The Hidden Beauty

Chapter 92: It's Time to Give My Wife an Explanation

"How dare Jiang to quibble!" His Majesty's tone left no room for doubt, "Someone come!"

"Your Majesty!" Meng Tingzhou anticipated what was about to happen and risked being accused of disrespect, saying, "There must be a misunderstanding in this matter. I hope Your Majesty can see clearly."

The emperor interrupted him: "Shut up! Meng Tingzhou! Do you think you can clear yourself of suspicion?"

The tense atmosphere makes it hard to breathe.

Meng Tingzhou glanced at the case file on the ground, and then said, "Your Majesty, this case file may be fake. There may be something fishy about this matter."

The emperor looked at him meaningfully: "Meng Tingzhou, do you know what you are talking about?"

He always called him "My dear minister" or "General", but now he called him by his name, which showed that he was very impatient.

Meng Tingzhou picked up the case file on the ground and showed it to everyone: "The case of the Ministry of War is of great importance, and it should be recorded by the Chief Clerk of the Dali Temple. However, this handwriting is not from the hand of Wei Zilin, the Chief Clerk of the Dali Temple. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you can send someone to ask Wei Zilin. I believe he will not easily forget such an important case."

After hearing these words, Liu Huining secretly clenched his fists and looked at him intently.

The emperor seemed to be in doubt.

Wang Runli, the Minister of Finance, suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think what the Governor said is very true. The case of the Ministry of War is no small matter. If someone deliberately uses it to frame or make a fuss, it must not be easily forgiven."

Wang Runli is a man who is used to protecting himself. In all his years in the officialdom, he has rarely turned against anyone.

It’s surprising to hear that now, but there is some truth to it.

Since someone had taken the lead, the others all said, "I second the motion."

"I second the proposal."

Seeing that everyone present had expressed their opinions, His Majesty was in no position to express his opinion for a moment. He looked at Liu Huining coldly and waved his hand: "Send Wei Zilin."

Liu Huining was greatly shocked by that look, but he felt more of a deep despair.

All of a sudden, my body went limp.

Wei Zilin was urgently summoned to the palace. Everyone looked at him when he entered the palace. The little clerk had never seen such an occasion before, so he stumbled when speaking: "Your humble servant... pays homage to His Majesty, pays homage to... the Empress."

The emperor had a blank expression on his face: "I want to ask you, are you the person in charge of the case of Jiang Xingyuan in the Ministry of War?"

As soon as the Ministry of War was mentioned, Wei Zilin knew something was wrong and dared not raise his head: "Your Majesty, it is... your humble servant, the Chief Clerk."

It seemed like the ending had been predicted, and it was a bit dull.

His Majesty didn't want to ask any further.

Meng Tingzhou got the signal and stood up and threw the case file in front of Wei Zilin: "Take a closer look, is this written by you yourself?"

Wei Zilin picked up the case file tremblingly, but glanced at Liu Huining's expression beside him.

There was a chill in Meng Tingzhou's words: "Tell the truth. If you hide even a word, I will punish you immediately!"

Wei Zilin no longer dared to speculate, and immediately put his hands on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, this handwriting is not from your humble descendants."

Hearing the answer, Jiang Shiwan slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Liu Huining wrote for his father, but he did not realize that these words were originally written by the chief clerk of the Dali Temple.

At this point, she would never admit that the Ministry of War file was real. If it was real, it would be tantamount to proving that these things were from her own hands.

The queen, who had been silent all this time, now recovered from her shock: "Since it was a misunderstanding, Jiang should be innocent. Your Majesty, we only have one Mid-Autumn Palace banquet once a year, so please don't spoil the fun again." After saying that, she raised her glass and was about to say something.

Meng Tingzhou did not give her a chance to speak: "The Queen is kind-hearted and knows that my wife is innocent. But someone must be trying to frame her. Should she give my wife an explanation?"

The Queen's hand holding the wine glass was suspended in the air, somewhat awkwardly: "Sir, are you trying to spoil the mood of me and His Majesty?"

Meng Tingzhou bowed his head and said, "I dare not. To be honest, I originally wanted to let His Majesty and His Majesty meet an old friend at the banquet, but I didn't expect such a commotion to happen. I think the old friend has been waiting for a long time, why not ask him to identify who wrote the handwriting?"

The Queen glanced at His Majesty, who was also curious about the old friend he mentioned: "Who are you referring to?"

Meng Tingzhou high-fived.

Then several military generals escorted a white-haired octogenarian into the hall.

The emperor, the queen, and everyone present were stunned: "Master Wen?"

The emperor was so shocked that he stumbled down to greet him in person and bowed to the visitor: "I didn't know that the Grand Tutor had come to the palace. I feel guilty."

The old man's white beard twitched slightly, and his face was kind: "I, the humble commoner Wen Changfeng, pay my respects to His Majesty."

The emperor supported him with both hands and spoke excitedly: "The Grand Tutor is a veteran of three dynasties. I was fortunate enough to receive his teachings when I was young. I should pay my respects to my teacher."

"How dare a commoner dare to take on the body of the Holy Lord?"

The emperor helped Master Wen to the upper seat and said, "Master's old residence is deep and remote. I didn't know that the governor could have invited Master Wen."

Meng Tingzhou nodded: "If you keep thinking about it, there will be a response."

He then said, "I would like to ask Master Wen to look at a case file and see if you can identify the handwriting of the person who wrote it."

The emperor frowned and said, "The Grand Tutor has long stopped asking about state affairs."

Master Wen laughed and said, "I have always loved calligraphy. I think the governor wants to fulfill my wish."

Unexpectedly, his words would be so biased towards Meng Tingzhou. The emperor suppressed his displeasure and softened his attitude: "In this case, my dear, please present it to the Grand Tutor in person."

Meng Tingzhou walked forward, half-knelt down in front of Master Wen, and personally spread out the scroll for him to look at.

Master Wen came closer to examine it for a while, then nodded in deep thought: "It is indeed a good handwriting. This kind of handwriting seems unexpected but has a lot of personal style. The only one who can write such a word is my beloved disciple Zhang Dingyuan. However, judging by the strength of the handwriting, it should be the hand of a woman."

When they heard the name Zhang Dingyuan, everyone present looked strange, and then looked at Liu Huining, who was kneeling on the ground, with suspicion and wait-and-see eyes.

As we all know, Liu Huining was once known as a talented woman because she was a disciple of the calligrapher Zhang Dingyuan.

She is also the only female disciple accepted by Zhang Dingyuan.

Liu Huining could feel the gazes from all around her, and a chill instantly spread throughout her body. She shivered, "No... Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, save me!"

"Liu!" The Queen shouted suddenly and stood up. "What else do you have to say now? As the daughter of the Liu family, you should consider your parents even if you don't consider yourself. How could you do such a foolish thing?"

After hearing the Queen's warning, Liu Huining stopped talking about what he wanted to say.

She slumped to the ground.

I don’t know how I ended up in this situation.

From a prestigious noble lady in the capital, she has dwindled to her current disgraceful state.

(End of this chapter)