Chapter 152 I Want to See Her
Seeing that Yuanbao still looked confused, Shen Qingci patiently explained, "With such a big incident involving Chu Jichen, Liu Wenyuan and his gang of old foxes must all be staring intently at me right now, wanting to see how I will react."
"In that case, this is our opportunity."
"I will pretend that I cannot accept all of this, that I am completely flustered, and that I will rush into the palace and make a scene. The more I make a scene, the more I will resemble a irrational woman who only knows how to throw a tantrum, and the more attention they will focus on me."
"In this way, you will have more room to operate in the shadows, and you will be able to more easily contact the servants who serve the prince, pass on messages to us, and create opportunities!"
Yuanbao was speechless, and his admiration for the newly crowned princess had reached its peak!
He used to think the prince was love-struck, but now it seems the prince's judgment was incredibly sharp!
This princess is no ordinary young lady; she is clearly a strategist who is well-versed in military tactics and full of wisdom!
He immediately clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, his voice filled with unprecedented conviction: "Your Highness is wise! I understand! I will make the arrangements immediately!"
Having said that, he didn't hesitate for a moment, and in a flash, he disappeared from the study.
Wanqing stepped forward and gently draped a plain-colored cloak with dark patterns over Shen Qingci's shoulders.
Shen Qingci remained silent for a moment and did not set off immediately.
"Miss?" Wanqing asked softly.
Shen Qingci slowly shook her head, her voice carrying a hint of solemnity: "Although we are going to make a scene, we can't just act recklessly without any purpose. That would only make us look foolish and invite ridicule."
"There's also Huo Yunzhan standing over Liu Wenyuan's side." A cold look of disgust flashed in her eyes. "Huo Yunzhan knows me too well. If I act too strangely and just cry and make a scene, he will definitely be the first to notice something is wrong."
"I must find a breakthrough that is significant enough to lower their guard."
Shen Qingci paced slowly in the room, her mind racing.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks!
"Yuanbao said that one of the crimes Liu Wenyuan listed was framing loyal officials and also pinning the Shen family case on Chu Jichen."
Upon hearing this, Wan Qing immediately exclaimed angrily, "That old scoundrel is utterly shameless!"
“He is shameless, but that’s exactly what gave us the opportunity.” Shen Qingci’s eyes gleamed with cunning. “Since he dared to make a fuss about the Shen family, he was just trying to test how much I had found out.”
"If I don't produce something truly impressive, I'm afraid I won't be able to gain their trust, let alone completely muddy the waters."
"But if I reveal all my cards, I will be playing right into their hands and falling completely into their trap."
Wanqing's heart also jumped: "Then... what should we do?"
Shen Qingci did not hesitate for long; a resolute and ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.
"Then... present the evidence!"
“But,” she changed the subject, “we won’t put them all out.”
"How much to display, when to display it, and how to display it—these are all matters that require careful consideration."
She immediately went back to her desk and took out a thick oil paper package from a locked secret compartment.
There, she found all the evidence that Sheng Lingxue had given her, as well as all the evidence she had previously found out about Huo Yunzhan framing the Shen family.
She spread out the letters one by one, her eyes scanning them quickly, weighing them repeatedly. Finally, she picked out a few letters that seemed crucial, but were not the most important, and carefully hid them close to her body.
After doing all this, she slowly stood up, her eyes filled with a cold and resolute determination.
"Get the car ready!"
"I want to enter the palace!"
As soon as Shen Qingci's carriage entered the palace gate, before it even reached the Taiji Hall, it was stopped by a large group of people.
Leading the group was Liu Wenyuan, whose face was grim.
Standing beside him was Huo Yunzhan, who should have been under house arrest in the Yongning Marquis's residence.
Shen Qingci lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down with an icy expression.
"What is the meaning of this, Your Excellency Prime Minister?" Her voice was cold as she glanced at Liu Wenyuan before finally settling on Huo Yunzhan's smug face. "Blocking my path, could it be that you intend to... rebel?"
Liu Wenyuan raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a forced smile, "Your Highness is too kind. However, His Highness the Regent is currently involved in several serious crimes and is being questioned by officials in the palace. It would be very inconvenient for Your Highness to enter the palace at this time."
"Inconvenient?" Shen Qingci sneered. "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. As for the truth, I'm sure you, Prime Minister, know it better than anyone else."
“I don’t care about any of that,” her eyes sharpened. “All I know is that he is my husband. I want to see him.”
"Husband?"
Huo Yunzhan could no longer contain himself. He stepped forward before Liu Wenyuan could react and demanded sharply, "Shen Qingci! How dare you mention the word 'husband'?! Among Chu Jichen's crimes was framing loyal officials, which led to the execution of your entire Shen family! Do you not care at all about this?!"
He looked heartbroken, as if Shen Qingci was someone who would do anything for love.
Shen Qingci laughed, a laugh filled with endless mockery.
She slowly stepped forward, looked directly into Huo Yunzhan's eyes, and asked, word by word, "And what gives you the right to question this princess?"
"Is it that... the one who, for the sake of power, plotted to kill his own brother, then took his identity and seized his wives and concubines... my ex-husband who 'came back to life'?"
Huo Yunzhan's face turned deathly pale in an instant!
He never expected that Shen Qingci would dare to expose this matter in front of Liu Wenyuan and so many palace guards!
"You...you're talking nonsense!" he roared, his voice trembling with fear. "Those...those are nothing but baseless accusations made against me by an assassin who appeared out of nowhere! It's clearly a deliberate frame-up!"
"Oh? A frame-up?" Shen Qingci tilted her head slightly, her eyes both innocent and cruel. "Then may I ask, Lord Marquis, is the framing of you for causing the death of your own brother false? Or is the framing of you for impersonating your own brother... false?"
"Of course... of course it's all fake!" Huo Yunzhan almost shouted.
"Is that so?" Shen Qingci scoffed, her eyes full of mockery. "So, Marquis, you are now still Marquis Yongning, Huo Yunting, and not... General Huo Yunzhan who is leading the west?"
"Of course!" Huo Yunzhan said loudly, raising his head.
He must cling to this identity! Otherwise, everything he has done before will be a capital offense of deceiving the emperor!
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci gave him a half-smile and looked him up and down, her gaze as if she were looking at an interesting toy.
“Since the Marquis insists that he is Huo Yunting,” she said slowly, her voice carrying a hint of ambiguous teasing, “that makes things easier.”
"After all, Huo Yunzhan was once my closest husband. I know perfectly well what marks he has that others don't know about, what secrets he has that belong only to him."
"How about we ask the Marquis to... undress in front of everyone, so that I, the Princess Consort, can personally examine your body in public. Let's see if you are Huo Yunting, or... Huo Yunzhan?"
"You!" Huo Yunzhan panicked instantly!
He never expected Shen Qingci to be so shameless as to make such an absurd request in public!
He instinctively took a step back and hurriedly said, "Absurd! What we're talking about now is Chu Jichen framing the Shen family. What does this have to do with my identity or anything like that?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com