A prince with the hearts of the people and meritorious service, who would not fear him, who would not wish to follow him?
Especially those officials who once looked down upon the Seventh Prince with disdain, now their intestines must be green with regret. Who would have thought that in the end, it would be this most unpromising prince who would go the farthest.
The more the ministers in the imperial court attached importance to the Seventh Prince's return, the more troubled Xie Jingzhou became. But now, even the Emperor was eagerly watching the war in Tonglin. Even if Xie Jingzhou had a thousand reasons not to want the Seventh Prince to return triumphantly, he would not dare to cause any trouble.
Ji Zizhao was also secretly paying attention to the war in Tonglin, but she did not care about the outcome. Because she knew very well that as long as Xie Jinglan was there, he would use this war to pave the way for the Seventh Prince.
To put it bluntly, this was a war that was bound to be won.
But once Tonglin was victorious, Xie Jinglan would have betrayed Xirong.
At that time, Xie Jinglan would be completely homeless.
Whether Xirong would continue to send people to investigate Xie Jinglan's whereabouts was unknown, but once Xirong confirmed Xie Jinglan's identity, they would definitely try every means to eradicate him.
Ji Zizhao certainly did not want to watch Xie Jinglan put himself in danger. She hoped that Xie Jinglan could return to Yulin safely. At this time, the long-silent Wei family finally came to the door.
Perhaps it was the lingering shadow from their last meeting that was too great. Even though the Wei family was now cooperating with Ji Zizhao, when Madam Wei saw Ji Zizhao again, she couldn't help but tremble all over.
"Madam Wei, please sit." Ji Zizhao was very calm. To cooperate, one had to show goodwill. If she still maintained a condescending attitude at this time, it would only increase the distance between them.
Madam Wei smiled, sat down hesitantly on the chair, and then said, "Today, your humble servant has come to tell the Fourth Prince's Consort something. However, this matter is long and complicated. I wonder if the Fourth Prince's Consort has the patience to listen?"
Ji Zizhao nodded, appearing to be all ears.
Madam Wei then said, "The palace maid by Princess Wenhui's side is missing!"
In Yulin, most of the palace servants who served in the imperial palace were selected from the households of various ministers.
Firstly, they knew their backgrounds, so if anything happened, it would be easy to investigate thoroughly from the root. Secondly, it was because the people living in the palace were of royal blood. Once something happened, it would be a disgrace to the royal family. As the saying goes, family shame should not be spread. Especially the shame of the royal family needed to be hidden.
If ordinary people were recruited to serve in the palace, wouldn't it eventually become known to the world?
However, among the palace maids currently serving in Princess Wenhui's chambers, there was a domestic slave of the Wei family.
"The entire family of that palace maid lives in my humble servant's mansion. It is precisely because we know their backgrounds that we sent the palace maid into the palace after she was born..."
Madam Wei's face showed some hesitation at this point.
Ji Zizhao looked at Madam Wei's hesitant demeanor and naturally understood what she was troubled about. "Madam Wei should be very aware that the Eighth Prince's Consort is currently suffering with the Eighth Prince. Although I don't know what means the Eighth Prince used to deceive the Eighth Prince's Consort, Madam Wei, as someone who has been through it, should know that there can be no true affection or sincerity under deception."
If the Eighth Prince had even a little bit of regard for the Eighth Prince's Consort, he would not have involved her.
When Madam Wei thought of her daughter, she had no more reservations and gritted her teeth, saying, "Although according to the rules of the palace, once a person is sent in, they must sever ties with the outside world, that palace maid would secretly have someone send a message to her family to report her safety from time to time. But now, a long time has passed beyond the scheduled time, and there is still no news. Your humble servant feels that something is amiss, so I thought of coming to report to the Fourth Prince's Consort."
Ji Zizhao inquired, "How can Madam Wei be sure that the palace maid would report her safety on time?"
Madam Wei lowered her head and said, "It's quite a coincidence. The mother of that palace maid is precisely the amah by my humble servant's side."
If the palace maid entering the palace was just a coincidence, but the palace maid's birth mother was a person close to Madam Wei, this matter seemed too coincidental.
It was likely that the Wei family had long intended to send their daughter to be a daughter-in-law of the royal family, and had paved the way for their daughter in advance. After all, with their own people working in the palace, they could more accurately understand the preferences of the princes.
It was a pity that the Eighth Prince's Consort was not promising, and had wasted her parents' painstaking efforts for nothing.
"Does Madam Wei know how long the palace maid has been delayed in sending news?"
"It's been delayed for about seven or eight days."
Seven or eight days?
Ji Zizhao pondered carefully and confirmed that it was precisely the last time she had seen Wenhui. At that time, she had deliberately provoked Wenhui with the Seventh Prince's bad reputation, hoping that Wenhui would reveal herself. Now, it seemed that her provocation should have been effective.
Seeing that Ji Zizhao remained silent, Madam Wei was also anxious. The Wei family was now at a dead end. Since the Eighth Prince was demoted, although the Emperor did not punish the Wei family together, their master was clearly neglected in the imperial court, and his words carried no weight.
Madam Wei was just a woman who lived in the inner courtyard and had no power to change the imperial court. Therefore, her only hope was to pull her daughter out of the fire pit.
Now, looking at the silent Fourth Prince's Consort, Madam Wei was also uneasy. "Fourth Prince's Consort, should this matter be reported to the Empress..."
Madam Wei's intention was clear: she wanted to investigate Princess Wenhui's actions through the Empress.
Ji Zizhao knew that the Empress was currently full of worry about Tonglin. If the Empress were to be distracted by Princess Wenhui's matter at this time, her health might not be able to bear it. "There is no need to alarm the Empress."
"But..."
"Madam Wei, please rest assured, Princess Wenhui should take action soon."
Although Ji Zizhao was not yet sure what Princess Wenhui intended to do, one thing was certain: the war in Tonglin had reached a fever pitch, and the Seventh Prince could return to the main city at any time. If Princess Wenhui wanted to clear herself, she had to act before the army returned to the imperial city.
To put it bluntly, Princess Wenhui was the most anxious person right now.
Ji Zizhao's guess was correct. A few days later, news reached the Imperial Hospital that Princess Wenhui had fallen ill.
She was so worried that she was bedridden.
Although it was not a serious illness, it was enough to cause a small ripple in the palace.
Those who were old in the palace knew about the matter between Princess Wenhui and the Fourth Prince. However, at that time, Princess Wenhui ignored the Fourth Prince in the palace, which was unknown to the people in the palace.
Therefore, in the eyes of others, Princess Wenhui had only gone out to travel for a few years. When she returned, the Fourth Prince, whom they had loved, had already been betrothed.
And Ji Zizhao was the one who usurped the nest.