Chapter 244 - Chapter 244: 244. Problematic (First update)

Chapter 244: 244. Problematic (First update)

Translator: 549690339

After sending away the visiting friends who came to express consolation, Su Liang took a bath, changed into comfortable clothes, and took a nap on the lounge chair in the study room.

Qi Jun pushed the injured Bai Xiaohu in a wheelchair to bask in the sun by the lake. This wheelchair was previously used by Xing Yusheng and was readily available.

Children recover quickly when they have a trusted person by their side. Upon arriving at a strange place, Bai Xiaohu’s fear subsided and was replaced by excitement, as he enthusiastically recited poems to Qi Jun about what he had learned in school.

Qi Jun praised him generously and fed him delicious snacks from time to time.

Listening to the voices outside, Su Liang’s mind and body fully relaxed, and she soon fell asleep.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager and the Empress, who were under house arrest in the palace, were desperate to live or die. Duanmu Yi showed complete indifference and threw the letter, which Duanmu Cheng wrote to

Wan Shan, in front of them. The rebellion of the Wan family and the missing Eldest Prince were proven, along with the evidence that the false charges against Su Liang were the first step in the rebellion as mentioned in the letter.

Both the Wan family and the younger madam Wan rejected the charges and claimed that the letter must have been forged by Su Liang.

“Last night, in a downpour, Wan Shan sleepwalked into the garden and accidentally fell into a dry well, dying.” Duanmu Yi said coldly.

The older and younger madam Wan’s faces turned ashen and could not speak for a long time.

Duanmu Yi left with a flick of his sleeve, “The marriage of Qianqian cannot be changed. For the sake of her legitimate princess title, I will not depose the empress. ”

Young Madam Wan’s eyes shifted slightly, but Duanmu Yi’s figure was already gone. She suddenly burst into loud sobs and clumsily spoke of how she didn’t want to do such things.

On the other hand, Empress Dowager Wan was surprisingly calm, pinching young Madam Wan harshly to shut her up.

With a sniveling voice, young Madam Wan listened to Empress Dowager Wan’s cold stare, “Stupid woman! Do you really think he will remember old feelings? That you will be empress for a lifetime? Don’t dream! As long as Qianqian hasn’t married, your death will be bad luck. Once Qianqian is married and you die, she will forever be a legitimate princess! The emperor will not depose the empress, but he can make you disappear!”

Young Madam Wan turned pale as paper, trembling all over, “I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… What should I do…”

“I don’t know where Sheng’er is hiding, or if anyone is helping him…” Empress Dowager Wan said gravely, “Wan Shan is gone, and there is no one in the Wan family we can rely on. Only Sheng’er’s return can give us hope. Until then, we must survive, understand?”

Young Madam Wan nodded subconsciously, clutching Empress Dowager Wan’s arm in terror, “But what if the emperor wants me dead…”

“He is a man with a high sense of propriety; he will not be too cruel in handling matters. We will find an opportunity.” Empress Dowager Wan said in a cold voice.

Duanmu Yi did not publicize Duanmu Cheng’s plot to overthrow the government in alliance with Wan Shan. In his opinion, Duanmu Cheng, who was hiding somewhere without his minions, was no longer a threat, and there was no need to add more disgrace to the royal family’s reputation.

The day after Su Liang was “released,” she entered the palace to express her gratitude and retrieve her bookcase, which she had left in the Imperial Garden the day before.

“Is the child okay?” Duanmu Yi asked with a smile.

Su Liang shook her head, “His injury isn’t serious. He will recover.”

“That’s good,” Duanmu Yi nodded, “Your bookcase was cleaned and put aside by me yesterday, knowing that it would soon be returned to its rightful owner. I had some free time today and flipped through the books. You have quite a diverse collection, covering all subjects.”

Su Liang replied respectfully, “This is because there are too few medical books.”

Duanmu Yi laughed heartily, “You are right. I had forgotten that there were some medical documents in the library. One of my late brothers was particularly fond of the Medical Skills. Most of the books were taken by him. After his accidental death, the prince’s mansion was sealed, and those books were never returned.”

Su Liang’s curiosity was piqued. So this was the reason a bookshelf in the Library Pavilion was half-empty.

“If you need it, I’ll send someone to look for those books and deliver them to your mansion. Be sure to return them when you’re done,” Duanmu Yi said warmly.

“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I promise to study diligently and improve my medical skills to meet your expectations,” Su Liang replied happily.

Duanmu Yi didn’t say much more and let Su Liang leave with the bookcase.

Two hours after Su Liang returned home, two large boxes full of medical books arrived, delivered by the Forbidden Army.

Su Liang expressed her gratitude and rewarded the guards. After they left, she opened one of the boxes and saw the book “Toxins and Nutrition” at first glance.

After flipping through it, Su Liang found that it recorded food compositions that have been verified to clash with each other, and it included details of the symptoms caused by ingesting them — quite interesting.

Without sitting in the wheelchair, Bai Xiaohu jumped on one foot closer, curious to see the books in the box, “Sister Su Liang has so many books!” Su Liang laughed softly, “These are borrowed, not mine.”

At dusk, Chang’an arrived and saw Su Liang, Qi Jun, and Bai Xiaohu having dinner together through the open window on the first floor of the Yuanming Pavilion.

When Su Liang came out to see Chang’an, he smiled and asked, “Miss Su, what delicious food did you make? It smells so good.”

Su Liang replied indifferently, “It’s the signature dish of Wan Family

Restaurant — want to buy some?”

Chang’an shook his head awkwardly, “No, no.” His curiosity was piqued: why had Su Liang not been cooking for herself lately?

Chang’an then spoke about the main purpose of his visit, “Master Ning Jing invites Miss Su to visit when she has time. It’s not urgent.”

Without asking what for, Su Liang let Chang’an leave.

That night, Su Liang initially planned to go to the Crown Prince’s Mansion around midnight but got lost in reading and lost track of time. As it was too late, she did not go.

The next day, Xing Yusheng visited along with the Feng Shui master he had hired.

Su Liang planned to move the graves back to Bei’an County and initially asked Xing Yusheng for help to find some people. When Xing Yusheng went back and mentioned it to the old lady of the Xing family, she said that young people didn’t understand this matter and that they must first find a Feng Shui expert to see if there were any taboos.

When Su Liang found out, she said she would listen to her elders.

Bai Xiaohu also wanted to go, but Su Liang handed him a book, like assigning homework, and asked him to study at home, with Qi Jun accompanying him.

On arriving at the Su family cemetery on Wangxiang Mountain, the Feng Shui expert walked around, looking here and there.

In the end, the conclusion was that this was a Feng Shui treasure and very suitable as a graveyard, with nothing inappropriate. The person who had chosen this place must have been an expert.

Su Liang was speechless, for she had asked this person to come and see how to move the graves, not to bury people here.

The Feng Shui master said that there were no taboos in moving the graves. The elders should go first, in order, one by one. After moving the graves, it would be best to plant trees so as not to leave the land empty.

With that, the day of moving the graves would require more help.

As Su Liang descended the mountain, she thought of Duanmu Che. Back then, he had saved the Original Master, sent the Original Master back to his hometown, and buried the Su Yuanzhou family. But now, Su Liang knew that it was not Duanmu Che who had done these things, but his old servant Huang Bo.

Duanmu Che despised the Original Master, and his relationship with the Su Family originated from Su Yuanzhou’s years of medical treatment for him.

Huang Bo, who discovered that the Original Master had not been killed, had a son who had died and claimed that all the things he had done for Su Liang were Huang Bo’s idea. Duanmu Che simply pretended to be kind and did not stop him. These things did not require Duanmu Che to give anything. He stood by and enjoyed the fame of being righteous and kind.

Su Liang had not seen Huang Bo for a long time, thinking that he had been the one to bury the Su Family in Wangxiang Mountain and even hired a Feng Shui expert to choose a location. He had personally escorted the Original Master back to the Su Family village and handed her over to her so-called relatives.

When Su Liang returned home, Gao Jiabao happened to come over and ask her about some medical issues, so she asked him about Duanmu Che.

Gao Jiabao knew because his grandfather was now in charge of treating Duanmu Che. He had to go to the Fifth Prince’s mansion every three days, and he had taken Gao Jiabao with him last time.

“Prince Fifth is in good health now, but he stays at home all the time,” Gao Jiabao said.

“What about Huang Bo, the old man by his side?” This was what Su Liang really wanted to ask.

Gao Jiabao thought for a moment, “Huang Bo? Do you mean that housekeeper? I’ve met him before, but the housekeeper at the Fifth Prince’s mansion has been replaced for a while now. The new one looks young and seems like a master.”

Su Liang’s expression changed slightly, “Huang Bo is no longer at the Fifth Prince’s mansion?”

Gao Jiabao shook his head, “I don’t know about that; I was just there yesterday. When I get back, I’ll ask my grandfather. He goes there often, so he might know.”

“Thank you for helping me ask,” Su Liang said.

Seeing Su Liang’s serious expression, Gao Jiabao did not understand why she suddenly cared about an old servant from the Fifth Prince’s mansion, but he still treated it as important and went back to ask the old doctor. After getting an answer, he came back to Su Mansion.

“My grandfather said that Huang Bo disappeared last month. He even asked about it, and Prince Fifth said that Huang Bol s son went missing, so he went to look for him and has not returned,” Gao Jiabao said.

Su Liang’s heart sank, and she thanked Gao Jiabao, saying that she would treat him to a meal another day.

After Gao Jiabao left, Su Lianz reexamined the entire incident, and couldn’t help but sigh. Huang Bo’s son died in the Su Mansion and was buried in the

Xunyang City Ning Family cemetery. His mission was to assassinate “Ning Jing” twice on Duanmu Che’s orders. The first attempt failed, but in a sense, the second one succeeded, with the “Ning Jing” who died being his impersonation.

Since Su Liang had returned to the capital city, she hadn’t had any peaceful days. She initially had enmity with two of the princes, which later became three, including Duanmu Che. However, when dealing with the royals, she has always been cautious and striving for every step, never leaving any handles.

Now Su Liang had successfully eliminated Duanmu Cheng and Duanmu Ao, but there was no movement from Duanmu Che’s side.

Actually, when thinking about it now, it was still because of the things that

Huang Bo had done for the Su Family. Su Liang didn’t have any feelings for Duanmu Che; she subconsciously didn’t want to provoke Huang Bo. Huang Bo has always been loyal to Duanmu Che, like a grandfather to him.

However, now Su Liang wondered if Huang Bo had gone to find his son for real. Duanmu Che couldn’t possibly know where Huang Bo’s son was now, and he probably didn’t care. He must have lied to Huang Bo about the things he had secretly done, but the lies could not last forever…

Su Liang planned to wait for Gu Ling to come back and discuss with him whether to go to the Fifth Prince’s mansion to inquire and find Huang Bols whereabouts.

That night, Su Liang thought of Duanmu Chen’s request to meet her. Since it couldn’t be conveyed through Chang’an or letters, it must be important, so she secretly went there at the arranged time.

Duanmu Chen was waiting for Su Liang and complained as soon as he saw her,

“I waited for you until midnight last night, and you didn’t come.”

Su Liang shrugged, “Crown Prince, please mind your words. People who don’t know might think we had a rendezvous in the middle of the night.”

Duanmu Chen’s mouth twitched slightly, “Less nonsense! Sit down; I have important matters to discuss with you.”

Su Liang sat down and poured herself a cup of tea, not afraid of staying awake because she planned to finish reading the few pages of her book she hadn’t finished when she went back.

“Do you feel like there’s something wrong with my father lately?” Duanmu Chen asked.

Su Liang thought for a moment, “Indeed. His Majesty has been treating me too well lately, granting my every request. It’s terrifying.”

When Duanmu Chen heard this, he knew that Su Liang was not completely oblivious, and snorted, “You think it’s terrifying? Why?”

Su Liang swayed her tea cup gently, her eyes slightly narrowed, “He wouldn’t be… falling for me, would he?”

Duanmu Chen sneered, “How could he not? He’s totally in love! Very much so!”

Su Liang covered her forehead, “Are all you royals a bit off?”

Duanmu Chen spoke with a melancholy tone, “Though you are scolding me, you are not wrong..”