Chapter 313 The Imperial Edict to Depose the Emperor
In front of all the civil and military officials, the Prefect of the Capital presented the confessions of the six men in black and recounted with deep sorrow the grave crimes committed by Princess Shanmin.
Princess Pingyuan's faction immediately changed their expressions. Before Emperor Jinghe could speak, they began arguing with the Prefect of Jingzhao, saying that Princess Shanmin would not have sent people to murder a few civilians for no reason, and that someone must have framed her.
The Prefect of the Capital ignored them and simply stayed quietly in the corner, awaiting Emperor Jinghe's decision.
After reading the confession, Emperor Jinghe said in a deep voice amidst several tense or hopeful gazes, "I will summon Princess Shanmin to the palace later. If the situation is true, I will punish her accordingly."
The ministers were not surprised at all by these words, but many were still quite disappointed.
Princess Shanmin, relying on her status, has committed numerous crimes over the years, not only murdering ordinary people at will, but also harming the young ladies and gentlemen of official families in the capital.
However, with the protection and indulgence of Princess Pingyuan, Princess Shanmin was always able to escape punishment smoothly, or someone from the princess's residence would take the blame, and the culprit would only receive a light punishment such as confinement.
The confessions of only six thugs are insufficient to convict Princess Shanmin, as can be seen from Emperor Jinghe's attitude.
After the court session, the Prefect of Jingzhao walked out in a huff, and as soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he saw the carriage of the Marquis of Annan.
He hesitated, unsure whether to go forward, when the car door opened, revealing Ning Shizi's profile.
Without further hesitation, the Prefect of the Capital stepped forward and boarded the carriage.
The other ministers were not surprised at all.
As the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Ning Sihan was responsible for handling all the case files submitted by the Prefect of the Capital. It was perfectly normal for him to consult with the Prefect of the Capital about some matters.
No one knows what the two said in the carriage, but when the Prefect of the Capital got off, he was no longer in a bad mood and returned to the Capital Prefecture with a smile on his face.
In the evening, Xu Jinnian returned home and told Sheng An about how Peng Chunlan and others were almost silenced last night, and how Princess Shanmin was accused of being the mastermind behind the incident at the Golden Palace this morning.
A thought flashed through Sheng An's mind, and she guessed that a man was secretly behind the whole thing, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Will she receive the punishment she deserves for this?"
Xu Jinnian shook his head: "As long as Princess Pingyuan remains in power, she will not be punished."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An lowered his voice even further: "His Majesty's indulgence of this mother and daughter is probably not solely due to the favor shown to them by Empress Wei's faction back then, is it?"
Seeing that his wife had finally asked after holding it in for so long, Xu Jinnian smiled and pinched the tip of her nose: "Well, Princess Pingyuan may be holding the imperial edict of deposing the emperor left to her by the late emperor."
Sheng An stared in shock.
An imperial edict to depose the emperor?
Was the late emperor out of his mind to leave behind such an imperial edict?
"It's just a possibility, it's not necessarily true."
Xu Jinnian was amused by his wife's stunned expression and waved his long hand in front of her eyes to remind her to come back to her senses.
Once, the Master drank with him alone, and in a moment of drunkenness, he blurted out his innermost thoughts.
Of course, it's more likely that the Master deliberately said it to him while he was drunk.
Given the Master's cautious nature, he wouldn't make wild guesses; the imperial edict left by the late emperor to depose the emperor is most likely genuine.
Sheng An took a deep breath and murmured, "If Princess Pingyuan has this imperial edict, then everything makes sense."
She knew it! His Majesty has managed to govern the country so well; he couldn't possibly allow Princess Pingyuan and her daughter to commit evil deeds. It turns out there's a sword hanging over his head that could fall at any moment.
What Sheng An couldn't understand was why the late emperor would leave such an imperial edict. Was it because he was dissatisfied with the current emperor, or because he cared for his daughter, Princess Pingyuan, and was worried that the emperor would discard her after he had taken power?
After thinking it over, she felt that the latter possibility was more likely.
The late emperor doted on Empress Wei, and because of her mother's status, the daughter also showed great affection for her daughter, Princess Pingyuan.
There are still rumors circulating that the late emperor originally wanted to make Princess Pingyuan the crown princess, but he gave up the idea because the civil and military officials and members of the imperial clan strongly opposed it.
The rumors may not be true, but they are enough to show how much the late emperor valued Princess Pingyuan.
Sheng An leaned against Xu Jinnian's chest, wrapping her arms around his waist: "Princess Pingyuan is very powerful. Won't she discover what you've been doing in secret?"
Xu Jin gently stroked her stray hairs and said, "I am just a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. What merit do I have to do these things?"
Sheng An chuckled, looking at the man's serious face, and couldn't help but lean over and kiss him.
If this man hadn't never hidden anything from her, she would never have imagined that he was plotting against Princess Shanmin behind her back.
After the laughter subsided, Sheng An asked, "This matter is quite serious. Will that mother and daughter use Xu Huaining to silence the gossip?"
Xu Jinnian nodded: "Even without anyone pushing him, he won't have a good ending."
Sheng An breathed a sigh of relief: "If we can't kill the tiger, it's good to get rid of this accomplice."
As Xu Jinnian said, when Princess Shanmin was summoned to the palace by Emperor Jinghe for questioning, she immediately shifted all the blame onto Xu Huaining.
She claimed that Xu Huaining falsely issued orders, instructing people from the princess's residence to kill her to cover it up, and that she knew nothing about this beforehand.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jinghe was furious and ordered the arrest of Xu Huaining, who had disregarded the law and framed Princess Shanmin.
Xu Huaining was taken away from the Ministry of Revenue and thrown directly into the Jingzhao Prefecture prison to reunite with Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua.
The couple, who were hoping their son would get them out of trouble, felt like the sky had fallen when they saw Xu Huaining being roughly thrown in.
"How did you get in? How did you get in? What am I going to do now that you're here?!"
Xu Laosi grabbed Xu Huaining's arm like a madman, his eyes wide open and bulging as if they were about to pop out.
Xu Huaining forcefully pushed Xu Laosi away, stood up, and looked at him coldly: "You can just wait to die."
He has become a pawn to be discarded. Even if he manages to walk out alive one day, his future will be ruined. This is even more painful than killing him outright.
Xu Laosi had been in the prison cell for several days, eating and sleeping poorly and having little strength. When he was pushed like that, he staggered backward and bumped into the cold, hard wall, the pain so intense that his internal organs almost shifted.
Seeing this, Feng Lianhua became even more worried. Forgetting her fear, she grabbed Xu Huaining's hand and anxiously asked:
"What exactly happened? Why did you come in? Does the Princess know you've been captured? Will she try to get you out?"
Xu Huaining didn't push Feng Lianhua away, nor did he answer her question. He simply withdrew his hand and sat dejectedly in the corner, his head bowed, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing this, Feng Lianhua felt a deep sense of despair: "Waaah, how could this happen, how could this happen..."
Her son had become an official, and she had finally become a wealthy and powerful woman, destined to enjoy endless riches and honors for the rest of her life. But instead, she was inexplicably imprisoned.
Now even her son has come in. Does this mean she'll be locked up in this dark place until she dies of old age?
If only she had known it would turn out like this, she shouldn't have come to the capital in the first place. Wouldn't it have been better for her to stay in Xujiaba and retire?
Feng Lianhua was filled with remorse, so much so that her intestines turned green with regret, and tears streamed down her face.
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