Chapter 407 The Prince Lied
Xiao Changheng stood up and was about to speak, but Yun Qingqing stood up and held him back, saying first:
"Empress, Prime Minister Su and his men are so confident that I stole Yun Bailian's things. May I ask if Master Jingyuan actually meant to give the spiritual objects to Yun Bailian?"
The queen was stunned: "Of course..."
Prime Minister Su said loudly:
"Everyone in the city knows that Master Jingyuan specifically designated the gift to be given to Tianfeng. Who else could be the Tianfeng of the Imperial Capital besides the Crown Princess?"
Yun Qingqing looked at him coldly:
"In other words, Master Jingyuan's original words were that the spiritual object was given to Tianfeng, and he didn't mention Yun Bailian at all. Is that right?"
Prime Minister Su frowned and said:
"Princess, there's no need to force your words. You're not trying to claim that you're the real Tianfeng, are you?"
"That's not a bad idea!"
Suddenly a loud voice was heard, and an old man walked out from the officials' seats. It was Zhuang Qinghong, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy.
Everyone looked at him in surprise, and the emperor was also a little surprised:
"Zhuang Aiqing, what did you just say?"
Grand Secretary Zhuang came before the emperor and bowed:
"Your Majesty, since the Princess Regent married into the palace, everyone has witnessed that not only did the prince's long-standing leg illness heal and his eyesight recover, but she also saved the emperor and exorcised evil spirits for Your Majesty. She also saved the life of General Yan."
"The timely resolution of the Northwest Army's food and fodder shortage was also due to the Princess Regent's contribution."
"Not only that, I've also heard that the princess played a significant role in the battle on the northwest border, and the 100,000 soldiers in the northwest hold her in the highest respect!"
"On the other hand, the Crown Princess has made no achievements since her appointment. The only time she offered sacrifices to heaven was..."
He paused here, and everyone in the room suddenly recalled the bad memories of the sacrifice to heaven. Their faces changed, especially the emperor, whose face turned black.
Zhuang Qinghong cleared his throat and rephrased:
"The only time she offered sacrifices to heaven, she angered the heavens and received punishment. Comparing the two, I can't help but wonder why the title of Heavenly Phoenix fell on the Crown Princess. Isn't the Regent Princess more like a Heavenly Phoenix?"
As soon as he said this, all the officials in the room fell into deep thought, and Prime Minister Su was speechless. After all, what Grand Secretary Zhuang said was all true. In comparison, Yun Bailian was not only not like Tianfeng, she was even worse than an ordinary woman.
Seeing that even the emperor began to waver, Xiao Zirui immediately stood up and said loudly:
"Master Zhuang, you only know one side of the story! Yun Bailian is destined to be a Heavenly Phoenix. This was confirmed by the former Imperial Master using the sect's secret techniques! The reason she's been repeatedly frustrated is clearly because someone has tampered with her destiny!"
Zhuang Qinghong frowned and said:
"What do you mean, Prince?"
"It's common knowledge that the Princess Regent is from the Xuanmen Seven Stars Palace!" Xiao Zirui looked at Yun Qingqing and said loudly, "The former Imperial Preceptor has already confirmed this with you in public. Do you admit it?"
Although the facts were somewhat inconsistent, Yun Qingqing was too lazy to argue and just nodded.
"I do have a close connection with the Seven Stars Palace."
Xiao Zirui snorted coldly:
"That's right. People from the Xuanmen can never be judged by common sense. What Yun Qingqing did was just relying on the Xuanmen's methods. Any other Xuanmen person could do the same."
"Although Tian Feng carries great fortune, he is just an ordinary person. If someone from the Xuanmen deliberately targets him, how can he fight back?"
"As everyone knows, the Regent Princess has been holding a grudge against me for breaking off her engagement, and she's even more jealous of the Crown Princess, viewing her as a thorn in her side! Perhaps she's used extraordinary means to suppress or even steal the Crown Princess's Heavenly Phoenix aura!"
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately caused a lot of discussion.
Prime Minister Su and others also echoed in agreement, implying that Yun Qingqing relied on the magic of Xuanmen to attack the Crown Princess.
But before the discussion could escalate, a loud shout suddenly rang out:
"absurd!"
The sound was like the roar of thunder, which immediately made the ears of the civil officials present buzz. The military generals were also startled. Everyone fell silent and looked towards the source of the sound, only to find that it was the Regent who stood up.
Xiao Changheng looked at Xiao Zirui fiercely:
"Does the Crown Prince have any evidence for what he said? If you can't produce any evidence, then you are fabricating stories about my princess. Don't blame me for being rude!"
Xiao Zirui faced Xiao Changheng's anger and was a little frightened for a moment.
But he quickly calmed down and curled his lips in secret satisfaction:
"Regarding the matter of Tianfeng's destiny, this palace is just a reasonable guess. Why is the emperor's uncle overreacting?"
"As for the other thing..." Xiao Zirui suddenly pulled out a silk handkerchief from his bosom, shook it, and said loudly, "This handkerchief is a souvenir sent by the Regent Princess after my wedding, when she secretly arranged a meeting with me!"
"I wanted to refuse sternly, but seeing her tearful plea, I couldn't bear it and accepted it. Her name is embroidered on this handkerchief, which is enough to prove that she is obsessed with me and therefore jealous of the Crown Princess! Do I need to say anything else?"
While Xiao Zirui was speaking, he first signaled the eunuch to hand the handkerchief to the emperor to prevent Yun Qingqing or Xiao Changheng from suddenly snatching it away.
The emperor examined the handkerchief for a moment, then frowned and looked at Yun Qingqing:
"Princess Regent, is this handkerchief really yours? What explanation do you have for what the Crown Prince said?"
Yun Qingqing sneered at Xiao Zirui, and just as she took a step forward, she saw Xiao Zirui retreating hastily, shouting:
"Don't come over here! The new Imperial Master has already warned me that some of the Xuanmen techniques can control a person's words and actions. As long as the distance is close enough, the technique can be performed without anyone noticing!"
"If you get too close to me, who knows if you'll secretly use those methods to control me and make me say something involuntarily!"
Yun Qingqing looked at him and chuckled.
It seems that this bastard has done a lot of homework to bring him down, and he is obviously aware of the mantra.
But unfortunately, the new national teacher he sought advice from was just a newbie in the novice village in his eyes!
Her current state of mind is completely different from when she first crossed over. She doesn't need to be close to someone to cast a mere mantra!
But in this case, the mantra is not as effective as another spell.
Yun Qingqing curled her lips coldly and looked at the emperor:
"Your Majesty, the prince is lying!"
The emperor frowned and looked at her:
"How can you prove that he is lying?"
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