Chapter 77 The young master is right, the princess is indeed…

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Zhenyuan hosted a banquet for his officials. The hall was filled with fine wine and delicacies, and scholars and generals gathered together.

Inside the magnificent palace, the mournful sound of the konghou (a type of Chinese harp) filled the air, while the sounds of phoenixes singing and dancing filled the air.

Because of his official status, Hengbo mingled among a group of men, secretly drinking out of boredom.

“Princess,” the newly appointed Prince Sheng had somehow moved to her side, “it would be best to drink less wine.”

Hengbo understood; this was that guy's informant. She turned her back, ignoring him.

Seeing her childish dislike for him, Prince Sheng felt somewhat gratified. Too many burdens were weighing on this child's shoulders, and he was powerless to help but also felt sorry for her.

“Over the years, Yun has also amassed a number of uniquely flavored wines, all of which are mellow, sweet, and refreshingly fragrant. I just feel that this kind of turbid wine,” he said, swirling the cup in his hand, “is not worthy of the princess’s palate.”

Although Hengbo did not turn around to look at him, she heard every word he said. After subconsciously imagining it for a moment, she suddenly felt that the food in her hand had no taste.

She turned her head, her eyes sparkling.

Prince Sheng immediately understood and smiled, "If the princess is willing to grace my humble abode with her presence, it would naturally be an honor for her."

Hengbo was satisfied and gave her an approving look.

Bai Yun wanted to laugh but tried hard to hold it in. He understood that the princess was praising him for being perceptive and good at handling things. The young master was right; the princess was indeed excessively adorable.

Just then, "The Emperor has arrived."

The officials rose to greet him, and Prince Sheng returned to his seat at the opportune moment.

Ji Heng walked into the main hall unhurriedly, with Consort Hui accompanying him.

Generally speaking, such banquets for ministers should be attended by the Empress, but Empress Lin was devoted to Buddhism and had been a vegetarian for many years, so she never participated. In previous years, Consort Shu, who was favored by Ji Heng, enjoyed this honor, but this year Consort Shu was probably out in the cold palace, so it was finally Consort Hui's turn.

Consort Hui wore a deep purple palace dress, with phoenixes subtly embroidered in gold thread on the sleeves and collar, while a five-tailed phoenix hairpin surrounded a phoenix hairpin on her head.

The Minister of Rites shook his head in disbelief, but could only mutter to himself out of respect for the Emperor's authority.

"Rise, everyone, no need for such formalities." After Ji Heng took her seat, everyone else sat down as well.

"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I, along with Consort Hui, have prepared a banquet to entertain you all and to express our gratitude for your hard work..."

While Ji Heng was still giving his long speech, Hengbo's thoughts had already drifted far away.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!" The palace servant's announcement interrupted Ji Heng's performance. His expression hardened, and a bad premonition arose in his heart. Although the Empress posed no real threat, she never gave him any face.

However, the one with the most stiff expression at this moment was Consort Hui beside him. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to sit or walk.

As expected, "Consort Hui, having ruled the six palaces for so many years, probably doesn't even recognize her own identity anymore."

Empress Lin was the first to challenge Consort Hui, asking, "Where is the Minister of Rites?"

"Your subject is present."

"Tell Consort Hui what regulations should be followed for a consort of that rank."

The Minister of Rites felt a surge of satisfaction and said with great enthusiasm, "The Imperial Concubine and the Consort shall wear sapphire blue robes and may wear phoenix hairpins, but the phoenix tails shall not exceed five."

Empress Lin smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, Consort Hui, you haven't been promoted to Imperial Noble Consort yet, have you?" You're not even an Imperial Noble Consort yet, and you're already thinking about violating the rules.

Consort Hui understood her unspoken meaning. She had never been humiliated in public like this before. She glanced hesitantly at Ji Heng beside her, but saw that he was looking down at his nose and his mind was focused. The coquettish words she wanted to say were swallowed back down, and she could only admit her mistake.

Little did she know that Ji Heng, whom she had clung to as a lifeline, was only relieved that the fire wasn't being directed at him.

"Your Majesty," Empress Lin said, facing Ji Heng directly, "what do you think Consort Hui should be punished for her actions?"

Ji Heng wanted to laugh it off, but his years of marriage made him realize that if Consort Hui didn't suffer, he would be the one to suffer.

So he said righteously, "Consort Hui knowingly violated the rules and showed contempt for etiquette. She shall be confined to her quarters for three months." He then glanced at Empress Lin's face. "Furthermore, Consort Hui is unable to set a good example and shall no longer be allowed to interfere in the affairs of the six palaces."

"Your Majesty!" Consort Hui could no longer sit still. Her family had little power to begin with, and her son was already crippled. Now that she had been stripped of her power to govern the six palaces, she would have no hope of ever rising again.

However, Ji Heng did not want to offend the Empress for her sake, so he ordered, "Execute immediately. Someone, take Consort Hui back to the palace."

The little incident ended, and Ji Heng breathed a sigh of relief. "Empress, please take a seat."

Empress Lin sneered inwardly. Did he think she was just being jealous and eliminating dissidents? How disgusting.

"Your Majesty, I have come here today for another matter."

"It just so happens that the officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate are all here, so I won't have to make another trip."

"Empress," Ji Heng said impatiently, "I have already punished Consort Hui. What more do you want? To exterminate her entire family?"

"The women of the inner palace are not allowed to interfere in politics; you must not overstep your bounds."

Empress Lin curtsied and said, "Your Majesty misunderstands. I would never go to such lengths for Consort Hui." Only you could make me go to such lengths.

"I, Lin, have been granted the position of Empress, but my virtue is unworthy of the position. I request the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate to handle this matter impartially and punish my crimes."

Upon hearing this, the courtiers were all in an uproar, while the official whose name was mentioned turned his gaze to Ji Heng.

Ji Heng hadn't expected that Empress Lin's outburst today was actually to confess. He asked with a playful tone, "What crime has the Empress committed to warrant this?"

Empress Lin stopped looking at him and turned her gaze to the assembled officials: "What I have done is the crime of harboring a criminal."

Her voice was calm, yet contained power: "I knew perfectly well that His Majesty was not of the late Emperor's bloodline, yet I allowed the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to confuse the royal bloodline for their own selfish desires, plotting to ambush and kill the late Crown Prince Ji Jin, and thus seize the country. Their crimes deserve to be punished!"

"However, for the sake of wealth and honor, I not only did not report it, but also tricked Ji Jin into the palace fourteen years ago by taking advantage of my relationship with my cousin, and fabricated the illusion that the Crown Prince was forcing the palace."

“But the truth is,” she pointed at Ji Heng, “it was you, Ji Heng, who forced us to abdicate, it was us!”

Empress Lin knelt down: "I beg you three gentlemen to give justice to the late Crown Prince and to all the people of the Great Jin!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

It was Ji Heng who broke the silence first: "You're insane! You're insane!"

"Guards!" he shouted hoarsely, "The Empress has suffered a hysterical attack! Take her back!"

The palace maids, finally realizing what was happening, rushed over to pull Empress Lin away.

"Every word I have said is true! I urge you all to give the people of the Great Jin Dynasty justice!"

The palace servants who had been waved away dared not move again. Ji Heng urged them repeatedly, "What are you all standing there for?! Don't you want to live anymore?"

However, just as Empress Lin was about to be dragged away, all the officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate knelt down in unison: "Your Majesty, we beg you to thoroughly investigate the old case from back then!"

Standing alone, Qin Fei looked at his colleagues and then at the furious Ji Heng. Finally, he resigned himself to his fate and knelt down.

"You've all gone mad! You actually believe the words of a lowly woman?! What use are you bunch of fools to me?"

"Guards, dismiss the Censor, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Minister of Justice..."

At this, all the court officials in the room knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, we also implore you to thoroughly investigate the old case of the Eastern Palace Incident!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Summon the imperial physician immediately!" Ji Heng lost his balance and fell to the ground.

With the help of palace servants, Ji Heng returned to the head of the table. "It's just the nonsense of an ignorant woman. Why did you all take it seriously?"

"Your Majesty," Empress Lin, now released, returned to the palace. Her dazzling phoenix crown had fallen, and her elaborate palace dress was full of creases. She was disheveled yet composed: "Are you still not giving up until you see the truth, or have you been deceiving yourself all these years?"

"Bring here the family of His Majesty's wet nurse and Eunuch Chen, who served the late Emperor."

Ji Heng finally understood that Empress Lin was not trying to reopen old cases today, but to put him to death!

"We've been husband and wife for many years, and you even bore me Zhu'er, how could you hate me so much?"

Empress Lin sneered, "If you remembered our past relationship, you wouldn't have exterminated my entire Lin family. Now, if I don't hate you, where do you place the lives of my whole clan?!"

Those who had been waiting outside the shop were summoned into the hall.

"My lords, I am the son of Granny Xu from the palace." This was a man who looked to be about forty years old.

“My mother was a maid in the Ye family, the maternal family of the Empress Dowager. When the Zhengde Empress Dowager gave birth to a prince three months later, the matriarch of the Ye family sent my mother into the palace, where she became His Majesty’s wet nurse.”

“My mother felt strange at the time. Ye’s explanation was that this was the Empress’s first child, and since the child was not born at full term, she personally breastfed the baby until it was three months old before hiring a wet nurse to take care of it.”

“My mother had already given birth to two children at the time, and she immediately recognized that the prince was not three months old, but about five months old. However, this matter was of great importance, so she could only pretend that she had not noticed anything and eagerly hoped that the prince would be weaned and then return home.”

"However, even so, the ladies in the palace still dared not let my mother go back. If it weren't for the fact that the prince relied on his wet nurse when he was young, my mother would probably have disappeared from the palace without anyone knowing."

“My younger brother was only a few months old at that time, so we had to send him to a relative’s house to be raised. But that was not all. The nobles in the palace threatened my mother with my brother and me, so she never left the palace again in her life.”

“My mother knew that even this couldn’t save our family’s lives. We were as worthless as ants, and if a powerful person became displeased one day, they might kill us all. So she took precautions.”

He took out a package from his bosom. “This is a medical record of the imperial physicians who treated the Empress and the princes, which my mother secretly left behind. This proves that what I said is true.”

Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review took the medical record and ordered, "Summon the Director of the Imperial Medical Academy."

While waiting, everyone's attention turned to another elderly man.

Having regained his senses, Eunuch Chen said, "This servant was a eunuch in the service of the late Emperor. Back then, the Empress Dowager used the late Emperor's life to force Crown Prince Ji Jin to commit suicide in front of the late Emperor. Afterwards, the already seriously ill late Emperor died of anger. And we servants who witnessed the events of that year were all buried alive in the imperial mausoleum."

Eunuch Chen recalled: "The Empress Dowager's original words were that the resentment of those of us who were buried alive should disturb the late Emperor's peace forever. It's just a pity that I survived."

The entire audience gasped in shock. This was too ruthless!

The censor ordered, "Find the register of all the eunuchs who have served in the palace since the founding of the dynasty."

They gave him instructions one by one, but Ji Heng remained seated on his throne without uttering a word. Some courtiers couldn't help but wonder inwardly if Ji Heng had already given up the struggle.

Hengbo knew he was confident and fearless. However, she hadn't expected to bring him down so easily. The real show was yet to come.

The head of the Imperial Medical Academy rushed over, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review handed him the medical record, asking, "Was this diagnosed by a physician from the Imperial Medical Academy?"

After checking the seal, the imperial physician's signature, and the date, the imperial physician nodded and said, "This is indeed a diagnostic record from the Imperial Medical Academy, but it is a record from the time of the late emperor."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review remained calm: "Then take a closer look at the symptoms recorded in this document. Is there anything wrong with them?"

The academy director had no choice but to carefully flip through each page, and the more he read, the more his brows furrowed. "This...this isn't right."

He went back to check again: "Who can detect pregnancy so early in life? This...this date must be recorded incorrectly."

After hearing this, there's nothing left to be confused about.

Just then, the list of eunuchs in the palace during the reign of the late emperor was also sent over.

"Chen Ming," Eunuch Chen reminded him at the opportune moment.

"Chen Ming, ancestral home in Jing'an County." Sure enough, Chen Ming's name was found on the register. Eunuch Chen continued, "At the age of twelve, his parents sold him to Zheng Guang, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who adopted him as his son. After teaching him some basic legwork, he was chosen to serve in front of the late emperor."

The official checking the roster said, "Yes, it matches."

Eunuch Chen looked around and finally sighed, "If Ji Jin wanted to force the emperor to abdicate, why didn't he eliminate the Imperial Guards first? Does he think he has too long to live? The late emperor's condition deteriorated rapidly in just a day or two. How could Ji Heng have received the news and returned to the capital so quickly?"

"And what about the late emperor's condition? It had been managing very well before, so why did it suddenly deteriorate so drastically?"

“You’re not unaware that something is wrong, you’re just afraid to investigate further.”

“Ji Heng,” he suddenly called him by his name, “you resent the late emperor for favoring Ji Jin and neglecting you, but don’t you think about it? What man can dote on a child born from his wife’s adultery? He was willing to give you the noble status of a prince, so what are you not satisfied with?”

"Bullshit!" Ji Heng suddenly became agitated: "What wife?! He only married my mother because her surname is Lin, so she could be an ally of Ji Jin. My mother didn't commit adultery! My parents were in love, it was the damned Lin family who sent my mother to the palace!"

"He's supporting me only so he can use me to blackmail and exploit my father!"

"He deserves to die! He owes us this, so what's wrong with paying for it with Ji Jin's life!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter. Ji Heng then realized that this was nothing more than a provocation.

But did they think they could control him like that?

"So what? Was the late emperor born into royalty? So what if I forced Ji Jin to her death?" He sneered. "It's all about the victor and the vanquished."

"Today, I am the one in this position, so I am the emperor?! And you," he pointed at them one by one, "are a bunch of traitors and rebels!"