"Why cover it up? Lady An spent a night of passion with her own husband in her bedchamber—she should have been furious."
Her decision to conceal the matter stemmed from her intelligence. She knew it was Shen Xihe's scheme, her loyalty lay with Your Majesty, and she was aware that the An clan were Your Majesty's supporters. To thwart Shen Xihe's plot and prevent any harm to Your Majesty, she immediately hid or destroyed the evidence upon realizing the situation, even quickly finding a substitute item in an attempt to deceive others.
Thinking this, Youning Emperor shielded the tearful Shu Fei behind him: "Liu Sanzhi, investigate this personally—check the tokens!"
"Your Majesty, I request to accompany Eunuch Liu," Tao Zhuanxian stepped forward.
It was blatantly clear he feared Youning Emperor would show favoritism. The Emperor felt a sharp pain in his chest from anger, yet he had no grounds to refuse.
Thus, Tao Zhuanxian and Liu Sanzhi went to investigate together. The tokens were exclusive to guards of the Anbei Protectorate Headquarters, crafted by the same master in both material and engraving, making them extremely difficult to counterfeit, with hidden markings in discreet places.
There weren't many guards brought from the Anbei Protectorate Headquarters, and they were quickly assembled. Liu Sanzhi ordered all of them to place their tokens on a brought tray. One guard couldn't produce his.
As Liu Sanzhi pressed him for answers, the panicked guard suddenly vomited blood and collapsed, dying quickly from poisoning.
Youning Emperor, An Jingnan, and the others watched the body being carried in, their faces growing increasingly grim.
"Your Majesty, are there still doubts?" Shen Xihe lifted her eyes to ask.
Youning Emperor stared at this daughter-in-law. Her obsidian-like, serene eyes held no triumph or pressure, calm and unrippled yet resembling the boundless, despair-inducing depths of an unfathomable sea.
Truly worthy of being Shen Yueshan's daughter!
Doubts certainly remained, but at this moment, both Youning Emperor and An Jingnan understood clearly—Shen Xihe's trap was unbreakable. Pointing out another doubt would only drag the An clan deeper into the mire.
The antler blood implicated An Erlang; Shu Fei implicated the guards of the Anbei Protectorate. If they continued questioning...
Youning Emperor looked at An Jingnan: "Jingnan, do you have anything to say?"
At this point, the choice to stop here or continue arguing was left to An Jingnan himself.
An Jingnan struggled internally. He wanted to see how far Shen Xihe could frame their An residence, but he didn't dare act impulsively, fearing it would spiral out of control and truly bury the An clan here.
He didn't dare gamble with the entire An clan.
Closing his eyes briefly, An Jingnan bowed his head and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, I... have failed in educating my daughter and deserve punishment!"
An Zhengyi collapsed to the ground. She knew she was finished—her father had abandoned her.
When Prince Xin mentioned the An residence token, she had already foreseen her outcome. Shen Xihe was too ruthless, with far-reaching influence, able to stealthily take their An clan's token without anyone noticing!
"Your Majesty, the Anbei Protectorate has done more than just fail in educating his daughter," Tao Zhuanxian wouldn't let these people off easily. Targeting the Eastern Palace was a heinous crime. "Lady An's ambitions reach for the heavens, coveting Your Majesty. Your Majesty fell into this trap only because of your deep trust in the An clan. The An father and daughter have betrayed that trust. Fortunately, they only harbored desires for power—had they held malicious intent, Your Majesty would be in grave danger!""The An family's daughter plotted against Your Majesty, manipulated the palace guards with ease, and even mobilized the military forces of the Anbei Protectorate Headquarters to serve her purposes. It is evident that the military guards of the Anbei Protectorate Headquarters have lost all sense of propriety—knowing full well they were conspiring against Your Majesty, they dared to act as accomplices. This clearly shows that the Anbei Protectorate has been lax in discipline, indulged his daughter excessively, and harbors no loyalty or submission toward Your Majesty. Such negligence has fostered lawlessness and contempt for the sovereign among the accompanying military guards!"
Tao Zhuanxian's words fell with resounding force. The ministers and princes who had rushed to "visit" the Crown Prince remained silent. When it came to pinning charges on others, Tao Zhuanxian, who had stood firm in the Censorate for over a decade, dared claim second place, and no one would dare claim first.
Yet, he was not making baseless accusations—everything was reasoned and supported by evidence. For instance, upon careful consideration, his earlier statement was indeed irrefutable.
"Your Majesty, Tao Gong speaks the truth. This is no mere case of a woman seeking to climb the social ladder by attaching herself to the powerful. Without the Protectorate's indulgence and misuse of public authority, how could a woman from the inner quarters, with no official position, possibly command military guards?" Cui Zheng, still agitated by the urgent matter of Dengzhou they had come to discuss and the unintended secrets they had overheard, voiced his thoughts.
Despite his shrewdness and deep understanding that there was more to the story, Cui Zheng paid it no mind. At their level, outcomes were all that mattered—victors were kings, and losers were bandits. If Your Majesty had been outmaneuvered, he should bear the consequences!
Wei Song, the Palace Attendant, dared not undermine the Emperor but also could not openly defend the Emperor's associates at this moment, so he remained silent.
"Your Majesty, I wholeheartedly agree with Tao Gong and Duke Cui. From small clues, one can discern great trends. If this matter is not severely punished, where will Imperial Authority lie?" Xiao Changqing bowed as he spoke.
Behind the cover of his sleeves, a captivating smile curved on his face. It had been a long time since he felt such exhilaration—not even when he had set fire to the imperial mausoleum had he been this pleased. While he had caused the Emperor embarrassment and anger then, it paled in comparison to Shen Xihe's ruthlessness.
Shen Xihe's move had painted the Emperor as the victim on the surface, forcing him to severely punish the An father and daughter. Yet, the An family were the Emperor's own people, and An Jingnan was his trusted confidant. The Emperor was now trapped on a burning pyre—he had no choice but to sacrifice his own. Otherwise, there would be no resolution. Once the Emperor took harsh action, Xiao Changqing was certain a thorn of resentment would be planted in An Jingnan's heart.
If Xiao Changqing could see this, how much more so could the Youning Emperor?
"The An family's daughter... is to be given poisoned wine." The Youning Emperor did not even bother to state the charges. His gaze fell upon An Jingnan. "The Anbei Protectorate has campaigned north and south with me, achieving illustrious military merits..."
"Your Majesty, I dare not deny the An Protectorate's great military achievements," Shen Xihe interrupted the Youning Emperor. "But the An Protectorate already enjoys high rank and generous emoluments—are these not the rewards for his military merits? Since Your Majesty has already bestowed such rewards, to grant further favors now... There are others with great military achievements besides the An Protectorate. If it leads people to believe that contributions to the state justify lawlessness, it may invite disaster."
The Youning Emperor fixed a heavy stare on Shen Xihe. "In your opinion, what should be done?"
"I dare not interfere in court affairs. The An Protectorate is a key minister of the court. I am merely concerned that in the future, others who harbor disloyalty toward Your Majesty might take courage from the An Protectorate's example and act against Your Majesty." Shen Xihe spoke with righteous solemnity, putting on a show of deep concern for the Emperor.
Xiao Changying kept his head lowered. He knew he should not laugh—after all, in his heart, the Emperor was still his imperial father—but he could not help the flicker of amusement in his eyes.
Aside from him, the others were trembling with fear. The Crown Princess's audacity was something they could not help but admire.With lowered brows and a submissive demeanor, Shen Xihe stood quietly as the court officials remained as silent as cicadas in cold weather. After restraining his anger repeatedly, the Youning Emperor finally declared, "The Grand Protector-General of Anbei has failed in disciplining his daughter and governing his region. In consideration of his past merits in managing Anbei, he is demoted to Deputy Protector-General as a warning to all!"
Having spoken, the Youning Emperor flung his sleeves and departed.
Yet Shen Xihe led the court in respectfully seeing him off: "Your Majesty is wise..." For your convenience in future readings, you can click the "Bookmark" below to record this session (Chapter 619: Severing One's Own Arm). The next time you open your bookshelf, it will be visible!
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