The Empress chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, you might as well keep those questions to yourself."

Each and every one of them has done their share of despicable things. When it comes to being ruthless and vicious, they're all equally matched. Why bother with these high-sounding words?

"Insolence!" The Emperor was furious, his eyes flashing with cold light and filled with killing intent.

The empress was not intimidated by his imposing manner and remained unmoved.

Seeing that she still wouldn't admit her mistakes even when she was about to die, the Emperor was stubborn and insisted on seeing her give in, so he threatened, "Are you not planning to let Ziyan return to the capital?"

The Empress remained calm and looked up at him, saying, "Without me, his return to the capital would be useless. It's safer for him to stay in the north."

She knew her two sons best.

Knowing they were incompetent, they used Sheng Jingyu to help them seize power.

Over the years, it was Sheng Jingyu who did the work of befriending court officials and winning people's hearts. In contrast, Sheng Ziyan and Sheng Zixi only had a mother who was the empress.

The Empress thought it would be better to let Sheng Ziyan stay in the North, but the Emperor insisted on doing the opposite, coldly saying, "If Ziyan stays in the North all the time, how can he share my burdens?"

Seeing that he had changed his mind, the Empress remained calm: "If Your Majesty needs him, then call him back. However, Ziyan's abilities are limited, so just don't cause Your Majesty any trouble."

The emperor was speechless, even finding himself helpless against the empress.

Seeing his ashen face, the Empress felt extremely pleased. So this is what it feels like to be unafraid of death. No wonder Su Wenyuan was so arrogant.

Finally, the emperor stormed off in a huff, his anger returning just as he left.

The Emperor also declared that he would see the results in three days. The palace servants of Chengming Palace suffered all kinds of torture and said everything they should and shouldn't have said.

Not to mention serious matters like poisoning, they even dug up details of which palace maids and eunuchs the Empress had scolded in the palace.

The thick stack of confessions included innocent palace servants who died tragically, as well as concubines and princes who were framed, but there was no mention of the murder of Su Lin'er.

The people around the Empress truly had no idea where Su Yuan and Su Xian had gone.

The Emperor issued an edict to depose the Empress. Then, Eunuch Hu came to Prince Chen's residence and conveyed the Emperor's oral decree, summoning Sheng Jingyu and Su Wenyuan to the palace.

The two of them changed and washed at a leisurely pace.

"As soon as the Empress was placed under house arrest, Sheng Zixi went to beg the Emperor to make an exception for her. But the Emperor refused to see her and ignored her, making Sheng Zixi kneel outside the Imperial Study all night," Sheng Jingyu said.

Su Wenyuan said calmly, "The Emperor is unhappy that the Empress killed Sheng Yuanhe."

The Emperor places great hopes on Sheng Yuanhe, which is something that Sheng Ziyan and Sheng Zixi cannot match.

"Not only that, but when I asked the people in the Imperial Court, I learned that the Empress had repeatedly contradicted the Emperor, which is why the Emperor took his anger out on Sheng Zixi." Sheng Jingyu had already found out.

Su Wenyuan said with a smile, "The Empress must feel wronged, and if she doesn't speak her mind now, she won't have the chance to say it later."

"I wonder what she will say to me when she sees me today."

Upon entering the palace again, one could clearly sense that the atmosphere was quite different from before.

When the empress was deposed, those palace servants who had served her were terrified of being implicated.

Those who worked for Consort Wan also lived in fear.

The two arrived at the Imperial Study. Eunuch Hu went in to deliver a message, and soon came out and called Sheng Jingyu in, while Su Wenyuan waited outside.

The weather at the beginning of spring wasn't particularly cold, but it wasn't warm either.

If you stand outside for half an hour, you'll feel the biting cold wind.

Su Wenyuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that the Emperor really had the leisure to indulge in such pleasures.

They're in such dire straits, yet they still have the nerve to make things difficult for her! And their methods are so low-level.

Eunuch Hu urged, "Your Highness, please go in quickly. The Emperor has been waiting for a long time."

That's true. After the Emperor issued the imperial edict, he had been waiting for them to arrive.

But no matter how long they waited, the two people never appeared.

Lately, the Emperor has been more irritable than usual, and he has been unable to see anyone. He almost ran out of the palace to look for Sheng Jingyu.

Fortunately, he still had some remaining rationality and told him he couldn't do that.

Finally, the two arrived. The Emperor was furious and came up with the brilliant idea of ​​leaving Su Wenyuan hanging.

After bowing, Sheng Jingyu asked directly, "Father, what important matter has Your Majesty summoned me here for?"

The emperor was ill and unable to attend the morning court session that day, and he did not attend for the next three days.

But hiding like this for a long time is not a solution.

The empress has been deposed, but simply deposing her is not enough; she must be severely punished or even executed!

The Emperor's intention was to spare her life in consideration of the fact that she had given birth to two princes, thus demonstrating the Emperor's magnanimity and earning him a good reputation.

But if we're talking about personal reasons, he didn't intend to let the empress live.

He didn't want to take action himself, and he wanted the Empress to die, so he had to find someone to take the blame for him.

Without even thinking, it's obvious that the most suitable person to do this is Sheng Jingyu.

Sheng Jingyu and the Empress have a personal grudge, so he has no reason to refuse a chance for revenge.

"...I want to spare her life, but I also respect your opinion."

The emperor spoke at length, but left with this final sentence, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer.

Sheng Jingyu smiled and said, "Okay."

"???"

The emperor didn't hear clearly and asked with some doubt, "What did you say?"

"Father, you said so much just to plead for the Empress and ask me to let her go and not pursue the matter any further, right? I also want to repay her for taking care of me. As long as Father doesn't want to kill her, then let her live." Sheng Jingyu answered obediently.

"No..." The Emperor first instinctively refuted, then hesitated for a long time, unsure how to continue.

He talked so much because he was afraid Sheng Jingyu wouldn't understand, but in the end he still didn't understand?

Isn't it obvious enough that I said I would respect his ideas? As long as he wants to harm the Empress, I will definitely not object.

He would tell everyone after the Empress died that he originally wanted to spare her life, but Sheng Jingyu insisted on killing her.

But now, Sheng Jingyu actually intends to release the Empress?

The Emperor couldn't understand when Sheng Jingyu had started to be wholeheartedly good and stop killing.

That was no stranger; it was the empress who poisoned him.

"You...think about it some more?" the Emperor said tactfully.

Sheng Jingyu smiled and asked in return, "What does Father mean?"

"I have no particular meaning."

“Then let’s do as Father says. He’ll be banished to the Cold Palace and never be allowed to leave again,” Sheng Jingyu said.

The emperor felt a lump in his throat, unable to exhale or exhale.

Ever since he nearly fainted from anger that day, he's had this problem: his chest feels tight whenever he gets angry.

In more severe cases, it can cause dizziness and vertigo.

As he gets older, he really can't stand getting angry, but everyone seems to want to upset him.

"I want you to kill her secretly, but I want to spare her life in public," the Emperor said bluntly.

If we keep going in circles, we'll really be driven crazy by Sheng Jingyu's feigned ignorance.