"Should we make our move now, Master?"
"Granny Fangqi asked."
Song Xibai waved his hand: "Let's hold back for now."
Guo Liangyuan was frightened and was asked by the Crown Princess to "rest". The people she had painstakingly recruited were all removed by the Crown Princess. This Qingque or the person behind Qingque will probably become her biggest backup plan.
If it were to be exposed now, it wouldn't do me much good.
Granny Fangqi glanced at her and then tentatively asked, "Then, should we report to His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Song Xibai couldn't help but raise her eyes.
"No need. His Highness has more important matters to attend to. His Highness should focus his attention on the affairs of the court. Do you think it's appropriate to bother him with these trivial matters of the inner quarters?"
Granny Fangqi immediately lowered her head: "What you say is absolutely right, then this old servant will go and find someone to keep an eye on Qingque."
After saying that, she respectfully withdrew.
While undercurrents were surging in the inner palace of the Eastern Palace, the imperial court was also beginning to see turmoil.
Several censors impeached Consort Shu's family for seizing other people's land, bribing officials, and abusing their power outside the palace because of Consort Shu's status.
Impeachment memorials piled up on the emperor's desk like snowflakes.
The emperor's face was terribly grim, and he ordered the Shu family to explain themselves in court.
Consort Shu's father was the Governor of Jiangnan, who was not in the capital. At this moment, the one representing the Shu family was Consort Shu's eldest brother, Shu Kefang, who served as a third-rank transport commissioner in the Salt Transport Office.
Although this Lord Shu was not from the Hanlin Academy, he was extremely adept at understanding the emperor's mind and had become the emperor's most favored close minister in the past decade. He was eloquent and his words were like pearls, refuting the censors in court until they were red in the face and extremely angry, but they could do nothing about him.
Of course, things won't end so quickly.
The next day at court, someone again reported various misdeeds of the Shu family and presented evidence.
Among these, some were disciples of the Shu family who bought exam questions to pass the imperial examinations, and others were those who forcibly seized farmland. Compared to these, the Shu family's act of bribing a certain physician surnamed Qi in the Imperial Medical Academy was insignificant.
The matter was debated for several days, but ultimately, due to insufficient evidence, the Shu family escaped unscathed.
Just when everyone thought the matter had become another muddled affair, the grievance drum outside the palace suddenly sounded.
The grievance drum has only been sounded twice since the founding of the Dasheng Dynasty.
Immediately, the expressions of all the civil and military officials in the court changed, and the emperor could no longer sit still, so he hurriedly sent someone to inquire.
Before long, the imperial guards brought in the person who had beaten the drum to appeal for justice.
The man, dressed in white mourning clothes, began to wail in front of all the officials.
"Your Majesty is wise! Please, Your Majesty, do justice for my father!"
The emperor rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Looking at the people kneeling below, he felt they looked somewhat familiar, so he asked.
"What's your name? Who is your father?"
"Has Your Majesty forgotten? My name is Shi Gui, and my aunt was Consort Zhaorong, who passed away a couple of years ago!"
As soon as Shi Gui uttered the words, the emperor immediately remembered.
The surrounding officials were talking amongst themselves.
"Are they relatives of the posthumously honored Consort Rong?"
"The Shi family was once a fallen noble family; the title was passed down to Shi Gui's father, who was the last to hold it..."
"Nonsense! If you have a grievance, you can go to the Dali Temple to file a complaint. Why are you beating the drum and disturbing His Majesty?" The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet rebuked him angrily with a stern face.
Shi Gui cried with snot and tears streaming down his face: "I didn't want to either, but I had no choice! My father died unjustly! He was murdered!"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review could not hold back any longer and stepped forward: "If you have evidence, write a complaint and send it to my Court of Judicial Review, and I will certainly do justice for you."
Shi Gui wiped away what he couldn't tell was tears or snot, and lay prostrate on the ground.
“It was my father who told me this before he died! He said that my aunt, Consort Rong, was murdered by someone in the palace. Not content with just killing Consort Rong, that person wanted to wipe out the entire Shi family. My family has had only one son for generations, and I was my father’s only son…”
Shi Gui's words were disjointed and illogical, yet everyone present still changed their expressions.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review withdrew.
"Since this matter concerns the inner palace, it is no longer within the jurisdiction of this temple. We urge Your Majesty to make the decision."
This is terrible! It actually involves the harem!
Who would dare to get involved in something like this?
The officials, who had been discussing the matter, almost simultaneously took a step back, glancing around, but none of them were willing to step forward.
The emperor's expression could no longer be described as merely gloomy.
"Whom do you wish to sue?"
The emperor's cold voice came from above.
Shi Gui seemed not to understand, and kowtowed forcefully, shouting loudly.
"I hereby accuse Consort Shu of disregarding human life, plotting to murder concubines, and harming the imperial heir!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the censors who had been forced to back down earlier immediately jumped out like sharks that had caught wind of the storm.
"This concerns the inner palace; does Your Majesty intend to protect the Imperial Concubine?"
"The Shu family are all birds of a feather. Your Majesty, I humbly request that you jointly interrogate the Shu family!"
Before long, a large number of officials knelt down in the hall.
A storm seemed to be brewing on the emperor's face. His gaze swept over the kneeling officials, and finally, he slowly turned to the side.
"I hereby order Prince Hui, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate to jointly investigate this case. Since this matter involves the Imperial Concubine, I hereby issue the decree that the Imperial Concubine is not to leave Yongshou Palace. The Eighth Prince shall be temporarily sent to Jingyang Palace to be cared for by Consort De. As for the Shu family..."
The emperor paused for a moment before continuing.
"There is no evidence to prove that this matter is related to the Shu family."
Lord Shu breathed a sigh of relief, but then his heart jumped again, because the emperor spoke again.
"To prove your innocence, Minister Shu, why don't you stay home and reflect on your actions from today onwards? What do you say?"
What could Lord Shu do? He could only obey the imperial decree.
After delivering this long speech, the emperor left the court without lingering any longer.
The officials, each with their own thoughts, left one after another. As they passed the entrance to the main hall, they couldn't help but glance at Shi Gui, who was still kneeling there.
That kid's got guts!
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review bowed to the other officials, stepped forward, and helped him up.
"Come back to the Dali Temple with me first!"
Shi Gui stood up in a daze and obediently followed the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review out of the palace.
In the inner palace, Yongshou Palace was the first to receive the news.
Consort Shu was carefully examining her face in the mirror. She had been applying the ointment every day, and her face had finally recovered to almost its original state.
Just as they were rejoicing, a group of eunuchs suddenly rushed in, led by Chen Dafu, the emperor's chief eunuch.
Chen Dafu had a kind face, but his words were as cold as ice.
"Your Highness, kneel down and receive my decree."
Consort Shu, not understanding what was happening, had no choice but to kneel down to receive the imperial decree.
But after hearing Chen Dafu read it out, her expression changed drastically, and she looked incredulous.
"What did you say? The Emperor wants to confine me? How is that possible! You old eunuch must be forging an imperial decree! I want to see the Emperor! Guards!"
Enraged, she jumped up from the ground and was about to rush out.
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