Tianliangyuan

Chapter 480 Taking the blame

That last sentence immediately angered Cui Chong.

But Cui Chong is not her; she still has reason.

“Princess, this matter was originally your fault, so what are you still resentful about? If you hadn’t ignored advice and done these things in private, how could you have angered Xu Zhaozhao and been reported to the Emperor?”

Princess Ning Shuo was furious: "She could have easily suppressed this matter, why did she have to make such a big fuss? Haven't we already expressed our stance?"

Cui Chong laughed in anger: "Do you think this is just a small matter? When Xu Zhaozhao sent people to investigate Lin Wulang, she naturally found out some other shady people and things. It would have been fine if these hadn't been delivered to her, but now that they have, what do you think she should do?"

Princess Ning Shuo was taken aback, still not understanding.

"Then just send it to me, won't that be better?"

Cui Chong shook his head helplessly: "Princess, do you know what Xu Zhaozhao's people found out? And they sent it to you? If it's really sent to you, the entire Cui family will probably be implicated."

Princess Ning Shuo was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Cui Chong couldn't explain much to her, mainly because his knowledge was also very limited.

All he knew was that Xie Zheng had come to the Marquis of Xinning's residence the night before last, and then spoke with his father in the study for about fifteen minutes. After that, his father repeatedly ordered him not to oppose the Xie and Xu families, and also specifically emphasized that he should not provoke Princess Anle.

"Calm down here first. Some things are not as simple as they seem on the surface. Your plan to send someone to plot against Lin Wulang has been exposed. Now I just want to ask you one question: who gave the princess this idea?"

Princess Ning Shuo wasn't stupid. Upon hearing his question, she immediately realized that she had most likely been tricked.

Cui Xuanzheng looked at his son standing opposite him. He never expected that the princess, who had always been very clever, would be tricked by someone.

“This incident is a lesson. Those people are very likely spies planted by Prince Zhong. We suffered a great loss this time. Fortunately, Xie Zheng came to inform us in advance. Otherwise, we might have really turned against the Xie family. In that case, Prince Zhong would be the one who would be pleased.”

Cui Chong had just heard the whole story from his father.

It turns out that among the people Xu Zhaozhao investigated, 70% were actually spies in the Zhongwang faction.

This is a good opportunity to get rid of them, and also to teach Princess Ning Shuo and the Crown Prince a lesson. Don't think that just because they are the Crown Prince, everything will be fine and they can rest easy.

By reporting this matter to His Majesty, Xu Zhaozhao was essentially siding with the Crown Prince and thus protecting him.

Therefore, even Empress Qu could not say that Xu Zhaozhao was opposing the Crown Prince.

It was only after being reprimanded and persuaded by Cui Xuanzheng and Qu Shiji that the Crown Prince humbled himself and went to the Hundred Fruit Garden.

To put it bluntly, the Crown Prince should also thank Xu Zhaozhao; otherwise, how could he have uncovered so many spies all at once?

So it seems that the only one who was injured was Princess Ning Shuo.

There's no way to handle this perfectly. In fact, Princess Ning Shuo's mistake makes it easier for His Majesty to believe in the Crown Prince's innocence and helplessness.

Even Princess Ning Shuo was manipulated; just how deep is the Prince Zhong's cunning?

Of course, the only regret is that there is no way to directly prove that these people are all from the Prince Zhong's faction, so the Crown Prince cannot complain to His Majesty.

However, His Majesty naturally has his own judgment.

However, the matter in Yuzhou is not yet resolved, so His Majesty cannot punish Prince Zhong, and naturally he is somewhat dissatisfied with the Crown Prince.

Therefore, outsiders don't understand at the moment and will only think that Xu Zhaozhao complained about the princess in front of the emperor, thus directly confronting the crown prince.

Of course, this illusion will soon be seen through, but that's not important. What's important is that the person Xu Zhaozhao really tricked wasn't the Crown Prince.

Cui Xuanzheng, Cui Xuanming, and Qu Shiji sat down together to discuss the matter.

As high-ranking officials in the imperial court, they were even more convinced that all of this was Xie Xiaolin's arrangement. Of course, they would not deny the role played by Xu Zhaozhao in it.

"Are you sure Xie Xiaolin wasn't aware of this beforehand?"

"She definitely didn't know, but it's already quite commendable that she was willing to let me know after the investigation was completed. Besides, I don't think Xu Zhaozhao, a mere woman, could have such a deep scheme."

Qu Shiji was silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly: "We can't underestimate Xu Zhaozhao; she's no simple woman. Just think about how much His Majesty favors her—that's enough to show how capable she is. She may not have known about this matter beforehand, but the fact that she was able to make a quick decision speaks volumes."

Moreover, I've heard that while the inner quarters of the Duke of Huguo's mansion appear to be managed by Madam Xie the Second, in reality, Xu Zhaozhao makes all the major decisions. Xie Xiaolin values ​​her highly, and Xie Zheng is completely indifferent to matters within the mansion, leaving everything to Xu Zhaozhao's discretion.

Cui Xuanming nodded in agreement, "All those grown men in the Xu family combined might not be as cunning as Xu Zhaozhao."

"Is she really that amazing?" Cui Xuanzheng felt that he had overestimated Xu Zhaozhao.

Qu Shiji chuckled and said, "Brother Xuanming is indeed exaggerating a bit, but Xu Mutou is definitely no match for Xu Zhaozhao. The other three juniors of the Xu family are all formidable. Xu Junfeng is good at fighting, Xu Junan can stabilize the rear, and as for Xu Junting, he was ennobled on his own. They are all young talents."

No one disagreed with that statement.

The facts speak for themselves.

"In retrospect, we owe the Xie family a huge favor after all this. Tsk, it's not easy to repay!"

They are all from the Crown Prince's faction, and if this matter is not handled properly, it could implicate the Crown Prince.

Ultimately, they preferred to believe that they owed a favor to a grown man, and a renowned general at that, rather than that they had lost to a woman.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't care at all. She was just creating a smokescreen. The more people believed that Xie Xiaolin's decision was the best, the better.

Xie Xiaolin, who was instructing several younger members of the clan on martial arts training at the training ground, had no idea that he had quietly taken the blame for his daughter-in-law.

Two or three days later, everyone was wondering what kind of brilliant strategist the Duke of Protectorate had kept by his side. He had handled things so well, seemingly offending several factions, but in reality, all factions were looking at him with new respect.

Therefore, many people are thinking that General Xie is not only good at fighting, but also seems to be good at strategy. The key is that he is also His Majesty's confidant. From now on, we must respect him and never provoke him!