After being reborn, I locked up all the scumbags and bitches in one nest.

The Empress Dowager broke the deadlock.

“Prince An, you merely suggested that Princess An compose a poem; if she doesn’t want to or can’t think of one, she can simply refuse. How can you make baseless accusations and slander her?”

Qin Mingzhu also looked aggrieved, her eyes blurry with tears, "Your Majesty, I was merely making a suggestion. How could you, Uncle An, slander me?"

Murong Xiao snorted contemptuously, "I'll give you one chance: hand over the stolen items from my Prince An's mansion and admit your mistake; otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

Seeing Murong Xiao's certainty, the Empress Dowager remained silent. She had only intended to watch the show and occasionally add fuel to the fire.

Qin Mingzhu looked at the eldest prince and shook her head repeatedly, then cried to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I did not steal anything from the Prince An's residence. I have never even been to the Prince An's residence, how could I have stolen anything?"

Upon hearing Qin Mingzhu's words, the eldest prince looked at Murong Xiao and said, "Uncle Prince, you can't make things up without evidence."

The Emperor did not speak, but looked at Murong Xiao with a questioning gaze.

Murong Xiao gave Mo Nan a look.

Mo Nan's figure flashed by.

Qin Mingzhu only felt a gust of wind beside her, and before she could react, it had already disappeared.

Mo Nan returned to Murong Xiao's side, holding an exquisite jade hairpin in her hand.

When Li, who was standing next to Prime Minister Qin, saw this, her eyes widened in terror and her hand trembled.

Murong Xiao looked at Qin Wanyou tenderly and asked, "Has Your Highness seen this jade hairpin before?"

Qin Wanyou examined the jade hairpin in Mo Nan's hand carefully and shook her head. "I've never seen it before."

Murong Xiao's eyes suddenly shot towards Qin Mingzhu, "Miss Qin, I have no connection with you, nor have I ever given this item to the Crown Prince. How did something from my Prince An's Mansion end up in your possession? How did you steal it?"

Qin Mingzhu kept shaking her head, "No, I didn't steal it."

Mo Nan then took the jade hairpin to the Emperor and Empress for identification.

After examining it, the Emperor nodded, "This is indeed something from the Prince An's residence."

Then, he looked sternly at Qin Mingzhu and said, "How did you get this jade hairpin? If you can't give a reason, you will be severely punished for stealing valuables."

The eldest prince also looked at Qin Mingzhu nervously, "Quickly explain yourself, how did you obtain it?"

Qin Mingzhu shook her head, feeling extremely nervous and scared, and then looked in the direction of Li Shi.

Seeing that Qin Mingzhu couldn't explain, the Emperor called out, "Guards!"

Li immediately stepped forward and knelt down, "No, Your Majesty, please forgive me, this is for Consort Qin."

Qin Mingzhu also knelt down before the Emperor, saying, "Yes, this was given to me by my mother."

Murong Xiao chuckled lightly, "Oh, really? So it was Qin Xiang's wife who stole it?"

Li immediately shook her head, "No, I didn't steal it."

"So that's what Prime Minister Qin stole?" Murong Xiao asked again.

Qin Xiang was already nervous, and upon hearing Murong Xiao's words, he almost jumped out of his seat. He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have never seen this jade hairpin, so how could I have stolen it? Please investigate thoroughly."

At this moment, Qin Mingzhu suddenly pointed at Qin Wanyou, "This was given by Qin Wanyou, yes, it was given by Qin Wanyou."

Li also looked at Qin Wanyou, her eyes containing a warning.

Qin Wanyou lowered her head and did not speak.

Consort Xian then looked at Qin Wanyou and asked, "Princess An, is that so?"

The tone also contained a threatening warning.

Everyone on the field looked at Qin Wanyou.

Qin Wanyou's expression was somewhat numb and saddened. "Whatever my sister says goes."

Qin Mingzhu immediately shouted to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, she admitted it. She gave it to me. I didn't steal it."

Murong Xiao didn't want his princess to be wronged. "Miss Qin, you're not old and faded yet, and your memory is already so bad? Have you forgotten what Wanwan just said?"

At this point, the Emperor, Empress, and others all realized that something fishy was going on.

Murong Xiao grew impatient. "Since you won't tell the truth, guards! Take him away and beat him until he confesses."

The emperor and the others remained silent, tacitly approving of Murong Xiao's actions.

The guards also came up behind Qin Mingzhu and Li Shi, and were about to pull the two away.

Qin Mingzhu cried out loudly, "Your Majesty, you are wronged! I did not steal! Mother, Mother, save me!"

Seeing that she was about to be dragged away, Li hurriedly spoke up, "I'll talk, I'll talk."

The guards who came up looked at the Emperor and then at Murong Xiao. Should they pull him away and beat him?

Murong Xiao gestured for them to stop, "For Wanwan's sake, I'll give you one last chance."

The guards released Li's arms.

Li knelt down like a dog.

At this moment, Li felt a pang of regret. Now she had no other choice. She closed her eyes and said, "These are the betrothal gifts that the Prince gave to Wanyou back then."

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

People were reminded of the dowry incident that occurred not long ago on the way to the wedding at Prince An's mansion.

Many people looked at Qin Wanyou, thinking that having such a mother was truly a bad omen from her past life.

Since this is a betrothal gift, we can't do anything to Li Shi and Qin Mingzhu.

Nowadays, many wealthy families do not embezzle their daughters' betrothal gifts; instead, they include the gifts in the daughter's dowry.

However, some poor families or families with a strong preference for sons will leave the betrothal gifts behind and not let their daughters take them with them. This is not considered illegal.

Murong Xiao looked surprised. "Is this a betrothal gift?"

After speaking, he looked at Mo Nan.

Mo Nan seemed to remember something as well, and said with some annoyance, "Your Highness, now that Madam Qin mentioned it, I remember. This is the betrothal gift you asked me to deliver to the Right Prime Minister's residence. There really is such a hairpin."

Murong Xiao took the jade hairpin and examined it closely. "Since this was obtained by Prime Minister Qin and his wife selling their daughter, they should have just said so earlier. Why bother with all this secrecy?"

After saying that, he threw the jade hairpin in his hand in front of Qin Mingzhu and Li Shi.

No one reacted.

With a 'ding', a crisp sound rang out in the hall.

The jade hairpin broke into several pieces.

After throwing away the jade hairpin, Murong Xiao picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped his fingers, as if they had been stained with something unclean.

Upon hearing the sound of jade shattering, Murong Xiao said, "My hand slipped, sorry."

However, without the slightest apology on his face, he continued, "But the Right Prime Minister's wife probably won't mind, after all, she likes to collect broken and defective items, which can be used as dowry or kept as betrothal gifts for the young master of the Qin family in the future!"

Apart from the Qin family, everyone else lowered their heads, unable to suppress their laughter.

Murong Xiao glanced at Prime Minister Qin again and warned, "It's not like the Right Prime Minister's Office has been unfair for just a day or two, but don't push all the blame onto Wanwan in the future."

The Prime Minister immediately kowtowed and apologized, "It was my fault. I have failed to manage my household properly and have not disciplined my wife well. I will definitely discipline her properly when I return."

Madam Li also cried and apologized, "Your Majesty, Prince An, it's my fault. I was biased and worried that Mingzhu would be bullied in the First Prince's residence, so I gave Wanyou's betrothal gifts to Mingzhu." Then she looked at Qin Wanyou, "Wanyou, it's your mother's fault. I hope you can forgive your mother."

With things developing to this point, it's really not appropriate for others to get involved, so everyone's eyes are on Qin Wanyou.

Waiting for her to speak.