It wasn't until the morning court session the following day, when the officials nervously entered the court and saw Xue Sheng's icy expression, that they realized what had happened.

Xue Shen, dressed in a dragon robe, sat solemnly on the dragon throne, looking down at the assembled court officials.

Because of the commotion last night, the atmosphere in the court today was already very oppressive.

Seeing Xue Shen's terrifying appearance and the fact that several familiar colleagues had disappeared from the court, none of the officials dared to ask any questions.

It was Vice Chancellor Xie Lianhong who broke the deadlock, stepping forward to ask, "Last night I heard the Imperial Guards arresting people at home. I wonder if something has happened in the palace?"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Xie Lianhong spoke first.

"This is precisely what I wish to discuss with you today," Xue Shen began slowly.

His voice was very deep, and when he leaned slightly forward to look down from above, he exuded a heavy sense of authority. For a moment, none of the officials dared to look him in the eye, and they all lowered their heads.

He said, "A month ago, when the Empress was about to give birth, I inadvertently discovered that someone was plotting to harm her."

Everyone was shocked when he mentioned the deceased empress.

Thinking of the empress who died in childbirth, everyone wondered if her death was actually caused by someone.

But then they heard Xue Shen say, "I had people investigate secretly, and following the clues, we discovered that the person who intended to harm the Empress was actually Princess Yelü Nanxian of the Northern Rong."

"Yelü Nanxian infiltrated the capital and secretly colluded with Zhou Nian, Wang Yuanguang and other disloyal officials. She obtained clues from them and plotted to harm the Empress."

"If I hadn't been prepared, they probably would have succeeded."

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials looked up at him in shock, not daring to think about what Xue Shen meant by his last words.

What does it mean to say, "If I hadn't been prepared, they probably would have succeeded"?

Could it be that the Empress is still alive?

"Does Your Majesty mean that Her Majesty the Empress did not...?"

It was Xie Lianhong who spoke up again; he genuinely cared about Shen Youying's situation.

When he first learned of Shen Youying's death in childbirth, he was deeply saddened and personally went to the Shen family to comfort his old friend. However, Shen Mingjiang, still grieving the loss of his daughter, did not see him.

But judging from Xue Shen's words, he was clearly saying that the Empress was not dead.

Xue Shen nodded upon hearing this: "That's right, the Empress gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and all three are safe. However, it was precisely to lure out those with ulterior motives behind the scenes that she and the Empress staged this play."

At this point, he said sarcastically, "But there are some people who have truly not disappointed me in the slightest."

"They colluded with the Northern Rong, plotted to murder the Empress, and even revealed my whereabouts to the Northern Rong, creating an opportunity for them to assassinate me."

With each word he uttered, his voice grew deeper, until finally it was filled with thunderous fury.

The entire court was terrified upon hearing this, and they all knelt down, shouting, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Seeing this, Xue Shen stood up, slowly walked down the steps, and looked at them coldly: "Wang Yuanguang and the others are hoping for something to happen to the Empress so they can send people into my harem. For this, they are willing to join forces with the Northern Rong people..."

"I don't know if there are any of you who share the same thoughts as Wang Yuanguang, but who haven't dared to take action."

Upon hearing this, the ministers hurriedly denied it: "We dare not!"

Xue Shen sneered: "I don't care whether you dare or not, I'm going to make this clear first: if anyone dares to have any improper thoughts or to harm the Empress, what happened to Wang Yuanguang and the others today will happen to you tomorrow."

After saying this, he waved his sleeve and said, "Everyone, follow me to the Meridian Gate to witness the execution."

*

Wang Yuanguang and the others had all been brought to the Meridian Gate. There were seven of them in total, and all of them had their hands tied behind their backs and were bound to the rack.

When they saw Xue Shen leading his officials over, the cries of injustice grew louder and louder.

Xue Shen sat down in the main seat, coldly sweeping his gaze over them: "Do you feel wronged?"

The officials who were still protesting their innocence immediately fell silent, looking at him in bewilderment, but because they felt guilty, they dared not shout any louder.

Xue Shen raised his chin: "Bring the person up."

Immediately, imperial guards forced Yelü Nanxian forward.

Upon seeing Yelü Nanxian, the group of people who had been speaking so confidently just moments before turned deathly pale, and some of the more timid ones were already sweating profusely.

Do you recognize this person?

Wang Yuanguang knew things were going badly, but he still held onto a sliver of hope. He swallowed hard and forced a smile, replying, "I...I recognize her. She is the Northern Rong princess, Yelü Nanxian."

Xue Shen nodded: "Do you remember what deal you made with her?"

Wang Yuanguang trembled slightly, but still tried to argue, "Your Majesty, please understand. How could we dare to have any dealings with the Northern Rong people? It's probably all slander from this Northern Rong witch. Your Majesty, please don't believe her lies."

Hearing him say this, the others echoed him in trembling voices: "Your Majesty, please do not believe this witch's slanderous words!"

Xue Shen's expression grew increasingly mocking: "Present the evidence."

Several imperial guards brought up the confiscated letters and other items on a tray and showed them to the guards one by one.

After seeing it clearly, the men turned ashen-faced and dared not argue any further.

Xue Shen then spoke: "These are all evidence of your clandestine dealings with the Northern Rong, found in your residence. Now, do you have anything else to say?"

Wang Yuanguang never expected things to take such a sudden turn. Looking at the letter on the tray, his mind raced. While the others were still hesitating about whether to confess and seek leniency, he spoke first: "Your Majesty, it is true that Yelü Nanxian contacted me privately, but my loyalty to the emperor is as clear as day and night, so I naturally refused."

"But, but this beautiful woman from the Northern Rong is cunning. She fabricated evidence of my embezzlement, and I had no choice but to see her."

"But Heaven above, although I was forced to meet her, I would never dare to do anything that would lead to treason. That witch only chatted with me for a few words before letting me leave."

"If I am guilty, my greatest crime is that I should not have been afraid of the evidence fabricated by the witch and failed to report the matter to the court."

Xue Shen listened to his sophistry and even laughed: "Oh? Tell me, what did you and Yelü Nanxian talk about?"

Wang Yuanguang was sweating profusely, his eyes darting around, and he stammered, "It's just... just some everyday stuff..."

Xue Shen exposed his lie: "I'm afraid it's not just casual conversation, is it? Didn't you tell Yelü Nanxian that the Empress and I were planning to move into the Eastern Palace?"

"Even the fact that the late Crown Princess died in childbirth in the East Courtyard, and that I most likely wouldn't move to the East Courtyard but would choose the West Courtyard, was something you revealed when you were chatting with Yelü Nanxian?"

He had long wondered why Yelü Nanxian, a Northern Rong person, knew so much about his and Shen Youying's whereabouts.

After learning that Wang Yuanguang was also involved, everything became clear.