Qu Jingyun's fundraising was not done quietly in private, but rather in a high-profile manner.
He walked into shop after shop under the watchful eyes of everyone in the capital, raising all the money from all the shops under his name.
And he went to the pawnshop and pawned everything he could.
They even borrowed money from acquaintances.
The silver was not difficult for Qu Jingyun to obtain; it was easy for her to take it out.
But if he were to reveal it so easily, it would only make everyone think that Shen Yunting had indeed embezzled funds.
Qu Jingyun wanted everyone to know that she and the General's Mansion had abandoned all pretense of dignity and used every means possible to raise money to ransom the people.
People simply didn't believe that Shen Yunting would embezzle.
After all, it's not easy for a general like him to embezzle funds.
In recent years, the General's Mansion has become known for its frugality and simplicity.
The generals knew perfectly well that Shen Yunting's salary was all spent on provisions, so how could he possibly embezzle it?
Thanks to Qu Jingyun's grand publicity, in just three days, almost everyone in the capital knew about it.
She was afraid it wouldn't be enough, so when she went out with Shen Yue and Chen Cong to raise money, they wore coarse cloth clothes.
She wished she could run into someone and cry out to them about Shen Yunting's injustice and how hard they had worked to raise the money.
As public opinion intensified, Qu Jingyun finally raised enough money to enter the palace.
At this time, the Emperor was not the only person in the Imperial Study.
After Qu Jingyun entered, she glanced at the ministers in the imperial study, ignoring their displeased expressions, and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, the silver I brought today is enough to offset the amount in General Shen's account book. Please take a look."
"I believe you." The Emperor looked at Qu Jingyun thoughtfully, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
He had heard about what Qu Jingyun had been doing recently.
Amidst the rumors and gossip, few people would believe that Shen Yunting had embezzled funds.
Everyone felt that the court had no capable people.
They couldn't even find out the truth about Shen Yunting being framed.
The emperor naturally wanted to stop the rumors, but by the time they reached his ears, it was too late.
It's impossible to silence public opinion!
If we forcefully suppress it, it will only backfire.
In the end, the emperor had no choice but to swallow his anger.
He underestimated Qu Jingyun!
These people in the Imperial Study today have come to file a complaint.
Upon seeing Qu Jingyun, they couldn't contain themselves and began to criticize her.
"Your Majesty, the county princess has recently been spouting nonsense in the capital, causing quite a stir and leading to widespread dissatisfaction among the people with the court. It is widely known that she harbors resentment towards the court."
"That's right. General Shen embezzled first, but the Emperor took pity on him and made him pay back the money without imposing a severe punishment. However, the county princess harbored resentment because of this and went around falsely accusing the court. Her heart is despicable."
...
The crowd began to criticize Qu Jingyun, one after another.
Qu Jingyun's eyes instantly reddened, and she looked up at everyone present.
She said, feeling wronged, "What are you saying, ministers? When have I ever accused the court? You are truly wronging me."
"Stop pretending. Haven't you been the one playing the victim and claiming that General Shen was wronged?"
"In these three days, you've practically traversed every inch of the capital, as if afraid no one would know. Aren't you deliberately trying to frame the imperial court?"
The ministers couldn't wait to voice their accusations.
Although the common people dared not openly express any opinions about the imperial court, their private discussions never diminished.
These people could feel the disapproving looks from the people whenever they went out.
They have been in office for many years, when have they ever suffered such injustice?
“I have been married to General Shen for many years. Although we are now divorced, I still believe in his character. I want to believe that this must be a frame-up by someone with ulterior motives. Is that wrong?”
Qu Jingyun's voice choked with sobs as she whispered, "Not to mention, my son and my father were inexplicably involved. They are my closest relatives, and I don't want to believe they did such a thing."
"In order to save them, I could only scrape together this money from various sources. I could only use all the money I earned from the shops under my name, and I could only sell everything I could in the mansion. So I went to several shops. Does this mean that you gentlemen have ulterior motives?"
"But what could I do? I'm just a weak woman, and I have no other choice."
Qu Jingyun's voice was shrill and filled with accusation.
She gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
He then complained, "After the incident, I asked many friends in the capital for money to tide me over, but they all refused. I had no other choice."
"Do you gentlemen think I should just stand by and watch my father and son die?"
"If that's the case, how can I be a daughter, and how can I be a mother?"
Qu Jingyun gave a cold smile and hastily wiped away her tears.
He pointed at a few of them without any politeness and began to speak.
"Lord Li, back then you were falsely accused, and it was General Shen who traveled to many places to clear your name, which is why you are where you are today. Do you really think General Shen would commit corruption? Don't you have even this much trust in him?"
“Lord Wang, you had nowhere to stay when you first arrived in the capital. It was General Shen who lent you money to settle down in the capital. But today, when I went to your residence, I was humiliated by your servants. Is this how you conduct yourself as a person and an official?”
"And you, Lord Sun, your wife and I were once close friends. She suffered abuse from her stepmother when she was young and almost lost her life. I saved her, but when I saw her today, I was insulted and pointed at. Is this how you and your wife conduct yourselves?"
Qu Jingyun pointed at the noses of everyone present and launched a scathing attack.
Over the decades she and Shen Yunting have helped many people.
But once this happened, most people avoided it like the plague.
The biggest reason is that person in the palace.
Anyone with eyes can see why Shen Yunting was imprisoned.
In order to curry favor with the emperor, they couldn't wait to suppress the general's mansion.
They were afraid of being implicated.
Qu Jingyun could understand those who only cared about themselves, but she absolutely could not accept these people's wanton insults towards them.
They don't deserve it!
If she could, Qu Jingyun would rather point her finger at the Emperor and yell at him.
The Emperor and Shen Yunting were once comrades-in-arms who fought side by side and trusted each other.
The emperor was personally supported by Shen Yunting to ascend the throne.
Over the years, Shen Yunting's campaigns abroad have allowed him to consolidate his power.
What they got in return was the other party's suspicion and their unscrupulous framing.
How unfair this is!
Qu Jingyun's accusations reached everyone's ears, and the Imperial Study fell silent.
The emperor's expression was particularly unpleasant.
Finally, he spoke: "Do you think my imperial study is a vegetable market? You can make a scene here, but shut up."
"We know we were wrong." The crowd quickly knelt down.
They all hung their heads, as if they didn't understand the emperor's state of mind at all.
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