Chapter 1173: Chapter 1173 - All The Careerists (3)

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Ming Shu didn’t expect the Harmony System to be so bitchy.

Her recognition of the Harmony System was refreshed again.

“Prime Minister, do you want to rebel?!”

Seeing Ming Shu didn’t say anything for a long time, Shen Yu flew into a rage and said in a sharp tone, “I wanted to believe you, but what’s your attitude? Do you still see me as your empress in your eyes?!”

Ming Shu looked up at Shen Yu. Doesn’t being a traitor mean going against these ministers and pissing them off to hell?

I can do it!

Ming Shu answered calmly and tenderly. “Your Majesty, of course I see you as my empress.”

Shen Yu: “...”

What’s this sudden chill from my back?

Shen Yu found she was actually a little afraid to meet her gaze. But she was the empress!

Shen Yu calmed herself down, and looked into Ming Shu’s eyes with her own sharp ones. The latter’s eyes were almost smiling all the time, like a breeze blowing over a clear lake.

“Prime Minister, how dare you show such disrespect!” Elder Feng beside Ming Shu was unable to continue watching. “Your Majesty, the prime minister expressed rude remarks and committed high treason. She must be punished seriously.”

Someone came out to condemn Ming Shu, so Shen Yu’s expression was clearly better, and she took the chance to continue, “Prime Minister, you can explain to me what’s going on. I don’t believe you would collude with the enemy and betray the country.”

The ministers below were even more confused hearing this.

Didn’t the prime minister just win a war? How come it became that she colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country? Besides, how was it possible the prime minister would do that?

Although she had some disagreements with Her Majesty in recent days, that was not enough to accuse her of betraying the country, was it?

All kinds of complicated eyes swept over Ming Shu.

Shen Yu was satisfied with the effect of her words.

There’s no hurry now.

I’ll convict her of treason soon.

She heard the girl below say in a mild tone, “Your Majesty, you haven’t read the letter to me.”

Shen Yu narrowed her eyes and threw a meaningful glance at the female official nearby. The female official then delivered the letter to Ming Shu’s table.

The letter was a battle plan addressed to the enemy camp, attached with a simple map in the back.

The handwriting was the same as the Host’s.

But as far as the Host could remember, she had never written anything like that.

Apparently it was fabricated by Shen Yu and her followers.

From the moment Ming Shu began to read the letter to the moment she finished it, there was no change in her expression. Shen Yu was a little unsure.

She and Elder Feng looked at each other, and the latter winked at the female official.

The female official showed the letter to the other ministers.

“This is the prime minister’s handwriting...”

“How’s it possible the prime minister would betray the country? I don’t believe it, she must have been framed by others.”

“General Song, you tell us, is this a fake plan?”

The named General Song was, in addition to the Host, another leading general this time.

General Song gave a look at Ming Shu. “It’s really our layout plan. In order to win the battle, we put up many deceptive battle arrays... But what’s in this letter is the whole plan.”

As soon as the words came out, the hall fell into eerie silence.

After a while, Shen Yu broke the silence. “Prime Minister, do you have anything to explain?”

Ming Shu chuckled. “It’s just a letter, how can you prove I wrote it?”

Shen Yu narrowed her eyes slightly. “Isn’t the handwriting on the letter yours, Prime Minister?”

Ming Shu: “It’s not difficult to copy other people’s handwriting, how do you know it’s not someone trying to frame me?”

The Lady Li who presented the letter immediately kowtowed. “Your Majesty, I have a witness.”

Shen Yu: “Okay.”

Ming Shu still wore a smile on her face. Shen Yu felt uneasier in her heart. But today’s plan was carefully arranged by her and could not go wrong.

Nothing would go wrong.

Shen Yu comforted herself inside.

Who made her not listen to me? If she stood on my side, she would still be the noble prime minister above everyone else, only under me.

Jing Se, your asked for all of this yourself.

It took a while to bring the witness to the court. Probably she had never seen anything like this, because the witness fell to her knees, trembling.

Lady Li: “Your Majesty, this is the person who gave me the letter. She is the prime minister’s trusted follower. The prime minister sent her to deliver the letter, but she was scared and didn’t deliver it. If this letter should fall into the hands of the enemy country, the consequences would be disastrous.”

Shen Yu looked at the witness. “Is this letter the evidence that you’ve accused the prime minister of treason? Tell the truth!”

The witness was on her knees, her head resting on the cold ground.

“I...” The witness’s voice was tiny and low, but it was audible in the hall where even the sound of needles falling could be heard. “I... I don’t know, Your Majesty, please spare my life. I haven’t given any letter to Lady Li.”

Shen Yu and Elder Feng, even Lady Li who reported the matter, changed their expressions.

How is this different from what they expected?

“Bold! You should know this is Qiankun Palace, and that is Her Majesty, so don’t be afraid. Just tell the truth, Her Majesty will make a decision, no one will dare to harm you.”

Elder Feng first threatened and then tried to coax the witness.

The witness almost cried. “Your Majesty, I really didn’t give any letter to Lady Li.”

Lady Li’s face darkened and she turned her head to glare at the witness. “You... You gave me the letter, why are you denying it now?”

She took a glance at Ming Shu who was still sitting below and gritted her teeth. “Think carefully, if you deceive Her Majesty, you and your whole family will be executed.”

Shen Yu gripped the armrest of the dragon chair and clenched her fingers around it. “Don’t be scared, I’ll protect you. As long as you tell the truth, I will not hold you accountable. But, if you dare lie to me, the crime of deceiving your empress will cost a lot. Think about it carefully.”

The witness seemed to be frightened and kowtowed constantly. “Your Majesty, I’m sure Your Majesty understands, it was this lady who ordered me to frame Lady Prime Minister. I was obsessed with money, Your Majesty, please spare my life, spare my life...”

Shen Yu thought the witness was going to identify Ming Shu, yet hearing this, she almost broke her nails against the dragon chair.

This change caught everyone on the floor by surprise.

How did it become Lady Li framing the prime minister?

The veins jumped on Lady Li’s forehead. “What nonsense are you speaking, when did I order you to frame the prime minister? It was you who gave me the letter and accused the prime minister.”

The witness shook her head insistently. “No, I didn’t... I don’t want to be executed, I’m telling the truth.”

Sensing the anger coming from above, Lady Li’s palms grew damp with sweat.

She didn’t know why it had become like this, she set up everything...

They could have arranged one of their people to be the witness, but that might be less believable than using the prime minister’s trusted follower.

Who’d have expected the witness to make a false counter-charge the last minute.

“Jing Se, did you threaten her?”

Lady Li turned her head and glared at Ming Shu.

Ming Shu sat with her elbows on the table, very casually. “I haven’t said a word to your witness, how can I threaten her?”

Wu Ying knelt in front of her, unable to even make eye contact with Ming Shu.

However, Ming Shu did not say a word during the whole process. The accusation from Lady Li just didn’t hold water.

Lady Li was so anxious that cold sweat appeared all over her forehead. “Your Majesty, she didn’t tell the truth. It was she who gave me the letter, otherwise how could I know such a detailed battle plan?”

Ming Shu picked up her topic slowly: “Who knows, maybe you’ve planted a hidden traitor among my people?”