Mu Ange's gaze gradually turned cold, and when she looked at Zhang Cairen, it was as if she were looking at a lifeless corpse.

"Then let me ask you two, what time is it now?"

The guard paused for a moment, then said, "Chen Shi (7-9 AM)."

Zhang Cairen hurriedly replied, "Yes, Chen Shi (7-9 AM), three quarters past Chen Shi."

These words caused an uproar among the crowd.

An Ning couldn't stand it anymore. She really couldn't understand how someone with such a brain could come out and frame others, or even frame the wolf in sheep's clothing.

"In reply to Lady Zhang, it is only the hour of Si (9-11 AM). Look, the sundial is still there."

An Ning reached out and pointed to the sundial outside.

Mu Ange tilted her head slightly and sneered, "You'd better use your brain when you frame someone in the future."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is wise. Everything I said is true, and I have not spoken falsely. I was probably too scared and confused, which is why I remembered the time wrong."

"Just now when I questioned the guard, he blurted out 'youshi' (5-7 PM) without hesitation. Now, Consort Zhang says that she was so frightened that she remembered the time wrong. Could it be that she secretly conspired to pass the wrong message, thus making a fool of herself? Hehe."

"You, you, you, Mu Ange, don't think you can get away with a few sophistry. Everyone knows you're a lecherous man. As a concubine in the harem, would I risk my innocence to falsely accuse you?"

Mu Ange gave her a cold look: "That's right, you are already an imperial concubine, why are you still so shameless as to use your own innocence to falsely accuse a prince? Could it be that you have received a great favor from someone?"

His cold, ruthless gaze swept over Zhang Cai Ren inch by inch, his scrutiny revealing an undeniable ferocity.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I..." Consort Zhang was shocked and scrambled to her side, her face pale, unable to speak.

The situation inside the hall was extremely tense, but at that moment a person strolled leisurely into the hall.

A bright yellow five-clawed golden dragon coiled around the hem of her skirt, its body imposing and its appearance dignified, but its eyes always held a hint of calculation.

"Go to the Third Prince's residence and tell Meng Yun that Mu Ange has been demoted to a commoner for harassing a concubine," the Crown Prince whispered to a young eunuch.

"yes."

After the eunuch left, the Crown Prince slowly smoothed his clothes and pushed open the door to enter. "Your subject greets Your Majesty. The debt owed in Xuzhou has been recovered, and I have come to present the account book."

The emperor was currently in a state of agitation and simply said, "Put it there."

The Crown Prince didn't say much. After handing the account book to Eunuch Wu, he turned to leave, but at that moment, his gaze swept over the guard, and he asked with feigned confusion, "Zhang Song? What are you doing here?"

The Emperor looked over with a probing gaze and asked, "Do you know him?"

The crown prince stood with his back to Zhang Song and gave him a meaningful look without changing his expression.

Zhang Song immediately understood: "Your Majesty, I was originally a guard in the Crown Prince's palace, but I was only assigned by the Crown Prince to guard Consort Zhang's palace yesterday."

The Crown Prince looked at the people kneeling on the ground with a bewildered expression: "I remember deciding to send you to Consort Zhang's palace at dusk yesterday. Why are you unwilling to work after only half a day? Do you want to request the Emperor to return to the Eastern Palace?"

Zhang Song looked terrified and hurriedly said, "No, it wasn't like that. Yesterday, after receiving my assignment, I went to Consort Zhang's palace. On the way, I passed through the Imperial Garden and saw the Third Prince doing something indecent to Consort Zhang."

The Crown Prince sighed deeply, looking at Mu Ange's expression with disappointment: "In the end, you still did such a shameful thing."

An Ning stared wide-eyed: Was this going to be a reversal?

Originally, it was thought that Mu Ange had cleared his name with his silver tongue, but unexpectedly, the Crown Prince appeared out of nowhere and knocked Mu Ange back into the abyss.

The Crown Prince, with a solemn expression, lifted his robes and knelt in the hall: "Father, it is all my fault for handling this matter improperly, which caused Consort Zhang to suffer such humiliation and made my third brother's lustful desires run wild, disregarding the proper order."

I remember a few days ago when I went to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, I ran into Consort Zhang. She looked panicked and her eyes were darting around. She said that her third brother had been very attentive to her lately and that his words were often explicit. Consort Zhang was not a favorite concubine of the Emperor. She was frightened but dared not report the Emperor to him, for fear that he would think she was shameless and seducing the prince.

However, my third brother's behavior has become increasingly outrageous, and he had no choice but to seek my help. Before I have concrete evidence, I dare not rashly convict him, so I sent a highly skilled palace guard to protect him. But even that couldn't stop his audacious lust. A few days ago, when I saw Consort Zhang, I noticed that she was speaking incoherently, or perhaps she was too frightened and not in a good mental state. Now, she has been so disrespectful to me by my third brother. I'm afraid I should call the imperial physician to examine her."

After speaking, the Crown Prince looked at Consort Zhang with a slightly apologetic gaze. Consort Zhang immediately burst into tears: "Your Highness, Your Highness, you must do justice for me! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, did you hear that the Third Prince has long harbored lewd intentions towards me?"

Lady Zhang cried so loudly that the heavens and earth trembled, her tears flowing like a burst dam. With the Crown Prince as a witness, how could the Emperor not believe her?

"You bastard!" The emperor grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it directly at Mu Ange's head. The teapot shattered with a crash, and shards of porcelain cut his forehead. Bright red blood dripped down his nose, and the scalding tea in the teapot splashed out, drenching his face and eventually mixing with the blood, soaking into his clothes.

The excruciating pain, the burning pain, the injustice of being falsely accused by everyone and unable to defend herself—none of these could make Mu Ange bow her head.

He had grown accustomed to baseless accusations and the emperor's childhood disdain.

An Ning couldn't bear to look any longer, so she lowered her head and looked away. She knew that all of this was a fabricated charge; the Crown Prince, Consort Zhang, and the guards had set an irrefutable trap for Mu Ange.

"Guards! The Third Prince is disrespectful to his elders, acts indecently, and is of despicable character. He is hereby demoted to a commoner, stripped of his imperial surname, and forever forbidden from entering the capital."

Even the usually calm and collected Eunuch Wu showed surprise, but he had no choice but to obey the Emperor's words.

"yes."

As he spoke, the Imperial Guards suddenly stepped forward and were about to strip the Third Prince of his palace robes.

"I will remember this humiliation," Mu Ange said coldly, watching everything without the slightest intention to resist.

"Your Majesty, this commoner, Meng Yun, requests an audience!"

A clear, spring-like voice rang out from outside the palace. The emperor was stunned for a moment, then his eyes filled with joy.

Mu Ange clenched her fists tightly, her previous indifference vanishing.

"Announce it quickly."

The palace doors opened, and Meng Yun, dressed in white, appeared elegant and pure, as if she had washed away all artifice. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her eyes were like autumn waters, a beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms.

The emperor was stunned.

"No, Auntie, please!" Mu Ange pleaded anxiously.

An Ning clearly heard Mu Ange's seemingly mournful plea and truly felt his isolation and helplessness, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

“Aunt, I have now been demoted to a commoner. You are just a commoner and have no right to meet the Emperor.” Mu Ange almost roared these words.

"How dare you, a mere commoner, roar before the palace!" The Crown Prince shouted, suddenly standing up and slapping Mu Ange hard across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his lips.

An Ning originally thought that she would be overjoyed to see Mu Ange suffer, but when the bloody scene unfolded before her eyes, she felt no pleasure whatsoever.