The Prince Mansion of Jing.

The hot tea was steaming, puffing out wisps of white vapor.

The Prince of Jing sat upright at the head seat, holding a porcelain bowl, blowing on it lightly. He then asked, "He escaped?"

"Your Highness, it seems he successfully escaped. It's said that people from Xique Pavilion searched the Drunk Mountain area for seven days and nights but couldn't find his corpse. Moreover, there are rumors in the palace that they intend to charge him with treason."

The one speaking was the current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Old Minister Xu. Since the fall of the Lin Party, the political landscape in the court had been chaotic. The Ding'an Party gradually gained stability and even rose to overshadow the influential An family, forming a stalemate between them.

Given his mild temperament, Old Minister Xu had naturally been promoted to Grand Secretary.

Old Minister Xu said, "Over the past half year, he has the merit of saving the throne, and he has gained the trust of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Within the Capital, he is also known as loyal to the nation. If he hadn't escaped, the palace wouldn't dare to charge him with treason and rebellion."

The Prince of Jing nodded slightly. Having been involved in much of this matter, he naturally understood the rationale behind it.

Old Minister Xu sighed, "He is, indeed, an overly proud and ambitious man."

The Prince of Jing recalled, his mind drifting to the scene at his birthday poetry gathering, where Chen Yi stood his ground, head held high, unflinching and fearless.

The Prince of Jing shared the sigh and said, "He has the spirit of a young hero. He is certainly not one to accept being subordinate to others. With his unyielding pride and blunt honesty, he is a figure of outstanding talent… only slightly inferior to me."

Old Minister Xu replied, "Your Highness is correct. The palace handling matters this way is truly a shame."

The Prince of Jing let out a sigh, "To harm the loyal and virtuous…"

Old Minister Xu's expression turned somewhat uneasy and tense, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

The Prince of Jing waved his hand and said, "There are no outsiders here, and besides, the grudges between me and Chen Qianhu have long been written off."

Old Minister Xu showed a hint of hesitation. He had heard about the matter of the Prince of Jing selecting a son-in-law, but given the past conflicts between the Ding'an Party and Chen Yi, he, unaware of the deeper intricacies, couldn't discern the current relationship between Chen Yi and the Prince Mansion.

He gave a faint smile, picked up his tea bowl, and lightly swirled it, saying, "For us, this could be a blessing in disguise. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager will lose a sharp blade, and as His Majesty grows older and his power consolidates, the governance can gradually return to him."

The Prince of Jing lowered his gaze, contemplating for a moment, tapping lightly on the table.

He recalled that unruly commander of households, seemingly born without understanding the word "respect," acting unrestrained, entirely driven by his own desires.

A man who could even give up all wealth and splendor, recklessly fleeing it all, just to marry his daughter—all for a mere notion of "love," all to break free from his constraints.

The Prince of Jing knew that, unlike this man, he himself was someone burdened with too many concerns. Even so, a trace of longing stirred in his heart.

Not to mention, that man was now his son-in-law.

Old Minister Xu's voice had not yet fully faded: "This matter can be stirred up, but it cannot escalate too much. It must be handled discreetly, giving the palace and the An family some face…"

"Face?" The Prince of Jing suddenly interrupted, "Give face to this one, give face to that one—who will give me face?"

Old Minister Xu was taken aback.

The years of suppressed fury within the Prince of Jing finally erupted. He slammed the table fiercely,

"Wei Ying chose a husband for her daughter first. Then the palace, with one word of 'bestow marriage,' decides a match, disregarding my Prince Mansion of Jing as if we don't exist! A commander of households who had rendered great service—just one word of 'treason,' and he's declared a traitor, playing with the heavens and earth as their whim! With such blatant reversal of truth, we are still to give them face? How does that not disgrace the nation? How does that not betray the scholars of the land?"

Old Minister Xu was dumbstruck, unable to recover for a long while.

It was well known to those in the know that the temper of the Prince of Jing was far from mild. That said, his outbursts of anger usually came quickly and subsided just as fast.

But for some reason, Old Minister Xu sensed that today was different.

Old Minister Xu hurriedly tried to calm him, "Please cool your anger, Your Highness, please calm down."

The Prince of Jing said coldly, "Calm down? Old Minister Xu, when the Lin Party was still around, we were already giving face. Now that the Lin Party is gone, we are still to give face? This so-called face—I cannot give."

"Then… what does Your Highness intend to do?"

"If they truly charge him with treason, then we will submit a petition knocking on the Drum of Justice, making it a scandal for judgement at the court assembly."

The Prince of Jing paused briefly, observing Old Minister Xu, who showed hesitation like a paperhanger torn and tentative. Raising his tone slightly, he continued:

"Old Minister Xu, you must realize, if the charge of treason stands, it means this Prince has a son-in-law branded a traitor! Then where will the reputation of Jing's Prince Mansion be placed? With a ruined signboard, how many righteous scholars will still step through our door?"

The earlier arguments, rooted in both logic and emotion, Old Minister Xu could choose to ignore. But these final words, he had no choice but to take seriously. His elderly brow furrowed deeply as he began to weigh the matter.

The Prince of Jing, as the late emperor's brother, treated scholars with courtesy and carried himself with the demeanor of a gentleman. From the very beginning, the Ding'an Party had united under the reputation of Jing's Prince Mansion. If his son-in-law were accused of treason, it would indelibly stain his name.

In the Capital, the literary figures and scholars always prided themselves on their integrity, each carrying righteousness on their lips. After such an event, they would inevitably bear grudges against Jing's Prince Mansion and refuse to join the Ding'an Party. Over time, the Ding'an Party wouldn't be able to find any capable figures to rely on.

Considering all this, Old Minister Xu finally relented and spoke:

"Though the Ding'an Party and Chen Qianhu had past grievances, we must now speak out in fairness. This will let the scholars of the land clearly see who is loyal and who is treacherous."

In the past, the Lin Party had been notorious for disrupting the court, relentlessly targeting their opponents, and almost monopolizing power.

The Ding'an Party, on the other hand, had been able to stand against them largely because of their reputation for uprightness, aside from the Heavenly Family's need to balance political power.

Submitting a petition against the court's decision might greatly anger the palace. However, in terms of preserving the Ding'an Party's reputation, it would be an entirely beneficial move.

Old Minister Xu slowly said, "The only issue is… we must tread carefully not to provoke the palace too much. For the sake of the greater good, we officials should refrain from taking the lead. Instead, let the Imperial Academy, the Hanlin Academy, and a few other principled and upright individuals handle it…"

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