Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 1421: Generosity

Chapter 1421: Chapter 1421: Generosity

Zhou Shuren left the Palace and walked slowly; both he and the Emperor knew that the Crown Prince would be attacked, yet they had not anticipated such a massive scale of assassins that the Emperor’s secret guards had to reveal themselves.

Now that the Crown Prince is safe, the Emperor has finally put his mind at ease. But he hasn’t mentioned a word about his grandson. Yes, no one else is as important as the Crown Prince, but what about his grandson?

His grandson and Shangguan Liu served as covers for the Crown Prince. The assassins were resolved not to spare anyone in error, so his grandson was in great danger.

Upon leaving the Palace, Zhou Shuren turned around to look back at the imperial Palace, cursing in his heart. Damn the era of imperial power, he took a deep breath and made another mental note about the Wen family.

What can he do now? He can only wait for news. Sending someone is out of the question. It’s really irritating. Damn this delay in communication. Modern times are so much better, as everything would be known with a phone call.

At the Liu family, Lady Gu opened the family’s large storage room. The large storage room contained the Liu family’s accumulations over many years, and they had managed to secure some good things during the chaotic times.

Lady Gu picked out the engagement gifts for the Zhou family, and just as she stepped out the door, she saw her youngest son. "How did you get here?"

Liu Yuanbo felt embarrassed, "I just came to take a look."

Thinking about her eldest son’s engagement, Lady Gu couldn’t help but laugh, "When your brother was getting engaged, you complained that the gifts were too expensive and clung onto them for dear life."

Liu Yuanbo blushed, "Mom, I was young back then."

There was quite an age difference between him and his elder brother. He was only born when his brother was ten, and he was just six when his brother got married.

Lady Gu said, "You’ve always been stingy; your brother’s face turned dark back then."

Her eldest son’s growth was a struggle, it was fortunate that he grew up by his grandfather’s side. If he had followed his father, his father would have been stingy towards him too. When the youngest son was born, he even kept an eye on him, which made things difficult for the eldest son.

Lady Gu recalled her own engagement, where she was chosen by her future father-in-law and mother-in-law because she was willing to spend Silver and did not hesitate to do so. They were afraid that the Liu family’s reputation would be tainted by her husband.

She never expected that she and her husband would get along so well.

Lady Gu pointed to the engagement gifts, "Are you still stingy this time?"

Liu Yuanbo glanced at them and cleared his throat, "Isn’t this a little too small?"

Lady Gu said, "...You really take after your father. Don’t let your brother hear what you said today."

Her eldest son would cry if he knew; this little brother has been raised for nothing.

Liu Yuanbo touched his nose, "The Zhou family’s second wife is well-off, and you’ve also seen how Zhou third miss understands gemstones. Zhou second master must have high standards."

Lady Gu laughed, "Even the Zhou family’s eldest daughter had a generous dowry; the dowry of this little girl from Zhou’s second house won’t be any less."

Although she liked Yu Die very much, who would complain about a small dowry? Given a choice between young ladies of similar backgrounds, she would choose the one with a larger dowry. Living in the capital is all about spending Silver, so she naturally hoped that her son and daughter-in-law would have a prosperous future.

In the afternoon, the Crown Prince only arrived at a mountain village; this was the result of setting out before dawn. It showed just how far Ming Rui and another person had run at that time.

Having experienced an assassination attempt, the Prefect of Huizhou did not dare to be careless. If the Crown Prince encountered any trouble in Huizhou, it would implicate all officials, high and low.

There were many soldiers escorting the Crown Prince; the Crown Prince was surrounded by his loyal guards, and the entire small mountain village was encircled inside and out.

Ming Rui and Shangguan Liu met with the Crown Prince, whose emotions in his eyes were not significantly moved. Two days’ time had calmed the Crown Prince, and he was no longer startled by events, "It’s a relief that you two are unharmed."

Shangguan Liu felt sentimental inside. This was the Crown Prince’s first assassination attempt. The Crown Prince would remember it vividly. But as he faces more in future, the Crown Prince won’t keep it in his heart anymore.

Ming Rui stood aside; he also felt a change in the Crown Prince. Though his appearance remained the same, his aura had changed, growing increasingly regal and becoming befitting of a heir to the throne.

The Crown Prince said with a smile, "Both of you have contributed to our success, and you shall be rewarded once we return to the capital."

Ming Rui and his companion expressed their gratitude to the Crown Prince.

After seeing the two, the Crown Prince wished to see the gold and asked the Deputy General Wang, "What findings have come about from the interrogation?"

Deputy General Wang replied, "Some have confessed, when the mining commenced, there were many villagers around, but as the gold yield decreased, most have already left. Those who remain are on the outskirts, with unclear gold dealings. However, someone comes to collect the gold once every six months."

The Crown Prince asked, "Is it half a year now?"

"Not yet; the last collection was in February."

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "In August, someone will come to collect the gold again. Take me to see the gold."

Today, all the gold stored in the cave had been moved down into the house.

The Crown Prince entered the house and felt reassured, but upon seeing the quantity of gold, he felt disappointed, "The gold mine has been depleted."

Deputy General Wang also felt distraught; this was Huizhou’s gold mine, now emptied right under their noses after so many years.

The Crown Prince picked up the gold to examine it, noting the fine purity, and felt even more heartbroken, thinking that when he returned to the capital, he would ask his father the Emperor to bestow upon him some Silver.

The Crown Prince took paper and ink to write a letter to his father the Emperor, as the situation with the gold mine had to be reported.

The news of the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt could not be kept secret, as there were many sons of noble families who accompanied him on this venture, and casualties were inevitable, the assassins intent on leaving none alive.

Even though Shangguan Liu had lured away a large number of assassins and the Emperor’s loyal agents appeared in time, there were still delicate sons who were killed.

Fortunately, the loss was not great; three were severely injured but survived, and only two died. The minor injuries were few and far between, not because the young masters were adept at combat, but because the assassins’ strikes were lethal.

The Emperor received news of the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt in the morning, and by afternoon, he had the full account of the incident. Eyeing the two families that had fared well, Shangguan and Zhou, he fell silent for a moment, relieved that none of their firstborn sons were among the casualties.

If Shangguan Liu and Zhou Mingrui had died, the Shangguan and Zhou families would have nurtured a deathly grudge against the Wen family. Since the Shangguan family would soon become related to the Crown Prince through marriage and the Wen family was the Crown Prince’s in-laws, the Emperor remained expressionless, hoping for the safety of Shangguan Liu and Zhou Mingrui.

Following the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt in Huizhou, the Prefect of Huizhou was nearly scared to death and immediately sent an urgent report to the Emperor.

They dared not conceal the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt; as the urgent memorandum from the Prefect of Huizhou reached the capital, the entire capital became aware of the incident.

At the court session the next morning, the Emperor’s gaze was stern, "This is the urgent Zhezi from the Prefect of Huizhou about the Crown Prince’s assassination. What does your think who might be behind this?"

Minister Wen, one of the first to learn of the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt, could feel many eyes on him, including two that glared with hatred. Minister Wen’s heart was heavy with regret, wishing he had not let Wen Xu go; but now, regret was pointless.

Accompanying the Crown Prince already signified danger and opportunity; had it not been for Wen Xu’s leak, any casualties would not have been blamed on the Wen family, yet now all the hostility was directed at them.

Zhou Shuren was anxious; he had kept the news under wraps, but now with the Prefect of Huizhou’s Zhezi reaching the capital, and with the Emperor not wishing to hide the matter, the whole capital would soon know of the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt.

The ministers began expressing their opinions one after another, some pointing to the remnants of the former dynasty, others to noble families from the south, and some even to ambitious factions from the steppes – conjectures abounded.

Some didn’t voice it but cast their gaze upon Minister Liu.

This terrified Minister Liu, who was watching the drama unfold with the Wen family. How foolish would the Liu family be to take action at this time, with the Empress having two legitimate sons? It was not the time to make a move.