Chapter 369: Chapter 292: There Are Benefits to Having a Bad Memory_2
Yang Zhan lowered his head: "Yes, Your Highness said this to me many years ago."
The Crown Prince turned his head to glance at him upon hearing this, then tightened his lips.
Jin Bao appeared at the doorway, and as the Crown Prince walked over, he leaned in to whisper to him.
Yang Zhan’s expression was heavy, and he watched them intently without blinking.
After the Crown Prince finished listening, he waved Jin Bao away.
Yang Zhan couldn’t help but ask, "Is there anything else today, Your Highness?"
"There are some matters at the Chamberlain’s Office, I must return to the palace."
Yang Zhan paused momentarily and chased after him, "I have already prepared food and wine, wouldn’t Your Highness stay to partake before returning?"
The Crown Prince said nothing, and walked out of the courtyard gate.
Yang Zhan had no choice but to follow behind to see him off.
When Guo Song came before Fu Zhen again, Fu Zhen and Su Xinger were already in the small building of the West Garden, accompanied by Mrs. Zhang, who had just arrived, drinking tea.
Also present were the ladies of the Cheng and Du families. Coincidentally, a long-unseen Madam Du was there as well.
Having married a daughter-in-law into the family, Madam Du’s eyes still lit up at the sight of Fu Zhen and she kept saying to her companions, "Didn’t I say Miss Fu is extraordinary and refined; don’t you think so? The Pei family truly is blessed!"
Everyone knew her nature, a bit scheming but not too malicious. Who didn’t know about her regretting the broken engagement with the Ning Family back then?
However, on this occasion, it wasn’t appropriate to tease her, so everyone just smiled and nodded along.
When Fu Zhen stepped outside, Guo Song said, "The General sent me to report to the Young Madam about the Crown Prince’s people moving around the Prince Manor."
Fu Zhen gestured for him to continue, and he said, "Jin Bao didn’t personally investigate this time; he sent a little eunuch to find someone from the Xu family. Without a doubt, the incident of Prince Rong forcing his way into the Xu family that night is already known to the Crown Prince.
"Moreover, Mrs. Xu, who had been kneeling in the memorial hall, had just disappeared. I found out that someone named Lian beside Xu Yin gave her sleeping pills to have her lie down and rest.
"Coincidentally, Jin Bao just sent a little eunuch to Mrs. Xu’s resting place to verify the truth."
Fu Zhen held her breath, staring at him, and only after a while did she avert her gaze.
The Prince Rong’s Mansion and the Xu Mansion were right next to each other, occupying an entire alley, meaning that not many people knew about Prince Rong storming into the Xu family that night.
Afterward, the Prince Manor produced a reason to cover up Princess Rong’s death, naturally needing to smooth things over and suppress the matter of troubling Xu Yin.
Yet such matters are not completely secret, and word would eventually get out. If the Crown Prince wanted to inquire, it would not be difficult.
However, with someone dying inside Prince Rong’s Mansion, as husband and son, Prince Rong and Yang Zhan raised no objection and even seriously wrote a memorial to the palace explaining the reason, so it should have been settled.
Moreover, he had already dispatched Pei Zhan to lead troops to station there.
Princess Rong was not Prince Rong, nor an official in the court; as your family had already given an explanation, there was no need for the palace to interfere further.
The court’s affairs are plenty enough, and a minister’s family matter should not be personally questioned by the monarch.
Similarly, as the Crown Prince, his focus should be on learning governance; even if he discerned any question, shouldn’t he directly ask Prince Rong and Yang Zhan?
If he questioned them and these two did not answer, all the more, he shouldn’t waste energy sending people to investigate further. Is he not afraid that his actions might arouse the suspicion of Prince Rong and his son?
In any case, the Crown Prince seems particularly interested in the matter of Prince Rong’s Mansion...
"What was the reaction of Prince Rong and his son?" she asked.
"Prince Rong was entertaining guests all along, and Yang Zhan was accompanying the Crown Prince. Yang Zhan went out for a while, and upon his return, the Crown Prince just happened to hear Jin Bao’s report, so he left for the palace."
So he returned to the palace?
Fu Zhen pinched the tip of a flower in her hand and crushed it between her fingers.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhang was equally uneasy in spirit, but in everyone’s eyes, her distraction seemed reasonable. After all, such an incident should have caught her, as a daughter-in-law, off guard as well.
When Fu Zhen returned and sat down, Mrs. Zhang’s gaze involuntarily fell upon her, realizing she hadn’t really spoken to her, so she said, "General’s wife, it’s been a long time. You are truly a busy person."
Previously, Mrs. Zhang had sent invitations to Fu Zhen several times, but Fu Zhen had refused each time, so she now had to cover her tracks, "I am truly an idle person, but as you know, I’m frail and often ill, causing trouble."