Drunk Bamboo

As Xie Yuzhu slowly walked into the hall, he quickly glanced at the surrounding environment and people, looking for familiar figures. Combining the information he got from Lao Liu, he thought about the general situation and response plan.

The emperor was high above, and Eunuch Dong stood to the side. The two guards who were guarding the gate that day were kneeling on the ground, and Qi, the imperial physician, stood with his head bowed beside him. Zhang Xinghe stood facing the emperor, and in front of him was an older, slightly fat man, who should be the Minister of Works Han Jian, the mastermind of this incident.

Xie Yuzhu had no foresight, and she was in front of the Golden Steps Palace at this moment only because she was too smart and too worried. After hearing the news from Lao Liu, she took the Peony Jade Plate and entered the palace. When she came to her senses, she was already standing outside the Golden Steps Palace.

This morning, Lao Liu reported to her some news that Changfeng Tower had received recently. Most of them were about disasters or major cases that occurred somewhere, which officials were promoted or demoted, or private transactions, or private secrets of which nobles, just like listening to news and gossip. Xie Yuzhu was very interested in listening to it, and when she was happy, she was suddenly curious about a piece of news. Han Jian, the Minister of Works, met with two guards at the gate in private and asked Lao Liu in detail. The two guards were on duty when Hua Qinfeng entered the palace to ask for the imperial physician.

Xie Yuzhu immediately remembered that she was in a hurry to enter the palace that day and did not do the routine inspection, and Hua Qinfeng was wearing soft armor. It was also Han Jian who said in front of the emperor that Hua Qinfeng had lost his temper after drinking when he entered the palace for the first time after his marriage.

Thinking of this, Xie Yuzhu became nervous, and Hua Qinfeng had not returned home for a long time, so she took the peony jade tablet and went to the palace gate.

The words "If your majesty wants to punish the prince, then punish me as well" echoed in Hua Qinfeng's mind. It was as if there was a layer of light on Xie Yuzhu, shining into his eyes. Everything around him seemed to become gray, and only she was shining. In his eyes, there was only Xie Yuzhu.

"Xie Yuzhu, why are you here?" Hua Qinfeng was excited, but panicked inside. His face immediately turned gloomy and he shouted in a low voice, "What are you doing here! The court is not the place for you, go back!"

"Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. I am with you."

Xie Yuzhu smiled at him gently, with a calm expression, just like when she was eating and sleeping at home.

Hua Qinfeng's heart suddenly shook, and his hard heart seemed to melt in an instant.

"I...I'm not afraid, I just..."

Xie Yuzhu smiled again, and she gently held Hua Qinfeng's hand:

"Your Highness is not afraid, and neither am I, and the people in the palace are even less afraid. Your Highness does not have to accept the punishment that he should not accept for us."

"You..." Hua Qinfeng was shocked. Xie Yuzhu actually knew what he was thinking and what he was afraid of.

He was already used to the situation where the court officials besieged him. What he feared was that the people in the palace would be implicated.

All the ministers' eyes were focused on Xie Yuzhu.

It was the first time in my lifetime that I saw a woman holding a peony jade plaque, walking into the Golden Steps Hall with an open and calm expression, and she remained calm in the face of court officials and His Majesty.

Xie Yuzhu's calmness and composure, and the fearlessness and steadiness in her eyes, shocked everyone present.

The emperor looked at Xie Yuzhu and said sternly, "Princess Feng, do you know where the Golden Steps Palace is?"

Xie Yuzhu bowed and answered respectfully: "Your Majesty, I know that the Golden Steps Palace is the most solemn and sacred place in Rao State. The Golden Steps Palace represents the supreme imperial power, represents respect and inferiority, represents wisdom and strategy, represents wealth and freedom, and even more represents civilization and yearning."

The emperor nodded, agreeing very much with what Xie Yuzhu had just said.

"Since you know where this place is, why do you dare to come to the palace without being summoned?"

Xie Yuzhu raised her eyes slightly: "Because Your Majesty is here, where Your Majesty is, there must be fairness. I am holding the Peony Jade Plate to see Your Majesty and to redress the grievances of the prince!"

Just now outside the palace, she heard the second half. Han Jian was aggressive and took advantage of Hua Qinfeng's straightforward personality. He also brought up her and the Queen Mother and threatened Hua Qinfeng to force him to admit his fault.

Han Jian didn't care about Xie Yuzhu and never took her seriously. She was originally in the plan. He thought that a newlywed woman of fifteen or sixteen would be so frightened that she would lose her mind and talk nonsense after seeing such a scene.

"Prince Feng has personally admitted that he broke into the palace through armor, and also admitted that he forcibly took Doctor Qi out of the palace without the Queen's order. What injustice did he suffer? The Princess was also involved, and she should know better than anyone else."

Xie Yuzhu's voice was neither too loud nor too low, with a hint of contempt: "Lord Han is right. I am the person involved, and I am the one who knows the facts best. I haven't even said anything yet, but Lord Han is very clear and certain. Could it be that Lord Han has clairvoyance? Or super hearing? Or did he deliberately arrange someone to frame everything? That's why he knows it better than me, the person involved."

Han Jian's face immediately turned red with anger: "Your Majesty, Princess Feng is just making up stories!"

The emperor remained silent, looking down at the people at his feet.

Just as Xie Yuzhu was about to retort, Zhang Xinghe beside her said, "Lord Han, this is wrong. Zhang Hu and Zhao Long slandered the prince for bringing a dagger into the palace. Isn't that outrageous? The princess is here right now. It's a good opportunity to confront them face to face and make everything clear."

Zhang Xinghe came out to help Hua Qinfeng. With friends standing on the same side, Xie Yuzhu felt more confident, at least she was not fighting alone.

She stood silently beside Hua Qinfeng and listened to the battle situation first.

Although many officials in the court were displeased with Hua Qinfeng's rude and outspoken remarks and reported this to the emperor, they knew what kind of person Hua Qinfeng was and would never fabricate facts. At this moment, the emperor was silent, and everyone was trying to guess his intentions, and dared not speak out.

Therefore, Han Jian was the only one speaking in the hall.

At this time, Han Jian's son Han Xin stood out from the ranks of officials and pointed his finger at Zhang Xinghe: "Sir Zhang, don't bend the law for personal gain and protect the prince just because he saved the life of the tutor!"

Prime Minister Wang Yan, who stood at the head of all officials, finally spoke up: "The country has its own laws, and the palace has its own rules. The palace gate guards are under the jurisdiction of the guard commander. Why didn't Zhang Hu and Zhao Long report to the guard commander when they had problems? Why did all the officials go to court and find Lord Han?"

Han Jian looked modest, but he didn't say a word of respect: "Although I am from a family of nobles, I am not as majestic as the Hedong Wang family, the top aristocratic family. I don't have the dignity and solemnity of the Prime Minister. I have done my best for Your Majesty and I am busy all day long. I think everyone has seen it. Zhang Hu and Zhao Long are friendly to me, which shows their trust in me. The Prime Minister asked Zhang Hu and Zhao Long why they came to me, why didn't he ask them why they didn't come to the Prime Minister?"

Wang Yantai said sternly, "Lord Han, do you want to sit in my position?"

Han Jian smiled faintly: "I dare not."