C112

One second to remember [Brushstroke Pavilion] [Free of charge, read the wonderful novel!]

Ignoring Xiao Feng Jue, Chu Junyi left the Xiao family and made her way to the imperial palace.

Baili Qingfeng was originally tasting tea at the empress's Ning Kun Palace when he heard about the incident in the Xiao family. He immediately frowned.

Last time, Xiao JingRan had done a great service for him, but when he wanted to reward him, he found out that he could not reward this official.

He was already a first rank official. With so many military merits, he would be promoted to the position of a supreme official. If he were to be bestowed another reward, he would be conferred the title of a king or a marquis. He immediately felt that something was amiss. The Great An Country did not have the rule of bestowing the title of King with a different name. Otherwise, the Xiao family would have taken a step further.

"Bring him to the study room, I'll go take a look."

Empress Zhao Hui Ying was holding an exquisite teapot as she poured tea into a cup. Seeing Baili Qingfeng leaving as fast as lightning, a smile flashed across her eyes. She casually put down the teapot, picked up the teacup and took a sip: "As expected, tea is tasted after being scalded with boiling water."

Xiao Jingran stood in the middle of the hall and waited for the emperor to appear.

Shen Ninghua stood at the side, slightly behind him. Her eyes were so calm that there wasn't the slightest bit of emotion in them.

They did not speak, but they gave off a feeling of nervousness and oppression.

The Crown Prince and the others were standing on both sides, looking at the two men who were not crossing swords at all. They seemed to be at loggerheads. They looked troubled.

"The Emperor has arrived."

As soon as he sat down, he opened his mouth and asked: "Xiao Aimin, today is not your birthday, so why did you come to my place to receive my congratulations?"

Xiao Jingran cupped his hands together with a cold expression: "Your majesty, this old subject isn't willing to disturb the emperor at this time. It's just that this matter involves Princess Zhao Hua, I have to ask for your judgement."

Baili Qing Cang looked at Shen Ning Hua, and a square character slowly formed between his brows, "Ning Hua? "What happened?"

Xiao Jingran turned around to look at Chen Jun: "Your majesty, it's better if we invite the Chen Courtyard to speak."

Chen Jun paused for a moment, his expression showing more indifference, but he still said, "Reporting to your majesty, today is the birthday of Old General Xiao. Just as the birthday banquet is about to begin, Prince An Ning's servant, Qiuzheng, came over to report that something had happened to Xiao Huan Xi. Because she was injured by the hairpin Shen Ninghua gifted to her cousin Yang Yingxue, this subject cannot be sure of the outcome of this matter.

The reason why Xiao Jingran asked Chen Ying to tell him about it was because he was afraid that he would make the Emperor think that he was exaggerating things, but he had neglected to notice that Chen Cheng was always upright and did not like scheming, and his invitation to him to speak had already displeased him. As for the normally upright official who listened to the orders of the Xiao family and helped speak, the Emperor was afraid that he would be displeased.

Baili Qingqing's eyes darkened. He asked Baili Jingze, who was standing beside him, "Fifth brother, you've also gone to the Xiao Residence?"

When my son and I arrived at the scene, Miss Xiao had already fainted on the ground, leaving only Duke Zhao Hua's cousin Yang Yingxue crying on the side. She also said that the princess's hairpin was poisoned, and although the Chen Courtyard was able to find out that there was a problem with the hairpin, I have no way of knowing the outcome.

Baili Qing Cang narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold, "Ning Hua, what do you say?"

Shen Ninghua resolutely lifted his head and took two steps forward before abruptly kneeling on the ground. "Your Majesty, I beg of you to reclaim the title of Princess Zhao Hua."

"Ning Hua, since I've declared that I'll make you a princess, then I won't change my noble words. Unless you do something outrageous, is it true that you poisoned Xiao Huan Xi's body?"

"Your majesty, we've only met twice and we have no grudges between us. How could she be poisoned for no reason? I know that these words will only make things difficult for you, but for the sake of the face of the Great An Dynasty, I have no choice but to do so. I request your majesty to annul the title of Crown Prince of Ninghua."

Baili Jinze spoke, "Ningxia, don't be so childish. Royal father has always doted on you, and has yet to come to a conclusion on this matter. Why must you do this?" As she spoke, her face revealed a trace of her elder brother's scolding yet loving expression, causing people to feel extremely magnanimous and courteous.

In contrast, Shen Ninghua's heart was particularly confused. It had been a long time since she last came into contact with Baili Jinze. This person's ability to disgust her had improved quite a bit.

Baili Qingyuan said, "You have no choice but to do this. In that case, tell me, what reason do you have for doing this?"

Shen Ninghua straightened her back, her jade-like face's black eyes shone even more brightly as she replied, "Reporting to your majesty, as the one who was personally bestowed this title by the Emperor, it doesn't matter if I can support the prestige of the Imperial Family. I represent the dignity of the Imperial Family. "Even if he has made a mistake, it should be handled by the Cabinet. When Old General Xiao saw that his daughter was poisoned, he didn't even investigate and asked me for the antidote. What is this logic?"

Xiao Jingran paused for a moment. He never thought that Shen Ninghua would make a fuss about this!

Shen Ninghua said that she was a princess, but in the end, she was still an adopted daughter of the Emperor. Even if she had displayed her talent in the Jiang Nan disaster, she was just a small girl, and even if the Emperor saw her as an adopted daughter, he did not take her seriously.

As he understood this, he immediately apologized, "This old official is guilty. Back then, when I saw my daughter lying unconscious on the ground, I was truly anxious. That's why I disrespected the princess. I plead for Your Majesty to punish me." Xiao Jing Ran had fought for the Great An Dynasty all his life, so Baili Qingyuan definitely wouldn't act up just because of such a small matter.

"This Emperor can understand the love of a woman." Baili Qingfeng's gaze was calm, but a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes. The Xiao Clan's heart seemed to have become bigger.

Shen Ninghua, however, did not compromise. His straight back was like a green bamboo, and his expression was so dignified that no one dared to look him in the eye. "Old General Xiao, are you making things difficult for the Emperor? You have rendered meritorious service for the imperial family, so the emperor will not easily punish you for wiping away the face of the imperial family. This is the emperor's tolerance, but it is not something you can rely on to threaten the imperial family with! "

Xiao Jingran was enraged and angrily rebuked: "Princess Guanghua, this old subject is loyal to the imperial family and is willing to sacrifice his life for the emperor. You can target the Xiao family but you can't distort my Xiao family's sincerity!"

Shen Ninghua had raised the matter to the level of the imperial family. At this time, Xiao Jingran was only admitting his wrongs and begging for mercy, but if he were to refute, regardless of whether or not he could gain the upper hand in the end, his father would still have a knot in his heart. As for Xiao JingRan, who had been in high position for a long time, how could he allow Shen Ninghua to reprimand him without saying a word?

Seeing Shen Ninghua's incomparably delicate face, Baili Jinze's heart turned cold. What a good idea.

Shen Ninghua snorted coldly. "Since Old General Xiao has always been loyal to the imperial family, why is it that he doesn't care about the fact that there are people who aren't interested in damaging the prestige of the imperial family?"

"When has this old man ever ignored you?"

Shen Ninghua laughed coldly, the light in her eyes danced, "I've already said this before, I have no enmity with Miss Xiao, so why would I poison her? Furthermore, it's during your birthday banquet, the poison known as Purple Hibernation is extremely secretive, so it's too easy for one person to die in silence. Since I want Xiao Huan Xi to die, why would I let this matter spread like wildfire? Does Old General Xiao not understand such a simple plan? "

"A trap?" Xiao Jingran was stunned.

"Isn't it?" "The person behind this is obviously dissatisfied with the Imperial Family and doesn't dare to openly oppose the Imperial Family. He can only start from me, the adopted daughter whom the Imperial Family has recognized as their daughter, and use such a crude scheme to frame me, and then discredit the Imperial Family."

Xiao Jingran's face sank as her heart was filled with ridicule. She really dared to say that she had tarnished the imperial family's reputation. She was merely an adopted daughter and yet she thought that she was the royal princess.

The disdain on his face was too obvious. Baili Qingfeng was able to see it clearly. His gaze immediately dropped to the freezing point. Shen Ninghua was the princess whom she personally bestowed upon. If Xiao JingRan couldn't even care about her status, then how could he take her seriously?

At this moment, Xiao Feng Jue and the rest had arrived. They happened to overhear Shen Ning Hua's righteous words.

You clearly admitted in the Xiao family that you gave that hairpin to Yang Yingxue three days ago, and the poison on the hairpin was also spread on it three days ago. The main ingredient for Zi Shen was Jiangnan's Purple Sleeping Flower, which had a very short blooming period and was not easy to cultivate.

Shen Ninghua's expression changed abruptly. There was indeed a Purple Sleeping Flower in her house that Chu Junyi had sent over when she was young. She was extremely fond of it. She had been placed in a warm room to take care of it, and it was lush and verdant now.

"So what if I have the Purple Sleeping Flower in my residence?"

"Princess is skilled in the Way of Medicine, and there's also the Purple Sleep Flower in the mansion, is that not obvious enough?" Xiao Feng's voice was especially cold, carrying a hint of sharpness.

Shen Ninghua felt a chill run down her spine. The flowers that Chu Junyi had gifted him had become evidence that the Xiao family had attacked her today. What a coincidence!

"If you say so, then will you behead a third of the people in Jiangnan? Especially in Yang City, which family doesn't have some Purple Sleeping Ornamental Courtyards? "

"Princess knows what I'm going to say, so why pretend that she doesn't understand."

The corner of Shen Ninghua's lips suddenly raised as a cold light flashed in his eyes. Since the Xiao family wouldn't show her any mercy, there was no need for her to worry. Since someone from the Xiao family wanted to court death, she decided to send them off!

"Your Majesty, the adopted son of the Xiao family, Chu Junyi, requests an audience." Just as Shen Ninghua was about to retort, a report came in from outside the door.

Chu Junyi walked in quickly and knelt before him. "Your servant greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty. Long live your Majesty. Long live your Majesty."

Baili Qingfeng did not cry out. He lowered his eyes to look at the handsome young man kneeling on the ground and said with a serious expression, "What did you manage to find out by rushing over here?"

Chu Junyi raised her head and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I caught a servant on my way here. He's a servant of the Xiao family, but he brought five hundred silver taels with him in an attempt to leave the city."

"Oh? "Who is it? Bring them up here."

"Yes," Chu Junyi waved her hand for a servant to come over. It was the servant who had been ordered by Xiao Hengxi to lead the carriage into a collision, "In reply to the emperor, his name is Laifu. He was originally a servant of the Xiao family, and he obtained these silver notes from his body.

Baili Qingfeng frowned, "What does he have to do with this case?"