"Xiao Wu, that little scoundrel. Was she not even trying to act anymore?
And what nonsense was Dou Jifei spouting? It was utterly absurd."
Emperor Xuanwu fell silent.
Moments ago, the Crown Prince's faction had been clamoring to launch a full investigation. But now, curiously, all of them had fallen quiet.
Something was off.
At first glance, every sentence from Dou Jifei sounded like it was accusing Princess Sheng An.
Yet the facts did not line up.
When that servant from the Cao household approached these impoverished scholars, Princess Sheng An had not even been appointed as the chief examiner for the Spring Examinations.
And who had recommended her for the position?
The Crown Prince himself.
Furthermore, Dou Jifei claimed that Princess Sheng An had sold the Spring Examination questions. But then he contradicted himself, saying the questions turned out to be fake.
In other words, there was no actual leak.
The most outrageous part? Dou Jifei accused Princess Sheng An of swindling each student out of thirty taels of silver.
But let's think about it. Fourteen people, thirty taels each—just four hundred twenty taels in total.
That amount might be a fortune to a commoner, but to suggest Princess Sheng An would sully her name for four hundred taels?
Even if they were desperate to frame her, this kind of accusation was just insulting.
This was the same princess who once casually charged them several thousand taels to install underfloor heating. Four hundred? Was this some kind of joke?
The entire hall of Xuan Zheng was wrapped in silence.
At last, the one being accused—Yun Shu herself—stepped forward and shattered the hush.
"Reporting to Father Emperor, your daughter also has a statement to make regarding this matter."
"Speak."
Emperor Xuanwu's brow arched slightly. He was curious to see what his daughter had to say, now that she had beaten the drum of justice and summoned all civil and military officials to witness her case.
Leisurely, he adjusted into a comfortable sitting posture and watched as Yun Shu solemnly took her place before him.
"This matter must be traced back to the day I left the palace with Grand Preceptor Ye to visit the Charity Courtyard."
She recounted how she had first met Dou Jifei, how she had grown suspicious, and how she had ordered a quiet investigation. It was then that she discovered a servant from the Cao family had previously contacted Dou Jifei and was selling supposed Spring Examination questions in her name.
Yun Shu turned her head and offered the Crown Prince a mild, courteous smile.
"But Father Emperor, as you know, your daughter was only appointed chief examiner of the Spring Examinations due to the Crown Prince's recommendation.
Before that, I never even imagined I would hold such responsibility. So that servant from the Cao household was clearly lying.
Besides, the Spring Examination papers are not something a mere household servant could obtain. There must be someone more powerful operating behind him.
Thus, I continued the investigation. And as all are aware, due to the disgraceful actions of Young Master Cao Wenbin, the Cao family has fallen so far in the capital's esteem that even stray dogs would avoid them.
This made things quite convenient for me. I easily uncovered that during this period, only one person had any dealings with Master Cao.
That person was Feng Qi, an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Justice.
And Feng Qi happens to be a trusted associate of the Ministry's Vice Minister—Shen Jingyi, Daren."
"Your Majesty, I swear by Heaven and Earth, I have no involvement in this matter!"
Feng Qi's rank was too low for him to appear in the Xuan Zheng Hall. But Shen Jingyi, the Vice Minister of Justice, most certainly qualified.
Yesterday, when word came from the Eastern Palace to the residence of the Right Prime Minister—hinting that Princess Sheng An might attack openly during court—Shen Jingyi had known his chances of escaping unscathed were slim.
Still, preparing oneself mentally was one thing. Being publicly named by Princess Sheng An before the entire court was another.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
"I was taught by my mentors to uphold virtue and integrity, to value ritual and honor. I know full well how sacred and difficult the Imperial Examinations are. I would never commit such a grave offense as leaking the Spring Examination questions.
Though Feng Qi is under my command, I had no knowledge of his private dealings. If he has acted behind my back, I swear I was unaware!"
"Upheld virtue and integrity, you say?"
Yun Shu repeated his words slowly, then let out a cold laugh.
"Then all that virtue must have been fed to the dogs. What a disgrace to the Right Prime Minister's household."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
Princess Sheng An did not hold back.
Her first time attending court, she had already reprimanded the Minister of Revenue, leaving Minister Yan so shaken he still doubted his own abilities.
Her second appearance was merely incidental—drawn in by the Crown Prince's schemes, not of her own will.
But today, her second true court appearance, her momentum was clearly even stronger.
She had started with an obscure assistant, moved to Vice Minister Shen Jingyi, and now was subtly drawing in the Right Prime Minister himself.
At this pace, would she be reprimanding the Crown Prince next?
Those not aligned with the Crown Prince—especially the Eldest Prince's faction—were now eagerly watching.
"Such accusations are baseless!"
The Right Prime Minister's face darkened as mocking eyes turned toward him.
"Your Highness may not care for a mere four hundred taels of silver, but do you mean to say my son does?"
"That, Prime Minister, is an attempt to blur the issue," Yun Shu said calmly as she turned back. "After all, the accusations were made under This Princess's name. It is clearly an effort to frame me."
She had said moments ago that Shen Jingyi was behind it. Now, it had become you all.
The shift in phrasing was obvious even to onlookers. Naturally, the Right Prime Minister caught it.
His gaze grew sharp as he fixed his eyes on Yun Shu. Though he knew full well she was baiting him into asking the next question, he could not retreat now.
"If your name was used to frame you, should they not have sold the actual Spring Examination papers? Why sell forgeries?"
"You did sell the real ones."
Just as expected.
Yun Shu smiled sweetly, her voice crisp and clear.
Not only did she respond, she even brought out a formidable witness.
"Father Emperor, you must serve as witness. When I discovered this matter, I reported it to you at once.
And you personally confirmed that the test questions being sold were indeed the original Spring Examination papers."
"Indeed," Emperor Xuanwu said with a slight nod. "That is the truth."
"…"
At last, the mystery that had long puzzled the Crown Prince's faction was solved.
The Spring Examination papers had been swapped.
And it had all started with Dou Jifei, that despicable man, deliberately breaking a kitten's leg in an attempt to draw Yun Shu's attention.
All their months of planning, their carefully laid trap, had been ruined by something so utterly ridiculous.