The crowd erupted in uproar; everyone was incredulous, and whispers among themselves began to murmur amongst themselves.

"The Imperial Concubine always seemed so approachable, I never imagined she could do something like this!"

"It must be for her position. Empress Jingxian had no children when she was alive, but she has already given birth to two sons. What wouldn't she do to make her sons emperor?"

"But she was too cruel! Every year on the anniversary of the Queen's death, she always pretended to be a loving sister, but it turns out she was the murderer herself!"

"Fortunately, we haven't offended the Imperial Concubine, otherwise we probably wouldn't be able to withstand her retaliation."

"Hmph, now that the Gao family is gone and the Prince of Yong has gone to his fiefdom, this is her retribution!"

"Isn't Mo Yu her closest relative? How come she's here?"

"After returning from the Summer Palace last year, the Imperial Concubine said that Mo Yu had gone back to her hometown. How come she's here?"

"Gao Ping, I have been loyal to you my whole life, yet you slaughtered my entire family! Why! Why won't you believe me!" Suddenly, Mo Yu knelt down, looking up in anguish, as if Gao Ping were right in front of her, making her question her.

The crowd fell silent in unison, looking at the pitiful woman. They felt that she was indeed miserable, but there must be something hateful about a pitiful person. Since she knew the truth about the Empress's death, it meant that she was also one of the murderers.

"Report to the authorities and arrest her! She's the murderer of the Empress! We can't let her get away!"

Although Mo Yu was a woman, she was still a murderer. After several male worshippers subdued her, a large group of people handed her over to the authorities.

Some even said, "This matter concerns the royal reputation; shouldn't it be sent to the Dali Temple for Prince Xuan to investigate?"

"Indeed, there have been major cases in both the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice recently, so it would be better to send them to the Dali Temple."

And so the person was delivered into King Xuan's hands.

Prince Xuan was forced to take on this hot potato and reluctantly went to the palace. When Yuwen Wuji learned of this, he was so frightened that his scalp tingled. He sat there for a while before finally asking, "Did she say in front of others that 'the Imperial Concubine killed the Empress'?"

Prince Xuan nodded: "Yes, too many people have heard this, and it's probably spread throughout the entire capital city now. Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance, and I truly do not know how to handle it."

This matter concerns the imperial concubines and is an internal affair of the harem; it is not appropriate for the Dali Temple to interfere.

"I will handle this matter personally. You should move the person to the palace first."

Yuwen Wuji was eager to get rid of Mo Yu, but before Prince Xuan could leave the palace, Jiang Peiwang, the commander of the Imperial Guards, rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! A large number of people have gathered outside the palace gates, saying they want Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Imperial Concubine and seek justice for the deceased Empress Jingxian!"

The emperor sat on the dragon throne with his eyes blurred, trying to force himself to come up with a solution quickly, but his brain was as sluggish as rusty iron teeth, barely able to turn even once.

King Xuan asked Jiang Peiwang, "How could this situation have occurred!"

"Those people have all received the Empress's favor, and even though she has been dead for many years, they still worship her. Now, upon hearing that the Empress's death was caused by malice, they cannot accept it, so they have gathered at the palace gate to ask the Emperor to give them an explanation."

In fact, what they were shouting was "Hand over Gao Ping," but Jiang Peiwang dared not say it that way, as it would only anger the emperor and would not benefit the development of the matter.

He secretly hoped that the Emperor could find out the cause of the Empress's death. If it was indeed the Consort's doing, she should be punished accordingly.

When the Empress was alive, the Emperor did not have such absolute power. After the Empress died, the entire court was ruled by the Emperor. Although powerful ministers tried to restrain him, the Emperor's power became even stronger.

Although Jiang Peiwang appeared to be extremely loyal to the emperor, over the years he had developed a sense of tragic insecurity, like the saying "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

"Outrageous! They're being outrageous!" the Emperor roared, sweeping the memorials off the table.

Li Wei's brow twitched as he saw the inkstone still on the table. He bent over and squatted down to pick up the folded paper. He couldn't afford to get ink splashed on it, or else there would be a whole lot of trouble.

"They pressured me in the same way last year, and now they want to force me to compromise again! Who do they think they are!"

Li Wei picked up the memorials even faster, thinking to himself, "This is the will of the people, the sentiment of the people. Even the emperor cannot contend with so many people."

"Do they think that I will compromise because of this?!" Yuwen Wuji said angrily.

Last year, those students forced him to make a decision he didn't want to make, and this year it's the same group of ordinary people. And they're still the same group of ordinary people who are loyal to Xie Wanqing!

Xie Wanqing has been dead for so many years, where did all these believers come from?

It was Xie Liwei, it must have been Xie Liwei who did this!

Just as I was thinking of him, a eunuch outside announced: "Your Majesty, the Prince of Xiaoyao is kneeling at the palace gate, saying that he wants Your Majesty to do justice for his elder sister and hand over the Imperial Noble Consort."

With a loud bang, the inkstone was smashed to the ground, and the fine Duan inkstone shattered into pieces. The people in the room held their breath in shock.

"It's him again!"

Yuwen Wuji remembered that last year he led the students to kneel for a long time at the palace gate.

While the Xie family had indeed lost its influence in the imperial court, they still enjoyed high prestige among scholars and the general public.

"Your Majesty, please calm down! You must not make a decision that cannot be reversed!" Prince Xuan interrupted Yuwen Wuji, who was about to issue an order in a fit of rage. "Your Majesty, the will of the people is the will of the people. Since the murderer has surrendered, we only need to announce the verdict and punish the murderer according to the law. You must not make a big fuss and give others something to talk about."

His words gradually calmed Yuwen Wuji's anger, and as his anger subsided, fear followed.

Yes, he had to shut Gao Ping up. As long as Gao Ping admitted to the matter, no one in the world would suspect that Xie Wanqing's death was related to him!

"Prepare the carriage for Weiyang Palace! I want to speak with the Imperial Noble Consort and get some answers!"

Li Wei hurried out to tell people to prepare for the trip.

Inside Weiyang Palace, because of Gao Ruhai's death, it was difficult for Gao Ping to get information from her spies outside the palace. Therefore, when the Emperor arrived at Weiyang Palace, she was unaware of what had happened.

As soon as Yuwen Wuji entered, he told everyone to leave. Gao Ping looked at Yuwen Wuji and saw a hint of terror in his eyes.

Those eyes were as fierce and venomous as a hyena's, full of aggression.

"Your men are truly remarkable, shouting 'The Imperial Concubine killed the Empress' in the Huangjue Temple!"

Gao Ping was caught off guard and didn't react immediately. The only person known to everyone outside the palace as "her" was Mo Yu.

"Mo Yu isn't dead?!" she screamed, slowly realizing what Yuwen Wuji had just said. Her legs suddenly gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. "Your Majesty, do you want me to bear all the blame alone?"

Yuwen Wuji looked at her quietly, his eyes filled with calculation and indifference, but not a trace of warmth. He had never been moved by her from beginning to end.

The hall remained silent for a long time. After a while, Yuwen Wuji heard Gao Ping's voice.

"May Your Majesty appoint Prince Jing as Crown Prince?"