The steward explained, "Your Highness, Miss Shen Miao suddenly appeared at the mansion gate for some unknown reason. Two accompanying guards were also unconscious there, and they had the waist tokens of our Fourth Prince's Mansion on them! Now everyone knows that the second young lady of the Shen family wasn't exiled but secretly hidden by you!"
Hearing this from the steward, Xiao Hanzhi was utterly stunned.
He had clearly arranged for Shen Miao to stay in a manor on the outskirts of the capital. So why did Shen Miao show up at the mansion gate with the two guards he'd assigned to her?
Xiao Hanzhi didn't have time to think further. He was about to rush into the room to see Shen Miao and demand an explanation.
But the steward grabbed him and said anxiously, "Your Highness, don't worry about Miss Shen for now. She's still unconscious anyway. Your Highness, you'd better go to the main hall quickly. Someone from the palace has come and has been waiting for you for a long time! The Emperor already knows about this and has issued an order for you to enter the palace. Eunuch Li has been waiting in the main hall for a while."
Upon hearing this news, Xiao Hanzhi's face tensed up. His heart was pounding so fast that he was momentarily at a loss and didn't know what to do.
But now he could only rush to the main hall in a hurry. After all, Eunuch Li had been waiting for a long time. If he made Eunuch Li angry, who knew how the eunuch would slander him in front of the Emperor. So even though Eunuch Li was just a servant, he still had to curry favor with him.
Before Xiao Hanzhi entered the main hall, he took a quick glance from the door. Sure enough, he saw Eunuch Li sitting upright on the side seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand. But the tea didn't seem very hot, so it could be inferred that Eunuch Li had been waiting there for quite a while. However, the tea remained untouched. Didn't this indicate the seriousness of this incident?
This made Xiao Hanzhi even more flustered. He immediately called over his secret guard and whispered in his ear, "Send our people to inform my mother, the imperial concubine!"
After receiving the order, the secret guard rushed towards the palace without delay. It was like a race against time. They had to inform the imperial concubine about this before Xiao Hanzhi entered the palace.
After dealing with this matter, Xiao Hanzhi forced a smile and walked into the main hall. Looking at Eunuch Li, he apologized with a smile, "I wonder what brought you here today, Eunuch? It's a pity that I wasn't at home today. I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting."
Since Eunuch Li was carrying the imperial edict, he didn't chat with Xiao Hanzhi. He just gave Xiao Hanzhi a slight look and said in his shrill voice, "I'm here by the Emperor's order to summon the Fourth Prince to enter the palace. I've been waiting here for quite a while. Please accompany me to the palace quickly, Your Highness. Don't keep the Emperor waiting."
Xiao Hanzhi nodded repeatedly with a flattering smile.
"Eunuch Li is right. Maybe the Emperor misses me."
Eunuch Li looked at Xiao Hanzhi hesitantly, narrowing his eyes slightly without showing any contemptuous expression. But he thought to himself, "What's wrong with the Fourth Prince today? He's usually very smart, but today... Does he think the Emperor doesn't know about Miss Shen of the Shen family?"
He felt a bit sorry for Xiao Hanzhi. He had a favored mother, but he himself was so disappointing.
What a pity... What a pity...
...
In the imperial study.
Xiao Huaishi looked at Xiao Hanzhi in a fit of rage.
"Kneel down for me!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Hanzhi knelt straight in front of the desk, with his back straight and his head down, saying nothing.
"Do you know where you went wrong?" Xiao Huaishi scolded the kneeling Xiao Hanzhi.
But Xiao Hanzhi shook his head, indicating that he didn't know where he had made a mistake.
Suddenly, Xiao Huaishi threw a memorial at Xiao Hanzhi. The memorial hit Xiao Hanzhi's forehead. Although it was made of paper, it was still quite hard, and immediately a bump appeared on his forehead.
The memorial fell to the ground, but Xiao Hanzhi didn't utter a sound.
"Read carefully what's written on it!"
Xiao Hanzhi picked up the memorial that had fallen beside him and flipped it open. There were just a few sentences in it, all condemning him.
Xiao Huaishi continued to scold Xiao Hanzhi, "Look at the good thing you've done. I've already told you to stay away from her. She's the daughter of a criminal official and should have been exiled by now! But you still brought that woman back to the capital! Now that the people from the Western Yue Kingdom have come and you're about to marry the princess, but such a ridiculous thing happened today! This has really shamed our Eastern Ling Kingdom."
The secret guards' waist tokens said it all. There was no room for Xiao Hanzhi to explain further. If he did, it would only seem more deliberate.
So Xiao Hanzhi could only choose to bear all this silently, but he was very puzzled in his heart. Who on earth had done this?
Why did they have to frame him at this crucial moment?
Shen Miao, who should have been living in the manor on the outskirts of the capital, showed up at the mansion gate in broad daylight, and the two accompanying guards were unconscious.
No matter whose scheme it was, this thing had been done very successfully, and it had really made Xiao Huaishi lose faith in Xiao Hanzhi.
"Father, it's my fault. I didn't think it through. That day, Shen Miao came to me. I sent her to the manor on the outskirts of the capital out of old feelings. But I don't know why she showed up at the mansion gate today." Xiao Hanzhi lowered his head and admitted his mistake, but he kept explaining in his words that this matter had nothing to do with him and that he was purely framed.
Since this matter had already happened, they should only look for the most favorable solution, rather than just accusing each other of whose fault it was.
Xiao Huaishi waved his sleeve and said, "I've already issued an order. Shen Miao, the second young lady of the Shen family, who escaped privately, will be imprisoned in the dungeon of the Tian Ce Mansion for life!"
Xiao Hanzhi wanted to plead for Shen Miao, but after thinking about what had just happened, he closed his mouth.
Then Xiao Huaishi continued, "As for you, reflect on your mistakes in the mansion for me! You're confined to the mansion for three months and are not allowed to leave without my order! Go to General Yu and receive forty army rods for me!"
Xiao Hanzhi knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to Xiao Huaishi. With a blank face, he said, "Your son... obeys the order!"
At this time, Eunuch Li, who had been waiting outside, suddenly rushed in and came to Xiao Huaishi's side to whisper in his ear.