Chapter 8: When a person is utterly shameless, he is invincible.
Consort Mei, kneeling on the ground, nearly fainted on the spot upon hearing her son's heroic words of rescuing a beauty.
She suddenly raised her head, her face full of disbelief, staring intently at her beloved son.
You idiot! What are you doing?!
What time is it now? Is it the time for you to show your deep affection and loyalty?
Since these old fogies have already handed us the ladder, we can just climb down it! Push that lowly maid out to take the blame, and everything will be fine!
By protecting her, do you think you can escape unscathed? You're trying to drag my son and me down with you!
Consort Mei was so angry that she trembled all over, and almost broke her long fingernails.
Cui Yue felt the murderous gaze of Consort Mei, her face turned pale with fright, and she gripped Yu Jingchuan's hand even tighter.
Yu Jingchuan felt the softness and trembling in his palm, and his heart melted.
He turned around and looked at his mother with a puzzled expression. His handsome face was full of grievance, but even more so, he felt heartache.
"Mother! Yueyue has never experienced anything like this before, she's terrified! How can we shift the blame onto a weak woman?"
He stiffened his neck, his voice rising in excitement.
"It's clearly that little brat Yu Zhaoning! She's the one who's slandering us! Mother, don't you even believe your son?"
Consort Mei choked on a mouthful of blood, almost spitting it out.
I believe you?
What good is it for me to believe you now! The key is for the Empress Dowager and all the officials to believe you!
These old fogies are easy to fool; after all, many of them are hoping you'll rise to power and would love to help you turn black into white.
But is the one on the phoenix throne someone who can be easily fooled?
That was Yuan Hua, a ruthless and decisive ruler whose methods were a hundred times more brutal than those of the late emperor!
Mei Fei's alarm bells rang loudly. Sure enough, when she looked up, she met Yuan Hua's cold, frosty phoenix eyes.
Yuan Hua put down his teacup with a soft clatter, which sounded particularly jarring in the quiet hall.
Her expression instantly turned extremely serious, her gaze sharp as a knife, shooting straight at Yu Jingchuan.
"Yu Jingchuan".
She spoke coldly, her voice carrying immense force.
"Who gave you the audacity to address His Majesty by his given name in the imperial palace, while you are a criminal under investigation?"
Yu Jingchuan's body trembled violently, and the color drained from his face instantly.
Yuan Hua slowly stood up and looked down at the people in the hall.
"You keep saying you love and care for His Majesty, but just now you called His Majesty by his name, doing such a disrespectful thing."
"How much of your so-called deep sibling affection is genuine?"
Every word hits the nail on the head.
The ministers below were terrified and even held their breath.
Yuan Hua didn't stop. She took two steps forward, and the gold threads on her phoenix robe shone brightly in the light, so dazzling that it was hard to open one's eyes.
"I'll put my words here today."
Her gaze slowly swept over the Grand Tutor, and over every minister who had just spoken up for Yu Jingchuan.
"If you know that this person is suspected of plotting against the emperor, causing His Majesty to fall into the water and suffer from a persistent high fever, and is still not fully recovered, yet you still go against your conscience and try to exonerate him..."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Yuan Hua's lips.
"Then I, even if it means turning the heavens upside down, will never let any of you go!"
These words immediately sent chills down everyone's spines and made them feel a cold shiver down their spines.
The Empress Dowager is about to get serious!
A group of officials stared at each other in horror, cold sweat trickling down their foreheads.
The old tutor, however, made a firm decision, a resolute glint in his old eyes.
What's there to be afraid of!
Fortune favors the bold!
As long as he can help the eldest prince ascend the throne, he will be restoring order! This will surely be recorded in history!
So what if it means dying for someone?
For the sake of the Great Yu Dynasty and for the sake of all living beings, he would not hesitate to die ten thousand times!
The old Grand Tutor took a deep breath, straightened his official robes, and prepared to kneel down again, banging his head on the ground, staging a famous scene of a loyal minister dying for his country.
He was just about to exert his strength.
That familiar, soft, sweet little voice rang in their minds again.
[well...]
Yu Zhaoning, sitting on the dragon throne, swung her short legs and sighed inwardly like a little adult.
[These old folks' love for their eldest brother, the Crown Prince, is deeper than the sea!]
[Even now, with all the evidence laid bare, and even me, the person directly involved, personally verifying it, they still think they can help the eldest prince.]
[Does the eldest prince possess some unique charm?]
Yu Zhaoning tilted her head curiously.
[System, system, check if your daily dose of gossip energy is full!]
[We absolutely must eat our fill of gossip about the eldest prince today!]
[I want to see for myself what makes him so special. Is he covered in gold trim or something?]
"!!!"
The old tutor, who was preparing to die a heroic death, froze instantly.
The ministers, who had just been hesitating, all stopped abruptly. Their bodies reacted faster than their brains, and they immediately stood back, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
Eating melon seeds?
Having learned a painful lesson from General Weiyuan's tragic past, they now understand completely!
What His Majesty meant by "eating melons" was digging up those embarrassing, unknown things about them that made people want to disappear into the ground!
Thank goodness! Thank goodness!
His Majesty's target this time is not us!
Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief and secretly wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves.
Standing in the ranks of military officers, General Weiyuan felt as if he had come back to life.
He wiped the sweat from his face, his mind racing.
Thank goodness, His Majesty didn't dig any deeper. If he had revealed all the secrets, I really wouldn't be able to live anymore!
Yuan Hua, sitting beside the phoenix throne, picked up his teacup and gently skimmed off the foam with the lid. Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently glanced at the ill-fated couple below.
She noticed that Yu Jingchuan and the little palace maid were staring at her with a look of surprise and anger.
Oh.
Instead of being angry, Yuan Hua found it amusing, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.
Stare, stare.
The real show is just beginning.
At the same time, a soft "ding" sounded in Yu Zhaoning's mind.
[Reporting, Host! Today's dose of gossip energy is complete! The exclusive deluxe edition of the juicy gossip about the First Prince Yu Jingchuan has been packaged and sent, along with a bonus high-definition short video! Please check your inbox!]
Yu Zhaoning's eyes lit up, and she excitedly clapped her little hands on the armrests of the dragon throne.
[Here it comes! My source of joy has arrived!]
She couldn't wait to open the story package that shimmered with gold in her mind.
A screen of light unfolded before her eyes.
The next second, the little guy's eyes widened instantly, like two obsidian stones.
She instinctively stretched out her chubby little hand and covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from screaming.
Her small body trembled slightly.
A series of exclamations echoed in her mind, flooding the minds of the civil and military officials like a barrage of comments.
[Oh my god, my great-grandmother!!!]
[This is some juicy gossip! This is absolutely explosive! This is the most shocking gossip we've heard in the last few days!]
[My God! My God! My goodness!]
How could a person go to such lengths?
[As expected, Grandmother was right!]
[When a person is shameless enough, they become invincible!]
The surrounding ministers immediately perked up their ears, scratching their heads and wondering what kind of gossip could make the Empress say such a thing.
Could it be that they think the eldest prince is just too clever? But something just doesn't feel right!
Would you use this tone and expression when you discover someone is smart?