"There is no evidence of the crime. The Duke is really good at this!"

Wan Qing secretly resented that the Duke of Yue acted so quickly, but she didn't know that it was not the Duke of Yue who did these things. He was eager for the two servants to come here to confront him. He was not afraid at all that the two servants would say things that shouldn't be said.

The Emperor has already believed that this was done by the Duke of Yue, who even killed Wanqing's fiancé and her entire family, leaving her helpless. Then he appeared to save her from the dire situation, and Wanqing shouldn't be grateful and follow him wholeheartedly?

The emperor understood the little thoughts between men very well, so he became more and more dissatisfied with Duke Yue. With such a man as the prince's uncle and the prince's backer, what else can the prince learn? No wonder the two of them even secretly raised an army. Will they raise an army to rebel after the army is raised effectively?

Duke of Yue, there is no way he will continue to let it go. Once Prince An comes back and finds out the truth in the account book, if it is really the work of Duke of Yue, he will never tolerate it.

At this time, Duke Yue did not know that a disaster was about to happen, and he still cried out that he was wronged. However, the emperor no longer trusted him, and the fact that the evidence was inexplicably committed suicide made him believe in Wan Qing to the extent of 80%.

"Since you are the Duke of Yue, you must do things that benefit the country and the people. Let the Ministry of Justice handle this matter. If you don't take human life lightly, the Ministry of Justice will naturally not convict you."

Duke Yue was blocked from saying a word. He stared at Wan Qing with flaming eyes and was taken to the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

As soon as Duke Yue left, the emperor's eyes were fixed on the account book. The handwriting on the account book was both new and old, and it was obvious that no one had framed him. He stared at Wan Qing and asked:

"How did you find this account book?"

Wan Qing's heart tensed, but she replied calmly: "Your Majesty, I am honored to enter the study of Duke Yue. I originally wanted to find evidence that he murdered my relatives, but I accidentally found this in the compartment of the desk."

The emperor nodded and did not ask any more questions. This matter was too shocking for him. Now he could only wait for Prince An to return to the palace.

"I will have someone take you down and settle you down. You will stay in the palace for now. When this matter is settled, I will send someone to take you to a safe place."

The emperor also thought that if Wanqing left the palace, she would be retaliated. After all, she provided such great evidence, so he must save Wanqing's life. Wanqing also knew that she might lose her life if she left the palace, so she would not refuse the emperor's kindness, but she still thought of her father who was in the Yueguo Palace.

"I obey your order, but my father is still in the other house of the Duke's Mansion, and I am afraid..."

The emperor also reacted and summoned the guards to protect Wanqing's father.

It was almost three hours before Prince An hurried back to the palace. The emperor was horrified when he saw that his body was stained with blood.

Prince An's face was not looking good. If someone had not reported the matter to the emperor, they would not have known that there was such an army near the capital. Fifty thousand people is not a lot, but it is not a small number either. The imperial guards only have fifty thousand. It is hard to say who will win and who will lose when the battle breaks out.

"Your Majesty, I have found that village. It is just as the book says. There are at least 50,000 soldiers and horses there. I also found a handwritten letter from Duke Yue inside. It has Duke Yue's personal seal on it. It cannot be fake."

The emperor's face darkened when he heard this. He threw the fine white jade paper on the ground in anger and shouted, "Nonsense!"

The Duke of Yue has always been a strong supporter of the Crown Prince. Who else can these troops be given to if not the Crown Prince? If they are not given to the Crown Prince, wouldn't he want to raise troops to rebel and change Daliang? The Emperor became more and more annoyed and began to hate the Crown Prince. In recent years, thinking of the affection of the deceased Queen, he has been very caring for the Crown Prince. Although he is a little dissatisfied with his softness, he has never thought of changing the position of the Crown Prince. But now that the secret raising of troops has come out, is it still a long way from forcing the Emperor to abdicate?

"I'll leave this matter to you. You must have solid evidence for every case, and you won't tolerate any of the people involved!"

Since it was a matter concerning the emperor, Prince An was still very concerned, especially since it was such a big thing as plotting a rebellion. He immediately returned home, changed his clothes, and went to the Ministry of Justice to interrogate Duke Yue. He also ordered his confidants to lead troops to surround the Duke Yue's mansion, not allowing anyone to enter or leave.

The people in the Duke of Yue's Mansion didn't know what had happened. The Duke's wife and the Crown Prince wanted to argue with them, but when the Emperor's edict was shown to them, they dared not say a word. They just wondered what had happened to the Duke of Yue.

The prince of Yueguo knew something. He thought of the soldiers and horses kept in the suburbs and went to the study with a heavy face. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find the account book. The prince of Yueguo knew that the matter had been exposed. His face showed a trace of gray, and he just hoped that a miracle would happen and the account book would be handed over to the emperor.

His prayers were useless. When Prince An produced one piece of ironclad evidence after another to interrogate the Duke of Yue, he was speechless. The Duke of Yue knew that everything he had painstakingly planned for many years had been ruined. Thinking of the cause of the incident, he could not help but grit his teeth. He had never hated a person so much at such a moment, and the one who caused all this was actually a woman.

The Duke of Yue, who was escorted back to the prison, knew that he would never get out again. Perhaps in a few days, he would be sentenced to have his family confiscated and his property destroyed. Raising troops secretly was no different from treason, a crime not much different from treason. He leaned against the wall helplessly, looking exhausted.

The verdict on the Duke of Yue came out very quickly. As he expected, his title was revoked and he was demoted to a commoner. His property was confiscated and all officials involved in the case were sentenced to death. Even the crown prince of the Eastern Palace was implicated. The emperor issued an imperial decree to demote him from crown prince to Prince of Jin, taking away all his privileges and leaving only a fiefdom.

Compared to the fate of the Duke of Yue who was exterminated, the fate of the deposed prince was much better, at least he still had his life and could go to his fiefdom in peace. Without the support of the Duke of Yue and the manpower to start a rebellion, the deposed prince could only reluctantly leave the capital after the Duke of Yue beheaded him, and never set foot in the capital again in his life.

It was a month later that the matter came to an end. Wanqing was given a mansion and gold and silver by the emperor, and was also named the Shushen County Lord because of her report. After leaving the palace, Wanqing took her father back, because she had the emperor's support behind her. At least when the emperor was alive, she must have had smooth sailing. Many people had their eyes on her. So what if she was married? It's not as important as profit. But after rejecting the third person, Wanqing tied her hair up high and announced that she would never marry again in her life.

After Wanqing was canonized as the county lord, the palace held a small banquet for her. When Xiao Yunrou entered the palace and saw her, she was very happy to see that the self-pity on her face was gone.

"Congratulations, your wish has come true."

Wan Qing's eyes lit up when she saw Xiao Yunrou. She was very grateful to Xiao Yunrou. She knew that if it weren't for Xiao Yunrou, she would never know the truth in her life, and her relatives and fiancé would die in vain. She had a lot to say to Xiao Yunrou, especially she owed Xiao Yunrou a "thank you". Without Xiao Yunrou, she wouldn't be who she is now. However, she didn't dare to go to Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion, for fear that the matter that had just been settled would become confusing because of her recklessness, and she wouldn't be able to find a chance to talk to Xiao Yunrou alone.

"I have to thank Madam Hou for everything. If Wanqing is of any use to me in the future, I will go through fire and water for her without hesitation."

Wanqing promised solemnly, Xiao Yunrou smiled slightly, toasted with a glass of wine and left. From now on, I am afraid that they will only visit each other during festivals, which is also for the good of both families.

The Duke of Yue was dead, the Crown Prince was deposed, and all the enemies from the previous life were gone. All she had to do from now on was to live in peace and stability. She thought that in the future she might really be able to live a simple life raising a child.

After the banquet, Pei Lingfeng looked at Xiao Yunrou with joy in his eyes and a slight smile on his face. The prince had no chance to make a comeback, but as long as he could secretly support the prince who saved his son's life in his previous life to ascend the throne, he would have completed the ending of his previous life. However, in this life, he was no longer estranged from his son, and died alone without his wife by his side. With his wife and children by his side, everything was perfect.

After this incident, Daliang lost his crown prince. The emperor looked down upon the older sons, so he turned his attention to the younger ones, intending to train another successor. However, he did not consider it because the maternal family was too powerful. The emperor hated people who relied on their status to do shameful things. The incident of Duke Yue sounded a warning to him. The maternal family was too powerful, which was not a good thing for him and the emperor who would ascend the throne in the future. The emperor chose for two months and finally set his sights on the youngest ninth prince.

Since you want to cultivate them, you have to plan early. The families that were originally fighting for the throne were shocked to find that the emperor had recently brought the ninth prince with him to the meeting. The ninth prince's mother was only the legitimate daughter of a sixth-rank official. Her mother's family was in decline and her appearance was not outstanding. She had been in the palace for many years and was only a concubine. If she hadn't given birth to the ninth prince, I'm afraid the emperor would not even remember her. At this time, the whole court turned their attention to this mother and son. But the emperor intended to promote her, so he naturally had to raise the status of his biological mother, and directly promoted her from a concubine to the second-rank Zhaoyi.

Ning Zhaoyi took the position of Zhaoyi with trepidation. Although she was a little scared, she had read poetry since she was a child, so she adapted to the situation soon. Although Ning Zhaoyi did not have much wisdom to seek benefits for her son, it was probably a skill to raise a prince safely. In this case, Ning Zhaoyi was obedient and no different from usual, which made the emperor very satisfied.

After the emperor intentionally cultivated the Ninth Prince, many people began to feel resentful, especially the Third Prince, who had once hoped to replace the deposed Crown Prince. After years of accumulating resentment, he kept making noises. Unfortunately, Concubine Yun did not love him and did not give him any benefits. In addition, the court officials also avoided him because of the Zhong family incident. Under such circumstances, he could not overthrow the Ninth Prince at all.

But the Third Prince was a ruthless person. He could not be defeated openly, but he used many tricks in secret.