Chapter 248: Diverting the trouble

It’s so late.

Shen Anan waved her hand, "You decide on the arrangements."

"Yes." Mo Xiang was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and said, "Princess, Qingfeng has been waiting outside for more than an hour. He said he has something important to report."

Shen Anan frowned.

Mo Xiang was soft-hearted and couldn't help but say, "He was punished by his brother-in-law with thirty lashes. He came to our courtyard right after receiving the punishment, and he didn't even have time to apply medicine to his wounds."

How could Shen Anan really hold a grudge against him for reporting the incident? It was he who caused him to be punished. "No matter how serious the matter is, he should put his health first. Let him go back and find a doctor to treat his injury before coming back."

——

There were only a few people left in the kitchen at this time. Fearing that Shen Anan was very hungry, they hurriedly cooked a bowl of thin noodles and brought it over. By the time Shen Anan had finished eating, Qingfeng had also bandaged his wounds and arrived.

"Princess Princess."

"Do you have something important to report?"

"Yes," Qingfeng said with a stern face, "Today in Zuichunlou, I heard a man coughing outside the door of that peach-colored girl."

man? Shen Anan frowned, "Are you sure you didn't hear it wrong?"

"No, I listened for a while. Miss Taofen called the man Sanlang. The man must be in poor health and needs to take medicine for a long time. The two hundred taels of silver were originally prepared by Miss Taofen to buy medicine."

"According to what you said, why did she easily take out the two hundred taels of silver and give it to Qingyue?" Shen Anan frowned and thought.

Qingfeng's face was solemn. "This is the key point. I vaguely heard her say that someone would give her 10,000 taels of silver. Once she got the silver, she would take the man named Sanlang away to find a doctor."

Shen Anan frowned, ten thousand taels of silver was not something an ordinary person could come up with.

"Send someone to keep an eye on Tao Fen and see who she comes into contact with."

"Yes, Princess, do you think it is possible that the one who promised her the ten thousand taels of silver was the Minister of War, Lord Shen?"

"Buy her to give false testimony?" Shen Anan fell into deep thought, "But what's the point of bringing down the Chen family for him? Is it just to make trouble for me?"

Qingfeng couldn’t figure this out for the time being.

"That Sanlang, you should investigate carefully and give me the news tomorrow morning."

After Qingfeng left, Shen Anan asked Mo Xiang to bring the two hundred-liang silver notes over and looked at them repeatedly.

"Princess, what's the problem with this banknote?"

"This is evidence that can speak for itself." She folded it slowly and stuffed it into her sleeve.

Shen Anan didn't even know what time Xiao Yuan came back. She only knew that she felt a scalding temperature suddenly coming from her side. She didn't dare to move, for fear that her waist, which was about to break from fatigue, would suffer again.

Fortunately, Xiao Yuan did not continue to torment her, but just hugged her waist. After a while, the sound of calm and even breathing could be heard.

At cockcrow, the moonlight outside the window had not yet completely fallen into the horizon. Xiao Yuan quietly got up, changed his clothes and washed up, preparing to attend the morning court.

"Be good," he bent down and kissed the sleeping woman on the forehead before leaving with satisfaction.

"Let Mo Xiang persuade the princess not to leave the palace unless necessary."

Qing An, "...Master, she is the prince's wife's person, I'm afraid she won't listen."

"Aren't you familiar with that girl?"

“…When? How come I don’t know?” Qing’an looked confused.

"Useless thing." Xiao Yuan glanced at him sideways and strode out of Wutong Garden, leaving Qing'an standing there in a mess with an innocent and confused look on his face.

——

At the morning court session, the eardrums were shaken by the heated discussions of the censors. The same thing was talked about over and over again, which made people bored and annoyed.

"Fourth Brother, what do you think?" The emperor looked at Xiao Yuan, and everyone in the hall fell silent.

"Your Majesty, I don't think much of it. It's not me who is being attacked, so what does it have to do with me?"

“…”

After a few moments of silence, the quarrel started again, and the emperor's head hurt. "Okay, it's not worth talking about such a trivial matter in the court."

"Your Majesty, this is not a trivial matter." The censor said righteously, "Mr. Shen was promoted by you. He is the embodiment of your majesty. But he does not know how to work diligently. Instead, he uses his mind to do crooked things, seeking fame and reputation. For his own selfish reasons, he uses the children of officials to attack. With such evil deeds, how can he continue to be in the court?"

"That's right. I have never heard of a government official's son being sent to jail for a lowly prostitute. Lord Shen, even if you want to publicize your reputation for being honest and upright, you should know when to stop."

"What you mean," Shen Yunbai glanced at the man who had just spoken, "is that the sons of officials are human beings, but the prostitutes are not human beings?"

His words caused dissatisfaction among many adults who had playboys in their families.

"Since ancient times, the classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans have been divided, not to mention the lower classes. Those women can sell their most important reputation for silver. What is the difference between them and the livestock who have sex casually on the street? How can they be compared with the children of officials?"

An early morning court session to accuse Shin Yun-baek turned into a debate about the status of brothel women.

A small group of people looked at the emperor's expression and engaged in a fierce confrontation with the censors.

"Buddhists often say that all living beings are equal. When we entered the court as officials, we also believed in what the saints said. The prince who broke the law was punished the same as the common people. What you all mean is that the son of the Chen family is more noble than the prince."

"Shen Yunbai, stop talking nonsense!" The Chief Censor shouted, his face full of anger, "It's obvious that you are using this case to win over the people and build momentum for yourself, and you are still so pretentious."

Shen Yunbai sneered, "You are narrow-minded, you value power over the people, and you want everyone to be like you. Anyone who is an exception will be regarded as seeking fame and reputation in your eyes, and you will attack them. If this continues, which official in the Daliang court will dare to speak for the people and be willing to serve as a ladder for the people?"

"You, you are good at speaking and arguing." The censor's face turned red when he was blocked.

"There are witnesses and physical evidence in this case. The young master of the Chen family even admitted that he had an affair with the woman. According to the law, he should be sentenced. As censors, you should speak out for justice regardless of your life or death."

"But now, in this court, they are forgetting the public interest for their own sake, protecting officials and trampling on the people's livelihood."

He was like a messenger of justice, criticizing everyone with a resounding voice.

"You...you are such a silver-tongued person..." The Chief Censor was so angry that he was shaking all over and couldn't think of any words to explain.

The emperor narrowed his eyes, leaned back in the dragon chair and watched the farce, seemingly having no intention of taking any action.

Shen Yunbai had already gained the upper hand. Several people frowned and looked at each other. After a brief eye contact, they all glanced at Xiao Yuan who was silent on the side.

? ? ? Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows and looked at the few people lazily.

"Fourth Prince, we suspect that Lord Shen used his power for personal gain and used that prostitute to gain fame and reputation. Tomorrow the Dali Temple will preside over the trial. We ask the Fourth Prince to come forward and seek fairness and justice."

"Haha." A sneer suddenly rang out from the crowd. Ling Chenyi stepped out of the team and looked at the adults with a half-smile, "You all are good at diverting trouble, aren't you?"

"Is it because I can't resist it myself that I have to use the Fourth Prince as my thug?"

The expressions of several people changed slightly, and the Chief Censor said, "Prince Ling, you can't say that. As a prince, the Fourth Prince has the responsibility and obligation to clean up the court and maintain the integrity of the officialdom."

"Then what are you censors for?" Li Huaiyan also stood up. "You pick a problem and can't solve it, so you just hide your head and talk about responsibility and morality to constrain others to clean up your mess?"

"This, you guys,"

"Alright." Xiao Yuan's calm voice was like a clear spring, giving the adults who were being scolded a moment to breathe.

"If you keep talking, what if the Chief Censor bangs his head against the pillar out of shame? Wouldn't you be in big trouble?" Xiao Yuan glanced at Li Huaiyan and Ling Chenyi, waved his hand lazily, and asked the two to return to their seats.

"Fourth Brother, do you mean to say that you are willing to accept the requests of several adults?" The emperor said calmly, playing with the jade ring.

"Since there is no clear answer to the dispute, I, your son, will go there reluctantly for the sake of your father's peace of mind."

"Minister Shen, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I will obey your Majesty."

The two men's eyes met for a brief moment, and the emperor made the final decision. The Dali Temple would preside over the trial tomorrow, and Shen Yunbai and Xiao Yuan would be in attendance to judge the case.