Sheng Lengshuang understood the chain reaction, her eyes turning cold. "No wonder the Black Hand targeted the head of the merchant guild. I must say, this move is truly vicious."
"This case also involves me. The uninformed public, for their own sake, will vent their anger on me. With instigation from those with ulterior motives, I will become the target of public criticism."
Mo Lingxi comforted her, "Don't worry, His Majesty and I will handle this matter properly."
Sheng Lengshuang knew this was not an easy matter to resolve. "I worry this is just the beginning. The Black Hand has been inactive for so long, and now they make such a large move. I fear more people will die."
Both Mo Lingxi and Zi Cheng understood this point.
"Auntie, don't worry too much. Uncle and I can handle it. If it really comes to it, we can pin it on Sima Min. By involving the people's livelihood, the public's attention will be completely diverted."
"Your Majesty, let the Imperial Observatory come forward."
Zi Cheng lightly tapped his left palm with his right fist, praising, "Uncle is indeed brilliant! How could I have forgotten the existence of the Imperial Observatory? With the Imperial Observatory stepping forward, this matter will be much easier to handle."
Sheng Lengshuang thought of the role of the Imperial Observatory in ancient times. "..." From these aspects, the Imperial Observatory was indeed the best solution.
Mo Lingxi said, "Your Majesty, if the Imperial Observatory doesn't say too much, the more the public speculates, the better it is for us in some ways. If it's confirmed, it will instead give the Black Hand an opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Zi Cheng quickly went to handle the matter.
Thus, the public learned of the events detected by the Imperial Observatory from the announcement.
"Sigh, it's those women in the harem again. They are truly too idle."
"It's not necessarily the concubines in the harem. The announcement didn't explicitly state that concubines did it. However, are the concubines in the harem out of their minds, being jealous that His Majesty is good to Miss Sheng, and constantly plotting against her?"
"Fighting for favor? I don't care about that. I only care about the year of tax reduction His Majesty mentioned. His Majesty is truly a good emperor. With a year of tax reduction, our lives will be much easier this year."
"Yes, yes. Without a year of taxes, how much money can we save, and how many good things can we prepare? Anyway, with His Majesty arranging matters for the merchant guild, we common people don't have to worry about our lives at all."
"Hahaha, I've never worried. I only worry about whether I can earn more money."
The panic originally caused by the murder of the head of the merchant guild completely disappeared under this announcement. The vast majority of the public was busy working hard, grateful to the current emperor, and thinking about earning more money this year. No one paid much attention to the case anymore.
This infuriated Sima Min.
"That slut Sheng Lengshuang is too lucky! Such a brilliant plan, and she even has His Majesty protecting her!"
"What are you panicking about?" A Wu sat in a chair, crossing his legs. "If a few more people die, it will cause panic. At that time, even with His Majesty protecting Sheng Lengshuang, under the public's outrage, His Majesty will have to deal with Sheng Lengshuang for the sake of the empire."
Sima Min felt much better upon hearing this. "You're right, a few more people need to die. Who are you planning to kill next?"
A Wu knew her intentions. "I know you want to kill General Sheng and his wife, and Young Master Mo, but these three are not easy to kill, and it's easy to expose our plan. It's better to start with ordinary people to cause more panic."
Sima Min truly wished she could kill General Sheng and his wife and Xiao Feng immediately, so that Sheng Lengshuang would suffer, but she also knew that it was not easy to kill General Sheng and his wife and Xiao Feng.
She had previously sent people to assassinate General Sheng and the other two, but the result was naturally a failure.
"Alright, kill more ordinary people. I'll wait to see Sheng Lengshuang suffer."
She had become this way entirely because of that slut Sheng Lengshuang, and she would not let that slut off lightly.
...
Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi, father and son, went to the outskirts of the capital to check on the bamboo planting situation, and also to move out of the palace. Xiao Feng's injuries had improved a lot, and there was no need for him to continue recuperating in the palace.
"It's better outside the palace," Xiao Feng said, hopping around with great joy. "Mother, you don't know, the expressions of those princes and princesses. They were clearly very jealous and disliked me, yet they had to pretend to be close to me."
If it weren't for his elder brother, he would have really wanted to slap those princes and princesses.
Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi exchanged a smile. This child...
"Xiao Feng, in the future, these princes and princesses will surely invite you to play. You are their young uncle," Sheng Lengshuang teased.
Xiao Feng's body stiffened, and he almost rolled off the ridge. "Mother, can you not mention that? Just thinking about those princes and princesses calling me uncle makes me feel sick."
"During this time, I've seen too many people who say one thing and mean another."
Sheng Lengshuang's smile faded slightly. "How many people in this world don't say one thing and mean another? Xiao Feng, you need to understand that not everything can be said truthfully. Sometimes, you have to tell a white lie, or cover up a lie for certain reasons."
Before Xiao Feng could say anything, Mo Lingxi quickly declared, "Wife, I swear by heaven and earth, I have never lied to you, nor have I ever covered up any lie."
Sheng Lengshuang glanced at him sideways, amused. "I wasn't talking about you. Why are you in such a hurry? Did you do something to betray me?"
Mo Lingxi waved his hands, denying it. "I have truly never done anything to betray you."
Sheng Lengshuang deliberately teased him. "Has Prince Mingrui ever heard the saying? A guilty conscience? Your behavior is like someone with a guilty conscience."
"...Wife, you're framing me. How would I dare to steal?"
"Whether you steal or not, I don't know."
Sheng Lengshuang saw Xiao Feng running away, and had a随从 follow him, instructing, "Xiao Feng, don't run around, understand?"
Xiao Feng crisply replied that he understood. He didn't want to stay and be 'hurt' by his parents anymore.
As Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi arrived at the foot of the mountain, they saw a vast expanse of lush green bamboo. Occasionally, they could hear the calls of chickens, ducks, and geese. In a trance, it felt like returning to Shilipo Village.
There was a fence at the foot of the mountain, with people watching. There were also many people working in the mountains.
Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi walked slowly.
Sheng Lengshuang looked at the bamboo. "They all look quite good. It will be very cool here in the summer."
One of the drawbacks of ancient times was the extreme heat in summer. There was no air conditioning, one couldn't wear too little, and ice was expensive and scarce.
Mo Lingxi protected her. "We'll move here in the summer, but there will be more mosquitoes and insects."
Sheng Lengshuang couldn't help but think of modern mosquitoes. Indeed, no matter the era, mosquitoes were a very annoying species.
As they walked, they occasionally saw a few chickens or ducks.
When they encountered a few geese walking by, Sheng Lengshuang would dodge far away. These were the overlords of the countryside. Better to offend anyone than these overlords.