Chapter 750 Rumors about Empress Dowager Cheng

On this day, in the Golden Palace.

Xie Shang faced pressure and was besieged by the court officials. There was also a rumor circulating among the people that someone had written a book specifically about Empress Dowager Cheng. The book claimed that Empress Dowager Cheng had moral failings, that she not only had an affair with her cousin, but was also caught in bed with him by the late emperor, and that the emperor's identity was in doubt, etc.

The secrets of the palace were compiled into "unofficial history" and circulated among the people. Moreover, all the names in the book were real names. Early in the morning, this book was delivered to Xie Shang's desk.

Upon seeing this, Xie Shang slammed his fist on the table in anger, his eyes flashing with coldness. "Go and find out who is spreading these rumors for me."

“The person has been captured and imprisoned. I have already interrogated him thoroughly. The author of the book is named Cui Tao. Overnight, Cui Tao circulated the book he compiled on the streets of Shengjing City.”

Jiang Jinyan recounted the events in detail: "Cui Tao happened to appear in front of the Jiang residence, seemingly deliberately trying to get me to keep an eye on her whereabouts, and even deliberately getting caught. She even claimed that what she said was true, and that Empress Dowager Cheng ultimately silenced the young master in order to keep her position as Empress."

“Cui Tao is very cunning. She gave money to children to pass on the books she copied by hand, which is how they spread. Her attitude of admitting guilt is very similar to that of the Fourth Princess. She did not make excuses or struggle, but directly admitted that she wrote them all by herself. Her purpose was to expose the Empress Dowager. She also said that the Empress Dowager was very cunning and pretended to be compassionate. In fact, her purpose was to harm the other imperial heirs, turn them into useless people, and push His Majesty to the throne.”

The Third Prince's feet were also crippled by the Empress Dowager, making others believe that he was born disabled. The Empress Dowager Cheng was even more ruthless in dealing with the other princes, and her evil deeds, such as causing the princes to become addicted to women and ruin their health, were exposed.

Upon hearing this, Xie Shang felt as if dark clouds were pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. It was all part of someone's plan. First, they plotted to have him have an affair with Zhang Yurou, ruining his reputation. Now, someone is using the Empress Dowager's cousin to accuse the Empress Dowager of having an affair with a man outside. Will they then try to remove him from his position?

The ministers whispered among themselves. They could sense a conspiracy in how things had developed. But while the reasonable people knew it was a conspiracy, the common people did not.

Even more seriously, if the emperor is not truly a descendant of the Xie family, it could affect the morale of the army and cause chaos throughout the land.

Xie Shang had just come down from the court when the ministers gave him strange looks, which made him very uncomfortable. His image was greatly affected, and some ministers suggested that Zhang Yurou be executed immediately, but he made up an excuse to avoid it.

Zhang Yurou cannot die yet; only she can clear his name. The Imperial Clan Court prison is heavily guarded by his men, precisely to prevent anyone from silencing Zhang Yurou.

Cui Tao cannot die either; he must interrogate her personally. Xie Shang did not rush to see Cui Tao. This matter was clearly premeditated, making him believe that the other party was only here to compete with the Jiang family, but in fact, the other party was targeting the emperor. He must deal with this calmly.

In the imperial study, Xie Shang also kept Vice Minister Shu behind. His gaze was cold and deep, and he tried hard to control his emotions, his eyes filled with a chilling light. "Shu Lang, tell me, why did you help Zhang Yurou kill Shu Xue and frame Jin Ji?"

Shu Lang knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. "I did not help the Fourth Princess kill anyone. She is my own niece. I am also heartbroken by Xue'er's death. It was the Fourth Princess who blackmailed me. She did something for me before, and it was all my fault. I shouldn't have been greedy for small gains and let the Fourth Princess hold something against me..."

Xie Shang stared at Shu Lang, thinking of what Jiang Fenghua said about his relationship with Consort Chang. Consort Chang had been in the palace for decades, so it wasn't surprising that she knew about these things concerning the Empress Dowager.

At this moment, Grand Tutor Pan and Grand Tutor Jiang arrived together. They were the emperor's teachers, and they were more worried than anyone else about the emperor's reputation being affected.

Especially Grand Tutor Pan, whose eyes were full of anger, sighed repeatedly, "Now the emperor says it's not true, but people don't believe it! It's hard for the emperor to convince the public when his virtue is flawed. Even if this old minister wants to help, I feel powerless. How could the emperor be so confused and sow such a seed of disaster? There are also rumors outside about Empress Dowager Cheng. The impact of these two rumors on the Great Zhou can almost be predicted."

Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "I am sorry to have troubled you, Grand Tutor. I am also trying to deal with these rumors. It is obvious that someone is deliberately setting a trap to damage my reputation. I ask Grand Tutor Pan and Grand Tutor Jiang to help me think of a way to break this deadlock."

Grand Tutor Pan said, "Since His Majesty ascended the throne more than a year ago, he has made contributions to the people and the country. This old minister has gathered scholars to write some articles praising His Majesty's deeds and to spread them, hoping that everyone will know that someone is deliberately spreading rumors and slandering His Majesty."

Jiang Huai stood calmly to the side, his eyes looking in the direction of Vice Minister Shu. "Grand Tutor Pan's method is one way, but I'm afraid it won't be very effective. Writing an article to praise him at this time will inevitably make people suspect that we are covering up something, and instead make people think that we are trying to hide something."

Grand Tutor Pan said, "Grand Tutor Jiang, what do you think we should do now? The Emperor's reputation is ruined, and the Great Zhou Dynasty will be in chaos. Now, rumors of the Empress Dowager's past private affairs have surfaced. It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly!"

Jiang Huai said, "Since it is a frame-up, I believe that the truth will not become falsehood, and the falsehood will not become truth. I always believe that even the most meticulous plans can have flaws, and I will surely be able to find the loopholes and scrutinize the details..."

They discussed the events of the past few days in front of Shu Lang, who knelt on the ground and listened quietly, his mind racing as he considered how to respond.

At this moment, Wuxin entered the Imperial Study and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the Empress has sent someone to invite you over. The banquet has begun, and also, Consort Shu has fainted for no apparent reason."

Xie Shang frowned and stood up from his seat. "There are also a lot of things to do in the harem. I'm already overwhelmed. Minister Shu, please accompany me! It must have been a long time since you've seen your daughter!"

Shu Lang's eyes were full of wariness, and he wanted to refuse, but Jiang Huai suddenly said, "The Emperor is really biased!"

Xie Shang asked, "What do you mean by that, Grand Tutor Jiang?"

Jiang Huai said with a cold face, "I haven't seen my daughter for a long time. Your Majesty allowed Vice Minister Shu to see her, but I didn't expect to feel so jealous while listening to this."

Xie Shang paused for a moment, then said, "It was my oversight. Grand Tutor Jiang, please come along!"

Grand Tutor Pan said, "This old minister has no daughter who has married into the palace and therefore does not need to visit. This old minister will wait here for Your Majesty. The matter has not yet been discussed and I am also very worried."

Xie Shang was stunned. "How could I possibly leave Grand Tutor Pan out of the picture when I invited Grand Tutor Pan and Grand Tutor Jiang to the palace to help me come up with ideas?"

Jiang Huai said, "Grand Tutor Pan, let's go together! We can discuss our strategy on the way."

Shu Lang originally didn't want to go to the inner palace, but when he heard Jiang Huai say that they needed to discuss countermeasures, he tacitly agreed to go to the inner palace.

Why did Yan'er faint?