Chapter 446 Fell into King Xuan’s trap!

"Mother... Mother also has her own difficulties..." Empress Sima felt sad and opened her mouth hesitantly.

"Your aunt should have been married to your father, but she asked me to marry her instead. That's why I became the empress and you became the crown prince. She had a difficult childbirth in her early years and had only one daughter. Meng Xing is her son-in-law. She came to me for help, so I couldn't just ignore her..."

"I originally wanted to promise Han Ding beautiful women and high positions to get him to withdraw his lawsuit, but he refused, so I drugged him and made him and Ting'er have an affair, forcing him to withdraw his lawsuit. Who knew that the wine turned into poison..."

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she felt, and she became more and more certain that Xiao Jinxuan was behind it.

Otherwise, why would he come at such a good time, just when they were dealing with the body and Han Ding was still breathing.

She told her son about her suspicions. Xiao Bicheng's face was gloomy. "Don't doubt it. Mother, you have fallen into Xiao Jinxuan's trap."

But what’s annoying now is that even though they know this is a trap, they can’t do anything about Xiao Jinxuan and have to do what the other party expects!

There was one more thing that Xiao Bicheng could not figure out. "Mother, Aunt Suqiu has been with you for so many years, why would she betray you?"

Empress Sima froze for a moment, looking bewildered, "I don't know..."

Suqiu was only six years old when she entered the palace. She grew up with her and got married with her. Later, she became the empress. In order to stay with her forever, Suqiu combed her hair and became an aunt and never married again. It was more than correct to say that they were half sisters.

But such a person who knew her inside out gave her a heavy blow!

"I will investigate this matter myself, but the most urgent task now is to find a way to convict you, the Queen Mother."

Xiao Jinxuan threw this matter to him, which was undoubtedly a hot potato for him.

Empress Sima slowly widened her eyes and pointed at herself, "You want to convict me? You want to convict your mother who gave birth to you and raised you?!"

Xiao Bicheng rubbed his temples with a headache, "Let's forget about this stopgap measure."

The key is the severity of the sentence, which must not cause actual harm to the queen mother and must also be obedient.

At this time, Eunuch Hai reported back, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess wishes to see you."

Xiao Bicheng waved his hand impatiently, "No, don't you see I'm busy?"

"The Crown Princess said that she could share the Crown Prince's worries."

Hearing this, Xiao Bicheng's expression became better, "Let her in."

Soon, Bai Yingxue walked into the palace and knelt down to greet the two of them.

Empress Sima asked unhappily, "What are you doing here?"

Bai Yingxue said word by word, neither humble nor arrogant, "My daughter-in-law has come to ask the Queen Mother to write a confession of guilt and to go to Fuyun Temple to cultivate with a haircut!"

"What did you say?" Empress Sima gritted her teeth and turned to look at Bai Yingxue with an almost ferocious look on her face.

At that moment, Bai Yingxue could almost feel the murderous intent coming towards her.

The queen wanted to kill her.

But she was not afraid. Instead, she methodically explained the pros and cons. "The fact that the Queen Mother poisoned Captain Han has now been known throughout the capital. I heard that many students who came to take the exam have already begun to write articles to attack the Queen Mother. I am afraid that tomorrow morning, the ministers will also come with impeachment petitions. Rather than letting the situation escalate, it is better to take the initiative and minimize the impact."

"Captain Han was rescued and is not dead. The Queen Mother's edict of guilt and her personal practice are enough to offset this crime. In addition, the Queen Mother herself admitted her fault, so there is no need to make it difficult for the Crown Prince to convict you and make him be accused of being unfilial. After some time has passed and the situation has passed, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can bring the Queen Mother back."

Xiao Bicheng's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this, and he said happily: "Great, great, this method is very good!"

But Empress Sima was so angry that her cheeks were shaking slightly.

Asking her to write a confession of guilt would be equivalent to making her lose face in front of the whole world!

Letting her go to a nunnery to practice is equivalent to letting her suffer!

This good daughter-in-law of hers really made a good suggestion!

"Prince, I think..."

Empress Sima wanted to discuss it further, but was interrupted by Xiao Bicheng with a cold face, "Mother, this is the best way."

If he were to be sentenced according to Daye laws, it would not be as simple as writing an imperial edict of guilt and practicing Buddhism with an untied haircut.

Empress Sima's face turned purple and blue, and after a while she said, "Okay! The crime has been decreed, I will write it down!"

…

On the eve of the Spring Examination.

Empress Sima wore plain clothes, climbed up the high platform, confessed her guilt to the people of the capital, and then asked to enter Fuyun Temple to practice Buddhism.

The whole government was shaken, and the people were outraged.

I heard that the memorials from the historians had already been put in their pockets, but upon hearing the news, they put them back silently.

A group of students had been planning to put up a big protest, but upon hearing the news, they all gave up.

After Xiao Bicheng learned about this, he happily rewarded Bai Yingxue with a lot of things and even let her stay overnight in her palace to show his favor.

The favor that was taken away from the Crown Princess by Concubine Shen Shuyu finally returned to her.

Inside the Hibiscus Hall of the East Palace.

Eunuch Xu was painting Bai Yingxue's fingernails, and he lowered his voice in a low voice, "Your Highness, this move is a bit risky."

Although he regained the prince's favor, it was only temporary. But he had offended the queen, and the consequences were irreversible.

When the queen returns to the palace, she will never let her go easily.

Bai Yingxue sneered, "Do you think I'm trying to compete with Shen Shuyu for favor?"

Eunuch Xu looked up in surprise.

Isn't it?

"A bastard is worse than a eunuch. What's the point of me fighting for him?"

So what if Shen Shuyu has many tricks up her sleeve?

Her belly is just a decoration.

Eunuch Xu was puzzled. "If you are not competing for favor, then why did you offer advice to the Crown Prince and offend the Empress?"

Lifting her hand and looking at the bright red Dankou, Bai Yingxue's eyes were cold and sinister. "On the day I gave birth, the Queen did something. Just because I didn't tell you, it doesn't mean I don't know. I can make her leave the palace, so I can certainly make her never come back!"

…

Farmyard.

Xie Zhuoning looked at the latest intelligence sent from the capital, his eyes filled with twinkling smiles.

"Empress Sima... the crime has been declared... I have to keep my hair untied and practice Buddhism... I have only been away for a few days, and my Prince Xuan has done something so great!"

If she stayed outside a little longer before coming back, wouldn't Xiao Jinxuan pull the prince down as well?

With some emotion in her heart, she patted her clothes, stood up, and asked Xia Ju to get ready, as she was going back to the capital.

Upon hearing this news, Yi Ziyan was the happiest person, and his tone was filled with joy that he couldn't hide, "You finally decided to give up?"

That’s great. It’s simply great!

Finally, I don't have to suffer from her anymore!

Xie Zhuoning glanced at him strangely. "What are you thinking about? I'm just going to deliver something to someone and will be back soon. Hurry up and write down the key points of insect control. I'll need to read it when I get back."

Yi Ziyan: “…”

Happy for nothing.

Xie Zhuoning had someone prepare some fine pens, ink, paper and inkstone early on, intending to give them to Murong Yan before he entered the examination room.

At such an important moment, as the eldest sister, she has to show some consideration.

As the carriage was moving, they heard a commotion outside and faint sounds of laughter.

"Hey, hey, isn't this the widower from Shanyu Village?"

"Such fine writing instruments are not even affordable for the children of aristocratic families. Where did you get them? Did you steal them?"

"Your father gave it to you? Everyone knows that you are an orphan and a widow, so where did your father come from? Don't you think before you lie?"

"Brothers, these are all stolen goods. Let's beat him up and divide the loot!"

A crowd of people rushed forward, and soon the sounds of punching and kicking could be heard.

Xie Zhuoning lifted a corner of the car curtain and looked at a group of students bullying a scholar. His eyes turned cold, "Xia Ju, beat them up, hit them where their flesh is thick!"

These students were obviously here to take the Spring Examination. If too many of them were unable to take the exam due to injuries, it would definitely lead to an investigation.

Hitting them where their flesh is thick will cause them pain without leaving them disabled.

Xia Ju received the order and floated over like a ghost. The sound of "pa pa pa pa" was heard, and a group of students were beaten so hard that they cried for their parents and peed their pants.

After chasing the man away, Xie Zhuoning got off the carriage, squatted down and asked, "Are you okay?"

The scholar slowly got up from the ground and shook his head, "Thank you for your concern, young lady. I'm fine."

"..." Xie Zhuoning looked at his face which was covered in bruises. He didn't look like he was fine.

However, the other party obviously didn't want to meddle in his business, and immediately retreated far away after getting up.

Xie Zhuoning didn't say anything when he saw this. He just bent down and helped the scholar pick up the writing brush and ink on the ground.

"What a pity." She said with some regret.

The purple-hair brush and the clear clay inkstone are both excellent things.

It's a pity that we were too messy just now and everything was ruined.

"Nothing." The scholar lowered his eyelids, and his eyelashes hid the slight loss in his eyes.

Xie Zhuoning thought for a moment, and asked Xia Ju to take out a set of pens and ink from the carriage and handed it to him, "Here's one for you. It's no worse than yours."

The scholar waved his hands quickly, "No... no need..."

"I don't want you to give me money." Xie Zhuoning stuffed it into his arms, "I prepared this for someone else, and I just happened to have some extra, so giving it to you will make the best use of it."

After saying that, she turned around and got on the carriage. When she was about to get in, she turned her head and smiled at him, "I want you to pass the imperial examination!"

The scholar looked at that smile, his lips opened, and his heart suddenly began to beat rapidly like young grass sprouting.