The Double-Chapter 589 - 172 Commoner_3

For a time, rumors ran rampant through Yanjing City.

Princess Yongning couldn’t act on her threat to "kill anyone who dared talk behind her back," as she was put under house arrest by Prince Cheng. Enraged, Prince Cheng found Princess Yongning’s outburst in the Golden Throne Hall not only damaged his reputation but also caused the Li Family to drift apart from him at this critical moment. Another confidant he had been counting on, Shen Yurong, was also implicated. Initially, Shen Yurong could have served as a piece on the board, placed close to Emperor Hongxiao, who favored her. Now, this idea had to be abandoned. After such an incident, it was questionable whether Shen Yurong could continue her official career, let alone be valued by Emperor Hongxiao as before. That was wishful thinking.

At the Jiang Family, Jiang Li learned of these events not through Tonger, but from Jiang Yuanbai himself. After the scandalous scene Princess Yongning and Li Xian created in the Golden Throne Hall and court was dismissed, Jiang Yuanbai returned to the Duke Residence and immediately summoned Jiang Li to his study to recount what had happened. In conclusion, Jiang Yuanbai asked Jiang Li if she had already known about the relationship between Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong and if Jiang Li was also aware of Princess Yongning’s pregnancy before her marriage into the Li Family.

Jiang Li naturally denied knowing anything, brushing it off with an excuse she had prepared beforehand. Although Jiang Yuanbai remained skeptical, Jiang Li didn’t care. This was a secret between her and the Duke Residence that even if Jiang Yuanbai continued to investigate, he wouldn’t uncover anything.

Tonger asked, "Miss, did Princess Yongning really have a secret engagement with Lord Shen long ago?"

Jiang Li replied, "Yes."

Tonger then indignantly said, "That’s utterly shameless. To marry someone else while pregnant, but Li Xian of the Li Family is no better. It’s said that Li Xian searches everywhere for handsome orphans and young men to bring back to the Li Family, to do... Anyway, how could they ever get a divorce? They deserve to be a scourge to each other."

Jiang Li smiled, "If they hadn’t divorced, how could Shen Yurong have been implicated?"

"Right, and then there’s Shen Yurong." Tonger continued, "He pretended to be so affectionate before, while others cursed his wife to no end. Little did they know, while he played the loyal lover, he was involved with Princess Yongning on the side, seeking fame and feigning virtue, disgusting."

Jiang Li chuckled, "You even know the phrase ’seeking fame and feigning virtue.’

"Of course," Tonger muttered to herself as she tidied up her outfit, "But I really wonder what deep hatred Li Xian and Princess Yongning have that they had to expose each other’s secrets in the Golden Throne Hall. If they hadn’t revealed it themselves, perhaps people would never have known about their disgraceful deeds in this lifetime."

Jiang Li smiled faintly. The conflict between Li Xian and Princess Yongning obviously centered around the "child" that didn’t actually exist. In Princess Yongning’s eyes, nothing was more important than her child with Shen Yurong. She married into the Li Family as a compromise for the sake of her child, and upon learning that it was Li Xian who had caused harm to her child, Princess Yongning would never let Li Xian off the hook. Conveniently, she had also discovered Li Xian’s secret and wanted to make it public.

Yet, even Jiang Li hadn’t anticipated that Princess Yongning would storm into the Golden Throne Hall. It seemed that Princess Yongning had grown too accustomed to smooth sailing in her life. She believed that the Li Family had no leverage against her and felt they could only swallow their bitterness in silence. Little did she know that the Li Family wouldn’t let things slide and had more significant secrets to reveal.

However, the current situation where both parties were injured was precisely what Jiang Li enjoyed seeing.

Bai Xue asked, "But the Emperor didn’t take action against Li Xian nor Top Scholar Shen, so other than reputational damage, what else could be done to them?"

"It seems that way, but the positions of Eldest Young Master Li and Top Scholar Shen are probably untenable now. I estimate they will resign voluntarily within three days," Jiang Li smiled and said, "The Emperor likely anticipated this, which is why he didn’t take any action against them."

There’s no need to say anything; the impeachments from the Imperial Censors will fly onto the Emperor’s desk like snowflakes. Shen Yurong and Li Xian, even if they wished to persevere stiff-necked, would soon experience the truth of the phrase "the power of public opinion." Their days in office were numbered.

With the loss of their positions, Li Xian’s heart would harbor even more hatred for Princess Yongning, and despite Prince Cheng’s attempts to placate him, a rift would likely develop. And Shen Yurong, without an official position and just a commoner, would be blamed by the selfish members of the Shen family, who had selfishness and self-interest coursing through their veins, for everything that had befallen Princess Yongning.