The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Sing for me in Chapter 24.

“You’re here to watch the show?” Jiang Jinshuang raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You all should have said so earlier. The more people there are, the more lively this show will be.”

As she spoke, Jiang Jinshuang led the group of women to take their seats in front of the stage.

The stage was set up outside the princess's residence, which was already quite eye-catching. Many passersby stopped to watch curiously.

The curtain on the stage slowly rose, and an actor dressed in a painted face held a gong in one hand and a drumstick in the other, striking the gong to attract customers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, come and see! Princess Zhaoming invites you to a performance! This show is absolutely spectacular, don't miss it!"

Amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums, in no time at all, several of the ordinary people who had been watching from afar, the bolder ones, stepped forward.

"What? The princess is hosting a dinner for today's play?"

"Can we watch it too?"

"Hey, what kind of show is this today?"

"The sun has risen in the west! Princess Zhaoming actually invited us to watch a play?"

"..."

Whispers and discussions filled the crowd.

The guards of the princess's residence separated the common people from the officials. The officials and their wives stood in front of the stage, while the common people stood behind them, separated by the guards, to watch the play.

As the actors' shouts rang out, more and more people heard the commotion, spread the word, and flocked to the princess's residence to watch the performance.

In fact, actors would occasionally take the stage in teahouses to perform a few acts, but they were not famous performers, and the audience never felt that they were fully entertained.

The actors invited by the Princess's residence are quite different. Just the painted-face actor who just started banging the gong and shouting is a top-notch figure in Chang'an!

Everyone was getting more and more excited for today's performance!

Qing Shan and Xia Yurong sat behind Jiang Jinshuang. Qing Shan glanced at the growing crowd behind them and frowned slightly.

"What exactly does Princess Zhaoming want to achieve by making such a big fuss?"

Qing Shan muttered something and glanced disdainfully at Jiang Jinshuang, who was sitting in the very center at the front.

Hmph, she'll see what kind of performance she can get from the actors today.

It was crowded and crowded.

The women and officials also took their places, waiting for the opera to begin.

Jiang Jinshuang smiled slightly and slowly rose from her seat.

Jiang Jinshuang felt a slight weight in her hand and looked to her side.

Si Ning tugged at her sleeve.

The man's appearance was as fair as snow, and his face as beautiful as a painting.

He sat there upright, but looked up at her.

From this angle, you can clearly see the beauty mark under his eye; his lips are red, his teeth are white, and he is incredibly handsome.

Jiang Jinshuang raised her chin, her eyes questioning.

Si Ning's eyes were clear and bright: "Has Your Highness made up your mind?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang chuckled and said, "Si Ning, you know me."

Si Ning nodded slightly: "Okay, I understand."

He finally released his grip on Jiang Jinshuang's sleeve: "Your Highness, please do as you please."

Jiang Jinshuang took two steps towards the high platform before slowly turning around to face all the spectators who had come to watch the show.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the opera troupe just said that the clown actor won't be coming today."

"So I thought, why don't we have all of you play the clowns and put on this show together?" As soon as she said this, the whole room was in an uproar.

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?!" Among the officials, one who disagreed stepped forward and retorted loudly, "We are all officials appointed by the court to serve the country and the people, and to perform our duties faithfully. How can we step onto the stage to play the role of an actor, or even a clown ridiculed by everyone?!"

"Your Highness, please don't go too far. We would never agree to such a humiliating act that would dishonor our reputation!"

"Your Highness, I will certainly report your actions today to His Majesty tomorrow and ask him to make a judgment!"

"..."

The officials were all indignant and pointed at Jiang Jinshuang, protesting loudly.

Even the people behind them looked at each other in bewilderment and discussed among themselves.

Jiang Jinshuang was certain that if Si Ning hadn't been here, this group of people would have already started cursing.

Listening to the officials' hysterical accusations, Jiang Jinshuang simply said calmly, "I am well aware of your character of serving the country and the people and being loyal to your duties."

Changing the subject, Jiang Jinshuang smiled and said, "After all... three years ago, it was because you gentlemen were not afraid of powerful figures and spoke out for justice, submitting a lot of evidence of Prince Ruiyang's intention to rebel, which led to Prince Ruiyang being immediately imprisoned and executed!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent.

That's right. The officials from the Princess's residence that Jiang Jinshuang invited today were all court officials who had insisted that Prince Ruiyang intended to rebel and had presented the imperial family with a lot of evidence of his crimes!

The case of Prince Ruiyang's rebellion was full of doubts. Such a serious case should have been handed over to the Dali Temple for strict interrogation.

That very night, however, these officials jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor in front of the Weiyang Palace, presenting numerous pieces of evidence that Prince Ruiyang was plotting a rebellion!

Secret letters, intelligence, border defense maps, gold and silver jewelry sent by the Northern Huai Kingdom, and even a dragon robe hidden in the Ruiyang Prince's mansion were found!

In an instant, the situation collapsed.

Jiang Jinshuang knelt outside the palace for three days and three nights, only to receive an imperial edict from the Emperor ordering the death of Prince Ruiyang!
Thinking of this, Jiang Jinshuang's expression gradually turned cold and solemn.

Her gaze swept over the officials present, her tone calm: "Gentlemen, you are all so loyal to the emperor and patriotic, so upright and honest. You are merely playing the fool now, what is there to be afraid of?"

"People are divided into different classes, with varying degrees of nobility and lowliness. As officials who are supposed to be the parents of the people, how can we dress up as actors to be ridiculed by the world?"

“People are divided into different classes, high and low, noble and lowly,” Jiang Jinshuang nodded, her tone stern. “In that case, I order you to dress up as ugly and go on stage.”

"You, you—Your Highness, aren't you afraid that if you do this, I will impeach His Majesty tomorrow and have him demote you back to your fiefdom!?"

"When have you ever seen me afraid of anything?!"

Three years ago, no one in the court dared to speak up for Prince Ruiyang and plead his case, but she stood alone, unafraid before the emperor.

Three years later, Princess Zhaoming was not afraid of any group of officials who were paid a living.

Seeing that things were not going well, several officials slipped behind the crowd, hoping to escape in the chaos.

Upon seeing this, the guards immediately surrounded the entire stage, trapping the group of officials inside.

Panic finally gripped the crowd. One official looked pleadingly at Si Ning, who sat upright to the side: "Mr. Si Ning! Mr. Si Ning, please persuade Her Highness the Princess..."

How can we allow Princess Zhaoming to act so recklessly in front of the people and humiliate them?!
Si Ning simply smiled gently and said, "Please, everyone."

—His bias is obvious and undisguised.

The women present also looked terrified, not knowing why this had suddenly happened, and sat in their seats in a panic.

Seeing the guards brandish their long swords, some of the more timid ones fainted from fright!

Outside the guard circle, most of the people of Chang'an had come. Some were too far away to see clearly, and some even climbed the steps of the princess's residence to peer inside.

Jiang Jinshuang lost her patience, her tone cold and stern: "I'll say this one last time—"

"Sing for me."

With a cold and stern tone, Princess Zhaoming, though clearly a young woman in her early twenties, exuded an aura that surpassed even that of some generals who had fought on the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)