She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

The imperial physician spoke first: "Your Majesty and I, along with other imperial physicians, have carefully examined the lion-tiger's carcass. While we cannot confirm that it was extinct, it certainly... had a weak reproductive capacity!"

The animal trainer chimed in, "We report back to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, the Regent, and the Imperial Physician; these are also the conclusions of the animal trainers."

Countless surprised eyes fell on Jiang Ruining's face once again.

Those young men and women who were friends with Jiang Ruining exclaimed in amazement, "Luckily, the county princess was here, otherwise we would have been singing 'The Injustice to Dou E' today!"

Lord Zongzheng stroked his long beard and said, "Although it's not a case of extinction, using a wild beast with reproductive problems as an auspicious animal is truly too unlucky!"

Many people echoed in agreement: "Indeed!"

Xu Nianyin lowered her head and realized that the handkerchief in her hand had been twisted into a mess.

Zheng Lingyi's big eyes were filled with tears as she looked at her best friend. If she weren't still kneeling in front of the important person, she would have rushed over and hugged her best friend tightly!

Shao Yunting's gaze fell on the wine cup on the table in front of him. The wine was rippling in the wind, and he felt dizzy and disoriented as the ripples spread across the surface.

Xie Lanheng glanced at his fiancée, who was sobbing uncontrollably, to hide the anger in his eyes. His hands, which were resting on his knees, were clenched tightly.

They served His Majesty secretly without being discovered because they had secret dealings with the Cui family. Anyone who suspected them or investigated them thoroughly would only assume that they had secretly sided with the Cui family and were using the Cui family to scheme against His Majesty, thus winning over many people.

This scheme was devised by him using Choi Paik-hye!

Now that the credit for saving Crown Prince Jeong has been stolen by Jiang Ruining, the Cui family will definitely suspect that he is the Regent's man!

If the Regent finds out that he was the one who came up with the idea, he will definitely suspect him and wonder why he did it, since he has never had a close relationship with the Regent's people.

They might suspect that a third force is developing right under their noses!

The reason why His Majesty was able to develop his strength without anyone noticing is that the Regent, the Empress Dowager, and Grand Tutor Cui never suspected that he had great ambitions. But once they suspected him and started investigating, I'm afraid no secrets would be able to be kept!

Xie Lanheng's heart was pounding wildly; all he could hope for now was that they wouldn't investigate him...

On the other side, Xu Nianyin listened and watched intently the entire time.

Just now, she hoped that the imperial physician and the animal trainer could refute Jiang Ruining's words, so that... everyone would know that she was completely incompetent, still stupid, and even relying on the power of the Regent and Grand Secretary Jiang to interfere in such a serious occasion, and was not worthy of being the Regent's Consort.

But seeing with her own eyes how she made the officials suffer, and hearing how easily she saved people, he actually felt admiration for her and thought that she was indeed more qualified to be a princess than he was!

They're clearly rivals!

This idea is terrifying...

The officials who presented the beast trembled and fell to their knees, crawling forward on their knees, stammering, "Your Majesty, please understand! We truly did not know that this beast could not reproduce!"

"Your humble servant only felt that its origin, which brought rain to heaven and earth, was an auspicious sign, so I presented it to the capital. Your humble servant... Your humble servant had absolutely no disrespectful intentions!"

The young emperor didn't believe in these things, but some of his subjects did. They would think that he, as the emperor, was unlucky enough to be offered a monster that would cause him to lose his lineage. If more people believed in this, it would definitely affect his already precarious throne!

Furthermore, today's plan, which should have been foolproof and successfully won over the Zheng family, and also made the Zheng family hate the Cui family and the Empress Dowager to the bone, failed. The shock and anger that had been tempered in the suppression and humiliation caused a violent upheaval in their hearts.

But he was also very clear about his role as a puppet, and he shouldn't have anger on his face. So, his obedient, almost cowardly face twitched slightly a few times because of extreme restraint. His hands, hidden in the wide sleeves of his robe, pinched his inner thighs tightly to suppress the fluctuations of his emotions with pain.

Then he cautiously looked at the Empress Dowager, wanting to see her attitude before making the appropriate response.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and slowly said, "Although the official who presented the beast was dishonest, it shows that he was not thorough in his work. Let him be dismissed from his post and demoted to a commoner!" She turned to the Regent, "What does the Regent think?"

The Regent said calmly, "This is a trivial matter; the Empress Dowager can decide. I have no objection!"

The official who presented the animal collapsed to the ground, too afraid to cry out for justice, lest he anger his superiors and incur further punishment. At least he managed to save his life!

Prince Zheng's tense back suddenly relaxed.

Because he knew he wouldn't be punished today!

His gaze toward Jiang Ruining was filled with gratitude for surviving such a close call!

Jiang Ruining smiled in response, then said, "Since that's the truth, Prince Zheng killed an ominous beast. He's not only innocent, but also meritorious!"

Choi Baek-hye, the second son of the Choi family, was resentful because he was the one who came up with this plan today!

His anger was hard to quell, as the code had been cracked so easily.

I had met Cui Jingwei a few times before because of her. She was foolish and impulsive, and apart from her pretty face, she had no redeeming qualities. Later, because of a few poems, everyone started saying that her stupidity was an act, that she was hiding her talents, and that she was afraid of being taken advantage of by the Cui family.

He didn't take it seriously, after all, the stupidity he witnessed firsthand was not feigned at all!

Looking at her bright and delicate face now, trying to see through something, all I see is her confidence and pride, and I can no longer see any trace of her former foolishness.

This forced him to believe that Jiang Ruining's pretense was truly flawless and that she was a cunning and scheming person!

His question, tinged with suspicion, rang out abruptly on the sweeping autumn wind: "How could a princess of noble birth know such vulgar matters?"

Jiang Ruining coldly swept her gaze over him: "All the strange things in the world are recorded, and those who record them do so to let everyone know that such things truly exist. This is knowledge, and knowledge has no distinction between noble and vulgar!"

"The Cui family has a long tradition of scholarship, and the second young master Cui is a learned and cultured man. How dare he look down on obscure knowledge?"

Choi Bai-hui pursed her lips: "It was I who misspoke."

Jiang Ruining chuckled dismissively and continued, "Everyone knows I'm uneducated and incompetent. In my spare time, I like to read miscellaneous books and listen to strange and unusual stories. This one just happened to come across by chance."

Choi Baek-hye's sneer was full of sarcasm and manipulation, clearly intended to make the Jung family suspect that she and the Regent had set a trap to trick them into submitting to her: "What a coincidence!"

The Zheng family members naturally understood.

Some people remained unaffected, while others cast skeptical glances at Jiang Ruining.

Zheng Lingyi noticed this, glared back at him forcefully, and then looked at her brother.

I was relieved only after confirming that there was no suspicion in my brother's eyes.

Jiang Ruining raised an eyebrow and smiled: "If only he had read more books and listened more to the voices around him, Young Master Cui wouldn't be so sarcastic."

"It's not wrong to lack knowledge, but it's wrong to have an empty mind and then confidently think that others know things you don't. What do you gain besides showing off your lack of manners and tendency to stir up trouble in front of others?"

Cui Baihui was surprised that not only did she not care about being suspected by the Zheng family, but she also had the leisure to retort and make sarcastic remarks about him!

His face looked pale.

Jiang Ruining raised an eyebrow, her words carrying a pointed meaning: "Young Master Cui is so indignant, surely it's not because I ruined your...good deed, is it?"

Cui Baihui's eyelids twitched: "I don't..."

"Ahem!" Madam Cui finally couldn't sit still any longer and spoke up to prevent him from being swayed by emotions again: "What the county princess says is true. Knowledge knows no social class. Baihui only reads the classics and knows too little about the affairs of ordinary people. She should read more in the future!"

"Otherwise, we'd be completely oblivious to any future wrongful convictions like this!"

After speaking, Wen Ran glanced at her son, signaling him to stop talking.

Cui Baihui broke out in a cold sweat. If she had answered the question just now, she would have been suspected of setting a trap to frame Zheng Ling'an!

Jiang Ruining smiled and looked at Madam Cui: "Madam Cui is indeed insightful. Second Young Master Cui should learn more from Madam's magnanimity."

Cui Baihui's hands clenched so tightly they cracked: "Since you knew all along that the monster was problematic, why didn't you say so sooner?"

Jiang Ruining laughed, clearly mocking: "You're holding this diluted treasure in front of everyone, showing it off to your relatives and subordinates, and everyone praises your good taste and good luck in acquiring this treasure. Do you think someone will come out at this moment to bring bad luck and say that it's an unclean thing?"

"The fault lies with those who deliberately sacrificed the extinct beast. Why should I make myself miserable? And it's not that you're innocent just because you're ignorant! For a grown man to blame everyone's mistakes on me is far too petty!"

She spoke with such conviction that everyone instinctively assumed she was right.

After realizing what had happened, some people tried to say something.

Upon discovering that the Regent and Grand Secretary Jiang's gazes were so cold and menacing, like knives, as if they wanted to cut off the heads of anyone who dared to speak out, the person who had opened their mouth wisely closed it again.

Choi Paik-hye was mocked again, her chest heaving, but she couldn't find the words to refute, so she could only swallow her embarrassment and resentment and stop talking.

The Duke of Zheng immediately took over, kowtowing heavily: "I beg the Regent and the Empress Dowager to see the truth! I implore Your Majesty to make a wise judgment!"

The order of the requests subtly reveals the bias in the Duke of Zheng's opinion on the matter.

Clearly, he was more convinced that the matter had nothing to do with the Regent!

The Empress Dowager raised her hand to adjust the slightly swaying forehead ornament, her magnificent armor concealing the gloom that flashed between her brows: "Since Prince Zheng shot and killed a demonic beast, he is naturally innocent. Rise!"

As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, Jiang Ruining immediately added, "Prince Zheng has suffered an undeserved calamity; he should be comforted!"