The daughter of the Marquis is too delicate, the abstinent prince pinches her waist and loves her

Chapter 138 Sheng Yunqing, Innocent
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinfeng frowned almost imperceptibly, glanced at Bai Muling who was wiping away tears with her head down, and let out a deep breath.

Bai Muling's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at the map that was faintly visible in the flames, and a hint of panic appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Ye Jinchen glanced at Pei Xuan beside him and made a gesture.

Pei Xuan lowered his head and silently withdrew from the crowd.

The Empress Dowager frowned and said, "Someone, bring me the map of the northern desert from three years ago."

"I have brought it." Upon hearing this, Sheng Yukun stepped into the hall carrying a sheepskin map and presented it to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager unfolded the parchment scroll, looked at the slightly suspicious part of the route map, slowly clenched her fist, and slammed it on the armrest with a "bang," saying, "Outrageous! Who has the audacity to frame Yun Qing like this!"

Ye Jinfeng pursed his lips in embarrassment, then lowered his voice and said, "Mother, please calm down. There may be some misunderstanding. Let me send someone to investigate thoroughly..."

"Your Majesty, the soldiers stationed in the northern border have brought in prisoners of war. After questioning them, I have obtained new clues about the fire-washed gauze incident."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sheng Yukun waved his hand behind him, and guards brought over a disheveled prisoner of war from the northern desert.

The prisoner of war was kicked in the back of the knee by the guards and knelt in front of Ye Jinfeng, panting heavily in fear.

After obtaining Ye Jinfeng's permission, the guard placed the purse in front of the prisoner of war.

The prisoner of war carefully touched the purse, and when he touched the silk thread embroidered with the character "willow," he was taken aback for a moment, and then lowered his head and replied, "This fire-resistant silk is indeed old. Your Majesty may not know, but our northern desert is rich in fire-resistant silk. Every soldier carries it with him so that if they are separated from the battlefield, they can find their way by using the map. However, the map inside the fire-resistant silk will gradually disappear within two years of being newly made. The map shown on this is made up of the dyed embroidery thread."

Ye Jinchen's face darkened, and he asked, "What's the secret behind this embroidery thread?"

"Upon closer inspection, the embroidery thread is made from silk spun from fire-resistant yarn produced in the last six months."

Bai Muling clenched her fist and said, "How can you be so sure it was produced in the last six months?"

The prisoner of war tore off a piece of cloth from his skirt and said, "I clearly remember that six months ago, the commander ordered us to change into new fire-resistant gauze fabric, which had a faint golden sheen, and the threads of this garment also had the same luster."

Sheng Yunqing strode forward, picked up the rag in his hand, compared it with the map in the fire pit, and threw it into the fire pit. The map that appeared was indeed the same as the one in the purse.

She smiled with relief, glanced at Bai Muling who was biting her lip and remaining silent, then knelt down before Ye Jinfeng and said, "The evidence is irrefutable. Your Majesty, please restore my innocence."

Sheng Yukun took out a thick stack of books from his bosom, knelt down and presented them, saying, "Your Majesty, the 30,000 warriors of the Northern Frontier are willing to guarantee the innocence of the Sheng family with their lives."

The father-in-law took the booklet and handed it to Ye Jinfeng, a faint smell of blood wafting towards him.

He gritted his teeth and opened the booklet. Looking at the soldiers' petitions, with their fingerprints imprinted in blood, his heart ached even more.

His gaze swept over Sheng Yukun with a hint of sharpness, and his voice was extremely deep: "Is Minister Sheng threatening me?"

"Your Majesty, the Sheng family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. You must not be blinded by others," the Empress Dowager reminded him with displeasure. The voices of the people outside the palace were like waves crashing on the table, and the cold night wind blew over the blood-stained petitions, the shocking red like the fervent hearts of the soldiers.

"Yes, Mother, I will make my own judgment." Ye Jinfeng suppressed his anger, exhaled deeply, and said, "Sheng Yunqing is innocent from this moment on."

Hearing this, Sheng Yunqing closed her eyes in relief, gently exhaling a breath of relief. The sound of her father's joyful voice echoed in her ears: "Your Majesty is wise! Our Qing'er is innocent!"

Bai Muling, who was sitting to the side, was getting restless. When she heard that Sheng Yunqing was innocent, she gripped the armrest tightly, wanting to argue, but was met with a cold glare from Ye Jinchen.

She hesitated for a moment, then calmly lowered her head and remained silent.

It's probably best to avoid making rash decisions now rather than saying too much.

Just then, the Duke of Bai hurriedly entered the hall, bowed to Ye Jinfeng, and said, "Your Majesty, I am late."

Following him were masked black-clad guards escorted up by his bodyguards.

The guard tore off the token from the secret guard's waist and handed it to the Duke of Bai.

Duke Bai glanced at Ye Jinchen, a cold smile in his eyes, and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ye sent men to sneak into my residence in the middle of the night. I wonder what they're up to? Perhaps they're trying to smear your name?"

Ye Jinchen looked at the faces of the two guards, his fingers still tapping slowly on the armrest, and said, "Regarding the smuggling case, my royal brother entrusted it to me to handle. I am handling it impartially. However, there was some disturbance that prompted me to imprison Yun Qing. There was a little noise coming from the Duke's mansion. I was just investigating. If the Duke is innocent, what is there to fear from being searched?"

As they were talking, Pei Xuan strode into the hall, placed a sandalwood box in front of Ye Jinchen, and opened it. Inside were the evidence he had just collected.

On the few remaining bolts of fire-resistant yarn, there were detailed bills.

Ye Jinchen took out the bill and coldly read it aloud: "In the second month of the nineteenth year of Yongfeng, three bolts of fire-resistant silk, six feet long, were purchased from the northern desert. They were delivered to the west side courtyard of the warehouse on the night of the ninth day of the second month."

"Ahem!" Ye Jinfeng frowned angrily, cleared his throat, and extended his hand towards Ye Jinchen.

When her father-in-law handed the evidence to Ye Jinfeng, Ye Jinfeng carefully examined the contents of the receipts.

"The Bai State Duke's Mansion has purchased three bolts of fire-resistant silk from the Northern Desert caravan. This silk is for the exclusive use of repairing prayer flags in ancestral halls and may not be resold for private use. With this receipt, the remaining payment of eighty taels can be redeemed at the Northern Frontier Post Station."

It also bears a serial number, the signature and seal of the person in charge and the inspector, making the evidence conclusive.

"Bang!" Ye Jinfeng slammed his fist on the table, glaring angrily at Duke Bai, "Duke Bai, what else do you have to say?!"

Duke Bai slowly knelt down, his face full of injustice, and said, "Your Majesty! I am innocent! I truly knew nothing about the fire-washed gauze!"

They had already caught the two men, but they never expected that Ye Jinchen would send his trusted confidants to infiltrate the mansion. That Pei Xuan is truly remarkable; he managed to sneak into the heavily guarded accounting room so undetected...

Ye Jinchen coldly raised his lips, rubbed his chin with his finger, and said, "Duke Bai, the Fire-Washed Silk was found in your residence. As far as I know, the Northern Desert caravan knew that Fire-Washed Silk was a forbidden item in Zhu Luo Kingdom, and offered a high price of ten taels of gold for a single piece. Not just anyone can afford to spend such resources to frame you, can they?"