When Jiang Jinyan heard the Ninth Prince talking about the imperial edict again, he clenched his fists tightly.
If this man hadn't been meddling in other people's affairs, the situation wouldn't have come to this. Zhu'er is still with them, and the Jiang family wouldn't be suspected of colluding with treasonous criminals.
He really hated the Ninth Prince so much that he wanted to kill him with his own hands.
It can be seen that the palace guards led by Ting Lan are standing in front of the Ninth Prince. If he really rushes over, not to mention the consequences of attacking the royal family, he will probably be beaten half to death by these guards before he can do anything to the Ninth Prince.
As a respectable and educated man, he didn't want to be beaten unconscious like his second brother.
Therefore, Jiang Jinyan chose to be a gentleman and not to use force:
"Please don't say anything nonsense, Your Highness. We didn't disobey the imperial decree. We just felt that there were some doubts in Jiang Xiancao's testimony at the blessing banquet. We wanted to make her tell the truth as soon as possible, so we used some tricks in our desperation."
As he spoke, he pulled the corners of his mouth with a forced smile and said eloquently:
"As children of aristocratic families, we are well aware of the dangers of the Tianming Pavilion. We are doing this to help the Imperial City Bureau solve the case as soon as possible and to relieve the emperor's worries. Will the Ninth Prince forbid us from sacrificing our relatives for the sake of justice?"
Hearing that Jiang Jinyan could actually twist the matter into them wanting to "kill their relatives for the sake of justice", Jiang Xiancao raised an eyebrow and sighed in his heart:
Jiang Jinyan is worthy of being the eldest dog of the Jiang family, he can really bark.
Tangyuan was not as calm as Jiang Xiancao. She was shocked by Jiang Jinyan's shamelessness and angry that her young lady was not only punished but also slandered and insulted.
For a moment, she didn't care about the master-servant etiquette and shouted at Jiang Jinyan:
"Young Master, you have no heart, you are not a human! You are not doing this for the greater good, you are killing your relatives to exonerate the eldest lady! You are worse than an animal for doing such a thing!"
Although she had not read much, her words hit the nail on the head for Jiang Jinyan.
Jiang Jinyan instantly became furious:
"How dare a slave insult her master? Come, drag her away and give her sixty strokes of the cane!"
Sixty strokes of the board could kill someone.
Jiang Jinyan has disliked Tangyuan for a long time, and he really wants her to die.
Shen Tingsi, who was originally dying of pain, raised his head, looked over the servants of the Marquis' Mansion who had gathered around him, and said to Jiang Xiancao:
"Save her, I beg you!"
This was the first time in his life that he uttered the word "please".
Jiang Xiancao went over in person, but not for Shen Tingsi's plea.
She kicked away the servants who were pulling Tangyuan one by one, and then said to Tangyuan softly, "Don't be afraid."
Tang Yuan looked at her with tears in her eyes, "Prince, please take my daughter away. She can't survive in the Marquis' Mansion."
Seeing that even at this moment, she was still concerned about the safety of her young lady and not thinking about herself at all, Jiang Xiancao was both moved and distressed.
Such a sensible and kind girl happened to meet the wicked and cruel people in the Wen Ning Marquis Mansion.
This world is so unfair sometimes.
Fortunately, she is no longer the helpless and useless Second Miss. She can lend a helping hand to Tangyuan and help this silly girl escape from this den of wolves completely.
Jiang Xiancao called two palace guards and ordered in a deep voice:
"Take Miss Tangyuan and Miss Jiang Er to the carriage at the palace and send them back to recuperate."
She took Shen Tingsi away with her, firstly to protect her original body from being killed by those mad dogs of the Jiang family.
The second reason is that she already knew that the Imperial City Division was in secret contact with Shen Tingsi. At this time, letting Shen Tingsi stay in the palace would be beneficial to her.
When Shen Tingsi heard that he could finally return to the palace, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
Jiang Jinyan said at this time:
"Why do you take them away?"
Jiang Xiancao turned around and looked at the handsome and elegant man standing in the sun.
Jiang Jinyan's face was cold, and his eyes were full of hostility as he looked at her:
"The prince has already sent one of my sisters to prison. I will not allow you to take my other sister away. Regardless of whether Jiang Xiancao is guilty or not, her surname is Jiang and she is from my Jiang family. If you forcibly take her away, you are abducting a commoner girl—"
"Then just think of me as forcibly seizing a common woman. If you are not convinced, go to the emperor and file a complaint against me."
Jiang Xiancao sneered fearlessly:
"It just so happens that I also want to let my father and the Queen Mother know how you, when there is irrefutable evidence of Jiang Huaizhu's guilt, still suspect that my own sister, whose reputation was nearly ruined by her, is at fault.
Then, even though you clearly had no evidence at all, you used such cruel punishment as the "pin-and-squeeze" on your own sister just because of your suspicion, and almost crippled her hands.
When the incident was discovered later, they still called it killing one's own relatives for the sake of justice.
This prince would like to know if, when you really appear before my father, you, Grand Secretary Jiang, can still bring yourself to say those words about investigating cases for the Imperial City Division and relieving the Emperor's worries.
This prince also wants all the civil and military officials in the court to listen in, so that everyone in the world will know that the righteousness in the hearts of you Jiang family is such a ridiculous thing! "
Jiang Jinyan's face turned ashen, his eyes filled with unconcealable hatred, but he also revealed a bit of fear.
Because what the Ninth Prince said was right. If this matter really came to the attention of the Emperor, they would probably be the ones to be punished.
But if Jiang Xiancao is not kept, it means losing the opportunity to overturn Zhu'er's case through her confession.
Their hope of rescuing Zhu'er was further reduced.
So even though he knew he couldn't stop the Ninth Prince, he still refused to give in.
Seeing that the guards of the palace were about to take the people away, Jiang Jinyan actually walked to Jiang Xiancao and said humbly:
"Ninth Prince, as long as you leave Jiang Xiancao here and don't get involved in this matter anymore, I can resign from my position and leave the Eastern Palace."
Jiang Xiancao paused and turned to look at him.
Jiang Jinyan's eyes were full of determination, and he said in a deep voice:
"I know you don't really like Jiang Xiancao.
The reason you're doing this is simply because you hate me for being so close to His Royal Highness. So, I'm quitting my job now. I don't even want a future. Even if I stay home all my life, I won't do anything to harm you. Is that enough?"
He thought he had shown great sincerity.
Because what he sacrificed his future in exchange for was not even the Ninth Prince overturning Jiang Huaizhu's case, but just that the Ninth Prince would stop interfering in this matter.
If the Ninth Prince is really interested in the throne, then what is the difference between the conditions he offers and giving the Ninth Prince a priceless benefit for free?
But he didn't expect that Jiang Xiancao just chuckled.
The mockery and contempt in her smile made him feel uncomfortable.
"Jiang Jinyan, do you really think you can wear this official hat of the Eastern Palace scholar on your head for much longer?"
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