Chapter 1505: Chapter 1512: Fei’er’s Bridal Gifts (1)

In the next two days, Cai Wei was incredibly busy. Not only did she have to deal with the backlog of affairs inside the palace, but she also had to manage her shops outside the palace grounds. Having been away for several months, many of her shops had run out of stock. For instance, her ginseng shop was now selling not even a single ginseng root, and only empty shelves remained. She needed to dig up a batch of ginseng from her Space to replenish the stock. Then there was Zhenbao Pavilion. Now, Zhenbao Pavilion mainly sells jade, jadeite, and pearls. During the months Cai Wei was absent, the reserves of jade, jadeite, and pearls in Zhenbao Building were almost completely sold out, so she needed to dredge up another batch from the Lingxi River.

The cabbages at the hot pot restaurant had also run out a month and a half ago, so they had no choice but to purchase them at a high price from vegetable vendors. Unfortunately, the expensive cabbages they bought were not only costly but also didn’t taste as good as those provided by Cai Wei. Today, she transported several carts of cabbages from the Space and delivered them to both Bafu Hot Pot Restaurant and Bafu Restaurant, saving them the exorbitant cost.

Mi Fangzhai’s rouge had also sold out because the basic ingredient for making rouge—the fresh flowers—were supplied by the Empress Dowager, and with Cai Wei away, there were no fundamental ingredients to produce rouge. Hence, no rouge could be made. Cai Wei asked Chang Mei to pick several carts of fresh flowers, which were then sorted and packed into boxes, and sent them to Mi Fangzhai by Yang Yong…

After being busy for two or three days, not only she, but Chang Mei was also worn out. It was constantly running back and forth—now to the Lower Lingxi River to dredge up jade ornaments and emeralds, now to pick pearls, now to harvest vegetables and dig up ginseng, now to pick flowers and pack them into boxes. It was so busy that it had no time to rest.

It was then that it remembered its old friend, Brother Ying. Although that bird often quarreled with it and snatched things from it, sometimes it was quite righteous. For instance, Brother Ying would often come by to help when it was working. If it were here now, it could at least help it pick pearls and pack flowers, saving it much labor.

…

After keeping busy for two or three days and nearly finishing the tasks assigned by its master, Chang Mei’s old friend, Brother Ying, finally returned from Liaodan, and it even brought back many letters of secret correspondence between the ministers in the court and Nangong Shi.

Now with irrefutable evidence, as solid as a mountain, Li Kaifeng and his ilk were dumbfounded, leaving them no room to quibble!

Upon receiving the letters, Nangong Yi immediately summoned all the ministers of the court to show them the letters written by the guilty officials to Nangong Shi. Seeing this evidence, the ministers felt indignant and unanimously asked the Emperor to severely punish these treasonous culprits.

Subsequently, on the advice of the ministers, the Emperor ordered the arrest of these wicked officials. Li Kaifeng, his trusted followers, and the network of relationships that Jin Guifei had established in the court over the years, as well as the power base that Nangong Shi had built for himself, all crumbled at the command of Nangong Yi.

When he first returned to the palace, the reason Nangong Yi didn’t immediately arrest the guilty officials was to gather indisputable evidence so he could convince the ministers and swiftly deal with the rebels. Of course, it was also to separate and carefully monitor them, so they wouldn’t be able to contact each other or unite against Nangong Yi, making it easier for him to defeat them individually.

Li Kaifeng, powerful and influential over many years, was naturally unwilling to accept his fate when he fell into prison. However, as Cai Wei said, in the face of absolute martial power, his defiance and resentment were merely childlike emotions. His co-conspirators and he were all locked in the Heavenly Prison, awaiting interrogation by the judiciary.

The interrogation process was extremely lengthy, lasting over a month. After thorough investigation and evidence collection, the crime of Li Kaifeng and others colluding with the abolished prince in a plot to rebel was finally exposed to the world. The crime of rebellion warranted the death penalty, but Nangong Yi, considering Li Kaifeng’s support during his accession to the throne and understanding that his rebellion was driven by the desire to avenge his daughter, Li Ruizhu, could not bear to take his life. Thus, he ordered Li Kaifeng’s military power to be revoked, his property confiscated, and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison to live out his years. His family members were expelled from the General’s Mansion and reduced to commoners, left to fend for themselves.