Xie Lang instinctively took a step forward, leading his horse. There was a hint of displeasure in his eyes as he looked at the person in front of him. "Your Highness."
Zhou Chengyu stood there quietly. When he saw Shen Mingzhu, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He looked at her and heaved a long sigh. "It's good that you're okay."
Xie Lang was extremely annoyed. He sized up Zhou Chengyu with a rather judgmental look and said, "What do you mean by this? I wonder what brings Lord Zhou here all of a sudden and what he intends to do?"
Zhou Chengyu just sighed. He looked deeply at Shen Mingzhu and said, "Your Highness, half of the capital was in an uproar last night."
Shen Mingzhu didn't know what to say for a moment. So she said to Zhou Chengyu, "Thank you."
Xie Lang watched their awkward conversation coldly. Seeing that Shen Mingzhu didn't continue talking to Zhou Chengyu, he felt a sense of comfort. His look towards Zhou Chengyu became a bit friendlier.
"Your Highness!"
The guards saw Shen Mingzhu and surrounded her one after another.
Seeing this, Shen Mingzhu got on her horse. She scanned the area and said to Xie Lang, "Let's go back first. Has Sister Xi Yu returned?"
"She has. I sent someone to take her back last night." As Xie Lang said this, he also scanned the area. When he saw his own men, he gave them a slight look. Then he turned to Shen Mingzhu who had just dismounted and said, "Are you going into the palace?"
"Yes."
Shen Mingzhu didn't expect Xie Lang to guess her intention right away. Her hand paused for a moment and she said, "Do you want to go with me?"
Xie Lang nodded.
Shen Mingzhu let out a soft laugh. "If we go early, we might still be able to catch lunch when we come back."
Moreover, she couldn't let this suffering go in vain. Just as she came out, she saw several secret guards giving her a look. It seemed that they had discovered something interesting.
On the side, Zhou Chengyu's face was gloomy.
...
"Do you have anything else to say?"
Shen Mingyuan sat on the dragon throne. Looking at the ministers below, he suddenly let out a laugh.
The great hall was completely silent.
Who didn't know that the capital had been in an uproar last night? Princess Mingzhu, Shen Mingzhu, had been attacked at the White Horse Temple outside the city. Originally, many people thought that Shen Mingyuan would take this opportunity to deal a fatal blow to her. Unexpectedly, he acted in an unusual way. He even mobilized the imperial guards in the city and got extremely angry.
At this time, many on - lookers came to their senses. Seeing Shen Mingyuan's emphasis on Shen Mingzhu, they all felt self - endangered. They were afraid that their previous actions of throwing stones at Shen Mingzhu when she was down would be discovered.
So during today's court session, many people kept their mouths tightly shut. Seeing the expressionless man sitting on the throne, they didn't dare to say a single word.
After Shen Mingyuan finished speaking, he looked at the people below with a half - smile. His expression was calm, with a hint of indescribable coldness.
Suddenly, he remembered the first time Shen Mingzhu had brought him here. At that time, the ministers had also looked like this, standing there tremblingly, afraid of offending the person on the dragon throne.
"Father."
Shen Mingzhu led Shen Mingyuan by the hand and said to the person above, "The third younger brother was assassinated. This is a serious crime of harming the imperial heir. Please, Father, investigate it thoroughly. We must not let go of the culprit behind this."
Shen Mingyuan used to be an unpopular prince. Compared with other princes, he was simply a poor thing.
"Sister."
He tugged at Shen Mingzhu's sleeve and said uneasily, "It's not a big deal. Anyway, I'm fine now. You don't have to..."
Before he could finish his words, the crown prince beside him rubbed his forehead and glanced at his younger sister. Then he said indifferently, "Please, Father, investigate it thoroughly."
Shen Mingyuan's expression became a bit dazed when he thought of the past. The great eunuch beside him stepped forward and asked him, "Your Majesty, what's your intention?"
Shen Mingyuan completely came back to his senses. He gave the eunuch a cold look and said, "Not yet."
The silence in the great hall made people feel uneasy. Shen Mingyuan looked at them, and there was a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Last night, Zhou Chengyu had sent him something interesting. If he waited a bit more today, he might be able to watch a wonderful show.
After a while, the silence in the great hall was broken. A guard rushed in hurriedly and knelt down. "Your Majesty, the princess requests an audience."
"Let her in."
"What? The princess?"
"Isn't the princess..."
"Hiss, there must be something big going on!"
The people below immediately became restless. Seeing Shen Mingyuan's suddenly cold expression, the great eunuch quickly said, "Silence!"
"The princess is coming!"
Shen Mingzhu was wearing the old clothes from yesterday. She looked in a mess but was calm. She saluted Shen Mingyuan on the throne and then said, "Your Majesty, I'm here today to report something important."
"What is it?" Shen Mingyuan smiled and said gently to Shen Mingzhu, "Sister, just say it."
Hearing Shen Mingyuan's address of "sister", the people below couldn't help but look at each other. Their eyes were full of meaningful expressions.
This... It seemed that the emperor's attitude towards Shen Mingzhu was really different from before.
"First of all, I want to report that the Xue family tried to assassinate me."
"Absolutely impossible!"
A person from the Xue family immediately stood up and said to Shen Mingyuan, "Your Majesty, please distinguish clearly! How could I possibly have the audacity to attack Princess Mingzhu?"
Shen Mingzhu let out a soft laugh.
At first, she didn't even notice the Xue family. It was not until on the way back just now that Xie Lang suddenly mentioned that the Xue family was the family of the woman who had caused a ruckus at the Xie family's banquet last time.
The Xue family was in - law with the Zhou family, but their power was not as great as that of the Zhou family. They usually acted very cautiously.
Thinking of this, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh softly. She continued, "If you don't have the audacity, then who in the whole world has such courage as you?"
"I also ask the emperor to investigate thoroughly." Shen Mingzhu said with a calm expression, "The Xue family is involved in the illegal salt trade. All the evidence is here. Chuntao, present it."
"This is absolutely impossible!"
The person from the Xue family had completely lost his color. He murmured, "How is it possible! Absolutely impossible..."
"Your Majesty, I'm wronged!"
Shen Mingyuan took the brochures from Chuntao's hand. He said to Shen Mingzhu amiably, "Does sister have any other evidence?"
Shen Mingzhu said, "No."
These pieces of evidence were enough to give the Xue family a hard time. Even if they could clear themselves, they would definitely be severely damaged.
How could Shen Mingzhu alone investigate the whole matter of the illegal salt trade? It was just that her people took advantage of her recent danger and spread the news. So those people thought that the people she had sent to watch them had been withdrawn. Then they were in a hurry to make a deal and sell the goods that had been piled up for a long time.
If these people hadn't been so impatient, she might not have found anything.
Hearing this, Shen Mingyuan nodded slightly to Shen Mingzhu. Then he picked up the letters and brochures and looked through them one by one.
"Not bad, embezzlement while on duty?" He laughed without looking up. "I didn't expect that a small Xue family would be so audacious. They actually sent people to embezzle while on duty and then shifted the blame to the mountain bandits?"
The person from the Xue family immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Shen Mingzhu in disbelief.