Consort Li’s evidence for falsely passing an imperial decree to summon Su Jin to the palace was insufficient, but her using dicine to plot against the Emperor was conclusive. Having committed such a mistake, the Phoenix Seal can no longer remain in her hands.
The Emperor took back the Phoenix Seal.
Consort Li was so infuriated that she wished to flay the person who had given her the advice.
When the Emperor was punishing Consort Li, the Empress Dowager arrived.
She naturally ca to advocate for the Empress, and the Phoenix Seal should be returned to the Empress.
The Emperor glanced at the Empress, "Has Shouning morized the palace regulations?"
With one sentence, the Empress was left speechless and embarrassed.
If Princess Shouning could have morized the palace regulations, the Phoenix Seal that fell into Consort Li’s hands would have long been taken back, rather than waiting until now.
The Empress said nothing, and the Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and said, "That thick book of palace regulations, making Shouning morize it is indeed too difficult. As I see, Shouning has reflected a lot these days, and the Emperor should not vent his anger on the Empress because of Shouning’s faults."
"If Princess Consort Zhenbei was rely the Marquis Mansion’s daughter, it would be fine, but if she were also a princess, punishing Shouning alone would be biased."
Eunuch Fu glanced at the Empress Dowager.
Princess Consort Zhenbei has not even been restored as a princess, yet the Empress Dowager is already preparing punishnt for her.
If Marquis Dongxiang knew about this, he would probably be even less inclined for the Emperor to acknowledge his daughter.
The Emperor’s gaze towards the Empress was icy cold.
The words that Mrs. Tang had said to him today, the Emperor rembered every single one.
It was the nanny next to the Empress, Nanny Zhou, who wanted to bury his daughter alive.
However, at the ti, only Mrs. Tang witnessed it, and standing up to accuse Nanny Zhou recklessly would certainly be counterproductive.
The person who most wanted Su Jin’s life in the harem was known clearly to the Emperor.
Simply taking back the Phoenix Seal undervalues the Emperor’s authority.
Consort Li looked at the Emperor and said, "Emperor, please discern clearly. The matter of the false imperial decree was clearly soone framing . I have no enmity with Princess Consort Zhenbei and would not plot against her, let alone want her life!"
"If I speak any falsehood, may I not die a good death!"
"On the contrary, the Empress deliberately makes it difficult for Princess Consort Zhenbei. In terms of suspicion, the Empress is greater than I!"
Consort Li bit back at the Empress, and the Empress’s face changed, "Consort Li!"
"All evidence points to you, yet you throw mud at !"
Consort Li smiled coldly, "I was montarily unaware and was used by soone, but I will never admit to sothing I didn’t do!"
Seeing that Consort Li and the Empress were about to start a full-blown argunt, the Emperor was at his wits’ end.
"Everyone calm down!" the Emperor ordered angrily.
His gaze swept across, pointing out two concubines, instructing them to jointly hold the Phoenix Seal and manage the harem.
The choice of these two individuals was extrely clever.
One was an attendant of Consort Li, and the other a confidante of the Empress.
Eunuch Fu’s mouth twitched upon seeing this.
The Emperor seed to fear that the flas in the harem were not big enough and added more fuel to the fire.
The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor, "Emperor, you...."
The Emperor did not give the Empress Dowager a chance to speak, looking at the Empress and said, "Can my daughter not even morize the palace regulations?!"
Consort Li was stripped of the Phoenix Seal and sentenced to house arrest for three months.
Such a punishnt was indeed severe.
Under the excuse of fatigue, the Emperor dismissed the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
The Emperor understood that this case was difficult to investigate. Falsely passing an imperial decree was a cri warranting the execution of nine kin. Without absolute certainty, who would dare take such a great risk?
The Empress supported the Empress Dowager back to Hanyuan Hall.
The Empress, unable to swallow her anger, complained to the Empress Dowager, only to run directly into her wrath.
"A book of palace regulations, morized for so long, even a fool should be able to recite it backwards!" the Empress Dowager said angrily.
After throwing out this sentence, the Empress Dowager stord off, shaking her sleeves.
The Empress’s face flushed with purple in anger, she stomped her feet and went to Fengyang Palace to admonish her daughter.
Fuming, the Empress went to Fengyang Palace, without notification, intending to see how her daughter usually morized the palace regulations in her chamber.
Upon entering, she overheard Princess Shouning and her two confidantes scheming to poison Prince NanAn.
Prince NanAn had been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, and Princess Shouning considered this a great opportunity to first poison him into a frail state and then snatch him.
The Empress stood there listening for a while, nearly having a stroke from anger.
How could her daughter’s mind be so lacking?!
Prince NanAn was already betrothed, yet she still wanted to marry him!
Wanting to marry him is one thing, but wanting to act like a bandit and snatch a man off the street is quite another. Does she wish to anger her to death?!
For the first ti in her life, Princess Shouning was slapped by her own mother.
After hitting her daughter, the Empress felt both heartbroken and furious.
Princess Shouning cried into the night, lying on her bed.
That night, the Emperor did not sleep well.
Lying on his back or on his side, the wounds on his body slightly hurt.
Not only was there pain, but also a bit of itchiness.
Tossing and turning all night, in the morning court, the Emperor appeared listless.
Yet, he had no choice but to brace himself.
Not able to have the Empress take back the Phoenix Seal, the Empress Dowager in anger seized upon Su Jin’s accidental blinding of the Duke Chong’s old matriarch in one eye as a reason to press the Emperor to punish Su Jin.
The law applies equally to the Emperor and common people.
Even if Princess Consort Zhenbei is a princess, she should be punished for blinding another in one eye.
If Su Jin had a title as a princess, this accusation might not strip her of her title, but would at least require her to live in her fiefdom for a year or two.
But Su Jin neither had a princess title nor a fiefdom.
Duke Chong looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, "Minister of the Ministry of Justice, what do you think the charges should be for Princess Consort Zhenbei?"
Anyone who opposed Duke Chong would face retaliation.
Yesterday at the Imperial Mausoleum, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice refuted Duke Chong a few tis, and now today he’s handed a hot potato.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at the Emperor, "Regarding the incident where the old matriarch of Duke Chong was accidentally blinded, I am aware of so details. Princess Consort Zhenbei’s hem was caught between the step stool and bed, causing her to accidentally overturn the bowl containing poisoned blood."
"Two Imperial Physicians present at the ti can testify to this."
"Princess Consort Zhenbei committed a cri worthy of punishnt, but it was unintentional. I believe that whoever caused her hem to be caught should also bear half of the responsibility."
"Duke Chong, what do you say?"
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice tossed the hot potato back.
Duke Chong had once been close to the step stool, and he was also one of the suspects.
Could Duke Chong object?
He could only agree.
Although it was an accident on Su Jin’s part, the old matriarch of Duke Chong was indeed blinded in one eye and poisoned, without any punishnt, it would truly be unjustifiable.
Then—
After Su Jin completed the old matriarch’s burial, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice arrived.
"I hope the Princess Consort can understand," the Minister of the Ministry of Justice said wistfully.
He didn’t want to arrest Su Jin at all.
It was an accident on Su Jin’s part, not a criminal act, and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice passed Su Jin over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation.
What could the Minister of the Ministry of Justice do, unable to decline, he personally ca to escort the accused.
Xingxing angrily said, "My lady didn’t do it on purpose, if her hem hadn’t been caught, she wouldn’t have overturned the dicine bowl."
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