Chapter 231 Identity Exchange Exposed

When Xiao Yuancheng heard this, he subconsciously frowned. Why would the third brother talk about such an insignificant matter at the banquet?

But Xiao Ji Qingwu and others were shocked. It turned out to be him!

When Qingwu heard the maid's words, she knew what King Ning wanted to do in an instant. No wonder he forced her to perform and mentioned her father.

Fortunately, they had discussed it in advance, otherwise they would be in chaos now.

Qing Wu and Xi Jianan, who was sitting diagonally opposite them, looked at each other. Between the father and daughter, everything was self-evident.

Xi Jianan took a deep breath and suppressed the panic in his heart. His daughter had just performed so perfectly, was sensible and wise, and as a father, he naturally could not fall behind.

But Prince Ning exposed this matter at the birthday banquet. Was he really not afraid of the emperor's punishment? Logically speaking, this is a family matter, and family disgrace should not be aired in public.

In fact, Prince Ning also knew this, but he was unwilling to give up just like that! Moreover, if he didn't expose it in public, maybe with Xi Jianan around, it would be easily covered up later.

So everyone listened to Prince Ning say, "I heard a secret from a maid..." After that, he walked to the center, threw down his robe and knelt, "The maid is from the Xi family mistress. She said that the current Zhao Wang Consort is not the one that my father arranged for her to marry! But the Xi family's second wife!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall was in an uproar.

Xiao Yuancheng's face darkened instantly. Why did the third brother not know the occasion?

"Third Brother, do you know what you are talking about? How can you just rely on hearsay? How can you trust the words of a maid? We don't even know if it's true or not..."

When King Ning heard what Xiao Yuancheng said, he was undoubtedly protecting Xiao Ji. This made him lose his mind and he was determined to expose the matter and embarrass Xiao Ji.

"Your Highness dares not speak nonsense!" Prince Ning kowtowed. "The maid said it herself. The current Zhao Wang Consort is actually the one of the Xi sisters who was previously living away from home. The concubine that the emperor appointed for my sixth brother is now the wife of Song Tanhua! This is a grave crime of deceiving the emperor!"

Then he looked at Xiao Ji in a fake manner, pretending to be distressed and said, "As an elder brother, I don't want to see my younger brother being kept in the dark and letting a girl who grew up in the countryside become his legal consort."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Qing Wu, Xiao Ji, or Xi Jianan. There were very few twins in the families of high-ranking officials in the capital, and they had all heard of the twin sisters of the Xi family.

Qingwu's expression changed slightly, but she did not refute immediately. She wanted to see how much truth King Ning knew.

At this point, Xiao Yuancheng had already seen that, whether true or not, this was all deliberately targeted by the third son to the sixth son. Otherwise, what kind of maid would take the initiative to reveal the master's secrets? But under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xiao Yuancheng could only look at Xi Jianan.

"Lord Xi, do you have anything to say about this?"

Xiao Yuancheng thought that as long as Xi Jianan denied it, he would find an excuse to suppress it. After all, he was still waiting for Xi Jianan's tripod.

Xi Jianan walked out of his seat, bowed, and said directly, "I swear to heaven that the current Princess Zhao is indeed the eldest daughter of the Xi family."

Xiao Ji also attended and bowed, looking at Prince Ning with a cold voice, "Thank you for your concern, my royal brother, but I am very satisfied with my princess."

Upon hearing what the two said, Xiao Yuancheng immediately rebuked Prince Ning, trying to quickly put an end to the matter. "Third Brother, you heard it. Don't shout out anything you hear in public in the future. You'll make a fool of yourself!"

Prince Ning was so angry at the rebuke that his face turned red. How could he still be rational?

"Father! How could you trust only one person?" He pointed at Xi Jianan. "He's the sisters' father. Of course he has to say there was no exchange to conceal this crime of deceiving the emperor!"

Xiao Yuancheng was furious: "Asshole! Are you blaming me?"

"I dare not!" Prince Ning kowtowed to the ground, his voice becoming more and more agitated. "I just can't bear to see my father and my sixth brother being deceived! My father issued an edict to choose a noblewoman from the Xi family who is famous in the capital as the wife of the Xiao family, but the Xi family offered her who grew up in the countryside. What is the meaning of this?!"

Prince An, upon seeing this, also stood up and chimed in, "Father, Third Brother is truly well-intentioned. If this is true, it truly damages the reputation of the royal family..."

King Wu and King Wen echoed each other and looked at Xiao Ji and his wife with playful smiles in their eyes.

Upon hearing Prince Ning call Qing Wu a substandard item, Xiao Ji immediately stood up angrily, throwing aside all decorum and directly scolding, "Xiao Ting, you're meddling too much. She's my princess, and I just need her to like me! Did you hear that?"

This undoubtedly showed guilty conscience in the eyes of Prince Ning. Prince Ning guessed that Xiao Ji also felt that something was wrong with the princess beside him, but he forced himself to say so for the sake of face.

"Sixth brother, you should have noticed it too, right? Your princess is..." Prince Ning originally wanted to attack Qingwu for being untalented and unvirtuous, but Qingwu had just amazed everyone with his sword dance, so he changed his words.

"Your princess is different from many noble ladies in the capital. I am your brother and I care about you. This Xi family is too much. They actually married a girl who grew up in the countryside into the royal family. This is undoubtedly giving you a second-rate product!"

The word "substandard" was extremely harsh, and Qingwu's eyes suddenly turned red. Feeling the gazes of those around her, memories of when she first returned to the Xi family came flooding back. Back then, everyone thought she was substandard.

But she is not a defective product, she is herself, why should she be classified as a defective product? !

"May I ask Prince Ning, what is a substandard product?"

Qing Wu slowly stood up, his eyes gleaming with tears but his gaze was as sharp as a torch. His voice trembled slightly, but every word was clear: "Does growing up in the countryside mean I'm inferior?"

She looked around the hall at the civil and military officials, finally looking at the throne: "Are officials born of common origin but loyal to their country inferior? Are women sewing winter clothes for soldiers on the frontier inferior? Are the millions of people working in the fields inferior?"

Each question was delivered with a resounding voice, and the entire hall fell silent. Qing Wu spun around again, allowing everyone to see her appearance and figure clearly. "Firstly, I have good looks and a healthy body. Secondly, I am also literate and sensible. I don't understand why I have to endure this humiliation and be labeled as inferior..."

She turned to Prince Ning, tears in her eyes but a smile on her face: "But your Highness Prince Ning, this 'excellent man', besides humiliating women in this golden palace, has he ever done anything practical for the people of Dayu? Oh, not only did your subordinates not do anything practical, they also embezzled money, causing thousands of people to be displaced..."

These words were like thunderclaps. King Ning was speechless, his face turning pale and blue. He looked at the expressions of the people around him who were moved by Qingwu's words, and seized the loophole in Qingwu's words and said angrily:

"If you feel insulted, then you're admitting you were raised in the countryside, right?! Coincidentally, your sister, Madam Song, is also outside the palace today. Why not call her over and we can see who looks more like a noblewoman raised in the capital!"

Xiao Yuancheng covered his chest, feeling dizzy. What was Xiao Ting doing?!

Xue Chen watched for a long time, drank a glass of wine, and said carelessly: "Prince Ning, you are also boring. Why do you insist that the twin sisters were swapped? Even if they were swapped, the sisters have the same status and appearance. Prince Zhao likes them. Why are you so obsessed with it? Are you holding a grudge because of the flood?"

Prince Ning immediately glared at Shen Yushan, who was about to speak. Xue Chen did not let him go, "Even if you have been close to the Shangshu Ling recently, the Shangshu Ling may not speak well of you afterwards..."

This sentence directly blocked Shen Yushan's mouth. While pretending to be angry, there was a smile in Shen Yushan's eyes. It just so happened that he didn't want to speak for Prince Ning.

Xiao Yuancheng obviously thought so too, and felt that the third brother was unstable and impetuous. However, since things had come to this point, it would be difficult to force an end to it, otherwise it would cause people to talk about it later. He could only speak louder:

"Since it's my birthday today and you've made such a great effort, I won't blame you. Since you want to find out, I'll fulfill your wish. Xuan Song Tanhua couple!"