Eunuch Yuan wanted to laugh but couldn't, his cheeks aching from holding it in.

The emperor had just threatened the parrot not to scold him, but the parrot scolded him the very next time he turned around.

Moreover, this parrot, which only tries to make the emperor a good person, doesn't act like a good bird itself.

He criticized the Left Prime Minister in the morning and then criticized the Duke of Maoguo in the afternoon.

They were the kind of people who couldn't even talk back when insulted. How could a high-ranking official like the Prime Minister or the Duke possibly argue with a beast?

No matter how annoyed you are, you have to hold it in and pretend you didn't hear it.

King Cheng was even more unlucky. As soon as he entered the imperial study, the parrot flapped its wings and squawked, "That fool is here again."

King Cheng's face turned green. If it weren't for Eunuch Yuan's quick reaction, King Cheng probably would have snapped the parrot's neck on the spot.

Prince Ling was troublesome enough, but even the parrot he gave him was just as troublesome, yet the Emperor still liked it.

It's unclear whether the parrot's curses reflected the Emperor's true feelings, or whether the Emperor was simply extending his affection to the parrot's creatures.

As for Xie Jingyan, after presenting the parrot to the Emperor, he left the palace to return to his residence. Chen Feng said, "If the Princess Consort finds out that Your Highness has given the Princess Consort's parrot to the Emperor, she will probably be angry."

How could Xie Jingyan not know that Shen Wan would be angry with him?

Shen Wan's annoyance with him was only temporary, but if this swearing parrot were left in Moyuxuan, he would be angry every few days.

He was afraid that one day he might lose his temper and kill it, and then Shen Wan would only be angrier.

The best thing would actually be for the Wei family to buy the parrot back, but he couldn't say it outright, because the Wei family wouldn't understand.

Xie Jingyan, riding on horseback, said, "Buy a thrush to take back to the Princess."

Will this work?

Although both thrushes and parrots are birds, they are worlds apart.

However, if you don't buy a good thrush, at most its singing will be a little unpleasant, unlike a parrot that can swear.

Xie Jingyan rode back to the Prince's Mansion, while Chen Feng went to buy a thrush. He bought it quickly, and as soon as Xie Jingyan entered the second gate, Chen Feng caught up with him carrying the birdcage. "Master, the thrush is back."

Xie Jingyan glanced at it and saw two thrushes in the birdcage.

Chen Feng said, "The person selling the thrushes said that these two thrushes were a pair, that they were very close, and that they wouldn't sell them separately, so I bought them both."

The song of the thrush is melodious and clear, like a mountain stream, pleasing to the ear.

Xie Jingyan asked him to buy a thrush, and Chen Feng bought a pair. These were minor matters, and Xie Jingyan didn't take them to heart. However, he soon witnessed how good the two thrushes were.

He first went to the city patrol office, then went to the palace. By the time he returned to his residence, it was already past lunchtime. Shen Wan had already finished lunch and gone to sleep. Xie Jingyan then asked Chen Feng to hang the thrush in the spot where the parrot had been.

When Shen Wan woke up, Xie Jingyan told her that he had presented the parrot that everyone disliked to the emperor, and bought her two pleasing thrushes.

When Shen Wan got up, she went to the corridor to look at the thrushes. The two thrushes were right there in public, oblivious to everyone around them—

mating.

Shen Wan, "..."

Xie Jingyan, "..."

Shen Wan turned her head to look at a certain gentleman.

The gentleman's lips twitched, and he said expressionlessly, "These two thrushes are a pair, that's normal..."

I'm not going to say anything more.

He now wants to kill those two thrushes again.

...

In the early morning, Shen Wan woke up to a series of clear and melodious chirping sounds and sat on the bed to stretch.

Yinshuang and Haitang brought in a copper basin to help Shenwan get up and do her makeup. Xie Jingyan finished his morning exercise, took a bath, and then returned to his room.

The two sat down to eat breakfast, which was not only light, but even the porridge was mung bean porridge to reduce internal heat.

However, as expected of the imperial chef, even the simplest food was delicious. Shen Wan drank two bowls of mung bean porridge alone.

The two ate and chatted in a very pleasant atmosphere, but halfway through the meal, there was a knock on the window.

"Come in."

Before Xie Jingyan could finish speaking, the window was pushed open, and Chen Feng jumped in.

Chen Feng stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, at the morning court session this day, the First Prince reported to the Emperor that no problems had been found in the Xizhou Dam case, and that it was indeed destroyed by spies from Xiliang."

"The Prince of Jin also reported to the Emperor that the people he sent to Meizhou investigated for a long time but found no evidence that the Meizhou granary had been emptied before it was burned down."

Although Shen Wan already knew, her good mood was still clouded when she heard Chen Feng's report.

It's fortunate that there are two princes, who racked their brains and spared no effort to fight for that position. From the beginning, these people valued power more than the common people. If such a person were to be made crown prince and sit in that position, would he be a wise and benevolent ruler who loves his people like his own children?

Entrusting the country to these selfish and self-serving people will inevitably lead to its downfall one day.

Both major cases were reported to the Emperor simultaneously with no problems. Shen Wan didn't believe the Emperor was unaware that the First Prince and the Prince of Jin had negotiated privately. She asked Chen Feng, "What did the Emperor say?"

Chen Feng shook his head. "The Emperor didn't say anything."

They didn't say anything at all?

Isn't the Emperor angry?

Shen Wan looked at Xie Jingyan in disbelief.

Xie Jingyan picked up a piece of pear cake for Shen Wan and said, "The scariest thing is that Father didn't say anything."

Shen Wan thought about it and agreed.

The Emperor was about to unleash his fury, but all the civil and military officials knew he was angry and remained silent. This made the officials, especially Xie Jingyin and the eldest prince, uneasy.

After all, they had obtained irrefutable evidence of each other's embezzlement. While it might not be enough to kill the other, it was enough to secure the crown prince's position.

To avoid a lose-lose situation, they exchanged evidence, which is a crime of deceiving the emperor.

In addition, Xie Jingyan was involved in these two cases to varying degrees. Although Xie Jingyan publicly refused the emperor's arrangement to investigate the cases, no one could guarantee that Xie Jingyan would not investigate the matter privately after refusing the emperor. He even copied the blueprints of the Xizhou Dam several times, which shows how cautious he was.

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