Chapter 196 - They Went for Wool and Came Home Shorn!

“Alright, stop arguing.” Baili Qingcang frowned and shouted coldly. He frowned and looked at Lin Yue and Zhao Kun, who knelt on the ground with awkward expressions. His tone was extremely dissatisfied. “You just said that there was a huge amount of silver in Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua’s mansions. Now do you know where it came from?”

Lin Yue and Zhao Kun’s expressions became even more awkward. Not only did they fail to cause any harm to Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua this time, they even made His Majesty have more sympathy and trust for them. Well, what they did was a perfect example of going for wool and coming home shorn.

“Your Majesty, I am guilty.”

“Humph, you entered the imperial palace aggressively. Do you think you can quit just by admitting your mistakes? If Princess Zhaohua and Chu Junyi were not able to defend themselves in time, wouldn’t I be deceived by all of you?”

“Your Majesty, calm down.”

Shen Ninghua looked up at Lin Yue and turned to Baili Qingcang. “Father Emperor, Lord Lin is the backbone of the Imperial Court. It’s not strange for him to be able to keep abreast of the movements of the families in the capital. However, I’m a little puzzled and I wonder if I can ask Lord Zhao some questions.”

“Yes, go ahead.” Baili Qingcang nodded in consent.

A trace of coldness flashed across Shen Ninghua’s eyes. “Lord Zhao, although my mansion is not securely surrounded, it is still governed in an orderly manner. May I ask how you discovered that a large sum of silver was transported into my mansion?”

Zhao Kun’s expression changed as he cried out “Oh no” in his heart. Sweat oozed out of his forehead. “Your Highness, I heard this message from someone else.”

“Oh? Someone from my mansion actually sent out the message to the outside so quickly. This is strange. I wonder from whom Lord Zhao heard it?”

“From…”

Lin Yue interrupted him. “Your Highness, we were so worried about the people of Jiangnan that we were misled. I truly did not know that Your Highness and Lord Chu had actually done so many good deeds for the country and the people…”

Chu Junyi sneered. “Lord Lin, I actually have the same question in my heart. I also want to know how you learned that there is a huge amount of silver in my mansion. Logically speaking, it has only been less than two days since this batch of silver arrived in the capital. We ourselves haven’t even counted the number yet.”

Lin Yue gritted his teeth. “Lord Chu, we didn’t know who spread this message, we only knew…”

Shen Ninghua frowned. Her voice became cold. She interrupted Lin Yue directly. “Could it be that Lord Lin and Lord Zhao sued us just with a message that came out of nowhere?”

“This…”

“Lord Lin, Lord Zhao, you two are an official of the Imperial Court. Don’t you know how to investigate a case? How dare you come to the hall to make this confrontation before His Majesty without any evidence?”

The corners of Shen Ninghua’s lips curled up coldly. Actually, the two of them had already prepared witnesses and testimonies. There was even much concrete evidence. However, there was a precondition for all of these efforts to work: the silver had indeed been looted from the people. In that case, when His Majesty saw the evidence, he would definitely be furious!

Unfortunately, the origin of the silver was clear and it was donated to the northwest for disaster relief. So there was a serious problem with the evidence! How did they dare to present their evidence?

Chu Junyi’s expression turned cold. “Your Majesty, I have concrete records about the origins of this batch of silver, including the account books to show how it was earned. If Your Majesty wants to read them, I can ask someone to send the account books to the capital. Now I really want to know what evidence Lord Lin has in his hand.”

Lin Yue knelt on the ground. He felt a chill rising from his knees. He was now being forced into a hopeless situation by Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi. If he presented the evidence, it would prove to be a fabricated accusation. If he said there was no evidence, it would be an ill-intended accusation. It would not be easy for them to escape from punishment for framing the royal princess and the official of the Imperial Court.

“Your Majesty, I made a mistake on this matter. I…”

Outside the gate, a loud announcement sounded.

“Her Majesty has arrived!”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes slightly. A trace of emotion flashed in her quiet eyes. The Empress finally couldn’t sit still in her Ningkun Palace.

“Empress, why are you here?” Baili Qingcang’s expression was cold as he swept his gaze over Lin Yue and Zhao Kun. Although he now understood the whole situation clearly, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

He had just cleaned up the Imperial Guards. He didn’t expect that this move actually made the Zhao family and Lin Yue who were old foes to each other gang up. If he tried to purge Crown Prince and the Third Prince one day, wouldn’t the two families join forces to pull him down from the throne?

Zhao Huiying bowed gracefully to Baili Qingcang. Her elegant figure was exceptionally beautiful. “Greetings, Your Majesty. I heard that Ninghua entered the imperial palace, so I came over to take a look. She had saved Your Majesty before. Although Your Majesty had rewarded her, I have not rewarded her yet.”

“Are you here for this?” Wasn’t the Empress here to save Zhao Kun?

“That’s right. I didn’t expect that Your Majesty convened a meeting here. I came at an inappropriate time. It’s all because the people on duty didn’t do a good job. They actually didn’t inform me in advance that Your Majesty was discussing things with officials, which made me lose my manners.”

After being interrupted by the Empress, Zhao Kun was at a loss for some time. However, Lin Yue immediately understood why she came. The Empress was showing them how to get away with it: they didn’t want to frame Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua, but were deceived by their subordinates who failed to do a good job. Even if His Majesty did not believe them, he could not kill two court officials just for an unsuccessful attempt of framing.

Lin Yue said in a choked voice, “Your Majesty, I am guilty. I hastily went forward to question Lord Chu without investigation because I heard that the impact of this matter was so bad that I became impulsive.”

Baili Qingcang narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“Your Majesty, a subordinate reported to me that he received a message, saying that Lord Chu had embezzled millions of taels of silver from Jiangnan, and found witnesses and testimonies. I was truly furious when hearing the report. Jiangnan had just suffered a severe disaster recently. If its people were looted again, the situation would become even worse. Therefore, I directly brought fellow officials to see Lord Chu for an explanation.”

Zhao Kun’s expression suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly went forward to make his case.

“Your Majesty, I also felt very puzzled. I was at home when someone came to me, saying he saw Princess Zhaohua’s mansion received a large amount of silver, and he also brought the witnesses around. I originally wanted to investigate the issue. But I didn’t expect that Lord Lin also received the same report on Lord Chu. So the two of us discussed and felt that things were strange. That’s why we came here to make a confrontation with him before Your Majesty. Now I realized that I was too impulsive. Someone must be deliberately stirring up trouble.”

Lin Yue added aside, “Your Majesty, I was deceived by others and almost misunderstood Her Highness and Lord Chu. I’m extremely stupid. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”

Shen Ninghua coldly looked at the two people who were kneeling on the ground and admitting their mistakes. Her heart was filled with scorn. They truly deserved their fame as the heads of two powerful families who had maintained their positions in the Imperial Court for so long without collapsing. No one was able to master their ability of bowing and rising at will!

Baili Qingcang looked at Lin Yue and Zhao Kun and felt angry in his heart. However, he did have misgivings. If the two of them didn’t admit their guilt, he couldn’t kill two major court officials for Ninghua and Chu Junyi.

“In that case, you were also deceived?”

“Yes, Your Majesty is wise.”

“Well, since you were deceived as well, the two of you shall investigate who framed the princess and a court official. Give me a satisfactory result within three days. Understood? Empress, do you have anything else to do? Go back to your Ningkun Palace if you have nothing to do.”

Zhao Huiying lowered her head. “Yes, I will take my leave.”

“Princess Zhaohua and Chu Junyi have done good deeds for the country and the people. They didn’t do it for seeking fame and fortune but they were still framed. I have always distinguished clearly between reward and punishment. I should reward and compensate them. Princess Zhaohua will be rewarded with 1000 taels of gold, 10 bolts of silk, two boxes of tribute jade ware and porcelains while Left Imperial Censor Chu Junyi will have his salary doubled and be rewarded 1,000 taels of silver.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang sighed and looked at Lin Yue and Zhao Kun on the ground. “Dear associates, why don’t you go down and investigate the case?”

“Yes, we will take our leave.”

After leaving the hall, Zhao Kun wiped the cold sweat off his head. He raised his head and wanted to talk to Lin Yue. But when he saw Lin Yue leaving in a hurry with an embarrassed expression, he immediately felt embarrassed. With a wave of his sleeves, he turned around and left.

When the Empress returned to Ningkun Palace, Fangxue hurriedly served her a cup of tea. “Your Majesty, did it go smoothly?”

“Smoothly?” Zhao Huiying’s expression became even furious. “I really suffered a setback this time!”

“Did Lord Zhao and Lord Lin fail?”

“Not only did they fail, they almost fell into trouble themselves. If I hadn’t gone over there, the two of them would probably have been removed from office and imprisoned by His Majesty.”

“Ah, how could it so serious?”

Zhao Huiying suddenly threw the teacup in her hand to the ground. “I have told them long before that if they couldn’t succeed with one blow, they must not launch an attack so easily. Who are the Imperial Guards?” They are troops that protected His Majesty’s life. They reached the bottom line of His Majesty’s tolerance this time. So His Majesty just wanted to kill someone to vent his anger. What these people did would only bring about their own destruction. I told the Crown Prince that he must calm down. I didn’t expect that he was still so impulsive!”

“Your Highness, please calm down.”

“Chu Junyi, Shen Ninghua, humph. The two of them are really amazing. They are simply like two stones which are smooth and hard without even a crack. Originally, I thought that without the support of the Xiao family, Chu Junyi would not be able to prevail. But now, even without the Xiao family, he has instead emerged and flourished like a duck in the water. After cleaning up the Imperial Guards this time, he will probably become a favorite official before His Majesty with a single leap.”

“Your Majesty, no matter how smug that Chu Junyi is, he is only a subject. You are the head of the harem. Don’t be angry with them. It’s not worth it if you get angry.”

Zhao Huiying took a deep breath and sat down in her seat. Her expression was exceptionally sharp. “You’re right. I’m the head of the harem. After all these years in the harem, I have survived various risks, I don’t believe that I will end up in failure. Fangxue, send someone to keep an eye on Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua. Don’t alarm them. I don’t believe that they will really have no weak points!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Inside the princess’ mansion, Shen Ninghua was playing with a set of jade teacups, and her eyes were clearly filled with affection.

Chu Junyi sat beside her, his eyes filled with warmth and doting. “Ninghua, do you like jade articles?”

“Jade articles have spirits, so I naturally like them.”

“Ah, then it looks like I must build a jade bed in your mansion.”

Shen Ninghua cast a cold look at him. “Although Lin Yue and Zhao Kun were temporarily defeated, there are still many things to deal with. Didn’t you say that you would send all the silver to the northwest to relieve people from disaster? You must do what you promised. Aren’t you going to arrange it?”

“When I sent out the message, everything had already been arranged.” Chu Junyi watched Shen Ninghua’s movements. The white jade teacup contrasted finely with her jade-colored fingertips and looked exceptionally pleasing to the eye, which made him reluctant to cast his gaze away.

“Then don’t you have other things to do?”

“No, I’m waiting for the night.”

“What are you going to do when it gets dark?” Shen Ninghua frowned.

Chu Junyi smiled. “Didn’t Bai Ruo say you always slept late? I’ll stay with you and see what you’re doing.”

Shen Ninghua’s face darkened. “Qing Que, see the guest to the door.”

“Ah, Ninghua… We’ve only just stood together in face of adversities… Alright, alright… I’ll take my leave…”