Chapter 227: Demotion

The incident that Qu Ling caused in Prince Yi's mansion was reported to the emperor.

An imperial censor from the Censorate finished his accusation against Qu Ling, and several clan members echoed him.

The emperor directly ordered Qu Ling to be summoned to the Golden Palace.

Qu Ling knelt in the hall.

Civil and military officials stood on both sides of the hall, and the eyes of the royal family and nobles flashed with anger.

Selling things in front of the palace is simply trampling on the face of the royal family.

"I think you are quite capable," the emperor said, grabbing the imperial censor's memorial impeaching Qu Ling and throwing it in front of her. "Look at what you have done. It's absolutely disgraceful and outrageous."

Qu Ling kowtowed, her voice loud and clear, her attitude upright, "Your servant knows your fault."

"You admit your mistakes faster than anyone else, and you stir up trouble more frequently than anyone else."

"Your Highness will not dare to do that again."

"really?"

"real."

The emperor raised his hand and said, "Okay, go tell the censor and the clan members that you won't dare to do that again."

That’s it?

The censor was dumbfounded.

The clan members who were waiting to vent their anger were also dumbfounded.

"Your Majesty, the princess is arrogant and domineering. She has disregarded the dignity of the royal family and even stabbed the headmaster of Tongjiang Academy. This must not be easily exposed."

Prince Jian couldn't help it.

If that were the case, all their hard work would be a joke.

The emperor glanced over and Prince Jian immediately fell silent.

The emperor in front of me is not as good as the previous one.

That was truly brutal and murderous.

"Uncle Jian is right."

The emperor changed the subject and said, "If I don't punish her, I'm afraid she won't learn her lesson."

Prince Jian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well," the emperor said thoughtfully, "Aren't you very capable?"

"The imperial examination is approaching, and students from Jiangnan are boycotting the exam. Go back to Jiangnan. I am annoyed by you."

"If the issue of the students' boycott cannot be properly resolved, you will never be allowed to return to Beijing."

This sudden turn of events shocked all the civil and military officials in the court.

Several members of the royal family looked at each other in bewilderment. This was not a punishment at all, but an important task entrusted to them.

"Your Majesty," the Minister of Rites stepped out and knelt, "These scholars are originally dissatisfied with Your Majesty's selection of female officials. Wouldn't it be counterproductive for Your Majesty to send the princess?"

The emperor narrowed his eyes, "Then what do you think we should do?"

The Minister of Rites immediately offered a suggestion, "Follow the general trend and cancel the selection of female officials to appease the anger of the scholars."

“Bold!”

The emperor's voice was like thunder. "If they are dissatisfied with my ascension to the throne, should I also follow the trend and abdicate to appease their anger?"

The Minister of Rites turned pale and fell to the ground, trembling. "That is absolutely not my intention."

"As an official appointed by the imperial court, you don't care about sharing my worries, but are actually good at smoothing things over."

The emperor laughed in anger and said, "Come here, remove him from office and exile his entire family."

The guards in the palace immediately stepped forward and took off their official hats.

The Minister of Rites collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. Your Majesty, please have mercy on me."

No one dared to plead for mercy.

Qu Ling's eyes turned slightly cold. This minister surnamed Wang was an old subordinate of Song Guang.

"Your Majesty, calm down."

Zhao Yuanrong wore an apricot-yellow python robe and a jade crown to tie her hair. Although she was a woman, she looked very heroic.

"Lord Wang's words were inappropriate, but his crime doesn't warrant exile. It would be better to dismiss him from his post but not hire him for three years so he can reflect on his actions."

Minister Wang looked at Zhao Yuanrong as if he had seen a savior.

"Just as the prince says," said the emperor.

Minister Wang turned to the Crown Prince and kowtowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness."

The emperor snorted coldly and glanced at the trembling ministers.

Seeing Qu Ling kneeling on the ground and playing with his fingers, he felt amused in his heart, but his face showed extreme displeasure, "Why are you still kneeling? Stand aside, you're an eyesore."

Zhao Yuanrong immediately stepped forward and grabbed Qu Ling.

The moment the two sisters' eyes met, Qu Ling blinked almost imperceptibly.

Having just been demoted, no one dared to object to Qu Ling's trip to Jiangnan at this time.

The throne room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Many officials were already sweating profusely.

Imperial Censor Zhang Jing stepped out of the ranks and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to report."

"explain!"

The emperor was still furious, and everyone in the hall was trembling with fear.

"The case of Prince Ping has been thoroughly investigated by our officials and is a true injustice."

Zhang Jing's voice was as steady as a bell. "All the evidence was fabricated by Prince Yi in an attempt to frame me."

Old Prince Jian's expression changed.

Zhang Jing calmly pulled out an account book from his sleeve. "This is the secret account book of Prince Yi's mansion. It clearly records the money used to bribe witnesses, as well as the bribes received by certain officials."

Things like this shouldn't be easily found.

Not only was it not destroyed, it was actually placed together with the account books.

He suspected it was fake.

But it also complements the evidence found by Jiang Yanzheng and the Dali Temple.

Perhaps, someone intervened in Prince Yi's Mansion in advance to check and placed the account books in a conspicuous place.

Zhang Jing's gaze unconsciously fell on Qu Ling.

Seeing that her eyes were dull and she seemed to have no interest in state affairs, he felt complicated for a moment.

The emperor took the account book from the eunuch and flipped through a few pages. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "This is a great trick to frame someone."

Prince Yi is dead.

The emperor beat the general of the Jinwu Guard so hard that he could not get out of bed, and ordered the Dali Temple to cooperate with the Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate the cause of death.

Seemingly fair.

In fact, the General of the Jinwu Guard is the son of Prince Yi.

It's only been a few months.

Prince Yi's mansion went from being a hot spot to being involved in treason.

One cannot help but suspect that everything is controlled by the emperor.

After all, Qu Ling is just a princess and doesn't have that much ability.

The emperor looked around at the silent courtiers in the hall and said in a voice as cold as ice, "It's such a small matter, and the three courts have been investigating for such a long time, and they still found out that it was Prince Ping who plotted it. I'm afraid someone is trying to take advantage of this."

She stood up, her eyes sharp as a knife, "Pei Jingming went to Yuezhou, when will he be able to return?"

Someone immediately replied, "The prince has a report back to the capital, and will arrive in about three days."

A cold light flashed in the emperor's eyes. "When he returns to the capital, this case will be handed over to him. Also, ask the Imperial Censor Zhang Jing to cooperate and investigate thoroughly for me!"

"Those officials implicated in the Prince Ping case should be executed or punished. I don't believe the sky will fall without these bastards who enriched themselves."

"The Prince Yi's Mansion will be stripped of its title, and all descendants will be demoted to commoners, never to be allowed to enter the capital!"

The clan members looked ashen.

This is the fate of the Prince Yi’s Mansion, the one who stood out. If they dare to jump around again, it will only get worse.

When Pei Jingming returned to Beijing, Qu Ling had already left.

He returned to the Pei Mansion exhausted and listened to the servants talking about the downfall of Prince Yi's Mansion. He said slowly, "Princess, you did a good job on your studies."

Just a little slower.

It doesn’t matter. He has returned to Beijing. Leave the rest to him.

In the candlelight, his bottomless black eyes were filled with bloodthirsty murderous intent.