Chapter 304 - He Was So Stupid

As soon as Baili Junyi stated his opinion, not only the officials but also Baili Qingcang was stunned on the spot. The Crown Prince was the heir-apparent to the throne. Baili Qingcang was old now. One day, when he died, the Crown Prince would be the legitimate heir. Could it be that Junyi did not have any thoughts in his heart?

“Junyi, have you thought it over?” In fact, Baili Junyi’s ability was outstanding and he was better at controlling people. He was more courageous and aggressive than the Crown Prince. From the looks of it, he was the better candidate as Da’an Kingdom’s next Emperor than the Crown Prince.

However, this thought flashed through Baili Qingcang’s mind and disappeared quickly. Although Baili Junyi’s mother came from a noble background, she was a princess from another country. In the past, there had never been a son of a princess from another country who could inherit the throne.

Baili Junyi’s gaze was firm and his handsome face was filled with seriousness. “Father Emperor, I mean everything I said.”

Finally, someone could not help but blurt.

“Royal Prince Yi, I think there is something wrong with your proposal. Although Old Lady Feng has given us proof, there is no way to verify whether the evidence is real or not. Moreover, all the witnesses are already dead. Just a few letters and Old Lady Feng’s one-sided testimony are not enough to bring the Crown Prince back to justice.”

Baili Junyi was puzzled. “This lord, I remember that Father Emperor never convicted the Crown Prince, right? Since he has never been convicted, why do we have to ‘bring him back to justice’?”

“No, Royal Prince Yi, you don’t understand what I mean. The main point is the evidence, not the conviction!”

“It’s not up to you to decide whether or not there are any problems with the evidence. If I’m not mistaken, you are an official of the Ministry of Rite, right? You, an official of the Ministry of Rite, kept talking about the matters regarding the Ministry of Justice. The one who doesn’t understand is you.”

“Royal Prince Yi, you are twisting my words!”

“Heh, I’m twisting your words? Father Emperor didn’t even say anything, what are you!” Baili Junyi narrowed his eyes. His aura was unprecedentedly domineering.

The official was so bewildered that he took two steps back, and his face was as gloomy as the night sky. “You… Royal Prince Yi, you are too arrogant. I am an official of the imperial court. How can you look down on me like this?”

The smile on Baili Junyi’s face became even more contemptuous. He glanced at him indifferently. “Imperial court official? What rank are you?”

“F-Fourth grade.”

“Fourth grade?” Baili Junyi sneered, the disdain in his eyes was self-evident.

The officials at the side could not bear to look at the face of the fourth-grade official, and they couldn’t help but sympathize with him silently. He was just a low-ranking official of the imperial court, and the other person was a royal prince. So what if the royal prince looked down on him? If he dared, he could go and beat him up, but did he dare to do so?

If he didn’t, he should just obediently stay aside and keep his mouth shut. How dare he challenge the royal prince for looking down on him? He was so stupid. He should be grateful that Royal Prince Yi did not stomp him to death.

They had not learned their lessons even after so many things had happened. Royal Prince Yi and Princess Zhaohua were a perfect match. Their mouths were not made of flesh and blood but iron and steel! Their words could wake the dead. How dare the lowly official provoke him. Couldn’t he see that the officials who mentioned Royal Prince Yi’s identity hadn’t recovered from their shock yet?

The official held back his anger and swayed back and forth. In the end, he managed to stand firm. However, his face was deathly pale. There was no trace of blood on his face, and he looked very pitiful.

Sitting on his throne, Baili Qingcang looked at the keen and tenacious Baili Junyi and sighed. He knew Baili Junyi was definitely angry, so it was good to let him vent a little.

“Alright, leave the evidence to the Ministry of Justice for investigation. We will discuss this matter in the future. However, I’ll lift the Crown Prince’s ban.”

The officials exchanged curious glances. His Majesty’s indication was clear by lifting the Crown Prince’s ban before the Ministry of Justice started to investigate the evidence. It seemed that the Ministry of Justice would not be able to find anything.

After the morning court session, Baili Junyi directly went home without batting an eye to the surrounding officials.

When Baili Junyi returned to Huajun Pavilion and saw the two babies sleeping with their puffy cheeks drenched with drools, he shook his head and picked his son up. When he saw the boy open his eyes in a daze and purse his lips as if he was about to cry, he immediately laughed.

Indeed, when he was in a bad mood, messing with the cheeky boy could cheer him up.

Approaching him with his casual clothes, Shen Ninghua twitched her lips when she saw his actions. “Quickly put Yongchen down. He was tired from playing and only slept for a short while.”

“My son is not that delicate. He is not Baby Girl.”

His remark rendered Shen Ninghua speechless. Baili Junyi treated his son and daughter extremely differently. His daughter was his prized and precious treasure, but his son was wild grass that he could find all over the place. He adored his daughter and spoiled her rotten, but he teased his son with all his might.

Moreover, the personalities of the father and son were very similar. Big Boy did not cry even after being teased. He stared at Baili Junyi with his big black eyes and tried to use his gaze to make him yield. In the end, they stared at each other for minutes.

Shen Ninghua ignored them and sat on the side, waiting for the battle to end.

Eventually, Big Boy was no match to his father. In addition, he was still very sleepy, so he tilted his head and fell asleep on Baili Junyi’s arms.

Seeing that his chubby son was asleep, Baili Junyi giggled in delight. Then, he gently put him down, covered him with the quilt, and then pulled Shen Ninghua out.

Shen Ninghua smiled warmly at Baili Junyi’s sensibility.

When they reached the outer room, Baili Junyi changed out of his court uniform, and a slightly mischievous smile appeared in his eyes. “Ninghua, you don’t know how impressive I was in court today.”

“Oh? How impressive?” Shen Ninghua chuckled.

“Those people mocked me using Mother’s identity, but I forcefully bellowed them. Even if Mother was from the Great Yue Kingdom, she was a princess. Who did they think they were to casually talk about her? Father Emperor also asked me what I thought of the Crown Prince. Guess what I said?”

“Oh, what did you say?” Shen Ninghua was happy to play along and listen to him showing off.

“I said that he was innocent, and he endured the humiliation for the sake of Da’an and the people. In the end, he even sacrificed his own family. How can such an excellent and outstanding Crown Prince be deposed? So, I told Father Emperor that he should reinstate the Crown Prince’s reputation, and it would be best to announce it to the country! ”

The corners of Shen Ninghua’s lips curled up. “Do you still think that the capital is not chaotic enough?”

“We’ve decided to leave anyway, so it would be better to be a little more chaotic. Only when there is chaos can the various forces continuously fight and balance each other. Only then will Father Emperor be able to control the court. A calm situation doesn’t mean any good.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “The Third Prince is short-sighted. Ever since he married Bu Tinghe, he relies on the Great Yue Kingdom’s support wholeheartedly, but it never crosses his mind that the Great Yue Kingdom is not an easy target. It is a wolf, a very hungry wolf. One day, it would bite him in the throat.”

“All he can think of now is to have fun, so of course, it never crosses his mind. Now, in the court, he is the happiest.”

“Ever since he returned from the Northwest, the Second Prince has become much quieter, and he only cares about being a filial son. Even in the royal court, he rarely talks, as if he lost all confidence because of his disfigurement.”

Speaking of Baili Jinchuan, the Second Prince, Baili Junyi squinted, and his expression turned cold. “Baili Jinchuan… In the past, I had no scruples about him because of his self-righteous and headstrong personality. I know that he can’t achieve any great achievements. But now it’s different. I’m most worried about him now.”

Thinking of the man with a cold face, Shen Ninghua could not help but tremble slightly. “When we leave, we must keep a closer eye on him. I always feel that he is too dangerous.”

“Yes, I will arrange it.” Baili Junyi nodded. “And the Crown Prince. The rebellion started so majestically, but the ending was anticlimactic. Something doesn’t seem right.”

Shen Ninghua frowned slightly. “There are too many suspicious points in this matter. Who was the one who poisoned Zhao Huiying? It was so bizarre that so many members of the Zhao Family died in the Heavenly Prison. The security there is second only to the imperial palace. To poison the prisoners? It’s easier said than done!”

“This is also what I have been thinking about for a long time, but I still haven’t figured it out. Moreover, I have secretly sent people to investigate, but there is no clue at all. This is the strangest thing.”

With a sigh, Shen Ninghua asserted, “It seems that there are so many things we need to do before we leave. We must make all the necessary arrangements or we won’t be at ease even if we leave.”

“You’re right.”

A few days later, the results of the Ministry of Justice’s investigation of the rebellion were sent to Baili Qingcang’s imperial writing desk. “Do you think the evidence Old Lady Feng gave us is real?”

The Minister of Justice knelt on the ground and reported in a shaky voice, “Yes, Your Majesty. The time written in those letters was indeed correct, and those were the Empress’ handwriting. Moreover, I interrogated the guards and palace servants around Crown Prince. They all said that he had no signs of rebellion from beginning to end.”

When he said this, he felt sheepish. After all, the things he investigated were evidence, but in fact, there were very few things that could be proved. It was a bit far-fetched to prove that the Crown Prince was innocent based on the so-called evidence.

However, Baili Qingcang did not seem to realize it. “Well, since your investigation results prove that Crown Prince is innocent, it means that I am not mistaken about him. You may leave.”

The Minister of Justice heaved a sigh of relief and quickly retreated. When he left the hall, he felt his legs go soft. He raised his sleeves and wiped his cold sweat. Actually, he could not find anything at all, and he simply sent his report based on his speculation. Fortunately, he guessed His Majesty’s thoughts correctly.

As soon as the results from the Ministry of Justice were announced, the Third Prince angrily smashed the study room.

“Is Father Emperor old and muddled? It is obvious that the Crown Prince had tried to rebel! He actually managed to turn the situation around by just being sharp-tongued! Damn it!”

Prince An, who quietly sat at the side, waited until the Third Prince finished smashing the things before saying, “Your Highness, why are you so angry?”

The Third Prince indignantly sat on the other side. “How can I not be angry? The war that was about to start was ended in an instant. Moreover, from the looks of it, it’s highly likely that Father Emperor will announce to the country that he would restore Crown Prince’s damaged reputation as Baili Junyi suggested!”

With a wicked smile, Prince An mouthed, “Third Prince, when a mirror is accidentally broken, do you think it can still be as good as new even if we patch it back together?”