Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Rage
When Minister Wei learned that the Crown Prince had gone to Xiangyun Village, he immediately sent a nanny into the palace to inform Consort Li.
Consort Li was beside herself with panic. After a moment’s thought, she called for her palace attendants to help her change.
A palace maid moved to apply her makeup, but Consort Li grabbed her hand to stop her.
"I won’t be wearing any rouge today." Moreover, she looked in the mirror and dabbed a bit of blush on the corners of her eyes.
It made her look as if she had just been crying. Combined with her lack of sleep the previous night, she indeed appeared quite haggard.
"Your Ladyship, where are you going?" the palace maid asked, confused.
Consort Li said, "To Qianyuan Hall, to see the Emperor."
’Now is the time to seize the initiative. I have to persuade the Emperor to be lenient with my third brother, and I absolutely cannot tell the truth.’
Consort Li understood the Emperor and knew exactly what to say to beg for mercy.
All along the way, she urged the eunuchs carrying her sedan chair, "Faster! Even faster!"
Upon arriving outside Qianyuan Hall, Consort Li was announced and quickly granted entry.
The Emperor was not in the main hall, so Consort Li walked around a screen and headed toward the rear hall.
Through a Mica Screen carved with soaring dragons, she saw a figure leaning back behind a crystal curtain.
Consort Li immediately lifted her skirts, fell to her knees, and began to sob. "Your Majesty, you must save my third brother! He was incited by a villain and made a terrible mistake!"
The plan Minister Wei and Consort Li had devised was to use Third Master Wei as a scapegoat once the matter could no longer be concealed.
But they feared the Crown Prince would demand that the entire family be held responsible, so they planned to lie, claiming that someone else had instigated Third Master Wei to hire an assassin.
They hoped this would result in a lighter sentence.
’This is a brilliant plan,’ Consort Li thought. ’I’ll plead my case earnestly to the Emperor, and by the time the Crown Prince returns to the palace, the matter will already be a foregone conclusion.’
’And given the state of the father-son relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor, they’re bound to fight over this.’
’For me, this is actually a good thing.’
’As long as their relationship continues to worsen, my son, Mo Changgong, will have an easier life.’
And so, Consort Li’s sobs grew even more sorrowful.
"My third brother... he’s been terribly wronged! WAHHH!"
Just then, a cold, mocking sneer came from behind the curtain. "Lady Li Fei, it’s a bit early for tears."
Hearing that voice, Consort Li froze. Her blood ran cold.
Two little eunuchs, heads bowed, silently stepped forward to part the crystal curtain and move aside the Mica Screen.
Behind the curtain was not the Emperor at all, but Mo Lingwei, who had rushed back to the Capital City, still dusty from his travels!
"AHH—!" Consort Li screamed and collapsed to the floor, her face a mask of terror.
’How can Mo Lingwei be here?’
’Her brother’s guard saw the Crown Prince’s carriage stop in Xiangyun Village with his own eyes!’
Mo Lingwei stepped down from the chaise lounge. In the center of his red and white robes, a coiled dragon was embroidered in gold thread.
To Consort Li, the eyes of that dragon seemed to stare at her with a cold, terrifying ferocity.
Mo Lingwei glanced at her expression as he leisurely poured himself a cup of water.
A chilling question escaped his thin lips. "Lady Li Fei, you don’t seem very happy to see me."
The young man lowered his head and took a light sip of tea.
He sneered. "What, am I a ghost? Is that why you’re so frightened? Or perhaps you’ve done so many wicked things that your guilty conscience makes you afraid of everyone."
Cold sweat beaded on Consort Li’s forehead; she felt as if she’d been plunged into an ice cave.
She clung to her composure, her voice trembling as she explained, "So it is Ling Wei... I simply didn’t expect to see you. I thought it was the Emperor. It is most improper for you to see me in such a state."
Suspicion flashed in Mo Lingwei’s cold, handsome eyes.
He set down his teacup. "Father told me to wait for him here. You think I want to linger?"
He had actually rushed back to the Capital City to see Shen Ningning.
But the Emperor had sent guards to summon him urgently overnight, so he had returned to the palace to find out what was going on.
However, he had brought back many new trinkets for Shen Ningning from his trip, so he’d had his personal guard take his carriage to Xiangyun Village to deliver them to the little one first.
Distracted and flustered, Consort Li grabbed a nearby chair and staggered to her feet. "I see..."
Seeing her in this state, Mo Lingwei became even more certain that her conscience was not clear.
"Since the Emperor is not here, I will take my leave." Consort Li tried to escape.
But Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow. "Stop."
Consort Li flinched, and her face turned a shade paler.
But she was a woman who had weathered many storms. She quickly composed herself and turned back. "Ling Wei, is there something else?"
Mo Lingwei slowly paced before her. Who would have thought that a boy, not yet even twelve, was already half a head taller than her?
The young prince narrowed his eyes. "What did Third Master Wei do to make you so flustered, Lady Li Fei?"
"Nothing, it was nothing!" Consort Li denied vehemently.
Mo Lingwei scoffed. "You won’t talk? Fine. I can send my men to investigate, and I’ll find out either way."
Consort Li’s heart leaped into her throat.
’If he really investigates, things could get much worse.’
"Ling Wei, I didn’t say anything because I was afraid of worrying you," Consort Li said after a moment’s thought, an idea forming in her mind.
"Why would I be worried?" Mo Lingwei’s tone was icy.
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him.
"Unless... it has something to do with Shen Ningning." He himself didn’t notice that as he spoke, his indifferent, capricious tone vanished, replaced by a savage ferocity that was on the verge of erupting.
Consort Li swallowed fearfully. "It... it is partly related..."
The words had barely left her lips when Mo Lingwei’s hand shot out and clamped around her neck.
"AHH—!" Consort Li shrieked, her hands clawing feebly at his arm.
Mo Lingwei’s eyes were as black as the abyss. "Explain. What happened?"
Consort Li’s face turned crimson as he choked her, unable to speak a word.
Just then, the Emperor, having finished discussing matters of state in the Imperial Study Room, rushed back, eager to speak with his son. The moment he entered, he was met with this very scene.
The Emperor cried out in shock and anger, "Ling Wei! What are you doing? Let her go, now!"
Mo Lingwei’s gaze, when it met his father’s, lost none of its violent rage.
"What did you all do to Shen Ningning while I was away?"
The Emperor said hastily, "I have already sent men to investigate! Let go of her first, and I can explain everything from the beginning!"
Mo Lingwei glanced at Consort Li, who was gasping in his grip, the whites of her eyes beginning to show.
Finally, he let go, tossing Consort Li aside.
The Emperor wanted to help her up, but with his son present, he instead urged the palace attendants, "Help Consort Li to her feet."
Mo Lingwei wasted no time. "Speak. What happened?"
The Emperor then recounted everything in detail, from the deaths in the Wu family to Shen Ningning leading a pack of wolves to set up a food stall outside the city to help the refugees.
Mo Lingwei’s brow furrowed as he listened.
’Someone actually tried to have Shen Ningning assassinated while I was gone?’
The Emperor said, "I have already dispatched men to investigate. Consort Li, why did you come here?"
Consort Li clutched her neck, coughing until her throat was raw with the taste of blood.
She raised her eyes and said hoarsely, "My third brother... he should know what happened. A few days ago, someone borrowed a large sum of Gold from him..."
"Borrowed? Are you certain?" Mo Lingwei pressed, his voice cold.
Consort Li nodded repeatedly. "My third brother has gone missing. As long as we find him, the truth will come to light!"
’Thankfully, I already thought of another plan. Before coming to Qianyuan Hall, I sent the nanny to relay a message to Minister Wei.’
