Xie Jingyan stood up, bowed to the Minister of Justice, and said, "Minister Xu's kindness to the Yan family will be forever remembered by me."
The Minister of Justice hurriedly replied, "I dare not accept such praise; I am merely acting under orders."
Before the Empress Dowager ordered him to preserve a single bloodline of the Yan family, the Minister of Justice had already saved Yan Qing'er's life out of pity.
The Empress Dowager only allowed the Minister of Justice to protect a single bloodline of the Yan family. The fact that a few members of the Yan family are still alive is thanks to the Minister of Justice.
Xie Jingyan knew what was going on.
As night deepened, Xie Jingyan, finding it inconvenient to linger, bid farewell to the Minister of Justice.
He jumped out of the window and left.
Only after everyone had disappeared into the night did the Minister of Justice realize that the imperial edict had been taken away by Xie Jingyan.
That was the evidence he asked the Empress Dowager to exonerate him. It was useless for Prince Ling to have, so why would he take it?
The Minister of Justice had a headache.
Inside the room, Shen Wan took a hot bath and lay on the small couch reading. She finished reading the two books she had chosen from the study, but Xie Jingyan still hadn't returned.
Yinshuang spread out the bedding and, seeing Shen Wan yawning, said, "The Prince is still not sure when he will return. Why doesn't the Princess go to sleep first?"
The princess is pregnant with the prince, so she doesn't need to wait for the prince to return before going to bed. Even if she weren't pregnant, the prince wouldn't be angry given his affection for her.
Shen Wan was very sleepy, but she knew she couldn't fall asleep even if she lay in bed. There was nothing she could do; the bad habit of needing Xie Jingyan to hold her to sleep, which she had developed since childhood, was impossible to break, and Xie Jingyan wouldn't let her change it either.
The Ministry of Justice's residence is not far from the Prince Ling's residence. It would be even faster to scale walls and rooftops, and it wouldn't take this long to search a study. Shen Wan is not afraid that the Ministry of Justice will keep Xie Jingyan; she is afraid that the city patrol will invite him to stay overnight.
Haitang brought in tea and said, "The study is lit up. I wonder if the prince has returned."
Yinshuang went out to take a look, then came back and told Shenwan, "The Prince has returned."
After returning from the wedding banquet, the Minister of Justice went straight to his study.
After sneaking into the study of the Minister of Justice at night, he went back to the study.
Shen Wan couldn't contain her curiosity and wanted to know what Xie Jingyan had found in the Minister of Justice's study during his trip to the Ministry of Justice's residence.
She got off the small couch, and Yinshuang knelt down to help her put on her shoes. Then Chenwan went to the study.
Although lanterns hung in the corridor, the light was still not as good as during the day. Yinshuang and Haitang were worried that she would twist her ankle, so they quickly followed.
The study door was not closed. Shen Wan walked in and saw Xie Jingyan sitting there, facing the desk, his brows furrowed.
Only when I got closer did I see an imperial edict on the desk.
A hint of surprise flashed in Shen Wan's eyes. She walked to Xie Jingyan's side, her gaze sweeping over the imperial edict. She said incredulously, "How could it be the Empress Dowager who ordered the Minister of Justice to save people?"
Xie Jingyan looked at Shen Wan and asked, "Do you also think that the Empress Dowager's actions are very unusual?"
It wasn't just her who thought it was abnormal; everyone would have thought it was abnormal.
Shen Wan knew a little about Consort Chen. Back then, the late emperor bestowed a marriage upon the emperor and Consort Chen, intending for Consort Chen to be the emperor's principal wife. However, less than half a month after the marriage was bestowed, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Mao's mansion, who was the younger sister of the current Duke of Mao, lost her virginity to the emperor. The Duke of Mao's mansion was the Empress Dowager's maternal family, and the Empress Dowager refused to let her niece become the emperor's concubine, so she asked the late emperor to withdraw the marriage bestowed upon the emperor and Consort Chen.
This incident caused quite a stir back then. Although Consort Chen eventually married the Emperor, she lost her position as the Empress.
However, even though Consort Chen did not have the title of Empress, in the Emperor's heart, Consort Chen was his Empress. The Emperor doted on Consort Chen and set up a harem for her in name only. With the Duke of Maoguo as the leader, the Empress Dowager would ask the Emperor to make the eldest prince the crown prince every now and then, but the Emperor remained unmoved. In addition, the Emperor personally taught Xie Jingyan the art of being an emperor, and all the officials believed in their hearts that the Emperor would pass the throne to Xie Jingyan.
Consort Chen had been in the palace for over a decade without ever losing favor. Yet, when this favored consort got into trouble, her entire maternal clan was raided and exterminated.
The Empress Dowager disliked Consort Chen, and by extension, Xie Jingyan. However, because the Emperor favored Xie Jingyan, the Empress Dowager, despite disliking him, did not do anything to put the Emperor in a difficult position.
When Consort Chen got into trouble, the Yan family suffered as a result. It was already unexpected that the Empress Dowager didn't take the opportunity to kick her while she was down. She even issued an imperial edict ordering the Minister of Justice to protect the Yan family's bloodline. If the Duke of Mao knew about this, he would definitely suspect that the Empress Dowager had lost her mind.
Those who can secure the position of empress are no simpletons; those with soft hearts in the deep palace will be devoured until not even bones remain.
The Empress Dowager would never show such compassion simply because she thought of Grand Tutor Yan's contributions to the court. For these people in power, both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor. If the emperor had not appreciated and promoted them, they would not have had the opportunity to serve the court.
Shen Wan looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "The Empress Dowager wanted Xie Jingyin's life, but in the end she still used the imperial pardon to save him. Could it be that the Empress Dowager had no choice but to ask the Minister of Justice to save him?"
Xie Jingyan had also considered this possibility, but he dismissed it, saying, "Over the years, the Empress Dowager has never inquired about the whereabouts of the Yan family, the Minister of Justice, nor has she taken any action in secret."
They had already witnessed the consequences of forcing the Empress Dowager to do things, but Empress Song's methods were not to be underestimated either; she used two lives to force the Empress Dowager to back down.
Xie Jingyan's dark gaze fell on the imperial edict. "The Empress Dowager was able to write this edict for the Minister of Justice; she must have genuinely wanted to preserve a trace of the Yan family's bloodline, but—"
"Who else could have won the Empress Dowager's heart under those circumstances back then?"
When these things happened, he was in the imperial mausoleum and couldn't go anywhere.
If you want to know what happened back then, you can only go to the palace and ask Eunuch Yuan.
Xie Jingyan put away the imperial edict and told Shen Wan to go back to her room first. He took a cold shower and then went back to his room to sleep.
The next day, after breakfast, Xie Jingyan went to the palace.
Inside the Imperial Study, the Emperor was reviewing memorials.
Eunuch Yuan served him at the side.
Xiao Xizi went in and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ling has arrived."
The emperor frowned slightly.
"Let him in."
Xiao Xizi left, and a short while later, Xie Jingyan went in.
The Emperor closed the memorial and asked, "Do you have something to discuss with me?"
Xie Jingyan said, "It's nothing, I just came to pay my respects to Father Emperor."
The Emperor looked at Eunuch Yuan and said, "Go outside and see if the sun is rising in the west today?"
Eunuch Yuan, "..."
The sun definitely doesn't rise in the west.
But should he actually go out and take a look?
Grandpa Yuan has a headache.
Xie Jingyan looked at him, "Father has spoken, Eunuch Yuan, why aren't you leaving yet?"
Eunuch Yuan, "..."
Eunuch Yuan left with a twitching smile.
He thought Xie Jingyan had something to say to the Emperor privately.
He's always present when we argue with the Emperor, so we're getting rid of him now...
Indeed, Eunuch Yuan was a little worried, fearing that Xie Jingyan might do something even more outrageous.
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. But he had only taken two steps when Xie Jingyan's voice rang out, "I will not disturb Father Emperor's handling of state affairs. Your son will take his leave."
emperor,"……"
Eunuch Yuan, "...???"
Seeing Xie Jingyan turn and leave.
The emperor's face turned green.
very good.
His son didn't come to the palace to see his father, the emperor, but to see Eunuch Yuan.
What can't be said in front of his father, the Emperor?!
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