Chapter 210 I really want to hug him; he's such an obedient son.

Shen Chu held her wine glass, watching Jin Bao's departing figure.

"Your Highness, don't you think Eunuch Jinbao's smile is...?"

It took her a while to find a suitable word, "sleazy?"

"Really? You're mistaken."

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes to conceal his emotions.

He knew what Jinbao was thinking.

Having been by his side since childhood, Jinbao realized his feelings for Shen Chu even before he did.

What good does it do to know?

Pei Yuan drank another cup of wine, mocking himself.

Shen Chu held her wine glass and took small sips.

The wine was sweet, and drinking it made me feel much better.

"Even if Your Highness doesn't say it, I can actually guess why His Majesty doesn't agree to my retrial of the Ning'an Marquis's case."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"The Feng family not only has Chief Minister Feng, but is also the maternal family of the Crown Prince."

If it is indeed the Feng family who framed the Marquis of Ning'an's household, framing a loyal official is punishable by confiscation of property and execution, and the Crown Prince will inevitably be affected as well.

His Majesty does not wish to threaten the Crown Prince's position at present, or rather, His Majesty does not wish to disrupt the balance between the Crown Prince and Prince Heng.

Pei Yuan chuckled softly.

"Hmm, not bad, you know how to analyze the situation in the court."

Shen Chu pouted.

She's been serving as an official in the court for almost three months now, and she's made progress, hasn't she?

The Crown Prince is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and he was appointed Crown Prince nine years ago, so his position is considered secure.

However, His Majesty favors Prince Heng, and it can be said that the Crown Prince and Prince Heng each have half of the people in the six ministries of the court.

If His Majesty hadn't intentionally indulged them, it would have been difficult to achieve this strange balance.

"But you only got one part right, not the other."

"What is the second one?"

Pei Yuan swirled the wine in his glass, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"The case of Prefect Shen's treason was personally ordered by the Emperor to be punished. You should know how it was handled, right?"

Shen Chu pursed her lips, her voice a little hoarse.

"Their home was ransacked and their entire family exterminated; all 763 members of the Ning'an Marquis's household were beheaded."

Pei Yuan was somewhat surprised, "You seem to know quite a lot about this."

Shen Chu's hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly.

How could I not understand?

To others, 763 is just a number.

But to her, it was the life of someone connected to her by blood, her closest relative.

In the dead of night, she still clearly remembers every familiar smiling face.

Pei Yuan continued, "Seven hundred and sixty-three people! I heard that the soil at Caishikou was stained red and it took half a year for the stain to fade."

The Emperor himself issued the decree to deal with this, yet you now say that the Shen family might have been wronged.

This means that the Emperor's handling of the case back then was wrong; he misjudged the case, leading to the extermination of the Ning'an Marquis's family overnight.

How is Father supposed to face this? He's the Emperor; how can an Emperor make a mistake?

When Pei Yuan said this, a faint mockery permeated his eyebrows and eyes.

Shen Chu, holding the wine glass, was momentarily stunned.

She didn't think about it at all.

In her heart, she always thought that as long as she found evidence to prove that her father was innocent, she could petition His Majesty to redress the grievances of her father and the entire Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.

Ultimately, she was just too naive.

Shen Chu's lips trembled slightly, as if a fire was rising in her heart and reaching her throat, burning her so that she couldn't speak.

Pei Yuan put down his wine glass. "Let me tell you a story."

Shen Chu looked at him blankly.

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes. "I told you last time that my mother died from premature hemorrhage. The person who killed her was Consort Meng from the palace."

In order to avenge my mother, I have been secretly collecting evidence of Consort Meng's crimes.

Until one day, I discovered that Consort Meng was having an affair with her cousin outside the palace, and I knew that the time to avenge my mother had come.

Through my clever scheme, I finally managed to get my father to catch Consort Meng in bed with another man.

The Emperor was furious. In front of Consort Meng, he ordered her cousin to be castrated and then beaten to death with sticks. Afterward, he had Consort Meng burned to death.

Afterwards, my father found excuses to punish everyone who knew about or was involved in the matter, and me...

The Emperor announced to the public that the reason for executing Consort Meng's cousin was that he had offended me, and therefore was sentenced to death.

The news of Consort Meng's death was announced a day later, so that no one would connect Consort Meng's death with her cousin's death.

Pei Yuan sneered.

"I realized then that when the truth involves the face of the royal family, what the truth is doesn't matter at all."

Shen Chu had no idea that there was such a big secret behind Consort Yu's death.

She was shocked and heartbroken, but she still couldn't help but hold onto a sliver of hope.

"Consort Meng's affair did indeed cuckold His Majesty, which cannot be compared to the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence, can it?"

Pei Yuan scoffed, "Is there any difference in essence? Consort Meng's affair affects Father Emperor's reputation."

If the case of the Marquis of Ning'an's residence is misjudged, not only will Father Emperor lose face, but his authority will also be damaged.

Shen Chu: "Is right and wrong, truth and justice, less important than the face and majesty of the emperor?"

Pei Yuan gave him a deep look. "What do you think?"

Shen Chu remained silent.

A profound sense of powerlessness and sorrow spread through my heart.

If His Majesty hesitates because of his pride and dignity, wouldn't she be unable to seek justice for her family in this lifetime?

She hugged herself tightly, feeling utterly helpless.

I feel terrible.

I want to cry.

Pei Yuan saw him sitting there blankly without saying a word, his usually clear eyes filled with sorrow and grief.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, turning slightly pale, making her look like a pitiful little girl on the verge of tears.

His hand gripping the wine glass tightened slightly.

The sadness in Shen Chu's eyes was so intense that one wanted to wipe away the sorrow.

I really want to hug him.

Why are you so determined to overturn the verdict against the Marquis of Ning'an's family?

Shen Chu leaned back slowly on the table, blinking her eyes as she heard this.

"I am an imperial censor, and it is my duty to clear up all wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice."

Pei Yuan frowned.

He had a gut feeling that this wasn't Shen Chu's true feeling.

"you....."

Shen Chu suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve, her face full of displeasure.

"Just talk, why are you shaking it?"

Pei Yuan was taken aback.

When did he start shaking?

Seeing a flush rise on Shen Chu's face, and a hint of something in her eyes.

Pei Yuan frowned. Was he drunk?

Isn't he supposed to be a good drinker? He got drunk after just two glasses of wine?

Pei Yuan had no idea that Shen Chu had always taken hangover remedies before drinking with court officials.

"You're drunk. I'll have someone take you home to rest."

Shen Chu squinted, put her hand on his shoulder, and chuckled softly.

"Are you kidding me? How could I possibly be drunk?"

"Hey, I told you not to shake it, you're making me dizzy."

Shen Chu stretched out her two hands and held Pei Yuan's cheeks tightly.

"Don't move."

Pei Yuan froze.

Shen Chu pinched his cheek and said with a grin:

"Tsk, her skin is as smooth as cream, so delicate it could be broken with a touch. She's much better than those two skinny girls from last night."

Pei Yuan...

Compare him to the two skinny horses?

He won.

Should I be happy?

In his daze, Shen Chu's soft fingers had already slid to his ear.

She pinched his earlobe and muttered, "His earlobes are full and soft; he'll definitely be a child who listens to his wife in the future."

Pei Yuan...

If you fall in love with a man, will he ever be able to get a wife in his lifetime?

Shen Chu's hand was still stroking upwards along her earlobe.

Where her fingers touched, it felt as if they were being burned by fire.

Pei Yuan's little finger trembled slightly as his hand hung at his side.