Princess Yongjia dared not admit that the late Empress was the Emperor's Achilles' heel. If she admitted this, she would have no chance of survival.

"Your Majesty, I see clearly. I did not do such a thing. This was framed by Su Yuanzhou."

Su Yuanzhou gave her a mocking look, and she was still being stubborn even when facing death.

He spoke loudly, "Your Majesty, I have witnesses."

When Emperor Xuande heard that there was a witness, he asked Su Yuanzhou to come to the palace to present the witness.

Soon, Zhang Tianshi walked in tremblingly.

He had been a fraud for many years and had survived until today by being cautious. He thought that hiding in the Li family would be all right. He never expected that the incident would directly reach the palace.

Anyone picked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony today is an important figure in the capital.

Not to mention that there was an emperor sitting in the hall.

Zhang Tianshi thought that he had brought honor to his family and revitalized his sect.

After kneeling down and kowtowing, Su Yuanzhou asked, "Master Zhang, in front of the emperor and all the gentlemen, please tell me what happened?"

Although Zhang Tianshi was nervous and spoke haltingly, he finally made himself understood.

He described in detail how Princess Yongjia came to him and how she asked him to cast a spell on the Buddha's body.

At this moment, Zhang Tianshi also guessed that the identity of the Buddha body must be extraordinary.

He then explained: "Your Majesty, I am a liar."

"Her Royal Highness the Princess instructed me to make sure that Buddha's body is never reborn and is haunted by evil spirits."

"I agreed, but I can't do it. I've lied to Her Royal Highness, Princess, but I don't have that much ability."

Princess Yongjia was shocked and angry when she heard him say this. She had risked her life to do this, but in the end, not only was her effort in vain, but she had also angered the emperor.

Emperor Xuande was so angry that he couldn't speak. "Yongjia, you deserve to die. Your sister-in-law treated you well when she was alive. How could you do such a thing?"

Princess Yongjia knew that the emperor would not let her go. Even if the emperor showed some mercy, the Song and Shen families would not spare her.

Princess Yongjia, who had lost hope of survival, suddenly looked up at Emperor Xuande with a smile on her lips.

"Being kind to me? Song Zining has always liked that bitch Yongning, not me."

"I just don't understand. How am I worse than Yongning? Royal brother, you treat her better than me, and Prince Zhan treats her better than me."

"When my brother and his wife first got married, I also wanted to have a good relationship with her. But when she saw Yongning, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. I even heard her privately remind Yongning that I was narrow-minded and asked him to be more careful when interacting with me."

At this point, Princess Yongjia snorted coldly, "I just want her to have no peace even after death. What a pity, this stinky Taoist priest is useless."

Emperor Xuande was so angry that his body swayed slightly and he felt dizzy.

"How dare you curse Yongning like that, and even say you didn't kill him?"

Princess Yongjia laughed heartily. "I killed him. I killed Yongning with my own hands. So what?"

"And Prince Zhan's return to the capital, my royal brother wouldn't really think that Prince Zhan is being filial, right?"

"Actually, he..."

Just as Princess Yongjia said this, she heard Concubine Xian sternly scold her, "Princess, are you trying to poke the Emperor in the heart? Princess Yongning and the late Empress are the people the Emperor cares about most. By putting the people he cares about most to death, have you ever considered how good your brother has been to you?"

The one who spoke, Concubine Xian, glanced at Li Chaoyun.

He added, "Even if the princess herself doesn't want to live anymore, she should still think about Chaoyun. Chaoyun is innocent. If you honestly admit your mistake to the emperor, perhaps you can still save Chaoyun's life."

"Why do you have to hurt the emperor's heart at this time?"

Princess Yongjia swallowed the words she hadn't said yet. She knew that Concubine Xian was threatening her with her daughter's life.

Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but she didn't care and ended up harming her daughter.

Emperor Xuande narrowed his eyes slightly, "What do you want to say? Prince Zhan returned to the capital not because of filial piety, then what was the reason?"

Princess Yongjia was struck by thought and asked, "How is Concubine Yu doing in the palace? Does the emperor really think Prince Zhan doesn't know?"

"You received my letter and led your army into the capital. Ostensibly, you were fulfilling your filial duty. But in reality, you harbored rebellious intentions."

"Royal brother, among us brothers and sisters, there is no one who is purely kind. I may be vicious, but others are no more kind than me."

Having said this, Princess Yongjia suddenly straightened her back, prostrated herself on the ground respectfully, and kowtowed to the emperor.

"I have done wrong, and I admit it. I have only one request. I beg you, my royal brother, to spare Chaoyun's life for the sake of our blood relationship."

Li Chaoyun, who was standing aside, stared blankly at the white jade floor tiles in front of her. Her mother begged the emperor to spare her life, but even if she could really escape death, would she only be filled with humiliation for the rest of her life?

Emperor Xuande listened to Princess Yongjia's request and found it ridiculous. At this time, she knew how to cherish her daughter.

But he just didn't want to do as she wished.

After a moment's silence, Emperor Xuande announced the decree, "Yongjia, for his own selfish gain, murdered the royal family. He is removed from the royal family tree and demoted to a commoner."

"Li Jingchuan used all means to achieve military success. The Li family's crimes are unforgivable and their entire family must be executed."

"Yongjia, Li Jingchuan, and Li Chaoyun will be executed by slow slicing. The rest will be beheaded on the execution ground."

Princess Yongjia fell to the ground in dejection, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Royal brother, please spare Chaoyun."

Although he was pleading with the Emperor, his gaze fell on Concubine Xian.

The virtuous concubine's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stood up and knelt at the emperor's feet. "Your Majesty, I have watched Chaoyun grow up and have always treated her as your own daughter. Today, I risk my life to beg Your Majesty, can you spare Chaoyun's life?"

Before the virtuous concubine knelt down, she gave the prince a wink.

At this time, the prince was very surprised and didn't understand why his mother was so obsessed with helping the Li family.

The same thing happened when he went to the farm outside the city to test Shen Zhixiu that day. He didn't want to get involved in that mess, but his mother insisted that he go.

Although he was puzzled, the prince still did as the virtuous concubine asked.

He knelt on the ground and said, "Father, the Imperial Aunt is guilty, but Cousin Chaoyun is innocent. I beg Father to show mercy and spare her life."

Su Qingyu looked puzzled. The Li family had nothing to offer anymore, so why were Concubine Xian and the Crown Prince still begging for mercy to save Li Chaoyun's life?

She didn't believe that Concubine Xian was so affectionate and wanted to preserve the bloodline of the Li family.

Emperor Xuande said angrily: "The imperial edict has been issued. If you are not satisfied, go with the Li family."

Although Concubine Xian was frightened, she could only try her best to deal with the situation.

She calmly gave a look to Concubine Chen Jiang Ziyan, indicating that she should plead with the Emperor for mercy.

Of course Jiang Ziyan didn't want to speak, but she didn't dare to disobey the virtuous concubine too much.

Although she was favored in the palace, she had no children and no power of her own. If she wanted to gain a foothold in the palace, she still had to rely on the protection of the virtuous concubine.

So after weighing the pros and cons, she stood up and knelt in front of Emperor Xuande.

"Your Majesty, I and Chao Yun hit it off right away and have a deep bond."

"I have never asked Your Majesty for anything. Today I only ask Your Majesty to spare her life."