During the morning court session, officials below reported one by one. Chi Yan was getting drowsy when he suddenly heard Emperor Chongde speak: "Minister Liu, how is the case of forgery progressing?"

He jolted awake and became much more alert.

Forgery case?

Tang Ning seemed to have mentioned it to him.

Liu Yi stepped forward a few steps, frowned, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this case is very complicated. There are no definite clues yet, and it will probably take some more time."

That day, he went to Qingyufang, but was given a perfunctory and dismissive attitude. He found nothing and wasted an entire afternoon.

Emperor Chongde's expression was solemn: "This case involves a wide range of interests, and it is imperative to investigate it thoroughly as soon as possible!"

Under the very nose of the emperor, someone dared to engage in such a business, including royal tributes, clearly showing that they didn't respect the emperor at all!

Where did the embezzled funds go?

Chi Jingyu raised his eyes and glanced at Liu Yifu, his gaze deep and intense.

The fourth prince wanted him to get rid of Liu Yifu, which sounds easy, but is actually very difficult.

Liu Yifu was deeply trusted by His Majesty. As an official of the court, if he died without cause, the matter would surely be thoroughly investigated. We could only think of another way.

Speaking of which, he and Liu Yifu had quite a history.

If it weren't for him in my past life...

Well, this time, he won't repeat the same mistake.

——

After the court session, Liu Yi found Shen Chang in the crowd again: "Lord Shen, please wait a moment."

Shen Chang sensed something was wrong when he saw him, and forced a perfunctory smile: "Does Minister Liu have something to discuss with me?"

Liu Yifu straightened his expression and said, "I've heard that Lord Shen is also a victim of the forgery case. Would it be convenient for me to make a trip to your residence?"

Shen Chang's face darkened. He had not wanted to make a big deal out of this scandal, since a deeper investigation could very well uncover his embezzlement and bribery.

However, since the other party has already come knocking on his door, if he acts indifferent, it will only arouse suspicion.

So Shen Chang could only swallow his refusal and said righteously, "Minister Liu is ordered by His Majesty to thoroughly investigate this case. Cooperating with the investigation is my duty. Please do as you wish."

*

Shen Tangning was unaware of what was happening in the imperial court. After Chi Yan became the top scholar in the imperial examination, she suddenly received many more invitations to banquets.

However, she showed little interest in them and politely declined all the posts.

She refused all gifts, regardless of their size, from those who came to offer congratulations.

Shen Tangning understood the principle of "penny wise, pound foolish" better than anyone. Since Chi Yan was going down this path, his career could not be tainted in any way.

After finishing all that, she had a moment of free time and was about to take a nap when Granny Qin entered with a grave expression. Her voice was anxious as she whispered, "Miss, Zhu Yue from Madam's side just rushed in to report that Lord Liu came to the manor to investigate a case. For some reason, he caused Concubine Fang to have a miscarriage, and Madam was also angered to the point of fainting. The manor is in complete chaos right now!"

Shen Tangning was startled and abruptly stood up, her eyes turning cold: "How is Mother now? Has a doctor been called to examine her?"

She didn't care about Aunt Fang's pregnancy, but if anything happened to her mother's health, she would make Aunt Fang pay with her life!

Seeing this, Granny Qin quickly comforted her, "Miss, don't worry. Judging from Zhu Yue's tone, Madam should be fine. It's just that Aunt Fang is having some trouble."

"Trouble? It's just a minor miscarriage, not a threatened miscarriage!" Shen Tangning sneered, stood up and walked outside. "Prepare the sedan chair to return to the Shen residence. I want to see what kind of trouble this concubine of mine is up to this time!"

As she left, she reminded her, "Xueqing, go and tell Mother that I might stay at the Shen family's house tonight."

If Mother really falls ill, the Shen family will be without a leader, wouldn't Fang Shi turn the world upside down?