Chapter 578 Zhou Ruyuan Learns from Shen Lanxi's Great Seal!

Madam Shen generously relinquished power, and the rest of the Shen family no longer hesitated. The Imperial Guards were waiting at the door; would they let the Emperor wait any longer?

Given Shen Lanxi's temper, they'd better hurry up!

Three carriages, packed with three large groups of people, swayed and rattled their way to the palace.

"Urgent message from the palace! Pedestrians, make way!"

The Imperial Guards led the way, beating gongs, and the pedestrians dispersed in an orderly fashion.

This is a new rule that was introduced after the previous incident where horses were banned from riding freely due to unrest.

The imperial court issued an urgent report, instructing officials to clear the way with gongs and drums, prioritizing the safety of the people.

...

Shen Lanxi is discussing the Tianjin Express with the ministers.

"Your Majesty, the traitor has begun to imitate Your Majesty again."

Shen Lanxi readily agreed, saying, "Haven't they learned enough already? Let them learn, as long as it benefits the people!"

"Your Majesty, they are not doing this for the benefit of the people, but rather imitating the grand bestowal of titles after Your Majesty's enthronement ceremony."

Shen Lanxi became interested.

"Whom will he bestow a title upon?"

"The ones who were granted large fiefs were all traitors who had come to join them. In order to win them over and win them over, Zhou Ruyuan made many promises and also ceded a lot of land."

Shen Lanxi nodded: "Given his character, he is capable of doing such a thing. Tianjin is not a large area to begin with, how many pieces could he possibly cut off?"

"Could it be that he's going to cut off the sea area?"

The courtiers retorted angrily, "No, what he ceded was territory belonging to our Great Zhou!"

Shen Lanxi widened her eyes, amused: "You mean, the territories he promised to cede are all within my court's borders, territories he hasn't yet conquered?"

Several courtiers couldn't contain their anger and burst into laughter.

"Zhou Ruyuan actually dared to get something for nothing?"

"Are those people idiots? They actually believe that?"

The old Grand Tutor chuckled and said, "They're simply delving into wishful thinking."

Wu Yanzhi chuckled, "I never realized Zhou Ruyuan was such a dreamer."

Liu Mingxin: "If he continues like this, even if he were to gain the throne, he wouldn't be able to hold onto it for more than a few days."

"Making promises in advance is tantamount to courting disaster!"

"It's no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!"

"He's got a mental problem!"

Just as Shen Lanxi was listening to the court officials angrily cursing Zhou Ruyuan, which was refreshing her mind, the Imperial Guards rushed into the hall.

"Your Majesty, someone is kneeling at the palace gate, lodgeing a petition with the Emperor."

If it were an ordinary person, the Imperial Guards would either drive them away or, according to the rules, make the complainant roll on a bed of nails or subject them to torture with sticks.

However, the person who came was no ordinary person; he was related to the Shen family by marriage.

Shen Lanxi stood up from the dragon throne.

"My beloved ministers, come with me to the palace gate and see what's going on!"

Courtier: It's a good opportunity to get some exercise.

Who is it that's fearless of death?

Will His Majesty once again massacre the palace gates today?

...

When the Zhang family saw Shen Lanxi arrive, they immediately shouted that they were innocent.

"Your Majesty, Shen Yuanhao is ungrateful and heartless. My daughter's body is barely cold when he committed an act of molestation against her. After committing this heinous crime and doing this shameful thing, he not only refused to marry my daughter, but also drove our family away from the capital. He is utterly despicable."

"Your Majesty, we beg you to uphold justice for our family!"

Shen Lanxi led her ministers forward.

"The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice are yours to handle!" She chose to remain neutral.

The Zhang family was taken aback. It was clearly a family matter, so why was it handed over to outsiders to handle?

Could it be that they're looking for a mediator to resolve the issue?

The officials in charge of the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice were chosen to step forward and question the officials.

"You say General Shen assaulted your daughter, where is he?"

Zhang Churan said tremblingly, "My lord, it is indeed my daughter."

The Dali Temple official asked in a matter-of-fact manner, "Is what your mother said true?"

"Yes, sir, it is true."

Ministry of Justice: "How was the indecent assault carried out? Was it accomplished? Who can testify?"

Asking such a private question so openly made Zhang Churan feel her face burning hot, and she felt ashamed to face anyone.

“I’m asking you a question. This is a courtroom, not a place for child’s play. Since you’ve come here to file a complaint, you should be prepared for a trial. And if it’s found to be a false accusation, you’ll be punished with fifty strokes of the cane or rolled on a bed of nails.”

The Zhang family was dumbfounded.

"Your Majesty, this is a family matter. Why did you have to hit someone?"

The eunuch's voice rose sharply: "His Majesty hasn't even asked a question yet, and you dare to look directly at his face and question him! Slap yourselves!"

Zhang was so frightened that she trembled violently, and all color drained from her face.

The other members of the Zhang family weren't much better off; they were all sweating profusely.

Seeing that His Majesty did not speak to stop him, the eunuch immediately gave a wink to the two eunuchs.

After a dozen or so slaps, Zhang's face turned ashen, her lips split open, her mouth full of blood, and several of her teeth loosened.

"Alright, don't let this interfere with the trial."

The eunuch waved his hand, and the person who had slapped the man stepped aside.

The Ministry of Justice continued the questioning.

"Zhang Churan, answer me!"

Throwing a tantrum won't work with their Majesty.

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice glanced at Zhang, but there was no pity in his eyes.

Family matters?

Foolish fools who can't understand anything will have no family matters once they arrive here.

Zhang Churan didn't even have time to regret it now. Fortunately, the Shen family arrived in time, which prevented the Ministry of Justice from pursuing the matter for delaying the proceedings.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Shen Yuanhao hadn't expected that something that had already been resolved would still go wrong.

Who can be blamed? He was just too soft-hearted.

Shen Congwen did not want to pay his respects. He stood to the side with his neck stiff, looking as if he would use filial piety to intimidate anyone who dared to punish him.

The eunuchs and officials tried to gauge Shen Lanxi's reaction, and seeing that she remained silent, they all pretended not to see Shen Congwen.

"Rise!"

The Shen family members stood up.

"You've come at the right time. The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice have already begun their investigation. You are involved in the case, and now you can confront each other face to face."

Shen Congli and Miao dared not make a move; they were all counting on their son, Shen Yuanhao.

"Yuan Hao, go and explain!" The couple pushed their son forward.

Shen Yuanhao felt it was his responsibility to step forward.

"My lords, the matter arose because of my wife's younger sister. After my wife died, she took advantage of my grief and poisoned me."

"I dare not say that I am innocent, but I am certainly not the culprit."

“My wife has just passed away, and the Zhang family has already committed such an act. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, poisoning an official of the court, no matter what kind of poison it is, is considered murder!”

"Furthermore, I didn't pursue the matter further because she was my deceased wife's sister and her family was from her family. I simply banished them from the capital. I never expected that they would not only be ungrateful but also turn around and bite me. I think my previous decision to let them go was incredibly foolish."

The Zhang family understood that this was an attempt to hold them accountable.

"no……"

Zhang hurriedly exclaimed in surprise, but halfway through her exclamation, the pulling pain on her face reminded her of the slap she had received before. She quickly knelt on the ground and honestly reported the incident.

“Your Majesty, it’s not what he said. He was clearly drunk and confused. He mistook my youngest daughter for my eldest daughter. He ruined my daughter’s reputation and looked down on our family, so he drove us away.”

“This humble woman is not convinced, but it cannot be because…” Zhang carefully looked up at Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi looked at her with a half-smile: "Can't it be because of something?"