The most dissolute couple in the capital

Three days later, the morning court session began.

Censor-in-Chief Zhou Shuzhi stepped forward, holding his official tablet, and proclaimed in a loud and clear voice:

"Your Majesty, I impeach Prince Liang, Li Chengjing, for his lack of moral character despite being of noble birth. He has opened numerous shops in the city, using the name of the royal family to amass wealth. This has damaged the reputation of the imperial family. I humbly request Your Majesty to reprimand him!"

These words immediately sparked a flurry of whispers in the court.

The matter of the Prince of Liang opening a shop may have been kept low-key at first, but after several twists and turns, those who needed to know about it knew about most of it.

But anyone with eyes to see knows that the emperor tacitly approves of it, and no one dares to bring it up normally.

What's wrong with me today?

The ministers all stole glances at the emperor on the dragon throne.

The emperor listened expressionlessly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the court officials before finally settling on Zhou Shuzhi.

"Does Minister Zhou mean that my brother is embezzling funds and enriching himself outside the palace?"

Zhou Shuzhi felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze, but he still forced himself to speak: "Your Majesty, I dare not presume to comment on His Highness Prince Liang's private morality. However, I have heard that Prince Liang has designed numerous hidden chambers in his shop, and those who frequent it are all women and children from the inner quarters of officials. Not only has Prince Liang's mansion been using this to amass wealth, but it is also suspected that he is using merchants to inquire into the secrets of various mansions and to corrupt the court. Such actions that disgrace the reputation of the royal family deserve Your Majesty's severe punishment."

Prince Li Chengjing of Liang holds no real official position and is too lazy to even attend the morning court session. He is probably still fast asleep in his bed at the Prince of Liang's residence right now.

The emperor finally spoke, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger, "Send someone to the Liang Prince's residence and bring that scoundrel to me."

Half an hour later.

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the Taiji Hall.

Li Chengjing, still clutching a sandalwood box tightly in his hands, strode aggressively across the threshold, and after bowing, began shouting loudly:

"Who! Who impeached me?!"

The entire court of officials: "..."

The emperor rubbed his temples, barely suppressing the urge to smash the paperweight down: "Shouting and yelling before the emperor, what kind of decorum is this! Zhou Zhongcheng impeached you for competing with the people for profit and for prying into the private affairs of officials. Tell me yourself, is this true?"

Li Chengjing turned his head and stared at Zhou Shuzhi, who was kneeling on the ground:

"You surnamed Zhou, stop making baseless accusations! That Chenxiang Pavilion was my princess's dowry shop, and the cosmetic formulas were something I figured out myself! My princess comes from the dignified Cui family of Qinghe, she is well-educated and reasonable, and she works hard every day checking the accounts, earning her money honestly and cleanly. How did you come to think that she's corrupting the court?"

Zhou Shuzhi was taken aback by his shout, then straightened her neck and said defiantly, "Your Highness, stop beating around the bush! It is already improper for a princess consort of a prince to engage in business! Moreover, Chenxiang Pavilion earns tens of thousands of strings of cash a month, and the women come and go frequently. Who knows if you are taking the opportunity to gather information about the private affairs of the officials' harems?!"

"Pah!"

Li Chengjing walked straight up to him. "Do I need to inquire about your own petty affairs? You know perfectly well whether it's an impeachment or just a guilty conscience. Lord Zhou, your new concubine, who took you in last month, pulled your wife's hair in the street while trying to snatch a limited-edition treasure from the Chenxiang Pavilion. The whole city of Chang'an is buzzing about it. Do I really need to go and find out?"

Several military officers who usually didn't get along with Zhou Shuzhi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhou Shuzhi's old face instantly turned a deep liver color, and he pointed at Li Chengjing, trembling for a long time: "You...you...you've disgraced scholarship! You've disgraced scholarship!"

"Can being cultured put food on the table?" Li Chengjing rolled his eyes, turned to face the emperor, and shouted, "Your Majesty! This old bastard says I'm embezzling money, and I have evidence to present!"

After saying that, he shoved the sandalwood box in his arms into the hands of the bewildered eunuch Zhao An.

Zhao An carried the box to the imperial desk.

When the emperor opened it, he found a thick stack of account books and receipts inside.

The emperor casually flipped open a book, his gaze lingered slightly, and then he raised his hand: "Read it."

Zhao An immediately cleared his throat and read aloud:

"Since its opening, the Agarwood Pavilion of the Liang Prince's Mansion has not only paid its commercial taxes to the Ministry of Revenue in full every month, with the exact amount of silver clearly recorded, but also... since last year, His Highness the Liang Prince and Princess have allocated 50% of their monthly surplus to the Orphanage in the South of Chang'an City, to support orphans, teach them skills, and provide medical care and medicine. The Orphanage's receipts are all here!"

Zhou Shuzhi's mouth was wide open, like a duck being choked.

Li Chengjing stood in the center of the hall, his chin almost pointing to the sky, and spread his hands:

"Did you hear that? I'm a frivolous prince, only good at cosmetics! But my princess consort is a benevolent ruler, earning money to support many orphans! Lord Zhou, you receive your monthly salary from the court, and besides taking more concubines, have you ever donated a single coin to the orphans of Da Ning?!"

The entire hall fell silent; no one dared to respond.

The emperor's voice was calm and unhurried: "Does my dear minister have anything else to say?"

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty, I was reckless!" Zhou Shuzhi's knees buckled, and he fell heavily to the ground with a thud, his body drenched in cold sweat. "I reported this matter based on hearsay without proper investigation. Please forgive me!"

"To smear the reputation of the current prince and princess with a single sentence without thorough investigation?" The emperor sneered, slamming the account book heavily onto the table. "Where did this matter concerning the orphanage in the south of the city come from?"

Li Chengjing immediately seized the opportunity to flatter her: "Your Majesty, it was actually Her Highness the Eldest Princess who initiated this! Zhao'er established this orphanage five years ago, secretly taking in displaced orphans. What is the little money I donated? Zhao'er truly worked hard; she used her own savings and did everything herself. Later, my Princess Consort found out and was deeply moved, so she donated all the profits. I have also seen the account books; all expenditures are clearly documented and transparent!"

Wait a minute, in your last sentence you said half of the profits, how come you donated them all?

The emperor, impatient with these verbal exchanges, swept his gaze over the officials in the hall, each with their own distinct expression, and said in a deep voice:

"Summon the princess to the palace."

The emperor waved his hand: "Summon the princess to the palace."

When Li Zhao received the message, he was checking the accounts for the winter clothes sent by the orphanage.

"Princess, a decree has been issued from the Taiji Palace. His Majesty summons you to court immediately." The eunuch who came to deliver the decree bowed slightly.

Li Zhao paused slightly as he checked the accounts.

A drop of ink falls on the paper, spreading out like a plum blossom.

She raised her head, her gaze passing over the half-open window, and looked in the direction of the Taiji Hall.

That was the power center of the Great Ning Empire, the place where the Emperor directed the affairs of state and where officials bowed and kowtowed. Since the founding of Great Ning, apart from the Empress Dowager ruling, no princess had ever been able to rightfully step into that hall representing the supreme imperial power without being a member of the harem.

"I understand." Li Zhao's voice was unusually calm.

After changing into her dignified and solemn princess court dress, Li Zhao walked out of the inner palace step by step.

The white marble steps leading to the Taiji Hall seem to stretch on forever.

The early spring wind, carrying a slight chill, swept past her clothes. Li Zhao looked up at the towering double-eaved roof of the palace, its golden glazed tiles reflecting a dazzling light in the morning sun.

With each step she took, her heartbeat became a little calmer.

"Her Highness the Princess has arrived!"

As the eunuch's sharp, high-pitched announcement rang out, the heavy vermilion doors of the Taiji Hall suddenly swung open before Li Zhao.

Inside the main hall, civil and military officials automatically stood on both sides, and countless gazes fell on her.

There was shock, curiosity, disdain, and also a deep-seated fear.

Li Zhao looked straight ahead, his back ramrod straight, his posture composed and dignified.

"Your subject Li Zhao pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

A clear, dignified female voice echoed in the empty hall.

The emperor looked at his eldest daughter kneeling at the foot of the jade steps.

This is his most outstanding child, calm, reserved, and insightful.

But at this moment, seeing her kneeling calmly without fear of the scrutinizing gazes of the entire court, the emperor couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

"Rise." The Emperor raised his hand. "Zhao'er, Prince Liang just said that you founded the orphanage in the south of the city five years ago. Is that true?"

Li Zhao slowly stood up and handed over the booklet with both hands from his sleeves:

"Your Majesty, this is indeed true. Five years ago, during a heavy snowfall in winter, I went out of the palace to pray for blessings and saw many frozen corpses in the south of the city, including many young children. I could not bear it, so I used my own annual salary to buy a house to take in the orphans."

Zhao An presented the booklet to the emperor.

The emperor opened the book, and there was a dense and orderly record of the source and destination of every penny, as well as the name and fate of every orphan.

The money mostly came from the princess's fiefdom, with a small portion coming from the queen's subsidies.

"My daughter has worked quietly for five years, giving away all our family fortune to help the people of Da Ning! My brother and sister-in-law have generously donated all the profits from their shops to help them!"

The emperor stood up, and his imperial aura enveloped the entire hall.

"Yet some officials, instead of serving the country, believe whatever they hear, forming cliques and framing relatives in court! Zhou Shuzhi, you claim that the Prince of Liang is spying on the officials' private affairs, where is your evidence?!"

Zhou Shuzhi had no evidence. He had long harbored resentment towards Li Chengjing, and now that he had received the news, he was resorting to the tactic of suspecting his neighbor of stealing the axe.

As long as we can plant a seed of suspicion in the eyes of His Majesty, given that emperors have always been suspicious, we will have no trouble finding fault with Li Chengjing in the future.

Zhou Shuzhi trembled like a leaf, his forehead slamming heavily against the brick: "Your Majesty, I am guilty! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

The emperor waved his hand dismissively: "Drag him away, strip him of his official hat, and hand him over to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough investigation to determine if he has engaged in any acts of embezzlement or abuse of power!"

The imperial guards rushed in like wolves and tigers, dragging Zhou Shuzhi, who was lying like a dead dog, out.

The hall was completely silent.

When the emperor sat back on the dragon throne and his gaze fell upon Li Zhao, it was now clearly softened and appreciative.

"Zhao'er, you've done an excellent job. With such a beneficial act for the country and its people, why did you keep it from me?"

Li Zhao lowered his head slightly, his tone sincere with just the right amount of filial piety:

"Your Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state. As Princess Daning, I enjoy the support of the people and should share your burdens. If I publicize such trivial matters, I will lose sight of my good intentions. If it weren't for my uncle being framed today, I wouldn't have intended to speak of it."

"What a wonderful way to share my burdens!" The Emperor was overjoyed. "Issue an imperial decree: Princess Li Zhao, with her benevolent and filial nature, has brought great virtue to the people. She is hereby granted one hundred bushels of gold and pearls! From this day forward, the affairs of the orphanage in the south of the city shall be transferred to a semi-government-run operation, supported by a special fund allocated annually by the Imperial Household Department. The Princess shall remain in full charge, and no one shall interfere!"

Li Zhao lifted her skirt and bowed deeply.

"Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

From the establishment of the orphanage five years ago until now, this game has been going on for so long.

She finally carved out her own niche in the court, which had always been dominated by men.