Inside the room, Shen Wan heard Yin Shuang change the abortion pills, and her head started buzzing.

Yinshuang asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

Shen Wan said, "There's nothing wrong with saving people."

But we can do better.

If Empress Song's personal maid buys abortion pills, it's most likely for malicious purposes. If we send someone to keep a close eye on her, we can definitely catch Empress Song red-handed and remove her from her position as empress.

By switching abortion pills to pregnancy-supporting pills, such a good opportunity slipped away right before our eyes.

Shen Wan felt extremely sorry for her, but little did she know that this packet of pregnancy-preserving medicine not only dragged Empress Song down from her position, but also led her to her doom.

Shen Wan went to the study to find Xie Jingyan. She had just entered when a guard jumped in through the window and reported to Xie Jingyan, "My lord, the Prince of Jin'an has left a letter and departed the capital..."

Has Xie Jingyin left Beijing?

Shen Wan frowned.

Xie Jingyan then asked, "What is the reason for leaving the capital?"

The guard replied, "They said he was bewitched, plotted to harm the eldest prince, committed a grave mistake, and went to find the Crown Prince of Xiliang who had been assassinated and fallen off a cliff and disappeared, so that he could atone for his crime."

Xie Jingyan laughed when he heard this.

Can one atone for one's crimes with meritorious deeds?

Local officials are looking for the Crown Prince of Xiliang, and the Emperor has already sent people to find him as well, so Xie Jingyin is no exception.

Even if Xie Jingyin really finds the Crown Prince of Xiliang, this merit cannot outweigh the crime of murdering the eldest prince.

Moreover, it's highly likely that Prince Cheng was behind the trouble that happened to the Crown Prince of Xiliang. When Xie Jingyin went to find the Crown Prince of Xiliang, Xie Jingyan really suspected that he was there to rescue him or to finish him off.

However, Xie Jingyan knew that seeking out the Crown Prince of Xiliang was merely an excuse Xie Jingyin had made for himself to leave the capital.

Knowing that Prince Cheng had a hidden illness, Xie Jingyan understood why the Empress Dowager had used the imperial pardon to save Xie Jingyin's life.

Although Crown Prince Cheng's condition has greatly improved, no one knows if it will relapse. The Empress Dowager dares not place all her hopes for continuing the family line on Crown Prince Cheng. In order to ensure that Cheng's lineage will not end, she spared Xie Jingyin's life.

Empress Song and Prince Cheng were having an affair, and the Emperor was being cuckolded. The Empress Dowager had even punished Prince Cheng with forty strokes of the cane, so how much more so would Empress Song? As long as Empress Song was alive, her affair with Prince Cheng would eventually be exposed. The Empress Dowager dared not tell the Emperor about this, but she would still protect the Emperor's dignity.

Now that King Cheng's hidden illness has been cured, Consort Zhao is pregnant. If Consort Zhao can get pregnant, Consort Li can too. As long as King Cheng is willing, having ten or eight children is not a problem. Will the Empress Dowager still care about Xie Jingyin's life or death?

Because of Xie Jingyin, the eldest prince and the empress dowager have become estranged. The empress dowager has fallen ill, and the eldest prince, who was allowed to attend the execution, has yet to visit her in the palace.

Xie Jingyin's departure from the capital was a pretense to seek redress from the Crown Prince of Xiliang; his true intention was to escape the Empress Dowager's pursuit.

The guard said, "These days, those who supported Prince Jin have switched their allegiance to the First Prince. Every day, many ministers bring generous gifts to Prince Qin's residence to visit the First Prince."

This was expected and is not surprising.

Xie Jingyin's power has waned, and he has no chance of competing for the position of crown prince. The most promising candidate to be made crown prince is the eldest prince. The ministers who used to oppose Xie Jingyin and the eldest prince are now trembling with fear. If they don't hurry up and apologize and curry favor now, no one will be able to withstand the retribution if the eldest prince actually takes the throne.

However, besides those who switched allegiance to the eldest prince, several others resigned from their official posts.

Although the eldest prince currently has the best chance of winning the throne, Prince Ling also has many powerful ministers supporting him in the court, and in terms of power, he is still above the eldest prince.

They had already chosen the wrong side once. This time, it was only thanks to the Empress Dowager's pardon that Prince Jin's life was spared, and the Duke of Mao and the First Prince did not take advantage of their misfortune to pursue these supporters of Prince Jin.

This time we got through it safely, but what if we choose the wrong side again...?

I dare not think about it.

They were already traumatized after just one time. They wanted wealth and luxury, but if they lost their lives, everything would be in vain.

As long as one remains in the imperial court and participates in the struggle for the crown prince position, one's head is constantly on the verge of collapse. As long as one doesn't gamble, one won't lose.

Regarding Xie Jingyin's leaving the capital with a letter, although he was demoted and his fief was confiscated, Xie Jingyin was still a prince and could not leave the capital without an imperial edict. However, he left the capital under the pretext of finding the Crown Prince of Xiliang and making amends for his crimes. His reason was so good that the censors did not know where to start when they wanted to impeach him. After all, no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. It is a great virtue to know one's mistakes and correct them.

Furthermore, Xie Jingyin plotted to harm the eldest prince, almost killing the prince whom the Empress Dowager wholeheartedly supported. The Empress Dowager even took out the death-exemption token bestowed upon her by the late emperor to save Xie Jingyin's life. To this day, no one knows why the Empress Dowager did this, and the eldest prince's faction dares not kick him while he's down. They remain silent about Xie Jingyin's unauthorized departure from the capital.

No one has even mentioned this matter, and the Emperor hasn't punished him. The person has been away from the capital for two or three days. Punishment requires the person to be present. If Xie Jingyin really finds the Crown Prince of Xiliang, the Emperor may not pursue his crime of leaving the capital without permission. But if he can't find the person, the Emperor will definitely punish him severely.

Therefore, Xie Jingyin's departure from the capital caused no ripples in the court; everything remained calm as if nothing had happened.

The results of the autumn imperial examinations were announced, and the palace examination was held three days later.

The palace examination lasted only one day. The exam was held for one day, and the papers were graded on the same day. The ten best papers were presented to the emperor for review, and the emperor would decide the top three candidates, personally selecting the first, second, and third place winners.

That morning, Xie Jingyan was admiring chrysanthemums in the garden with Shen Wan. They were chatting and laughing when Dong'er came over quickly and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you to the palace."

Shen Wan looked up at the sky.

At this hour, the Emperor should be reviewing the examination papers. How can he summon Xie Jingyan to the palace?

Xie Jingyan also found it strange, and Chen Wan said, "The Emperor is looking for you right now either to decide on the top scholar, or it's something even more important than the autumn examination. You should go to the palace quickly."

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