"Prince Jing?" someone suddenly spoke from behind.
The two were startled and turned around abruptly to see Huo Baichuan standing behind them. Sun Yun's eyes widened as he pointed at Huo Baichuan, "You really are not dead."
Huo Baichuan chuckled twice, flicking the hay in his hand, and said nonchalantly, "If you want me to die so badly, who will save you if I die?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shubiao put on a fawning expression and asked Huo Baichuan, "Uncle Huo, how do we resolve this situation?"
Huo Baichuan touched his nose, looking at him with an air of superiority, as if saying, "You're begging me!" He looked up at the sky, but unfortunately, the blue sky and white clouds were obscured by the glazed tiles, and he couldn't see them.
Zhao Shu thought that with such a grand gesture, he must be confident in dealing with Hao Shumei, but it was too much for him to ask her for help.
Without saying a word, she took two steps forward and snatched the hay from Huo Baichuan's hand. "If you don't tell me how to resolve this situation, I'll shout that you're right here."
"You, you, you...you, you, truly, women and petty men are hard to deal with. The sage was right." He wailed helplessly, while looking at Sun Yun. Clearly, he wanted to use Sun Yun for something.
Sun Yun saw a deep, calculating motive in his eyes and instinctively took a few steps back, then hid behind Zhao Shu. "I have no grudge against you, and we'll keep to ourselves. Let me tell you, I, Sun Yun, am not someone to be trifled with. You'd better not do anything rash."
Zhao Shu looked at Sun Yun suspiciously, then at Huo Baichuan, and then very unkindly pushed Sun Yun forward, "Uncle Huo, Young Master Huo, please speak frankly if you have any insights."
Huo Baichuan enjoyed being treated like a king, but he still had to put on airs a little. He put his hands behind his back, nodded, and asked, "What's in it for me?"
She hadn't yet given him the benefits she'd promised him last time. Looking up at the carved beams and painted pillars above her, Zhao Shu wondered what Young Master Huo was lacking. It seemed that apart from a wife, he lacked nothing else.
But she couldn't give it to him.
After thinking it over and over, he said dryly, "How about we bring down Zhao Bi and split his assets equally?"
"Deal." Huo Baichuan readily agreed to such a simple benefit, clearly just teasing Zhao Shu.
Sun Yun, who was standing nearby, objected angrily, "What about me? What do I get?"
Huo Baichuan glanced at her and then said, "You've gained a lot."
Sun Yun was puzzled and looked at him suspiciously, "Why don't I believe you?"
Zhao Shu was about to say something when Huo Baichuan made a shushing gesture, and the group immediately quieted down and listened attentively to the conversation in the hall.
They seemed to have missed something just now, and at this moment they heard the Empress Dowager say, "Guards, escort the Imperial Concubine back to the palace."
However, as soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, a minister stepped forward and raised his voice, saying, "Empress Dowager, this matter concerns the face of the royal family. I beg you to investigate the truth impartially, severely punish those who have corrupted the royal bloodline, and restore justice to the royal family. I also request that the Consort reveal the name of the adulterer to uphold the royal bloodline!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Baichuan said, "Guan Heng can't even speak properly. As the head of the Censorate, he has truly disgraced Dayong."
Zhao Shu did not respond, feeling in her heart that Guan Heng's words were not well-chosen, the wording was inappropriate, and the expression was weak and powerless.
However, Zhao Shu was somewhat surprised that Huo Baichuan could remember Guan Heng's voice, as she hadn't even realized that the speaker was Guan Heng.
"Since it is a matter of the royal family, it is also a matter of my family. Why should family matters be discussed in the court?" The Empress Dowager clearly disagreed, and her words were even colder than before.
Zhao Bi glared angrily at Guan Heng. He didn't want to discuss this matter in court anymore. Guan Heng was his man, but he wasn't on his side!
Zhao Bi forgot that the reason Guan Heng was not of one mind with him was because Guan Yurong had ruined his reputation and had now been sent to a nunnery to become a nun. How could he still be loyal to Zhao Bi?
Although Guan Yurong's matter was not directly related to Zhao Bi, he was always able to find some connections. Furthermore, Guan Heng was on Yi De's side, as could be seen from what happened in Jiangnan last time.
Yi De wasn't genuinely helping Zhao Bi, so naturally she turned against him at this moment.
In a flash, Zhao Shu realized that Yi De had used Zhao Bi and that she should give up on him.
As for Prince Jing, he also had to give up on Zhao Bi. Zhao Bi had successfully become the crown prince, and if Emperor Mingde died, he would become the emperor. He was no longer an ally, but rather an obstacle.
In other words, whoever is the crown prince is the target, so unless Zhao Bi ascends the throne immediately, it is absolutely impossible for him to smoothly ascend the throne after Emperor Mingde's death.
Emperor Yide used Zhao Bi to annoy Emperor Mingde, hoping that they would turn against each other, father and son, and brothers. Emperor Jing used Zhao Bi to weaken Emperor Mingde's overall power.
Therefore, Zhao Bi lost his usefulness the moment he became the crown prince.
Zhao Bi was an extremely intelligent man. When he heard Guan Heng stand up and express his opinion, he realized that he had been abandoned. In a flash, he immediately stepped forward to take the initiative.
"Grandmother, I believe this woman is spreading falsehoods and should not be trusted. Tell me, can the words of someone who is immoral, has no bottom line, and is shameless be believed? We are all scholars who have studied the classics. I advise you all not to be bewitched by this witch!"
Indeed, the words of bad people are unreliable, while the words of good people, even if false, will still be believed by many.
Hao Shumei's confession of having an affair has already damaged her character, so her words are naturally unreliable.
The Empress Dowager grunted in agreement, and then fell silent. None of the officials knew what she was thinking. Zhao Shu had a feeling that the Empress Dowager didn't really care about the royal family's reputation at this moment.
Indeed, the Empress Dowager's thoughts changed several times in a short period of time. She didn't really care about the royal reputation. She thought that perhaps she could get rid of two people by using this matter.
One was Emperor Mingde, and the other was Zhao Bi.
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