"emperor……"

"What did your servant do wrong..."

Ouyang Yuming, whose neck was restrained, spoke with difficulty, tears in the corners of his eyes, and looked at Nalan Yunzhi in disbelief with a hurt look on his face.

"Your Majesty! You can't do this to the Emperor!"

The fat middle-aged man who had just arrogantly slapped the temple official in the face, saw this and crawled directly in front of Nalan Yunzhi, hugged her ankles, and begged with tears.

"Your Majesty! The Imperial Noble is well-educated, gentle, respectful, and loyal to you. For the past sixteen years, he has tirelessly managed all the affairs of the harem for you, and he serves the Empress Dowager daily, morning and night. Moreover, he has been instrumental in teaching the eldest princess. Even if he has no merit, he has certainly worked hard! Even if you intend to kill him, you should give him a chance to defend himself!"

After Deshan finished speaking, he released his arms that were holding Nalan Yunzhi, and kowtowed to Nalan Yunzhi repeatedly, "dong-dong-dong".

"snort!"

Nalan Yunzhi snorted coldly, kicked Deshan, and then shook off the hand that was clamped around Ouyang Yuming's neck.

"Okay! I'll give you a chance to defend yourself for Jun Xue's sake."

Ouyang Yuming was about to fall into darkness, but as the shackles around his neck were suddenly loosened, he suddenly felt his eyes light up. The fresh air blowing in his face gradually cleared his mind, and he began to breathe heavily.

"Ouyang Yuming, I want to ask you, have you ever touched my personal badge or mobilized the Yulin Army?" Thinking of Ling Yan's tragic death, Nalan Yunzhi looked at Ouyang Yuming, whose face was pale, without any pity.

"Your Majesty, why do you say that? Without your permission, even if Yu Ming had ten thousand guts, he wouldn't dare to touch the emperor's personal badge. How could he even think of mobilizing the Imperial Guards?"

Ouyang Yuming is one year younger than Nalan Yunzhi and is thirty-six years old this year. Although he is not as ageless as Situ Mingting, he is also handsome and well-mannered.

Having escaped death, Ouyang Yuming knelt down in front of Nalan Yunzhi with a thud, hugged her legs and sobbed softly. His slight sobs, tear marks on his face, and delicate appearance made him look pitiful.

"Two years ago on July 15th, Shan Wushuang, the Minister of the Imperial Household, was taken away from his residence. Without being tried by the Dali Temple or reviewed by the Ministry of Justice, he was directly exiled to the frontier. He was even captured by the Yulin Army. How dare you say that this matter has nothing to do with you?" Nalan Yunzhi pinched Ouyang Yuming's handsome face, glared at him condescendingly, and then pushed him away.

"Your Majesty, Yuming has been familiar with "Nanjie", "Nanxun", "Nan Lunyu" and "Nan Fan Jielu" since he was a child, and has been with you since you were still a princess. Even when you ascended the throne and named me an imperial noble, Yuming has always been self-disciplined and has never done anything beyond the rules. What's more, our ancestors have left us an instruction that the harem should not interfere in politics. How could Yuming knowingly violate the rules and get involved with the previous dynasty?" Ouyang Yuming rested his head lightly on Nalan Yunzhi's legs, crying so hard that tears welled up in his eyes, and I felt pity for him.

"Really? It's not you?"

Nalan Yunzhi looked down at Ouyang Yuming, who was hugging her legs and crying bitterly, and looked up at her with tears in his eyes. Her heart softened slightly.

Feng Lingyan was the empress Nalan Yunzhi married when he ascended the throne. Although she had not appointed a princess as the main princess before, when she was still a princess, the Eastern Palace already had two princesses as concubines, four Liangze, eight Chenghui, twelve Shilang, and twenty-four Shulang.

Ouyang Yuming was one of her attendants to the Crown Princess. He had always been well-educated, gentle, and considerate, never doing anything out of line. After her wedding to Feng Lingyan, Ouyang Yuming, who was granted the title of Fifth Rank Attendant to the Emperor, was also very docile and well-behaved, paying his respects to Feng Lingyan every morning and evening.

As Ouyang Yuming and Feng Lingyan became close, his position in the harem gradually rose. From the initial fifth-rank attendant to the fourth-rank consort, fourth-rank beauty, third-rank young master, third-rank concubine, second-rank lord, second-rank noble lord, and finally to the rank of Imperial Noble Lord, it took him only a year.

After ascending to the throne, Ouyang Yuming and Lingyan became close friends, often sharing poetry and paintings. Even when Lingyan was rumored to have given birth to the civet cat princess, Ouyang Yuming knelt before him to plead for Feng Lingyan. Over the years, whether celebrating the birth or death of Lingyan or the princess, Ouyang Yuming never missed a single occasion to offer sacrifices.

Could Ouyang Yuming really be the culprit who plotted to harm Empress Feng, replace the princess with a cat, and frame loyal officials? Nalan Yunzhi hesitated slightly. She had just relied on a hunch and hadn't verified it yet. If she convicted him based on this, it might lead to a miscarriage of justice.

"emperor……"

Seeing that Nalan Yunzhi's eyes were leisurely and she seemed to be in deep thought, Ouyang Yuming slowly stood up from the ground, stretched out his arms to hug Nalan Yunzhi, and rested his head lightly on her shoulder.

"Your Majesty, Yu Ming is loyal to you and has never been disloyal. Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, the head of a family, and the heaven that I serve..."

Ouyang Yuming's eyes welled up with tears, and he dropped them onto Nalan Yunzhi's imperial robe. He then took a half step back, gazing at Nalan Yunzhi with tearful eyes. His delicate and touching appearance truly made me feel pity for him.

"If the Emperor is punishing Yu Ming simply because he had access to your personal badge, then every concubine in the harem whom the Emperor has favored should also be suspected! I refuse to accept this!"

Although he was about to collapse, Ouyang Yuming still pretended to be calm, and imitated Feng Lingyan's look and tone when she was angry, looking at Nalan Yunzhi with resentment.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!