“Father, I know that Mother offended the Empress today, but she did not mean it.”
Pei Jin knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.
"Recently, the Empress Dowager has been plagued by nightmares and has become strangely insane. She often loses control of her behavior. The wounds on my body... were all caused by her when she was out of her mind."
Emperor Jingyuan took a deep breath: "Really?"
"Your subject would not dare to lie."
Pei Jin, meek and submissive, stepped forward and hugged Emperor Jingyuan's leg, pleading pitifully.
"Father, I don't blame Mother at all. She has always been gentle and kind, as you know. She must have been bewitched by demons to act abnormally. Please save her!"
After saying that, he turned to look at Pei Xuan.
“Brother Crown Prince, if Mother has offended you in any way, I am willing to take the punishment on her behalf.”
Pei Xuan looked at him coldly without making a comment.
Jiang Wanyi's lips curled slightly, her smile mocking.
Pei Jin's move was very clever; everyone knew that Consort Rong doted on him.
A mother who could be so cruel to her own son is enough to prove she's insane.
Emperor Jingyuan sighed and looked at Jinghui: "It seems that Consort Rong did not do it on purpose. It must be the evil spirit in her body that harmed the Empress."
"Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Jinghui glanced at Jiang Wan indifferently and nodded.
"However, the fact that the Third Prince was injured so badly shows that the evil spirits surrounding the Imperial Concubine are extremely vicious. For His Majesty's safety, it would be best to keep the Imperial Concubine away from the palace for the time being."
Emperor Jingyuan asked, "What do you mean?"
Jinghui said, "Your Majesty can stay at Hanshan Temple for the time being. I will personally exorcise the demon and take care of everything before bringing you back to the palace."
Pei Jin's eyes darkened.
Consort Rong was his greatest help; once she left the palace, many things became extremely difficult.
He looked at Emperor Jingyuan: "The temple is bitterly cold; I'm afraid the Empress Dowager won't be able to adapt."
“Third Prince, this is also for His Majesty’s safety.” It was Jiang Wan who spoke. She smiled and said, “Besides, Hanshan Temple is not as harsh as you imagine. If you are worried, you can stay with the Imperial Concubine for a while. I believe His Majesty will appreciate your filial piety.”
Pei Jin's face stiffened.
This is a crucial stage in the martial arts examination, and he absolutely cannot leave the capital.
He hated Jiang Wan with a burning passion, but could only mutter it in a low voice.
"Madam Jiang is overthinking it. I believe Master Jinghui will take good care of the Empress Dowager."
Consort Rong was spared from being sent to the Cold Palace, but was banished to Hanshan Temple, which was not good news for Pei Jin.
But Emperor Jingyuan had already made up his mind, and he could only watch as Consort Rong was taken away.
Pei Jin stood in the crowd, his cold eyes fixed on Jiang Wan and Pei Xuan.
He'll remember this debt!
Consort Yun watched a good show and returned to the palace in a good mood.
Thanks to her word, everyone in the palace knew that Consort Rong had been punished and banished from the palace for offending the Empress. No one in the court or the palace dared to pry into the Empress's condition anymore.
Pei Xuan and Jiang Wan no longer needed to focus their energy on defense and concealment.
After catching her breath, Jiang Wan's prescription also made progress.
She found records about smallpox in ancient books. To cure this disease, a rare medicinal herb, Ganoderma lucidum, was needed.
The Linglong Pavilion has a collection of thousands of medicinal herbs, but it does not have this item, which shows how extremely rare it is.
Pei Xuan immediately sent people to look for him.
Jiang Wan said, "I'll also ask my friends to see if they have any clues."
Pei Xuan glanced at her but didn't ask who her friend was.
"The second round of the martial arts test is coming up soon. I heard that this year is different from the past, and the identity of the special envoy will be announced tomorrow."
He revealed the news to Jiang Wan and then took out a dark blue book from his sleeve.
“This is what I got from my father, General Song’s military notes from back then. Give it to Song Yu.”
Jiang Wan took it and saw that it was indeed written by General Song himself.
It records his battles, large and small, his military strategies, including the troop movements and relationships with various factions.
There are some details that even the matriarch of the elders may not know.
This was of great help to Song Yu.
Jiang Wan accepted it without hesitation.
She thought that with this item, even if Song Yu didn't get the minister's support, he would have a better chance of winning.
Inside the general's mansion.
Upon hearing the news from the palace, Song Ziyu hurriedly sought out Song Tingyue.
"Sister, Consort Yun failed, so why was Consort Rong punished and banished from the capital?"
The matriarch also scrutinized Song Tingyue, her eyes filled with deep thought.
She wasn't senile; based on the information she received, it seemed more likely that Pei Jin's faction was behind the whole thing.
Song Tingyue replied vaguely, "I don't know the specifics either; I'll have to ask the Crown Prince."
“But now that the Empress is safe, doesn’t the Crown Prince’s plan fall through?” Song Ziyu said. “Then the General’s Mansion doesn’t need to help with the martial arts competition anymore, otherwise they’ll offend the Crown Prince…”
“No, that won’t do.” Song Tingyue hurriedly said, “If we stop now, we’ll break our promise and anger the Crown Prince. He’s not someone to be trifled with.”
Song Ziyu had no choice but to nod: "Alright, anyway, tomorrow is the day of the lottery, and Grandmother has already taken care of all the examiners."
"But at this moment... we still don't know the identity of that minister."
"Regardless of who it is, according to past practice, only the selected ministers will appear in the final examination," Song Tingyue said with a smile. "If the draw goes smoothly tomorrow, our people will be able to enter the final examination, and by the way..."
Let's teach Song Yu a lesson.
The following day, at the martial arts test site.
The venue was packed with hundreds of people during the first round, but by the second round, only a quarter remained.
Song Ziyu and Song Tingyue arrived at the scene early, firstly for Song Lin, and secondly to witness the plan's success.
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