Chapter 230 Sacrificing Family for the Righteous
Granny Wang was furious, and her old face turned a deep liver color!
She pointed at Jinxiu and shouted in a shrill voice, "How dare you! You...you actually dare to use a few children to threaten the old lady?! This is outrageous!"
Having said that, she was unwilling to waste any more words with such a shrew and turned to leave.
But before she reached the door, Jinxiu's unhurried yet deadly voice suddenly came from behind her.
“I’ve heard,” Jinxiu said slowly, “that the Huo family has a feud with their former second daughter-in-law, who is now the Regent’s wife. And… it seems that the feud didn’t end well.”
“If…” a hint of amusement crept into her voice, “I take these children from the Huo family to see the Regent’s Consort. Do you think she… would be interested?”
Granny Wang suddenly stopped in her tracks!
She turned her head in disbelief, staring intently at Jinxiu, her eyes seeming to want to devour her alive!
Jinxiu smiled, a smile brimming with unwavering confidence: "I was just thinking about it."
“But,” a cold glint flashed in her eyes, “if Old Madam Huo really pushes us too far, then we won’t mind doing it.”
The news reached the Regent's Palace and fell into the ears of Shen Qingci and Chu Jichen.
After hearing this, Shen Qingci couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She turned her head to look at the man beside her who was listening to the report with a playful expression, her eyes full of mockery: "Your Highness, did you teach him?"
Chu Jichen slowly shook his head, his face full of innocence.
A hint of surprise flashed in Shen Qingci's eyes.
“If no one has truly taught her,” her voice carried a hint of genuine approval, “then this beautiful young lady is indeed quite interesting. We should get to know her better.”
Then she laughed again: "That's true. The reason that mistress was able to give birth safely is because she was kept hidden away by the old Marquis and raised outside. But this Jinxiu..."
"She actually managed to hook up with the old Marquis right under the nose of a woman like Madam Huo, get pregnant, and even give birth safely. She must have some skill."
Under Jinxiu's combination of soft and hard threats, whether out of a deal with the emperor or out of fear of Jinxiu, Old Madam Huo would surely agree to let them in.
Shen Qingci laughed, her laughter filled with delight: "Now, the Yongning Marquis's residence is going to be quite lively."
Sure enough, Shen Qingci received the news the next day—
Several uncles from the Yongning Marquis's family actually came to the door together and blocked Old Madam Huo inside the Buddhist hall!
Their words were harsh and their attitude unwavering. They stated that Huo Yunzhan had committed such heinous crimes and that he must not be allowed to bring disaster upon the entire Huo family! They urged Old Madam Huo to find a way to completely sever ties with him!
Under immense pressure from both internal and external difficulties, Madam Huo finally gave in.
She personally sent people to bring Jinxiu, her mistress, and the four Huo family members back to the mansion.
The next day, the morning court session began.
Just as the civil and military officials were filled with anxiety and discussion about "Prime Minister Liu's intention to rebel, but his whereabouts have been unknown", a figure that no one expected appeared in the Golden Hall!
Dressed in plain clothes and holding a dragon-headed cane, Madam Huo, supported by Granny Wang, slowly walked step by step up to the Golden Palace, which symbolized supreme power!
Ignoring the astonished gazes around her, she walked straight to the center of the hall and knelt down heavily in front of Emperor Yongming, who was also looking bewildered, on the dragon throne.
"Your Majesty!" Her voice was hoarse and sorrowful, filled with endless pain and determination, "I am guilty!"
"I have failed in managing my household and in educating my son! I have raised an unfilial son like Huo Yunzhan, who murdered his brother, seized his title, and framed loyal officials!"
"Today, even if it costs me my old life, I will... uphold justice and put aside my own family! I will present all the evidence of the crimes committed by that rebellious son before His Majesty!"
As she spoke, she took out a stack of yellowed letters that she had prepared beforehand from her sleeve and held them high above her head.
"These are the secret letters between that rebellious son and the border general! It's enough to prove that he... has long harbored ill intentions towards the Shen family!"
Just as everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the hall!
A man dressed in prison clothes and covered in wounds was escorted to the Golden Hall by several imperial guards!
"Your Majesty!" The head of the Imperial Guards bowed and reported, "This man is none other than Nan Zhu, Huo Yunting's personal bodyguard, who filed a complaint against the Huo brothers for fighting each other outside the Ministry of War's residence a few days ago!"
"We were ordered to imprison him in the Shuntian Prefecture prison. But who knew that last night, a group of mysterious assassins broke into the prison, intending to silence him!"
"Fortunately," he paused, a look of lingering fear on his face, "we discovered him in time and risked our lives to save him!"
Upon seeing Old Madam Huo, "Nanzhu" immediately began to struggle agitated, his eyes bloodshot and his voice filled with deep-seated hatred:
"Madam! Why...why are you trying to kill me to silence me?!"
"I just want to get justice for my master!"
He suddenly turned his head and kowtowed heavily to Emperor Yongming on the dragon throne!
"Your Majesty! I have evidence!"
He took out a blood-soaked notebook from his pocket and held it high!
"This is...this is a blood letter written by my master before his death! It clearly records the entire process of how Huo Yunzhan set up a trap to kill him!"
"This humble subject once presented this item to the old lady! But not only did she not believe it, she... directly burned this blood-written letter!"
"I was heartbroken at the time, and I wanted to take this last piece of evidence and fly away, never to care about this filthy world again! But... but I was still unwilling to give up!"
"Fortunately!" His voice was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster. "I was prepared! I had already copied and forged a copy of the blood-written letter! The one I gave to the old lady that day was actually the copy I made!"
"Today, even if it costs me my life, I will reveal the truth to the world!"
The evidence was quickly presented to Emperor Yongming's desk.
He had been casually flipping through the pages with a somewhat suspicious expression. But when he realized that the so-called "evidence" cleverly pointed all the finger at Liu Wenyuan, who had long since disappeared, a barely perceptible glint flashed in his narrow eyes!
He slowly put down the letter in his hand, turned his gaze to Old Madam Huo, who was still kneeling in the center of the hall, and asked in a voice that revealed neither joy nor anger: "Where did these things come from, Old Madam Huo?"
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Huo trembled violently!
She raised her head, her wrinkled face filled with grief and despair.
“Your Majesty,” her voice was hoarse and heavy, “I found these in a secret compartment in that rebellious son Huo Yunzhan’s study.”
She kowtowed heavily to the cold gold brick!
"Your Majesty!" Her voice was filled with endless pleading, "This old woman... has presented all the evidence of that rebellious son's crimes before you!"
"Could...could Your Majesty please show mercy and spare the rest of the Huo family, considering the generations of loyalty of the Huo family?"
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