Granny Ying's face turned pale, and she immediately understood why the Empress Dowager had slapped her. It turned out that Prince Zhaoyang was the Empress Dowager's son, and therefore the Emperor was not her son. This was indeed a secret of the royal family. Granny Ying was shocked and terrified, and for a moment she forgot to speak and just sat on the ground.
As soon as the Empress Dowager slapped Ying Mama, she regretted it, but she couldn't back down. She thought to herself, "It's one thing to hit a servant, I don't need to care." With a cold face, she got up and walked towards her palace.
Inside the main hall, a palace maid who was on good terms with Granny Ying rushed to Granny Ying's side as soon as she saw the Empress Dowager leave, helped her up, and then asked her all sorts of questions.
"Granny Ying, are you alright?"
"Your face is swollen. Go put some medicine on it. The Empress Dowager is in a bad mood today. Don't upset her."
Granny Ying shook her head. As a servant, how could she dare to be angry with her masters? Even if the Empress Dowager slapped her, or even killed her, she wouldn't have the right to speak. However, Granny Ying was still very uneasy about the Empress Dowager's secret. Why didn't the Empress Dowager keep her own son by her side, but instead gave him to Consort Jinlan? She really couldn't understand this matter, but of course, she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask about it.
Granny Ying got up and saw that several palace maids were very concerned about her, but as servants, she had no reason to rest, so she gave some instructions to the maids.
"Alright, stop making a fuss. I'm fine. I'm going in to serve the Empress Dowager."
As she spoke, Granny Ying entered the palace. Inside, the Empress Dowager was leaning against the couch, motionless for a long time, before slowly saying, "Go and put on a face mask."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for your kindness."
Granny Ying withdrew, but she was really afraid of the fact that the Empress Dowager was not the Emperor's mother. If the Emperor found out, he would definitely not let the Empress Dowager off. But why would the Empress Dowager do this? Granny Ying couldn't understand it and dared not think about it.
...
With Shui Qi's account books as evidence of Zhong Li's arrest, along with numerous other matters uncovered by Ye Lingfeng's disciples and others, Zhong Li's guilt was undeniable. The entire Zhong family was raided and imprisoned. The once arrogant and powerful veteran of three dynasties saw his empire crumble, turning him into a prisoner hated by everyone. With Zhong Li's arrest, everyone implicated in the Prime Minister's faction suffered misfortune, some being dismissed from their posts and others imprisoned. In an instant, the entire court underwent another reshuffle, and this time, the west family members were not given any important positions.
However, no one cared about this anymore, because Zhongli insisted that everything he did was ordered by Prince Zhaoyang, since he was going to die, he wanted to take someone down with him.
In this way, even if Prince Zhaoyang had a thousand mouths, he would not be able to defend himself, especially since Zhongli had confessed that Prince Zhaoyang had killed Zhao Baiyang, the prefect of Songzhou, and the witness Shui Linglong.
Once this matter was verified, it caused an uproar not only in the imperial court but also in the capital of Northern Lu.
Unexpectedly, Prince Zhaoyang, a member of the royal family, committed such a treasonous act. Throughout the capital, there were all sorts of rumors, and no one sympathized with him. Prince Zhaoyang's reputation was already bad, and this latest incident naturally warranted the death penalty. Therefore, the people from Prince Zhaoyang's residence were also imprisoned.
The Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion was mostly inhabited by women. During this raid, there were twenty or thirty women among them. Their wailing and lamenting echoed all the way from the Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion to the Ministry of Justice's prison. The entire prison was incredibly noisy because of the women's cries.
The entire capital city became lively. Apart from Prime Minister Zhongli and Prince Zhaoyang, many people applauded and cheered. These two were unpopular, and everyone in restaurants and teahouses was talking about it. They even lost their mood to do business. Groups of three or five were discussing this matter.
For three days in a row, the enthusiasm did not diminish. Many people paid attention to the Ministry of Justice's movements, and would quickly bring up any slight disturbance.
The Ministry of Justice was heavily guarded, with multiple checkpoints to prevent even the slightest mishap.
The prison held Prince Zhaoyang and Prime Minister Zhongli. If they were kidnapped, Wu Shang would not only lose his official position, but he might also lose his head. Therefore, he was on high alert and ate, drank, and relieved himself in the Ministry of Justice.
That night, Ling Feng also left the palace and lay in ambush around the Ministry of Justice.
According to his estimation, the person in the palace should be making a move by now. It's already quite remarkable that she has been able to hold back for three days. So he wants to hear her say with his own hands that Prince Zhaoyang is her son, the illegitimate son born to Sima Yuan, and that he is not a child of the royal family at all.
The night was cool and thin, and a thick fog enveloped the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice was brightly lit all around, and there were patrolling soldiers everywhere, one group after another passing by.
Ye Lingfeng sat on a tree, coldly gazing at the prison in the distance.
Shi Zhu sat behind him and said in a deep voice, "Master, please go back and rest. We have subordinates here. We will not allow anyone to abduct the person from the Ministry of Justice."
“Okay,” Ye Lingfeng nodded, then instructed Shizhu: “When someone breaks into the prison later, you all hold back and wait until they get the people out of the cell before you make your move.”
Only in this way can the evidence be considered irrefutable. Even if the Empress Dowager wanted to refute it, she would have no excuse. This woman is extremely cunning. If he doesn't catch her in the evidence, she will surely have another excuse. This time, he not only wants her to say that Prince Zhaoyang is her son, but he also wants her to see how Prince Zhaoyang dies. In any case, Prince Zhaoyang's final fate is death, so why should he be polite to her? He wants her to understand that she has used him as a tool all these years, and he will not let her use him for nothing.
Thinking of this, Ye Lingfeng felt a surge of hatred. He realized that all his efforts as a child had ultimately amounted to nothing more than being a pawn. This realization filled him with a helpless pain, an inability to erase the fact that he had been used as a pawn since birth.
"Your subordinate obeys."
Shi Zhu accepted the order and then remained silent. The group lay in ambush around the Ministry of Justice, waiting for the person who was going to break into the prison.
As the night deepened and the fog thickened, the people lurking around and the soldiers patrolling the Ministry of Justice grew weary, and many began to yawn.
Shi Zhu looked at Ye Lingfeng and whispered, "Your Majesty, what if you're not coming?"
If Your Majesty doesn't come, then the Emperor's wait will have been in vain. So Your Majesty should go back and rest, as there is an early court session tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately, Ye Lingfeng ignored him completely, shook his head, then his eyes turned cold, and he pressed his hand down, signaling Shi Zhu to be quiet, as there was movement in the shadows.
Upon hearing this, Shi Zhu was overjoyed. Sure enough, he had arrived, but his face was shrouded in coldness.
Unexpectedly, the person who was supposed to come still arrived. Ye Lingfeng thought about the imminent confrontation. After all these years of being used so thoroughly, he wouldn't let her get away with it. He also wanted to hear her admit that Prince Zhaoyang was still her son, Sima Yuan's bastard, and not a child of the Northern Lu royal family at all. Moreover, given her cunning, she must have known that the Ministry of Justice had laid a heavy ambush, yet she still came without hesitation. What did this mean? It meant that she loved Prince Zhaoyang very much, the kind of love a mother has for her son, knowing that there are tigers ahead, yet still choosing to go forward.
What about her feelings for him? Ye Lingfeng laughed coldly. At this moment, all his feelings vanished. She was not his mother, but just a woman full of calculations who used him.
In the darkness, the lanterns under the eaves of the Ministry of Justice swayed gently, and several figures glided by, quickly filling the air with a strange fragrance.
Shi Zhu and the others were far enough away not to get in the way, but Shi Zhu still couldn't help but speak up.
"Is it Mi Yixiang, or the most powerful Mi Yixiang?"
Ye Lingfeng nodded. Outside the Ministry of Justice prison, many soldiers lay on the ground. The thumping sounds startled those soldiers who hadn't inhaled the Bewitching Incense. Many rushed over, and someone shouted, "Someone's breaking into the prison! Someone's breaking into the prison!"
Someone fell again because of the incense, but the incense dissipated quickly in the wind, and the people who came after them fought with the masked man.
Chaos erupted around the Ministry of Justice prison. Just then, many more people slid down from the eaves of the Ministry of Justice building and slashed at the shouting soldiers. Meanwhile, some people swiftly entered the prison to rescue the prisoners.
The sounds of fighting outside were deafening, which quickly alerted Wu Shang, the Minister of Justice. Although Wu Shang was a civil official, he was skilled in martial arts, so as soon as he led his men over, he ordered his men to capture these people who had broken into the prison.
Ye Lingfeng and the others didn't move. They planned to wait for the people inside to bring the person out before taking action. However, they hadn't expected so many people to come. It was clear that she had been secretly training these people without his knowledge, as he had been focused on martial arts training. Furthermore, he had just observed the leader, who was incredibly skilled and slender. Although she was veiled, anyone with eyes could tell she was a woman. Ye Lingfeng had initially thought she would send people to break into the prison and that he would also show himself, but he hadn't expected her to be so skilled. He had always assumed she was a novice who didn't know martial arts and just chanted Buddhist scriptures. He never imagined that everything he had seen about her was a lie.
Seeing someone bring someone out of the Ministry of Justice's prison, Ye Lingfeng and Shi Zhu knew from a distance that the person being brought out was Prince Zhaoyang. Since Prince Zhaoyang had been brought out, what were they waiting for?
Shi Zhu waved his hand and ordered, "Seize them."
"yes."