Pei Yunyi's sudden words startled everyone, causing them to frown in surprise, wondering if they had misheard.
He's referring to himself as... alone?
Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi's eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward again, hurriedly grabbing Pei Yunyi's hand.
Pei Yunyi simply nodded firmly at her, his eyebrows curving and his eyes warm.
Song Xizhi's tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, a warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she slowly let go of Pei Yunyi's hand.
Song Ruoan's heart pounded wildly, overwhelmed with joy. She screamed, "He admitted it! He admitted it!"
"He admitted that he is not He Jingyan. He himself admitted that he is not He Jingyan!"
At that moment, Consort Li suddenly stood up: "You audacious spy, how dare you call yourself 'I'!"
Pei Yunyi simply took out a white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and applied the specially made medicine to his face.
A moment later, everyone saw him slowly tear off his face, revealing another face beneath the mask.
That face was handsome, deep, noble, and stern, like that of a born ruler.
Everyone present stared intently at Pei Yunyi's movements, as if they had even forgotten to breathe.
Then the man spoke again in a deep, mellow voice: "I am the Crown Prince of the Great Gan Dynasty, Pei Yunyi. Jing Yan is my subordinate."
As he spoke, he took out the jade pendant he always carried, a symbol of his status, as well as a secret letter written by Emperor Guangqi himself.
The courtroom was completely silent; everyone present gaped, utterly speechless.
Some even inevitably wanted to kneel before the men and forgive their offenses.
Song Ruoan's body was completely stiff. Her mouth was wide open, and her mind was a complete mess.
She felt that the world before her was becoming increasingly blurry, as if everything was a dream, drifting further and further away from her.
Only Consort Li stared in horror at the jade pendant in Pei Yunyi's hand, her blood seemingly running backward at that moment.
She stood up decisively: "You audacious thief! Kneel down now!"
"The Crown Prince is currently practicing at the White Horse Temple and has a strained relationship with His Majesty. It's impossible for him to have received His Majesty's secret letters. This person is undoubtedly a spy from the Western Rong!"
"Guards! Take him to the dungeon immediately and torture him until he tells the truth!"
As soon as Consort Li finished speaking, Pei Yunyi didn't say a word, but his indifferent gaze was enough to make all the yamen runners and servants present dare not make a sound.
The Prefect of the Capital felt his thighs trembling. He stood up shakily, supported by the hand of the yamen runner, and staggered to Pei Yunyi's side.
The man's cold and aloof appearance made him afraid to look directly into the man's eyes.
Pei Yunyi simply smiled and handed the secret letter in his hand to the Prefect of the Capital.
Before the Prefect of the Capital could even receive the secret letter, a eunuch's voice could be heard reporting from afar.
"His Majesty has arrived! The Empress Dowager has arrived! All bystanders, make way!"
Upon hearing this commotion, everyone with their own thoughts froze for a moment.
Consort Li took a deep breath, lifted her skirt, and hurriedly took a few steps forward.
Upon seeing Emperor Guangqi's imperial carriage, he hurriedly knelt down and began to explain everything before him.
But Emperor Guangqi merely glanced at her indifferently, continued walking forward without stopping, and then spoke his first words:
"Now that everyone has seen my crown prince, why do you not kneel?"
After he finished speaking, the whole audience was in an uproar. Everyone stared wide-eyed, their minds blank, unable to think. They just instinctively knelt down, their teeth chattering.
"Greetings, Your Highness! Greetings, Your Highness!"
Both Prince Xiu and Prince Su quickly rose from their chairs and knelt before Pei Yunyi, bowing deeply to conceal the uncontrollable expressions on their faces.
He even staggered and almost fell over.
Looking at the unfamiliar face of the man in front of him, Song Xizhi felt a strange sensation.
She was slightly taken aback, then suppressed the myriad thoughts in her mind and wanted to follow the crowd in bowing to him.
Before Song Xizhi could make any move, the man's long arm stepped forward and supported her.
Pei Yunyi held Song Xizhi's hand tightly, a hint of sadness in his eyes: "Zhizhi, what are you doing?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangqi chuckled again, then walked to the courtroom and slowly sat down in a chair.
The crowd, who had been stunned, suddenly came to their senses and bowed to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
The surging crowd turned this way and that.
Only Song Ruoan, who stood frozen in place, stood out from the crowd.
She looked up in disbelief at the hem of Pei Yunyi's clothes, and then her gaze moved upwards, where she saw their hands tightly clasped together.
Song Ruoan breathed heavily, her chest heaving violently. Each inhale felt like she was swallowing all the surrounding air into her lungs, and her exhales were rapid and out of control.
Her whole body was trembling uncontrollably, her eyes turned bloodshot, and her face was deathly pale. She felt as if all the muscles in her body were about to spasm.
Crown Prince?
The Crown Prince who's going to make a big splash?
Song Xizhi's suspicious-looking imposter husband was not a great general with outstanding military achievements, but the most noble crown prince of Da Gan.
On what grounds? On what grounds?
Why does Song Xizhi have such good luck every day?
Why should all the good things in the world be enjoyed by that lowly servant girl, Song Xizhi?
Song Ruoan felt as if her heart was being torn apart; she was confused, bewildered, helpless, and enveloped by all the painful emotions in the world.
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