Chen Weisheng dodged, but he didn't completely escape.

He dodged the cup and saucer, but not the flying shards. A sharp piece of porcelain cut his face, and as soon as he felt the pain, blood began to flow down his cheek.

He was a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, yet he was being treated like this by a prince.

Jiang Yuanlang was in a fit of anger and couldn't see Chen Weisheng's darkening expression and dissatisfaction. His aides, however, noticed and quickly helped Jiang Yuanlang up.

"His Highness has been anxious lately, and things haven't gone smoothly both inside and outside the palace. He has offended Lord Chen, and I hope Lord Chen will forgive him."

What can we do if we don't forgive them?

Of all the officials in the court, only a handful could actually touch Xu Nian. And Xu Nian was the only one with a grudge against him; besides following Jiang Yuanlang, he had no other options.

Thinking of the two thousand five hundred taels he had spent, and the humiliation he suffered at the General's Mansion that day.

Even more so, there were his daughter and beloved's constant tears and self-pity, which caused Chen Weisheng a sharp pain in his heart.

His expression softened considerably. "The situation in the court is turbulent, and it's understandable that Your Highness is anxious." Having grasped this point, he stopped dwelling on it and straightened up, saying, "Right now, even the Crown Prince is biased towards Xu Nian. It's simply unrealistic for us to just throw her into prison."

As Jiang Yuanlang listened to the detailed account of today's events, his face grew increasingly dark.

But he regained a sliver of reason and refrained from further violence. Instead, he sat down, his brow furrowed, and asked, "In your opinion, sir, what should we do now?"

The advisor stroked his beard and pondered for a moment. “Your Highness, I think this is a good thing. The Crown Prince’s help today further proves that the Su family has a close relationship with Xu Nian. She is now Gu Zhan’s fiancée. Our idea of ​​starting with her was absolutely correct.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Since they've brought the Crown Prince into this matter, why don't we just make a big deal out of it? Let's take it to the Emperor. If there's not enough evidence of her disregard for human life, we can at least find a charge against her for not supporting her elders and abusing her clansmen."

Thick, dark clouds have lingered over the capital city for many days, obscuring the sun.

Xu Nian sat in her residence, her heart filled with turmoil. To prevent any further trouble, she had Da Bao and Er Bao secretly sent to the Second Prince's residence.

"Family members, the streamer is going to be in jail." Xu Nian sighed hesitantly, then clutched her heart like Xi Shi, "Please give me some followers, I need your support."

[Haha, it's been a long time since I've seen such a dramatic streamer.]

[What? How did this lead to jail time? Host, please explain.]

She listlessly twirled her hair, the ring on her hand gleaming, while the court on Gu Zhan's side was already in chaos.

Jiang Yuanlang was determined to drag her down with him this time, and he was even willing to expose the matter to the emperor.

Amplify the sound from the ring so everyone in the live stream can hear it clearly: "Did you hear that? The streamer is being targeted by a group of people, I'm so miserable."

The ring clearly transmitted the voices from the court to everyone's ears, and the comments section fell silent for a while.

"The Princess of Fu'an County is an orphan; those are merely relatives. They have sons and daughters. When did our dynasty introduce a clause requiring even cousins ​​to be supported?"

"Lord Wang, you are mistaken. Although these are relatives, the county magistrate of Fu'an took good care of them during their journey to escape famine. However, not only did she not know how to be grateful, she also stole their grain. Using someone else's flowers to offer to Buddha, this act is extremely despicable."

"Has Lord Chen lost his mind? You actually believed everything a village woman said? Have you even investigated the matter thoroughly?"

Gu Zhan stood in the middle of the crowd with a cold face. Just from Chen Weisheng's description, he guessed who they had brought again: Xu Nian's second aunt, Zhao Jinfeng!

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking at the scene below, which was even more chaotic than a vegetable market, with a somber face and remained silent.

He knew many things about Xu Nian's escape from famine, and naturally he knew that this was the Third Prince's faction deliberately causing trouble.

The most important thing now is to find out if she really helped the poor and needy all along, and to find witnesses who witnessed these so-called relatives hurting and abusing her!

He propped his head up with his hand, feeling quite troubled, and searched the remaining few quiet people in the crowd.

A figure standing aloof in the corner, not communicating with any court officials, came into his view. Jiang Mingyun's eyes lit up, and he coughed heavily twice.

The vegetable market below the hall fell silent. "All this noise! ​​Do you think my imperial palace is a vegetable market?!"

"I understand this matter. When it comes to judging a case, we cannot rely on just one side's opinion. This matter needs to be investigated carefully, and it will not be too late to discuss the punishment method after the truth comes out."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuanlang's faction was overjoyed and was about to send someone forward when they saw the emperor beckoning to someone in the corner.

"Yuanqing, come forward." The ministers were stunned, watching Jiang Yuanqing walk past them from the back row. "Fu'an is the county princess personally appointed by me. The prefect of Jingzhou is not suitable to judge this case. Today I appoint you as the presiding judge of this case. You must be fair and impartial, and do not let anyone suffer any injustice."

Jiang Yuanqing's expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Standing there tall, upon hearing this, he simply bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

“Father, my second brother has never been in good health, and I’m afraid he won’t be able to withstand such a long trial. I volunteer to serve as his assistant judge and help him investigate this matter thoroughly.”

Jiang Yuanlang was determined to kill Xu Nian, so how could he accept the unexpected turn of events?

The emperor merely glanced at him coldly, neither refuting nor agreeing. "Yuan Qing's complexion is always much better than usual in winter, but you know your own body best. As for your brother's assistance, do you want him or not?"

He was like an enlightened patriarch, looking at Jiang Yuanqing with a kind and gentle expression.

The other man stood up straight, glanced at Jiang Yuanlang's expression, and smiled. "Third brother, you are very kind. However, I have indeed felt much better since I came in. With your help, I can even take a break. Everything is up to Father Emperor to decide."

I hadn't noticed before, but now that I look at the Second Prince, he's not exactly a saint either.

This back-and-forth with the emperor directly refuted Jiang Yuanlang's excuse that he was in poor health. He also refused to make the decision himself, respecting the supreme authority of the emperor.

Jiang Mingyun nodded in satisfaction, the gloom in his eyes finally easing considerably. "Listen to what you're saying! I've sent you to investigate the case, not to slack off. You're not getting any younger, so I'm entrusting this matter entirely to you. It'll save you from staying cooped up in the mansion all day, which isn't good for your health."

No one asked Jiang Yuanlang what he meant. According to the message Gu Zhan sent back, Jiang Yuanlang's face turned green when he left court.

However, he still had to get close to Jiang Yuanqing. The two seemed to get along very well and left the palace together in a carriage.