"Is that so, Your Majesty?"

The final question, deep and powerful, echoed like muffled thunder within the hall. Empress Shen's face drained of color, and she stared blankly at the emperor, speechless for a long time.

Yun Chi leaned forward to examine the items and was also startled. He instinctively looked at Empress Shen and was even more shocked.

How could his mother and sixth brother have been in contact in private?

Moreover, he was completely unaware of his mother's plans last night.

Could there be some illicit relationship between the Empress Dowager and my sixth brother? Something seemed to explode in Yun Chi's mind.

Could it be that the sixth brother is actually the mother's biological child, which is why the mother made plans for the sixth brother?

Could it be that all along, the Empress Dowager's scheming target was never him?

Empress Shen seemed to have suffered a tremendous injustice. She had endured it to the extreme, but finally, she couldn't help but let a tear slide down her cheek.

"Your Majesty, this is clearly a frame-up! How could I possibly murder the Crown Prince for the Sixth Prince? Even if I were to murder the Crown Prince, it would be for Chi'er's sake, not the Sixth Prince's! This is clearly illogical!"

Empress Shen's voice was clear yet full of grievance.

But her fingertips, hidden in her wide sleeves, were already clenched into her palms, almost piercing her flesh. A sharp pain came, but she seemed unaware of it.

It's Yunzhuo!

No wonder he smiled when he came in.

It turned out that Yun Zhuo was waiting for her here.

Yun Zhuo knew that she had pushed the Sixth Prince out to take the blame, and that she would definitely hide evidence in the Sixth Prince's residence in advance. Helpless, he had no choice but to play along and also forge other evidence in the Sixth Prince's residence.

It not only cleared his name but also eliminated her useful pawns, and even dragged her down with him!

Yun Zhuo just woke up, didn't he?

When did he make such a meticulous plan?

She had never realized that Yun Zhuo was so good at planning. In her memory, Yun Zhuo was just a man who was good at fighting and brave, but who was definitely not good at palace intrigue!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost so badly on the Lantern Festival. Could it be that the loss that led to his current dominance?

Her earlier worries were indeed correct. Her failure to kill Yun Zhuo in the past only made him stronger and more difficult to deal with in the future.

However, it won't be so easy for Yun Zhuo to make her suffer today. Arbitrarily placing baseless evidence on her head won't bring her down. That's overestimating her abilities!

Yun Zhuo said, "Who can say that the Empress helped the Sixth Prince murder the Crown Prince, and that it wasn't so that Prince Ding could ascend to the position of Crown Prince?"

"If the Sixth Prince succeeds in the murder, you will announce his crimes to the world. With the Crown Prince gone and the villains in place, it will be easy for Prince Ding to be appointed as the Crown Prince."

"If it fails—just like today, the Sixth Prince will still be pushed out to his death, and the Empress and Prince Ding will only lose a useful pawn!"

"Your and Prince Ding's positions remain unshaken!"

As he spoke, Yun Zhuo's gaze shot straight at him like a sharp arrow.

For a moment, Empress Shen felt that she could hardly cope!

Taking a deep breath, Empress Shen performed a full prostration to the Emperor, her voice filled with sorrow: "Your Majesty, I have never done such a thing. If you truly do not believe me, then please depose me!"

By retreating in order to advance, Empress Shen was waiting for news of Wanxin creating new chaos to arrive, so that the emperor's attention could be diverted and she could have a chance to catch her breath and turn the tide.

Yun Chi immediately pleaded, "Father, you must believe in Mother! You and Mother have been husband and wife for many years, and you know how kind-hearted Mother is!"

"Get out of the way!" The emperor kicked Yun Chi, who rolled to the ground, his heart pounding with fear, but he could only get up and kneel again.

"You wicked woman! I trusted you so much, yet you conspired with the Sixth Prince to murder the Crown Prince! Now the evidence is irrefutable, and you still dare to deny it? Do you really think I dare not depose you? Issue my decree—"