"What does Ninth Prince mean by that? Is he threatening us?" Chen Shiyu retorted sharply, "These are witnesses; it's our right to arrest him!"
Shang Xiye glanced at him coldly and said, "Whether your Chen family is innocent or not, I will definitely investigate to the end; whether he was coerced or not, I will also investigate to the end. Today, I offer half of the beast talisman as collateral and ask the Emperor to grant me one month to thoroughly investigate this matter. This person shall be temporarily imprisoned in the Imperial Prison and transferred to the Ministry of Justice for custody; until the truth comes to light, no one shall visit, contact, or interrogate him."
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials were shocked!
Is the Ninth Prince voluntarily relinquishing his military power?!
Although it was only half of the military command, and it was only a pledge, it still represented military power!
By surrendering half of his military power, it means that the power of the Ninth Prince has also been halved!
Shang Xiche was overjoyed; it was the military power he had always dreamed of!
The faces of Duke Chen and Chen Shiyu instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot—the Ninth Prince was never a reckless person. He was willing to hand over half of his military power to fight against the Chen family to the end, which meant that he had at least a 50% chance of success.
Just as they were about to object, Shang Xiche on the throne impatiently spoke up: "Granted! Granted! Granted! This matter is of great importance, and we cannot convict so many people based solely on one person's one-sided account; let's do as the Ninth Prince said, and first hand over half of the beast tally to me. We will make a final decision after the matter has been thoroughly investigated."
After saying that, Shang Xiche looked at Shang Xiye with eager eyes, almost drooling as he reached out to Shang Xiye to ask for the military tally: Quickly hand over the military tally!
The entire court of officials: "..."
Your Majesty, quickly wipe your drool, it's about to fall!
Duke of Chen: "..."
Chen Shiyu: "..."
The father and son glanced warily at Ji Chenhai and his son, who stood calmly to the side as if nothing had happened. Despite inwardly cursing and thinking "Damn it!", they trembled and dared not utter a word.
Chen Xiaoyi looked at his father and older brother, both of whom were mute, with a puzzled expression.
Is that all there is to it?
They starved for months at the border, becoming skin and bones; they also spent a lot of effort and money to capture the commander of the Ninth Prince's army, all for nothing?
Chen Shiyu angrily transmitted his voice: "If you don't want the Chen family to hand over the military seal, you'd better shut up!"
Chen Xiaoyi: "..."
After receiving half of Shang Xiye's beast talisman, Shang Xiche happily left the court.
Ji Chenhai and his son pushed Shang Xiye out of the palace, appearing nonchalant and arrogant on the surface. However, once they were on the Ninth Prince's carriage, they revealed their worries: "Son-in-law, why did you suddenly hand over the military seal? Even if that old emperor really wants to kill me and Fengming, your lousy prison can't hold us."
"I want to be with Yao Yao openly and honestly, so you must also be open and honest," Shang Xiye said calmly. "Besides, if this matter is really discussed, it would not be wrong for the Chen family to be wiped out. The fault is not ours, so why should we be afraid of them?"
Ji Fengming patted Shang Xiye on the shoulder with his left hand and gave him a thumbs up with his right: "Brother-in-law, you're amazing! You handed over half of the Beast Talisman just like that. What did Yao'er say? Very tough, extremely tough! You truly deserve to be my brother-in-law!"
Shang Xiye smiled meaningfully, but remained silent.
At this moment, in the Imperial Study.
Shang Xiche excitedly summoned Gao Chengwei, and held up the half of the beast talisman that Shang Xiye had handed over in his hand as if to show off, playing with it from all angles.
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