Shen Wan knew that Xie Jingyan had come to the palace to investigate the poisoning of the pastries, but why was Consort Zheng punished?

If Consort Zheng was the one who poisoned her, it wouldn't be as simple as just having the Phoenix Seal taken back. After all, the Phoenix Seal wasn't originally hers. And how did Consort Wang suddenly get promoted?

Dong'er only reported two sentences, but they raised more than two questions for Shen Wan.

Before Shen Wan could even finish guessing, Yin Shuang had already asked, "How did His Majesty promote Wang Zhaoyi?"

Yinshuang asked casually, not expecting Dong'er to know so much, but who would have thought that Dong'er actually knew.

Dong'er said, "The Emperor took back the Phoenix Seal that Consort Zheng had been holding on his behalf and gave it to Consort Wang. Eunuch Yuan said that Consort Wang's rank was not high enough and that the Empress Dowager might not agree. Then the Prince said, 'You can't stop the Emperor over such a trivial matter as not having a high enough rank?' And then the Emperor promoted Consort Wang..."

Shen Wan, "..."

Not enough rank...

Then elevate his rank to be qualified to take over the Phoenix Seal.

When it comes to problem-solving skills, the Emperor is the best.

Wang Zhaoyi was stunned by this unexpected windfall.

She gave birth to the eighth prince, but only rose to the rank of Zhaoyi. For so many years, she diligently sent food to the emperor every few days, but she still couldn't get promoted. With just one sentence from Prince Ling, she was not only promoted to Shufei, but also got to hold the Phoenix Seal.

Wang Zhaoyi herself was afraid she was dreaming when she pinched herself; she only dared to believe it when a palace maid pinched her.

She never even dared to dream of such a wonderful thing.

Phoenix Palace.

Empress Song was copying palace rules.

She knew that Xie Jingyan had brought poisoned pastries to the palace to find the Emperor, and she also knew that the Emperor had summoned Consort Zheng for questioning. It wasn't her who suggested that Consort Zheng recommend the Emperor to bestow pastries upon the officials, so this trouble wouldn't affect her. Therefore, she remained relatively calm. However, neither Shen Wan nor Xie Jingyan ate any of the pastries; only a dog was poisoned to death, which greatly disappointed Empress Song.

After copying a page of palace rules, a palace maid hurried in and informed Empress Song that the Empress had been promoted to Consort Wang.

Swish.

The composure on Empress Song's face was shattered.

His gaze suddenly turned cold.

Her worst fears came true.

Because of Consort Chen's involvement, Prince Ling is unable to directly participate in the struggle for the throne. This means he will support the Eighth Prince. If the forces behind Prince Ling are truly at his beck and call and follow him in supporting the Eighth Prince, then it will no longer be just her son Xie Jingyin and the First Prince vying for the position of Crown Prince, but three people competing for it.

Ever since Consort Chen's incident, she had stopped taking Prince Ling seriously. She never expected that he would grow so quietly that he could threaten her coveted position as crown prince.

Even with all that scheming, they couldn't escape with their lives; they were truly resilient.

...

After receiving the news, Shen Wan waited for Xie Jingyan to return to the mansion. After a short while, Xie Jingyan returned.

Shen Wan went up to her and asked, "Have you found out who poisoned the pastries?"

Xie Jingyan said, "The pastries were made by the Imperial Kitchen for the Empress Dowager at the behest of Prince Cheng, while the pastries bestowed upon the officials by the Emperor were arranged by Empress Song through Consort Zheng."

Shen Wan guessed that Empress Song wanted to poison her, but she didn't expect that Prince Cheng was also involved.

They had previously thought that since they had saved the life of Prince Cheng, Prince Cheng would at least remember their kindness in saving his son and wouldn't help Xie Jingyin deal with them, even if he didn't support Xie Jingyan. But instead, Prince Cheng not only didn't appreciate their kindness, but even repaid kindness with enmity and helped Xie Jingyin take their lives.

Shen Wan grew angrier the more she thought about it, while Xie Jingyan remained much calmer.

He recommended Lord Chen to serve as Minister of Rites, but Prince Cheng strongly opposed it and instead recommended the Earl of Anding. Xie Jingyan saw through this.

Their rescue of Crown Prince Cheng will not shake Cheng's determination to support Xie Jingyin.

If King Cheng could even cover up the poisoning of his son, how much more so would they?

Shen Wan said dejectedly, "We almost harmed Doctor Tao's family, and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it?"

Xie Jingyan said, "I interrogated all the palace servants who had touched the pastries and food boxes, but I couldn't find any loopholes."

One was the emperor's own brother, and the other was the empress, who was the mother of the nation.

Without solid evidence, it's impossible to bring them down.

Shen Wan also realized that she was just indulging in wishful thinking.

Fortunately, no one was killed; it's just a pity for the dog.

In her previous life, Prince Cheng had hidden himself too well. She didn't even know that he was the one supporting Xie Jingyin. In this life, Xie Jingyin was being pushed back step by step by them, which forced Prince Cheng, who was secretly supporting Xie Jingyin, to reveal his true colors. She just didn't understand why Prince Cheng would support Xie Jingyin instead of following the Empress Dowager in supporting the eldest prince.

Did the Empress Dowager know that Prince Cheng and she were not of one mind?

Xie Jingyan didn't find any evidence to get the Emperor to punish Prince Cheng and Empress Song for today's events, but he still managed to stir up trouble.

The Emperor punished Consort Zheng for being manipulated, handed the Phoenix Seal to Consort Wang, and assigned her the responsibility for investigating the poisoning of the pastries.

Xie Jingyan asked, "Is there any need to investigate this case anymore?"

The Emperor frowned. "Without evidence, I cannot seek justice for you and Princess Ling."

Xie Jingyan said, "With such a meticulous plan, do you think the person behind it would leave any clues for me to investigate? On the contrary, Uncle Cheng even noticed that the Empress Dowager had a poor appetite, but he is very fair in matters of court. Not only did he not favor the eldest prince whom the Empress Dowager strongly supported, but he also repeatedly recommended the Prince of Jin. Since you are hesitant to make a decision on the heir apparent, you can ask Uncle Cheng in front of all the civil and military officials who is more suitable to be the heir apparent, the eldest prince or the Prince of Jin."

After saying this, Xie Jingyan took his leave.

When he left, the emperor's brows were furrowed.

It is clear that the Emperor has not noticed that Prince Cheng has been frequently recommending court officials recently, and all of them are people from Prince Jin.

King Cheng had repeatedly recommended Prince Jin's people first, and the pastries were made by the royal kitchen at King Cheng's behest...

The emperor could not help but become suspicious.

Xie Jingyan didn't expect the Emperor to believe that Prince Cheng was secretly supporting Prince Jin, but once the seed of doubt was planted, it would eventually take root, sprout, and bear fruit.

Shen Wan gave jewelry to Madam Tao and the others to calm their nerves. Shen Wan was frightened because of the pastries bestowed by the Emperor, so the Emperor naturally wanted to calm her nerves as well. When Shen Wan woke up from her afternoon nap, the Emperor's reward for calming her nerves arrived.

The two large boxes of good stuff were sent by Eunuch Yuan.

The gifts were plentiful, but they couldn't soothe Shen Wan's frightened heart. What made Shen Wan even more depressed was that there was even worse news.

After Eunuch Yuan left, Shen Wan went to the study to find Xie Jingyan. Just as she entered the study, a guard jumped in through the window and reported to Xie Jingyan, "In the Meizhou granary case, Prince Jin's men found the ledgers for selling grain and obtained the confessions of several grain merchants. They have already been delivered to Prince Jin."

The Meizhou granary case was the key to Prince Jin's downfall of the eldest prince.

The Crown Prince needs to find evidence in the Xizhou Dam embezzlement case, which could also oust the Prince of Jin from his position as Crown Prince.

Shen Wan kept wondering who would be the better player and defeat the other first.

Surprisingly, Xie Jingyin found the evidence first, especially when Empress Song wanted her and Xie Jingyan dead!

That's infuriating!