The second day at dawn, just as Yan Huisheng had said, the Emperor presided over the morning court session, and the first order of business was to conclude the case of the Imperial Concubine Zhen.
The case of Imperial Concubine Zhen had far-reaching implications, implicating many people, including the Crown Prince Yan Li, the Crown Prince’s concubine Ning Yao, and a host of others in the palace such as Concubine De, Concubine Xian, and Lipin.
Rui’an King, the presiding judge of the case, listed countless crimes committed by these people and read them publicly in the court.
The Emperor decreed that the Imperial Concubine Zhen, due to her crimes, deserved death. But considering the royal heir she carried, she was demoted from her concubine status to a beauty and was to be exiled to the Imperial Mausoleum to serve in mourning on that very day. The Crown Prince Yan Li was stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner. Ning Yao was likewise removed from her title and demoted to a commoner, as was the unborn royal heir she was carrying. Concubine De was sent to the Cold Palace for her failure in upbringing. Concubine Xian was demoted to Lipin. Although Lipin was wronged, she still was implicated due to her mother’s clan’s crimes. She was, however, to maintain her original position because she had provided evidence. Eunuch Yu An was demoted to second class for dereliction of duty. The monks involved in the case from the Buddha Temple were publically executed, and the temple was closed for three months for rectification...
The announcement of the names and crimes of those involved in the case and the pronouncement of their punishments took a full hour. There were hundreds of implicated officials ranging from the Imperial Palace to the Imperial Court, from princes to ministers.
During the court session, the Second Prince Yan Lin heard it all clearly. When the Emperor announced the Crown Prince Yan Li’s demotion to a commoner, Yan Lin’s face changed color several times.
He did not expect that Yan Li’s punishment would be so severe, without giving him any chance to defend himself.
Moreover, the public announcement of Yan Li’s implicated crimes shocked him because some of them were old cases several years old. He did not expect them to be dug up again.
He looked at Yan Huisheng, who was standing still at the front, his face as calm as ever, betraying no emotion.
Feeling Yan Lin’s gaze, Yan Huisheng turned his head towards Yan Lin.
At that moment, Yan Lin dared not meet Yan Huisheng’s gaze, thinking to himself: if Yan Li’s old cases could be dug up, what about the shady dealings he had done? If the opportunity presents itself, would they too be brought to light?
Throughout the years, many people thought that the Crown Prince was too kind and could be bullied, but he knew very well that Yan Huisheng was simply patient.
Now that Yan Huisheng was finally impatient, he did not show his ruthlessness, but remained restrained. He did not take the lead, instead, a man named Su Rong turned the court upside down, and Rui’an King brought down Yan Li.
Yan Lin, feeling resentment, deemed Ning Yao stupid. If she hadn’t arranged to kill Xie Lin, Rui’an King would not have become furious and searched the Imperial Palace, the Capital City, and all its inhabitants with no regard for consequence. This left Yan Li with no chance to fight back and greatly pleased Yan Huisheng.
With Yan Li now out of the picture and Yan Shen siding with Yan Huisheng, Yan Lin was the only one left.
Yan Lin was somewhat flustered, but he thought that with the heavily armed Pingxi General’s Residence in Jibei supporting him, all hope was not lost.
After the court session, news spread, causing great shock in the Capital City.
In the Residence of the Crown Prince, Yan Li desperately cried out to see the Emperor. However, the eunuch in service delivered the Emperor’s words, saying only, "His Majesty says, if the Grand Prince continues to make a fuss, he will be granted death."
Yan Li collapsed to the ground, muttering in disbelief, "Has my father completely disregarded our father-son relationship? Have all these years of my filial piety led to this end?"
The eunuch serving at the court stood upright and said, "Grand Prince, precisely because His Majesty remembers the bond of father and son, you were demoted to commoner status. Otherwise, your crimes are enough for you to be sentenced to death ten thousand times over."
After he finished speaking, he threw a pile of evidence against Yan Li and Ning Yao in front of him and left.
Yan Li looked at the evidence in front of him, his face ashen. After a while, he burst into tears.
He had thought that by sacrificing Ning Yao and the child in her womb, he could save himself. He even thought he could join forces with Yan Lin to compete with Yan Huisheng. Who would have thought that he would be the fool in the end? From the moment the Imperial Guard sealed off his Residence, he should have understood that Yan Huisheng would not give him a chance. From the moment Ning Yao was implicated with irrefutable evidence, Yan Huisheng had no intention of letting him escape. By completely removing him from the picture, Yan Huisheng could focus on dealing with Yan Lin.
Inside the dungeon of Rui’an King’s Residence, a door opened, and Xie Lin said to the person inside, "Ning Yao, come out! His Majesty has decreed, from today onwards, you and the royal heir in your womb are demoted to commoners."
Ning Yao thought she had heard wrong. She had thought that she would be sentenced to death, even with a child in her womb that could save her life. She had lost all hope in the face of the overwhelming evidence in this major case. But she hadn’t expected that the Emperor would spare her life.
No, it was Crown Prince Yan Huisheng who had surprisingly spared her life.
After a moment of shock, she asked Xie Lin, "What about my brother?"
"Expelled from the Capital City, he will not be allowed to take the civil service examination or hold any official position ever again," Xie Lin said.
Ning Yao sighed in relief, feeling that strangly, being able to escape death and remaining alive now felt more like an unexpected satisfaction.
She slowly walked out of the dark dungeon, momentarily blinded by the sudden daylight. After a moment, she asked Xie Lin again, "What about the Crown Prince?"
"Yan Li is no longer the Crown Prince; he’s been demoted to a commoner," Xie Lin replied.
Ning Yao seemed to digest the news slowly, then asked Xie Lin, "Can I leave now?"
Xie Lin nodded, "Take care."
Ning Yao stepped out of Rui’an King’s Residence, standing at the entrance and waiting. After a while, as expected, she saw her brother, Ning Ze, emerge from the Residence with a white and gaunt face. Seeing Ning Yao, Ning Ze quickly threw his arms around her and cried out, "Sister!"
Ning Yao gently patted him on the back and said softly, "It’s alright now; at the very least, we are still alive."
Ning Ze nodded, indeed, at least they were still alive. He had thought at one point that he was going to die there.
After Ning Ze had calmed down a bit, Ning Yao said, "Let’s go; let’s go home."
"Home?" Ning Ze wiped his tears off his face.
"Yes, back to Nanping, back to our home," said Ning Yao.
Ning Ze nodded, "Right, let’s go home, back home."
Even if he weren’t banished, he didn’t want to stay in the Capital City. He never wanted to come back.
He and Ning Yao walked out of Rui’an King’s Residence and after a few steps, he suddenly asked Ning Yao with a delayed reaction, "Sister, where’s my brother-in-law?"
Ning Yao’s face went through a series of changes, and after a while, she said, "I’ll send him a divorce letter. He and I, we will have nothing to do with each other from now on."
Ning Ze looked at her, "I just heard that my brother-in-law has also been demoted to a commoner So he... "
"From this point forward, whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with me," Ning Yao interrupted Ning Ze, "I’m guessing that he probably wishes me dead, too. In the future, don’t refer to him as brother-in-law anymore."
She didn’t forget that the evidence against the Grand Prince was provided by her. When she provided it, she had anticipated this day. She gave up Yan Li to save her brother. No, if he could, Yan Li would also abandon her.
It was simply an eye for an eye.
She didn’t feel that she owed Yan Li anything.
Ning Ze closed his mouth and nodded, then urged Ning Yao on, "Sister, let’s hurry up, I want to go home."
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