Even Shen Wan couldn't accept such a thing, let alone the Duke of Mao.

The Duke of Maoguo jumped up from his chair in shock, exclaiming, "How could the Empress Dowager possibly use a pardon to save the Prince of Jin?!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards said, "I am only here on orders to deliver a message. As for why the Empress Dowager did this, you should ask her, Duke Mao."

He was patrolling the palace with the Imperial Guards as usual when suddenly this task fell to him.

Because it was noon, and fearing that ordinary people wouldn't have enough time to deliver the pardon to save Prince Jin's life, he was instructed to save the person in time.

As the commander of the Imperial Guards, he usually only listened to the Emperor, but since the Empress Dowager was the Emperor's birth mother, he dared not disobey her.

The commander of the Imperial Guards looked at the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The executioner was the Duke of Maoguo, but the Ministry of Justice would certainly send someone to accompany him. If the Minister of Justice was of too high a rank, then a Vice Minister would accompany him.

The Vice Minister of Justice quickly came over, took the pardon from the Commander of the Imperial Guards, examined it carefully, and then looked at the Duke of Maoguo, "It is indeed the pardon from the Empress Dowager."

"Let me see it."

The Duke of Maoguo reached out his hand, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice quickly handed him the pardon.

Although the Duke of Maoguo had not examined the Empress Dowager's pardon in detail, he had seen it from afar. More importantly, there were only two such pardons in the Great Chu Dynasty: one was in the Yun family, and the other was in the Empress Dowager's possession.

He had seen the fake immunity token from death from the Yun family; it wasn't like that.

But he preferred to believe that the Yun family had used a pardon to save Prince Jin rather than believe that the Empress Dowager would do such a thing.

The reason the Emperor executed Prince Jin so quickly was because the Empress Dowager pressured him, even forcing him to go on a hunger strike.

The Empress Dowager forced the Emperor to actually issue an edict, and then she used the imperial pardon bestowed by the late Emperor to save Prince Jin. What is the Empress Dowager up to?

Duke Maoguo was eager to find the Empress Dowager and get to the bottom of things.

The commander of the Imperial Guards delivered a pardon, meaning that even if Prince Jin desperately wanted his life, it was now gone.

Duke Maoguo took the pardon and left.

Xie Jingyin was still kneeling on the execution platform, completely dazed.

He was prepared to die, but just as they were about to take his life, the Empress Dowager sent the commander of the Imperial Guards with her most prized pardon to save him...

Is he still in death row at the Ministry of Justice, dreaming?

The Left Prime Minister probably guessed something. He quickly went up to the stage, helped Xie Jingyin up, untied the rope binding his wrists, and was about to send Xie Jingyin back to the Prince of Jin's residence.

The Vice Minister of Justice wanted to stop him, but remembering that Xie Jingyan had used the pardon to save the Prince of Yanping's heir last time, the Ministry of Justice had made an exception and allowed the Prince of Yanping's heir to return to the Prince of Yanping's residence for custody. The Prince of Jin's residence was still surrounded, so the Vice Minister of Justice said nothing.

The Prince of Jin left in a sedan chair carried by the Left Chancellor.

Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan stood on the city gate, watching the sedan chair drive away and disappear from sight.

Shen Wan gripped the city wall, and Xie Jingyan held her hand, saying, "Now that they're gone, we should go back too."

Shen Wan still couldn't understand, "Why did the Empress Dowager save him?"

Shen Wan desperately wanted to know what had happened that made the Empress Dowager, who was determined to execute Xie Jingyin, change her mind and, disregarding the feelings of the eldest prince, even slapping herself in the face, to save Xie Jingyin's life.

Xie Jingyan glanced at the eldest prince, who was staggering and being helped away by guards, before saying, "He will know."

Even if he doesn't investigate, the eldest prince will.

Xie Jingyan helped Chen Wan down the steps.

Shen Wan originally planned to watch Xie Jingyin's execution and then stroll around the streets for a while. She was already seven months pregnant, and she would not leave the manor unless absolutely necessary before the baby was born.

But having missed the execution and still filled with unanswered questions, he had no interest in shopping and went straight home.

However, only Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan returned; the eldest prince did not, as he went to the palace.

The Imperial Study.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne for a long time without saying a word.

The emperor was once a prince, and even though he was the eldest son of the late emperor, he still experienced the struggle for the crown prince position and the fratricide.

At that time, he thought that if he became emperor, to avoid the intrigue and backstabbing in the harem, he would only need to marry one empress.

Back then... when he met Consort Chen, he firmly believed that he could do it.

However, after the late emperor bestowed a marriage upon him and Consort Chen, many unexpected things happened within just two months, and he and Consort Chen almost failed to be together.

The empress's position, which originally belonged to Consort Chen, was forced to be given to her cousin, the late empress.

Like other emperors, he also had three palaces and six courtyards.

To this day, he still can't understand how things got so messed up back then. In his heart, he only regarded Consort Chen as Empress, and he even set up a virtual harem for her, trying his best to fulfill the promises he made to her back then. They also spent twelve years living together in mutual support, but in the end, Consort Chen gave him a rude awakening.

Thinking back to that past, the Emperor still felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, wanting to ask Consort Chen why she betrayed him!

He never accomplished any of the things he dreamed of when he was young and impetuous, and now his sons are fighting even more fiercely for the position of heir apparent than he did back then.

The execution was completed by then.

The Emperor closed his eyes tightly. Eunuch Yuan wanted to say a few words of comfort to the Emperor, but he really didn't know where to begin.

He advised the emperor that he had many sons, including Chu Si, and many more.

He only has one life, and he wouldn't dare say that even if he had a lot of courage.

Just as Eunuch Yuan was racking his brains, Xiao Xizi rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered the commander of the Imperial Guards to use a pardon to save Prince Jin..."

Grandpa Yuan's eyes widened.

Did the Empress Dowager save the Prince of Jin?

How is that possible?!

The emperor opened his eyes and said, "What did you say? Say it again."

Xiao Xizi reported again, "Prince Jin is not dead. He was saved by the Empress Dowager's pardon and has already returned to Prince Jin's residence."

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