mesbooks Chapter 274 Aggressive
Chapter 274 Aggressive
With Consort Jin fanning the flames and Lin Yuwei adding fuel to the fire, the Emperor immediately decided that the investiture ceremony would be held seven days later, on the eighth day of the seventh lunar month.
The emperor probably never imagined what he would face on this day.
On the sixth day of the seventh month, Madam Lin and Lin Yuwei, along with a group of soldiers, arrived at the gate of the Crown Prince's residence in a menacing manner.
Fortunately, Lan Zhi had already ordered people to set up checkpoints at the Crown Prince's residence, preventing them from barging in unopposed.
But they came on too strong, and even when Nie Yuan led his men to stop them at the gate, they showed no sign of backing down.
Lan Zhi, heavily pregnant, arrived at the door, followed closely by Zhu Fangfei with her three children.
Seeing that Madam Lin and Lin Yuwei were looking at her with extremely fierce eyes, she suddenly laughed.
"The Crown Princess and the Imperial Censor's wife actually took advantage of my husband's absence to come to our door and bully us women and children. It's truly shameful."
Mrs. Lin seemed somewhat guilty, while Lin Yuwei stared at her with an arrogant air.
“Lan Zhi, you are no longer the Crown Princess, so you can no longer live in the Crown Prince’s residence. However, I feel sorry for you, so I paid out of my own pocket to buy you a house in a back alley in the east of the city. You should move there now, so as not to delay my and the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony the day after tomorrow.”
Lan Zhi knew from the moment the Emperor issued the decree of investiture that, given Lin Yuwei's modus operandi, this day would come sooner or later. She wasn't in a hurry, because she had already made preparations.
She wasn't as panicked as Lin Yuwei had imagined; instead, she nodded calmly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Princess Consort Xun, but I don't like the house you chose. I'm not so poor that I need your help."
Lin Yuwei had expected to see her in a sorry state, but seeing her so calm, she became a little anxious. She then put one hand on her hip and glared at her with disdain.
"Since you're not relying on me for help, why don't you move somewhere else? This isn't your home anymore, so what are you still doing here?"
“You have no right to make me move out of here unless I have an imperial decree.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuwei swallowed hard, feeling guilty, and nervously clasped her hands together.
She had previously asked the Emperor for an imperial edict, but the Emperor said that Wei Jianning was not in the capital, and if she were banished to a place where she had nowhere to go, she would become a laughingstock.
Therefore, she never obtained this imperial edict.
However, she had already asked Consort Jin to plead for it, but she didn't know if she had succeeded.
She raised her eyebrows, trying to appear calm, and said:
"The Emperor's decree will arrive shortly. You should make preparations in advance to avoid leaving things scattered around."
Zhu Fangfei frowned slightly, took two steps towards her, put one hand on her hip, pointed at her, and scolded:
"Lin Yuwei, isn't this considered forging an imperial edict? I heard from my father that the court officials all disagree with us moving out of the Crown Prince's residence. What right do you have to kick us out? Shameless..."
Who are you calling shameless?
Having remained silent, Madam Lin, finding Zhu Fangfei's words unpleasant, immediately turned cold.
"Zhu Fangfei, you're so young, why don't you think before you speak? You'd better understand who's standing in front of you right now. She's about to become the Crown Princess. If you talk to her like that, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to charge you with disobedience."
Zhu Fangfei, however, crossed her arms and laughed loudly, without any hesitation.
"Hahaha... Doesn't she know how she got the position of Crown Princess? Don't think we don't know. Wei Jianning was deposed as Crown Prince, and that was your Lin family's doing. You will be punished by heaven for doing such things, and you will be struck by lightning."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuwei immediately turned red with anger, while Madam Lin gritted her teeth and cursed:
"No wonder everyone says you're a wild girl from the mountains. You're really wild. I'm letting you off the hook because of Lord Zhu, but you should know when to stop. If you say anything more unpleasant, don't blame me for being impolite."
Zhu Fangfei, however, stared intently at her without fear and asked in return:
“I’m telling the truth. It’s a disgrace that your Lin family has been loyal for three generations, yet you’ve done such shameful things. I feel sorry for the ancestors of the Lin family. They are in heaven, while you have to go to hell.”
"you……"
Madam Lin was furious and wanted to raise her hand to hit her, but Lan Zhi stopped her.
"Madam Lin, this is my doorstep. Please have some self-respect."
Her voice carried an unusual seriousness, instantly bringing Mrs. Lin back to her senses after she had just lost her composure.
She cleared her throat and asked Lin Yuwei in a low voice:
"Didn't you say the imperial edict would arrive soon? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"
She seemed eager to see Lan Zhi and Zhu Fangfei expelled from the Crown Prince's residence.
Lin Yuwei wasn't sure if the imperial edict would arrive, but if she didn't say so, her mother wouldn't be willing to come with her.
She cleared her throat awkwardly and replied softly:
"The imperial edict... should be arriving soon."
Seeing her guilty look, Lan Zhi knew that she hadn't actually obtained the imperial decree; she was just bluffing.
She frowned slightly and gave a loud order:
"Nie Yuan, outsiders are not welcome in our residence. Please see them out."
Having said that, she turned away without any politeness. Seeing this, Madam Lin angrily pulled Lin Yuwei along.
"The imperial edict hasn't arrived yet, so why did you call me here with you?"
"Mother, the imperial decree will arrive soon, please wait a little longer."
"What are we waiting for? If we had known this would happen, we would have just waited at home. Why make a fool of ourselves here?"
At this point, she turned to leave, but Lin Yuwei quickly stepped forward and grabbed her.
"Mother, the imperial decree may arrive soon, don't rush back!"
"You can wait if you want; I can't afford to lose face like you."
Seeing that Madam Lin was determined to leave, Lin Yuwei could only wave helplessly to the guards standing not far away and followed Madam Lin.
After returning to the Crown Prince's residence, Lan Zhi summoned all the servants to the main courtyard.
She looked at these people and said with a solemn expression:
"Brother, we've already moved most of the things in this mansion. You can take some more people to pack it up. Take everything that can be moved, don't leave a single blade of grass behind."
Ling Jiawei nodded hurriedly in agreement.
"I see."
She then instructed the crowd:
"You should all go back and pack your things. We're moving out of here and to another house. Don't gossip or speculate behind our backs. Just do as I say."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. After they left, Ah Qi asked, puzzled:
"Since Lin Yuwei and the others don't have an imperial decree, why should we leave?"
Lan Zhi gave a helpless, bitter smile.
"The imperial decree will arrive sooner or later. Let's leave voluntarily; it'll save face for ourselves!"
It turned out that Lan Zhi had already guessed this day would come a few days ago, and she had already ordered Ling Jiawei to send the valuables in the Crown Prince's residence to the other courtyard.
What remains now are just some worthless daily necessities, but she won't keep a single thing that belongs to her.
As expected, Wei Jianning will arrive in the capital the day after tomorrow. That day will coincide with the day Wei Jianxun is appointed as the crown prince. Many important events are bound to happen on that day. Although she has prepared herself mentally, she is still worried that she will be caught off guard.
July 8th
Today is a special day. Martial law is in effect in and around the capital. The four gates of the capital are closed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave.
No one came forward to explain why this was done, leading to various speculations among the people, but the imperial court did not provide a reasonable explanation.