The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 178 Reclaiming Military Power

A moment later, a young man dressed in fine clothes came in from outside. He walked hurriedly and seemed very anxious.

The newcomer was none other than the Third Prince, Jing Fengyu. He bore a striking resemblance to Consort Yu, with long, narrow phoenix eyes, thick eyelashes, and handsome features. Although he was still young and had not fully matured, he was already a dashing young man.

Jing Fengyu was travel-worn, having just returned from Lanzhou with Lord Hu last night. Upon returning to the palace, he heard the news that Consort Yu had been murdered.

"Father, please, Father, do me a favor!" The Third Prince knelt down in the main hall with a thud, his voice filled with sorrow.

Seeing this, Yu Chong also stepped forward and knelt beside Jing Fengyu. Jing Fengyu turned to look at Yu Chong, then suddenly threw himself into Yu Chong's arms and burst into tears, "Grandfather... I... I have no mother anymore..."

Moved by the scene, Yu Chong also wiped away his tears.

An old man and a young boy embraced and wept bitterly, their cries filling the quiet court.

“Your Majesty,” Li Cong, who was standing to the side, said.

"The Third Prince lost his mother at a young age, which is truly pitiful. Now that the evidence is sufficient, Your Majesty should uphold justice."

Emperor Jing remained silent, gazing at the weeping Jing Fengyu, his thoughts racing. After a long while, he finally said, "What you say is true, my dear minister. Since that's the case, then..."

“Your Majesty!” Fang Ling stepped forward, his tone earnest. “Your Majesty, although we have evidence, we have no witnesses. It’s possible that someone has framed us.”

Li Cong has always been an upright person, and he always speaks the truth. He looked at Fang Ling and said firmly, "The Prince's mansion is heavily guarded. Does Lord Fang think that someone has extraordinary abilities to break into the Prince's mansion and steal the hairpin?"

“Just as Lord Li said, even if Prince Qing and the Imperial Concubine have some grudge, there is no way they would use the Seven-Colored Sparrow Hairpin, which can prove their identity, to commit a crime. Wouldn’t that be walking into a trap?” Zhou Hai said hurriedly after Fang Ling spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Jing Fengyu, who was sobbing on the ground, suddenly seemed to remember something. He wiped away his tears and choked out, "Father, I remember now. My mother's walnut pastry made unfortunately caused Sister Rou to fall into a coma, but that was not my mother's intention."

"My mother has done wrong and is already being punished in the Cold Palace. Now she has met with misfortune, and there is a woman from the Prince Qing's mansion at the scene. Connecting all the dots, the truth is about to be revealed. I beg Father Emperor to do justice for my mother!"

Jing Fengyu was young and usually quite carefree. Although he had some knowledge of court politics, he was completely clueless compared to these old foxes in the court. Therefore, he couldn't see through the situation and said whatever came to mind.

“That’s true, it might be a case of holding a grudge and seeking revenge.” The speaker was none other than Prime Minister Chu. He bowed respectfully and said, “I ask Your Majesty to make the decision.”

"Your Majesty!" Zhou Hai and Fang Ling pleaded for Prince Qing at the same time.

"cough~"

Emperor Jing cleared his throat. Eunuch Wei glanced at Emperor Jing with concern and then secretly waved to the palace servants guarding the door. The servants quickly tucked the curtains in to prevent the cold wind from blowing in.

Emperor Jing looked at the officials standing and kneeling in the hall before speaking, "What you all say makes sense."

"Although we have evidence now, it is not sufficient to prove that Prince Qing killed someone. But if it was not Prince Qing, the murder weapon came from the Prince's residence, which puts me in a difficult position!" Emperor Jing looked troubled.

Seeing that the situation was about right, Yang Rushan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Jing Kingdom governs by law. Without etiquette and law, the world will be in chaos; without punishment, the people will disregard the law. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise judgment! Give the Imperial Concubine justice! Set a good example for the people!"

As soon as Emperor Jing finished speaking, the officials looked at each other in bewilderment, and then said in unison, "Please make your decision, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Jing nodded. “What you say is very true, my dear minister. In that case, to maintain peace in the realm, uphold the laws of Jing State, and exonerate the Consort, I hereby issue an edict to reclaim the military power of the Prince of Qing’s territory, forbidding him from leaving the capital without orders, and to impose a three-year salary penalty as punishment.”

Yuan Hong's eyes darted around, and he realized what was going on. He thought to himself: So this is the crux of the matter.

Emperor Jing's voice was strong, without a trace of its previous hoarseness.

So this was Emperor Jing's true purpose. Zhou Hai and Fang Ling exchanged a glance, both feeling uneasy. This was an attempt to sideline Prince Qing; they had come prepared.

Zhou Hai wanted to say something more, but Fang Ling stopped him. The two sighed inwardly, yet there was nothing they could do.

The Taiyu Hall was bustling with activity, while the Jiying Hall remained calm.

Now that Jing Rou is confined to the Prince's Mansion and Kou Shuran is "recuperating" in the Princess's Mansion, there is only Jing Anle among the female relatives, which feels rather desolate compared to the past.

The men's section was fully occupied, but Jing Fengyao seemed preoccupied. Jing Anle glanced over and noticed that he spent most of the class in a daze.

The affairs of the imperial family have always been ever-changing, and no one bothered to inquire about the matter between Jing Rou and Kou Shuran.

Besides watching Jing Fengyao, Jing Anle was also secretly watching Qi Zhi. He had been in Jing Kingdom for so long, and although he had crippled Murong Peifeng, it was far from enough. Moreover, it was time for his drama with Jing Rou to begin.

Although it was Murong Peifeng and Prince Qing who rebelled in the previous life, it was ultimately the Qi Kingdom that fueled the rebellion and aided and abetted the evildoers. Therefore, Qi Zhi had to be wary of them.

Seemingly noticing Jing Anle's gaze, Qi Zhi glanced sideways, but Jing Anle had just looked away.

Qi Zhi didn't think Jing Anle was interested in him. After all, he had witnessed Jing Anle's "power" at the Princess's mansion last time. Even if Jing Anle was beautiful, he wouldn't like a woman like that.

Xiao Heng, who was sitting in the back, naturally saw this scene as well. He wasn't jealous, but he knew that something was going on and he was determined to find Jing Anle and ask her about it when he had time.

During the lesson, Chi Wenyuan lectured with great enthusiasm, but the listeners had different thoughts on their minds.