The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 428: Chapter 428: Demotion

It was framed as a plea, but his tone was incredibly forceful!

Besides Shen Yanchuan, probably no one else would dare to speak to Emperor Muwu like that.

But who could argue? He had plenty of leverage.

The Heir of Duke Dingbei had been the target of two assassination attempts, one of which was in the Capital City. He certainly had the right to demand justice.

And now... the conclusion was all but certain!

Everyone instinctively looked toward Xiao Chengxuan.

At this point, how could he possibly defend himself?

Xiao Chengxuan’s mind had already gone blank. He just stood there, stunned, his eyes unfocused.

He was completely dumbfounded.

For both attempts, he had indeed deliberately sent men in identical attire, precisely to make Shen Yanchuan believe it was the same group of people.

But he never expected Shen Yanchuan to have this trap waiting for him!

If he tried to deny it now, who would believe him?

More importantly—Shen Yanchuan had survivors!

Xiao Chengxuan simply couldn’t figure it out. Back on Wulan Mountain, he had repeatedly confirmed that his men had either escaped or been killed. He was sure not a single one was left alive.

So where did these two people come from?

’Could it be... Shen Yanchuan is bluffing me again!?’

But Shen Yanchuan had already bluffed him twice today. At this moment, Xiao Chengxuan had lost all nerve to gamble against him again.

’Shen Yanchuan is an incredibly deep schemer. Who knows what other tricks he has up his sleeve?’

’Anything I say now will only make things worse!’

Xiao Chengxuan chose to keep his mouth shut, which threw the rest of his faction into a panic.

Especially Jiang Zhao Yuan.

His first reaction was disbelief, but when he caught sight of the silent Xiao Chengxuan out of the corner of his eye, he grew uncertain.

’I knew nothing about any of this!’

But now that things had come to this, there was no way out.

Emperor Muwu’s face was livid.

”Bring in the witnesses!”

...

”Your Highness! Your Highness! This is bad!”

A little eunuch ran in, flustered. Consort Ru, who was applying her makeup at the mirror, immediately scowled.

”What’s all the panic about! Speak clearly!”

The little eunuch tripped on the threshold and stumbled into the room, his face pale and beaded with sweat.

Seeing his state, a sense of unease instantly grew in Consort Ru’s heart.

She knitted her delicate brows. ”What in the world is wrong!”

The little eunuch, ignoring the pain, spoke with a sob in his voice:

”Your Highness! Something has happened to the Second Prince!”

Consort Ru’s heart sank!

She had a vague inkling of what it might be, but she didn’t dare to dwell on it.

Forcing herself to remain calm, she asked:

”What? Isn’t today supposed to be the trial for Xu Jie’s case? What does this have to do with him?!”

”It was—It was originally about Lord Xu Jie’s case, but both the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Supervision Office are saying that the mastermind behind Lord Xu Jie’s plot against General Huo Yucheng is... the Second Prince!”

CLANG.

The black pigment stick dropped from Consort Ru’s hand. She froze, completely stunned.

But that wasn’t the end of it; the blows came one after another.

”The Second Prince was denying everything, but—but who would have thought that the Heir of Duke Dingbei would bring Ye Heng for a face-to-face confrontation!”

’Ye Heng?’

’Wasn’t he supposed to be long dead?’

”Ye Heng pushed all the blame onto the Second Prince, and—and...”

The little eunuch trailed off, stammering.

Consort Ru, having already lost her composure, snapped, ”And what! Speak!”

The little eunuch prostrated himself, his head hitting the floor.

”And, the Heir of Duke Dingbei also said that the Second Prince had sent assassins after him twice before! He—He has witnesses! His Majesty is furious!”

Black spots swam before Consort Ru’s eyes.

She had never imagined that so many things could happen in a single day!

Though she had been worried before, Xiao Chengxuan had repeatedly assured her that Xu Jie was tight-lipped and would never say a word.

But who could have known—

More importantly, Shen Yanchuan was now involved!

’He’s not someone to be trifled with!’

Mumbling to herself, Consort Ru rose and started for the door.

”I must go—I must go—”

’I have to get there as soon as possible and plead with His Majesty!’

Whether it would work or not, she absolutely could not just sit here!

The little eunuch and her personal palace maid both knelt to stop her.

”Your Highness! His Majesty is furious right now. You can’t just go over there like this!”

’If his anger is turned on you, then—’

A rush of blood went to Consort Ru’s head. ”All of you, get out of my way! That is my own son! If I don’t go, who will!?”

’I thought that with my father and the others present, Cheng Xuan would weather this storm safely.’

’But now, it seems that’s impossible!’

In truth, Consort Ru knew that going now would be useless.

But she couldn’t give up. She clung to one last sliver of hope.

’His Majesty has always doted on this son the most. He... he wouldn’t be so heartless...’

Seeing her determination, the palace attendants dared not stop her any longer.

Consort Ru hurried outside.

Just as she reached the courtyard, she saw another eunuch jogging quickly toward her.

”Your Highness! This is bad!”

The eunuch fell to his knees with a THUD.

”His Majesty has just issued a decree! The Second Prince is guilty of forming a clique for personal gain and harming a loyal official! He has been stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner! He is to be imprisoned at Chengxin Lake for life and cannot leave without a royal summons!”

It was a bolt from the blue.

Consort Ru’s mind went blank. She stood frozen for a moment, then, as if all strength had been drained from her, she collapsed.

”Your Highness!”

The palace maid rushed forward to catch her, panicked herself.

”Your Highness! Are you alright? Imperial Physician! Quickly, summon the Imperial Physician!”

Consort Ru gripped the palace maid’s arm tightly. When she spoke again, her voice was hoarse.

”No... No... I must see His Majesty... He can’t—he can’t do this to Cheng Xuan!”

’That’s my only son!’

’Once he’s demoted to a commoner, all hope is lost!’

The palace attendants descended into chaos.

But just as Consort Ru gritted her teeth and prepared to head out, a figure suddenly blocked her path.

”Mother Consort, you cannot go.”