Chen Yu searched through all the courtyards of the Prince Yan's mansion and finally found Hong Yu in an abandoned kitchen.

Hongyu lay lifeless on the ground, her clothes tattered and her body covered in wounds. Clearly, the incriminating document was the result of torture.

Touching Hongyu, who had no pulse, Chenyu burst into tears and hurriedly placed her on dry grass to administer acupuncture.

Just then, she heard footsteps outside, but she paid them no heed. A moment later, she smelled smoke. Turning around, she saw that a raging fire had already broken out at the doorway. Looking around, she saw that the only two windows were sealed shut. It turned out that Zhang Changle had planned this all along, intending to burn her and Hongyu to death.

She dragged Hongyu to the corner of the wall. Just as the fire was about to engulf them, she heard hurried footsteps outside. There was hope; Cuiwei and Jiu'er must have brought reinforcements.

------

When Chen Yu awoke, she saw the Duchess sitting gracefully by the bedside, her face kind and a smile playing on her lips. However, those tender, peach-blossom eyes reminded her of Liu Yu, and tears streamed down her face as she wept silently.

"Yu Yu, don't be sad. With me here, no one will dare to harm you. The Crown Prince is just my nephew. I just scolded him severely and took you back to Cheng Garden."

Chen Yu was startled and hurriedly asked, "Where is Hong Yu?"

Seeing that the Duchess was silent with her head down, she became even more anxious and struggled to get up and get out of bed.

The Duchess pressed her back onto the bed and said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince has already sent Hongyu to the yamen for imprisonment. Before you rescued Hongyu, did you consider your own safety? If Cuiwei and Jiu'er hadn't come to your rescue in time, you would probably have perished in the fire."

It turned out that Cuiwei and Jiu'er were waiting for Chenyu outside the Yan Prince's residence. An hour passed, and Chenyu still hadn't come out, so they went to the palace to ask the Empress for an audience. However, the Empress and the Emperor were not in the palace, so the two had to ask the Duchess for help.

As the Crown Prince's maternal aunt, the Duchess naturally had the power to suppress him, but... Hongyu had already signed and sealed the agreement, and the Crown Prince refused to release her. Helpless, the Duchess could only rescue Chenyu.

Tears streamed down Chen Yu's face as she knelt on the bed, pleading, "Madam, please let me out. I need to go to the palace to see the Emperor. If he knows about the Crown Prince's actions, he will surely help me, and Hongyu will be saved."

"Today is the 29th. The Emperor and Empress have already gone to the temple. I suppose the Crown Prince knew this, which is why he dared to cause trouble at Prince Yan's residence. Don't worry, Yu Yu, I've already sent Yanran with Cuiwei and Jiu'er to invite the Emperor. But..."

Seeing the Duchess's furrowed brows, Chen Yu quickly informed her of the destruction of the evidence. However, the Duchess remained troubled and sighed, "This is not a long-term solution. Since ancient times, the eldest son has always succeeded to the throne, but the Crown Prince is ruthless. He plotted to kill the Second Prince and the Eighth Prince on the battlefield, and colluded with ministers to fabricate lies. The Emperor and Empress naturally believe that the two princes died for the country. Now, the Crown Prince also wants to eliminate Prince Yan."

"Does Madam have a good plan?"

"The long-term solution is to force the emperor to depose the crown prince."

At noon, Shen Yu, covered in dust, hurriedly arrived at the yamen.

In the hall, the Emperor and Empress sat upright, while the Crown Prince and Zhang Changle knelt in the center. Another person lay across a wooden board. Upon closer inspection, it was Hongyu, her body still covered in blood, but thankfully she was breathing.

Shen Yu couldn't help but burst into tears, and cried out in a sorrowful voice, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, this morning the Crown Prince and Zhang Chang Le sealed off the Yan Prince's residence and subjected Hong Yu to severe torture..."

"Father, I originally intended to relieve your worries and presumptuously investigate the case of Prime Minister Zhang. However, I never expected that Zhang Hongyu and Zhang Lianxiang were indeed conspiring to murder Prime Minister Zhang, and the evidence is overwhelming..."

With a loud "bang," the Emperor suddenly grabbed the gavel and smashed it hard against the Crown Prince's forehead.

The prince quickly covered his mouth with his hand, and in his pain, blood began to flow from between his fingers.

Chen Yu was terrified and knelt silently to the side. In fact, the Emperor's anger was all because of her scheme. She and the Duchess conspired to depose the Crown Prince, and the first step was to ruin his reputation.

So she instructed the Beggars' Sect to spread rumors that the Crown Prince had burned down the Prince Yan's mansion and framed Consort Yu. The Emperor and Empress, who had just come out of the temple, rushed to the yamen upon learning of this.

After reading Hongyu's confession, the Emperor and Empress were both shocked. Could it be that the two concubines of Prince Yan were murderers? If they were punished, it would damage Prince Yan's reputation; if they were not punished, the confession had already been signed, and it would be difficult to explain to the court officials.

Seeing this, Shen Yu quickly took out the letter written by Grand Tutor Zhang and handed it to the yamen runner beside her. She said sadly, "Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress, Grand Tutor Zhang was so grief-stricken upon learning of Zhang Chang Le's severe torture of Zhang Hong Yu that he fell ill and was bedridden. He wrote this letter and asked me to deliver it to Your Majesty."

The Emperor nodded, opened the document, and carefully read it. He then learned that Lianxiang, Hongyu, and Changle were all daughters of Grand Tutor Zhang. In the letter, Grand Tutor Zhang earnestly requested the Emperor to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure that Hongyu's innocence was cleared.

The Emperor looked at the confession document again and was troubled. He could only sigh that the Crown Prince had acted rashly and caused such trouble!

Seeing the Emperor's furrowed brow, Shen Yu was secretly pleased, knowing that the Emperor intended to favor Prince Yan. After all, both Zhang families were outsiders, while Prince Yan was the Emperor's own flesh and blood.

She had already devised a plan: as long as the major case of plotting to murder Prime Minister Zhang was downplayed and classified as a struggle between sisters, the emperor's worries could be relieved.

"Your Majesty, yesterday, Lady Zhang mistakenly ingested the withered grass brought back by Prime Minister Zhang and unfortunately died. In his rage, Prime Minister Zhang had all the servants of the Grand Tutor's mansion beaten to death. When Lianxiang heard Hongyu mention this, she returned to the Grand Tutor's mansion to comfort him, but unexpectedly, she was caught in a fire and perished in the flames. This is a misfortune for the family. However, Changle, out of jealousy of Hongyu and Lianxiang, framed them for murder and even instigated the Crown Prince to support her."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded repeatedly, finding the explanation ingenious. It both exonerated Hongyu and protected the reputation of Prince Yan, while also bringing the case to a satisfactory conclusion.

However, Zhang Changle was furious. He crawled forward on his knees, grabbed Chen Yu, and beat and cursed her: "Mu Chen Yu! You poisoned my mother, but you framed my uncle for it. I will beat you to death..."

"Stop!" The Emperor was furious, then speechless with astonishment. The Crown Prince pulled Zhang Chang Le back, and Zhang Chang Le took the opportunity to sob softly in the Crown Prince's arms.

Zhang Changle is Zuo Zhen's wife. What kind of behavior is this from the Crown Prince!

The Empress's expression also changed drastically, and she rebuked, "How dare you! Hugging and embracing in the courtroom, how absurd!"

The Crown Prince hurriedly pushed Zhang Chang Le away, his forehead hitting the ground with a thud. He pleaded, "Father, Mother, Hong Yu did indeed participate in the plot to murder Prime Minister Zhang. There are witnesses, physical evidence, and a confession all available. I beg Father to punish Hong Yu severely according to the law!"

The Crown Prince didn't seem inclined to resolve the matter amicably, or even avoid it altogether? The Emperor was even more disappointed, having already concluded that the Crown Prince was indeed engaging in fratricide, intentionally targeting the Yan Prince's residence. Since the Crown Prince refused to let the Yan Prince's residence off the hook, let's see how Chen Yu tries to exonerate herself.

Then, the Emperor looked at Chen Yu and asked, "Mu Chen Yu, you said that Prime Minister Zhang took the withered grass to the Grand Tutor's mansion. Do you have any evidence? If you can prove it, I will clear your name."