Chapter 140 Jiang Nan: I Have Something to Say

Seeing that the time was right, Jiang Nan spoke again, her tone laced with sarcasm and a final ultimatum.

"Alright, Your Majesty, stop being so stubborn. Does the lack of evidence mean you haven't harmed anyone, or that you have a clear conscience? If you ask me, this matter is simple: it's fairest to leave it to Heaven to decide."

She stood up, walked to the center of the hall, her gaze sweeping across the entire room before finally settling on the Empress.

"Okay, make a vow. Come, come, I'll personally set an example for you."

Jiang Nan spoke clearly, each word distinct.

“You say it: I, Hesheli, swear to Heaven that I have never harmed Niukulu or Magia. If I have uttered even the slightest lie, I will make my son Chenghu fall into the boundless hell after death and never be able to be reborn.”

She stared at the Queen.

"It's your turn. After you've sworn your oath, I, along with everyone in the palace, including the Emperor, believe you are innocent."

In an instant, all eyes were fixed on the Empress, awaiting her reaction.

The Empress felt a deep sense of desolation.

This oath was like a knife to her heart; how could she dare to sever it? She cried out weakly.

"Consort Jin, why are you also cursing my Chenghu along with Lady Ma? Chenghu is the Emperor's legitimate son."

Jiang Nan scoffed dismissively.

"Your Majesty, what you're saying is clearly an attempt to prove your innocence. Aren't you completely innocent? Haven't you done nothing wrong? How could I be cursing you?"

She pressed closer and closer to the Empress.

"If you have a clear conscience, what's wrong with making an oath? If you did it, just admit it now, and you'll save yourself the trouble of swearing an oath. If you don't dare to swear, isn't that just telling everyone that you have a guilty conscience?"

In the silence of the hall, Jiang Nan suddenly raised her voice.

"Hurry up, the princes and nobles are all waiting. It's just a vow, it's easy to make!"

The queen staggered backward, and under the intense gaze of countless eyes, she finally broke down and screamed.

"I... I won't swear. Why should I listen to you? I've already said that my Chenghu was born with a deficiency, and it was because Niu Kulu retaliated against me by poisoning him."

Seeing the Empress shamelessly resorting to a desperate, shameless struggle, Jiang Nan sighed inwardly, thinking that Empress Hesheli had truly grown up.

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However, when Jiang Nan heard Empress Hesheli say the word "report," her eyes lit up.

Like a hungry wolf eyeing a bone, she clapped her hands together sharply, the crisp sound startling everyone around her.

Then she opened her mouth, her voice bright and loud, full of mockery, almost lifting the roof off the Qianqing Palace.

"Oh my, everyone listen, everyone listen."

She even exaggeratedly cupped her hands around her ears like a megaphone, as if she were a street performer.

"Our Empress, who is the mother of the nation, just confessed, didn't she? She actually admitted that she was the one who harmed Sister Niohuru? What do you call this? This is what you call the long arm of the law, where the net of heaven is wide but nothing escapes it. I haven't even interrogated her yet, and she has already shown her true colors."

Empress Hesheli's mind went blank for a moment, and she trembled with anger as she retorted sharply.

"Consort Jin, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever admit to that?"

Many princes and ministers in the hall also looked bewildered and exchanged glances.

Indeed, we didn't hear the Empress confess directly.

Only a few quick-witted individuals had their lips twitching, as if they sensed something was amiss.

Jiang Nan wasn't flustered at all. Like a cat that had caught a mouse, she leisurely strolled to the center of the hall.

He even deliberately circled around the spot where the Empress was slumped, his eyes filled with smug satisfaction.

"Still haven't admitted it? Your Majesty, are you truly forgetful, or have you been stunned by your own words?"

She stopped abruptly, extended a finger almost to poke the Queen's nose, and spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice rising high.

"Did you just say that Niohuru poisoned you as retaliation?"

She turned to the throne, winking and making faces.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, and all members of the imperial clan, did you all hear that?"

The empress was driven to the brink and had no choice but to shout.

"Yes, it was me who said it. It was Niohuru who reported to me that she had been poisoned. So what?"

"Oh, it's good that you admitted it."

Jiang Nan spread his hands, his expression exaggerated like someone performing on stage.

"Why didn't you just agree earlier?"

She suddenly turned to the assembled civil and military officials in the hall, like a storyteller.

She clapped her hands again, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Come, come, everyone here is a great person who has read the classics and understands the principles of things. I will explain to you what the word 'reply' really means."

She shook her head and imitated the old scholar's tone.

"This retaliation is like you walking down the street and suddenly slapping someone across the face."

As she spoke, she gestured as if she were slapping someone.

"And then they retaliated! Hey! That's what you call revenge. If you're walking properly, not bothering or provoking anyone, and someone comes up and retaliates, that's bullying, that's assault, not revenge, right?"

She turned sharply to the Queen, pointing at her with an undisguised mockery in her voice.

"So, Your Majesty, you said it yourself that Sister Niohuru retaliated against you. Isn't that the same as you holding up a megaphone and telling the whole world—it was you who struck first, it was you who harmed Sister Niohuru first, otherwise, how could there be any retaliation?"

After Jiang Nan finished speaking, she even laughed exaggeratedly a few times, then suddenly stopped and compared it to what she said.

"Look at Consort Ma Jia, she's such a straightforward person. She directly said that you harmed her child. Why didn't she say that you were retaliating against her? Because she was the one who got beaten. Only the one who hits first and has a guilty conscience will jump up and down and shout after being beaten, 'You're retaliating against me,' isn't that obvious as a bald man's lice?"

This analysis, which combines metaphors and exaggerations with clear logic and extreme satire, is like a lively farce.

The people in the hall wanted to laugh but dared not, but their eyes were filled with disdain as they looked at the Empress.

This is simply a case of the thief crying "stop thief!" and exposing his own shortcomings.

Jiang Nan pressed her advantage, walked up to the Empress, looked down at her, and spoke in a flippant yet cruel tone.

"Your Majesty, are you now thinking of how to back out? Let me tell you, it's too late. Everyone in the hall heard it. The two words 'reply' that you spoke are irrefutable evidence, no different from a signed document."

She no longer looked at the ashen-faced, swaying empress, and turned away gracefully.

He bowed sharply to Emperor Kangxi, his voice loud and clear.

"Your Majesty, the truth has come to light. The evidence against the Empress for harming Consort Niohuru is irrefutable. She has no way to refute it. I implore Your Majesty to make a judgment immediately to rectify the palace and give Consort Niohuru justice."

After saying that, she winked at Kangxi, as if to say, "See? Your Majesty, I have helped you determine the Empress's guilt."

Kangxi sat upright, watching Jiang Nan's performance, which was both arrogant and precise, and she was excellent in both singing and acting.

He chuckled to himself, and secretly praised it.

Seeing that the Empress was already limp and speechless, as if she were confessing her crimes and accepting punishment, he no longer hesitated.

His expression was solemn, his gaze sweeping across the entire room with authority, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"Liang Jiugong!"

“Your servant is here!” Liang Jiugong quickly bowed.