Facing Liu Sheng's teasing, the Imperial Master didn't take it to heart at all. He jumped down from the corridor and reached directly into his pocket to grab a handful of peanuts.

After eating, he still complained: "It's been so many years, and it's still peanuts. Can you change to fresh ones?"

Liu Sheng smiled and replied: "The rattan sticks from the master are fresh, you can go back and try them."

"Bah." The Imperial Master spat at him and said, "Tell me, what are you doing here in front of the old emperor today?"

Liu Sheng told the truth, but the Imperial Master looked puzzled: "So you set a trap with Miss Ye to deceive the old emperor?"

Liu Sheng hesitated for a moment and corrected him, "This is not called lying. We are all scholars, how can we say it is lying? This is called a white lie."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this kind of white lie is not worth even a dog." The national teacher rolled his eyes at him and said confusedly, "That's not right. Normally, you avoid me as if you saw a ghost, for fear that others would know that we are brothers. Why do you need me today?"

"The ugly woman must meet the father-in-law eventually." Liu Sheng said, patted his shoulder, and then left.

The Imperial Master frowned: "Why do you keep quibbling over these pedantic things? Do you want to show that you are cultured?"

Obviously, she didn't understand what he meant until he walked away, then she suddenly realized: "Damn it, he called me ugly."

Ye Qingwan escaped the disaster, but was so scared that she ran back to her room and hid under the quilt, refusing to come out.

Ning Shaoqing couldn't get the quilt off no matter what, so he crawled into the bed and asked her, "What's wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?"

Ye Qingwan shook her head. It wasn’t me who saw a ghost, it was the emperor who saw a ghost.

"I almost beat the emperor just now." Although Ye Qingwan was still frightened, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Ning Shaoqing was stunned, but suddenly became excited: "Is this true? Did you really almost beat up that old emperor?"

Ye Qingwan nodded frantically: "He was just a little bit away from being beaten into a pig's head by me. Although I didn't beat the old emperor, I beat the old eunuch beside him."

"That's awesome." Ning Shaoqing gave her a thumbs up: "This is such a fun thing, take me with you next time."

"Okay, okay."

"Hahaha."

The two of them hid in the bed and laughed out loud. Damn, this is so exciting. I can beat the emperor. I can brag about this for the rest of my life.

Some were happy and some were sad. Xia Xuejian was soon arrested by the Prime Minister on the charge of murdering the seventh princess, but the Prime Minister did not arrest Lord Xia.

Although there is no solid evidence yet, she is highly suspected, and the Prime Minister has personally stepped in, so even though Lord Xia is unwilling, there is nothing he can do, so he can only beg the Prime Minister to find out the truth and clear his daughter's name.

Only Xia Xuejian did not panic from beginning to end, nor did she beg for mercy, as if she had known that this day would come.

A lot of things happened during the hunting days, and the emperor was not in the mood for it, so he ordered his men to return to the capital the next day.

Xia Xuejian was also escorted to the capital by the Imperial Guards and handed over to the Ministry of Justice. The current Minister of Justice was a man of Prince Xiang, so he did not make things difficult for Xia Xuejian.

When Prince Xiang heard that Xia Xuejian was captured, he was so angry that he destroyed the entire Prince Xiang's Mansion. He knew that Xia Xuejian was more likely to cause trouble than to help him, so it would be better to marry her directly to the grassland.

Before the Prime Minister had the chance to interrogate her, Prince Xiang went to the Ministry of Justice's prison to see her overnight.

When Xia Xuejian saw King Xiang, she just blinked and did not stand up. King Xiang was not angry, but just opened the door, walked in, and put down some food.

"I'm already like this, and I'm of no use anymore. Who are you doing this for, Your Highness?"

Xia Xuejian felt that he was being pretentious, which was unlike the usual style of His Royal Highness Prince Xiang.

Section 109

King Xiang did not get angry with her, but came straight to the point and said, "I want to make a deal with you. If you grit your teeth, I will guarantee that you will not die. How about that?"

Xia Xue was amused. She was wondering why he came. It turned out that he was afraid that she would expose the fact that he blew up the private brothel. "Where are my father and the others?"

"As long as you refuse to admit it, I will ensure the safety of your Xia family." King Xiang also invested a lot of money.

In fact, the easiest way is to kill Xia Xuejian. But he can't do anything now. Xia Xuejian was arrested and implicated in the private brothel case. His father must have suspected him. If Xia Xuejian was killed as soon as he returned to Beijing, wouldn't it just confirm his guilt?

Moreover, the Prime Minister clearly controlled the Jinyiwei, but he did not send the person to the Jinyiwei. Instead, he sent him to the prison of the Ministry of Justice, which he controlled. The deep meaning of this is self-evident.

Maybe the Prime Minister is somewhere now, watching him silently.

Although Xia Xuejian wanted to drag him down, the only one who could save her family was King Xiang, so she had no choice but to agree: "Remember what you said today."

"Don't worry." King Xiang said the last sentence and finally left the prison.

But he didn't notice that there were two pairs of eyes staring at him not far from the Ministry of Justice prison.

"My Lord, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang has confessed his crime without being fought. Why don't we just rush in and capture him alive?" The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard asked the Lord Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister smiled and said, "Why do you think His Majesty wants to hand this matter over to me for investigation?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards immediately flattered him, saying, "Of course the emperor trusts you, Lord Prime Minister."

The Prime Minister smiled and shook his head. The Emperor never trusted anyone but himself. "Who do you think can put the King of Xiang to death?"

Upon hearing this, the Jinyiwei commander was stunned for a while before asking, "Ninth Prince?"

The Prime Minister glanced at him, with a hint of a strategic smile on his face. Yes, the Ninth Prince is the person that Dayu wants to overthrow the King of Xiang the most. If Your Majesty really wants to kill the King of Xiang, the person who should be sent is the Ninth Prince.

But Your Majesty did not, what does this mean?

This means that His Majesty has no intention of killing Prince Xiang, or even pursuing him. Because now the only one who can compete with the Ninth Prince is Prince Xiang.

If Prince Xiang is completely expelled from the battle for the throne, the Ninth Prince will become the only one in power, and the Emperor will never allow this situation to happen.

A balanced government is the basis for long-term peace.

Therefore, this matter can only be traced back to Xia Xuejian, and the crime can be pinned on Xia Xuejian alone.

The Jinyiwei commander had a docile expression on his face: "I understand."

Xia Xuejian also kept her promise. No matter how the Ministry of Justice tortured her, she insisted that she was innocent and did not kill the Seventh Princess, let alone implicate Prince Xiang.

The emperor waited for several days, but Xia Xuejian still did not confess his guilt. Prince Xiang also built up momentum in the capital, mentioning that Xia Xuejian had previously applied medicine to save the people during the flood in the south of the Yangtze River. It was absolutely impossible for such a living immortal to kill the seventh princess.

Two or three days later, the rumor started to spread widely in the capital that Xia Xuejian was wrongly accused. Even if she finally confessed, it must have been under torture.

Many court officials also began to write letters to seek justice for Xia Xuejian. Even the Queen Mother specially requested an audience with the Emperor and told him about how the Seventh Princess fell into the water and fainted, and how she was brought back to life thanks to Xia Xuejian's miraculous healing skills.

For a moment, everyone seemed to be speaking up for Xia Xuejian.

The most important thing is that even Prince Tuoba came to the palace in person to plead for Xia Xuejian.

The emperor was stunned. How could a concubine's daughter of the Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple have such virtues and abilities to make so many people run around for her?