Chapter 444: Minister Shen Had Fallen

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Since that person intended to frame me, it was not difficult for the person who wrote the letter to imitate my handwriting,” Minister Shen tried to argue his way out.

The Emperor was just about to reprimand him angrily when Song Que spoke first.

“Since Prime Minister Shen feels that these are not enough for you to admit responsibility for this matter, then let’s look at other evidence.”

Everyone looked at Song Que.

He still had other evidence?

Song Que calmly bowed to the Emperor.

“What evidence do you have? Bring all of them out,” the Emperor said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Song Que answered.

He turned around and looked at the captain of the Palace Guards who went out earlier.

The captain of the Palace Guards cupped his hands at Song Que and left again.

As he looked at the panic-stricken Minister Shen, Song Que smiled indifferently.

He bowed to the Emperor again.

“Other than the material evidence, I have witnesses too.”

“Oh?” The Emperor also glanced at Minister Shen.

Then, he said to Song Que, “Summon all of them here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Song Que answered.

After Song Que looked at another Palace Guard, that person also went out.

Before long, the captain of the Palace Guards brought over a bundle.

Another Palace Guard brought in five people.

Some people were so shocked that their eyeballs almost fell out.

How… how was this possible?

Who did they see? The Young Miss Shen Rong of the Shen family!

Wasn’t she already dead? They said that she had contracted a disease and died suddenly.

Back then, the Prime Minister’s residence held a funeral and it was known throughout the entire city.

However, today, the dead had been resurrected!

When Empress Jia saw this scene, her eyes widened abruptly.

When she saw Shen Rong and Mrs. Shen appear together with Shen Lian and an unfamiliar woman by their side, Empress Jia already had some guesses in her heart.

When Minister Shen saw Shen Rong, Meng Xuan, and Madam Zhao, who were supposed to be dead, his body went limp.

So Shen Rong and Meng Xuan didn’t die.

Madam Zhao was also alive.

That was right. Back then, he had arranged for Song Que to handle these two matters.

It wasn’t impossible for Song Que to fake their deaths and hide them.

When his eyes met Mrs. Shen’s gaze, Minister Shen felt as if his eyes had been stabbed.

Mrs. Shen was no longer as kind as she used to be. There seemed to be thousands of sharp arrows in her eyes that were about to shoot at Minister Shen as if they wanted to turn his body into a sieve that was full of holes.

“Your humble official’s wife and daughter hereby pay their respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!”

“Your humble subjects hereby pay their respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!” With Mrs. Shen taking the lead, Shen Rong, Meng Xuan, Shen Lian, and Madam Zhao all bowed to the Emperor.

The Emperor only knew Shen Rong and Mrs. Shen. When he saw Shen Rong, he was also very surprised.

“No need for formalities,” he said.

The dead had been resurrected. It seemed that Minister Shen’s crime was about to be confirmed.

Song Que had also received his bundle.

He bowed to the Emperor.

Immediately, a eunuch came down to retrieve the bundle.

The eunuch took the bundle and opened it before showing the contents to the Emperor.

The Emperor flipped through the documents, and the more he read, the more unpleasant his expression became.

Previously, he felt that he could not bear to punish Minister Shen this time.

However, now, he didn’t have such thoughts anymore.

Back then, Prime Minister Shen accused Song Hong of taking bribes and bending the law, selling official positions and titles of nobility for money.

However, what the Emperor saw now was not limited to just taking bribes and bending the law, selling official positions and titles of nobility for money.

So this was the way the prime minister led the civil and military officials to serve the country!

“Shen Hongyu! How dare you!” The Emperor flew into a rage and threw the documents in his hand at Minister Shen again.

Minister Shen was terrified, but he still mustered his courage to pick up the things on the ground.

The more he looked through them, the paler his face became.

The previous excuse he used was no longer applicable.

That was right. Song Que had been lurking by his side all this while, gaining his trust step by step.

During this process, how was it possible that Song Que did not do anything?

Minister Shen had even arranged many tasks for Song Que.

Minister Shen staggered, and his body almost fell back.

When Shen Rong and Shen Lian saw their father’s reaction, their expressions were somewhat conflicted.

The Emperor’s eyes were icy, however.

He began asking the witnesses for details.

Mrs. Shen knew the most, and every single matter she revealed shocked everyone present.

She was a daughter of the Jia family. Before today, she had already reached an agreement with Jia Kun to deal with Minister Shen.

In addition, Song Que had sent Shen Rong to her. After losing her daughter and getting her back, Mrs. Shen became even more determined to deal with Minister Shen in order to protect her daughter.

As for Madam Zhao and Shen Lian, they were initially hesitant.

However, after Song Que laid out the pros and cons, he managed to convince the two of them.

Since Minister Shen was destined to fall, why should they perish with him?

Furthermore, Madam Zhao was still officially a dead person.

When he heard the people closest to him accusing him of various crimes, Minister Shen finally could not hold on any longer.

His body went limp and he fell to the ground.

As he looked at the furious Emperor, Minister Shen’s heart was filled with despair.

He no longer thought of struggling to stand up. He simply sat there and listened to his family members continue to accuse him.

After the four women finished speaking, it was Meng Xuan’s turn.

Meng Xuan did not only accuse Minister Shen of framing the Meng family and forcing him to break off the engagement.

He even accused Minister Shen of having complete disregard for human life by sending people to take his life several times.

Then, he presented the material evidence.

“Shen Hongyu, what else do you have to say now?” The Emperor looked at Minister Shen furiously.

Minister Shen raised his head to look at the Emperor like a downtrodden stray dog.

Finally, he propped himself up and knelt before the Emperor.

“I plead guilty. Your Majesty… please punish me!” Then, he kowtowed to the Emperor.

The Emperor’s face had turned purple with rage.

“Good! Men…” he said sternly.

No one responded when he uttered these words.

As he looked at the Palace Guards around him, the Emperor’s face became ashen.

When Qin Xiaoyao saw this, the corners of her mouth curled up.

She looked at the captain of the Palace Guards.

Following that, the two Palace Guards beside the captain walked forward and bowed to the Emperor.

The Emperor frowned and looked at Qin Xiaoyao.

Only then did he realize that the one controlling the Palace Guards was not Jia Kun, but Marquis Xiaoyao.

With this conclusion, the Emperor felt much more at ease.

Didn’t Marquis Xiaoyao want to avenge the Song family?

As long as he reversed the verdict in Song Hong’s case for the Song family, Marquis Xiaoyao would have no intention of rebelling.

At that point, if he promised her some benefits, she would naturally be grateful for the Emperor’s kindness.

As for Jia Kun, he would suffer the consequences when the time was ripe.

All these years, because of the Empress, the Emperor had indeed doted on the Jia family too much. That was why Jia Kun had become so brazen.

After this, he would no longer be lenient. He believed that the Empress would understand.

“Take Minister Shen to the Imperial Prison and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation. How he will be judged in the end, just let justice takes its course!” the Emperor said angrily.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the two Palace Guards answered and went forward to lift Minister Shen up before escorting him away.

All the officials were shocked.

Although they knew that the Emperor had no choice but to issue this decree, they still felt that Minister Shen’s state was a little lamentable. The head of all the officials, Prime Minister Shen, had actually fallen just like that.

Minister Shen did not resist and allowed the Palace Guards to drag him out. His eyes swept across the faces of Mrs. Shen and the others before finally stopping on Empress Jia.

He stared at her until he could no longer see her.

Only after Minister Shen was dragged far away did the Emperor look at Qin Xiaoyao and the others.

“Since the late Prime Minister Song was wronged, I will naturally reverse the verdict to clear his name.

“Pass down the decree. From today onward, the late Prime Minister Song will be conferred the title of Marquis Anding. The Chen County will be given to the Marquis Anding as his fiefdom..”