The king, escorted by his guards, returned to the council chamber. He turned around and suppressed his anger, saying, "Louis and the captain stay, and the rest of you get out!"

"Yes!" The guards sent Du Xilun and the queen away, threw Dai Xi to the ground, and left quickly. They didn't dare to stay for even a second, for fear that the queen's anger would spread to them the next moment.

The moment the door to the conference room closed, a thunderous roar was heard from inside: "Queen! You've done a great deed!"

The queen immediately knelt down and tried to defend herself, "Your Majesty, listen to me. It's not what you think. I really didn't bribe Daixi to harm the eldest princess! The eldest princess is your child. No matter how much I dislike her, I can't possibly take her life!"

She stared at the king with burning eyes, and was extremely sad. It seemed that she was really heartbroken. But although the king was conceited, he was not a fool.

He had been deceived by the queen before and had intended to let it go, but after talking with Lan Shuang twice, he found that he might really be wrong. Lan Shuang, apart from anything else, at least had great potential in becoming a king.

Although Lan Sisi is excellent, she is too soft and kind in character to sit on the position of king, so he has never thought of abolishing Lan Shuang's position as crown prince. But he doesn't want to think about it, but someone else thinks about it for him. How can he tolerate the king's dignity being challenged?

"Queen, do you think I'm a fool? Regardless of whether you bribed Daixi or not, how could Du Xilun have come into contact with Daixi so easily without your permission? How could a minister just come in and out of the palace and come into contact with the people around the eldest princess?"

"I……"

The queen was suddenly speechless and tried hard to find words to defend herself.

The king looked at her disappointedly, then turned to look at Dusilen, his anger even greater this time: "Dusilen, I have valued you very much. I've even been tolerant of you because of the Queen. But what about you? What have you done? Is this how you repay me?"

Du Xilun looked from the queen to the king, knowing that he could not escape this night's disaster. He knelt down, kowtowed, and confessed his guilt frankly: "I was wrong. I have betrayed your majesty's trust. But your majesty, please listen to me. It is not too late to judge me."

The king snorted coldly, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Du Xilun took it as his tacit agreement and was about to speak when the queen looked over at him with a complicated expression. Du Xilun was startled, then turned his head away from her, staring down at the pattern on the carpet and said in a deep voice, "The queen and I are brother and sister. Our families are prominent and we have never suffered the slightest injustice. But ever since the queen married Your Majesty, she has been suspected everywhere. People say she is a stepmother and can't take good care of the eldest princess. But the queen has endured all this. Your Majesty has seen it, right?"

The king said nothing, but just looked at the queen. The queen was in tears but said nothing.

"Later, the queen gave birth to Sisi and worked hard to raise her to be a talented person. However, in the eyes of outsiders, Sisi was the second princess and could never compare to the eldest princess. But I watched Sisi grow up, how could she be worse than the eldest princess? They were obviously born to the same father. In another family, Sisi would definitely be the pampered eldest daughter. But now, because Lan Shuang is in front, she has to be suppressed. She doesn't hate or complain, but as her uncle, I can't stand it!"

"Sisi will soon be of age, and the neighboring country is interested in an alliance. Wouldn't Sisi then have no choice but to marry far away? I didn't accept this, so I wanted to vent my anger on Sisi's behalf. In a fit of madness, I bribed Daixi and asked her to trick the princess into going to sea. I promised to give her more money than she could spend in her lifetime, so that she could live a rich life for the rest of her life, and then..."

He looked up at the king's face and whispered, "Your Majesty knows what happened next."

Upon hearing this, the king patted his armrest and stood up. "Well, you're here to vent your anger for Sisi! After all, aren't you just pursuing your own selfish desires? Dusilun, don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"

Du Xilun remained calm and said, "No matter what Your Majesty thinks, that was my original intention. It was also my idea to send someone to assassinate the eldest princess. The queen was not involved. Your Majesty, please punish me alone. It's all my fault, and I have no complaints."

"His Majesty!"

The queen knelt and wept, then stepped forward, saying mournfully to the king, "For all the years I've helped you run the palace, and for all the years my brother has helped you with state affairs, please forgive him this time. Although he did something wrong, at least nothing really happened to the eldest princess..."

The king stared at her gloomily and was about to say something when there was a sudden noise outside.

He frowned and looked over, only to see Lan Sisi push the door open and walk in, ignoring the guards' obstruction. As soon as she saw him, she quickly ran in, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, all this is because of me. If you want to punish me, punish me. It's my fault. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened."

The king looked at her with a headache and said, "You get up first."

He really liked his daughter, who was obedient and sensible, but everything was caused by her, which made him feel confused when he saw Lan Sisi.

"Your Majesty, please don't be embarrassed."

Lan Sisi looked at her mother and uncle fondly, then stood up and said, "I am willing to go to Saibi Country for marriage, just as a way to atone for the sins of my mother and uncle."

The king was stunned. "What did you say?"

The queen was horrified. "No! I don't agree! Those princes of Saibi are no good. How can I let you jump into the fire pit?"

"I don't agree either!" Du Xilun objected sternly. If Lan Sisi went to arrange the marriage, they would never be able to turn things around!

"But..." Lan Sisi looked at them sadly, wanting to say something.

When the queen saw the king hesitate, her face suddenly changed. She gritted her teeth and rushed towards the pillar on the side with a dull "bang".

"Mother!"

"younger sister!"

"queen!"

The hall was suddenly in chaos. Everyone rushed towards the queen and looked at the wound on her head in a panic.

The king ran over and hugged the queen. The queen said weakly in his arms, "Your Majesty, this matter... is my fault. I shouldn't have been jealous, but..."

With trembling hands, she grabbed the king's sleeve and said with difficulty, "Sisi cannot go through with the marriage. She is my only daughter, and she is my life!"

The king frowned and shouted outside: "Someone! Someone come quickly! Send for a doctor!"

He picked up the queen and walked out: "Why are you so cruel?"

"There's nothing I can do. If you do something wrong, someone has to bear the consequences. I can't let Sisi go. I have to bear the consequences myself."

The queen laughed weakly: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry..."

After saying that, she completely fainted.

Dusilen and Lan Sisi followed the king all the way to the queen's bedroom.