Three days later.

The second prince walked hurriedly into Yihua Palace.

At that time, the Queen was having lunch.

The nanny beside the Empress was about to reprimand who knew any manners and dared to trespass into the Empress's palace.

But when she saw who it was, she changed her tone and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Second Prince."

When the Empress saw her son in such a state, she put down the bowl in her hand.

The old woman immediately understood and ordered, "You may all leave."

Upon hearing the order, the palace servants who were cleaning around the room quickly tidied up their belongings, lowered their heads, and hurried out of the bedchamber, closing the door behind them.

The second prince sat opposite the empress. He looked at the delicious food in front of him but showed no interest whatsoever. He even looked at the empress with a reproachful gaze.

He said, "Mother, what time is it? How can you still eat?"

The empress remained silent and continued eating.

After she finished eating, she put down her chopsticks and rinsed her mouth before looking at him properly.

"You're here because of your uncle, aren't you?"

The second prince recently learned about what happened back then and was shocked, thinking that his uncle was foolish to risk his life for such a trivial matter!

"Mother, my uncle, as the Left Prime Minister, has helped us a lot over the years."

If the Jia family were to plead for them, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

The Empress looked at her foolish son with extreme pity, "Do you know why he did that back then?"

The second prince shook his head; his uncle had the Jia family behind him.

The Jia family has been a noble family for generations. To put it bluntly, even if the country changes hands, it will not shake the family's status in the slightest.

The Empress said, "When the late Emperor quelled the internal and external troubles of the Great Jin Dynasty, he did not agree to any of the many demands made by the aristocratic families."

Even worse, some have even attempted to suppress powerful families.

Your uncle..."

...

“A scion of a prominent family, yet he only became a mere Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue when he first entered officialdom.”

The once high-ranking Left Prime Minister is now a prisoner, his hands and feet bound to wooden stakes with ropes.

His white clothes were covered in bloodstains, and even the corners of his mouth had traces of blood that had not yet dried.

Jia Liang said with a wry smile, "If I hadn't devised a plan to prevent the marriage between the Marquis of Lin'an and the Marquis of Anyang..."

Given the late emperor's deliberate suppression of clans, how could I possibly have become a person second only to the emperor, above all others?

Song Yanqing stood in front of him and said calmly, "Back then, the aristocratic families joined forces to try to get the late emperor to cede territory as their fiefdoms."

The late emperor, mindful of the contributions made by the aristocratic families to the Great Jin Dynasty, did not deliberately make things difficult for them, and even bestowed favors upon them.

Your ability to become the Left Prime Minister is certainly due to your talent.

But back when the Great Jin Dynasty first came to power, there were so many talented people. Your appointment as Vice Minister of Revenue was already an imperial favor!

Jia Liang stretched his neck, looking indignant, and said, "If it weren't for the marriage between their two families, and the fact that the late emperor was wary of their high positions and power, why would he have suppressed the Jia family, the maternal family of the Marquis of Anyang?"

When Song Yanqing looked at his crazed state, his indifferent gaze was like that of someone watching a dying fish making its last struggle.

He said, "You deceived the Jia family and the old Lady of Anyang, and plotted to abduct the bride halfway."

He also poisoned the loyal and virtuous General Xuan with medicated wine, thus hindering the Marquis of Lin'an.

It seems the old Marquis of Anyang guessed what you were doing, so you resorted to your old tricks, having his wife, your aunt, tamper with his medicine.

When Song Yanqing exposed everything that had happened back then, Jia Liang was consumed by rage, his eyes turning bloodshot. His neck flushed red as he spoke…

"I did not make any mistakes. The fact that I am in this position proves that I did the right thing back then!"

By sabotaging the marriage alliance between the two families, the Jia clan enjoyed twenty years of prosperity in return!

Song Yanqing ignored him and turned to look at Xing Zhi.

Xing Zhi said, "It's all been recorded. Once he signs it, it can be presented to the Emperor."

Song Yanqing thought of how Jia Liang, for his own selfish reasons, had harmed loyal and virtuous people and refused to repent.

He looked at Xing Zhi and instructed him, "Let him suffer more before he dies, don't let him die too easily."

Those who commit heinous crimes will always pay the price before they die!

Upon hearing this familiar rhetoric, Xing Zhi felt a chill run down his spine.

Lu Qiqi had given the same instructions before, telling him to take good care of the two ladies from the Marquis of Anyang's residence.

Xing Zhi said with a complicated expression, "You two really are a perfect match!"

Song Yanqing ignored his teasing and said, "Come out and talk."

The two walked out of the torture chamber, and oil lamps hung on both sides of the dark prison corridor, casting long shadows of the two men.

Song Yanqing cut to the chase, "Has Li Zhenxing's son, Li Qiyuan, been found?"

Xing Zhi said, "This person has been hanging out with the third son of the Marquis of Anchang for many years. Since the Marquis of Anchang's family was raided, Li Qiyuan has been sent to the Jia family's old residence for resettlement."

Song Yanqing said, "Li Zhenxing and Li Minjun have been apprehended. The family should be reunited. How can we leave out Li Qiyuan?"

Xing Zhi said, "I will have someone find Li Qiyuan as soon as possible!"

"After this incident, His Majesty must be even more wary of aristocratic families and will probably not tolerate them."

A glint of fire flashed in Song Yanqing's eyes. "It's time for the wealthy and powerful families to make some moves."

...

Three days later.

The Marquis of Lin'an's residence has once again received good news.

Chen Zirong summoned everyone from the Marquis's residence to the main hall for a meeting.

It was only then that Lu Qiqi realized what an extraordinary gift Song Yanqing had given her.

This morning, Song Yanqing presented in public the evidence of the Left Prime Minister's plot to kidnap his relatives and persecute loyal officials.

When the Marquis of Anyang learned of this, he tried to exonerate her and accused the Shadow Guard of detaining the women of the Marquis's household without distinguishing right from wrong.

Unexpectedly, Song Yanqing presented the emperor with evidence of the Marquis of Anyang's greed for merit.

Chen Zirong laughed loudly, "His Majesty has ordered the execution of the entire Anyang Marquis's family, in order to atone for his father's sins by marrying into the Tatars."

The Left Chancellor was guilty of grave crimes and was sentenced to be cut in half at the waist; his wife and children were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public.

The servants and women of the household were exiled to the frontier, never to be pardoned.

With their great revenge fulfilled, everyone in the Marquis of Lin'an's household was overjoyed.

Chen Xianming's eyes reddened, and his right hand involuntarily clenched into a fist.

Old Madam Chen was in tears, cursing and feeling sorry for her daughter who had suffered such an undeserved calamity.

Chen Ziye and Chen Wenjun were the closest of friends when they were young. Now that the truth has come out, even this grown man has started to shed tears.

Xuan Wenying hugged Madam Chen and cried. She never imagined that her father would die so unjustly, and at the hands of someone he trusted.

No one noticed Ding Wanyue's pale face, which looked as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.

Chen Zirong added, "The heir of the Prince of Libei petitioned His Majesty to allow the Marquis of Lin'an to personally oversee the execution."

His Majesty has granted permission.

Upon hearing that he could personally kill his enemy, Chen Xianming could no longer hold back and exclaimed "Good!" three times.

Chen Ziye also said, "The Prince of Libei is more reliable. I'll accept him as my nephew-in-law!"

Lu Qiqi ignored Chen Ziye's words, fearing that the two elderly people might get too excited and cause something bad to happen.

He then handed the nitroglycerin pills to Qingdai and had someone help the two elderly people take them.

However, Song Yanqing's actions were truly gratifying, and even she had to admire them.