The matriarch of the family entered with General He Shaoguang.
The moment Song Tingyue saw her, she felt as if she had found her pillar of support, and she rushed to her side, crying, "Grandmother!"
Unexpectedly, he was slapped across the face by the elder's wife.
"Foolish! How could you do something so undignified!"
Song Tingyue choked back tears: "Grandmother, I..."
The matriarch interrupted her sharply: "Even if you miss your old friends in Donglai and want the Crown Prince to carry your goods, you shouldn't be alone together in the middle of the night! Just because you two are innocent doesn't mean you can disregard the principle of avoiding suspicion."
Song Tingyue was stunned for a moment, then squeezed out a tear and lowered her head to admit her mistake: "Grandmother is right to reprimand me. It was my fault for not thinking things through."
The matriarch sighed and said to Emperor Jingyuan.
“The First Prince was once stationed near Donglai, where the soldiers could easily come and go. An Yang told me that she wanted the First Prince to take some things back to Donglai for her. She invited the First Prince tonight, presumably for this reason. I never expected it to cause such a big misunderstanding.”
Emperor Jingyuan nodded: "I see."
Regardless of whether this explanation is credible, as long as the matriarch speaks, he will have to give her some face.
After all, she was the wife of General Song, a man of outstanding military achievements, and a first-rank imperial consort.
At least on the surface, we can't embarrass her.
Emperor Jingyuan summoned General Shaoguang and personally led him forward, saying, "Come and identify that eagle."
General Shaoguang, whose hair was already gray, immediately responded upon hearing this and dispersed the surrounding Imperial Guards.
He poked the eagle with the hilt of his sword.
The eagle, which had been gradually calming down, was startled and suddenly flapped its wings.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
General Shaoguang glared and drew his sword, slashing several times at the eagle's head.
The eagle was hacked to pieces, let out a mournful cry, and soon breathed its last.
Emperor Jingyuan frowned: "What happened?"
General Shaoguang apologized, saying, "Just now, this beast caused a disturbance, and I was afraid that Your Majesty would be harmed, so I acted impulsively. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Never mind, it's alright." Emperor Jingyuan waved his hand. "Then what exactly is this eagle?"
General Shaoguang pondered for a moment and said, "It should be some kind of fierce wild sparrow. This bird is similar in appearance to the docile white sparrow, but its temperament is completely different. Princess Anyang must have been deceived by the street vendors."
The Empress asked, "Not a ferocious beast from Donglai, but a hawk?"
"Your Majesty, no." General Shaoguang shook his head and said firmly, "This old minister has seen eagles on the battlefield and can tell the difference."
Upon hearing this, Zhou glared fiercely at Jiang Wan.
"I knew it! How could Sister Yue possibly be raising any ferocious beasts!"
"It's all your fault! Your ignorance and recklessness almost killed her!"
The Empress patted Jiang Wan on the shoulder and said calmly to Zhou Shi, "It's just an apology, nothing serious."
Emperor Jingyuan waved his hand, after all, Jiang Wan had just saved the Empress, and he had no intention of arguing.
Unexpectedly, the matriarch looked at Jiang Wan with a solemn expression.
“Ignorance is no problem, but you shouldn’t have spoken so arrogantly in front of His Majesty and caused panic in the palace.”
"If word gets out that this happened, the people will gossip about the General's Mansion offering up a ferocious beast. To put it more bluntly, they might even say it's a rebellion. Can you bear that responsibility?"
The matriarch feigned calmness and adopted a fair and stern demeanor, but Jiang Wan sensed her barely concealed anger.
Perhaps it was the hasty entry into the palace to clean up the mess that made her extremely angry.
Or perhaps, because he had repeatedly thwarted her plans, she had long harbored resentment.
In short, at this point, she decided to teach Jiang Wan a lesson.
A hint of mockery flashed in Jiang Wan's eyes: "Then what does Grandmother want?"
The matriarch closed her eyes briefly: "If you cause trouble or disputes, the palace rules will punish you accordingly. The General's Mansion will not show favoritism or protect you."
According to palace rules, those who spread rumors and gossip are punished by being sent to the Shenxing Division for three months, where they are subjected to daily torture.
The Empress frowned slightly.
Why did it come to this?
His Majesty didn't say anything, but the people from the General's Mansion were eager to convict Jiang Wan. How could there be such a family in the world?
She wanted to stand up for Jiang Wan, but after thinking about it, she didn't say anything.
The matriarch was clearly dissatisfied with Jiang Wan. Even if she was spared punishment because of Jiang Wan's pleading, there was no doubt that a more severe punishment awaited her after she returned to the manor.
Jiang Wan has a mother-in-law and a grandmother, and her husband doesn't seem likely to protect her.
When the mansion is locked away, who will be able to save her?
Why not leave her in the palace and deal with the matter with the Censorate? With me here, who can make things difficult for Jiang Wan?
The Empress made up her mind and gave Jiang Wan a look.
Jiang Wan immediately understood and quietly lowered her eyes.
Although for some unknown reason, General Shaoguang has clearly been won over by the matriarch of the elders.
There's no point in arguing any further. His Majesty will trust General Shaoguang more than she is a sheltered young woman.
After returning to her residence, the matriarch of the Yuan family would inevitably cause her trouble, so staying in the palace for a while seemed like a good idea.
Having made up her mind, she shook her head at Ji Rong and Madam Wang.
Unexpectedly, a voice rang out from among the ministers at that moment.
"Isn't it premature to judge my daughter before the facts are clear?"
Upon hearing that familiar, powerful voice, Jiang Wan was momentarily lost in thought.
A middle-aged man emerged from the crowd, dressed in a dark blue brocade robe with a swastika pattern. He was tall and handsome.
It was her father, the current Prime Minister, Jiang Linyuan.
Jiang Linyuan was a first-rank official and the leading scholar of the Dayong Dynasty. He was proud, aloof, and stubborn.
Aside from grand occasions like the New Year's Eve banquet, Jiang Wan rarely sees him.
General Shaoguang asked excitedly, "What does Prime Minister Jiang mean by that? Does he suspect that I am deceiving His Majesty?"
Since ancient times, civil officials and military generals have been divided into two factions. Jiang Linyuan did not take him seriously at all: "No, it's just that the old general is over seventy years old, and it's common for his eyesight to be failing."
"You!" General Shaoguang was furious.
Jiang Linyuan stared at the eagle's corpse, lost in thought, and said, "The old general said it was a wild sparrow, but the more I look at it, the more I think it resembles an eagle."
General Shaoguang, feeling somewhat guilty, retorted, "What do you know about battlefield matters, you worthless scholar?"
"This thing is dead, but it still has wings, claws, and a beak that can be identified."
Jiang Linyuan glanced at Madam Yuan and said coldly.
“It’s not just Princess Anyang who has acquaintances in Donglai. I also have some connections with the Prince of Donglai. I’m sure he won’t refuse such a small favor as sending a Donglai beast slave!”
"If the old general insists on his version of events, then we should confront him on the spot."
General Shaoguang was stunned, unable to hide his panic: "You, you..."
He glanced at the matriarch from afar, feeling remorseful.
He only helped Madam Yuan once because of his old friendship with General Song from the battlefield.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Linyuan actually started to compete with him!
The matriarch gritted her teeth, her face contorted with anger.
Clearly, Jiang Wan had already severed ties with her family.
The entire Song family believed that Jiang Linyuan had abandoned this daughter.
Why would someone suddenly stand up for her now?
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