Guo Hongru said respectfully, "I thank Your Majesty on behalf of the Xi family in the northwest!"
The court officials all echoed.
That inner voice sounded out at an inopportune time: "A bunch of idiots, all they know is flattery! Reduce by 30%? Only 30%? It's simply..."
Fang Zhiyi felt a little annoyed. Why was Xu Jiao like a fly? She neither bit nor stung people. Isn't she just disgusting?
Unexpectedly, after only a few breaths, Crown Prince Fang Jingqi suddenly stepped forward and saluted: "Father, I have something to report..."
"The handsome prince has spoken! The happiest thing for me every day is to see the prince speak! He is so handsome!"
The prince was choked by this sudden flattery, his ears turned red again unconsciously, and he immediately forgot what he was going to say.
Fang Zhiyi frowned slightly: "If you have something to say, just tell me. Are you still asleep?"
The Crown Prince was startled by this and quickly said, "I want to impeach the Imperial Court Attendant, Mr. Guo. He is a third-rank official, but his behavior is not proper. He often frequents brothels..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Jiao's noisy inner voice began.
"That's it! Well done, Prince! That's exactly what we should do! As expected of a Prince, he even knows about this kind of thing! I've been annoyed with that Guo guy for a long time, and he's going to try to trick my dad again in the future..."
"You're being ridiculous..." Guo Hongru opened his mouth to rant, but stopped himself. The emperor couldn't hear him, so how could he refute him? He accused others of slandering him with their inner voices? Besides, those things weren't actually slander... But what official wouldn't enjoy some fun?
As the prince finished speaking, several of his officials stood up. They were originally members of the prince's party and were also censors.
"I also impeach Lord Guo! As a high-ranking official, this action is disgraceful to the court!"
"I second the motion!"
Fang Zhiyi glanced at the complacent Xu Jiao calmly. Although she was stupid, she was very happy now. He looked at Xu Yuanzhi again, and there was some uneasiness in Xu Yuanzhi's eyes.
"Hmm... I remember that you, Prince, stay in the East Palace every night, right?"
The prince was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, father."
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "Then tell me, since you live in the East Palace, how did you know that Guo Hongru visited the brothel? Could it be that you went there too?"
The court was completely silent. The prince was so excited that he was incoherent: "No, no, I haven't been out, it's all..."
Fang Zhiyi remembered that in the original plot, the emperor did not investigate further, but only interrogated him twice. Guo Hongru then admitted it himself and was fined half of his salary.
"This emperor is so unreasonable! How could he treat my prince brother like this!"
As soon as this thought came out, many people were stunned. "Your prince brother? Little girl, are you trying to kill yourself? The prince belongs to the royal family!" But when they realized that this was Xu Jiao's inner voice, they felt helpless. Especially those who had grudges against the Xu family, it was like eating a huge lump, unable to swallow it or spit it out, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Fang Zhiyi looked at the anxious prince and spoke before he could speak again, "Or did you organize your own spies? Is that why you know the news about the red-light district?"
The prince was dumbfounded. No matter how dumb he was, he knew that this crime was much more serious than visiting a brothel. As a prince, secretly organizing spies, wasn't this a matter of life and death?
He knelt down instantly: "Your Majesty, please understand! I didn't..." He wanted to tell his father about hearing the voice in his heart, but how could his father believe such a weird thing!
Fang Zhiyi stood up and asked, "You're just a prince, and you're actually spying on high-ranking officials of the imperial court?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
