She took a deep breath and said softly, "Sister Chen, I'll help you."
Shen personally picked up the luxurious and exquisite Nine-Di Crown, then stood up and put the crown on her head, adjusting it carefully. The solemn movement was like putting on armor for a general.
Chu Qianchen sat there obediently, not moving a muscle, and looked as well-behaved as possible.
After Shen said "OK", Chu Qianchen stood up gracefully and said with a smile: "Mom, wait for me to come back."
Shen also smiled, her eyes soft, "Well, mother will wait for you."
Chu Qianchen took Jiang Yuan away, leaving Amber in the palace.
Eunuch Ni had been waiting outside the palace, anxiously waiting for Chu Qianchen to come out, fearing that Chu Qianchen would stay in the palace and refuse to come out, which would put him in trouble. He did not dare to enter the palace without permission, so he could only report to the emperor empty-handed.
When Eunuch Ni wanted to urge the young eunuch to knock on the door again, the gate of Prince Chen's Mansion opened from the inside, and a red-wheeled carriage slowly drove out, with guards from the palace standing on both sides of the carriage.
After the red-wheeled carriage drove out of the gate, Eunuch Ni stepped forward a few steps and said to the people in the carriage with a smile: "Greetings, Princess."
The next moment, a slender white hand lifted a corner of the curtain, revealing half of a delicate face.
The girl's skin is as white as snow, her lips are as red as vermilion, and she is dazzling and stunning.
She just glanced at Eunuch Ni, and her cold eyes seemed to see through his thoughts.
Then, without a word, she lowered the curtains again.
Eunuch Ni felt relieved, it was indeed Princess Chen, there was no doubt about it.
Eunuch Ni quickly ordered: "Return to the palace!"
So, the group set off in a mighty procession.
Along the way, the red-wheeled carriage was accompanied not only by the palace's guards, but also by the Embroidered Uniform Guards leading the way, as if they were afraid that someone would "prison break".
With the Jinyiwei leading the way, they were able to move freely along the way and arrived at the palace a quarter of an hour earlier than usual.
Eunuch Ni had been feeling very nervous, but he finally felt relieved when he saw Chu Qianchen get off the carriage at the palace gate.
"Princess, please."
Eunuch Ni was polite, but he was full of contempt in his heart. He looked at Chu Qianchen as if he was a dead person.
The emperor is going to settle old scores today, and one can imagine what will happen to Princess Chen.
Eunuch Ni personally led Chu Qianchen to the Yangxin Palace, attracting the attention of many palace servants along the way.
From a distance, more than a dozen people were seen waiting outside the imperial study. There were civil officials, military generals, and royal family nobles, all of whom were whispering to each other.
They all hurried into the palace after hearing the news that Prince Chen's Mansion was under siege. They wanted to see the emperor, but the emperor refused to see them, so they could only wait here.
Everyone present was a well-known figure in the court. Chu Qianchen saw several familiar faces in the crowd at a glance, one of whom was Duke Mu.
Everyone's gaze surged towards Chu Qianchen like a tide, including Duke Mu. Everyone had different expressions, some were surprised, some were thoughtful, some were scrutinizing, and some were contemptuous...
Everyone fell silent and forgot to speak for a moment.
Duke Mu opened his eyes slightly, was startled, and clenched his hands into fists in his sleeves.
He arrived two cups of tea earlier than Chu Qianchen, but still hasn't been able to get in.
When he arrived, he asked his colleagues around him and found out that Kang Hongda and the prince were still in the imperial study, but he didn't know what they were talking about.
The Prince Chen's Mansion has been surrounded by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, but the Emperor has not yet made his next move, which makes Duke Mu increasingly uneasy.
Unexpectedly, Chu Qianchen was also summoned by the emperor.
What on earth does the emperor want to do?! Duke Mu's heart sank little by little, but he did not dare to act rashly and could only wait and see.
Chu Qianchen always had a faint smile on his lips, his expression did not change at all, and followed Eunuch Ni into the imperial study.
Watching Chu Qianchen's slender figure disappear behind the door curtain, Duke Mu's expression became more and more solemn, and his eyes were like a bottomless sea with surging undercurrents.
He couldn't just wait here.
Duke Mu suddenly asked, "Why did the Emperor summon Princess Chen?!"
He seemed to be asking, or expressing emotion, and shook his head slightly in disagreement.
Several cabinet ministers beside him also heard it and looked at each other in bewilderment.
The emperor's action was really inappropriate. The prince was not in Beijing, so why did the emperor summon the princess, a female relative, into the palace? !
The civil officials were relatively okay, but the military generals were all furious and filled with indignation, saying at once:
"yes!"
"Even if His Royal Highness Prince Chen has really committed a crime, the Emperor can just summon His Royal Highness Prince Chen back for a confrontation."
"That's right, let's put it this way. Even if the emperor is dissatisfied with Prince Chen, it's unreasonable to target a woman!"
“…”
The generals became more and more excited, and many of their faces turned red.
Seeing the public outraged, the Prime Minister secretly thought that something was not going to go well, and said to the eunuch guarding outside the imperial study: "Young Eunuch Wen, please help me pass on the message."
The young eunuch named Wen did not dare to refuse the Prime Minister, so he had to bite the bullet and go in.
Inside the imperial study, the atmosphere was stagnant and depressing, with an unknown scent of incense floating in the air.
Chu Qianchen walked over slowly, seemingly not looking around, but his eyes were actually observing the people in the imperial study inconspicuously.
The emperor, Gu Nanjin and Chu Lingxiao were all there. In addition, there was a strange man in his thirties with an extraordinary demeanor.
The four people had different expressions.
Chu Qianchen had never seen Kang Hongda, but she had just heard that Kang Hongda was summoned to the palace, and she immediately guessed the identity of this strange man.
The emperor looked at Chu Qianchen with a sinister gaze, intimidating without even getting angry.
Chu Qianchen kept smiling slightly as he walked slowly forward and saluted the emperor behind the imperial desk.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant."
Her manners are graceful, and every move seems to be measured with a ruler. Not only is there nothing wrong with her, but she is also indescribably beautiful, noble, elegant, graceful and soft.
Kang Hongda sat leisurely in an armchair by the window, fanning himself nonchalantly.
He glanced at Chu Qianchen casually and felt that these so-called ladies from noble families were all the same and very boring.
The emperor looked at Chu Qianchen steadily and said nothing at first, trying to put pressure on Chu Qianchen with silence.
Chu Qianchen stood there with a calm expression, composed and at ease.
She knew that the emperor would definitely summon her to the palace.
The emperor was a suspicious and arrogant person. When the prince was in the north a few years ago, the emperor often found fault with the prince, and always thought that the prince would become more powerful than the emperor and have his own army.
He was obviously unhappy with the prince, but he tried to cover his ears and steal the bell and stood for the so-called justice, fearing that he would become a tyrant who would be infamous for eternity.
Finally, the emperor asked in a cold tone: "Prince Gu Jue has committed the crime of treason, do you know that?!"
The emperor's eyes were as sharp as a sword, flashing with a determination to win.
This time, he will make sure Gu Jue can never recover.
Only with conclusive evidence could he make all the civil and military officials in the court speechless.
He wanted Gu Jue to be despised by the world and infamous for eternity.
Chu Qianchen pursed his lips and remained silent.
She lowered her head slightly, and the corners of her lips curled up almost imperceptibly at an angle that the emperor and Chu Lingxiao could not see.
The letter was originally prepared by Chu Qianchen specifically for the emperor and Chu Lingxiao.
Even if Chu Lingxiao did not say that he gave him the letter, as long as the emperor was not stupid, he should know that the Prince Chen's Mansion was not something Chu Lingxiao could steal just because he wanted to. She was Chu Lingxiao's daughter, so there was no doubt where the letter came from.
She gave the letter to the emperor so that he would think that she would be the breakthrough point for the Prince Chen's Mansion and treat her as a soft persimmon.
The emperor would naturally start with her. After all, there was no more conclusive evidence than the Princess Chen's personal testimony against the Prince Chen.
Therefore, from the moment Chu Lingxiao took the letter, Chu Qianchen knew that the emperor would summon her, so she put on her formal makeup early and waited for someone in the palace.
To her surprise, Shen actually came.
A soft light flashed across Chu Qianchen's eyes, but it was not visible on his face.
The emperor did not expect Chu Qianchen to confess immediately, so his tone became even more serious, and he threatened: "Gu Jue colluded with Qin Yao, the prince of Nanyang, and intended to rebel. This is an unforgivable crime punishable by death and will bring disaster to the entire family!"
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"If you know about this and don't report it, you will be guilty of the same crime as him!"
Chu Qianchen remained silent.
The emperor first threatened and then bribed, then said: "I remember that the Chu family has been loyal to the emperor for generations, and the concubine has served the emperor for many years. I can give you a chance to 'clear yourself of any involvement'. As long as you make amends for your sins, I will not blame you."
The emperor slightly emphasized the words "clear himself of any involvement", and was just short of saying that he could allow her to divorce Gu Jue, looking very magnanimous.
Chu Lingxiao's eyes lit up instantly.
For him, it would be the best if Chu Qianchen and Gu Jue could divorce, so that he could completely sever ties with Prince Chen's Mansion.
Chu Lingxiao looked at Chu Qianchen with scorching eyes. If this was not the imperial study, he would have already yelled at Chu Qianchen.
What is there for this girl to hesitate about? What if the emperor thinks that the Chu family has rebellious intentions...
"emperor……"
Chu Lingxiao wanted to say that Chu Qianchen was always timid, but he didn't have the chance to say the rest of the words, and then he heard Chu Qianchen say the second sentence: "Your Highness is not guilty."
Her voice is clear and pleasant, like the clear stream in a mountain stream.
These four words startled everyone in the imperial study, and they looked at Chu Qianchen again, including Kang Hongda and Gu Nanjin.
The folding fan in Kang Hongda's hand slowed down, and a faint light flashed in his narrow eyes.
Chu Qianchen didn't care about the gazes of the crowd at all, and said calmly and calmly: "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext!"
"If the emperor wants to confer the title of Prince Chen on the palace, then do so. No one in the palace will betray the prince."
She stood there gracefully, like a plum blossom in the snow, fearless.
Her voice was clear and cold, like a mountain waterfall falling from great height, with a sense of awe and arrogance that was overwhelming.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere in the imperial study suddenly became extremely strange.
No one expected Chu Qianchen to say such a thing.
Chu Lingxiao looked at Chu Qianchen in disbelief, the man who looked like a completely different person.
“How dare you!” Chu Lingxiao really wanted to slap Chu Qianchen on the face. “You actually spoke nonsense in front of the emperor!”
What on earth was this rebellious girl thinking, actually disobeying the emperor in the imperial study? !
Chu Lingxiao's pupils were filled with anger, his head was buzzing, and his hands were clenched into fists.
Chu Qianchen glanced at him coldly, but smiled, which formed a sharp contrast with the furious Chu Lingxiao.
“Father,” Chu Qianchen sighed, and said in a tone that was hard to tell whether it was helpless or sad, “The Emperor has already asked you to be a lobbyist, and I have already made it clear to you what I should say…”
"This is my attitude, and it is also the attitude of everyone in Prince Chen's Mansion."
What she meant was that she had already made her attitude clear to Chu Lingxiao, and it would be useless no matter whether the emperor sent someone to act as a lobbyist or summoned her to the palace to question her in person.
The emperor looked at Chu Lingxiao suspiciously, narrowed his eyes, and his eyes were dark. What on earth is Chu Lingxiao playing? !
"..." Chu Lingxiao felt as if his throat was being strangled. He glared at Chu Qianchen, completely dumbfounded.
What Chu Qianchen said now was completely different from what she said before in Prince Chen's Mansion. If Chu Lingxiao himself was not the person involved, he would have suspected that he was the one lying.
The incense in the corner gradually burned out, and the smoke became thinner and thinner.
Everyone had different thoughts, wondering who was telling the truth between Chu Lingxiao and Chu Qianchen, the father and daughter.
In this magnificent, solemn and majestic imperial study, the young girl in her twenties with her graceful figure and beauty like a flower seems out of place here.
Chu Qianchen said to Chu Lingxiao in a firm tone: "Father, even if the prince is not in the capital, I am still a member of the Prince Chen's Mansion."
"I am but a sparrow, how can I confine a swan to a small space?"
These words of hers seemed to be addressed to Chu Lingxiao, but in fact they were spoken to the emperor.
The emperor's face was as gloomy as ink, and he naturally thought of the saying "How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?"
This sentence comes from "The Biography of Chen She" in "Records of the Grand Historian", and Chen She was a traitor who plotted rebellion!
“Bang!”
The emperor slammed his palm on the imperial desk and said angrily: "Honghu, what a Honghu! Your wolfish ambition is obvious!"
Gu Jue is a "Honghu", which clearly shows his intention of rebellion!
Facing the angry emperor, Chu Qianchen sneered, "The prince is not in the capital now, so naturally you can say whatever you want."
"But the Prince Chen's Mansion is not easy to bully. Even if everyone in the Prince Chen's Mansion dies, the Prince is still here!"
Chu Qianchen said proudly, without a trace of timidity in his voice.
Zhenzhen refuses to repent! The emperor became even angrier. When the words came to his lips, he suddenly frowned and kept silent.
"How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?" If this sentence is understood literally, it means that a sparrow is trapped in a small depression and cannot understand why a swan wants to fly to a place ninety thousand miles away.
Even if the Prince Chen's Mansion is destroyed, it's just a nest of sparrows that died, but the swan is still there!
Gu Jue is still here! It was not until this moment that the emperor finally thought of a question.
Originally, because Gu Jue was not in the capital, the Prince Chen's Mansion was leaderless, so the emperor wanted to take advantage of this incident to charge Gu Jue with treason.
However, he suddenly realized that Gu Jue's absence from the capital meant that Gu Jue was out of his control at the moment and could go to the north at any time.
The Northern Army has always followed Gu Jue as their leader, and the Tiger Tally is still in Gu Jue's hands. Once Gu Jue rebels, the Northern Army and the people of the Northern Lands will surely respond. Then what will the court do? !
Even if he ordered the raid on Prince Chen's Mansion and took over the Xuanjia Camp, it would not be any hindrance to Gu Jue!
“……”The emperor seemed to have a bucket of cold water poured on his head. His body became stiff, like a sculpture.
Merry Christmas!
(End of this chapter)