"Oh?" The emperor glanced at Concubine Li casually and praised her unexpectedly, "You did a great job. I want to reward you."
Eunuch Yuanbao: “…”
Reward? Is the emperor so angry that he is confused? What did Concubine Li do well? Did she scold you in person?
I also created a villain to curse you. Have you forgotten?
Concubine Li was also confused by the emperor's words. After a moment of confusion, she laughed and mocked viciously.
"Your Majesty wants to reward me? How is he going to reward me?"
"Everything will be discussed after Prince Duan comes back." The emperor sat on the chair, steady and unhurried, "Concubine Li can keep writing letters to Prince Duan, saying whatever she wants, I will not check.
Your rank remains unchanged, you are still Imperial Concubine Li, and your son is still studying at the Prince's School."
"Why? I have done something so treasonous, why does the emperor want to preserve my dignity?"
Concubine Li felt that the emperor was crazy and was driven crazy by her.
Eunuch Yuanbao also thought so. He looked at the emperor worriedly, over and over again.
Concubine Li practiced witchcraft, which was a serious crime, but the emperor not only did not punish her, but also allowed everything to continue as usual. What was the point of her coming here so late at night?
But people say that you shouldn't try to guess what the emperor is thinking, because you'll never figure it out no matter how hard you try. And right now, he still doesn't understand.
"Because you are Prince Duan's woman, I will leave him the last dignity." After saying this, the emperor stood up and said, "But you must stay under house arrest and cannot leave the room."
Concubine Li was stunned as she watched the emperor leaving. She felt like she had no idea what the emperor meant.
She made such a big mistake, why not punish her?
No, she should be executed or banished to the cold palace, or just confined to her house? Isn't that too easy for her?
Looking at the palace gate being locked by guards from the outside, Concubine Li sat on the ground with a confused look on her face.
Through the court sessions over the past two days, the ministers seemed to have realized a very scary point: the emperor was very well-informed and even knew many unknown secrets in people's backyards.
This is extremely scary. As an official in the imperial court, who doesn't have something shameful to hide? How much more so in the inner chamber?
In a place like that where there are endless secret and dirty tricks, there are even more shameful things, and yet the emperor knew them all. How did he know?
It is terrifying to think about it carefully. Many people discussed it privately and were deeply worried.
I’m afraid that one day I’ll be targeted, have my property confiscated, be thrown into prison, or be exiled.
Chu Xiaoxiao was carried to court on the third day. The court officials had gotten used to it and no one dared to bark in front of the emperor.
He even dared not speak, for fear of attracting the emperor's attention.
Standing on the dragon throne and looking at the huge crowd of people below, Chu Xiaoxiao yawned and forced out tears.
I raised my hand and wiped it randomly, but ended up with snot all over the back of my hand.
When the emperor saw this, he immediately wiped her hair carefully with a bright yellow handkerchief. After wiping her, he slowly glanced at the courtiers below.
"Duke Cheng! How is your family doing lately?"
When the emperor called on him, Duke Chengguo immediately bowed and replied, "Everything is fine at home."
"Hmm!" The emperor stared at him. "As long as the Zhou family is doing well, it's good. However... my harem is not doing well. Duke Chengguo taught his daughter well, but he actually practiced witchcraft in the harem."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Eunuch Yuanbao immediately took a tray with the two dolls he had found from Concubine Li and brought it to Duke Cheng and the other ministers for inspection.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and Duke Chengguo collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
Witchcraft? What is that evil girl going to do?
Chu Xiaoxiao also saw the two puppets and clapped her hands with a smile.
[Ahaha! The emperor was quite quick and actually caught Concubine Li. The Chengguo Mansion is in big trouble now. They embezzled more than 800,000 taels of silver for repairing the river. It's time to return it.]
The emperor looked coldly at Duke Cheng who was kneeling on the ground. He did not speak immediately. He wanted to know where Duke Cheng had put all the embezzled money.
"I found these two dolls from under Concubine Li's bed. Concubine Li has admitted it. Does Duke Cheng have anything to say?"
A minister nearby said, "The Imperial Concubine Li is worthy of death. She actually cursed the Emperor and Empress. Such a person should be banished to the cold palace."
"The Duke of Chengguo's Mansion also has an unshirkable responsibility. They failed to educate their daughter properly and should be demoted."
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
"......"
There was a chorus of “I second the motion” from the audience, and Chu Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes upon hearing it.
Her movements were very interesting. She squints her eyes, snorts, rolls her eyes, and finally slowly turns her head, facing everyone with her little butt.
The little expression was so adorable that it made the emperor burst into laughter.
The officials didn't know what the emperor was laughing at, so they all looked up and took a look in fear.
I dare not look at it too much, for fear of being scolded for being unreasonable.
[Huh! Are you still laughing? Let me tell you! A manor outside the Chengguo Mansion has been haunted for years, and no one dares to approach it. In fact, the underground has been hollowed out, and it is full of weapons and gold. Prince Duan saw that the place was convenient, so he set up the armory there. ]
The emperor's laughter stopped abruptly. The farm outside the Chengguo Mansion had been haunted for several years. It was said that many masters had been hired to perform rituals but to no avail.
It turned out to be a sleight of hand?
Oh! How can such a good thing be given to others? It must be done by the Duke of Protectorate.
[Oh, and more! A screen wall was built in the front yard of Duke Cheng's mansion, and it was specially built to be extra thick. All the money he embezzled was hidden in that screen wall.]
Wow! How cunning! He actually hid the embezzled money in the screen wall. Most people would never think of this.
"Duke Cheng! You embezzled more than 800,000 taels of money from the river repair fund, and even built this money into the screen wall in the front yard. Come! Search and confiscate the Duke Cheng's mansion."
Chu Xiaoxiao: “…”
I suspect that the emperor can hear my thoughts, but I have no evidence.
The ministers below looked at each other, with stormy waves in their hearts.
The emperor indeed had his own source of information. He actually knew that the Chengguo Mansion had embezzled the funds for repairing the river, and he also knew where the money was hidden.
Oh my God! Did the emperor know all about their little affair?
First it was General Liu, now it's Duke Cheng's Mansion, who will be next? If they voluntarily plead guilty and hand over the embezzled silver, will this matter be over?
Everyone communicated with each other through their eyes, and everyone was terrified.
They couldn't just sit there and wait for death, they had to find a way to deal with the dirty silver in their hands, otherwise if the emperor found out, it would be no joke.
Who can stand having their property confiscated at any time?
[Alas! It won’t work to confiscate their homes one by one. We should think of a way to make them collectively hand over the money they embezzled. You can’t always let me attend court! I’m still a baby, and I don’t sleep well, which will affect my growth! ]
The emperor took one look at the sad-looking baby and felt that he was being a little inhumane.
Give the baby a few days off first, and then go find her when something happens.
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