The ledger in my hand was completely different from the one I had seen before. This one recorded the daily expenses of a mansion in a fragmented and scattered manner. It was very normal, but it was so normal that it seemed very strange.
Su Qingcai gripped the paper tightly, so tightly that he almost tore the ledger to shreds.
His mind raced as he recalled everything that had happened since last night, and he suddenly remembered seeing Qin Yunyun before going to court.
Qin Yunyun was still full of vigor. She personally escorted Su Qinghe to court, and at the palace gate, she smiled at Su Qingcai and asked meaningfully, "What does the Ninth Prince want to do at court this time?"
Her gaze seemed to fall intentionally or unintentionally on the ledger in his arms. At the time, Su Qingcai left in a hurry and did not pay attention to her. Now, thinking about it, there were suspicious points everywhere.
Could it be that Su Qinghe colluded with Lord Cao and helped him switch the account books? Was Su Qinghe also involved in this heinous transaction?
If that's the case, then relying on Qin Yunyun's incredible luck, changing the contents of a small ledger would be incredibly easy...
The more Su Qingcai thought about it, the more terrified he became. He stood frozen in place, speechless for a moment.
A smug smile slowly spread across the Minister of Justice's face. He feigned concern and asked, "What's wrong, Ninth Prince? Weren't you supposed to read out the evidence? Why are you spacing out?"
Su Qingcai kept her head down, unsure how to deal with this suffocating situation.
The emperor seemed to realize that something was wrong. His anger subsided slightly, and he ordered the chief eunuch beside him, "Bring up the Ninth Prince's 'evidence' so that I may see it."
The head eunuch responded and walked up to Su Qingcai, extending his hand. Su Qingcai felt utterly powerless, knowing her fate was sealed, and could only resign herself to placing the account book in the eunuch's hands.
The account book was presented, and the emperor glanced through it briefly. After reading only a few lines, he knew it was just an ordinary account book.
He snorted coldly and threw the ledger down.
"Outrageous! How can such an account book be used as evidence? You are a prince personally appointed by me, how dare you openly slander a court official in court?!"
Su Qingcai's face turned pale. Knowing he could not refute, he could only lower his head and endure the emperor's wrath.
The Minister of Justice picked up the account book that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and said with feigned incomprehension, "I have no grudge against the Ninth Prince, yet he insists on slandering me. Why is that? This is just my household account book. Since when can something like this be used as evidence?"
He sighed, his face full of heartache, but a fleeting glint of triumph flashed in his eyes.
The court was in an uproar once again. This time, the people were indignant, and almost all the ministers were criticizing Su Qingcai for acting rashly and chilling the hearts of the officials.
Su Qingcai remained silent, knowing that saying anything now would be pointless. However, his attitude was interpreted as tacit approval by the court officials, who then launched into a tirade against him.
Chaos reigned in the court, the clamor giving the emperor a headache. He slammed his fist on the table and roared:
"What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket in such an important place! Perhaps the Ninth Prince's mistake was unintentional. My ministers, please do not be so aggressive. That's enough. Court is adjourned! Ninth Prince, please come with me to the Imperial Study."
This means they want to talk to him alone.
Su Qingcai lowered her eyes and nodded silently.
Although the others in the court were unwilling, the emperor had spoken, so they dared not act recklessly and could only take their leave. The once lively hall was soon empty.
...
Inside the Ninth Prince's residence, Su Xiaoning waited calmly and composedly.
She thought that having the account book would solve everything, but she didn't expect that Su Qingcai would not return after waiting for a long time, and in the end, Shen Jun came instead.
Previously, Su Xiaoning had asked Ding Yi to inquire about the situation at court, and Ding Yi had entrusted this task to Shen Jun. After Su Qingcai was summoned to the Imperial Study for a private talk, Shen Jun rushed to the Prince's residence to report the situation to Su Xiaoning.
He recounted the events that had transpired in the imperial court to Su Xiaoning, who was utterly shocked upon hearing it.
"How could this be? How could the ledgers have been switched!"
Shen Jun shrugged and said helplessly, "Who knows? Anyway, it's just an ordinary account book. Lord Cao wasn't convicted at all, and the Ninth Prince is being held alone now. Sigh, it seems like the Ninth Prince's luck has really turned around a lot since he's no longer protected by a lucky charm..."
He said it casually, but it sounded extremely harsh to Su Xiaoning.
Su Xiaoning gripped the spot on her arm where the koi fish mark had once stood, a sorrowful expression on her face.
"It's all my fault. If only I still had the luck of being a lucky charm..."
"Don't think that way, I was just saying it offhand." Shen Jun realized he had misspoke and quickly corrected himself.
Su Xiaoning gave him a forced smile, then lowered her head and remained silent.
"...I'm sorry, I have to go now. I'll let you know about what happened with the Ninth Prince."
The atmosphere between the two was very oppressive. Shen Jun glanced at Su Xiaoning with guilt and then left in a hurry.
He returned to the palace, but the door to the imperial study was tightly closed, and he could only faintly hear the emperor's angry shouts from inside.
"I am very disappointed in you. You were far too reckless! Why did you rush to claim credit without investigating the matter thoroughly?!"
"Your Majesty, I have no intention of seeking credit..."
Su Qingcai lowered her head, and her few rebuttals seemed extremely weak and powerless.
The emperor snorted coldly and scoffed, "If you didn't have that idea, why would you be so foolish as to produce some 'evidence' that isn't true? I used to think you were the most steady and reliable person, but now it seems you're just as brainless as I thought!"
These words were far too harsh. Cold sweat broke out on Su Qingcai's forehead. He tried his best to remain calm and said:
"Your Majesty, I was indeed rash in court, but this matter was absolutely not something I planned alone. The illegal trafficking of children does exist, and the ledgers were in good order last night. The evidence was clearly conclusive; it was just that things suddenly changed..."
This was indeed a sudden turn of events, catching Su Qingcai completely off guard. He knew in his heart that Qin Yunyun and Su Qinghe were most likely behind this, but in front of the emperor, he couldn't voice this mere speculation, and could only helplessly explain the matter at court.
This dubious explanation clearly did not satisfy the emperor, who remained furious and pointed at Su Qingcai, coldly saying:
"They're all so reckless! I really need to think carefully about who I should entrust this empire to!"
These words were extremely serious. Su Qingcai turned pale and couldn't say a word. Even Shen Jun, who was listening outside the door, was shocked.
The leaves rustled outside the window, and the room was eerily quiet. Su Qingcai knelt before the emperor, a wave of sorrow washing over her.
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