Light Dance Jiajing

Yan Song thought he had figured out the emperor's thoughts, so he said sternly, "The laws of the country are strict, and the princess cannot be trifled with. If the princess really commits such a serious crime, she will naturally be punished according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

Meng'er slowly took off the crown on her head, and her long black hair fell down. She walked to Yan Song step by step, raised her hand and threw the crown to him, saying: "Then you can take my head."

Yan Song subconsciously took the crown inlaid with pearls and jade in his hands. He didn't know what to do for a moment, and then he heard the emperor's deep voice shouting: "Yan Song, you are so bold."

Yan Song was so scared that he fell to his knees, and the pearl crown in his hand rolled to the ground. The emperor slowly walked down the steps, bent down to pick up the pearl crown, straightened a few beads that were knocked crooked, walked to Meng'er, and put the pearl crown back on her head. Meng'er felt guilty and avoided his gaze. The emperor stared at Meng'er for a moment, sighed softly, turned to the officials and said, "Since the princess has testified for Xu Bangrui, what else is there to say." His eyes slowly swept over the Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple. They both heard what the emperor meant, but the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was very stubborn and said, "How can we know whether the princess's testimony is credible? This matter needs to be verified." There has always been opposition between the civil service group and the military generals and nobles. This time the emperor asked them to investigate the case freely. How could they not seize this opportunity? But the princess turned the case over again with just a few words. How could this be possible?

The Minister of Justice was very surprised. The Emperor had obviously let him off the hook. He had been in the court for many years and it was not easy for him to climb to this position. He knew that few things that went against the Emperor would succeed. This time, it was about Princess Mian. Could it be that Princess Mian would be arrested and interrogated? He didn't want to get into trouble. So he followed the Emperor's wishes and said, "I think since the princess testified in person for Xu Bangrui, how could it be false? Since there is a witness, the case can be closed and Xu Bangrui should be found not guilty."

Before the Dali Temple Minister could say anything more, the Emperor said, "Let the Ministry of Justice close the case." He glared at the Dali Temple Minister, turned around, took Meng'er's hand, and walked out of the palace, saying, "Dismiss the court."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Meng'er was led by him to sit on the imperial chariot. For a while, neither of them spoke. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Meng'er whispered, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone to the court, but...but I really don't know what to do. Xu Bangrui saved me, and I can't watch him go into exile. This will cost him his life. You...don't be angry with me, okay?"

The emperor remained silent until the imperial sedan stopped in front of the bedroom. Meng'er followed him down and the two entered the inner hall one after the other. Feng Shun helped the emperor change into his daily clothes and then left with a tactful look. For a moment, the room was extremely quiet. Meng'er hung her head and felt very uneasy. After a long while, the emperor asked in a suppressed tone, "Do you like Xu Bangrui?"

Meng'er suddenly raised her head and said, "No, I only consider him a friend."

"But you ignored the consequences time and again for him."

Meng'er looked at him and suddenly felt wronged. She turned her head and said, "Don't you know who I like? But you are so high up now, so what am I..."

The emperor's heart softened, he walked closer and gently hugged Meng'er into his arms, sighed for a long time, and said softly: "Xiaonan, I am really afraid of losing you."

When Yan Song returned home, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He hurriedly ordered people to find Yan Shifan. Yan Shifan was visiting prostitutes with a few drinking buddies in the villa and was already drunk. They were having fun when they heard his father looking for him. He breathed a breath of alcohol and said, "Tell him that I will go back when I've had enough fun." The servants hurriedly retreated in a meek manner. They all knew that the person who should not be provoked the most in the whole mansion was Yan Shifan. This man was fierce and insidious, and even more mean and cruel. If you fell into his hands, you would be skinned alive if you didn't.

When Yan Song heard that Yan Shifan would not come to see him, he was immediately furious, but he had never been able to deal with this son, so he could only curse at the wall. At this time, his wife came in, signaled the maid behind her to put down the tray, waved her hand to let the servants leave, and then asked with a smile: "Who are you angry with again, sir?"

Yan Song had always respected and loved his first wife. He helped his wife sit down and said, "I'm afraid I got into trouble in the court today."

Madam Ouyang said, "Sir, you have always handled things properly. What trouble have you encountered? Tell me about it."

Yan Song recounted the incident of Princess Mian making a scene in court in her best attire, and sighed, "The Emperor wanted to put Xu Bangrui to death, so he asked me to secretly gather all the officials to impeach him. Princess Mian made such a scene so openly, and I saw that the Emperor was extremely angry, so I said a few words, but I didn't expect that the Emperor would be angry with me. What should I do?"

Madam Ouyang thought for a moment and said, "Princess Mian took Xu Bangrui away from the Jinyiwei, and the emperor did not say a word, but he asked you to secretly gather all the officials to impeach him. Who do you think the emperor would go through so much trouble to deal with? He is still concerned about the princess. Even if the princess annoys him again, how can outsiders say anything about the relationship between father and daughter? But sir, don't be anxious. The emperor is not angry with you. He only stopped you to silence all the officials. Princess Mian must have asked the emperor for help on Xu Bangrui's matter, but the emperor must have refused. The princess had no choice but to go to the court. Think about it, if all the officials follow the emperor's will, how can he explain to the princess why he refused before?"

Yan Song said, "That's right, haha, Madam is really insightful, I was too impatient."

Madam Ouyang said, "The Emperor has only been doting on the princess this year. I'm afraid something may have happened. As long as you don't get involved in the future, everything will be fine."

Yan Song frowned again and said, "The princess has a prejudice against me. No matter what I do, I can't get away with it. I really don't know how I offended her. The emperor is also strange. Why does he listen to the princess in everything? I don't know how to explain it. There are many people in the court who are not my people. I am afraid they will take the opportunity to stir up trouble."

Madam Ouyang said, "Are you worried about Xia Yan? Xia Yan is arrogant, and the emperor is already dissatisfied with him. You just need to stay calm and wait for the right time. Besides, the emperor asked you to handle Xu Bangrui's matter because he trusts you. Xia Yan's investigation of Guo Xun is not over yet, and the emperor will still use him, but are nobles so active? Let's wait and see. The princess should be more careful, but the princess cannot interfere in the affairs of the court. Even if she helps Xia Yan, the emperor has already made a plan. You, don't be anxious."