kingnovel Chapter 487: Raising a Gigolo
Chapter 487: Raising a Gigolo
Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo were chatting when Jiang Heng came over in a hurry. He looked at the two of them hesitantly, not knowing how to start.
"What's wrong with you today? You're hesitating. If you have anything to say, just say it quickly."
"Your Majesty, I just received news that there is a rumor in the capital that a man named Xiao accompanied the Empress on her way back to the palace."
Jiang Heng then explained the rumors outside in a very tactful way, and Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang immediately understood the problem.
"Have you found out who spread the rumor?"
It's easy to tell that not everyone dares to spread rumors about the queen, and there must be someone behind it.
"The younger one is still investigating."
"Start by checking with the maids around me. Only those around me will know my specific whereabouts."
Not many people knew that Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo went to the ghost market together.
"Yes, I will send someone to investigate right away."
Ye Jintang was quite angry about the fact that the palace maid beside him was not careful with her words.
She always reminded Aunt Zhang and Aunt Liu to carefully screen the people around her, and those who were not careful with their words and liked to gossip would not be employed.
Unexpectedly, despite her many warnings, something still went wrong in the end.
"Let's stop shopping and go back to the palace."
As he spoke, Ye Jintang glared at Xiao Mo fiercely. It was all because of him that he caused her trouble.
Seeing Ye Jintang angrily returning to Wutong Palace, Xiao Mo was filled with hatred. He wondered which blind person dared to throw dirty water on him and Ye Jintang and try to ruin their reputation.
The person behind the scenes had better hide well and not be caught by him, otherwise he will bury his entire clan with him.
"Jiang Heng, send out all my most powerful spies and secret guards. Find the person who spread the rumors within three days."
"Yes."
Jiang Heng has been with Xiao Mo for many years and has some understanding of his temper.
Although Xiao Mo could not show any emotion at the moment, he knew that he was on the verge of a rage, and he was afraid that only blood could calm his anger.
At the same time, all kinds of bad rumors about Ye Jintang spread in the capital, and some officials even discussed asking Xiao Mo about this matter during the morning court tomorrow.
And the pair of children born to Ye Jintang might not be Xiao Mo's biological children.
Confusing the royal bloodline is a serious crime and this matter must not be taken lightly.
But if the court officials brought up this matter during the morning court session, would it provoke the new emperor's wrath? Several court officials who were discussing this matter were somewhat unsure.
Fang Changhui is Xiao Mo's confidant. He is the Minister of Personnel, a second-rank official. After receiving the news about Ye Jintang, he became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Xiao Mo had just ascended the throne not long ago when this scandal broke out. If it wasn't handled properly, Xiao Mo's reputation would be ruined.
"Why don't we go ask Wu Hou?"
Lord Cai was Xiao Mo's number one counselor. After Xiao Mo ascended the throne, Lord Cai was conferred the title of Marquis Wu, and was ranked as a master, a first-rank official.
Xiao Mo's party is headed by Lord Cai, so he is naturally the first person they think of when something happens.
Several court officials did not dare to delay and immediately went to Wuhou Mansion to meet Lord Cai.
In the small study, Mr. Cai looked at his colleagues and was too tired to complain.
"Are all your heads filled with straw?"
Mr. Cai started to curse the people who came.
"Lord Cai, please don't be so quick to scold us. Queen Ye has caused such a scandal, shouldn't we find a way to punish her?"
"You're not going to get it. Are you blind to see the relationship between the Emperor and Empress Ye? Use your brains to think about it. How could Empress Ye do something to let the Emperor down?"
"If Empress Ye was such a person, do you think she would have willingly helped the Emperor to obtain his fiefdom?"
Lord Cai was so angry that he scolded several court officials so badly that they could not even raise their heads.
"Mr. Cai, do you mean that these rumors are all false? But there is no smoke without fire. The rumors are well-founded and do not seem to be false."
Fang Changhui also thought about it carefully and felt that the rumors seemed to be true, otherwise he would not be so anxious.
"I really don't know what to say to you. Have you ever thought that the emperor might disguise himself to pick up Queen Ye?"
Xiao Mo used to like to disguise himself when walking around outside, and his advisers and a few close friends all knew about it.
When Mr. Cai mentioned this, the people present felt that it made sense.
"The emperor has been attending the morning court on time these days. Doesn't it look like he is a substitute?"
Fang Changhui recalled the emperor's every move in recent months, but still couldn't see any flaws.
"If Lord Fang lets you see the flaws, do you think he is still a qualified substitute for the Emperor?"
Fang Changhui felt a little embarrassed. It seemed to be true. He more or less believed that Xiao Mo was going to pick up Ye Jintang.
After a long silence, he bowed to Mr. Cai.
"Lord Cai should be careful about this matter. I have an unwelcome request. I would like to ask Lord Cai to go to the palace and ask the emperor to give us a definite answer."
"If this matter is a misunderstanding, we, the ministers, can rest assured. If it is true, we hope that the emperor can let us know how to deal with Queen Ye."
Several other court officials also stood up, hoping that Lord Cai would ask Xiao Mo for clarification.
"You guys, okay, then I'll go there for you."
Lord Cai was also helpless. This matter was of great importance. If he did not give an explanation to the court officials, things would become more and more difficult.
Officials who were familiar with Lord Cai could come and ask a few questions, but those who were not familiar with Lord Cai could only gather together with a few familiar people to discuss.
Some upright people are already prepared to commit suicide by hitting their heads against the pillars tomorrow morning.
In the afternoon, the entire Wutong Palace was in a panic. All the palace maids and eunuchs were questioned one by one, and anyone who spread rumors would be arrested.
The more Ye Jintang acted like this, the more some people felt that she was guilty.
If she wasn't guilty, why would she investigate so strictly?
Xiao Mo, who was handling state affairs in the imperial study, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard what Lord Cai said.
"Just as you guessed, Mr. Cai, I wore a human skin mask to pick up Jintang, not as the rumors said."
"Your Majesty, don't you think this is strange? This rumor came at a perfect time, just on the day when the Empress returned to the capital."
"I have already sent secret guards to investigate. There are only two possible results. One is that someone does not want my ascension to the throne to be too smooth and wants to use the Queen's matter to embarrass me and make me a joke."
"One is that someone is targeting the Queen, wanting to pull her down from the throne and replace her."
"No matter what his purpose is, this person must be eliminated. If he comes to disgust me, I will let his entire clan go to Ningchuan Prefecture to mine."
Seeing Ye Jintang's dark face today, Xiao Mo felt murderous in his heart. Whoever made his wife unhappy would be made to cry by him.
"The Emperor's Holy Might."
Lord Cai was very pleased that Xiao Mo was more meticulous than he had imagined.