It was getting late, and the Xuanwang couple were still waiting for news of Yan Shizheng, but instead of news, they were greeted by Cui Shao.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as soon as Cui Shao and his dozens of guards stood at the entrance of the Xuan Prince's Mansion.

Yun Xun and Ji Mingwei's hearts skipped a beat at the same time, but they quickly reassured themselves that everything was alright. Lü An was serving the emperor right there, and he would surely send them a message in advance if anything unexpected happened.

The person in charge of tonight's operation is Yan Shizheng. Even if something happens, it will only happen to Yan Shizheng, and Lü An will not be affected. We can easily notify them if anything happens.

However, they have not received any news from Lü An, so it is probably not that Yan Shizheng is in trouble.

"Please wait a moment, Lord Cui. My lord's leg injury is serious, and he is moving slowly," Ji Mingwei said to Cui Shao.

She led Yunxun inside, helped him change his clothes, and discussed the current situation with him.

About fifteen minutes later, they boarded the carriage heading to the palace.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of wheels rolling on the road.

During the journey, the Xuanwang couple tried to get some information from Cui Shao, but Cui Shao kept his mouth shut and didn't reveal a single word.

The glass lamps illuminated the vast palace, and the guards were all performing their duties in complete silence. Everything seemed perfectly calm, as if nothing major had happened.

However, even though it was late at night, the palace was still brightly lit, and the emperor had summoned them, so it didn't seem like anything serious had happened.

The news that the emperor had summoned Prince Xuan and his wife also reached Consort Ning in the inner palace. She remembered the hairpin she had picked up earlier, which belonged to Princess Huaiming.

He then sent his personal nanny and head maid to the Zichen Palace to inquire about any news: "Inform me immediately if there is any development."

After saying this, she thought about it and decided to go with the nanny and the palace maids instead of waiting for news in the inner palace.

...

When the Xuan King and his wife entered the Zichen Palace, they first saw Ye Qingxue. She was dressed in a light blue dress with an ice-blue jade pendant that gleamed coldly, but her face was expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Then I saw Prince Yu—he was Yun Zhuo and Ye Qingxue's man.

Then I saw the Prime Minister—he had always been the Emperor's man.

Finally, they saw Yan Shizheng lying on the ground, covered in blood, with all four of his limbs severed.

The Xuanwang couple felt a tightness in their chests and quickly lowered their eyes, not wanting anyone to see the emotions in their eyes.

Ji Mingwei helped Yun Xun down from the chair and kneeled before the emperor to pay his respects.

"Your subject/daughter-in-law greets Your Majesty. May I ask why Your Majesty has summoned your subject/daughter-in-law so late?" Prince Xuan and his wife were extremely respectful.

The emperor's face was grim: "Yun Xun and Ji Shi, how dare you murder a prince and princess, collude with bandits, and frame your elder brother and loyal ministers! What are your punishments!"

The Xuan couple's hearts sank. Such accusations shocked them so much that they almost couldn't breathe, and their faces turned pale instantly.

Ji Mingwei took a deep breath, quickly suppressing the panic in her heart: "Father, your daughter-in-law and husband have never done such a thing. Who is accusing your daughter-in-law and husband? Is there any evidence?"

The emperor roared, "Yan Shizheng has confessed to everything you've done! Not only have you committed so many evil deeds, but you even tried to poison General Lan's entire family. You are truly wicked! And you still want to deny it?"

Yan Shizheng had lost all four limbs. Although he knew he was going to die soon, he still had his family behind him.

Moreover, since Lü An had already betrayed them, he had no choice but to confess in order to protect his family.

Lying on the stretcher, Yan Shizheng's chest heaved. He added, "Your Majesty, in order to ensure my loyalty, Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan specially sent me a beautiful woman this afternoon. Her name is Ruyue, and she is currently at my home! Every word I have spoken is true; I dare not lie!"

Ji Mingwei became agitated: "Father, this is a deliberate frame-up! I don't know whose orders Lord Yan followed to frame my husband and me! I only know that my husband and I have never done those heinous things!"

"As for that girl named Ruyue, my daughter-in-law and husband would never give her to Lord Yan. Ruyue is my daughter-in-law's cousin. She came to the capital to celebrate my daughter-in-law and husband's wedding!"

"In the evening, my aunt came to my door to ask if Ruyue could come over to play. Only then did my daughter-in-law realize that Ruyue was missing. Seeing that his wife was worried, my husband also arranged for people to search for Ruyue, but they had no results."

"Who would have thought that it was Lord Yan who kidnapped Ruyue! Now he's even turning around and accusing my daughter-in-law and husband of giving Ruyue to her! I beg Your Majesty to do justice for my daughter-in-law, and I beg Your Majesty to immediately send someone to the Yan family to rescue my daughter-in-law's cousin!"

Ji Mingwei pounded her head on the floor three times, tears streaming down her face.

Yan Shizheng's eyes widened in anger. If he hadn't personally witnessed the matter of the Xuanwang couple giving Ruyue to him, he would probably have believed that what Ji Mingwei said was true.

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true that Prince Xuan and Princess Xuan gave Ruyue to me!" Yan Shizheng shouted.

At this moment, everyone looked at the furious Yan Shizheng and the grief-stricken Ji Mingwei, and no one knew who was telling the truth.

The emperor said, "Guards, go to the Yan family."

Cui Shao, who had just returned from outside, had to bow and reply, "This subordinate obeys!"

Seeing Cui Shao about to leave, Ji Mingwei, her eyes reddening, said indignantly, "Father, I am not convinced by Lord Yan's slander of my wife and husband. Moreover, he also kidnapped my cousin..."

"We don't know what other dirty tricks he's up to in private. Why not search the entire Yan family estate and uncover more of Lord Yan's misdeeds? That would also prove my daughter-in-law and husband's innocence!"

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