In complete silence.

Yun An's face turned deathly pale, and her tone became fierce: "You lowly servant, what nonsense are you spouting? You traitor, believe me or not, this princess will tear your mouth apart!"

She suddenly pounced on Cailian, slapping her several times across the face, leaving red marks immediately.

The eunuchs hurriedly restrained Yun'an, but she was in a state of extreme emotional turmoil. After kicking and hitting Cailian, she suddenly came to her senses, knelt down before Emperor Chongde, and spoke in an agitated tone:

"Father, this vile servant is lying! How could I not be your daughter? She has clearly been bribed to deliberately smear me!"

Emperor Chongde's expression was unreadable, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock.

The Empress's eyes turned cold as she glanced at Yun An with a half-smile: "Bought off? What, is the person Yun An is talking about me? Even if I could bribe Cai Lian, how could I possibly instigate you to kill someone?"

Cailian covered her swollen cheek and knelt up again, her voice tinged with fear: "Your Majesty, the princess learned about her origins from Kang, the old woman serving Consort Li, and fearing that Kang would reveal the secret, she ordered me to kill her..."

Her eyes were filled with fear as she glanced in Yun'an's direction. Seeing Yun'an's ferocious expression, she shrank back and lowered her head, her voice trembling with tears, "If this servant does not comply, the princess will kill my entire family!"

Yun An's eyes widened in disbelief: "You!"

She did make threats, but she never said she would take the lives of her whole family. This wretched maid deliberately exaggerated; she clearly had ill intentions!

She was filled with remorse; she should have killed that scoundrel sooner!

At this moment, Madam Zheng also recovered from her shock. She had been worried about how to reveal this matter, but it lacked credibility if she were to bring it up.

I never expected that someone would bring me a pillow when I was feeling sleepy!

A glint of cunning flashed in Madam Zheng's eyes, and she said resentfully, "No wonder! The other day, when I saw the princess being so friendly, I casually mentioned that my granddaughter has a plum blossom birthmark on her arm, and the princess's expression changed immediately. A few days later, my family suffered a disaster! Isn't that because she's guilty?"

She prostrated herself on the ground and wailed, "We common people may have lowly lives, but we are honest and law-abiding citizens. If the princess doesn't want to acknowledge us, fine, but why be so cruel? We beg Your Majesty to give us justice!"

The ministers inside the hall turned pale and then flushed.

Absurd! Utterly absurd!

Does being a princess mean you can disregard human life, kill entire families at the drop of a hat, and treat the law as nothing?

If that were the case, wouldn't the world be in chaos?

The censor stepped forward with a stern face, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Your Majesty, this matter has a terrible impact. I implore Your Majesty to investigate it thoroughly!"

The other ministers exchanged glances, none of them possessing such commendable courage. Didn't they see His Majesty's face darken?

Yun An's heart skipped a beat. He bit his lip and shook his head repeatedly: "Father, she framed me! Would you rather believe a dog servant who is full of lies and a village woman of unknown origin than your son?"

Emperor Chongde's gloomy gaze fell upon her, revealing a hint of darkness.

He already regretted keeping several ministers on the sidelines. As the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. Now that they know about this scandal, he himself is in a difficult position.

For the past ten years or so, he has never doubted that Yun'an is not his daughter. His love and indulgence towards her are all based on the premise that she is his daughter.

Filled with anger at being deceived and doubt about the matter, Emperor Chongde felt an unprecedented rage!

"Issue my decree, ordering the three judicial departments to thoroughly investigate this case and provide me with an explanation as soon as possible!"

"As for this woman, and Princess Yun'an..." Emperor Chongde's gloomy gaze swept over her, his tone growing increasingly cold, "temporarily imprison them to await further judgment!"

Yun An stared wide-eyed in disbelief, utterly unable to believe he would do this to him: "Father! Your son has been wronged..."

The Empress watched Yun An being dragged away, then narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "Then I shall take my leave as well."