Chapter 408: Punishment

Yun Qingqing raised her hand and made a gesture, with her fingertips touching her brows. A thin ray of light was drawn out and condensed into a small ball of light.

She pointed to the sky, and the ball of light gradually turned into a light curtain, with images emerging from it.

Yun Qingqing said:

"This technique, called Searching for the Soul's Floating Shadow, can reveal past events from memory. Since the Crown Prince insists that the handkerchief was a gift from me privately after his wedding, let's all witness it together to see if it's true!"

After saying that, she raised her sleeves, and the image on the light screen rose high into the sky, clearly displayed in front of everyone.

The whole audience held their breath and looked over there——

A bloody hand appeared on the screen, and everyone was shocked.

But immediately, a pair of white and tender little hands appeared, and they took out a silk handkerchief to bandage the hand. After the silk handkerchief was tied, the exposed corner was embroidered with Yun Qingqing's name.

The picture moved, and the perspective shifted to the face of the injured person. Who else could it be but Xiao Zirui?

But Xiao Zirui in the picture had a childish face, not yet twenty years old. He looked like he was at least five or six years old, with red eyes and tear marks on his face.

Suddenly, the little girl's soft and sweet voice sounded in the painting:

"Don't cry. If anyone asks, just say you fell while trying to protect me. I'll tell my family the same thing and no one will be suspicious."

The young man Xiao Zirui pursed his lips and whispered:

"Qingqing, thank you for your help."

The scene froze and everyone was in an uproar.

Zhuang Qinghong was the first to ask in a cold voice:

"Judging from the prince's age in this memory, this happened at least five or six years ago! The handkerchief clearly came into his hands when the princess at the time kindly bandaged his wound. Your Highness, how do you explain this?"

Xiao Zirui's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth and said stubbornly:

"Don't be fooled by her! She knows such mysterious techniques, so fabricating a memory wouldn't be a piece of cake! Yun Qingqing, you're simply unscrupulous!"

Yun Qingqing was not annoyed, but looked at him with contempt:

"In other words, the Crown Prince has made up his mind to rely solely on his words to identify the authenticity of the evidence! No matter what evidence I produce, you will use the mysterious magic as an excuse to claim it is a forgery, right?"

"Isn't it!" Xiao Zirui felt emboldened when he thought that once Master Jingyuan and the Imperial Master appeared, Yun Qingqing would be exposed sooner or later, and he retorted sharply.

"Your Highness is wrong!" Suddenly, another official stood up.

When everyone looked, it turned out to be the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, Lord Ye.

When Ye Fu just sat down, he left for a while because of something. When he came back, he found that the prince was confronting Yun Qingqing. After watching for a while, he understood the whole story.

With Ye Zhishen's personality, he could no longer bear it and wanted to rush up and point at the prince's nose and scold him, but fortunately he was stopped by Marquis Ye.

It was not until this moment that Lord Ye finally found the opportunity to stand up.

He strode forward and said in a loud voice:

"If what the Crown Prince said is true, with the Regent Princess's methods, it would be easy for her to take away the Heavenly Phoenix Spirit Object without anyone noticing, leaving you completely without any evidence!"

Xiao Zirui's expression froze.

Lord Ye turned to the Emperor and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Princess Regent has already produced evidence regarding the handkerchief. If the Crown Prince insists on claiming that the evidence is false, he must provide counter-evidence!"

"Furthermore, the Crown Prince and the Princess Regent were previously engaged. A mere silk handkerchief could have been given to him at any time in the past. The Crown Prince, relying solely on one side of the story, insists that the handkerchief was given to him privately after the wedding. This argument is completely untenable!"

Lord Ye's words showed no mercy to the prince, and Xiao Zirui was so angry that he clenched his fists.

But before he could speak again, Zhuang Qinghong spoke loudly:

"Lord Zhongyong's words make sense! I second your motion!"

After the two heavyweight old ministers started speaking, many other ministers in the stands immediately stood up and seconded the motion.

On Xiao Zirui's side, Prime Minister Su and others started arguing with each other, and the scene became chaotic for a while.

The ministers' discussions were getting louder and louder, with all sorts of things being said. The emperor, seeing that things were getting confusing, felt a headache coming on, and shouted:

"That's enough! Shut up!"

As soon as the emperor spoke, the scene became quiet instantly.

The emperor rubbed his eyebrows and said calmly:

"Right now, we're each arguing with each other, and there's no way to reach a conclusion. Let's wait for Master Jingyuan to come."

Xiao Zirui gave Prime Minister Su a look, and Prime Minister Su immediately understood, bowed and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, I have another memorial to submit!"

The emperor suppressed his irritation and said in a deep voice:

"What else do you want?"

Prime Minister Su said:

"This matter has reached such a serious level. If Master Jingyuan can confirm that the Crown Princess is the Heavenly Phoenix, then it would be unreasonable for the Regent Princess to seize the spiritual object. This is not just a personal grudge between the two of them!"

"This matter not only concerns the fate of the nation, but also involves whether Yun Qingqing's magic has framed the Crown Prince!"

"Your Majesty, I request that the Princess Regent give a public guarantee. Once the verdict is reached, if it is indeed her fault, she must be severely punished!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers on the prince's side immediately seconded his opinion.

When Lord Ye heard this, he became furious and said in a loud voice:

"Why does the Princess Regent have to be the only one to guarantee? If we need a guarantee, both parties should do it together! If it's proven that the Princess is innocent, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess must also bear the responsibility. That's fair!"

Zhuang Qinghong said without hesitation: "I second the motion!"

He was followed by a group of ministers who crowded around the Regent and seconded the motion.

The emperor began to rub his brows again, and raised his hand tiredly. Li Liangui immediately understood what he meant and sang in a long voice:

"quiet--"

When General Li spoke on this occasion, he was representing the emperor, and everyone quieted down again.

The emperor took a deep breath, looked at Yun Qingqing and said:

"Princess Regent, this matter all started because of you. What do you think of Prime Minister Su's proposal?"

The clouds are clear and calm:

"Your Majesty, it's your decision. I'm upright and I'm willing to make any promise."

The Emperor frowned for a moment and looked at Prime Minister Su:

"Lord Su, in your opinion, what should the Regent Princess guarantee?"

Prime Minister Su narrowed his eyes and said seriously:

"This matter is definitely the princess' fault. This means that her actions not only disregard Daliang's laws, but also show she has no regard for the fate of the nation. I believe that the princess should be deposed and demoted to a commoner. Her three clans should be exiled to the frontier and never allowed to return to the capital!"

There was a gasp from the crowd.

This is too cruel. Not only will the princess be deprived of her position, but her three clans will also be exiled!

You know, the Regent Princess's family has a title! This is going to uproot the Yun family!

Who would agree to such conditions?

However, Yun Qingqing curled her lips without any pressure, a hint of irony flashed in her eyes, and she said in a calm voice:

"Can."

The emperor's expression paused, and he looked at Yun Qingqing speechlessly.

She agreed directly, and even if I wanted to relax the conditions, it was too late.

At this moment, Xiao Changheng suddenly stepped forward:

"Your Majesty, since the princess has pledged her guarantee, I will do the same!"

The emperor was shocked:

"What do you mean?"

Yun Qingqing also looked at him in surprise, wondering what this man was doing all of a sudden.

Xiao Changheng didn't look at her, nor did he call her "Brother Emperor". He said seriously:

"Your Majesty, if Yun Qingqing is no longer the princess, I am willing to join her in deposing her title and exiling her to the frontier!"

One word caused a thousand waves, and everyone exploded with a "buzz".