Chapter 51: Surface Nobility

    Within the Chonghua Palace, the silence was so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

    Ji Jin’s eyes flickered with a hint of coldness, and he frowned as he spoke, “Regent’s Princess Consort, please be mindful of your status.”

    “I’ve heard that the Emperor will take direct control of the government next year.” Shen Ning said, turning her head to look at him, her voice clear and cold. “A ruler of a nation must govern with rigor, act with fairness, and discern right from wrong. If one cannot even distinguish between right and wrong, loyalty and treachery, they will hardly make a good emperor.”

    “How insolent!” The Empress Dowager rose abruptly, pointing at Shen Ning in a rage. “Regent’s Princess Consort, you dare accuse the Emperor of being incompetent? You have quite the nerve! Guards!”

    The palace attendants within the hall knelt in unison, speaking with fear, “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

    Shen Ning looked at the furious Empress Dowager with an expressionless face, her peripheral vision catching the indifferent expression of the young Emperor, causing a strange feeling to stir within her heart.

    “Zhou Fang.” Ji Yucang said coldly, “go and summon the commander of the Imperial Guard.”

    Zhou Fang shuddered, instinctively glancing at the Emperor before bowing his head to accept the order, “Yes.”

    The Empress Dowager’s face was as still as water, the authority she had built over many years of ruling the inner court seemed to be shattered at this moment. She always thought she could keep her composure, but the eldest daughter of the Shen family truly had the ability to infuriate one to madness.

    She really wanted to know, without the protection of the Regent, whether Shen Ning would still dare to be so audacious.

    Ji Jin frowned, “Why does Uncle summon the commander of the Imperial Guard?”

    Ji Yucang spoke indifferently, “Before the Princess Consort married me, she was attacked by bandits in the outskirts. This incident brought her nearly devastating trauma.”

    Ji Jin nodded slowly, “I have also heard of this.”

    “I was previously concerned that the Princess Consort had been traumatized, so I never brought it up, thinking that the people of the Duke’s Mansion would investigate, but they did not.” Ji Yucang’s tone was calm. “Now that we have mentioned it, let the Imperial Guard look into this matter.”

Madam Qin was taken aback.

Ji Jin’s hand, which was holding the scroll, tightened slightly. If one wanted to uncover the truth, wouldn’t it be better to use the private soldiers of the Regent’s Estate? Why involve the Imperial Guard?

Lu Yan, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was an expert left by the previous emperor to Ji Jin. He was loyal only to Ji Jin, with formidable martial arts skills and a rebellious nature, making him a difficult person to deal with.

Was the Regent planning to use this opportunity to get rid of Lu Yan?

A chill began to spread in Ji Jin’s heart.

He now vaguely realized that the repeated harassment of Shen Ning by the Qin family and the Empress Dowager had probably angered the Regent.

So, was he planning to teach them a lesson?

The Empress Dowager obviously also realized the seriousness of the situation, her expression revealing a hint of unease: “Regent, it’s impossible for Yanshu to do such a thing. I believe that either the Regent’s Princess Consort has misheard, or Yanshu has spoken nonsense in a moment of panic. He is a noble relative of the imperial family, raised with the best education since childhood. How could he possibly do such a despicable act?”

“Whether it was him or not, we’ll know once the Imperial Guard investigates.” Ji Yucang said coldly, not giving the Empress Dowager much face. “Noble relatives are only noble on the surface. What they do in private is known only to themselves.”

Even the imperial palace is dirty, can one expect the great families to be clean?

Nobility and purity are all for show to others. Behind closed doors, the more prestigious and noble the family, the more filthy and despicable their private affairs.

After a short while, Commander Lu, dressed in the attire of a commander, walked in from outside and knelt on one knee: “Your humble servant Lu Yan, pays respects to the Emperor, the Regent, and the Empress Dowager.”

The air in the hall was still for a moment.

Madam Qin’s face showed signs of unease. She vaguely felt that she had come to the wrong place and at the wrong time.

And such a mistake was about to bring a great disaster to the Qin family.

“Lu Yan, the matter of my Princess Consort being attacked in the outskirts is now handed over to you to investigate.” Ji Yucang said coldly, his tone brooking no refusal. “You have three days. If you cannot find a definitive result, you can forget about being the commander of the Imperial Guard.”

“Uncle.” Ji Jin’s expression tightened slightly. “It has been so long since the incident occurred. Any clues that could have been erased are likely long gone. Even if Commander Lu tries his best, he may not—”

“You can start with Qin Yanshu. He admitted himself that he was behind all of this.” Ji Yucang’s voice was icy. “I will not hinder you from using any means necessary. Just get the results.”

“Regent, Yanshu is innocent, he is innocent!” Madam Qin’s face turned pale as she knelt on the ground with a thud, anxiously defending her son. “I admit that he still has feelings for the Princess Consort, but he is just too sentimental. He would never, ever harm the Princess Consort. I beg the Regent to investigate clearly! I beg the Emperor to investigate clearly!”

“Lu Yan, did you hear what I said?” Ji Yucang ignored Madam Qin’s outburst, his cold gaze falling on Lu Yan’s face. “Give me results within three days, or bear the consequences.”

Lu Yan felt a weight in his heart. He subtly looked up at the Emperor, already anticipating that the task given to him by the Regent would not be easy to complete and could very likely put him in a difficult position.

He was not a fool and understood the implications.

The Regent was clearly targeting Qin Yanshu.

If this matter was indeed Qin Yanshu’s doing, uncovering it would put the Imperial Uncle’s residence in a fatal position, and the Regent would not spare the Imperial Uncle’s residence.

If he couldn’t find anything, it would be his own incompetence, and the Regent would not spare him, and might even remove him from his position as commander of the Imperial Guard, replacing him with someone from his own ranks.

The Emperor would likely also be in a difficult position, having to choose between protecting the Qin family or protecting him, the commander…

“Lu Yan, what are you still standing there for?” Ji Jin said coldly. “Didn’t you hear what Uncle said?”

Lu Yan came back to his senses and quickly bowed to accept the order, “Yes, I will investigate this immediately.”

With that, he hurriedly got up and left.

Ji Yucang stood up, unabashedly holding Shen Ning’s hand, and turned to look at Ji Jin, “The Princess Consort was right earlier. As the ruler of a nation, if one cannot distinguish right from wrong, or differentiate between loyalty and treachery, I would question whether the Emperor is qualified to take direct control of the government. Perhaps the date for taking direct control could be postponed.”

After saying this, without waiting for the Emperor or the Empress Dowager to react, he left with Shen Ning.

“Uncle, please wait.” Ji Jin said calmly. “I have some important matters I wish to discuss with the you.”

Ji Yucang paused slightly, his voice indifferent, “I will wait for you in the Imperial Study.”