Chapter 319 Demoted to Commoner
Xu Huaining believed that as long as Xu Jinnian was implicated, even if it was found that Xu Jinnian was not involved in the cheating case, it would inevitably damage his reputation and jeopardize his future.
However, Xu Huaining underestimated Ning Sihan's protection of Xu Jinnian. In front of him, she made the recorder ignore his "nonsense" and stated in his testimony that he was Princess Shanmin's lover.
Princess Shanmin doted on this male favorite, not only buying him a house in the capital to settle him down, but also frequently summoning him to the princess's residence to serve her in bed.
To please her lover, she helped him cheat in the imperial examination, allowing him to pass and become a successful candidate.
After taking the statement, Ning Sihan didn't forget to further undermine Xu Huaining's morale, having the recorder read it aloud to him.
While Xu Huaining was screaming menacingly, he was forced to sign and fingerprint a confession.
With the previous charges of hiring someone to commit arson and murder to cover it up, and the subsequent allegations of cheating on the scientific examination, Xu Huaining has no chance of getting out of prison alive and is destined to be unable to cause any trouble.
With Xu Huaining's confession and the vermilion ink scroll as evidence, it is sufficient to convict Princess Shanmin of cheating.
She was a princess of the royal family and the daughter of Princess Pingyuan. The Dali Temple had some reservations and did not go directly to arrest her. Ning Sihan went to the palace in person to report the situation to Emperor Jinghe.
Princess Pingyuan received the news immediately and brought Princess Shanmin to the palace to apologize.
On the carriage, Princess Shanmin said dismissively, "It's just cheating. My uncle will take care of the royal family's reputation and will definitely let it go. We don't need to go to the palace to apologize."
Princess Pingyuan's face darkened upon hearing this: "Shut up! I've spoiled you all these years, making you unable to distinguish right from wrong and increasingly reckless."
Princess Pingyuan was unaware beforehand that Princess Shanmin had helped Xu Huaining cheat on a test.
It wasn't until the investigation led to Princess Shanmin that she realized her daughter had done such a thing behind her back.
If the cheating scandal hadn't come to light, Princess Pingyuan would have naturally turned a blind eye, but now she couldn't turn a blind eye to it either.
Rarely scolded by her mother, Princess Shanmin frowned unhappily: "Mother, it's not a big deal. I won't do it again."
Princess Pingyuan's temples throbbed as she listened. She took a deep breath and said sternly, "I will tell you the details of the matter when I get back. When you arrive before His Majesty later, you will kneel down and admit your mistake to me!"
Princess Shanmin was taken aback by her appearance and dared not say anything more at this moment. She could only suppress her dissatisfaction and reply, "I understand."
Even after she calmed down, Princess Pingyuan's expression did not improve.
She lifted the carriage curtain, looked at the majestic and solemn palace gate, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
Perhaps the plan should be moved up.
This cheating scandal has far-reaching implications and a very bad influence, involving even princes and princesses, and has long been known throughout the land.
Even if Emperor Jinghe wanted to take a lenient approach to protect the imperial family's reputation, the civil and military officials in the court and the scholars of the land would not agree.
Ultimately, Emperor Jinghe stripped the sixth prince of his status, demoted him to a commoner, and imprisoned him in the prince's residence, completely cutting off his path to becoming the crown prince.
It was common knowledge in the court that Princess Pingyuan valued the sixth prince and had proposed to Emperor Jinghe that he be made crown prince.
Emperor Jinghe's punishment of the sixth prince was, in effect, a slap in the face to Princess Pingyuan.
Emperor Jinghe showed leniency in punishing Princess Shanmin, merely stripping her of her title and revoking all the privileges granted to her by the royal family, preventing her from acting recklessly again due to her status as a princess.
Princess Pingyuan could not plead for Princess Shanmin, since Emperor Jinghe had already demoted his own son to a commoner.
Princess Shanmin could not accept this punishment and made a scene in front of the palace in front of the other ministers.
In a fit of anger, Princess Pingyuan slapped her twice and then forced her to kneel down to beg for forgiveness from Emperor Jinghe.
Emperor Jinghe did not punish her further, but simply comforted Princess Pingyuan with a few words and then allowed her to take Princess Shanmin back with her.
No one in the court questioned the punishment; instead, they all praised His Majesty's wisdom.
Princess Shanmin was absolutely furious. She cried and made a scene in the carriage, hating the culprit Xu Huaining to the extreme: "I want him dead, I want him to be torn to pieces and die without a complete corpse!"
As her only daughter, even though she had done something so foolish, Princess Pingyuan couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache: "Fine, I will let you vent your anger."
Princess Shanmin threw herself into her arms and burst into tears: "Mother, I'm not a princess anymore, how can I go out in public now!"
Those who had been bullied by her would dare to laugh at her in public from then on.
Princess Pingyuan gently patted Princess Shanmin's head: "I promise that one day I will make you the most noble woman in the world."
The most noble woman in the world?
Princess Shanmin was overjoyed and subconsciously thought that she would become the empress in the future.
Then she realized something was wrong.
Now that the princes who have come of age already have princesses, the underage princes are too far in age to be a good match for her. How can she become empress?
Faced with Princess Shanmin's questioning gaze, Princess Pingyuan did not offer any further explanation: "You will find out in the future."
Her father failed to fully support her ascension to the position of Crown Princess, which has led to her being controlled by others today.
Once she reclaims everything that belongs to her, she will never be bound by those ministers like her father did. She vows to overcome all obstacles and prevent Shanmin from suffering any injustice.
The happiest person about Princess Shanmin being stripped of her title by Guo was Sheng'an, who ate an extra half bowl of food at dinner.
After taking a bath, Sheng An lay on the bed holding her fragrant baby, humming a little tune to lull the baby to sleep.
Xu Jinnian walked in, still damp from his shower, and shook his head helplessly when he saw his wife on the bed.
Sheng An glanced at his daughter and saw that she was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed. He immediately got up and put her back in her crib.
Turning around and seeing the man who looked even more handsome and alluring in the candlelight, Sheng An threw herself into his arms, hugged his head, and kissed him deeply: "Today is a good day, all your wishes will come true!"
Xu Jinnian supported her slender waist as she recovered, and asked with a smile in his eyes, "Since it's a good day, shall we do something happy to celebrate?"
Sheng An's eyes darted around, she pushed the man away and ran off the bed. She took out a jade hairpin from her dressing case and opened the cabinet to find a dress she wore in her late pregnancy.
Xu Jinnian, puzzled, walked over and asked, "It's so late, what is An'an doing with all this?"
Sheng An chuckled, his smile laced with malice: "Aren't we going to celebrate? Tonight you'll play the role of a weak and pitiful young lady, and I'll play the role of a domineering and forceful CEO... cough cough, the third-ranking scholar."
I was so excited that I almost blurted something out.
Xu Jinnian: "..."
My wife really knows how to have fun.
After glancing at the jade hairpin and maternity clothes, and then at the expectant girl in front of him, Xu Jinnian couldn't bear to spoil her fun. He smiled and pinched her nose, saying, "Alright, I'll satisfy you tonight."
Sheng An grinned, showing off his bright white teeth, and enthusiastically dressed him up: "Come on, my little lady, tonight this handsome scholar will pamper you properly, hehehe..."
Xu Jinnian: "..."
Why did I suddenly want to run away?
Is An An's smile too weird?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com