As soon as Shen Xihe's words fell, everyone was startled.
The sharpness and hidden fury in her words were barely concealed.
To so bluntly strip His Majesty of his dignity and trample it underfoot without leaving any room for maneuver was truly audacious!
"Crown Princess!" An Jingnan's face twitched with suppressed rage, "You may slander my daughter as you wish, but how dare you defame His Majesty? This is a capital offense!"
Tao Zhuanxian would not stand for it. How dare they accuse his granddaughter right in front of him as if he were dead?
"Commandant An, the Crown Princess has always been measured in her actions and is certainly not one to make wild accusations. This matter concerns His Majesty and is being discussed before the Empress Dowager. Without evidence, how could she speak so rashly?" Tao Zhuanxian stepped forward, his calm and wise eyes fixed deeply on An Jingnan. "Moreover, the Crown Princess stated that An Niangzi had improperly climbed into the Dragon Bed, with not a single word defaming His Majesty."
"Commandant An's protectiveness toward his daughter is understandable, but without knowing the truth, without a thorough investigation, and without even asking why Her Highness the Crown Princess has drawn such a conclusion, you repeatedly accuse her of defaming His Majesty. At the very least, this suggests Commandant An is attempting to distort the facts, cover up any wrongdoing An Niangzi may have committed, tarnish the Crown Princess's reputation, and commit the offense of insubordination and disrespect!"
"At worst, it could be seen as an attempt to sow discord between His Majesty and the Eastern Palace, undermine the foundation of the state, and disrupt the court!"
Though cunning, An Jingnan was ultimately a military official who had long been absent from the capital. In Anbei, he was a local overlord, and the civil officials there lived under his thumb, never daring to argue with him.
Suddenly facing Tao Zhuanxian, a former Censor-in-Chief and one of the most iron-willed among civil officials, how could he possibly hold his ground?
Choked with anger, his face flushed red, the Palace Attendant Wei Song stepped forward to mediate: "Do not be angered, Tao Gong. Commandant An, do not be impatient. The Crown Princess acts prudently and has been entrusted by His Majesty with palace authority. She would not make baseless claims. Why not ask the Crown Princess how she concluded that An Niangzi is at this moment..."
"The palace has been thoroughly searched, and An Niangzi is nowhere to be found. I have just ordered the Eastern Palace female officials to verify the whereabouts of the palace maids and women from every quarter." Shen Xihe raised her hand, and Zhenzhu bowed and handed her a ledger. "All the women in the palace are accounted for, except for An Niangzi, whose whereabouts are unknown. And His Majesty has fallen victim to a villain's scheme and is currently... Surely, an extra woman cannot simply appear out of thin air in the palace?"
Shen Xihe took the ledger and directly handed it to the Secretariat Director Cui Zheng. After receiving it, Cui Zheng flipped through the pages. This was the record Shen Xihe had compiled while sending the Golden Guard to search for An Zhengyi, simultaneously verifying the women from every quarter, including the inner family members brought by officials. Each entry was stamped with the eunuch official seal of the respective quarter, confirming that all personnel were present.
Shen Xihe's reason for doing this was that upon hearing of An Niangzi's disappearance, she feared other women might be harmed, hence the verification of personnel. Naturally, no one refused to cooperate, and any dissatisfaction was directed at the trouble caused by An Zhengyi's disappearance. Thus, she smoothly obtained the desired results.
All the women registered in the ledger were present, except for An Zhengyi. It was impossible for an extra woman to appear out of nowhere in the palace to engage in intimate relations with His Majesty. Therefore, concluding that the woman in Shu Fei's bedchamber was An Niangzi was indeed reasonable.
While Cui Zheng and the others were examining the ledger, someone quietly informed An Jingnan of the events in Shu Fei's palace. An Jingnan's face turned pale and then flushed. His eyes blazing, he stared at Shen Xihe. At this moment, he understood clearly that his daughter had been trapped.He could only hope that His Majesty would spare his daughter's life, but Shen Xihe's aggressive approach made him feel it was very unlikely.
Spare An Zhengyi's life?
Shen Xihe sneered inwardly—absolutely impossible. Anyone who dared to scheme against her Shen family must be prepared to pay with their life.
Not only would she not spare An Zhengyi, but she would also make the Youning Emperor personally issue the order to execute An Zhengyi, creating a deep rift between His Majesty and the An family!
"Your Highness, what did you mean earlier when you said His Majesty was plotted against?" Cui Zheng couldn't help but ask.
Shen Xihe had said those words precisely to prompt this question. Without changing her expression, she replied, "Since such an incident occurred earlier in Shu Fei's palace, and as I bear the responsibility of managing the Imperial Harem, I naturally had to investigate the cause. Therefore, I sent someone to conduct a thorough investigation."
Her gaze swept casually over An Jingnan as she asked Liu Sanzhi, "Did His Majesty consume antler blood today?"
Liu Sanzhi's heart tightened: "His Majesty drank a bowl of antler blood, with a physician present. In previous years, His Majesty has also consumed antler blood and never had any adverse reactions." A bowl of antler blood, monitored by a physician, certainly couldn't have caused the Youning Emperor to lose control.
"Antler blood is harmless when a physician is present, but earlier I sent a palace maid to the study pavilion and discovered that Jade Mat Incense was burning there," Shen Xihe continued.
"What is wrong with Jade Mat Incense?" Liu Sanzhi asked.
Jade Mat Incense was a newly procured incense for the palace, purchased from Shen Xihe's Living-Alone Pavilion. Its fragrance was serene, with calming and invigorating effects. Recently, the study pavilion had been burning this incense without incident, so why did something happen today?
"Jade Mat Incense is indeed harmless under normal circumstances, but it clashes with potent substances. After His Majesty consumed antler blood, burning Jade Mat Incense would have an aphrodisiac effect." This was also why Liu Sanzhi and the others present had not experienced any abnormalities. "When this incense was procured for the palace, instructions should have been given."
Shen Xihe summoned the eunuch from the Palace Service Department responsible for procurement. After verifying the procurement records, it was confirmed that a batch of Jade Mat Incense had been brought to the temporary palace. The eunuch also stated that during procurement, the manager of Living-Alone Pavilion had specifically given instructions, so he personally reminded everyone who collected the incense.
"Aside from His Majesty ordering it for the study pavilion, who else collected Jade Mat Incense?" Shen Xihe asked.
The eunuch replied respectfully, "Each palace mistress has her own preferences. Such new items rarely gain their favor. Recently, aside from His Majesty ordering Jade Mat Incense for the study pavilion, only An Niangzi, due to her injuries and difficulty sleeping at night, happened to find relief with Jade Mat Incense and collected a considerable amount."
"Your Highness, please understand—whether it was the eunuch guarding the study pavilion or An Niangzi's quarters, I personally reminded them."
Thus, only two parties knew about the flaw of Jade Mat Incense. The eunuch responsible for the study pavilion was summoned. His face was pale, and he appeared to be in great distress. It turned out that while on duty today, he had left briefly due to an upset stomach. Little did he know that in that short time, His Majesty would drink antler blood. By the time he returned, it was already too late.
The maid who collected the incense from An Zhengyi's quarters was also brought in for questioning. It was confirmed that the Palace Service Department had notified her, but she knew nothing else.
Upon searching An Zhengyi's quarters, the amount of Jade Mat Incense found did not match the records—some was missing and unaccounted for.
Having already stepped out and standing at the doorway, the Youning Emperor, who had paused there, knew that the missing amount was in Shu Fei's bedchamber.
For the first time, the emperor, who usually kept his emotions hidden, revealed an uncontrollable fury."So it seems everything was done by An Niangzi, and the antler blood wasn't a coincidence either?" Wei Song frowned.
Shen Xihe glanced at him: "We'll know once we ask the person who hunted the sika deer."
Soon, the heir of Pingyao Marquis and the wastrel son of Zhenbei Marquis, Ding Jue, were summoned. When questioned about the matter, Ding Jue said: "We hadn't planned to hunt deer today at all. It was the Pingyao Marquis heir who relentlessly pursued the deer, nearly startling the horses and causing him to fall from his steed!"
All eyes instantly focused on the Pingyao Marquis heir, who had no choice but to admit: "I'm good friends with An Erlang. Knowing we were going hunting today, An Erlang sent a maid to tell me he was craving venison..."
Everything became clear - this was a long-planned scheme by the An family to climb into the Dragon bed.
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