Chapter 101 If this matter was indeed done by the Second Princess, punishment is indispensable.

When Lady Zhao heard the whole story, she knew she couldn't take the blame, so she quickly explained, "Your Majesty is wise. Not only the clothes of the ladies, but even the dresses of the dove dancers in Changyin Pavilion were personally inspected by me and my men. The ladies' clothes were inspected several times over. How could I possibly give Consort Yue any clothes that had problems?"

The female official Meng also testified for her: "Your Majesty, I can also testify. At that time, I went to find the female official Zhao to check the clothes of the dancers and musicians of Changyin Pavilion. The female official Zhao had just finished checking them."

Sheng Sheng said cheerfully, "Yes, when I was passing by, I met Lady Meng and Lady Zhao and even went up to say a few words to them."

Seeing that Sheng Sheng had spoken up on her own initiative, a flash of joy crossed Consort Yue's face.

Su Yu covered her mouth and let out a soft "Ah," as if she had remembered something important.

But after everyone looked over, Su Yu lowered her head with a flicker in her eyes, as if she felt a little guilty, or as if she was too afraid to say what she had remembered.

Consort Yue asked her gently, "What's wrong?"

With a slight raise of her eyebrows, Sheng Sheng could guess, even with her eyes closed, that the next target would be her.

Sheng Sheng sat up straighter, head held high, and smiled at Consort Yue.

Consort Yue: ?

Laugh, laugh, laugh! But you won't be laughing in a minute!

Su Yu looked terrified and stammered, "This servant heard..."

Everyone was puzzled. What did Su Yu mean by looking so scared?

He tilted his head and encouraged her, "Don't be afraid, your father is here. No matter what you say, your father will be fair and just."

Xie Yuxiao propped his head up and looked down, giving a soft "hmm".

Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief, glanced timidly at Sheng Sheng, and said hesitantly, "This servant heard that the Second Princess and the First Princess had a conflict in the Jin Yi Hall this afternoon, and many people saw it. At that time, the Second Princess was in the room where Consort Yue's dance dress was kept!"

Upon hearing that Xie Yunjia was involved, Consort Xia, who had remained silent with a calm expression, raised her eyes to look at Consort Yue, her gentle and charming eyes revealing a hint of sharpness.

The crowd was in an uproar. Did this mean that the Second Princess deliberately ruined Consort Yue's clothes in an attempt to embarrass her at the palace banquet?

That's not impossible, after all, Consort Yue has offended the Second Princess and the Fifth Prince. And the Second Princess is currently favored by the Emperor, and has Consort Rong and the Second Prince backing her up; if she really wanted to get revenge on Consort Yue, she wouldn't be afraid.

In addition, there were previous events such as the Ye family being exiled, the Duke of Jingguo being demoted, and the Prince of Yong being sent south.

Because Xie Yuxiao was protecting Xie Yunwen, the real reason behind it was unknown to everyone. Everyone assumed that Xie Yuxiao severely punished these people to stand up for Sheng Sheng.

It is inevitable that court officials will be punished for making mistakes, but is it too much to exile the entire Ye family just to vent the anger of a princess?

And then there's the Duke of Jingguo's mansion. The first Duke of Jingguo devoted himself to the Great Yu Dynasty, and demoting him would surely chill the hearts of generations of heroic souls in the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

He could even abandon his own nephew to Nanlin County without a second thought.

Could it be because the second princess had a conflict with them?

Many in the court believe that His Majesty is spoiling the Second Princess too much, disregarding the long-standing relationship between ruler and subject.

Then, many people stood up and spoke passionately, saying, "Even princes are subject to the law. We beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and give Consort Yue an explanation. If the Second Princess was indeed responsible, she must be punished severely! We urge Your Majesty not to spoil the Second Princess too much!"

Consort Yue never expected that she would accidentally bring these old fogies who only cared about patriarchal rules to her side. Her eyes darted around, and she stared at the floor with a smug smile.

Sheng Sheng didn't think much of it. What the ministers said made sense. If it was really her fault, she should naturally be punished.

Xie Yunqi slammed his hand on the table, strode down the steps in agitation, and pointed at the group of ministers who had stood up, yelling, "No, what do you know? How can you say that we spoil the Second Princess? Your words sound so awkward to me, as if you're saying that the Second Princess made some mistake and that Father Emperor protected her!"

Xie Yunqi's words were too direct, which startled Consort Li so much that she hurriedly looked at Xie Yuxiao's expression, afraid that he would be displeased.

Seeing that Xie Yuxiao did not show any anger, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The ministers who had stepped forward knelt down in terror. The Imperial Censor Tang said, “We had absolutely no such intention. Your Majesty is wise and would never do such a thing. We have only heard that the Prince of Yong and others had a conflict with the Second Princess, and Your Majesty demoted the Duke of Jing by one rank. As for the others, I won't mention them, as I'm sure you have all heard about them. Your Majesty, the Second Princess is young and adorable; indulging her a little is fine, but you cannot let the Second Princess's sake chill the hearts of the court ministers!”

Seeing that things were about to take an even worse turn, Consort Li, with a stern face, whispered to him, "Come back here!"

Xie Yunqi didn't want to pay attention, but Consort Li narrowed her eyes, tilted her head slightly, and looked at him warningly.

Xie Yunqi reluctantly sat back down in his original seat.

Xie Yuxiao sighed helplessly.

These old ministers, though their constant use of classical Chinese philosophy could be drowsy, were truly loyal.

In particular, the censors of the Imperial Censorate would wait outside the palace gates before dawn every day, braving the frost and dew to deliver their lengthy and eloquent memorials of remonstrance. Even if they angered the emperor and were flogged, they would still stubbornly speak their minds.

Their advice was indeed correct, if things really were as they believed.

Sheng Sheng was stunned.

How did this story get spread like this?

The princes all looked grim. They knew the truth and naturally couldn't bear to see their sister being spoken of like that.

But……

The group of people glanced at Xie Yunwen without making a sound.

Xie Yunwen clenched her fists on her lap, her lips pressed tightly together, and her body trembled slightly.

He felt guilty, because it was all because of him that the rumors had spread like this, implicating Sheng Sheng.

If it weren't for protecting his pitiful self-esteem, these rumors wouldn't have escalated so much, and wouldn't have become an aid for Consort Yue to turn the tables on him today.

But those dark, shameful past events he never wanted to face again...

A moment later, Xie Yunwen summoned his personal attendant, wanting him to bring over his wheelchair so he could clarify things.

"etc."

Sheng Sheng stood up, interrupting Xie Yunwen's actions.

Xie Yunwen's strength was completely depleted.

She smiled reassuringly at Xie Yunwen, her bow headband swaying slightly, which startled Xie Yunwen.

Xie Yunwen paused for a moment, then hesitated, before Xie Yunyang patted his shoulder lightly.

Xie Yunwen was startled again. He turned his head and saw Xie Yunshang looking at him with a gentle smile.

"Compared to this, Second Princess probably doesn't want you to be talked about by others even more," Xie Yun said. "Let's see how Second Princess retaliates."

Xie Yun-yang usually appears to be the most gentle, easy-going, and approachable of the princes, but he is actually the most thoughtful.

Since Sheng Sheng has stood up, she must have the strength to do so.