My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Chapter 131 1 Conspiracy

Granny Qi's expression was so stiff that even someone as carefree as a magpie would find it hard to ignore.

She asked curiously, "Granny, what exactly happened?"

Granny Qi forced a stiff smile: "It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of something."

As she spoke, her eyes darted around as she carefully considered how to make Wen Shuyao ignore the matter.

However, Wen Shuyao's expression did not change much.

After examining it carefully for a while, Granny Qi finally felt relieved.

"Your Highness," Granny Qi stepped forward and whispered, "About last night, this old servant..."

“It’s all in the past now.” Wen Shuyao said gently. “Granny, you don’t need to dwell on what happened last night. However, there is one thing I need your help with.”

Upon hearing this, Granny Qi nodded quickly: "Your Highness, just give your instructions, and this old servant will certainly handle this matter beautifully!"

Wen Shuyao lowered her voice and whispered a few words in her ear.

Upon hearing this, Granny Qi's eyes widened, sparkling with admiration: "Your Highness, what a brilliant plan! In this way... we can solve our immediate crisis."

What Wen Shuyao was talking about was precisely this case of usury.

Xie Jinghan still has the unresolved case of cheating in the imperial examinations, and the case of usury involves a truly enormous number of powerful families. If this force were to unite, even the emperor might find it difficult to resist.

Let alone Xie Jinghan?

As Xie Jinghan's wet nurse, Granny Qi had watched him grow up since he was a child, and naturally did not want to see Xie Jinghan be attacked from both sides. Therefore, after hearing Wen Shuyao's plan, she made a decision.

"However..." she hesitated, "What about the Prince..."

“I have already discussed this with the Prince.” Wen Shuyao said calmly, “The Prince will also raise this suggestion at the Grand Court Assembly today.”

"But before His Majesty makes a decision, we need you to take some people to stir up the water in this pool."

Granny Qi nodded firmly with a cold expression: "You can rest assured, this old servant will definitely handle this matter properly for you and the Prince."

After she finished speaking, she strode away with her people.

The magpie looked at Wen Shuyao and said, "Miss, last night..."

"Your Highness is self-disciplined and respectful," Wen Shuyao said briefly. "Naturally, you won't do anything to me. I'm perfectly fine."

"But you," Wen Shuyao said, noticing the dark circles under Xique's eyes, "go back and get some rest."

Magpie rubbed her head and whispered, "This servant was too careless. I was actually drugged by just one bowl of soup from the old woman, and I almost caused you, Miss, to be in danger!"

“Granny Qi is a good person.” Wen Shuyao patted Magpie’s shoulder. “After this matter, she probably won’t use such methods to facilitate my marriage with the Prince again. You can just befriend her.”

“You just need to…” Wen Shuyao recalled the tragic scene of the magpie being beaten to death in her previous life. Her eyes reddened slightly, but she quickly suppressed her emotions. “You just need to be well. As long as you are safe and sound, I will be at ease.”

The magpie raised its head in surprise: "Miss, what are you saying? Of course, I will stay by your side and protect you."

"Alright, alright." Wen Shuyao smiled helplessly. "I misspoke."

The magpie gave a soft hum, but still went to rest in the room as Wen Shuyao had instructed.

Wen Shuyao stood under the corridor, looking at the clear blue sky, her beautiful eyes sparkling.

Now it's Xie Jinghan's turn.

Thinking of the words she had spoken to Xie Jinghan before dawn, she felt a pang of fear.

Fortunately, although she and Xie Jinghan had not known each other for long, they were on the same side and trusted each other.

……

Inside the Tai Chi Hall.

The emperor rubbed his temples, watching the civil officials below engage in heated debate, while the military generals rubbed their hands together, eager for a fight.

"Enough," he said in a deep voice. "This is a court assembly, not a marketplace! What kind of behavior is this?"

Xie Jinghan, who had instigated all this conflict, stood at the very front, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he hadn't been the one to speak first.

Seeing his expression, the emperor felt helpless and glared angrily at the ministers who were arguing the most fiercely: "How long are you going to keep arguing?"

Minister Liu was the first to step forward. As one of the families that Xie Jinghan had targeted first, he had devoted himself to the future of the Liu family and could not stand idly by and watch the Liu family get caught up in the scandal of corruption and murder.

Therefore, even though he loathed Xie Jinghan, he reluctantly agreed to Xie Jinghan's proposal.

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed, "Prince Jing's words are reasonable. Because of those with ulterior motives who have been frequently lending money at exorbitant interest rates, so many murders have occurred. If we do not thoroughly investigate, how can Your Majesty's wisdom be demonstrated?"

"However, the Wen family, the family of Prince Jing's wife, is also closely related to these murder cases. Baohua Pavilion, under the name of the Wen family's wife, is one of the culprits in issuing usurious loans. Prince Jing is really not suitable to handle this case."

"We hope Your Majesty will choose someone else to handle this case impartially!"

Doesn't the Liu family have people who lend money at exorbitant interest rates?

Of course there is!

But Minister Liu was certain that there was no such foolish person among the direct descendants. As for the collateral descendants... they should be abandoned. Now that things had come to this, the only option was to make a tough decision!

Thinking of this, he felt a pang of heartache and glared at Xie Jinghan with resentment.

If Xie Jinghan were to handle this case, even his direct descendants would likely be in danger of being spared. But if it were handed over to someone else… His gaze swept over the princes, and he knew their thoughts perfectly well!

I just don't know why Xie Jinghan would make this suggestion. Could it be that he's afraid?

This is unlike him.

Minister Liu pondered for a long time, but could not come to any conclusion.

However, with him stepping forward, many powerful families echoed his sentiments, with the Zhuang and Dong families following closely behind. The three major families all stood on the same side, and outside the court, the voices of those who held opposing views were barely audible.

The emperor sat beneath the dragon throne, taking in everything, his eyes unfathomable.

But after a moment, he raised his head, his expression turning stern: "In that case, we shall send someone else to handle this case."

"Among all the civil and military officials, who is willing to volunteer to speak up for the people?"

The emperor's words caused the princes' eyes to flicker repeatedly.

Among them, the second prince was the most interested.

If it can truly speak up for the people...

Then this case will become one of his achievements!

Moreover... by dealing with just a few people, one can win over a large number of powerful families!

With this thought in mind, the second prince was about to step forward.

However, the third prince acted even faster than him.

The Third Prince, with an air of righteous indignation, declared: "Father! Your son is willing to share your burdens!"

As soon as he spoke, the emperor exclaimed, "Very well! In that case, let's hand this case over to the third prince!"

The emperor didn't even think about it, which made the second prince sigh with regret.

If he had known this would happen, he should have acted even faster!