“Princess, His Highness the Crown Prince has fainted from anger again.”

Shen Xihe: …

Just the other day, she had enjoyed a pleasant conversation with Xiao Huayong, and yesterday she had heard his condition was improving.

She raised her hand, signaling Hong Yu to pause her grooming, and turned to look at Biyu beyond the beaded curtain: “How did he come to faint from anger?”

“The eldest young master of the Marquis of Wanping came to the Crown Prince to file a complaint, saying the Minister of Protocol had accepted bribes and wronged him regarding his inheritance of the title…”

Through Biyu’s narration, Shen Xihe understood the cause and effect.

The Wanping Marquis’s household was also an old meritorious family in the capital, their title having descended from a three-generation hereditary Duke to a Marquis.

Qu Yanguang’s father had still been a Marquis, but by his brother’s time he became a Baron, and by the next generation would become a Viscount.

Qu Yanguang’s background was somewhat complicated. His father, the former Marquis of Wanping, had been the second legitimate son, neither accomplished in letters nor martial arts nor was he a wastrel – he simply loved to travel.

He had married young to keep him settled, but later while traveling he encountered an accident and was saved by Qu Yanguang’s grandfather, who was an herb farmer with only one daughter.

The Marquis of Wanping had lost his memory then, and having been robbed of everything, could only stay in the mountains with Qu Yanguang’s grandfather. Over time, he developed feelings for Qu Yanguang’s mother, and under his grandfather’s blessing, they performed the ceremony and wrote a marriage contract, becoming legitimate husband and wife.

Later, after Qu Yanguang’s grandfather passed away, they moved from the mountains to town, opened a medicine shop, and Qu Yanguang set up an art stall. The couple lived quite harmoniously, and soon Qu Yanguang was born.

Not long after Qu Yanguang’s birth, the Marquis of Wanping disappeared one day, and this disappearance lasted seven years.

The Marquis had been forcibly taken back to the Wanping residence by servants. His father had passed away, his elder brother had died in an accident, and the great Wanping household was waiting for him to inherit.

Though he couldn’t remember these people, he knew it was all true. As a man, he had to shoulder the responsibility of the Wanping household. He sent people to fetch Qu Yanguang and his mother, not knowing that when he was taken away, Qu Yanguang’s grandmother had ordered him to kill the mother and keep the child.

By coincidence, Qu Yanguang and his mother had escaped disaster and gone into hiding.

Seven years later, Qu Yanguang’s mother fell gravely ill. They had no relatives left, and with no one to care for eight-year-old Qu Yanguang, his mother carefully inquired about the Marquis’s identity and sent him a letter.

Before the Marquis could arrive, Qu Yanguang’s mother passed away, and ultimately the Marquis brought Qu Yanguang back to the manor.

There was much trouble over his mother’s status – the current wife couldn’t become a stepmother, and the deceased wife couldn’t be considered a concubine.

Fortunately, Qu Yanguang’s birth mother had left a letter for the Marquis before her death, stating that her husband wasn’t the Marquis of Wanping. The Marquis erected her tomb under the identity she had married him with, and after the Marquis’s forceful argumentation, Qu Yanguang became the legitimate eldest son.

As a compromise, no heir apparent could be appointed while the Marquis lived.

Later when the Marquis passed away, the title was inherited by the Marchioness’s legitimate son, the second legitimate son.

The Ministry of Protocol’s duty: To distinguish legitimate from illegitimate heirs for those inheriting titles.

The reason Qu Yanguang couldn’t inherit the title was due to the current Minister of Protocol, Marquis Xianping Chen Zhong’s judgment.

It was said that Qu Yanguang had endured humiliation for three years to gather evidence.

“Why was the complaint brought before the Crown Prince?” Shen Xihe picked up Short-life who had run over to her.

“Word from the palace is that the Crown Prince’s recovery was due to acupuncture methods contributed by Qu Yanguang to a physician in the Imperial Medical Office,” Biyu replied with downcast eyes. “When His Highness inquired yesterday and learned of this, he summoned Qu Yanguang, who filed his complaint on the spot.”

After the Crown Prince sent people to verify, he summoned the Marquis of Xianping early this morning. The Marquis spoke outrageous words in the Eastern Palace, causing His Highness to faint.

“Outrageous words?” Shen Xihe asked.

“It’s said… the Marquis of Xianping told His Highness not to meddle in affairs that don’t concern him, implied His Highness wouldn’t live long, and even mocked him for having no power or influence…” Biyu tactfully related what she had learned, as the original words were truly too unspeakable.

“How could the Marquis of Xianping, who rose to be one of the Nine Ministers as Minister of Protocol, be such an unrestrained person?” Shen Xihe didn’t believe it.

That day in the Lotus Garden, the Marquis’s cautious nature had been somewhat evident.

“It’s true, overheard clearly by the Minister of Rites and the Director of the Imperial Clan Court who had come to discuss His Highness’s coming-of-age ceremony,” Biyu also felt it unlike the Marquis’s character, but there were witnesses. “The Marquis has been imprisoned.”

If the Sixth Prince Xiao Changyu could make Xiao Huayong cough blood and kneel at the palace gates, forcing him to seek Snow Lotus in Tianshan, who was Chen Zhong to act so?

Xiao Huayong had just recovered – if anything happened to him, it would be a capital offense!

However, this matter wasn’t over. The next day at court, a memorial from Southern Shu was presented, listing various evil deeds committed by the Marquis of Xianping’s heir Chen Yi over the years to accumulate merit, though previously there had been no evidence.

Three days ago, Chen Yi had shown his true colors and was caught with ironclad evidence.

When Inspector Tao’s impeachment rang out clearly in the great hall, it was like a slap across Emperor Youning’s face.

Years ago, the King of Southern Shu had repeatedly submitted memorials requesting Chen Yi’s transfer, while Chen Yi had also filed complaints about the King’s unfair rewards and deliberate suppression. Emperor Youning had always sided with Chen Yi.

Now with ironclad evidence, the Censorate listed several crimes of the Xianping household, including embezzlement of tribute goods.

It should be known that all tribute items were first recorded with the Ministry of Protocol, which would assess their value and determine the quantity of return gifts.

Before all his officials, Emperor Youning ordered the Imperial Investigators to search the Xianping residence, where they found five chests of gold, silver, and jewels, including some precious treasures from foreign lands, even more beautiful and exquisite than those in the national treasury.

These treasures were brought into Mingzheng Hall, and Emperor Youning’s face darkened as he looked at them – so he, as Emperor, had only received what the Marquis of Xianping had left over!

The Marquis of Xianping Chen Zhong and Chen Yi were both sentenced to immediate execution, the Xianping estate was confiscated, the women were sent to the palace as servants, and the male members were sentenced to exile three thousand li away.

“Who exactly is orchestrating this?” Shen Xihe fell into deep thought.

Just one day – in one day the Xianping household had completely crumbled, several times faster and more ruthless than her methods.

Although she would have plotted similarly, she couldn’t have done it so cleanly and decisively. At least the Marquis would have had a chance to bite back and plead innocence, and if he had managed his affairs well over the years, perhaps someone might have worked to overturn the verdict.

But when this person struck, Chen Zhong didn’t even have a chance to breathe before becoming a dead man.

“Princess, could it be… His Highness the Crown Prince?” Biyu asked softly.

“What would be the purpose?” Shen Xihe asked. “Besides eliminating the Xianping household, what would he gain? He has no one to place in the Minister of Protocol position. Moreover, if he were orchestrating this, he shouldn’t have put himself at the forefront.”

After all, Chen Zhong had first angered him to fainting, then immediately the memorial from Southern Shu arrived timely, followed by the Censorate’s impeachment.

“Every step of this was calculated with absolute precision.”

This series of bombshells forced Emperor Youning to make a clean-cut, shocking all his officials.