The next day, as dawn broke, Gu Jingchun and Shen Hechuan, who had been busy all night, slowly opened their eyes.

Both of them were exhausted and severely sleep-deprived.

However, the moment they opened their eyes and saw each other, they both felt incredibly refreshed.

Afterwards, the two dressed neatly and went to the morning court hand in hand.

During this morning court session, the two worked together seamlessly, quickly handling all matters and concluding the session swiftly.

The court officials listened to the two men's advice and treated them with great respect.

After the morning court session ended, Gu Jingchun spoke to Shen Hechuan about Jiang Chongfan.

When Shen Hechuan didn't see Jiang Chongfan at the morning court session, he already guessed that Jiang Chongfan might have done something wrong.

However, he did not expect that someone from the Jiang family had connections with Daqi, and he was immediately furious.

Gu Jingchun looked at him and then handed the letter he had received earlier to Shen Hechuan.

After reading the letter, Shen Hechuan stood up and looked at Gu Jingchun in disbelief.

"Is... everything on this page true?"

Gu Jingchun did not answer, but stood up as well.

"Whether it's true or false, we'll find out by testing them."

With that, he led Shen Hechuan to the prison.

At this moment, Jiang Chongfan had lost the composure and indignation he had when he first entered.

He looks much more disheveled now, and his face shows signs of weariness.

When the Jiang family members first entered, they were able to remain composed and maintain their dignity, even fantasizing that it was all just a false alarm and that they would be able to leave soon.

However, as time went by...

The Jiang family's hopes gradually faded, and everyone began to stir.

The superficial harmony was gradually broken, and mutual accusations became the norm.

Jiang Chongfan tried to comfort them, but now that they were prisoners, his words carried little weight.

Others naturally wouldn't listen to them.

Jiang Chongfan was old and naturally couldn't stand it, so he got sick from anger.

When Gu Jingchun and Shen Hechuan arrived, Jiang Chongfan's health had only just begun to improve.

When he saw Shen Hechuan return, he struggled to get up and immediately knelt down.

"His Majesty……"

"You're finally back, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Chongfan kowtowed as he spoke, then opened his mouth in a sorrowful voice.

"Your Majesty, I have failed your trust. I am guilty!"

Jiang Chongfan looked at Shen Hechuan, knelt down and took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty to educate my son and was instigated by those with ulterior motives, which led him to commit this wrongdoing."

It was thanks to the Empress's timely discovery that a major mistake was averted.

"I beg Your Majesty to punish him."

Shen Hechuan looked at Jiang Chongfan, and then at his grandfather.

I just felt a mix of emotions.

He was always tolerant of Jiang Chongfan, his mother's last remaining relative in the world.

Even though they knew his ulterior motives over the years, they never actually punished him.

But now...

"Grandfather, before I left Tiandu, I spoke frankly to you, hoping that you could assist the Empress well."

But how did you do it?

"By winning over court officials, openly opposing the Empress, causing chaos in the court, making it impossible to carry out relevant orders, and thus affecting the stability of the people."

Grandfather, I ask you, what exactly do you want to do?

Jiang Chongfan knelt on the ground and quickly retorted:

"Your Majesty, everything this old minister has done is truly for the sake of our Great Cheng! Since ancient times, our Great Cheng has never had a woman ruling the court!"

"Then I have a precedent for this!"

Shen Hechuan shouted angrily!

"In short, you are merely questioning my actions. Well then, I shall ask you: who is the true emperor of this Great Cheng Dynasty, me or you, Jiang Chongfan!"

Jiang Chongfan quickly bent down.

"Of course it's Your Majesty!"

"Then why don't you listen to me?!"

"Why do you disobey the Empress's orders?!"

"How is it any different from treason to secretly win over court officials?"

"You plotted a rebellion, and your son colluded with the Great Qi. Well, how wonderful!"

"If the Empress Dowager knew that her own family had done such a thing, she would probably be even more ashamed!"

Jiang Chongfan knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Your Majesty, this old minister knows his mistake. I beg Your Majesty to spare the lives of the Jiang family for the sake of the late Empress!"

"After all, it was Qingshan's fault for misjudging people. However, our entire Jiang family is innocent. We beg Your Majesty to show leniency and spare their lives!"

Hearing this, Jiang Qingshan, who had been kneeling on the ground, sat down helplessly and began to sob pathetically.

Shen Hechuan didn't even glance at him, instead keeping his gaze fixed on Jiang Chongfan.

"Jiang Chongfan, if the Empress Dowager knew that you were involved in the deaths of the late Crown Prince and her friend, do you think she would ask me to show leniency towards you?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chongfan suddenly raised his head, looked at Shen Hechuan in disbelief, and reflexively spoke.

How do you know all this?

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Chongfan realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, this old minister...does not understand what you mean by that?"

Upon hearing his reaction, Shen Hechuan knew that everything in the letter was true.

Suddenly, I felt a suffocating sensation in my heart.

Seeing that Shen Hechuan's face was pale, Gu Jingchun quickly stepped forward and gently held his hand to comfort him.

Shen Hechuan breathed a sigh of relief and refuted Gu Jingchun's hand before looking at Jiang Chongfan.

“Grandfather, my mother and I trusted you so much, but neither of us expected that you would do such a thing.”

"No wonder you never dared to come back when Mother was alive."

Shen Hechuan closed his eyes.

Jiang Chongfan suddenly looked up, and his aged voice instantly rose in volume.

"I did nothing wrong!"

Jiang Chongfan shouted angrily.

"Why am I doing all this?"

"Isn't it all for the Jiang family, and even more so for you!"

"If I hadn't discovered Shen Wanshan's feelings for Jiang Xianhao back then and encouraged him to take that step, would Jiang Xianhao have become the empress?"

"If Jiang Xianhao hadn't become Empress, would you have your current status?"

As Jiang Chongfan spoke, he slowly stood up and laughed out loud.

"So, I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you should thank me; without me, you wouldn't be who you are today!"

Shen Hechuan frowned slightly.

"You really are stubborn!"

Jiang Chongfan refuted this.

"No, I did nothing wrong!"

"I discovered back then that Li Wenci was too kind-hearted. Even if he had become emperor at that time, he simply couldn't handle the riots."

"And that woman who appeared out of nowhere is an obstacle."

"If it weren't for him, why would Li Wenci suddenly dislike your mother?"