Chapter 172 The Princess's Power

At this moment, an inappropriate sneer came from a corner of the hall, interrupting the harmony. An official suddenly stepped out and spoke sharply: "Your Majesty, I have a report. I think that the virtue of the Princess Protector of the Country has damaged the reputation of the Song Dynasty. Her virtue is flawed. The

virtue of the princess is related to the face of the Song Dynasty. If her behavior violates etiquette and damages the dignity of the country, how can she still bear the title of 'Protector of the Country'? I earnestly request Your Majesty that considering the princess's past merits, her dignity as a princess can be retained, but the title of 'Protector of the Country' should be withdrawn to avoid misleading the world.

As soon as these words came out, the court was suddenly in an uproar. Minglan's expression did not change, but she thought to herself: What does this person mean?

Sheng Hong stood among the ministers, looking a little flustered. He tilted his head and asked the official beside him anxiously: "What does he mean? How did the Princess Protector of the Country humiliate the national prestige? What happened? "

The officials around him were also confused, not knowing what kind of hysteria that man had.

The Queen Mother and the Emperor immediately looked at Minglan. Minglan frowned, secretly criticizing in her heart that this official was simply ridiculous. Could it be that he had a brain disease and just uttered such nonsense.

Immediately, an official from the Queen Mother's faction stood up to speak for Minglan, "Lord Wang just opened his mouth and said that the Princess of Protector of the Country was morally flawed. This is nonsense. The princess was personally conferred by the late emperor. Minglan, the daughter of Sheng, is both talented and virtuous, wise and brave. In the time of national crisis, she stepped forward and accepted the order in times of danger. She made great contributions to the rescue and lived up to the emperor's grace. Her loyalty and bravery are commendable. Her loyal and heroic deeds can be witnessed by heaven and earth, and respected by all the people. How can you slander her at will? "

As soon as the words fell, all the officials echoed, and the voices of support came one after another. Seeing this, the emperor could not hide his anger, and severely reprimanded the official surnamed Wang.

Who knew that the official stiffened his neck and insisted on his own opinion: "What Sheng Minglan did has been a hot topic in Tokyo, and the people are discussing it privately. Such behavior actually damages the dignity of our Song Dynasty, brings shame to the royal family, and also makes Your Majesty and the Queen Mother lose face."

As soon as these words came out, an official could not suppress his anger and questioned loudly: "You keep accusing the Princess of Protecting the Country of damaging the national prestige, but you refuse to say clearly what inappropriate behavior the princess has done? Are you trying to accuse someone of a crime? "

The official surnamed Wang overheard the whispers around him, with a hint of sarcasm on his face. He glanced at Minglan with disgust, and then said confidently: "Before Sheng Minglan rescued the emperor, she was kidnapped by bandits in the street. Many people witnessed this with their own eyes. Then she miraculously survived, and then she made the contribution of rescuing the emperor.

I made an in-depth investigation and found that those bandits were actually the remnants of the rebel Yongwang Mansion. From this, it can be inferred that either Sheng Minglan had already lost her chastity and gave herself to the bandits to protect herself; or she was an internal response of Yongwang's party, and she escaped because she surrendered early.

Afterwards, she even sneaked into the court with the merit of rescuing the emperor, trying to confuse people. Otherwise, Prince Yong had many rebels who were sadistic and murderous, so how could she, a mere woman, break out and even ask for reinforcements? Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this woman's identity is suspicious, and she must not be allowed to stay in the court any longer! "

As soon as these words came out, there was another uproar in the hall, and people were talking about it.

Sheng Hong was furious when he heard this. He stood up and angrily scolded the official surnamed Wang, "You are simply slandering me! My daughter suffered innocently, and she was able to escape danger only by her own wit and courage. How can you slander her like this? Everyone in the Yulin Army can testify that she was summoned into the palace by the Queen Mother herself, and it was purely a coincidence.

As for the credit for rescuing the driver, it was my daughter who accepted the order in times of crisis and went through untold hardships to ask for reinforcements. Instead of investigating the truth, you lied and fabricated lies to frame loyal officials. What is your intention? I think you are a hidden rebel from the lineage of Prince Yong. You are jealous of my daughter's achievements and deliberately discredit her.

Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this person has evil intentions. Please investigate him severely!"

Sheng Hong's impassioned speech, every word was brilliant, and his words fell on the ground with a loud sound. In an instant, he awakened the reason and sense of justice of many ministers present. They stood up one after another to defend Minglan and denounced the despicable behavior of the official surnamed Wang.

Seeing that the ministers did not believe what he said, the official surnamed Wang was desperate and spoke nonsense, sneering: "The rumors among the people are everywhere, are they not groundless? There is no smoke without fire. It must be Sheng Minglan's own behavior that gave others an advantage. "

Gu Tingye heard this, his eyes instantly became deep and sharp, shooting at the official surnamed Wang, and then he slowly moved his gaze away from the official surnamed Wang and turned to the emperor, "There is no smoke without fire. Your Majesty, rumors are spreading in Tokyo, and I'm afraid there is someone behind it.

The Princess Protector of the Country, as the emperor of our Song Dynasty, has been slandered in this way. It makes people suspect that there is a conspiracy, intending to undermine the reputation of the princess, shake the foundation of the royal family, and then weaken the people's trust in the royal family. This is a national event that concerns the safety of the country and must be thoroughly investigated! "

Seeing that Gu Tingye brought the topic to the diplomatic spies, the official surnamed Wang became anxious and tried to turn the spearhead to the personal relationship between Gu Tingye and Minglan. "Your Majesty, General Gu is wrong. The reason why he favors Sheng Minglan is probably because the two of them have a deep relationship. Your Majesty, the facts are before you, but look at how many people in the court are speaking for this woman. The court is not clear, Your Majesty. This is a sign of chaos in the court! "

The emperor heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at everyone in the hall, especially those officials who were mostly dependent on the empress dowager. He then looked at Gu Tingye, his brows furrowed, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

Minglan was close, and she was keenly aware of the change in the emperor's expression. She glanced at the official surnamed Wang, thinking to herself: I don't know where this person is from, and he came up to bite me randomly, and I don't know what his purpose is. Minglan didn't take the previous nonsense to heart, but the last sentence made him a blind cat that met a dead mouse, and it really hit the emperor's heart.

Now the emperor and the empress dowager are new and old . The two factions were fighting fiercely, competing with each other, and the emperor was probably dissatisfied with the queen mother. At this time, although the second brother Gu spoke out for justice with good intentions, it might also cause him unnecessary suspicion.

So Minglan decided to take the initiative. She stepped forward and said in the direction of the official surnamed Wang: "Sir Wang, this princess tells you that I was indeed abducted by the minions of the Yong Palace who disguised as bandits. The reason is simple, just because I had a grudge with the Lord of Jiacheng County in the past. When Yong planned the conspiracy to assassinate the official, he took me along to vent his anger for his daughter.

I escaped because I had a way to save my life. When a girl is out, she must be on guard. Fortunately, I was rescued by the Yulin Army. This is a fact that is proven by witnesses and cannot be denied.

As for the rescue, it was due to my wisdom and bravery. I rode my horse non-stop to Yuzhou until I met your Majesty. Your Majesty and General Gu can all testify for me. Did you hear what I said, Lord Wang?"