servant, coming all the way. He couldn't help but gasp, saying, "Your Excellency, the Beijing Princess Consort has come to meet His Royal Highness and is currently waiting at the west side door. This…”

“Beijing Princess Consort?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Dexiu opened his pupils and stomped his feet anxiously, saying, "Are you stupid?! How could you have the Princess Consort wait outside the door? This...”

Cough.

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Sun Shaozong interrupted his words with a dry cough and said sternly, "It's unusual now. Everyone in this residence is not allowed to enter or leave without permission. Even if the Beijing Princess Consort is here, you should first inform His Highness and then wait for His Highness to make a decision.”

In the beginning, Wang Dexiu was intimidated by the name of the Beijing Princess Consort. Upon hearing Sun Shaozong's words, he immediately woke up and slapped himself in the face with ease. He sneered and said, "Look at me. In a moment of urgency, I forgot the rules of the residence; I'll report it to His Highness now.”

As he spoke, he hastily took a few steps forward and suddenly remembered something. He turned around with a smile and said, "Please accompany me.”

This flustered appearance shouldn’t have been deliberately disguised by him.

It seemed that his judgment just now was wrong. This guy was stuffed into the Crown Prince's Residence without any background or ability but was just being pushed onto the stage.

Since Sun Shaozong had reached such a conclusion, he naturally didn't want to spend too much time talking to a small Chief Clerk. He raised his head and signaled to Wang Dexiu to lead the way ahead, then silently followed him to the back of the house.

As he walked, he was naturally not idle in his heart, thinking to himself about the long-legged and fierce Princess Consort coming all of a sudden to see the Crown Prince and what her intentions were.

What was certain was that her visit this time must be related to the case of Wei Ruolan, but it seemed that this case had little to do with the Crown Prince, right?

Besides, even if there was a real connection, the Crown Prince would love the Niu family and Shuirong to have the relationship of a dog biting a dog. He would rather watch the excitement next to them. How could he intervene or simply favor one side?

Or…

What chips did the Wei family bring to persuade the Crown Prince to take action to protect Wei Ruolan?

Since it was a random guess out of thin air, it was naturally difficult to guess what the outcome would be. Therefore, when he arrived at the Crown Prince's yard, Sun Shaozong was unable to come up with a solution.

When he arrived at the door, Wang Dexiu waited for someone to report. However, several internal attendants regarded him as if he were nothing, and they flattered and gathered around Sun Shaozong, expressing their joy without any hesitation.

“Congratulations to Lord Sun for your promotion to the Fourth Grade Counselor.”

“Greetings to Counselor Sun.”

“I'm afraid you're the youngest and most promising official in the court.”

The leader kept pushing in, saying that the Crown Prince had been holding back for more than half a month, hoping that Sun Shaozong would come over and say a few words to him.

These words…

Where did you place the Crown Princess?

Seeing Wang Dexiu on the side, embarrassed and at a loss, Sun Shaozong only had time to signal and said that he would help him report the matter of the Beijing Princess Consort, and he was surrounded by several attendants like stars and moons into the hall.

When he arrived at the bedroom door, Sun Shaozong bowed slightly towards the tightly closed door and was about to announce his name. However, he heard the Crown Prince's urgent roar inside, "Is Lord Sun here?! Hurry, come in and talk.”

Listening to this joyful tone, it seemed like he really had something to worry about and wanted to express it to himself.

Sun Shaozong pushed the door and entered, only to see the Crown Prince sitting at the head of the bed with his legs crossed; his complexion noticeably improved compared to before.

In fact, the new eunuch in the Palace started working in less than two months.

However, the Crown Prince was much stronger than the young eunuchs in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, and he had eunuchs who served him closely all day. It was reasonable to say that the recovery speed of injuries should be much faster than the young eunuchs.

After all, the Crown Prince was pampered. Whenever there was any pain, he would rather lie in bed and straighten out his body, so to this day, he was only able to sit steadily in bed.

“Lord Sun doesn't need to be too polite.”

After Sun Shaozong had just come forward to salute, he heard the Crown Prince anxiously ask, "You have been back to the Capital for two or three days now, but I wonder if there is any proper consideration for the case of the eldest son of the Niu family being shot to death. Is Wei Ruolan framed by someone, or did he really accidentally injure him?”

So he wanted to see him for this case.

Although this case might not seem to have much to do with the Crown Prince at first glance, the Crown Prince had long believed that the Niu family must be the culprit behind his case. Now that the eldest son of the Niu family has suddenly died, it could also be considered to have a slight sense of malice in his heart.

But…

Sun Shaozong hesitated for a moment and carefully probed without answering any questions. "This matter has been going on for almost ten days now. Your Highness has been sitting in the center of the Capital, so you must have already concluded in your heart.”

The Crown Prince didn't really take Sun Shaozong as an outsider, so he spread his hands and said glumly, "Originally, I had some speculation that it might be my father who wanted to avenge me. That's why... But I let the Crown Princess into the palace several times to inquire, but it doesn't seem like it was my father who did it.”

At this point, his gaze flickered, and he opened his mouth several times but hesitated to speak.

It was not the actions of Emperor Guangde?!

Moreover, looking at the Crown Prince's appearance, it seemed that there was something else hidden in it.

The Crown Prince had already spoken frankly to himself, even doubting the Emperor's words. Sun Shaozong naturally had no worries, so he lowered his voice slightly and pursued, "Your Highness, what other discoveries have you made?”

“This…”

The Crown Prince was still hesitant, and after a while, he said sternly, "I haven't found anything else. I'm just a little worried about the health of my father. I heard that my father sent someone to search for many ways to cure wolves and tigers. Recently, he has been generous in the harem, without any regard for his body... Sigh”

Speaking of this, he sighed heavily and said, "I'm really afraid that my father's dragon body will not be able to bear this kind of waste.”

He was worried about Emperor Guangde's health, but looking at the Crown Prince's uneasy appearance, he was afraid that what he really worried about was not Emperor Guangde's health but another son!

It was self-evident that Emperor Guangde would choose between the fake Grandson and the real Prince at that time.

However, since it was related to the royal family, how could Sun Shaozong recklessly dare to interfere with the matter of fake imperial grandchildren? It was a response under coercion and helplessness, not intentional actions by Sun Shaozong.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong only pretended not to understand and respectfully said, "His Majesty is blessed with all the blessings in heaven, and there are all the imperial doctors guarding around. I think his dragon body should be unobstructed.”

As he spoke, he was afraid that the Crown Prince would continue to entangle himself with this topic, so he quickly added, "As for the case of the eldest son of the Niu family being killed, there is no need to discuss at the moment. Your Highness, please meet someone first, and it’s not too late to discuss this matter with me.”

“Meet someone?”

The Crown Prince was puzzled and said, "Is there anyone in this world who is better at investigating cases than you, Lord Sun?”

“I'm not the one investigating the case, actually…”

Sun Shaozong briefly informed the Crown Prince of the fact that Beijing Princess Consort had voluntarily come to visit and was currently waiting outside the west gate.

The Crown Prince, however, frowned when he heard, saying, "What is this fierce woman doing here, instead of asking Shuirong to get Wei Ruolan out at home?”

Immediately, he raised his head and said, "No matter what, since she voluntarily came to see, I would have to give her this face. Lord Sun, please go and block all the people she brought outside the door, and then order someone to search her carefully.”

Blocking the attendants of Beijing Princess Consort outside the door would have been enough, but it seems a bit excessive for someone to search on her.

Sun Shaozong was about to persuade one or two, but he heard the Crown Prince sneer and say, "My Imperial Uncle is usually close to me. Since this shrew has shamed him, I naturally got to seek justice for him.”

So he wanted to fight against injustice for Prince Zhongshun.

Judging from the Crown Prince's appearance, he knew that persuasion was useless. The little lady from the Wei family has long harbored hostility towards the Sun family, and no matter how much he offended her, it wouldn’t become worse.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong didn’t insist too much and bowed out of the inner room, conveying the meaning of the Crown Prince briefly. He called for two eunuchs and four palace maids and rushed forward towards the west door.

Arriving at the western gate, a luxurious carriage was parked outside, with eight female soldiers in leather armor standing by. Even the drivers of the carriage were women with large arms and round waists.

The number of people...

Wasn’t Prince Beijing already heavily in debt?

“By His Highness's decree...”

Sun Shaozong arrived at the carriage and raised his voice in a neutral tone, "Except for Princess Consort, no one else is allowed to enter the residence.”

Halfway through, the women's army began to raise their voices, so Sun Shaozong had to raise his voice and continue, "As the assassination case has not been investigated, no one entering the Palace is allowed to bring an inch of iron. Therefore, if Princess Consort wants to visit His Highness, you may have to suffer some injustice.”

Before he could finish speaking, the curtain of the carriage suddenly lifted, revealing a mischievous expression and saying coldly, "When did the guard dog of the Crown Prince's Residence change?”

She was indeed a shrew!

Sun Shaozong and she have met on both sides together. The first time she falsely shot an arrow with a bow, but this time she belittled him as a watchdog.

Sun Shaozong's gaze fixed as he was waiting to retort. Suddenly, someone behind him spoke up and said, "These two attendants have just been transferred from the palace, and it's normal for you not to know them, Sister.”

Looking back, the Crown Princess, dressed in a graceful long dress, curled up in the company of several palace ladies.

As she approached, the Crown Princess solemnly expressed great blessings to Sun Shaozong and said in a soft voice, "Sister Wei is an old acquaintance of our Palace. Please kindly accommodate her and avoid her body search.”

Her stance proved that Sun Shaozong was not falsely preaching the imperial edict but rather targeted. Secondly, to highlight the respect for Sun Shaozong, as for the gatekeeper, it could only fall on the two young eunuchs.

“I dare not.”

Sun Shaozong quickly bowed and said, "I sincerely follow the instructions of the Crown Princess.”

One lowered his head and the other slightly bent. He was already in a commanding position, especially Sun Shaozong, who had an unusual elevation. From the collar, he immediately caught a glimpse of a tempting whiteness and a sapphire blue outline of her innerwear.

He wondered if this innerwear was once placed in the wardrobe that day…

With this thought in mind, the gaze naturally slowed down and was caught by the Crown Princess, causing her to blush. She glanced at Sun Shaozong with embarrassment and anger and then managed to suppress her anger, turning her head to greet Wei-Shi.

He didn't know what they were whispering, and they joined hands and entered the Crown Prince's Residence.

Speaking of this, the Crown Princess and Wei-Shi walked away arm in arm, but it was true that each of them had their victories; one was handsome, and the other was graceful and dignified…

Well, this was not the time for him to have such thoughts.

Sun Shaozong shook his head and put all those inappropriate ideas behind him. He then hung it up from afar, preparing to wait for Beijing Princess Consort to meet the Crown Prince before inquiring about her intentions and what her chips were to convince the Crown Prince to save Wei Ruolan.