Su Qinghe stood up abruptly, pointed at Jiang Qingwan and shouted angrily, "Ninth Princess Consort, how dare you! You actually conspired with the Second Prince to devise such a vicious scheme, using a phantom dragon to help the Second Prince compete for the position of Crown Prince. The Emperor is in his prime, aren't you being a little too hasty?"
In the already deathly silent hall, only her voice echoed.
All the court officials were so frightened that they dared not utter a sound.
The Empress was furious.
"The Emperor hasn't even spoken yet, but you've already stepped forward. Who's really in a hurry?"
Su Qinghe wanted to say something more, but saw Consort Su shake her head at her with a sharp look in her eyes. Realizing she had misspoke, she quickly sat back down.
The Empress rose and knelt before Mo Yunzhao.
"Your Majesty, Shaoqing was raised by you personally. You know his character better than I, his mother. He is devoted to the Great Zhou, dedicated to achieving good political results, and assisting you in governing the country. How could he blatantly commit such a rebellious act? Isn't this dragging himself into an abyss of no return? I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
Mo Shaoqing quickly knelt down as well.
"Father, I do not know why this has happened. Aunt Jiu, you asked me to pay my respects, and I have done so. Why did you summon the Golden Dragon and bring this upon me?"
Jinlong was summoned by Jiang Qingwan, and all the blame was directed at her.
Mo Yunhan gave a cold laugh.
"Second Prince, what you're saying is strange. Wasn't it you who kept instigating my Queen to summon the Golden Dragon? If my Queen didn't do it, it would be disrespectful to my elder brother. Now that my Queen has done it, you're not satisfied?"
Mo Shaoqing asked anxiously, "But why did the golden dragon enter my body?"
Jiang Qingwan explained calmly, "Before summoning the golden dragon, I made it clear that the Zhaoyang Palace gathers dragon energy, which can summon the golden dragon. However, the golden dragon will also be attracted by the dragon energy, and its destination is not something I can control."
She then looked at Mo Yunzhao.
"If Your Majesty intends to punish me for this, I will not accept it."
The court officials felt ashamed.
Is this a matter of whether you accept it or not?
Before a crown prince was established and the emperor was in his prime, a prince appeared and absorbed the true dragon's energy in full view of everyone.
How are we going to handle this?!
Mo Yunhan lowered his head and gently patted Jiang Qingwan's back.
"Your Highness need not worry. As the ruler of a nation, how could my brother be swayed by such trivial tricks? Besides, the dragon aura of the Great Zhou has been passed down. My brother should be happy, for this shows that the Great Zhou dynasty is eternal and can last for hundreds of generations."
These words struck a nerve with Mo Yunzhao.
Which reigning emperor would want to see the true dragon choose another as his master?
Mo Yunzhao's face was extremely ugly, but he couldn't lash out on the spot, as that would seem petty.
After holding it in for a long time, he managed to force a stiff smile.
"The appearance of the golden dragon is an auspicious sign, and all my beloved ministers should drink a cup together."
The ministers quickly descended the steps, raised their wine cups, and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
Just as the tension was starting to ease, an urgent report came from outside.
"Your Majesty, something has happened at the banquet outside the palace."
The guard staggered into the hall and knelt on the ground.
Mo Yunzhao finally found an outlet for his pent-up anger and smashed the wine cup in his hand.
"You insolent fools! Anyone who dares to cause trouble at the banquet bestowed upon us by the Emperor, Yan Yunqing, arrest them all and execute them by slow slicing!"
Yan Yunqing bowed to receive the order and was about to leave when Guo Changhong suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Hundred Banquet is a grand event for you to share joy with the people, and it will surely gather famous scholars from the capital. If you arrest people and execute them by slow slicing without asking the reason, it may cause unrest among the people. I beg Your Majesty to send people to investigate thoroughly, find out the villains, and punish them severely."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yunzhao felt a chill run down his spine.
To cause trouble at the banquet is to challenge his authority.
Thinking back to what happened with the golden dragon, the coldness in his eyes intensified.
He suppressed his anger and resumed his usual wise and gentle demeanor as a ruler.
"Lord Guo's considerations are indeed thorough."
Qin Minglang suddenly stood up.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burden and lead the staff of the Dali Temple to accompany Commander Yan to investigate the truth."
Mo Yunzhao's eyes showed relief, and he was about to grant the request when the kneeling soldier said urgently, "Your Majesty, those troublemakers are accusing Lord Qin, and they have attracted a thousand people to surround him and beg Your Majesty to make a decision. If Lord Qin goes, I'm afraid..."
Mo Yunzhao was taken aback.
"Accusing Lord Qin? What accusation?"
The soldier answered quickly.
"It is said that Lord Qin harmed the people of Da Zhou in order to achieve political success. The prisoners executed by the Dali Temple were not remnants of the Sui Dynasty, but good citizens of Da Zhou. Some of them were comrades-in-arms of Lord Qin when he fought in the army. They also exposed some evil deeds that Lord Qin committed during the campaign. Every single one of them, the testimonies and evidence all matched up. The people all knelt in front of the banquet to appeal."
As Guo Changhong said, those who could attend the banquet were all famous scholars from various places, as well as some officials who were not qualified to enter the palace.
How can this matter be contained now that it has escalated to this point?
Qin Minglang was furious.
He immediately knelt on the ground and appealed.
"Your Majesty, I know who is causing trouble. It is Liu Ruzhi, the Prefect of the Capital..."
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Ruzhi stood up from the corner.
"Lord Qin, how can you so easily smear me? How could I possibly have the time to plan this? Besides, what purpose would I have in planning this?"
Qin Minglang's face turned ashen with anger.
"Lord Liu, on the day the Dali Temple executed the traitor, a group of people claiming to be relatives of the traitor came to cause trouble. You took them all to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office, but now they've reappeared at the banquet. Do you dare say you didn't do it?"
Liu Ruzhi immediately retorted.
"Of course not."
"Lord Qin, the case of the traitor is under your Dali Temple. The case I took over is a missing persons case. I have served as the Prefect of Jingzhao for several years. I know the rule that official duties of different departments should not overlap."
“After you left the execution ground that day, they began to identify the bodies. All the missing people were found, and they were all dead. The case became a dead case, so I naturally had no need to take them away. If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask. I am not lying.”
"You cannot harbor hatred towards me and take revenge on me just because your father was imprisoned for robbing the Ninth Princess for money."
He knelt on the ground, filled with grief and indignation.
"Your Majesty, you must do justice for me! I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly and clear my name."
Many people have heard about the things the Qin family did on official business.
Whispers continued to emanate from inside the hall.
Qin Minglang was so angry he felt like vomiting blood, and immediately knelt down as well.
"Your Majesty, the case of the traitor was ordered by Your Majesty personally, could it be..."
At this moment, an official suddenly stepped forward and interrupted him.
"Your Majesty, if this is true, then Lord Qin has truly misled Your Majesty. I remember the heated debate at the morning court that day; Lord Qin's words were eloquent and his arguments were irrefutable, with many court officials echoing his sentiments. However, at that time, Lord Qin had not yet officially assumed his post in the Court of Judicial Review. On the contrary, His Highness the Ninth Prince repeatedly presented evidence, but Lord Qin evaded it in his words, and was even targeted by several censors. Now that I think about it, who is behind this charade, deceiving Your Majesty and targeting His Highness the Ninth Prince? It's terrifying to contemplate!"
Mo Yunzhao's gaze suddenly fell on Su Yulan, who had accompanied Qin Minglang, and then slowly landed on Su Qinghe, who was beside Mo Shaojun.
I suddenly felt like I had a thorn in my side.
Even the delicate fragrance of Consort Su, his most beloved concubine, turned cold and terrifying.
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