With a wave of his hand, the Prince's Mansion's fortune exploded throughout the entire cap

Lu Wenshu immediately reached out and firmly blocked her hand, her tone still gentle, but with a hint of determination:

"Your Highness, please have mercy! Jingjing is the apple of Prince Jing's eye and was personally bestowed the title of Princess Jianing by the Emperor. If you lay a finger on her, you will be disrespecting Prince Jing's family and the Emperor. Please think twice before you act."

Xiao Mingzhu quickly stepped forward and stood beside Lu Wenshu, her expression resolute: "Your Highness, please stop, do not act impulsively."

The three older brothers immediately stepped forward, blocking Xiao Jingjing and Lu Wenshu. Their expressions were calm but carried a sense of oppression. Zhou Rui's eyes were gentle but firm: "Your Majesty, please have some self-respect." Gu Feng's aura was steady, and he used his tall body to block the women behind him.

Xiao Yu, a small boy, stood before Gu Feng, looking up at Consort Shu. His voice was childish, but all the nearby officials and nobles could hear him clearly: "Your Highness, it's just a jade pendant. This action is truly inappropriate. Where is the dignity of the royal family?"

Xiao Chengyan smiled slightly when he heard his son's words. Perhaps it was because he had been playing with Jingjing, climbing trees and going to the pond, that he had become much bolder and dared to speak reasonably and logically in this situation.

"Your Highness, my son is right. Your Majesty, I humbly request your decision on this matter."

Xiao Chengyan's words sounded like he was asking the Emperor to make the decision, but in reality, they were also a way of telling the Emperor not to let the matter off lightly.

Meanwhile, the emperor, seated on the main throne, had already turned ashen-faced and shouted sternly, "Insolence! Consort Shu, how dare you!"

The Empress spoke at the opportune moment, her tone dignified yet authoritative: "Consort Shu, at this palace banquet, with the Emperor and Empress present, how dare you be so presumptuous, attempting to punish the Princess in public? You show no respect for hierarchy, disregard palace rules. Do you still have the Emperor's respect? Do you still have my respect?"

Consort Shu froze, abruptly turning her head to look at the main seat. She then suddenly remembered that the Emperor and Empress had been in the hall the entire time. In her anger, she had completely forgotten about this. Her legs went weak with fear, and she quickly withdrew her hand, kneeling on the ground, her voice trembling with panic:

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I lost my temper and acted rashly. Please forgive me!"

Emperor Gao Qian's tone was icy, filled with intense anger: "You've lost your sense of propriety? As my concubine, instead of being obedient and abiding by palace rules, you made a scene at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and even tried to punish the princess. Such arrogance and domineering behavior is hardly befitting of a concubine."

Moreover, it's just a jade pendant; Jia Ning was young and accidentally lost it, yet you're holding onto it so tightly and being so aggressive. This shows how narrow-minded you are!

The Empress also spoke slowly, her tone authoritative: "Consort Shu, what happened today was just an unintentional mistake by a child, but you made a mountain out of a molehill, disgracing the royal family. If you are not severely punished, it will be difficult to uphold the palace rules."

The Emperor nodded slightly, looked at the eunuch beside him, and sternly ordered, "Guards, take Consort Shu back to her palace, confine her for three months, and punish her by making her copy the palace rules one hundred times. Without my decree, she is not to step out of the palace even half a step!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty the Empress! I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again. I beg Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress to forgive me this time, I beg you!"

Consort Shu was so frightened that she kowtowed repeatedly, her voice choked with sobs and tears streaming down her face, but she could no longer receive the slightest pity from the Emperor and Empress.

The eldest prince also knelt down and pleaded, "Father, Mother was only angry because the gift she gave out wasn't appreciated! It was unintentional; it didn't cause any harm!"

Seeing the eldest prince kowtowing incessantly, the crown prince, who quickly approached the fifth prince, turned slightly pale.

"Your Majesty, Consort Shu is a royal consort and the mother of a prince, so naturally her every word and action represents the face of the royal family. Today is supposed to be a day for the emperor and his subjects to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, but Consort Shu's behavior is truly inappropriate. You don't need to plead for her."

Upon seeing the Emperor and Empress tacitly approving on the high platform, the eldest prince paused in his kowtowing, and the hatred in his eyes intensified.

The eunuchs rushed forward, helped the collapsed Consort Shu up, and walked towards the exit of the banquet hall. Consort Shu's cries gradually faded away and eventually disappeared outside the hall.

Everyone in the hall fell silent, no one daring to utter a word—no one had expected that Consort Shu would be so foolish, acting so presumptuously in front of the Emperor and Empress, ultimately ending up confined to her quarters.

The emperor's expression softened slightly as he looked at Xiao Jingjing. His tone was gentler, but still authoritative: "Jianing, don't be afraid. Consort Shu has already been punished, and no one will dare to bully you again."

[Great! Consort Shu has been punished! She can no longer be mean to me, nor can she harm the young imperial uncle! Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty the Empress!]

Little Jingjing tilted her head back, a sweet smile on her face, and quickly curtsied, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress!"

Her tone was full of joy, and her face showed an innocent and lovely smile. She looked well-behaved and lovable.

The Empress looked at Xiao Jingjing with a hint of tenderness in her eyes and said gently, "Good child, get up. What happened today was unintentional. Don't take it to heart."

Then, she looked at Gao Jin and said in a gentle tone, "Jin'er, Consort Shu acted rashly and wronged you. It's just a jade pendant, don't worry about it."

Gao Jin bowed respectfully and said gently, "Thank you for your concern, Mother. I am fine as long as Jingjing is alright."

Little Jingjing still looked bewildered and whispered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Jingjing is not lying. That jade pendant was really cold, strange, and smelled bad. It was broken, and Jingjing accidentally broke it. Jingjing didn't do it on purpose."

Emperor Gao Qian's gaze fell on the broken jade pendant on the ground, then he looked at Xiao Jingjing, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He then looked at the eunuch beside him and said in a stern tone, "Go, bring that broken jade pendant over here so that I and the Empress can take a look."

The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward, carefully picked up the broken jade pendant from the ground, and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. He gently stroked the fragments of the pendant with his fingertips, and suddenly frowned. Having held a high position for many years and seen countless rare treasures, he felt that although the surface of this jade pendant seemed warm and smooth, the inside was somewhat dark and there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

I saw neither black aura nor any so-called malevolent energy, but I inexplicably felt that the jade pendant was cool to the touch, slightly different from ordinary white jade.

The Empress also came forward and examined it carefully. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "Your Majesty, this jade pendant looks like top-quality white jade on the surface, but it feels rather cold to the touch, and the inside is somewhat dark. It is indeed a bit strange, but I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong with it."

Although the Emperor and Empress didn't see any black aura, they also found the jade pendant strange. Excellent! This way, they'll believe what my youngest uncle and I said, and know that Consort Shu did it on purpose!

Little Jingjing secretly cheered as she watched the Emperor and Empress frown, her eyes full of anticipation, but she still stood obediently without saying a word, pretending to be innocent and naive.

The Crown Prince stepped forward and examined the fragments of the jade pendant carefully. A flash of anger crossed his eyes. He had always doted on his younger brother, Gao Jin. Recalling Gao Jin's recent illness and hearing Xiao Jingjing say that the jade pendant was strange, and thinking about Consort Shu's usual thoughts, he instantly became furious.

He turned to look in the direction Consort Shu had left, his tone icy: "If Jingjing hadn't accidentally broken the jade pendant, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Emperor Gao Qian threw the jade pendant on the ground, his tone icy and tinged with anger: "Consort Shu has acted improperly. At today's palace banquet, it was just a jade pendant, a child's unintentional mistake, yet she held onto it and acted aggressively, which has not only disgraced the royal family but also revealed her narrow-mindedness!"

"Considering our past relationship, I have already imposed a lenient punishment of confinement today. If this happens again, I will not be so lenient!"

He had long suspected that Consort Shu was ambitious and had always wanted to support the eldest prince in his bid for the throne. However, this matter concerned the royal family's reputation, so it was inconvenient to expose her in public or openly discuss her plot to harm the prince. Today, taking advantage of her out-of-control behavior, he could take the opportunity to punish her and suppress the eldest prince's power, which was also in accordance with palace rules.

Upon seeing this, the eldest prince was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, his voice filled with panic.