The eldest son-in-law recounted the events of that year in detail. With almost every sentence he spoke, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's expressions grew colder and more somber. By the end, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she couldn't utter a word.
The Empress Dowager had always thought that Princess Huyang's premature birth was an accident, but she never expected that she was murdered.
They almost caused her daughter and unborn child to die, separated her daughter from her own flesh and blood whom she had risked her life to give birth to for nineteen years, and made them cherish the child of their enemy for nineteen years.
The Empress Dowager was so angry she wanted to skin the old lady of the Duke of Du alive.
The Emperor coldly ordered, "Guards!"
"Imprison the entire Duke Du's family in the Ministry of Justice's death row!"
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, the Empress Dowager said, "Bring the old lady of the Duke of Du's mansion to the palace. I want to interrogate her myself!"
The father-in-law hurried out to deliver the message.
The Prince Consort looked at Xie Jingyan and asked, "Where did Prince Ling get that longevity lock from?"
The Emperor and Empress Dowager also looked at Xie Jingyan.
Xie Jingyan said, "Not long ago, Doctor Tao saved a hunter who had been bitten by a snake on his way back to the capital. This longevity lock was worn by the hunter's son since he was a child, and he gave it to Doctor Tao as payment for the consultation."
Hunter—
These two words deeply stung the Empress Dowager's heart.
The Empress Dowager was furious that her enemy's son was spoiled rotten, while her own flesh and blood were left to wander outside and could only make a living by hunting.
The prince consort asked anxiously, "How old is the hunter's son this year, and what does he look like?"
Xie Jingyan said, "He's about the same age as me, and his appearance... Doctor Tao said his eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to mine."
How much does she resemble Yan'er?
The Emperor frowned and said, "That's like a nephew acting like an uncle!"
Xie Jingyan's eyebrows and eyes resembled those of the Emperor.
His eyebrows and eyes resembled Xie Jingyan's, so naturally he also resembled the Emperor.
The eldest son-in-law was still kneeling on the ground. Although the Empress Dowager was angry, she did not hold a grudge against him because he had been willing to give up his position as heir apparent to marry Princess Huyang and had never given up looking for his lost child all these years. She said, "Get up."
The eldest son-in-law thanked the Empress Dowager before rising.
The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and said, "That child must have suffered a lot these years while he was away. Send someone to bring him back as soon as possible."
The Emperor agreed, "I will immediately send someone to fetch him back to the capital."
The Empress Dowager raised her hand, and Zhao Mama helped her up to return to Shou Kang Palace.
Empress Song stood at the door of the Imperial Study. She had rushed over to see what was going on. Just as she arrived, the Imperial Son-in-Law knelt down and recounted what had happened back then. Empress Song did not dare to go forward and disturb him. The expression on her face was quite interesting.
The spectacle she wanted to see was the Empress Dowager forcing the Emperor to severely punish Prince Ling, but she ended up seeing none of the spectacle she wanted to see, and witnessed everything she didn't want to see.
Prince Ling saved the heir of Prince Yanping, which offended the Empress Dowager to the point of wanting to kill him as well. However, things took an unexpected turn when it turned out that the heir of Prince Yanping had not killed the Empress Dowager's own grandson at all. Prince Ling even helped the Empress Dowager find her own grandson. Not only could the Empress Dowager no longer be angry with Prince Ling, but she even had to thank him.
Thinking of this, Empress Song's face turned slightly pale.
The Prince of Ling's good fortune made her, the Empress, uneasy.
The Empress Dowager walked over, and Empress Song curtsied to her, then stepped aside to make way for her.
After the Empress Dowager left, Empress Song stepped forward and was about to curtsy to the Emperor when the Emperor waved his hand and said, "Prince Ling and Princess Ling, please stay. Everyone else, please leave."
Empress Song's forced smile crumbled, and her face turned ashen as she turned to leave.
After everyone had left, the Emperor looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "Send someone to bring the Princess's biological children back to the capital."
Xie Jingyan said, "I will send someone to pick him up, but the case of the Prince of Yanping needs to be retried."
The emperor's anger, which he had finally managed to calm down, surged up again. How could he have given birth to such a stubborn son?!
The Emperor said unhappily, "I will not issue another decree to demote the title of Prince Yanping."
The emperor conceded a step, but he refused to allow the case to be reopened.
The heir of the Prince of Yanping was sentenced to death for killing the Empress Dowager's grandson. However, since he was not the Empress Dowager's nephew, his sentence was lighter. If this were to spread, it would greatly damage the reputation of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
As long as the title of Prince Yanping is not revoked, the Prince Yanping Mansion will not suffer any losses, so that's fine.
However, Xie Jingyan disagreed with the Emperor's refusal to retry the case, saying, "It's fine if the case isn't retried, but Father Emperor, return the Yun family's pardon to the Yun family."
The Emperor's face darkened. "The imperial pardon has already been publicly used to save the Prince of Yanping's heir; this is common knowledge."
Xie Jingyan said, "The death of Princess Huyang's son was a complete accident. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's pressure, the Ministry of Justice would never have sentenced the Prince of Yanping to death. As long as the Princess's residence didn't pursue the matter, the government wouldn't even need to be involved. Yet the Yun family had to use their merits and two million taels of silver to obtain a pardon to save him. Is the Empress Dowager's face really that valuable?"
Shen Wan stood to the side, unable to contain her joy.
If the Emperor can be persuaded to allow the Ministry of Justice to retry the case of the Prince of Yanping's heir, and if the Prince of Yanping's heir is not sentenced to death again, there is a possibility that the Yun family's pardon will be returned.
The Emperor was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. "I hereby bestow a marriage upon Young Master Yun and Princess Qinghe."
Xie Jingyan reminded the Emperor, "The whole capital knows that the Prince of Yanping's Mansion has accepted the betrothal gifts from the Yun family. Is there still a need for Father to bestow a marriage upon us?"
The Emperor was so angry that he raised his hand to slam his fist on the dragon table, but fearing he would frighten Shen Wan, he restrained himself even after raising his hand. "Do you really have to make the Empress Dowager lose face like this?!"
Xie Jingyan grabbed Shen Wan's hand and said, "Let's go."
Shen Wan exclaimed "Ah," clearly not having reacted yet, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Although the bargaining didn't go very smoothly, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
Xie Jingyan took Shen Wan and left, saying, "What's the point of staying? Do you want our son to know while he's still in his belly that he has a grandfather who only cares about face and doesn't understand reason?"
Shen Wan, "..."
Eunuch Yuan, "..."
She really dares to say that.
Upon hearing this, Shen Wan walked away even faster than Xie Jingyan, without him even needing to pull her.
She feared that if the city gates caught fire, she, an innocent bystander, would be caught in the crossfire.
The guy around her has a knack for courting death. While others would lose several heads, he can still hold on to his head. Shen Wan suspects that Xie Jingyan has mastered the Emperor's patience with him.
The emperor, sitting on the dragon throne behind him, was so angry that smoke seemed to rise from his head.
Eunuch Yuan wanted to laugh but couldn't, and his shoulders trembled as he tried to hold it in.
When the Emperor couldn't do anything to Prince Ling, he would exploit Prince Ling's weaknesses and force him to submit.
Unexpectedly, Prince Ling also followed suit and learned to use the eldest grandson of the emperor to manipulate the emperor.
Smart people learn everything quickly.
While others are showered with love and affection, Princess Consort Ling embodies the worst aspects of both Prince Ling and the Emperor.
The emperor was so angry that his heart ached, and even Eunuch Yuan couldn't persuade him.
He advised the Emperor to reopen the case of the Prince of Yanping's heir.
He wouldn't dare.
Finally, the Emperor came to his senses and gritted his teeth, saying, "Issue my imperial decree, ordering the Ministry of Justice to conduct a fair and impartial retrial of the case of the Prince of Yanping's heir."
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