Chapter 85 - Do You Have a Problem?

Hearing his words, Shen Ninghua was not very surprised. The Zhao family put the blame on the Shen family for the problem with the prescription, but everyone with a keen vision knew what was going on. From Baili Qingcang’s attitude, it could be seen that His Majesty had been angry with the Zhao family. It would be a strange thing if the Crown Prince still remained indifferent at such a time.

Shen Ninghua nodded. “I know.”

Chu Junyi smiled and looked at her. “The Second Prince is not easy to get along with. Take care to protect yourself.”

“Yes, same for you. The Xiao family has neither merits nor demerits this time, but you have to be careful of the jealousy of other people.”

“Thank you for your concern, Ninghua.”

Shen Ninghua glanced at his smiling face and frowned. She was slightly unaccustomed to seeing this face. “Your original appearance is more pleasing than this one.”

Chu Junyi touched his cheek and his smile deepened. “Does that mean that I’m much better than the Second Prince? At least I can use my appearance to please you.”

Seeing that he was starting to be glib-tongued, Shen Ninghua ignored him and turned around to walk towards the Western Palace. Not far away, she really saw two palace maids waiting for her respectfully. When they saw her coming over, they immediately knelt down and saluted. “Greetings, Your Highness. Commandery Prince De asked us to wait here to guide the way for you.”

“No need, I can go back by myself.” Guiding the way for her was probably to see whether she was drunk or not. She had thought that Baili Jinchuan’s personality was straightforward and he should be the easiest to get along with. She didn’t expect that this straightforward person would be even more terrifying when he became stubborn.

Baili Jinchuan’s return made the common people happy, but made the princes and the officials standing in other teams worried. When it came to rewards and punishments, the situation immediately reversed.

Outside the Palace, people were worried that the Second Prince and Shen Ninghua would be punished, whereas many officials were happy to see this happen.

Shen Dong and Shen Linghan had been imprisoned for more than a month before they were released from the Heavenly Prison, and they felt as if they were given a second life again.

Madam Zhao was so anxious that she was on the verge of collapse. Because she was pregnant, she was placed under house arrest in a remote palace. Only a eunuch delivered some food to her every day. However, she could not eat at all. She also suffered morning sickness, and a little more than one month, she was thinned to the bone. Seeing Shen Linghan being escorted over by the guards, she wished she could immediately pounce over.

“Linghan?”

Shen Linghan raised her head and saw Madam Zhao. Her lifeless gaze regained some splendor. “Mother, I have been suffering so bitterly.”

Madam Zhao almost shed tears. “Linghan, don’t worry. Your elder sister will definitely save us.”

Shen Linghan nodded, but a strange light flashed in her lowered eyes and a cold smile appeared on her lips. Shen Ninghua, I wouldn’t allow you to escape unscathed today.

As the silencing whip echoed throughout the Palace, a eunuch announced loudly, “His Majesty has arrived.”

“Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang sat on the throne and looked down at the four rows of officials in the hall. “You should know the main agenda today, which is to reward Baili Jinchuan, Shen Ninghua, Xiao Jingran and others for their merits. If you have any problem, say it out.”

The hall was silent, and no officials were willing to be the first to stand out.

After a long while, Chen Yun took the lead to stand up and said, “Your Majesty, according to my opinion, the Second Prince used decisive methods to relieve the plague and calamity, and saved thousands of people. Although his method was too drastic, it was also understandable because he was in a state of emergency. His merits outweigh his demerits, and he deserves to be rewarded.”

As soon as Chen Yun finished speaking, someone immediately objected, “I don’t agree with Lord Chen. The Second Prince was ordered by Your Majesty to relieve the disaster. Completing the task is what he was supposed to do. However, he was so eager to complete the task that he killed 32 various ranking officials in Jiangnan without prior report to Your Majesty. Among them, there were also officials of the third rank. This was undoubtedly a sign of high treason. He was truly bold. Your Majesty, please punish him severely. ”

“Your Majesty, I agree with Lord Chen.”

“The Second Prince’s action is equal to high treason. He should be punished severely.”

“Your Majesty…”

The hall was like a hot boiling oil pot that was poured with a ladle of water, and the noise was so loud that it seemed that the sky was being brought down.

Baili Qingcang sat firmly on the throne without any sign of impatience. He didn’t speak until an hour had elapsed, by which time the officials had sweated due to the quarrel. “Since you can’t reach a conclusion, then bring everyone involved in this matter over. Today, I will do justice for them.”

Everyone unconsciously quieted down and directed their gazes to the entrance. The Second Prince, the Xiao family, the Shen family, the Zhao family…Everyone who was involved was called to the main hall.

After they finished saluting, Baili Qingcang asked them to stand up. “I think you all want to know what’s going on today. So let’s have an open talk today. I want to hear your opinions.”

Hearing this, Baili Jinchuan immediately knelt on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, I’m guilty. Please punish me.”

“What’s your guilt?” Baili Qingcang’s gaze was solemn, and people were unable to tell from his tone whether he was angry or not.

Baili Jinchuan took out a booklet from his pocket and raised it with both of his hands. “Your Majesty, I took the liberty to kill a total of 32 officials in Jiangnan without asking for a decree from you. These are the names of the officials killed by me and the reasons. Please take a look.”

The eunuch handed the booklet over. Baili Qingcang opened it and glanced at it. His expression immediately darkened. “Are you telling the truth?”

“Your Majesty, the records are all true. If you don’t believe me, you can send people for further investigation.”

Baili Qingcang clenched the booklet in his hand and swept his gaze across the officials in the hall. “I will investigate. Before this matter is investigated clearly, you should reflect on your misdeeds in your mansion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Baili Jinchuan was delighted. The booklet recorded the evidence he had collected about the corruption of Jiangnan officials. As long as His Majesty was willing to investigate, he would be safe and sound. Not a single official whom he killed was innocent.

Baili Jinze’s eyes flashed with anger. So His Majesty’s punishment was merely to let Baili Jinchuan reflect on his misdeeds? He didn’t want to see Second Brother get away so easily, so he looked at the Left Imperial Censor and signaled with his gaze.

The Left Imperial Censor Xu Mian immediately stood up and said with tears in his eyes.

“Your Majesty, this is unreasonable. The Second Prince killed officials of the Imperial Court for no reason and completely trampled on the laws of the Da’an Dynasty. This is a joke to the people of the whole country. As an official, how can I watch such a thing happen? I beg Your Majesty to take back your order. Otherwise, I will kill myself in Chengqian palace and use my death to protect Your Majesty’s reputation.”

Baili Qingcang frowned, and a trace of anger flashed in his heart. Xu Mian was clearly threatening him with his own death.

Under Xu Mian’s leadership, many officials who had received the hints knelt on the ground and requested Baili Qingcang to take back his order.

The officials who secretly supported the Second Prince were extremely anxious. Unfortunately, their numbers were small and they did not have any advantage at all.

Just as Baili Qingcang was about to reprimand them in anger, a crisp laugh suddenly sounded.

The hall instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at Shen Ninghua, who was laughing loudly.

The Left Imperial Censor shouted, “Prefectural Princess Ninghua, you are too ignorant of etiquette. How dare you be so presumptuous in the main hall!”

Shen Ninghua smiled and went forward to salute Baili Qingcang. “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I just couldn’t help it.”

The expression on Baili Qingcang’s face relaxed. He knew that she had something to say, so he quickly gave her the thread of discourse. “Why did you laugh?”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes to look at the Left Imperial Censor Xu Mian. “Lord Xu, I am very curious about your rank.”

Xu Mian said disdainfully, “I’m a Third-rank Class B official.”

“Oh, so you are a Third-rank Class B official. I’m sorry.” Shen Ninghua revealed an expression of sudden enlightenment. “I thought you were the highest-ranking official in the hall.”

Xu Mian panicked and his expression changed. “Prefectural Princess, what did you mean?”

“I didn’t mean anything. I just heard Lord Xu referred to the Prefectural Prince De as the Second Prince and repeatedly threatened His Majesty to withdraw his order. You even threatened with your life to let His Majesty punish his own son. Your charm really overshined everyone in the hall.”

Xu Mian was frightened and sweated all over. He hurriedly knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, I was just too excited. Please forgive me.”

Shen Ninghua looked at him coldly. “Lord Xu, why are you so panicked? Although you openly refuted His Majesty’s order and disrespected Commandery Prince De, you did it out of goodwill. There are also many lords in this hall who are as loyal as you.” As she spoke, her gaze swept across the officials who had just ganged up with Xu Mian offering support to him.

Quite a few officials who were less determined immediately dodged Shen Ninghua’s gaze.

The Third Prince was unwilling to let the situation be messed up. “Ninghua, you are just a girl, so you should not interfere with matters related to the officials.”

Shen Ninghua restrained her smile. “Your Highness is right. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

The Third Prince felt contempt in his heart. No matter how sharp-tongued she was, she was just a girl. No matter how high her status was, a girl was not allowed to interfere with politics!

However, Baili Qingcang narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze over the complacent Third Prince. “I was the one who asked the question. Do you have any problem with me?”

The Third Prince was stunned and hurriedly knelt down and apologized, “Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

Baili Qingcang did not ask him to stand up. He let him kneel and turned to look at Xu Mian and the other officials. “I told the Second Prince to reflect on his misdeeds at home. Who else has any objection?”

Having an objection meant openly refuting the imperial edict. To advise against His Majesty too radically was to threaten His Majesty with their lives. With Shen Ninghua’s previous words as foreshadowing, who dared to say another word?

Although he knew that Shen Ninghua wasn’t speaking for him, Baili Jinchuan still couldn’t help but feel warm in his heart. The more he came into contact with Shen Ninghua, the more he couldn’t control his heart. Such a girl must stay beside him no matter how much price he had to pay!

The officials couldn’t get any benefits from the Second Prince, so they focused their gazes on Shen Dong. The Second Prince was the emperor’s bloodline, so they had some misgivings. But the Shen family was different. Shen Dong used to be the Prime Minister, so they were unable to shake his position previously. Now this shark had fallen to the shallow beach, and they would spare no effort to kill him!

Baili Qingcang said, “Since the matter with the Second Prince has been settled, then let’s talk about Shen Ninghua. Do you have any ideas?”

Chen Yun stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Prefectural Princess Ninghua has made a great contribution to the disaster relief work. I think Her Highness should be heavily rewarded.”

“I agree.” The other imperial doctors who went to relieve the disaster and Xiao Jingran all agreed.

Baili Qingcang nodded in satisfaction. “Ninghua, you first helped to develop the prescription and then performed well in the relief work. What do you want?”

Shen Ninghua looked at Shen Dong and met his eager gaze.

Shen Dong did not expect that one day, the safety of the Shen family would be entrusted to the daughter he disliked most.

Shen Ninghua turned around and said, “Your Majesty, I don’t want anything.”

Shen Dong suddenly widened his eyes. His bloodshot eyes were exceptionally terrifying. Why didn’t she plead with His Majesty for mercy with the Shen family? Did she want to watch the destruction of the Shen family without offering any help?