After being married off by my younger sister, I became the most beloved person in the palace

"But being a co-wife, that would be a slap in the face of the princess. Where would that put her? Princess Yunhua naturally disagreed, so the Ji family was so cruel that they gave the princess a chronic poison, and she died without anyone noticing. Then Pei Shuyan could marry into the Marquis's mansion legitimately."

"The Ji family's behavior is really terrible. Not only did Ji Yuanwen not feel the slightest bit of guilt towards the princess yesterday, he was even so brazen as to have a secret meeting with Pei Shuyan in broad daylight in Bichun Tower. It's really abominable."

"Pei Shuyan dares to compete with the princess for the Lady County. There must be a big shot backing him up."

"No wonder……"

When Wei learned about these rumors outside, he was so angry that his eyes turned black and he fainted on the spot.

Ji Kang was on duty at the yamen, feeling all kinds of looks from his colleagues, as well as the weirdness of some people. He was so angry that he couldn't stay any longer and returned to the mansion early. He didn't care about the unconscious Wei at all, and rushed directly to Ji Yuanwen's yard and beat him up according to the family rules.

The steward said to Ji Kang with a sad face, "My Lord, there are rumors everywhere now, which is extremely disadvantageous to the Marquis's Mansion. Why don't we go to the Pingyang Palace? As long as the princess is willing to come forward, there is still room for easing the situation."

Ji Kang hesitated for a long time and snorted, "Fu Zheng wants to trample me under his feet, he will never agree." If Fu Zheng had any regard for the relationship between the two families, he would not go to the Ministry of Justice to sue them: "I think the rumors outside were spread by him. This bastard is clearly trying to destroy my Ji family."

The steward glanced at Ji Kang silently, thinking that if the prince and Miss Pei had not been caught having a secret meeting, the Pingyang Palace would not have had the opportunity to spread this rumor.

What's more, the Xing'an Marquis' Mansion was in the wrong in the first place, and now that it has become such a big deal, if things go wrong there will be no chance of recovery.

"Go to Pei's house." Ji Kang said after a pause.

However, the Pei family was not at peace.

From a distance, Ji Kang saw a group of yamen runners standing at the gate of Pei's house. The clothes of the constable made him look like those of the Jingzhao Yin.

"My lord, are you still going?" asked the coachman.

Ji Kang lowered the curtain and said in a muffled voice, "Go back home."

I don’t know what the Pei family has done wrong. If I go there at this time, who knows if Jingzhao Yin will become suspicious and take them back for questioning.

Ji Kang returned empty-handed. However, apart from the rumors that were spreading more and more intensely, there was no movement from the Pingyang Palace. He sent people to inquire about the Pei family's affairs, but the people from Jingzhao Yin were very tight-lipped and only said that it was a routine questioning and knew nothing else.

The couple were so anxious that their mouths were foaming with anxiety, they were flustered and didn't know what to do.

The next day, outside the palace gate.

The civil and military officials who were waiting to attend the court saw Fu Zheng, who could not attend the court more than three times a year, standing among the officials. They all looked puzzled, yet felt that it was natural.

Fu Zheng's official position was low and he was not qualified to attend court.

But at the same time, he was the King of Pingyang and could attend court.

So he would not come to court unless it was necessary.

Everyone looked at each other, and simultaneously thought of the events that had spread throughout the capital in the past two days, and secretly thought that there would be some excitement to be seen at the morning court today.

Fu Zheng ignored the looks from the people around him and stood among the officials with a cold expression.

Not long after, the palace gates opened, and civil officials headed by Prime Minister Qin and military officials headed by the Duke of Huguo entered the palace and stepped into the Hall of Supreme Harmony one after another.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is very spacious, and can accommodate hundreds of people. The floor is paved with black square bricks, and upon closer inspection, one can actually see the shape of a person. On both sides of the hall are four golden pillars, and on each pillar are two golden dragons, with their heads facing upwards, their teeth bared and their claws waving, looking extremely majestic.

Going up along the white marble steps, there is a shining golden dragon chair.

Emperor Jianhe was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and sitting upright on it.

His face is serious and he looks intimidating without even getting angry!

"Kneel!" the eunuch shouted, and all the officials knelt.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

The uniform voices revealed awe for the emperor.

Emperor Jianhe raised his hand and said, "My dear ministers, please stand up."

Everyone stood up and those who had something to say began to report.

Jingzhao Yin was the first to speak out and talked about the salt permit issue, which implicated the salt merchant Pei Shiyong in a corruption case involving salt officials in the south of the Yangtze River.

The matter is of great importance and he, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, cannot investigate it alone.

Emperor Jianhe hated corruption the most, let alone the salt permits, which were taking food from the emperor's mouth, which undoubtedly made Emperor Jianhe furious.

So he appointed the Dali Temple Minister as an imperial envoy to go to Jiangnan to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Afterwards, an official impeached the third prince Chu Chengnan for failing to supervise the construction. There is a bridge leading to Puning Temple, which was supervised by Chu Chengnan a year ago. The bridge broke yesterday. Investigation showed that there was suspicion of cutting corners. Fortunately, no civilians were injured.

If there were no casualties, the matter could be either a big deal or a small one. The prince did not understand construction, but since he had accepted the task, he would be rewarded if he did a good job, but he would also be punished if he made a mistake. The Ministry of Works would certainly not escape the blame, but Chu Chengnan also had to take responsibility, so the emperor punished him with house arrest for three months, and now the tasks on his hands have been handed over to others.

When the emperor was about to leave the court, a man suddenly jumped out from among the civil servants.

"Your Majesty, please help me."

Emperor Jianhe looked closely and found that it was Fu Zheng.

It surprised him.

This guy rarely goes to court more than three times a year, so why is he here suddenly?

"Prince Pingyang, what do you want me to do for you?" Emperor Jianhe relaxed slightly and looked at him leisurely.

Everyone looked at him in unison. Here it comes, the fun is coming!

Fu Zheng knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "The Xing'an Marquis's Mansion is so crazy that they gave my daughter a slow-acting poison in order to marry her. Afterwards, the beast Ji Yuanwen was even more remorseless and had a secret meeting with Pei Shuyan in a teahouse. This matter is known to everyone in the capital. I beg the emperor to make the decision and severely punish the Ji family."

Emperor Jianhe was shocked when he heard this and asked in disbelief, "Is this really true?"

Fu Zheng gritted his teeth and said angrily: "If I hadn't taken my daughter back home to recuperate in advance, I don't know if what I would see now would be her corpse."

"The whole capital knows about it? My dear ministers, have you heard about it too?" Emperor Jianhe said, looking at the civil and military officials.

The Minister of Justice stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, it is true. The people have been talking about this matter for the past two days. Before this, the prince had also gone to the Ministry of Justice to sue the Xing'an Marquis and his wife. There was also a folk doctor who treated the princess testified that he was bribed by the Xing'an Marquis's mansion, but the marquis' wife denied it. There was someone else who murdered the princess in order to provoke the two families to become enemies. I am still investigating this matter."

After he finished speaking, another minister also said, "I have heard about it too."

The Duke of Protecting the Country, who was standing at the front, stepped forward at the right time and said, "Your Majesty, this matter has caused a great disturbance in the city and has a great impact. The girl from the Pei family is the legitimate daughter of Pei Shiyong in the salt permit case. Princess Yunhua is of noble status and was personally canonized by the emperor. There is no smoke without fire. The Xing'an Marquisate may not be innocent. I think a thorough investigation is necessary. If the Ji family really murdered the princess, they must be severely punished. How dare the Pei family, a mere merchant, covet the position of the Crown Prince's wife? Who is backing them up?"

"I second the proposal. Please His Majesty investigate carefully and make a decision for Princess Yunhua." Imperial Guard Cheng Hong bowed and agreed.