After Emperor Xuande finished his question, Su Qingyu stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt. "In reply to your Majesty, this is a birthday gift from this humble servant to the Empress Chen. However, I am not familiar with the evil object that Lord Sun mentioned. Please investigate carefully, Your Majesty."
Emperor Xuande was a little surprised to see Su Qingyu coming forward.
Not only Emperor Xuande, but everyone else present was also shocked. They thought it was a fight between the concubines for favor, so how could it be related to the Shen family?
The third wife of the Su family, Mrs. Hai, and the youngest wife of the Zhao family, Mrs. Yan, both looked solemn at this time.
Su Yuanzhou's expression did not change, he just glanced coldly at the seat where the Li family was sitting.
Emperor Xuande pondered for a moment and said, "Su, after your fan entered the palace, was there any possibility that it was replaced by someone else? And who among the servants around you could have had access to this fan?"
Su Qingyu was Shen Zhixiu's wife, and Emperor Xuande didn't believe she would do such a treasonous act. He preferred to believe that someone was deliberately framing the Shen family.
Princess Yongjia's eyes flashed with resentment. Her brother really trusted Shen Zhixiu. Even with irrefutable evidence, he was unwilling to directly convict Su Qingyu.
But it doesn't matter, she has a backup plan.
Princess Yongjia winked at Censor Chen who was sitting diagonally opposite her, and Censor Chen nodded slightly.
He stood up and walked to the center of the hall, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
This Censor Chen was the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official. He refrained from forming cliques or factions, and certainly didn't participate in the struggle for the throne. He was a true loyal minister. Even the Emperor praised him highly.
Before the Li family was demoted, Princess Yongjia did not ask Censor Chen to plead for mercy, but waited until the most critical moment to use him.
Emperor Xuande looked at Censor Chen and said, "Lord Chen, we should investigate the origin of this evil object now. If it involves state affairs, we can discuss it at the morning court tomorrow."
Censor Chen said, "Your Majesty, the matter I wish to report is related to Lord Shen, and may also be related to this evil creature."
Emperor Xuande was startled, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "You say."
Censor Chen was obviously well prepared. He took out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed it to Manager Hu.
Then he said, "I received news yesterday that Lord Shen has been communicating with Zhai Fang, the leader of the Jiuli tribe on the Miao frontier, and the two have been in close contact."
"There's another thing I find puzzling. Mr. Zhou, the legendary doctor who's staying at the Shen family, is actually a descendant of the An family of Qianzhou Prefecture. And this An family is none other than An Gaoda, the governor of Qianzhou during the reign of Emperor Jing. Back then, An Gaoda was convicted of treason and his entire family was executed."
"Your Majesty, do you still remember that palace banquet? Mr. Zhou saw through the sorcery. There's no guarantee he wouldn't cast a spell to retaliate against the royal family and the Great Zhou."
"I brought this evidence into the palace with me, intending to report this privately to the Emperor after the banquet."
“But when I saw that the gift given by Madam Shen San contained an evil object, I felt that these things might be related.”
When Censor Chen said this, the whole hall was in an uproar.
If the evidence is conclusive, the Shen family will be accused of treason and collaborating with the enemy.
Su Qingyu knelt on the ground with a changed expression. She only knew that they wanted to frame her for using witchcraft to harm others, but she didn't know that Mr. Zhou had such an identity.
She had thoroughly investigated Mr. Zhou, but hadn't found any of this. Was it that Third Master's people hadn't discovered this, or that Third Master hadn't told her?
Emperor Xuande frowned and said nothing. He looked at the contents of the paper in his hand, and his expression became uglier and uglier the more he read.
If everything said above is verified, then Shen Zhixiu should be killed.
Emperor Xuande was silent for a long time after reading it, and suddenly looked at Chen Zheng again, "What do you think, Minister Chen?"
Chen Zheng stood up and walked to the center of the hall. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your Majesty, I think these are not enough to convict Lord Shen."
"But I'm a little confused. When he took Mr. Zhou in, did he know that he was the descendant of a criminal?"
"Have you ever considered the emperor's safety by placing him in the capital?"
"If Lord Shen doesn't know about this, then these things have nothing to do with him."
It seemed like he was defending Shen Zhixiu, but in fact, it was also equivalent to giving him a push.
Emperor Xuande and all the civil and military officials knew Shen Zhixiu's abilities. The fact that he was able to stay in the palace meant that his entire family had been thoroughly investigated.
Emperor Xuande was filled with hatred when he thought that Shen Zhixiu knew such a person was in his mansion but did not reveal any clues. He even condoned this person's plot to murder Da Zhou.
Emperor Xuande looked coldly at Su Qingyu kneeling on the ground, "Su, do you admit your guilt?"
The court officials and ladies who were on good terms with the Shen family were all worried for Su Qingyu. Without Shen Zhixiu, how could a woman like her handle all this?
Marquis of Loyalty Song Zan wanted to speak, but he didn't know the inside story and didn't dare to speak rashly.
Su Yuanzhou looked at Su Qingyu. He believed that his sister was capable of responding with her talent.
In this situation, both he and Song Zan had to be extremely careful with their words. Especially they couldn't take advantage of the emperor's favor and speak rashly.
Su Qingyu knelt on the ground, her head bowed in thought. Third Master hadn't returned yet, and she wasn't sure how to handle the situation. But right now, all she could do was buy time for Third Master.
Thinking of this, Su Qingyu raised her head and looked at Emperor Xuande. Her back was straight and her expression was open.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Censor Chen snorted, "Madam Shen San, no matter how eloquent you are, it cannot change the fact that you intend to murder Empress Chen and the Great Zhou."
Su Qingyu's eyes were clear, without a trace of guilt. She turned and asked Censor Chen, "Sir Chen, even if the Ministry of Justice is hearing the case, shouldn't they give people a chance to argue?"
"As the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official, is this how Censor Chen usually handles government affairs?"
Censor Chen was speechless for a moment. Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuande said, "Su, just say whatever you want to say."
He also wanted to hear what Su Qingyu had to say.
Su Qingyu said, "Could you please let me see the silk paper? I did put something in the fan handle, but it's not evil."
When Princess Yongjia heard what Su Qingyu said, a sneer suddenly appeared on the corner of her lips.
Of course, the show has to be done in full. Even people who can understand Miao language cannot see anything unusual about the content on the silk paper today.
In the eyes of the people of the Central Plains, Miaojiang is a mysterious place where a poisonous insect can make a person surrender to its will, and a single spell can kill someone.
In fact, there is no talisman on the silk paper. Translated from Miao language, it is text cursing Da Zhou and Chen Fei.
Su Qingyu said this out of sheer luck, hoping to find a way to refute the argument based on the content. Unfortunately, her wishful thinking was wrong.
Judging from the emperor's brother's reaction, this matter was considered a success. It was worthwhile for him to ask Zhang Tianshi to consult the classics and come up with this thing.
However, this incident was only a minor matter for the Shen family. The subsequent incidents were what could really cost the lives of Shen Zhixiu and others.
Princess Yongjia took a sip of the wine in her hand, with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.
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