Due to his father's instructions, Shen Huaixu no longer participated in this matter. The two princes stayed in the capital for a few more days and began to prepare for their return journey.

Chen Huaixu got together with a few friends again. He was very happy to learn that Princess Chaohua would stay in the palace to accompany the queen for a while.

Although Chaohua was a bit temperamental at times, the two of them, despite some initial friction, had become quite compatible. If she could stay, Shen Huaixu would finally have someone close to him, someone his own age.

Before leaving, Qi Yang and Jing He prepared a gift for Chen Huaixu, and Chen Huaixu also returned the gift. What she gave to Qi Yang was a gem that she had found after searching the light screen for a long time. It could purify the air around her. By carrying it with her, she would no longer be troubled by asthma.

When Qi Yang heard Chen Huaixu praising a cat's eye-shaped gemstone to the highest level, he thought that he really liked it and gave it to him, and he was deeply moved.

But after only two or three days of carrying the gem, she discovered its magic, because her asthma did not recur during these days.

Only then did she realize that what Shen Huaixu said was true. Unfortunately, she was already on her way back and could not thank Shen Huaixu in person.

Afterwards, Shen Huaixu and his daughter Shen Su were in dire straits. Shen Su used to be a favorite of the emperor, with many people fawning on him. People delivered visiting cards to the palace all day long. Now Shen Su is still a favorite of the emperor, but has become the target of public criticism in the court.

The court today is like a market. Whenever Chen Su is mentioned, there will be endless arguments, like boiling water.

Not to mention that some ministers' names were on the list, naturally contradicting Shen Su, who was investigating this matter. The Zhongli Bridge case involved remnants of the previous dynasty, and the prisoner had said such words before his death. Shen Su should have avoided suspicion. But His Majesty seemed to be blinded by greed and was only interested in favoring him. How could one not be angry? Not jealous? Not trample on him to death?

The emperor had been trying hard to organize court discipline, but when he found it was useless, he looked at Shen Su, who was at the center of the vortex. He was standing quietly in the court in a crimson dress, unmoved, with the courage to remain calm even when facing a collapse of Mount Tai.

The emperor thought to himself, "Brother Shen, you are quite relaxed. I don't care about you anymore." So he really didn't care and just watched his excited and indignant ministers quietly until they fell asleep. If someone started a quarrel at this time, the emperor would cheer up without the eunuch's reminder.

It was quite strange. The ministers saw that His Majesty ignored them and Chen Su was also calm and thick-skinned. There was no point in arguing with them, and the court became quiet instead.

Only the emperor, who worked so hard, knew that there was no more quarreling. He wrote everything down in memorials!

Fortunately, this torment did not last long, because the old servant in the prison was on the verge of collapse, unable to live or die every day.

Finally, on a sunny morning, he confessed everything and asked for death.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the presiding judge, Yi Zishu, was shocked because he said - "I am not some old servant, but a fourth-generation descendant of Emperor Xin, Shen Shen."

He looked at Chen Su, his eyes red as if they were about to bleed, "Chen Su—no, Jiang Su, you don't deserve the surname Chen! Do you know that after the death of Emperor Xin, our clan was demoted to commoners, and we endured hardships for over a hundred years, just to save the Great Ye from collapse when its fate was about to end, and to continue the imperial path that should have belonged to our clan! If we succeed..."

His expression gradually became frantic, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Shen Su's face. The chains that bound his hands and feet were shaken by him, making a clattering sound. He growled like a demon crawling out of hell, "If this great undertaking is accomplished, I will ascend to the supreme throne, and the people of the world will bow down to me and shed tears of gratitude! But—it's all you! Jiang Su, you're the one who ruined it all!

If you hadn't saved that old man, all our clan's plans and calculations wouldn't have been ruined! Why would you have to disguise yourself as a servant in the other courtyard and live a miserable life?

He smiled miserably, "I should have ordered someone to kill you, but the way you lingered on was so ridiculous that it made me feel good, so I spared your life. I even sent a Taoist priest to give you medicine when you were looking for it. Although the pill can prolong life, it can also make people endure excruciating pain every day. I didn't expect you to be willing to eat it... I just wanted to see you living a life worse than death. The more pain you suffer, the happier I am! Who knew, who knew that I didn't even wait for the news of your death..."

He pulled the corners of his mouth, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at Chen Su, who seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud, and shouted, "You should kneel down and thank me for sparing your life. After all, the fact that you can sit here and judge me in peace is all thanks to the pill I gave you!"

Chen Su stared intently at the old man not far away, who was almost covered in blood. Suddenly, the gloom in his eyes disappeared, and a smile appeared instead. "It is indeed as you said. This marquis should thank you. If it were not for your pill, this marquis would not have found my daughter, would not have waited until father and daughter recognized each other and the whole family was reconciled, and would not have fully recovered and returned to the court to sit here to judge you."

After these words were spoken, everyone present had different expressions.

Yi Zishu wasn't sure if Chen Su had any connection to the people of the previous dynasty, so naturally, he wouldn't speak up for him. He'd been watching from the sidelines for a few days, and after hearing what Chen Shen said today, he'd made up his mind. He hadn't expected Chen Su to be so mean. Shen Shen clearly wanted to trample him into the mud, but Yi Zishu went along with what Shen Shen said. If that happened to him, he'd probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

Thinking this in his mind, Yi Zishu looked up and saw that Chen Shen's eyes were fixed on the direction of Chen Su, with blood constantly flowing from the corners of his mouth. The skin that was not yet stained with blood gradually turned pale and then yellow.

Thinking something was wrong, he quickly shouted, "Hurry, save him!"

It was too late. Shen Shen's head tilted and he was no longer breathing. His eyes were still open after death.

After a lot of trouble, the Dali Temple Minister and the Ministry of Justice Minister both glared at Shen Su.

Yi Zishu couldn't help but sneer, "Lord Shen is really capable. He can make people angry to death with just one sentence. There are still many things he hasn't said yet. Now that the person is dead, what does Lord Shen think?"

Shen Su stretched out his bony hands and gently dusted off his official uniform, brushing away the dead body like dust on his clothes. "I was just discussing the matter at hand. I never thought this person would be so petty. Now that he's dead, I have other matters to deal with, so I'll go ahead."