Jiang Gaoran’s face turned pale. He had never imagined that Wen Yuesheng would return to the capital so swiftly.

No transfer orders, no imperial edict—how dare she?

Such behavior was tantamount to treason!

He wanted to denounce her, but the words got stuck in his throat.

Everyone present knew who she was—Wen Yuesheng. Every official who opposed her had ended up in disgrace.

Jiang Gaoran was merely a newly promoted scholar of the Imperial Cabinet, far less influential than the likes of Wang Jinzhi or Elder Lü. How could he not feel fear?

What made it even more alarming was the fact that Wen Yuesheng had already returned, and they were only just hearing about it now.

This wasn’t merely stealth; it was an extraordinary display of her ability to act decisively and unpredictably.

The hall fell into an eerie silence. After a long pause, someone finally asked, “Did she lead an army back?”

All eyes turned toward King Jingkang, who stared coldly at the palace messenger.

His voice was sharp as he questioned, “Are you saying that Wen Yuesheng brought all the frontier generals back with her?”

Jiang Gaoran’s heart sank further upon hearing this.

The palace messenger bowed and replied, “Your Highness, accompanying the Princess back to the capital are the meritorious officials from the border campaigns, including Marquis Zhongyong, the heir Zhang, and General Xiao Lu.”

“In addition, she brought two thousand soldiers from the Blade Camp.”

Hearing the number “two thousand,” many in the hall breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, Wen Yuesheng hadn’t lost her reason.

When the messenger first reported her arrival, they had thought she had marched into the capital with an army of twenty thousand.

Even so, her return without orders still constituted a serious breach of protocol.

However, her reputation was so vast that if they were to accuse her of a crime, the most they could charge her with was insubordination.

… But since she dared to speak of “cleansing the court,” she likely didn’t care about such a charge.

The emperor’s expression grew darker as he listened to the report.

Jiang Gaoran hesitated, his lips moving soundlessly as he wrestled with his thoughts. Finally, he spoke up:

“Your Majesty, without an imperial edict, the commander-in-chief has returned to the capital of her own accord,” he said gravely. “This is a serious crime.”

Though he spoke with conviction, his tone lacked the confidence it had earlier.

“A general who disregards imperial orders undermines the throne’s authority. Wen Yuesheng’s actions are an affront to your majesty, and I implore you to punish her severely!”

At this point, Jiang Gaoran had no way out.

Wen Yuesheng had already returned. Whether or not he spoke out, she was unlikely to spare him. In that case, he might as well press forward to the end.

He believed that he had left no weaknesses for Wen Yuesheng to exploit. As a newly promoted official, he thought himself untouchable.

Moreover, he was aware of the emperor’s growing dissatisfaction with Wen Yuesheng. Otherwise, the order forbidding her return to the capital without permission would not have been issued.

Thus, he hoped the emperor would condemn her before she could appear at court.

When Jiang Gaoran finished speaking, all eyes in the hall turned to the emperor.

Seated on the dragon throne, the emperor’s face darkened further. He raised his hand and slammed it against the armrest, shouting, “Insolence!”

The officials below shivered.

Wang Jinzhi exchanged a glance with Elder Lü, who then stepped forward and said calmly, “Your Majesty, the victory at the frontier owes much to Princess Sining’s contributions.”

“From the recent campaign alone, it’s clear that the Princess is not one to act recklessly. Her sudden return to the capital must be due to an urgent matter, compelling her to act.”

Not far away, Yan Wei also stepped forward and said gently, “Before her departure for the frontier, Your Majesty bestowed upon the Princess the tiger tally. For a commander holding the tiger tally to return to the capital is not a breach of protocol.”

“Even so, she should not have abandoned her post,” Jiang Gaoran argued stubbornly. “Although the capital is far from the frontier, there are relay stations set up to facilitate communication. Even in an emergency, she should not have returned to the capital so hastily.”

Having learned that Wen Yuesheng was already in the capital, those officials who had previously sided with Jiang Gaoran were now hesitant to speak.

Standing at the center of the hall, Jiang Gaoran lowered his gaze slightly and said, “Since Princess Sining came to court, her methods have been ruthless, leaving many officials fearful.”

“I understand their apprehension, but when something is wrong, it is wrong. Should we allow her reputation to turn black into white?”

Elder Lü’s expression grew colder as he stared at Jiang Gaoran.

Jiang Gaoran was a mediocre man at best.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent years as an obscure editor in the Hanlin Academy.

But he had one strength: he was exceptionally good at reading people’s minds.

Like now, for instance, Wen Yuesheng had clearly made a significant contribution.

Everyone in the court with any clarity of thought knew that those who achieved merit should be rewarded, not punished by exaggerating their faults.

However, in his words, it became a story of how the entire court feared Wen Yue’s reputation, which was why no one dared to speak out or oppose her.

He knew the emperor was already dissatisfied with Wen Yue.

And he skillfully hit the emperor’s raw nerve.

If the entire court was afraid of Wen Yue, then what did that make the emperor? Just a figurehead?

Lü Ge Lao raised his gaze and, sure enough, saw the emperor’s face darken.

“Now that the frontier is stable, I believe the court should not tolerate such behavior. Princess Sining’s influence in the people’s hearts is so high; who knows if her recent victories have made her too pleased with herself, leading her to entertain dangerous thoughts?”

“Moreover, the court is full of talented individuals, and His Majesty is wise. What urgent matter could have forced her to rush back to the capital so desperately, without even sending a letter in advance?”

Jiang Gaoran finished speaking and was about to continue pressing the emperor to deal with Wen Yue, setting an example for others.

But just as his words left his mouth, the doors of the Taihe Hall, which had been shut, were suddenly pulled open from the outside.

The doors creaked with a loud bang, causing everyone in the hall to look up. Jiang Gaoran was not surprised, but when he saw who had entered, his expression changed drastically, his face turning pale in an instant.

Under the cold morning light, a figure stood in the doorway.

Dressed in a black gown embroidered with red-gold cloud patterns, the figure stood with the light behind her, holding a string of white jade Buddhist prayer beads in her right hand, her expression cold.

With such a unique presence, along with that striking gown and the prayer beads in her hand, who else could it be other than Princess Sining?

From the time the palace servant reported the army entering the capital to Wen Yuesheng directly appearing in the palace, barely half an hour had passed.

She had entered the capital without a summons—and had come directly to the palace.

Without any invitation, she stepped into the hall in front of all the ministers.

Jiang Gaoran, looking at her sudden appearance, felt as though his heart had dropped to the depths of despair. His expression turned ashen, and his heart began pounding wildly with every step she took toward him.

Wen Yuesheng stood at the center of the hall, her hands clasped behind her, her gaze cold as it met Jiang Gaoran’s. She spoke in a chilling voice, “Since Minister Jiang is so curious, why not listen carefully?”

Jiang Gaoran barely recovered his composure. His heart was racing, but he forced himself to calm down.

He had been in the court for many years, always serving in the Hanlin Academy, a position of modest means, where he had never taken bribes. But after being promoted to the cabinet in recent months, he had gained the emperor’s favor and was now showing his abilities in the court.

It was precisely because of his background that he dared to speak out and criticize Wen Yue even after learning of her return to the capital.

After all, in his mind, he thought he had no skeletons for her to uncover.

When Wen Yuesheng spoke, he lowered his gaze slightly, waiting for her to finish speaking before he would continue to refute her.

But instead, she coldly said, “Last month, I heard that Minister Jiang submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting a reduction in military supplies.”

Jiang Gaoran, who had thought he had no faults, felt his heart leap in his chest.

How did Wen Yuesheng know about this?

She had been away from the capital for more than three months, yet her information was still so up-to-date?

In fact, Jiang Gaoran had submitted this memorial to the emperor after the morning court, when he had a private audience with the emperor in the imperial study.

This matter was clearly unknown to most of the ministers in the hall.

Only the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue looked distressed.

Reducing military supplies would have to go through the Ministry of Revenue’s hands.

Before Wen Yue had departed for the campaign, the Minister of Revenue had assured her that he would take care of all the military supplies without issue.

But when the war with Hao Zhou intensified, and the emperor suddenly ordered a cut in military supplies, the Minister of Revenue couldn’t understand.

He still remembered that, on the day he met the emperor, the emperor’s face had been grim, and no matter what he said, the order to cut military supplies was firm.

As the emperor’s command was unchangeable, the Minister of Revenue was unable to carry out such an order, knowing that cutting off military resources would be disastrous for the troops at the front.

So that very night, he wrote a letter.