I died tragically in my previous life, and I want to be an empress in my next life

Not long after, Zhang Musheng hurried to Prince Jing's Mansion again.

"Your Highness, I have already found out what Zhao Yunbo did. He increased the amount of donations to the prison by falsely reporting the number of students who donated, thereby obtaining a large amount of silver. In addition, he also made a list of some fake disaster-stricken households, and after receiving the disaster relief funds and materials, he secretly put the money and materials into his own pocket." Zhang Musheng reported truthfully.

"There is another situation. That is, Zhao Yunbo would pawn a large amount of silver to the capital at the end of every month. Your Majesty, can you guess where this silver ended up?"

Xuanyuan Ping's face turned ugly. He should have guessed it long ago. "Go on."

Zhang Musheng swallowed his saliva and continued, "All the embezzled money went into the East Palace. I also found out that the prince's party made money through Zhao Yunbo."

After changing his clothes, Xuanyuan Ping rode his horse straight to the palace.

In the imperial study, the emperor was furious and smashed all the furnishings in the study.

"This bastard! It's bad enough that he's afraid of death, but he's so stupid that he even dares to embezzle the disaster relief funds!" The emperor said angrily, and the jade cup in his hand was crushed to pieces. The tea in the cup splashed everywhere, soaking the gorgeous carpet.

How could the emperor not be furious? Xuanyuan Zheng sneaked back from the disaster area, and the court was already in an uproar, and the news spread all over the city. The emperor was already troubled by the recent natural disasters and the busy state affairs, and now he was accused of embezzling disaster relief funds. The emperor really wanted to depose this rebellious son right away.

"Father, please calm down. The false reporting of disaster relief funds and disaster victims should have nothing to do with my brother. It was done by his subordinates privately."

The reason why Xuanyuan Ping said this was because he knew the emperor's character too well. The emperor has always hated factions and ministers in the court forming their own factions.

As expected, the emperor made up his mind and secretly decided to kill him. "Draft an order to arrest the criminal immediately and deal with him in the morning court tomorrow!"

In the Eastern Palace, Xuanyuan Zheng held a wine glass and drank it out of boredom. He had sneaked back from the disaster area and could only pretend to be sick to hide in the Eastern Palace every day. He was almost going crazy from being bored.

At this time, the Grand Tutor came in hurriedly with a serious expression. Xuanyuan Zheng immediately dismissed his attendants and asked everyone to leave.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid the matter of the disaster relief funds has been exposed." The Grand Tutor said in panic.

Xuanyuan Zheng put down the wine glass in his hand, and was shocked. He couldn't help but panic, "Really? What should I do? Isn't this a secret?"

The Grand Tutor took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "Prince Jing just came out of the Imperial Study. His Majesty is furious now, and no one dares to go in."

Xuanyuan Zheng paced back and forth in a somewhat disorderly manner, with a flash of anger in his eyes, "This Third Brother! He is deliberately trying to harm me, I will never let him succeed!"

The Grand Tutor stood aside, a cold light flashing in his eyes, "There is no family affection in the royal family. Your Highness should consider removing this obstacle."

The two were silent for a moment, and the tutor said, "Your Highness, now we have no choice but to ask the Queen Mother and the Empress for help."

Xuanyuan Zheng nodded, "I will go and ask for the Queen Mother's blessing right now!"

Queen's Chamber

The queen was wearing a bright red dress, with a beautiful peony pattern embroidered in gold thread on the collar and auspicious cloud patterns embroidered in the same color silk thread on the hem. A golden phoenix hairpin was inserted into her dignified bun, and silk tassels hung on both sides of the bun, setting off her gorgeous and charming face.

Although she is a bit older, she has taken good care of herself and her skin is still as white as snow. No wonder she has been blessed with the emperor's grace for so long.

At this moment, her almond-shaped eyes were filled with anger, "My son, you are such absurd as a crown prince! This time, your father is really angry!"

Xuanyuan Ping lowered his head, not daring to look the queen in the eye. "Mother, I was foolish this time. Please save me!"

The queen sighed deeply, "My son, you are the crown prince. So many eyes are staring at you, hoping that you will step down. You have let them catch such a big handle this time. You can only cut off your arm to survive."

"What the Queen Mother means is..." Xuanyuan Ping seemed to be thinking about something.

"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood." The queen persuaded patiently. She and her family behind her placed all their hopes on Xuanyuan Zheng, and nothing could happen to him.

"I have sent someone to find your uncle to discuss this matter. Let's discuss it together when he comes."

"This is the only way." Xuanyuan Zheng said helplessly.

Not long after, the king's brother-in-law Yuwen Long came to the queen's palace.

The uncle of the emperor, Yuwen Long, looked quite old, with gray hair. He was dressed in an official uniform, but still looked quite majestic. He walked into the hall and bowed to the Empress and the Crown Prince, "Greetings to the Empress and the Crown Prince."

The Queen personally helped Yuwen Long up and said gently, "Brother, you are our relative and the pillar of the court. There is no need to be polite here. Please take a seat."

Xuanyuan Zheng also hurriedly said, "Uncle, you are too polite. Please take a seat."

After the three of them sat down, Xuanyuan Zheng asked Yuwen Long, "Uncle, how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

Yuwen Long pondered for a moment, frowned, sighed deeply, and said, "The situation in the court is complicated now, and various forces are surging undercurrents. The last time the prince returned to the capital without permission, he had already aroused public anger. This time, someone must silence the prince for what happened."

After hearing this, the Queen showed a worried look on her face and asked hurriedly, "Does my brother have a suitable candidate?"

Yuwen Long looked at the Empress and Xuanyuan Zheng, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes. He shook his head slowly and said calmly, "Perhaps Master Zhao will have to suffer some injustice."

When these words came out, the Empress and Xuanyuan Zheng were both shocked. Master Zhao was not only an important official in the court, but also the core pillar of the prince's party. His fall meant that the prince's power would be greatly weakened.

After hearing this, the Queen pondered for a moment, frowned, and said, "This method is feasible, but Master Zhao's family..."

Yuwen Long said calmly, "Those who achieve great things don't care about small details. For the future of the prince, we must make a choice. The princess is from the Zhao family. In the future, when the prince succeeds, he will compensate the Zhao family. Otherwise, we will all be finished."

The Queen and Xuanyuan Zheng fell silent after hearing Yuwen Long's words, but they couldn't think of a better solution now, and time was urgent, so they had to come up with a solution before tomorrow's morning court.

Zhao Yunbo was originally the nephew of Taifu Zhao. If Zhao Yunbo did something wrong, Taifu Zhao could not escape the blame.