Liu Jin'an was severely beaten by the servants of the Jin family, and he had a lot of grievances to vent.
However, Bai Qing did not pay attention to him immediately, but let him lie on the ground.
"What? I've arrived, and still no Lord Jin?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jin Chang'an said, bowing slightly. "Father is still on duty at the Eastern Palace today."
Bai Qing knew perfectly well what the man surnamed Jin was busy with—he was busy investigating his textile factory.
He sneered and ordered his servants, "Bring him back from the East Palace."
"yes."
Madam Jin wasn't stupid; she already sensed that things weren't going well. Her gaze kept darting towards Empress Jin, who was seated on the throne. Empress Jin, however, was frowning. She didn't understand what had happened, so how could she explain it to Madam Jin?
Before long, Lord Jin returned. He hurried into the house and, upon seeing the emperor, quickly bowed, saying, "Your subject pays his respects to Your Majesty—"
"No need." Bai Qing smiled kindly: "Come, Lord Jin, this is my princess, the lover your daughter-in-law is having an affair with. Come and see if you recognize him?"
What adulterer?
Lord Jin has been busy with the textile factory these past few days and is unaware that his wife has given him a big surprise at home.
When he got to the 'adulter' who was beaten and tied up, he examined him closely.
Liu Jin'an had a square face, but now his eyes were bruised and watery, his face was red and swollen, and the rag stuffed in his mouth had also changed his appearance. Although the two had met several times, it was always in crowded places, so Lord Jin didn't recognize him at first glance.
"Your Majesty, I don't seem to recognize you—"
"Ptooey!" Liu Jin'an spat out the filthy rag from his mouth. "Lord Jin, although my rank is not as high as yours, I have at least served in the imperial court. How dare you say you don't recognize me? Lord Jin, you, you!"
Liu Jinan, who also came from a prominent family, was furious at the unexpected beating: "You have such a vicious heart! You must have conspired with your wife to harm me, didn't you? You've asked me repeatedly if I knew about the textile factory; you must have been plotting to frame me for this, weren't you?"
He was tied up but still acted aggressively. Lord Jin, who seemed relatively 'innocent' in this matter, was bewildered by his question. What did this have to do with the textile factory?
Liu Jinan glared at him fiercely, then knelt and crawled to the emperor's side, pleading, "Your Majesty, please do justice for this humble subject!"
Bai Qing gestured to the chief steward beside him, who then untied the ropes binding Liu Jin'an and said, "Lord Liu, shall I help you to see the imperial physician first? Look at your face injury."
Although Liu Jin'an was furious, he wasn't stupid. He had to avoid suspicion when it involved the royal family and the princess. He just glared at Lord Jin and quickly bowed and followed the chief steward out of the hall.
Bai Qing looked at Lord Jin: "Lord Jin, what do you have to say?"
Lord Jin knelt on the ground with a thud, still looking completely bewildered: "Your Majesty, please understand, this old minister truly has no idea!"
What does an affair have to do with a textile factory? Is the man the princess is secretly meeting with Liu Jin'an?
A cold smile crept across Bai Qing's lips as he mercilessly cursed, "Stupid thing."
Having come this far, what else is it but stupidity if you can't understand it?
Lord Jin's expression changed, "Your Majesty..."
Bai Qing glanced at Bai Yan, who then stood up.
Bai Qing personally led her by the hand to Lord Jin and Madam Jin: "So that you two may know that you keep saying that the princess is having an affair with a man outside the palace, but in reality she is doing things for me."
“Lord Jin…” Bai Qing sighed softly, “Didn’t you want to know who the owner behind the textile factory is? Now she’s standing right in front of you, how come you don’t recognize her?”
Lord Jin glanced at His Majesty, then his gaze shifted slightly before landing on the princess standing to the side.
Bai Yan looked at Madam Jin and sneered, "I never expected that serving my father would make the Jin family hate me so much?" She said in a low voice, "Madam Jin, you wouldn't still want to drown me, would you?"
Madam Jin's face was pale, and Lord Jin, seeing Madam Jin's flustered expression, quickly figured out the situation after a rapid mental search:
To cover his tracks, His Majesty secretly sent the princess to handle matters at the textile factory. However, the princess's wife and he were at odds, and upon discovering the princess's secret meeting with another man, she immediately convicted the princess without even conducting a thorough investigation, thus creating this misunderstanding.
Lord Jin's current mood is like having a treasure mine at home, but not only did he not discover it, the treasure mine exploded just as he found out.
Lord Jin was filled with anger and pain, and dared not think any further.
"Your Majesty!" He kowtowed fiercely, "My wife is indeed foolish, but she truly did not know that the princess was acting on Your Majesty's behalf. I beg Your Majesty to forgive her this time!"
As if remembering something, Madam Jin kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not falsely accuse the princess of the imperial family. It was a misunderstanding. Please forgive my foolishness!"
Bai Qing said coldly, "Fine, I'll forgive you."
"Wasn't Madam Jin quite satisfied with how the Empress handled the princess just now?" Bai Qing said. "But now that the princess is not at fault, it means that Madam Jin is the one who is wrong."
Bai Qing laughed: "Let me offer a lenient solution, Lord Jin. You should divorce Madam Jin now and expel her from her clan. I can then lightly forgive the Jin family for disrespecting the princess."
Bai Qing spoke lightly, but for Madam Jin, whether it was divorcing her or expelling her from the clan, it would be like the sky falling down.
"No...no!" Madam Jin looked at Lord Jin with tears in her eyes: "My husband, since I married into the Jin family, I have borne children for the Jin family, been filial to my mother-in-law, and managed the household affairs for more than twenty years without daring to slack off for a single day..."
After choking back tears, Madam Jin wiped them away and said, "Your Majesty, I know I have made a mistake, but if I may be so disrespectful, is the princess without fault as well?"
"On their wedding night, the princess first threw her husband out of the bridal chamber. It was such a cold winter day, and my son, a mere scholar, was dressed in thin clothes and had gotten drunk. If no one had found out, he might have frozen to death."
"She neither serves her husband nor respects her mother-in-law. The princess has been in the household for over a month, and has never once paid her respects to me. Even if she is a princess, this is unacceptable in the face of propriety."
"Your Majesty, please uphold justice. Our dynasty has always valued propriety and law. Does Your Majesty truly intend to disregard propriety and law for the sake of the princess? Are you not afraid of public opinion?"
"She's talking nonsense!" It was Hongping, the maid behind Bai Yan, who stepped forward and knelt in the hall: "Your Majesty, it was clearly the驸马 (the princess's husband) who disrespected her first!"
"Who gives a maid like you the right to speak here!" Madam Jin glared at Hongping with bloodshot eyes.
Hongping was startled by her.
Bai Qing sneered, "It seems Madam Jin is indeed very powerful." Regardless of who is right or wrong, the fact that she dared to question him shows that she is already terribly wrong in his eyes.
"If you try to show off in front of me again, I won't hesitate to cut out your tongue."
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