Xiang Yunrou always had absolute faith in Shen Yunfeng's words. She buried her head in his chest and responded softly, "Okay. I'll tell the eldest brother about this plan later."
"Will you still miss Mu Lanyue after you return to the Great Yong, Shen Lang?"
As the most beloved princess of the Xiangyun Kingdom, Xiang Yunrou was usually proud. But in front of the man she loved, she suddenly felt a twinge of inferiority.
Seeing the insecure Xiang Yunrou, a flicker of heartache flashed across Shen Yunfeng's eyes. He hugged her tightly and said, "For you, I even abandoned Mu Lanyue's three children. If you still doubt my sincerity, I'll be really heart - broken."
Xiang Yunrou thought about it and realized he was right. She then regained her usual self and started joking with Shen Yunfeng.
...
The Qianqing Palace.
After the emperor read the evidence presented by Shen Qingshan, a storm raged in his heart. He had thought Shen Qingshan was just making random accusations, but unexpectedly, these were the ledger and confidential letters related to the embezzlement case.
After a cursory glance at the ledger, the emperor closed it. Doubts welled up in his mind. Could it be that Sima Bai was really the culprit of the embezzlement case?
The emperor showed no emotion on his face. He casually tossed the ledger on the table and laughed, "It's just a ledger. It's not difficult to forge. It's hard to prove it's related to Xu Zeyuan just based on this."
Shen Qingshan let out a soft sigh, looking truly concerned about the country and its people. "Your Majesty, although the ledger is written in black and white and can be easily forged, very few people know the amounts and details inside. Back then, the natural disaster was extremely severe. Not only did all the officials donate money, but even your private treasury was used. Even if it's a forgery, presumably only the embezzler could have done it."
"The origin of this ledger is also very strange. A few years ago, when I was traveling outside, I accidentally met an old woman in the countryside. She murmured Xu Zeyuan's name. After giving me the ledger, she drowned herself in the water."
"At first, I didn't understand the reason, so I didn't present the ledger to Your Majesty immediately. Instead, I conducted a private investigation. It was only after I found the confidential letters that I realized the ledger was related to the embezzlement case back then."
"Alas, it was also my timidity. Just when Your Majesty promoted Xu Zeyuan to the position of prefect, I didn't dare to present the evidence. I could only lie low secretly... Until today, Xu Zeyuan actually used Baozhu to threaten me. Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and rescued Baozhu. Otherwise, I would have felt ashamed of the Mu family and General Mu!"
Although Shen Qingshan seemed to be saying he was timid, he was actually hinting at the great power of Prime Minister Sima. He didn't dare to oppose him and also paved the way for the emperor.
Although it was the emperor who forced Shen Qingshan to "retire to his hometown" and it was also the emperor who supported Prime Minister Sima, the emperor loved his people like his own children. He even took out his private treasury to relieve the disaster. This time, it was also the emperor's wisdom that rescued Shen Baozhu, which gave Shen Qingshan the courage to accuse Xu Zeyuan.
Finally, he even brought up the Mu family to support himself. Even though Shen Yunfeng had divorced the Princess of Jingning, Shen Baozhu had the blood of the Mu family in her veins, so this matter was also related to the Mu family.
As Shen Qingshan spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. He put on a great show. Just by watching his performance, no one could have guessed that he was the mastermind of the embezzlement case back then.
Shen Baozhu only heard Shen Qingshan chattering on and on. Every word was hard to understand. She looked up at the empty air for help. "What is grandfather talking about?"
The Dragon King: [He's putting on a show!]
Lin Yu: [Xu Zeyuan not only deceived in marriage but also embezzled? He's really a scourge!]
The Green Cloud Immortal: [He's framing Xu Zeyuan to clear himself.]
Lin Yu: [He's framing Xu Zeyuan?]
The Dragon King: [Sure! He's Shen Yunfeng's father. How could he be a good person?]
The Dragon King: [But what grudge does he have against the Xu family? Xu Zeyuan is quite an unremarkable person. How did he get on his radar?]
The Dragon King still remembered that when Shen Baozhu told the emperor about Xu Yutang, the emperor had to think for a long time before he could even remember the Xu prefect.
Logically speaking, Shen Qingshan should have looked down on Xu Zeyuan. He was useless and only got promoted because of Sima Bai's support. He only targeted Xu Zeyuan thanks to Shen Haiyan's help.
Thinking of Shen Baozhu, the emperor managed to hold back his anger. Even though Shen Qingshan repeatedly mentioned the embezzlement case back then and the fetus the queen had miscarried, the emperor only frowned slightly instead of flying into a rage and starting a massacre.
Seeing that the emperor showed no reaction, Shen Qingshan couldn't hold back his impatience and was about to speak.
Just then, Ping Hai came back with the evening meal. The emperor told Shen Qingshan to go back first and they would discuss this matter tomorrow. He wanted to have his meal.
Delaying the emperor's meal could be a serious or a minor matter. Moreover, Shen Qingshan was now just a commoner without any official position. He had no choice but to leave first.
As soon as Shen Qingshan left, the emperor angrily threw the teacup on the table to the ground. Looking at the shattered teacup, the emperor was determined to punish the embezzler with the torture of being torn apart by horses.
The senior eunuch trembled and instinctively wanted to cover Shen Baozhu's eyes. "Don't be afraid, little princess. His Majesty is just too anxious..."
Before the senior eunuch could finish, Shen Baozhu ran out. She looked at the emperor. "Does Uncle Emperor have a difficult problem? Baozhu can ask the immortals for you."
"That big golden dragon is just a clone of the immortal. The real body of the immortal is really powerful!"
"The real body is so long and so tall that it can sweep away mountains just by flicking its tail. Uncle Emperor can tell Baozhu without worry."
The Dragon King: [That's right. I'm just that powerful.]
Shen Baozhu could sense the emperor's fondness for the Dragon King, so she specifically mentioned the Dragon King.
Just as Shen Baozhu had thought, the emperor's expression changed from anger to surprise, but then quickly turned to melancholy.
The emperor waved his hand to dismiss the palace servants in the study. For the first time, he confided to someone, "I'm not a good emperor."
"Everyone says I love my people like my own children, but actually, I have resentment in my heart. I can't control my resentment towards them."
"Does Baozhu know the eldest princess? She was my first child. I looked forward to her birth every day. But because of that assassination, she became a mass of flesh and blood."
"I resent those assassins, but they were also poor people. Their relatives died in the natural disaster. They begged all the way to the capital and found that the emperor in the palace was celebrating the arrival of his child..."
The famine - stricken refugees became assassins, and the palace servants who had lost their loved ones were their inside helpers. These unarmed and miserable people joined hands to plan this assassination.
The queen blocked a sword for the emperor and lost the child in her womb.
The emperor had poor judgment in people. He appointed corrupt officials, which led to this disaster. As a result, he had nowhere to pour out his grievances.
The Dragon King: [Tsk, it's an indescribable feeling. It's so strange?]
Lin Yu: [In this dynasty, there was a natural disaster. The money the emperor allocated for disaster relief was embezzled. The people were displaced. They joined forces with the palace servants to assassinate the emperor. The pregnant queen blocked a sword for the emperor and miscarried.]
Lin Yu: [The embezzlement case was not thoroughly investigated back then. Now, Baozhu's grandfather presents evidence and says that Xu Zeyuan is the embezzler.]
Lin Yu: [No wonder the immortal said it was a slander. Xu Zeyuan probably doesn't have the ability.]
The Dragon King, who had made a hasty judgment based on the stereotype of the Shen family: [Why do you say so?]
Lin Yu: [Judging from the outcome, the embezzlement case was very serious. If Xu Zeyuan had the ability to embezzle, how could he have raised a useless son like Xu Yusong?]
Lin Yu: [It's understandable that Xu Yutang's father was useless. Maybe it was because he had no experience in raising children for the first time. But if his grandson is still like this, it's enough to show that Xu Zeyuan has no ability.]
The Green Cloud Immortal: [When Xu Yusong boasted about killing someone, Xu Zeyuan was very shocked, which means he didn't know about it.]
Lin Yu added, "If he could be deceived by Xu Yusong, it shows his ability..."
The Dragon King: [I understand!]
After the emperor poured out his heart, he turned to Shen Baozhu for help. "Baozhu, can you ask the immortals if the embezzlement case is related to Xu Zeyuan?"
Shen Baozhu looked at the subtitles and shook her head firmly. "Xu Zeyuan doesn't have the ability to embezzle."