bookrebus Chapter 778 Suspecting Xiao Su
Chapter 778 Suspecting Xiao Su
"What I am saying now is just based on the hexagram. As for the details..."
Prince Su was silent for a long time, then stood up from his seat and turned to Emperor Xiao to speak.
"Your Majesty, I am actually very curious about whether what the hexagram said is true or false. In addition to helping the Women's Academy dispel rumors, I also want to ask Your Majesty's permission to allow me to observe the Women's Academy carefully."
"Uncle Emperor, this..."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will never interfere in the daily affairs of the Women's Academy. I just want to observe from the sidelines."
As he spoke, Prince Su looked at Shen Yanxi.
"I heard that one of the founders of the Women's Academy is Prime Minister Shen's wife. I hope Prime Minister Shen can say a few words for me. I have no ill intentions."
Prince Su spoke in a gentle and polite tone, without any airs, but instead exuding a sense of gentleness.
Although he had not been in the court for many years, he was the uncle of Emperor Xiao after all, and his status and position were different from those of ordinary princes. When he spoke like this at this moment, he was really humble enough that even Emperor Xiao could not refuse.
"Your Majesty, your words are too kind. They really embarrass me and my wife."
"So Prime Minister Shen agreed?"
"I cannot make the decision regarding the girls' academy. Your Highness should ask the Emperor for the final decision." Shen Yanxi said in a similarly gentle tone.
Emperor Xiao had his doubts in his heart and felt that something was not right, but Prince Su's request was not excessive, and his attitude was so high that he naturally had no way to refuse.
"Since it is the uncle who wants to observe, then I will naturally agree. Speaking of which, the Fifth Princess is quite familiar with the Women's Academy. If the uncle has any questions later, he can ask her. This will also inform her in advance, and she must cooperate with the uncle."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
As the banquet ended, the royal relatives who attended the banquet left the palace.
Prince Su and Emperor Xiao entered the imperial study together again.
"Uncle, you suddenly want to observe the Women's Academy. Is it really because of divination?"
Emperor Xiao went straight to the point and directly asked about the doubts in his mind.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. There were many people at the banquet just now, and in order to avoid rumors, I did hide something."
"What did the emperor's uncle hide?"
Prince Su sighed, "Your Majesty, according to the results of the divination, although the Women's Academy is not an ominous place, there is an evil spirit in it, which may collide with and affect the royal family."
Emperor Xiao was stunned.
"Is the emperor's uncle joking with me?"
"Your Majesty, I have been practicing in the Sanqing Temple for many years. If I had not discovered something that would affect the royal family, I would not have rashly left the mountain."
"What about the disaster that the uncle mentioned?"
"This king did predict his own calamity, but the hexagram is hard to discern clearly. Perhaps this calamity is related to the royal family. But there is evil spirit in the girls' academy, this the king is very sure of. That's why I want to observe from the side and find a way to resolve it." Prince Su frowned and spoke seriously.
Emperor Xiao was thoughtful. "According to what the Imperial Uncle said, there is evil spirit in the Women's Academy that is threatening the Imperial Family, so the Women's Academy should be closed. Why is the Imperial Uncle trying so hard to protect it?"
"Your Majesty, according to the hexagram, although the evil spirit comes from the location of the Women's Academy, it is not caused by the opening ceremony of the Women's Academy. Even if it is closed, it may not be able to eliminate the impact. Therefore, I think it is better to keep the Women's Academy, and then observe carefully to find out the cause."
"As for the ominous rumors, they are completely false. It is a girls' academy with so many girls who are dedicated to studying. We should not let them panic or be afraid, or even let them bear the consequences of gossip and criticism."
Prince Su's words were righteous and Emperor Xiao could not refute anything.
Although there was no evidence to support the evil spirit and it could not be fully believed, Prince Su only wanted to observe the girls' academy. Even if there was no such reason, Emperor Xiao would have no reason to disagree with this condition.
The topic ended, and Prince Su chose to return to the palace. After seeing him off, Emperor Xiao sent someone to summon Xiao Yue and told her about the matter.
Let her know that if Prince Su needs anything, she should cooperate.
Of course, Emperor Xiao did not mention the matter of evil spirit in front of Xiao Yue.
After learning that Prince Su spoke for the Women's Academy at the banquet, Xiao Yue readily agreed to this matter. However, after returning to her own palace, she sent someone to deliver a letter to Jiang Suining, Lu Yan and others to inform them of this matter.
When the letter was delivered, Jiang Suining had already learned from Shen Yanxi what happened at the banquet.
"It's a little strange that Prince Su is back." Jiang Suining leaned back in his chair, looking at the message handed to him, his brows slightly furrowed.
Shen Yanxi sat next to Jiang Suining. "It is indeed a little unusual. What he said at the banquet today about divination sounds like a random excuse. But he is the emperor's uncle after all. He has already asked, and it is not an excessive request. The emperor will not refuse."
Although there seemed to be no deep friendship between the emperor and this uncle, he was his elder after all. He had been away from the imperial city for many years and now suddenly came back. If he did not do well, it would inevitably cause discussion among the royal family and court officials.
The emperor has always attached great importance to the reputation of the royal family, so no matter whether he believes this statement in his heart or has other doubts, he will agree on the surface.
Jiang Suining put the letter aside and asked Shen Yanxi, "Have the people you sent to secretly monitor Sanqing Temple been withdrawn?"
"No." Shen Yanxi shook his head. "I plan to have them keep watching. If Prince Su really has any problems, he has stayed in Sanqing Temple for so many years. Although he is back now, there is no guarantee that there will be other actions in Sanqing Temple."
Jiang Suining had the same idea, "That's good. Although there is no evidence now, I think the woman's disappearance case may really be related to Prince Su."
He has an extraordinary status, and must stay in the imperial city to be able to command people...
Prince Su met all the conditions that they had guessed before.
Moreover, the smell of incense and candles found at the beginning can also be linked to Sanqing Temple.
only……
If it really is Prince Su, then what is his motive?
He is of noble status and has great power, so why would he kidnap those women?
Also, if he was really the murderer behind the scenes, then what was his purpose in suddenly proposing to observe the girls' college from the sidelines?
Although he had many doubts in his mind, everything was just speculation at the moment, so Jiang Suining did not talk to Lu Yan, Xiao Yue and the others.
He just told Pei Zhaozhi all this in private so that he could pay more attention to it.
Soon, the news spread that the Women's Academy, far from being ominous, was beneficial to Beiyang State, and most of the students who had left the academy before came back.
There are even parents who had never thought about it before, but are now starting to think of ways to send their daughters to girls' colleges.
All of a sudden, the women's academy became popular.