After hearing what Mrs. Gong said, Chu Yunning left with satisfaction and got back on the carriage. The faint fragrance lingered on the tip of her nose. With a book and a cup of tea, she leaned against the wall of the carriage and read slowly.
While sipping tea, he raised his eyes only when he saw her coming.
"It's done?"
"Yes." Chu Yunning nodded and sat aside: "Thanks to the prince for coming forward."
Emperor Mingwen raised his eyebrows and looked at her in surprise. Seeing that she acted like she was taking advantage of her, he snorted angrily: "I am the one you are using as a target. There is a saying among the people that whoever sees me has a share.
"
"The prince also wants a share of the pie?" An alarm bell rang in Chu Yunning's heart. He looked at the other party warily, but saw that his serious face didn't look like he was joking at all.
"But……"
"If I hadn't come forward to threaten you, Mrs. Gong might not have been fooled by you. If you come and go, it won't be difficult to cooperate next time. What do you think?" Emperor Mingwen directly interrupted what Chu Yunning wanted to say, with a look.
I definitely have to share half of my attitude today.
In desperation, Chu Yunning had to bite her lips and agreed.
The two returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion again. Chu Yunning watched Emperor Mingwen go straight to the Qiu Lian Pond. He was surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Did the prince already know that the thing is under here?"
"Is the thing under the pool?" Emperor Mingwen asked.
Chu Yunning nodded.
"No wonder, I see that the pattern of this pond is a bit strange. The lotus blooms in autumn are so enchanting, emerging from the mud but not stained..."
After talking a lot, Chu Yunning didn't hear the main point until Emperor Mingwen said: "The prime minister only loves lotus. His clothes are embroidered with lotus, and even the fragrance on his body is more or less scented with lotus."
,So, I guess it has something to do with Lian."
"Then why didn't the prince say anything just now?"
If she had known about it just now, she would not have to go to Madam Gong and just dig a pond to draw water.
Emperor Mingwen shook his head: "It's just a guess. If you guess in the wrong direction, wouldn't you let Chu Shang Palace down?"
Chu Yun Ning choked on her words. If she could not find the property left by the Prime Minister, she would probably get angry and privately curse Emperor Mingwen for not being particular.
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, but I judged a gentleman with a villain's heart." Chu Yunning apologized generously.
"The water in this pool can't be drained out in a day and a night. Are you going to wait here to see the results?" Emperor Mingwen folded his hands in front of his chest and looked at her with a wry smile. This woman simply fell into the eyes of money, too much
Obsessed.
Chu Yunning hesitated for a moment: "I can't wait any longer, so I plan to send a few people down to explore it first."
She didn't feel at ease if he wasn't watching in front of her.
"If the prince is in a hurry to go back, I won't disturb him."
"I'm not in a hurry." Emperor Mingwen rubbed his shoulders: "It's rare that I can come out and relax. I can stay with you for two more days."
Chu Yunning had no intention of exposing the other party.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, it's time for lunch." Eunuch Mo had to remind him aloud at the other party's signal.
He had tasted Chu Yunning's craftsmanship, and it was so varied that even the imperial kitchen couldn't taste it.
Chu Yunning looked around and saw a few fat fish in the autumn pond, and suddenly said: "If you don't mind, how about we sit on the ground and grill the fish?"
"That's fine."
Soon the guards caught a few plump fish. After cleaning them simply, they picked up tree branches and skewered them, sprinkled some seasonings, and then pulled out a few lotus leaves, planning to make a beggar fish. The Prime Minister's Mansion
There is no shortage of anything in the big kitchen, so just make kebabs, it’s simple and delicious.
He raised the fire, threw the lotus leaf fish in, and buried it again. When Emperor Mingwen saw this, he curiously asked: "Chu Shanggong, you are too perfunctory to do this."
"What does the prince know? This is a very famous snack. You will know when it is ready and you try it."
After being scolded, Emperor Mingwen touched the tip of his nose and quickly reached out to help. In a short time, dozens of skewers of mutton and beef were skewered.
It was placed on the iron plate and rolled back and forth to bake. After a while, the aroma came out. Emperor Mingwen sniffed: "It is indeed very fragrant."
The first skewer of grilled mutton skewers was still sizzling and dripping with oil. Chu Yunning handed it directly to Emperor Mingwen: "Young Master, please try it."
Emperor Mingwen took it and took a bite. It was tender and juicy, not greasy at all, and the taste was just right. He finished a bunch of them in a short while. Eunuch Mo on the side was drooling with greed. He looked at it eagerly. Chu Yunning gave it generously.
A few strings.
"Anyway, there are many. It's still early, so Eunuch Mo shouldn't be idle."
"Hey, my servant, thank you Chu Shang Palace." Eunuch Mo didn't wait for Emperor Mingwen's reaction, he took a bunch directly and ate it with big mouthfuls.
After a while, the grilled fish was ready. It was sprinkled with a layer of sesame seeds and peppercorns and handed to Emperor Mingwen. The fish was fragrant and tender. Eunuch Mo was very considerate and removed all the thorns.
"Is the one under the fire okay?" Emperor Mingwen still remembered that there was a fish under the fire.
Chu Yunning picked up a stick and dug out the fire, dug out a small earth ball, knocked it hard, and then opened it with a clean lotus leaf.
The aroma of the fish immediately overflowed. It was a little lighter than the grilled flavor, but it was all soaked into the soup, making every bite the essence.
Emperor Mingwen didn't bother to scald it and ate the whole fish directly.
After a lot of twists and turns, the water in the pool was reduced by one-third. Chu Yunning had eaten and drank enough, lying on the chair comfortably, enjoying the breeze: "This is the best time to take a nap."
"It makes sense."
"The prince really doesn't plan to leave?" Chu Yunning touched his nose. The whole southern part of the person belonged to Emperor Mingwen. How could he be so interested in such a small amount of money?
Emperor Mingwen didn't even raise his eyelids. He lay leisurely on the chair and hummed a few words in response.
Seeing this, Chu Yunning didn't feel like asking any more questions, so he leaned back and simply closed his eyes to rest.
Perhaps because I was too tired, I squinted and fell asleep after lying down for a while. I don’t know how long it took, but the tip of my nose felt a little itchy, and a faint smell of ambergris passed through it.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the sound of a fight was heard in his ears. The sword was unsheathed, glowing with cold light. He felt a cold air approaching, and Chu Yunning suddenly opened his eyes.
A dozen guards and dozens of men in black were fighting, while Emperor Mingwen on the side stared at the Qiu Lian Pond without raising his head.
"Are you awake?" Emperor Mingwen heard the noise and looked at her sideways.
Chu Yunning asked curiously: "Who are these people?"
"They're all assassins."
Seeing that Emperor Mingwen was unfazed by honor and disgrace, as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing, she couldn't help it anymore: "Aren't you worried that these guards will miss it?"
"I personally taught him this. If he didn't have the ability to protect his master, he would have been eliminated long ago."
Chu Yunning was choked by these words and could not refute. Eunuch Mo explained on the side: "Chu Shanggong, these people don't know the identity of the prince. They came to Qiu Lian Pond. They are all gangsters and they are not worthy of fear."
I don’t know where these people got the news. As soon as they heard that treasures had been dug out of Qiu Lian Pond, they rushed over in droves, not even caring about their lives.
Half an hour later, all the gangsters were arrested, but the guards here were not even injured at all.
This is simply pressing the other person to the ground and rubbing them.
It's not on the same level at all.
There was no rest that night, and waves of people came to the Prime Minister's Mansion in search of treasures. The number of people coming was too dense.
Emperor Mingwen yawned and lost his patience. He gave an order: "Let Jing Zhaoyin come!"
"yes!"
After a while, Jing Zhaoyin came over. He looked at the prisoners kneeling all over the yard, and then glanced at the man in front of him. His legs were almost weak. He stumbling forward and saluted: "I send my regards to the Emperor. I'm here to help you."
Too late, please forgive me."
Emperor Mingwen waved his hand: "No need to be too polite. We all stay for interrogation. In an hour, I will know who is spreading the news behind your back."
"yes!"
Jing Zhaoyin had a headache. With so many people, he was afraid that the prison would be unable to contain them.
But Chu Yunning watched the water in Qiuchi gradually disappear, his eyes moved slightly, and he probably guessed who was behind the scenes.
She didn't understand why people in this era were not afraid of death. Several warnings were of no avail. The Prime Minister was dead, and she had no intention of embarrassing the Lady.
Half an hour later, Jing Zhaoyin came to report that the news about the treasure hidden in the Qiuchi of the Prime Minister's Palace was released by the slaves around Mrs. Gong.
As expected, Chu Yunning was not surprised at all by this result.
The fact that so many gangsters came to the house at the same time caused a stir. Even if Emperor Ming Wen wanted to spare her life, he was afraid that the civil and military officials would not be willing to do so.
It is reasonable to kill her.
Emperor Mingwen raised his hand gently: "You are Jing Zhaoyin, responsible for the safety of the capital. In your opinion, what should we do about this matter?"
"Reply to the emperor's message, arrest the person behind the scenes, and have the three chambers interrogate."
This is a process, it is impartial and does not target anyone.
Emperor Mingwen gently nodded: "Then I'll leave this matter to you. You must give an explanation to the people of the capital."
Jing Zhaoyin was stunned. Are you planning to drag the palace lady around to show off to the public?
"yes!"
Chu Yunning patiently waited until he finally saw the bottom of the Autumn Lotus Pond. A group of people went down and pulled out all the lotus flowers in the pond, and also collected a lot of fresh lotus roots and lotus pods.
Not idle, I pulled out a few, tasted a few and found it tasted pretty good. I stared excitedly at the size of the bottom of the pool.
After more than half of the mud was cleared, the outline was finally revealed. There was a thick layer of stones at the bottom of the pond.
Looking from the bottom up, it looks like a designed underground palace, extending all the way around, and you don't know the bottom or the sides.
Chu Yunning was speechless when she saw it, "Hey, dear, how many treasures has Prime Minister Gong saved?"
"The Prime Minister's Mansion was first built as the residence of the former emperor's only legitimate princess. This princess was very favored and extravagant. Even her personal maids wore gold and silver. It's not surprising that she could keep a small treasury privately." Ming Ming
Emperor Wen explained.
"So that's it." The more Chu Yunning thought about it, the more excited she became. She wished she could dig up the treasure right away. She didn't know if the Prime Minister would be angry when he found out that the treasure had been dug away.
Seeing her clear and cunning eyes, Emperor Mingwen curved his thin lips and said, "Is this all you need to make a difference?"
"How many people can't achieve this in their entire lives? How can we not be excited?"
It is the dream of many people to have good food and clothing for a lifetime. Although she is not short of money, she will not be dissatisfied with having too much money.
They waited for most of the day, and Chu Yunning's eyes were fixed on the muddy door for a moment.
"This is probably the entrance, but it looks like it will take some time to open." Emperor Mingwen studied for a moment and felt that the lock was a bit complicated.
Without saying a word, Chu Yunning took out a hairpin from her temples, inserted it into the lock cylinder, closed her eyes, and gently turned it with the feeling. Even the people around her breathed lightly.
Click!
There were several sounds in succession, and with a very clear sound, the door bounced open. Emperor Mingwen stared at her in surprise: "What else can't you do?"
"After being imprisoned for five years, I had to rely on myself for everything, otherwise I would have starved to death." Chu Yunning explained, regardless of whether the other party believed it or not, there was no way to investigate.
The first door was opened, revealing a dozen steps, followed by the second door. You could stand directly at the second door. Chu Yunning found a candle and waved it twice in the air, but the candle did not go out.
There is still oxygen inside, so you are not afraid to go in.
Chu Yunning studied the lock to see how rusty it was. She raised her head and asked, "Eunuch Mo, could you please check, when was the last renovation of this Qiu Lian Pond?"
Eunuch Mo nodded, turned around and left, but quickly came back: "Last summer, the prime minister suddenly felt that white lotus was not good-looking, so he changed it to delicate pink."
"Okay, I understand." Chu Yunning nodded. Since someone came here last year, it means it is safe here.
The golden hairpin went into the keyhole and turned slightly. Chu Yunning pointed at the four corners of the door: "I would like to trouble the emperor to have these four corners shaken once."
Emperor Mingwen gave a look, and the four guards aimed at the four corners and used all their strength. A door shattered and fell to the ground with a loud bang.
Standing at the second door, Chu Yunning looked at the scene inside and was dumbfounded. Compared with the palace prime minister's, her property was nothing worth mentioning.
There were hundreds of boxes in sight, and I opened one at random. It was full of golden gold bars, and countless gold and silver jewelry fell in front of my eyes.
"It's... no wonder that when King Huai attacked the capital, the old fox stood still and stayed at the Prime Minister's Mansion. It's clear that you can advance and attack, and retreat and defend. With so much treasure here, sooner or later, you will make a comeback."
Fortunately, the Prime Minister is no longer here, otherwise it would have become a serious problem for Emperor Mingwen.
Emperor Mingwen was also shocked by what he saw. He didn't expect so much property to be hidden here.
"It's indeed quite ambitious."
Chu Yunning suddenly regretted that she had gone to such great lengths to find the treasure. She really didn't dare to share this amount with Emperor Mingwen.
She was afraid that she wouldn't even be able to leave the capital with so many things.
"Your Majesty, these properties must have been obtained by the Prime Minister by plundering the people's wealth. I am an upright person and will never want ill-gotten gains." Chu Yunning immediately expressed her sincerity. She had absolutely no intention of rebelliousness. Although the money was good, her life was in danger.
important.
Emperor Mingwen glanced at Chu Yunning, with a smile on his lips: "Don't worry, I will leave ten boxes for you as a credit to you, and the rest will be put into the treasury."
Looking at the smile on his face, Chu Yunning felt like he had fallen into a trap.