The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 515 - 482: Successor Candidate (Part 1)
The two sat for a while, and Wen Wan suggested visiting the Duke Mansion.
Lin Xiaoyue disagreed, frowned at her, "Over three hundred lives gone, heavy with ominous energy. You’re with child, how could you go to such a place?"
"I won’t go inside, just a glance from afar will do." Wen Wan said.
She had always been curious about how the Su Family was exterminated without any warning. To suggest the Emperor had a grudge would be an unlikely strategy, but if not the Emperor, then who did the Su Family offend?
...
Two quarters of an hour later, the Governor Mansion’s carriage stopped at the archway outside the Duke Mansion.
Wen Wan lifted the curtain and saw a large chaotic scene left by the explosion.
Everything that could burn had already been burned, what remained was all scorched black.
Through such a scene, Wen Wan could almost imagine the desperate struggle of over three hundred people trapped inside, unable to escape.
The Fire Prevention Team was still handling the aftermath, and people from the Ministry of Justice were also on site, having been ordered to investigate the Su Family extermination case.
Seeing a carriage parked there, one of the government officials approached, intending to drive people away, but upon seeing it was Governor’s wife Lin Xiaoyue, he immediately changed attitude, turning to a reminder, "Madam Su, the Ministry of Justice is conducting an investigation, this area is a danger zone, please leave quickly."
Lin Xiaoyue glanced at the busy crowd ahead and asked the official, "Have you found out what caused the explosion?"
The official shook his head, "I am only responsible for securing the scene, I don’t know the details of the case."
Lin Xiaoyue nodded, not pushing him further, "I’d like to see your Master."
...
In no time, the official brought over the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
Lin Xiaoyue and Wen Wan alighted the carriage one after the other, greeting him, "Master Chang."
Master Chang bowed, "Greetings to the two madams."
Lin Xiaoyue asked, "Has your investigation over these days yielded any clues?"
Lin Xiaoyue, being a member of the Su Family, had the right to know the case progress. In front of her, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice did not hide anything, "From the site traces, we preliminary deduce that Thunder Shock was buried throughout the mansion, and not just in one place. However, as there were no survivors, the specifics need further investigation."
"Thunder Shock? What is that?" Lin Xiaoyue was momentarily stunned, she vaguely recalled Mr. Qi mentioning it before, but couldn’t quite remember what he said.
Master Chang replied, "It’s similar to gunpowder, once detonated, its power is significant."
Naturally it was significant, otherwise how could it turn the Duke Mansion into ruins in such a short time, a hundred times more merciless than a massacre.
Lin Xiaoyue was quite puzzled, "Why would Thunder Shock be in the Duke Mansion?"
Master Chang shook his head, "Currently unknown."
Hesitating a moment, he looked at Lin Xiaoyue, "But there is something quite odd."
"What is it?"
Master Chang said, "There’s a strange fragrance among the ruins by the ancestral hall. After several officials approached and smelled it, they reacted differently. Some went mad, lost their minds and assaulted their colleagues with astonishing force, while another took a knife to his own arm, slashing and laughing hysterically.
It was truly horrifying.
Afterwards, we invited top-notch incense masters to help examine it, and they concluded that beneath the ancestral hall used to be an incense refining site, and what they refined was Forbidden Incense. What does Madam Su think of this?"
Lin Xiaoyue found it increasingly terrifying, "Forbidden Incense?"
Master Chang nodded, "According to the incense masters, in their trade, the fragrance that yields side effects due to refinement failure is called Forbidden Incense. Forbidden Incense also has grades. Lower grades may merely cause dizziness, chest tightness, or occasional discomfort, higher-grade Forbidden Incense, however, is not a refining failure but is deliberately concocted by someone. It can potentially control people’s minds. There have been rumors of Forbidden Incense recipes appearing on the black market, attracting many with ulterior motives who aimed to use it for unspeakable purposes, only to end up harming themselves.
There was once a case related to incense refining in the records of the Ministry of Justice. Never could we have imagined that such despicable and insidious substances would appear in the Duke Mansion."
"That’s truly unexpected." Lin Xiaoyue murmured.
Master Chang asked, "Are you truly unaware, Madam Su?"
Lin Xiaoyue frowned, "The Governor Mansion is so far from the Duke Mansion, how could I know? Moreover, if someone in the Duke Mansion was set on refining it, even if I lived there, if they didn’t want me to know, I wouldn’t have any way. What does Master Chang think? If there’s nothing else, we shall take our leave."
Master Chang bowed, "Have a safe journey, both madams."
Lin Xiaoyue helped Wen Wan onto the carriage.
After setting off, the words of Master Chang earlier kept echoing in her mind, then she turned to Wen Wan, "Do you think the peculiar fragrance in the ancestral hall is coincidental or someone from the Su Family had ill intentions?"
Wen Wan shook her head, "I don’t know."
Although she didn’t think highly of the Su Family, without knowing the truth, it wouldn’t be good to comment arbitrarily. After all, Forbidden Incense isn’t a trivial matter; Master Chang also mentioned high-grade Forbidden Incense can control people’s minds. Random speculations could mean that the Su Family’s over three hundred lives would be posthumously accused of ’treason’.
Lin Xiaoyue obviously thought of this too and didn’t dwell on the topic of incense, lifted the curtain to look outside, and instructed the coachman, "Change course to the Song Mansion."
Wen Wan asked her, "What are you doing?"
"Taking you home."
"Our family’s carriage is still at your front door!"
Lin Xiaoyue didn’t care, "So what, I’ll just have your family’s coachman head back directly, saving you another trip to our house."
Wen Wan was helpless, "Aren’t you still busy handling the family affairs?"
Lin Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow, "The carriage has already changed direction, stop chattering."
After a while, Wen Wan suddenly spoke up, "Lin Xiaoyue, about that..."
"Just say what you want, stumbling over your words, you’re no little girl, no need to be shy?"
The Su Family’s incident, while Lin Xiaoyue didn’t show it on her face, Wen Wan could feel she was inwardly troubled.
When the Martial Champion Mansion burned, Su Qing was not there.
Last year in December, when Lin Xiaoyue had a miscarriage, Su Qing was also not there.
Now the Su Family was exterminated, and still, Su Qing was absent.
Wen Wan suddenly felt a bit sorry for her, "Has Mr. Qi written to you?"
Lin Xiaoyue’s expression appeared to freeze momentarily, then she turned away and didn’t look at her, answering nonchalantly, "Yes, at most one letter every two months, don’t worry, I’m fine, won’t die."
...
The Empress lay in state for seven days, and then a funeral was held.
The vacancy in the Empress position became a hotly debated topic among the court officials.
The one most frequently nominated was Princess Consort Qi, the mother of the Eldest Prince Zhao Xi.
The Empress left no heirs, while Princess Consort Qi gave birth to the eldest son, who was self-disciplined, proficient in civil and military affairs, outstanding, and highly regarded by the court ministers.
By all accounts, Princess Consort Qi was the best choice for successor.
The Emperor also knew the harem couldn’t be left without a mistress for a day, yet he himself didn’t show much enthusiasm for the matter of establishing a new Empress.
The court was one-sided, so there was naturally no situation of endless debate in the main hall.
For three consecutive days in court, after Mr. Cui announced if there were matters to be addressed, there was always a batch of people standing up to suggest making Princess Consort Qi the successor.
Emperor Guangxi quietly listened without speaking, and after hearing it all, he only said two words: dismiss court.
Some ministers did not give up and continued to write memorials offering advice.
In the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Guangxi opened the sixth memorial, which still contained the proposal for establishing a new Empress.
The Emperor’s expression was unreadable, his emotions unclear, while Mr. Cui standing by was sweating profusely. As Emperor Guangxi reached for the seventh memorial, Mr. Cui suddenly spoke up, "With the Empress’s recent affairs, Your Majesty has been laboring much, surely must be quite weary, perhaps take a break from reviewing memorials today? I shall have the Imperial Tea and Food Room send some restorative soup."
Emperor Guangxi remained silent for a moment, then spoke, "Cui Fuquan."
"I am here, Your Majesty."
"What are your thoughts on the matter of establishing a new Empress?"
"This...," Mr. Cui wiped his sweat, "Each of the harem’s ladies has her unique qualities, ultimately who gains the power to oversee the six palaces lies with you, Your Majesty."
"What a ’unique qualities’." Emperor Guangxi glanced at him sideways, "You’re quite the diplomat, pleasing no one, offending no one."
Mr. Cui replied, "This servant has a clumsy tongue, unable to speak well. If Your Majesty feels displeased, just beat this servant to vent."
"Two beatings, I might want to slap you twice instead."
Mr. Cui chuckled, "No need for Your Majesty to act, I’ll do it myself."
Saying that, he raised his hand and slapped his own face twice.
Emperor Guangxi glanced back at the memorials on the desk, his temples throbbed again, he reached up to rub them, starting to feel a headache, "The harem indeed cannot be without a mistress for even a day, but as for the choice of person..."
Pausing briefly, "Currently, Princess Consort Qi holds the highest rank, let her temporarily oversee the affairs of the harem."
