The emperor had long witnessed the power of the Truth - Revealing Talisman. As soon as Shen Baozhu pasted it on, he couldn't wait to ask Cui Zhengping, "Who was behind the embezzlement case all those years ago?"
Cui Zhengping wanted to say he didn't know, but somehow, the truth slipped out of his mouth, "Shen Qingshan."
His eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head in denial. However, his mouth continued uncontrollably, "Shen Qingshan's eldest son, Shen Yunlin, owed gambling debts. He originally intended to embezzle just a little to pay off his son's debts."
"But unexpectedly, the Prince Rui intervened and replaced the silver with supplies. So Shen Qingshan colluded with the then Minister of Revenue to pass off inferior goods as superior ones and fill the containers less than required. The embezzled supplies were all sold by Shen Qingshan elsewhere for money."
Upon learning the long - sought - after truth, the emperor was enraged and slapped the table.
The Princess Jingning's eyes flickered slightly. She was even more glad that she had divorced Shen Yunfeng. She also secretly hoped that the emperor would fly into a rage and preferably raid the Shen family.
Dragon King: [There's also something about the Prince Rui?]
Dragon King: [Ask more. Find out everything about the Cui family!]
The Princess Jingning looked at the dishes on the table. She asked the maid to pick out Shen Baozhu's favorite ones and then took her to the side hall to eat.
Shen Baozhu was a bit reluctant. "Mother, I want to watch the bad guy tell the truth."
"If your elder brother wants you to go to bed early and get up early to study with him, would you be willing?" The Princess Jingning mentioned Shen Heqing, and Shen Baozhu felt extremely guilty.
At first, she remembered her elder brother's instructions and studied and practiced calligraphy seriously. But as time passed, she threw them to the back of her mind.
These days, she had so much fun playing with Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince that she even thought it was nice that her elder brother was not at home.
Under the Princess Jingning's gaze, Shen Baozhu's head hung lower and lower, and her voice was extremely soft. "Then, then Baozhu won't watch."
Dragon King: [I also want to watch. Don't go, little cutie.]
With the Dragon King's subtitle, Shen Baozhu was overjoyed. She felt a bit justified and lifted her head. "It's not that Baozhu wants to watch. It's the immortal who wants to."
Lin Yu: [Baozhu is like a fox borrowing the tiger's might.]
Lin Yu: [Baozhu, be obedient and go to the side hall. You're here, and it'll affect the emperor's performance.]
Dragon King: [How does it affect?]
Lin Yu: [Are you only focused on the excitement and staring at the Cui brothers?]
Dragon King: [Who else should I look at?]
Qingyun True Man: [Look at the emperor.]
After being reminded, the Dragon King and Shen Baozhu both looked at the emperor at the same time.
Dragon King: [Wow! Why are the emperor's eyes red?]
Shen Baozhu was also startled and worriedly said, "Uncle Emperor's eyes are red. Is he sick?"
The Princess Jingning grabbed Shen Baozhu's hand to stop her from going to the emperor. "Your Majesty is just too angry. Baozhu, go to the side hall obediently to eat. He'll be fine in a while."
"Only the immortal... Baozhu will explain it to the immortal and come back later."
There was no need for Shen Baozhu to explain, as the immortals had already stopped watching.
Dragon King: [Forget it. Little cutie, you'd better leave. I won't watch anymore.]
After the Princess Jingning took Shen Baozhu to the side hall, the emperor reached out and picked up a pen holder on the table and threw it at Cui Zhengping's face.
"Have I not treated you and the Cui family well?"
"You've advanced smoothly in your career, and your younger sister entered the palace as a noble lady and became a concubine even before having a child. Why did you help Shen Qingshan?"
When the emperor first ascended the throne, Shen Qingshan held great power in the court. He took in many promising scholars as his students, and almost all the Jinshi in those years were his students.
Cui Zhengping passed the Jinshi examination in those years. The emperor trusted those he employed and didn't use those he didn't trust. He had tested Cui Zhengping several times and regarded him as his confidant, even making him the Minister of Personnel.
Even after learning that Concubine Li had switched the princes, the emperor still trusted him. However, this trust was betrayed by Cui Zhengping.
Cui Zhengping entered the court to serve as an official several years after the embezzlement case. Although he didn't participate in the embezzlement case, he knew so much about it, which meant he had investigated it.
Cui Zhengping knew how much the emperor cared about the embezzlement case but still protected Shen Qingshan.
Under the effect of the Truth - Revealing Talisman, Cui Zhengping couldn't lie to the emperor. "You've been good to us, but I still wanted a higher position. Why can Yin Wenyun be the queen while my younger sister is just a concubine? The Cui family is much more powerful than the Yin family."
"I only found out why Shen Qingshan embezzled, but I didn't have more evidence. I thought that if I found more and presented it all at once, I could make great contributions and get my younger sister promoted to the noble concubine."
"Shen Qingshan noticed that I knew about this. He gave me a box of gold and said he could help me. I couldn't resist the temptation and agreed."
In short, Cui Zhengping was insatiably greedy.
The emperor was so angry that he was speechless. He pointed at Ping Hai and told him to scold.
Ping Hai was stunned and pointed at himself. "This servant?"
The grand eunuch pushed Ping Hai in front of Cui Zhengping. "Scold him. Remember to keep your voice down. The little princess is in the side hall. Don't let her hear these words."
Ping Hai carefully looked at the emperor. After getting a nod from the emperor, he rolled up his sleeves and started scolding, from Cui Zhengping to the Cui family, then from the Cui family to the Third Prince, and finally back to Cui Zhengping.
"The Cui family only achieved something in your generation, while the ancestors of the Yin family were founding heroes."
"How dare you ask? The queen and His Majesty were young lovers. The queen even blocked an injury for His Majesty and lost the eldest princess. How can the Cui family, who serves with beauty, compare with this kind of affection?"
"The queen has taught the Third Prince very well. But the Cui family is good. In just a few days, she has spoiled the Third Prince, making him disrespectful to his superiors and bully others at will."
"In this servant's opinion, the arrogance of the Third Prince comes from you. You're just a Minister of Personnel, yet you dared to commit the great crime of switching the princes and disrupting the court!"
At first, Ping Hai scolded cautiously, but later he got carried away and pointed at Cui Zhengping while scolding.
Cui Zhengping was so angry at Ping Hai that his eyes bulged. But because of the Truth - Revealing Talisman, he could only tell the truth from his heart. He not only didn't scold back but also revealed a lot of things.
For example, not long after Concubine Cui switched the princes, she missed her child and planned to switch the child back. She sent a message to Cui Zhengping asking for a way to do it, but was stopped by him.
Cui Zhengping wanted the bloodline of the Cui family to be the crown prince. Afraid that the Fourth Prince would seize the Third Prince's position if the matter was exposed in the future, he asked Shen Qingshan for the "Childe's Lament" to poison and make the Fourth Prince stupid.
Another example was that he helped the Third Prince suppress the dissatisfaction of the Yan family and guided the Yan family to hate the Yin family. If the Third Prince hadn't beaten Yin Susu, he might have succeeded.
Maybe some people don't care about their daughters, but the Yin family has more capable women. Before the queen got married, she managed the Yin family's affairs. By the generation of Yin Susu, they cherished their daughters even more. Even if it was for show, they wouldn't be willing to use their daughters.
He also stopped Concubine Cui from getting close to the Third Prince, driving her almost crazy. It was not until recently that he found that the Third Prince didn't look like the Cui family that he allowed Concubine Cui to look for the Third Prince.
The emperor finally understood why Concubine Cui suddenly got close to the Third Prince and abused the Fourth Prince.
Thinking that his two sons had been harmed by the selfishness of Cui Zhengping and Concubine Cui, the emperor's anger was almost out of control. He asked some more questions about Shen Qingshan.
What Cui Zhengping had was the last letter left by the then Minister of Revenue. But that letter was hidden in a book in the bedroom and had been completely burned in the fire.
The emperor asked Cui Zhengping, "Do you remember the content of that letter?"
Cui Zhengping wanted to shake his head, but under the effect of the Truth - Revealing Talisman, he recited the letter word for word.
The emperor looked at the grand eunuch beside him. "Find someone to imitate the handwriting and write it out."