The unfaithful prince consort

In the dim, silent study—

"Has everything really been arranged? They won't trace it back to me, will they?" Jiang Xingbang narrowed his eyes at Jiang Hu.

Jiang Hu lowered his head and stared at his toes as he replied, "Rest assured, my lord. Everything is in place. Even if Prince Jing and that newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review uncover something, the evidence will only point to the young master.

"As long as we pin these crimes on the young master, Her Highness can plead tearfully before His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. Then you can join her and humbly beg forgiveness. Surely that will be enough to save the young master's life."

Xiao Jinyi and Shen Shixu hid outside the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. Jiang Hu's words made Shen Shixu raise his eyebrows. With a glance, he asked Xiao Jinyi, If you and I hadn't gotten involved, would things really have ended the way Jiang Hu described, with a major crime swept under the rug until nothing came of it?

Xiao Jinyi wanted very much to tell him with a look that it was impossible. But on second thought, if he had not gotten involved and brought Shen Shixu into it as well...

Anyone else investigating might never have made it this far. Jiang Xingbang's men would have thrown them off the trail halfway through, leading them to the wrong verdict.

In that case, Jiang Xingbang's name would never even have surfaced.

When Xiao Jinyi gave no response, Shen Shixu understood what he meant. He said nothing more and continued listening to the conversation inside.

Jiang Xingbang still trusted Jiang Hu. "Good. Go get things ready. We'll return to the residence shortly. Prince Jing will probably bring this matter up at morning court tomorrow. I need to go back and prepare."

Shen Shixu thought this was the perfect moment to catch them red-handed. He winked at Xiao Jinyi, signaling for him to go in and arrest them.

Xiao Jinyi straightened up and smoothed the creases in his clothes, then kicked open the study door. Jiang Xingbang was about to berate the insolent servant, only to find himself looking at Xiao Jinyi's icy face. The sight frightened him so badly that he dropped into the chair behind him.

With Xiao Jinyi standing before him, Jiang Xingbang could not muster the slightest thought of resistance, much less attempt to subdue him.

As an uncle by marriage who had once been close to him, Jiang Xingbang had personally witnessed just how formidable Xiao Jinyi's martial arts were.

Forget ordering anyone to overpower Xiao Jinyi—he did not even consider running.

Jiang Xingbang followed Xiao Jinyi dejectedly. Seeing that neither man seemed to be paying attention to him, Jiang Hu tried to slip out through the back door.

He had barely turned around when someone kicked him in the knee, sending him crashing to his knees.

Jiang Hu endured the pain and stood up, bending forward to clutch his knee as he raised his head to see who had kicked him.

Shen Shixu stood with his arms folded, watching him coldly. Although Jiang Hu had never met him before, the fact that he had come with Xiao Jinyi, together with his breathtaking looks, allowed Jiang Hu to guess his identity: Shen Shixu, the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Now he could not escape either.

Neither Princess Kangning nor Jiang Bin was told that Jiang Xingbang had been taken away. Xiao Jinyi merely sent them a message instructing them to attend morning court at the Hall of Heavenly Purity the next day.

Shen Shixu returned to the Court of Judicial Review and took out several memorials written by the previous Vice Minister to use as references. Once he understood how to write one, he ground some ink, picked up a purple-bamboo brush tipped with weasel hair, found a blank memorial booklet, and began writing at length.

For morning court the next day, Shen Shixu put on the pale red court robes that had only arrived the previous evening and went to the Hall of Heavenly Purity with the memorial he had written overnight.

When Quan Xi announced the start of morning court and invited the ministers to present any matters they wished to report, Shen Shixu stepped forward with his memorial.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present. For his own selfish ends, Minister of Personnel Jiang Xingbang built an Underground Palace where he imprisoned young women, forcing them into clandestine prostitution for his personal profit. A few days ago, one woman escaped after fighting with all her strength, only to die of her severe injuries.

"He also left several women permanently disabled and more than a dozen others mentally damaged. This does not include the other women who died or suffered injuries over the years he profited from this operation.

"Furthermore, while Prince Jing and I were investigating the truth, he deliberately planted clues to frame Jiang Bin, his son with Her Highness. His crimes are appalling. I ask Your Majesty to pass judgment."

Shen Shixu's words threw the previously quiet court into an uproar. Everyone voiced opinions about his accusations, and most refused to believe Jiang Xingbang had truly committed such crimes.

But when they recalled the thoughts they had heard from Shen Shixu two days earlier, none of them dared question him.

Xiao Jinyi had already entered the palace the previous afternoon to tell Emperor Wu'an about Jiang Xingbang. Yet hearing Shen Shixu recount it still left the emperor seething.

"This matter shall be handled according to the laws of Great Qian. Human trafficking, forcing innocent women into prostitution, framing a member of the imperial family—with all these crimes combined, he is sentenced to execution after autumn!"

Princess Kangning and Jiang Bin were also in the hall. Neither mother nor son had yet recovered from the shock. Only when Emperor Wu'an pronounced Jiang Xingbang's death sentence did they finally react.

Princess Kangning cried out, her face full of disbelief. "How is that possible? How could Xingbang do such things? And frame Bin, too? Bin is his own flesh and blood! Even a tiger does not eat its cubs. How could he do this?"

Shen Shixu could not answer Princess Kangning's question either. Xiao Jinyi had asked Jiang Xingbang the same thing during his interrogation yesterday, but he had refused to explain.

He had confessed everything else in detail, even explaining how he had planted someone at Jiang Bin's side to entice him into buying the residence in Qiuyuan Alley.

Only on the matter of framing Jiang Bin did he stubbornly stick to his story: with Princess Kangning there, Jiang Bin would not lose his life even if he committed a crime. That was why he had thought of making Jiang Bin take the blame.

This was completely at odds with Jiang Xingbang's image as a loving father. Besides, Jiang Bin was his only son. Even if Jiang Bin escaped death, he would certainly be exiled three thousand li away. How could Jiang Xingbang bear that? He must have been hiding another secret.

Just as everyone was puzzling over this, 011 suddenly appeared. [Big brother, I know what happened. Jiang Xingbang betrayed Her Highness long ago. Jiang Bin isn't his only child at all. He has another daughter and son, and Her Highness has met both of them.]

Princess Kangning knew nothing about Shen Shixu's thoughts being audible. Suddenly hearing an unfamiliar voice reveal something so devastating was more than she could bear, and she collapsed into Jiang Bin's arms.

Jiang Bin froze as well. He warily scanned the hall but found no one suspicious. Still, he noticed the ministers wearing expressions that seemed to say, "Here we go again," as though they had heard this voice before.

Before he could work it out, 011 spoke again. [Jiang Xingbang started cheating behind Princess Kangning's back long ago. He even had the audacity to bring his mistress and the children she bore him before Her Highness.]