Chapter 538: Spreading Photos

Chapter 538: Spreading the Photos

Ji Yuntang said, "Your Highness, I'm telling you this now to help you adjust in advance, so that you won't be scared later when I bring out other strange things."

"At the same time, I also want the two of you to trust me. I'm not the kind of person who acts recklessly without confidence. In this operation to eliminate Empress Dowager Yuan, we will only win, never lose."

The three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with determination.

Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by Shen Xiangming's voice.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Ye, Heir Xie, I have something to report."

"General Shen is here. Let's go out."

After Ji Yuntang finished speaking, with a single thought, she transported the three of them outside.

Hua Feixue stepped forward and opened the door, inviting him in, then asked, "General Shen, any news?"

Shen Xiangming nodded and said, "Your Highness, word has just come from the palace that Empress Dowager Yuan will hold the ceremony to appoint the crown prince tomorrow at the Chengqian Hall. Officials from all five ministries have been urgently summoned to the palace for discussion. Do you have any plans for tomorrow, Your Highness?"

A cold gleam flashed through Hua Feixue's dark, narrow eyes.

"Tomorrow, we will likely have a fierce battle with that old hag. General Shen, please have your troops ready in advance, just in case."

As the state's Guardian General, Shen Xiangming commanded a force of a hundred thousand troops, stationed in the capital year-round.

These were men he had carefully trained, who had been through thick and thin with him and were highly obedient to his orders.

He could guarantee that these troops would be loyal to Hua Feixue.

Shen Xiangming clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I will follow Your Highness's orders."

Meanwhile, Ji Yuntang had finished reviewing the DNA test results.

It confirmed that Empress Dowager Yuan and that young man shared an extremely high DNA match.

Her speculation was correct—the frail young man whose hair Xie Liuzheng had pulled was none other than Yuanchao.

Ji Yuntang put down the report and said to the others, "We found the right person. He is the illegitimate son of Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor, Yuanchao."

Shen Xiangming was taken aback, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.

He said, stunned, "Princess Ye, what did you say? Yuanchao is the son of Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor?"

Ji Yuntang gave a faint smile and briefly explained what they had discovered to Shen Xiangming.

After hearing it all, Shen Xiangming felt as if his entire view of the world had been shattered!

He had been wondering these past few days about who Empress Dowager Yuan's lover was, but no matter how he racked his brain, he never imagined it would be the National Preceptor.

And the National Preceptor wasn't even the real one—he was Empress Dowager Yuan's cousin who had undergone a facial reconstruction.

The cousin had abandoned his wife and child, faked his death by jumping off a cliff, all to stay by Empress Dowager Yuan's side under a different identity.

Shen Xiangming suddenly understood. "No wonder Empress Dowager Yuan trusts the National Preceptor so much, and the National Preceptor is so attentive to her matters."

"That explains everything!"

Ji Yuntang pulled out several photos and handed them to Shen Xiangming.

"General Shen, these are the evidence of Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor's secret affair."

Unlike painted portraits, the photos were extremely clear, showing the people exactly as they looked in real life. Up close, you could even see the fabric and details of their clothes.

Shen Xiangming was stunned. He saw the National Preceptor and Empress Dowager Yuan embracing each other, locked in a passionate kiss.

And the place in the picture was one he had visited before—the Baohua Hall that Empress Dowager Yuan had lavishly built for the National Preceptor at a huge cost.

He couldn't deny that he was shocked.

"I always felt there was something unusual between them, but I never imagined that the empress dowager of a nation would commit such a shameless act."

Seeing his angry face, Ji Yuntang smiled and asked him, "General Shen, if these photos were to get out tomorrow, what do you think would happen to Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor?"

Shen Xiangming clenched his fists. "They would surely be disgraced and condemned by everyone."

Ji Yuntang smiled, then turned and brought out a large bag of developed photos, numbering in the thousands by the looks of it.

She handed the bag to Shen Xiangming. "Then I'll leave it to you to send people to spread these photos around, making sure the other four great families see them."

Shen Xiangming knew exactly what she intended to do and agreed right away.

"Don't worry, Princess. Leave this to me."

He was an upright, rigid man, raised from childhood to value chastity and propriety. Nothing disgusted him more than adultery between married people.

In Shen Xiangming's view, when it came to such sins, men and women were equally at fault, and neither deserved forgiveness.

He also knew well that once these photos got out, they would undoubtedly become a major scandal for the Xishu Kingdom.

For a long time afterward, the royal family would likely be unable to hold their heads high in front of the other three kingdoms.

But compared to letting Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor's illegitimate son ascend the throne, and having to serve him loyally, he would rather bring down both Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor in one fell swoop. That would also crush the arrogant spirit of the Five Great Families.

After arranging these matters, Ji Yuntang glanced at the time—it was almost midnight.

She remembered her meeting with Yuan Jiuan at the Dingxiang Tower.

Ji Yuntang turned to Hua Feixue and asked, "I'm going to the Dingxiang Tower to meet Prince Chengxuan. Do you want to come?"

From today's events, she could tell that Yuan Jiuan was siding with the Chu imperial clan.

If Hua Feixue could get his support, it would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Hua Feixue was a bit surprised to hear this. "You know Prince Chengxuan?"

He hadn't gone to the palace today, but he had heard that Prince Chengxuan was in the capital.

In fact, he had met him once when he was a child.

The man was about sixteen or seventeen years his senior, and by seniority, Hua Feixue would have to call him uncle.

Ji Yuntang's brows curved into a smile as she spoke. "Yes, I know him. His right leg was amputated, and I fitted him with a prosthetic, which allowed him to stand and walk again."

Hearing this, Xie Liuzheng suddenly remembered.

"Sister Yuntang, is this Prince Chengxuan you're talking about the same man with the broken leg you saved during the medical competition in our Dongchen Kingdom?"

Ji Yuntang nodded. "That's right, it's him."

At the medical skills competition back then, Xie Liuzheng had also gone to watch, and even though a year had passed, his impression of that man remained vivid.

If he hadn't witnessed that match with his own eyes, Xie Liuzheng wouldn't have believed that a man missing a leg could stand and walk again.

And fate, in its own way, was truly remarkable.

Who could have imagined that the man Ji Yuntang saved a year ago would turn out to be the most powerful feudal prince in the Xishu Kingdom, and that the two would cross paths in the Xishu royal palace?

With that in mind, Xie Liuzheng rubbed his hands together and said, "Sister Yuntang, when you go to see Prince Chengxuan, could you bring me along, the Heir? I'd like to make his acquaintance as well."

Ji Yuntang smiled slightly. "Of course. If Prince Chengxuan is willing to help us, we can also sit down together and discuss how to deal with Empress Dowager Yuan tomorrow."

The group quickly agreed and headed to the Shiding Tower restaurant.

To avoid drawing attention, Ji Yuntang entered through the back door, where someone was already waiting for her.

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