The emperor's brows furrowed slightly.
Marquis Zhongyong has already given half of his fortune to Ye Zhen and publicly defended her, which shows how much he values her.
If he were to burn Ye Zhen to death today as the Grand Princess suggested, wouldn't that incur the wrath of the Marquis of Zhongyong?
Is the Grand Princess's request truly intended to punish Ye Zhen, or to alienate the Marquis of Zhongyong from the Emperor?
He pondered for a moment, but did not show it on his face. The emperor said in a calm voice, "Grandmother, it has not yet been proven that Ye Zhen set the fire at the Marquis's residence."
She concealed her smallpox diagnosis; I should give her a chance to explain before I can punish her accordingly.
He's not a tyrant who can just kill people whenever he wants.
"Your Majesty, I went to see the old lady of the Marquis's mansion today, but Ye Zhen refused to open the door and personally admitted that there was smallpox in the mansion, proving that she already knew about it."
The fire was even more bizarre. I wanted to see the old lady, but she was caught in the fire. I fear Ye Zhen is up to no good.
Until the epidemic is completely under control, Ye Zhen is not allowed to leave the Marquis's residence and cannot see the Emperor.
Originally, Xie Tingzhou was supposed to enter the palace to meet the emperor, but now he has also entered the Marquis's mansion and is said to have rescued the old lady.
Having come into contact with people from the Marquis's residence, there was a risk of infection, so he could no longer enter the palace.
The Marquis's family lost their chance to defend themselves, and the eldest princess wanted to take the opportunity to accuse them.
Marquis Zhongyong harmed the entire Fu Jiang family, and she only punished Ye Zhen, letting Marquis Zhongyong experience the pain of losing someone he cared about, which was already considered merciful.
Ye Wantang chimed in, "Your Majesty, my uncle and aunt often mention at home that my cousin Zhen has been behaving very strangely lately, completely different from before."
They had suspected that Cousin Zhen had been replaced some time ago, which I found absurd, but this time Cousin Zhen's concealment of smallpox has made me think twice.
Every citizen of Dayuan, upon learning of smallpox, would promptly report it to prevent the situation from escalating and endangering their family and country.
My cousin Zhen has shown no regard for the country. I am deeply concerned and implore Your Majesty to investigate her.
The emperor's brow twitched.
They say the most venomous heart is that of a woman, and I've seen it all today. Ye Wantang actually accused Ye Zhen of being a spy for an enemy country.
The emperor had no such worries. He trusted the Marquis of Zhongyong and his son, believing they wouldn't be foolish enough to keep a spy from an enemy country by their side.
The Empress also investigated Ye Zhen. She believed that spies from enemy countries would not adopt so many children from Da Yuan, carefully nurture them, and teach them to love their country.
Ye Wantang probably didn't investigate Ye Zhen thoroughly, which is why she made this false accusation.
That's really stupid.
However, according to the two men, if he does not act today, he will be suspected of being biased towards the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion.
Ye Wantang is easy to deal with, but his imperial aunt is not.
The two entered the palace with great fanfare, and the matter of the Marquis's residence could no longer be kept secret. Soon, other officials would come to offer their advice.
The emperor subconsciously wanted to press his brow; he really didn't like sitting on this broken dragon throne, it was always full of troubles.
But thinking of the Empress in Fengyi Palace, he had to pull himself together and start thinking about how to get rid of the two of them.
Then Chen Banjun announced that the Imperial Son-in-Law Han Zijin was requesting an audience.
Ever since Han Zijin married the princess, he has been indulging in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, showing no signs of being worth anything. He would refuse to attend any palace banquets whenever possible.
He suddenly entered the palace today, and the emperor's eyes lit up slightly, perhaps it was related to the Marquis's residence.
As far as he knew, Han Zijin had also helped the Marquis Zhongyong and his son at the Marquis's residence last time.
He announced loudly, "Announce."
The Grand Princess frowned. She didn't know what Han Zijin was doing in the palace at this time, but she didn't want the affairs of the Marquis's residence to be interrupted.
He then said, “Your Majesty has other matters to attend to, and it is inconvenient for me to stay any longer. I beg Your Majesty to immediately deal with the Marquis’s residence so that the capital may be at peace, and only then can I feel at ease.”
The emperor seemed to be pondering.
The Grand Princess felt that the Emperor lacked the decisiveness expected of a ruler and regretted supporting his ascension to the throne.
He urged again, "Your Majesty, smallpox affects the rise and fall of the nation, and it also relates to the stability of the people's hearts."
"Every moment of delay increases the danger. I urge Your Majesty to immediately order the entire Marquis of Zhongyong's residence to be moved out of the capital for quarantine and to promptly deal with those who are concealing the truth..."
"Is the Grand Princess worried about the smallpox?"
Before the old princess could finish speaking, Han Zijin strode in, interrupting her.
After bowing to the emperor, he handed him a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, the heir of the Marquis of Zhongyong happened to meet me on his way back to the capital. He originally wanted to go to the palace to report on the smallpox outbreak in his household."
But upon hearing of the fire at the Marquis's residence, he was worried about his family and rushed back to rescue them, so he asked me to deliver his memorial to the palace on his behalf.
He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, "I drank a bit too much today and got my clothes dirty, so I went back to my residence to change."
I didn't expect to displease Empress Kang, and she kept me occupied for a while, preventing me from delivering the memorial to the palace in time. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.
In reality, he deliberately provoked Kang Le, and the two had a big argument.
He smiled at the Grand Princess, "I heard that the Marquis's residence has a solution, so Your Highness can rest assured."
The emperor waved his hand, too lazy to argue with the纨绔 (playboy), and opened the memorial.
Seeing that Han Zijin had come to help Xie Tingzhou, the Grand Princess's eyes flashed with anger.
"The Marquis's residence neither submits a memorial in the morning nor in the evening, so why does he submit a memorial as soon as I enter the palace?"
You mustn't join him in deceiving His Majesty, Zijin! Deceiving the emperor is a capital offense.
Han Zijin is good-looking; even in middle age, he still has a youthful face.
He grinned and said, "Even if Zijin had the greatest courage, he wouldn't dare to deceive the emperor."
When Prince Xie gave the items to me, many people around saw that he was indeed in front of the Grand Princess.
Speaking of this, can the Grand Princess do something about Kangle? She's becoming increasingly unreasonable, and Zijin is so oppressed by her that he's considering becoming a monk.
Zijin is supposed to be a man, but now he has no dignity whatsoever…
He rambled on and on, complaining endlessly, but the Grand Princess, impatient with his words, interrupted him, saying, "Even if Xie Tingzhou submitted his memorial before me, it is true that Ye Zhen has been concealing smallpox all this time."
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