"The First Prince killing the Sixth Prince on the spot not only shows that the First Prince is loyal and righteous, but also that he is decisive and ruthless!"

Other officials stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, the eldest daughter of the Ye family saved not only the eldest prince, but also the eldest son of the late Empress and you, the future heir apparent of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can we allow the sixth prince to frame us like this? The sixth prince is unrepentant and deserves to die!"

More and more officials stepped forward and knelt down to speak for Yun Zhuo and Ye Qingxue, all believing that the Sixth Prince deserved to be killed in court!

Fang Bingzhi and the other members of the Prince Ding's faction were pale-faced, but they were still racking their brains to figure out how to further ferment this matter and suppress Yun Zhuo.

Yun Zhuo spoke up again at this moment: "Father, since the Sixth Prince has admitted to framing me, it is time to send people to the Sixth Prince's residence to search for evidence."

Ah, yes, yes, the ministers have only just remembered that the matter of framing Yun Zhuo has only been verbally admitted by the Sixth Prince, and no evidence has been presented yet.

The Emperor said, "Cui Shao, take men to the Sixth Prince's residence to search for evidence! Bring all relevant individuals here!"

Cui Shao accepted the order and left.

This round trip would take a lot of time, and the emperor ordered his men to drag the sixth prince's body away.

The emperor also used the excuse of changing his clothes to go and rest temporarily, while the officials remained in the Zichen Palace.

Yun Zhuo sat back in his chair, lying there half-dead, his face deathly pale.

No one would have guessed that the person who just killed the Sixth Prince with a swift stroke was him.

It's unimaginable that the person who just knelt before the emperor, arguing vehemently to protect Ye Qingxue's reputation, was him.

He looked so weak, as if he could faint at any moment.

The imperial physician, following the emperor's orders, stayed by his side the whole time. Looking at his appearance now, he was filled with doubt: Was the deposed crown prince insane or not?

If it was madness that he killed the sixth prince in the palace, then his words just now were clear, logical, and powerful, yet they didn't seem like he was crazy at all!

The imperial physician was very frustrated, unsure how to report the deposed crown prince's condition to the emperor. He was at a loss.

Fang Bingzhi and other members of the Dingwang faction were secretly discussing what excuse they would use to continue suppressing Yun Zhuo.

Yun Zhuo, however, lay quietly asleep in the chair, as if he had fainted.

One hour later.

Cui Shao returned drenched in sweat, bringing back many items and many people from the Sixth Prince's residence.

The emperor returned to his high position.

The atmosphere inside the Zichen Palace became tense once again.

Cui Shao submitted the letters and other evidence he had found, including evidence of collusion between the group and mountain bandits and court officials.

He orchestrated the abduction of Princess Rongqing, and there is also evidence of his communication with Shen Jiefeng.

In a secret room in his mansion, a lot of gold and silver jewelry was also unearthed, and it was almost the same batch of materials as the jewelry searched in Shen Jiefeng's house.

It is clear that Shen Jiefeng took his money and did things for him; the evidence is conclusive.

Cui Shao knelt on the ground and took a deep breath: "Your Majesty, I have also discovered something else—the Sixth Prince's Consort...she was brutally murdered!"

Everyone gasped in surprise.

The emperor frowned: "What's going on?"

An old woman knelt forward; she was the dowry maid of the Sixth Prince's wife. She said, "The Sixth Prince's actions were all known to the Princess Consort. The Sixth Prince got wind of this and, fearing that his crimes would be exposed, he preemptively poisoned the Princess Consort!"

The old woman wept bitterly, "The poor princess was hacked to pieces, not even a complete corpse was found..."

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Fang Bingzhi and the others, who had previously racked their brains to use the "first prince killing his brother" incident to suppress Yun Zhuo, suddenly felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

The sixth prince not only killed his princess, but he also dismembered her body. What crime had she committed to deserve such a tragic death?

In the Zichen Palace, the eldest prince killed him, which was simply acting on behalf of Heaven and eliminating a scourge for the people!

Who could possibly kill the Crown Prince? Nobody could!

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" The emperor on the high platform was so angry that his lips trembled and his eyes were blazing with fury that he smashed the teacup on the table in front of him!

The officials immediately knelt down and begged the emperor to calm his anger!

The emperor was furious: "This scoundrel is utterly depraved! Issue my decree that the Sixth Prince be demoted to a commoner, and even in death, he shall not be buried in the imperial mausoleum!"

The officials responded in unison, "Your Majesty, we obey!"

The emperor wept bitterly: "My poor eldest prince has been wronged until now, and almost died. Fortunately, thanks to the blessings of our ancestors, he was able to clear his name and return to my side."

"I will issue an edict to clear the name of the Crown Prince, and confer upon him the title of Prince Jing. From this day forward, Prince Jing shall temporarily reside in the Eastern Palace to recuperate, and shall leave the palace to establish his own residence when the injury is resolved!"

Pan Yuanzhou and other officials were somewhat surprised. They had thought that once the eldest prince was exonerated, he could be reinstated as crown prince, but instead he was only granted the title of Prince Jing.

The ministers of the Prince Ding faction secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was only the title of Prince Jing that was conferred, and the crown prince was not directly reinstated!

However, the title of Prince Jing is indeed very prestigious, and historically it has always implied entrusting the country to someone.

Perhaps the emperor will wait until after issuing the "Edict of Redress" before re-appointing the eldest prince as crown prince.

Moreover, this second investiture ceremony will be even more grand than the first one, and may even emphasize the idea of ​​"divine retribution"!

We must put Prince Ding on the throne before the emperor re-appoints the eldest prince!

“Your Majesty, I have made another discovery at the Sixth Prince’s residence,” Cui Shao suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, the members of the Prince Ding's faction felt a sense of unease for some reason.