Chapter 324

“How dare you!”

Jiang Junze charged forward like a crazed yak, but halfway there, a stern shout stopped him in his tracks.

A noble young man in a moon-white robe and golden crown stepped out from behind him: “Guards, seize this insolent wretch and take him to the authorities. Report that he dared to speak filth and slander the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort in public, even fantasizing about becoming the Emperor himself. This is a heinous crime.”

This was a serious accusation. Claiming to want to be the Emperor was treason, punishable by death.

The man panicked and tried to run, but the guards of the white-robed noble caught him and dragged him to the authorities.

Only after the man was gone did Jiang Junze snap out of his daze: “Who was that? He’s so handsome.”

His companion chuckled: “I thought what had you so mesmerized. Turns out it was his looks that stunned you. That’s Xie Chenghui, son of Minister Xie of the Hanlin Academy, a court painter in the palace. He’s famous in the capital for his beauty. You didn’t even know him?”

Jiang Junze nodded in realization: “I’ve only heard of him, never seen him. Now that I have, he’s really something.”

He even defended my sister!

After a moment of admiration, Jiang Junze calmed down and quickly bid farewell to his friends to head home.

He didn’t know if his father had returned from court yet, but he needed to hurry back and inform him, so his father could make a decision.

In the palace—

Jiang Xinyue had already rushed to Imperial Doctor Hu, grabbing the finger he pointed at her and snapping it with a loud “crack.” The finger twisted at an unnatural angle, overlapping with the back of his hand.

“Ahhhhhhh…”

“My hand… my hand… it’s broken!”

“A healer should use these hands to save lives and help those in distress. But Imperial Doctor Hu uses them for schemes and harming others. Such a corrupt heart doesn’t deserve these hands.”

Yuan Lei, drenched in sweat, finally stopped pounding the stone tablet. Not because he was tired, but because the tablet had been reduced to fine sand.

Without the stone tablet of the Consort De, it was just a pile of sand, easily scattered by the wind.

If Consort De had been here today, Jiang Xinyue would have had to put in a lot of effort to destroy the tablet. But with her severe injuries and pretending to be weak, she definitely wouldn’t have come.

Luyin had been her most trusted servant, but even Luyin knew to delay time. As for Imperial Doctor Hu, not only did he fail to read the situation, but he also dared to provoke Jiang Xinyue. If he wanted to be labeled cruel and ruthless, she wouldn’t stop him.

Director Lin was already terrified, his eyes wide with fear as he alternated between looking at the howling Imperial Doctor Hu on the ground and the advancing Imperial Noble Consort. He wished he could run away.

“Director Lin, what business did you come to the palace for today? Why aren’t you going?”

Director Lin looked at the ground, where the shattered wooden planks that had carried the stone tablet lay…

There wasn’t even a pile of ash left. What would he say to the Emperor?

Jiang Xinyue chuckled coldly and left with her entourage.

Among these people, some were even sent by the Emperor to protect her. She hadn’t thought of hiding anything from the Emperor.

Xi Que and Shuang Jiang’s hearts were pounding: “Your Highness, is this really okay? What if the Emperor finds out and gets angry?”

“If I hide it, he’ll be the one to get angry. The Emperor always says for me to trust him. This time, let’s see if he’s worth trusting.”

She didn’t even want to be Shen Ye’s Empress, something Shen Ye himself was well aware of. If he still suspected her of wanting to become an Empress regnant and instigate the Jiang family to seize his throne, then Shen Ye was a fool.

“Your Majesty… save me!”

The Emperor was just discussing the issue of spies in the Ministry of Justice with Jiang Hewei, Jiang Yankun, and a few other trusted ministers when Imperial Doctor Hu’s scream echoed from outside.

Wang Dequan entered lightly, bowing: “Your Majesty, Imperial Doctor Hu and Director Lin of the Ministry of Justice request an audience, saying…”

He glanced at the group of ministers, hesitating, clearly not wanting to speak in front of them.

The Emperor thought for a moment. At this time, Imperial Doctor Hu and Director Lin together, with Director Lin being a man of the Duke of Cheng, it was likely that Imperial Doctor Hu was also aligned with Consort De.

This injury… there’s something fishy about it…

Wang Dequan, as always, had the sharpest eyes and understood his intentions best. What Imperial Doctor Hu wanted to say was likely unfavorable to Xinyue, which was why he was hesitating.

Emperor Xuanwu coughed lightly. The officials exchanged glances, and it was Jiang Yankun who first understood the Emperor’s meaning, bowing: “Your Majesty, then we shall take our leave first.”

When someone had spoken the dismissal for him, the Emperor spoke: “Jiang Aiqing and Jiang Qing stay.”

The other ministers: Got it, the Emperor’s giving private tasks to the two favored ministers. They should leave quickly.

As they passed the door, they couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Imperial Doctor Hu.

Goodness, he was holding his right hand, with his index finger seemingly forcibly broken. Being a doctor himself, he didn’t go to the Imperial Hospital to get it treated, but instead came to the Emperor shouting for help. Could it be that someone deliberately injured him?

And behind Imperial Doctor Hu was Director Lin, who was clearly under Minister Jiang, yet Minister Jiang mentioned seeing him several times entering the Duke of Cheng’s residence, and heard that he had just returned from Yu Province.

Yu Province was currently a troubled place. Who in their right mind would go there for fun?

Imperial Doctor Hu didn’t care about their strange looks, wailing as he entered the imperial study and knelt down to accuse Jiang Xinyue: “Your Majesty, there’s a drought in Yu Province, and the people dug up a stone tablet from the riverbed that said ‘Jiang replaces Shen.’ Director Lin, passing through Yu Province, wanted to bring the tablet back but was blocked by the governor of Yu Province. He finally managed to bring it back to present to Your Majesty, but the Imperial Noble Consort intercepted it and smashed the tablet to pieces. Your Majesty… the Imperial Noble Consort even broke my finger. She completely disregards the law and doesn’t put Your Majesty in her eyes!”

“Please execute this demonic consort to give an account to the dead in Yu Province and restore peace to the world.”

“No need, no need…”

Jiang Hewei glanced at Jiang Yankun’s expression and laughed: “Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and the world is already at peace. Natural disasters aren’t man-made, and how can we predict them? And what does the drought in Yu Province have to do with the Imperial Noble Consort? Your accusation is too subjective.”

He was almost outright saying: You hate the Imperial Noble Consort, so you’re slapping this huge blame on her head. That’s too much.

“But the stone tablet was real, and it was indeed smashed by the Imperial Noble Consort.”

Jiang Yankun knew his daughter well. She always acted with precision, so he chuckled coldly: “You keep saying the Empress smashed your stone and broke your finger. Where’s the evidence?”

Exactly!

Where’s the evidence?