Chapter 315 Doubt
With Xu Huaining taking the blame, Princess Shanmin did not receive much punishment, only being confined to her residence for three months and forbidden from leaving the princess's residence.
If she had been confined to her quarters in the past, Princess Shanmin would not have cared at all. She would have continued as before in private, and no one in the princess's residence would have dared to reveal her whereabouts.
This time was different. Princess Shanmin suspected there was a traitor in the manor, which is why she was caught red-handed by the constables of the Jingzhao Prefecture when she set fire to the inn that night to silence witnesses.
Her first suspect was Wei Ming, who was following orders.
Faced with Princess Shanmin's questioning, Wei Ming's expression remained unchanged, and his voice was as calm and steady as ever:
“I have not betrayed the princess. If the princess does not believe me, then remove me from my position as head guard and appoint someone the princess trusts.”
Princess Shanmin's suspicions did not diminish at all upon hearing this:
"Hmph, this isn't the first time you've failed in your duty. That year in Qingzhou, I asked you to find someone, and you couldn't even find them right under your nose. This time, with such a huge blunder, I, the princess, will not let you off the hook!"
Thinking of Xu Huaining who had been imprisoned, Princess Shanmin's gaze toward Wei Ming grew even more hostile: "If it weren't for Mother's great trust in you, do you think you would still be standing here talking to me like this!"
I don't know what my mother is thinking. There are plenty of guards in the manor who are more capable than Wei Ming, but my mother trusts him the most. Is it just because he was picked up from the refugee camp by my mother?
If her mother hadn't never allowed Wei Ming to sleep with her, she would have thought Wei Ming was a male vixen who had bewitched her mother.
Wei Ming remained silent, neither defending himself nor begging for mercy, appearing completely unyielding.
Princess Shanmin grew even angrier and shouted loudly outside, "Guards, drag Wei Ming away and give him a hundred strokes of the cane!"
The room fell silent, and the maids felt a deep sympathy for Wei Ming.
An ordinary person would be seriously injured after ten strokes of the cane, and after a hundred strokes, there would be almost no chance of survival.
This time, the head of the guards has thoroughly angered the princess.
Just as the other guards rushed in to arrest the person, Princess Pingyuan arrived.
Seeing the scene inside the room, Princess Pingyuan frowned and looked at Wei Ming: "What happened?"
Wei Ming bowed and replied in a deep voice, "Your Highness, the Princess believes that it was my dereliction of duty that led to her being confined by His Majesty and to be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane."
Upon hearing this, Princess Pingyuan frowned even more deeply: "Nonsense!"
Upon seeing this, Princess Shanmin rushed up and grabbed her arm, pleading, "Mother, it's clearly his fault for failing in his duties, causing me to be confined to my quarters. If he isn't severely punished this time, what if others in the mansion follow suit?"
Princess Pingyuan, not wanting to dwell on such a trivial matter, said, "Then let him be flogged twenty times, and the position of head guard will be temporarily handed over to someone else."
Princess Shanmin was not satisfied, but she decided to stop while she was ahead: "Well, let's do as Mother says."
After saying that, she glared fiercely at Wei Ming: "I'll let you off this time, but if you make a mistake again, this princess will take your dog's life!"
After Wei Ming was taken away by the other guards, Princess Pingyuan dismissed the maids in the room and spoke alone with Princess Shanmin.
"This incident is too suspicious; it's probably aimed at my daughter and me."
Princess Shanmin's heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of hostility appeared in her eyes: "What did Mother discover?"
Princess Pingyuan said coldly, "The Prefect of Jingzhao didn't dare to implicate you. I sent people to investigate secretly and found out that Ning Sihan was involved. I'm afraid he's the one behind all this."
Princess Shanmin was initially angry, then asked in bewilderment, "We have no grudge against him, why would he do this?"
Princess Pingyuan gently stroked her hair: "His mother's death is somewhat related to me. Moreover, the woman who was ruined by you two years ago, forced to marry a playboy, and ultimately fell into the water was his maternal cousin."
Upon hearing this, Princess Shanmin searched her memory for a long time before finally recalling the memory. A disdainful expression appeared on her sinister face:
"So it was that bitch! Humph, how dare she steal my thunder! She deserved to end up like that!"
Princess Pingyuan did not find anything wrong with Princess Shanmin's words, and then turned the topic to Ning Sihan: "He is loyal to His Majesty, perhaps His Majesty instructed him to do so."
At this point, a shadow crossed the woman's eyes.
When Princess Pingyuan spoke of Emperor Jinghe, the ruler of the country, there was not a trace of awe in her tone.
In her view, Emperor Jinghe was able to ascend the throne because of her and Empress Wei's full support.
Without them, Emperor Jinghe and Empress Dowager would still be starving and freezing in the cold palace, and might have already turned into two piles of white bones.
Therefore, even though Emperor Jinghe reigned for twenty years, in Princess Pingyuan's eyes, he was still a lowly person in the cold palace who needed her charity.
Princess Shanmin was shocked: "Mother, if it really was His Majesty's doing, wouldn't the Princess's residence be in danger?"
Seeing her daughter's overreaction, Princess Pingyuan said with slight displeasure, "What's the rush? Does he dare to issue an order to confiscate the princess's residence?"
Upon hearing this, Princess Shanmin couldn't help but ask the question that had been buried in her heart for a long time: "Mother, do you have something on His Majesty?"
Princess Pingyuan paused slightly as she stroked the woman's hair, looking at the face that resembled her own, and finally revealed a hint of what she meant: "Yes."
Princess Shanmin's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, "What is it?"
She has a handle that can threaten the emperor of a country. If she holds this handle, wouldn't she be able to get His Majesty to grant her and Xu Mingyu a marriage and then order the death of that lowly mother and daughter from the Sheng family?
"You'll find out what it is later. For now, stay obediently in the manor and don't cause any trouble during this time."
Princess Pingyuan was unaware of what Princess Shanmin was thinking. If she knew that Princess Shanmin held such a powerful secret, only to use it to elope with a man, she might doubt whether Princess Shanmin was her own flesh and blood.
Seeing that her mother remained silent, Princess Shanmin knew that she wouldn't get anything out of her by asking further, and said listlessly, "I understand."
However, there are some things you can't escape by hiding at home.
A few days later, during the grand court session, a memorial concerning the Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy for malfeasance in the imperial examinations was presented to the emperor. This caused an uproar, and all the officials trembled.
The Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, both over fifty years old and nearing retirement, turned deathly pale instantly and knelt down with two thuds, crying out for their innocence:
"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and clear my name!"
Emperor Jinghe slowly put down the memorial, his gaze fixed heavily on the two men's heads: "Whether they are wronged or not, I will send someone to investigate. If the situation is true, even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for their crimes!"
After saying that, he solemnly said, "Minister Ning, you are in full charge of the case of favoritism and corruption in the imperial examinations."
Ning Sihan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy turned pale again, their minds filled with only one desperate thought: It's all over.
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