Chapter 87 Another enemy added
Chu Yannuo and Chao Li were both worried about Tang Xinuan and refused to let her go out no matter what they said.
"Cousin, the situation is still unclear, we must not panic."
The King of Qin is a seasoned warrior; he has experienced all kinds of situations. We should trust him in this minor matter.
If we act rashly and disrupt his plans, it would be counterproductive.
Chao Li shared the same sentiment: "Among us siblings, the Emperor is the most benevolent. Considering we are siblings from the same mother, he wouldn't take Second Brother's life."
As long as you're alive, there's always a chance to turn things around.
My third brother is the most honest and kind-hearted. Over the years, it has taken all his strength to ensure that the two of us have survived safely.
Only the second brother is the smartest, and he is also skilled in both literature and martial arts. In critical moments, he is the one who can best control the situation.
I believe he must have a way to protect himself.
"Miss Tang, please stay calm. Your second brother cares about you the most. If anything happens to you, even if he escapes unscathed, he will be thrown into chaos, which will only cause pain to his loved ones and joy to his enemies."
Tang Xinuan wasn't unwilling to listen to advice.
She was just overthinking it.
"Okay, I won't go out."
But she couldn't just sit and wait for her fate. "Lian Qiao, help me find Sun Qingzhao. He must have a way."
Sun Qingzhao is indeed very clever. Yesterday, when the emperor summoned him, he, a man of humble origins, not only protected himself but also kept his official position.
These words were overheard by Prince Duan, who had just returned. He angrily cursed, "Why are you looking for him? That despicable man actually took the opportunity to impeach my second brother."
Miss Tang, I advise you to break off all contact with him as soon as possible.
Otherwise, this madman will bite you sooner or later for the sake of his official position.
Chao Li was worried about his second brother. "What did he accuse my second brother of? Is he alright?"
Prince Duan said with a stiff face: "That's fine. I'm just angry. Now that my second brother has been framed, everyone wants to take advantage of the situation."
The fourth brother was even more unruly, suspending all the people promoted by the second brother.
Some were even imprisoned.
The Right Chancellor and Grand Tutor Yao were reinstated to their original positions.
Oh, and that damned uncle of his actually got appointed Minister of Revenue! They might as well just move the entire Ministry of Revenue to their house.
Chao Li grew increasingly worried. "Now that there is Consort De and the Empress in the palace, and the Prime Minister, Grand Tutor and Minister outside the palace, Fourth Brother's throne is becoming more and more secure."
Tang Xinuan is different from ordinary people; it seems that none of what Prince Duan said touched her heart.
Despite his hesitation, he said, "Miss Tang, the fourth brother rejected the case to exonerate the Tang family, saying that Li Ce was an old friend of Imperial Censor Tang and that the two had a private relationship."
The Grand Tutor's family was misjudged.
My second brother killed Grand Tutor Wang without authorization; he must pay with his life.
He was wrongly accused for fourteen years, and his entire family died tragically.
Just when he had been hoping to restore his reputation, Prince Rui stopped him.
Erlang must pay with his life.
Tang Xinuan trembled all over, she gritted her teeth, and her eyes revealed a bloodthirsty red.
Very well, now she has another enemy, Prince Rui.
If you dare to kill Erlang, first send his whole family to meet the heavens.
...
The atmosphere inside was far too tense, and Lian Qiao asked worriedly, "Should we still call him Sun Qingzhao?"
Tang Xinuan seemed to regain her senses as if her soul had returned to its place, and suddenly became clear-headed: "Go and call out, hurry up and go."
Prince Duan hesitated, as if he wanted to speak but stopped. If Tang Xinuan wasn't the person his second brother cared about most, he would definitely get angry and take it out on her.
Chu Yanqing helped him sit down.
"Your Highness, do you know what Sun Qingzhao impeached about my second brother?"
Prince Duan has been so busy these past two days that he has no idea what Minister Sun is impeaching him for.
He got angrier the more he thought about it, thinking, "When he comes, I'm going to chop him to pieces."
Chu Yanqing frowned: "Why are you so easily angered? Instead of thinking of a good solution, do you think you can save Second Brother by killing him?"
Prince Duan really couldn't think of a solution.
"The Empress and the Right Chancellor conspired to frame my second brother for killing Consort Xian. Consort Xian was the Emperor's favorite woman. The Emperor wouldn't listen to our explanations at all. My second brother had no way to express his suffering. What could he do?"
Chu Yanqing analyzed, "It's certain that Consort Xian was murdered, but who murdered her is a very interesting question."
Prince Duan asked urgently, "What article? What came to your mind?"
Chu Yanqing: "I remember that the Grand Tutor was initially implicated by the Left Prime Minister. He even sent assassins to kill the Left Prime Minister to silence him. They were originally in cahoots."
Both Grand Tutor Yao and Right Chancellor were Prince Rui's men.
These two sides have had their share of disagreements over the years.
They all see each other as enemies, so why are they now banding together to deal with Second Brother?
Prince Duan was also puzzled, "So, why did the Empress ally with Prince Rui?"
Chao Li easily guessed: "Fourth Brother must have promised the Empress some benefits."
Chu Yanqing nodded: "Chao Li is right. After the Emperor fell ill, I heard that many concubines disappeared or died mysteriously. This Consort Xian was most likely killed by the Empress."
But the Right Chancellor, a relative of Consort Xian, has allied with the Empress—this is a matter of life and death.
Even the Prince of Duan was exasperated by Chu Yanqing's analysis. "No wonder my second brother asked me to tell you everything that happened in the palace. Tell me quickly, what do we do now?"
Chu Yanqing was, after all, a young lady confined to her chambers and knew nothing of court politics.
Although he had served as an official in the court for some time, he was only a sixth-rank assistant secretary in the Ministry of Revenue.
Limited by her circumstances, all she could say was, "Let's wait and see. The Empress and Prince Rui are now united, and we can't find any weaknesses. But their alliance won't last long; they'll eventually give us an opportunity."
Li Zhengyan has been suspended from his post.
It should be said that all the officials in the capital who were selected through the imperial examinations along with him were suspended from their posts.
Those officials who were sent to other places were spared because the government orders did not reach them so quickly.
Prince Rui wished he could appoint all the gatekeepers in his household to the rank of seventh-grade official.
Li Zhengyan received his suspension order today and has organized a group of students to meet the Emperor tomorrow.
On-site assessments can be conducted, and disciplinary action can be taken only if they are found to be incompetent in their duties.
After he and the other students finished making their plans, they rushed to the Prince Duan's residence to find Princess Chaoli.
Naturally, he had to tell Chao Li about the plan.
Chao Li was quite pleased.
Li Zhengyan is brave and resourceful. If it can be proven that these people are indeed talented, then it will prove that Second Brother made the right decision in appointing them.
"Zhengyan, you did a good job, thank you."
Li Zhengyan fell in love with Princess Chaoli, and the two consummated their marriage on the very day they got married.
As the princess's husband, he certainly had to consider her needs.
"Princess, rest assured, I will definitely find a way to prove the King of Qin's innocence."
Sun Qingzhao arrived at the Prince Duan's residence soon, bringing Yao Lin with him.
Yao Lin was disliked by Grand Tutor Yao, and the first thing Grand Tutor Yao did after restoring his official position was to suspend his son from his post.
He went to discuss this with Sun Qingzhao today.
He didn't care about being suspended from his job, but Zhou Chuanxing had been kind to him, and he had to find a way to get him out no matter what.
"Brother Sun—"
Tang Xinuan was somewhat excited when she saw Sun Qingzhao.
She believed that if others couldn't find a way, Sun Qingzhao would definitely be able to come up with a way to rescue Erlang.
The way he called him "Brother Sun" confused Sun Qingzhao. "What...what did you call me?"
Tang Xinuan was dressed in women's clothing at the moment.
She was beautiful; when dressed as a man, she was a handsome young nobleman, but when dressed as a woman, she was a beautiful goddess descended to earth.
Tang Xinuan spun around in front of him. "Take a good look. Who am I?"
Sun Qingzhao stared at Tang Xinuan for a while, scrutinizing her closely, then his eyes lit up. "You are... Han Xi?"
Seeing Tang Xinuan nod, she was shocked. "You're actually a woman! It's all my fault for being so blind that I didn't recognize you."
The King of Qin went too far; he kept you by his side but refused to marry you properly...
No, I must go to the palace to impeach him.
Prince Duan couldn't stand such words. "Hasn't Lord Sun already impeached him? Why do you think my second brother wasn't framed enough, and now you want to kick him while he's down?"
I'm warning you, no matter how big a mistake my second brother makes, he's still a son of the dragon, and you can't act recklessly like that.
Yao Lin understood the meaning behind Prince Duan's words.
He proactively explained, "Prince Duan has misunderstood Lord Sun."
Prince Duan scoffed, "What misunderstanding could I possibly have about a petty person like him!"
Chu Yanqing gestured for him to speak properly.
At crucial moments, Prince Duan still listened to his wife and obediently shut his mouth.
Yao Lin then continued, "Lord Sun impeached the Prince of Qin for executing the Grand Tutor's faction, but the execution was too late. The Grand Tutor should have been convicted as soon as he returned to court."
If the Grand Tutor had been executed earlier, the rebellion plot in Jiangnan orchestrated by the Left Chancellor would not have succeeded.
Then so many people wouldn't have died in vain.
Prince Duan frowned: "Is that so?"
Yao Lin nodded: "If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can go to the palace to see the memorial."
Chao Li asked nervously, "What was my brother's reaction?"
Sun Qingzhao replied truthfully, "There was no reaction, just a reprimand for my despicable behavior."
Prince Duan asked in bewilderment, "That's not right, Your Majesty didn't suspend you from your post!"
Sun Qingzhao smiled and said, "His Majesty approves of my actions, so how could he suspend me from my post? Even the Prince of Qin was not reprimanded by His Majesty."
Chu Yanqing was the first to react, "So the Emperor didn't actually blame Second Brother for killing the Grand Tutor without permission, but he was just putting on an act because of the Empress."
Sun Qingzhao: "If the Empress hadn't framed Prince Qin for killing Consort Xian, Prince Qin would never have been suspended from his post. Their methods are truly ingenious; they know exactly where the Emperor hurts and where he feels most pain, and they specifically target his vital points."
Tang Xinuan always thought Sun Qingzhao was very smart; at crucial moments, he could come up with solutions that no one else could think of.
"Brother Sun, please tell me quickly, how is Erlang now? How can we rescue him?"
Sun Qingzhao did not answer Tang Xinuan's question; he still had unresolved doubts.
"Brother Han, what is your true identity? I heard yesterday that Grand Tutor Wang was hit by a hidden weapon in the back..."
He had noticed the miniature hidden weapon hanging on Hanxi's waist earlier.
The two made contact at this moment, and people suspected that there was some connection between them.
Tang Xinuan didn't intend to hide it from him, since she had already avenged most of her great grudge.
"My father was a Tang Dynasty censor who was convicted of treason fourteen years ago. After our family was convicted, I was sent to the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion to be raised. Princess Duan is my cousin."
Sun Qingzhao understood. "You are the cousin that Prince Chu has been looking for. I knew it."
Many people hold prejudices against women. Sun Qingzhao once accused Chu Yanqing of bringing ruin to the country because of women.
Tang Xinu couldn't help but worry, "Why won't you help me just because I'm a woman? And I'm the descendant of a criminal, are you going to sever ties with me?"
Sun Qingzhao is grateful and will repay Tang Xinuan's kindness. He will do his best to assist her.
"Brother Han..."
Calling a pretty girl "brother" is a bit awkward. "It's too much. Whether you're male or female, innocent or the descendant of a criminal, you're still my good brother."
Tang Xinuan knew she hadn't misjudged him.
"Then tell me quickly, how can we save Erlang?"
Sun Qingzhao had just come out of the Ministry of Revenue, his face somewhat grim. "Prince Rui wanted to clear the Grand Tutor's name, and the case of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and Prince Duan jointly exonerating the Tang family has been rejected by Prince Rui. The Tang family is still guilty of treason."
He didn't know that Han Xi was Tang Xinuan, and he didn't take it seriously when he overheard it.
Only then did they realize something was wrong.
Prince Rui is truly going too far!
Tang Xinuan finally managed to clear her family's name, but before the imperial edict could be issued, it was disrupted by Prince Rui.
She will kill Prince Rui and the Empress sooner or later, so that they will get their just deserts.
“Cousin,” Chu Yanqing said, feeling sorry for Tang Xinuan. Seeing her unsteady, she quickly supported her. “Heaven has eyes. It won’t let Prince Rui keep running for long. Don’t worry, your uncle’s family will definitely be exonerated.”
Since the Grand Tutor is dead, Tang Xinuan is no longer in a hurry to take revenge.
Her biggest concern right now is Erlang.
"Brother Sun, please tell me quickly, is there any way to save Erlang?"
Sun Qingzhao had already considered it. "I do have a solution, but I'd like to hear your thoughts first, and what your plans are."
He was referring to Prince Duan, his consort, the princess, and Princess Duan, Chu Yanqing.
Tang Xinuan remembered, "My sworn brother wanted to organize all the students to go to the Emperor to prove that they were indeed talented..."
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