Shangguan Shu presented the official register, "Your Majesty, this is the evidence I compiled overnight regarding this case. It includes the witnesses' testimonies, signatures, and exhibits. Please review it, Your Majesty."
Wu Yonggui stepped forward and handed the booklet to Emperor Jianxi, who then flipped through it.
Shangguan Shu spoke aloud, "On the eighth day of the tenth month of the Ji Hai year, the Empress gave birth to a son at three quarters past the hour of the twilight hour. The midwives were Wang and others, and the suspect, Pei, was also present. That night, the Empress chose Pei as the Third Prince's wet nurse. Everything was fine, but the main culprit, Wei Ju, harbored a grudge against Your Majesty due to an old grudge. He had planned this long ago, arranging eighteen surrogate mothers with the same due dates, intending to use someone else's hand as a substitute!"
Emperor Jianxi's expression grew even gloomier upon hearing this.
Wei Ju sneered, "Ridiculous! Eighteen women in labor? Shangguan Shu, you're making this up!"
Anyway, he had already silenced all the women who had just given birth, so he was sure that no one would be able to find any evidence.
Shangguan Shu chuckled at this and asked, "Wei Ju, how did I know you had found eighteen pregnant women, such a precise number? Do you really think you did it perfectly?"
Wei Ju's expression suddenly changed.
"Your Majesty is renowned for his virtue, and his laws are strict. The net of heaven is vast and nothing can escape it..." Shangguan Shu said slowly and steadily.
[My father is a capable official. Even at this moment, he still doesn't forget to flatter the emperor's grandfather. If he doesn't get promoted, who will?...]
Emperor Jianxi who was flattered: Ahem.
"Those eighteen women who had just given birth were beautiful local women you captured during your campaign against the Walan tribe. You secretly imprisoned them and raped them daily, causing them to become pregnant. You originally captured over fifty, but most committed suicide, unable to bear the humiliation. Only eighteen survived."
"After the incident, you wanted to kill them all, but one of the women managed to survive."
Zhao Cong was shocked. Is this his life experience?
Are his biological parents still alive?
He looked at Shangguan Shu, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes. His biological parents were murdered, and as a son, he had never thought of investigating his own life experience and avenging them...
"The woman returned to the Walan tribe and found the new king of the Walan tribe, who was supported by the Great Chu. It turned out that she was a maidservant of King Walan's younger sister. On the day the kingdom was destroyed, Princess Walan tried to disguise herself as an ordinary woman and escape with her maidservant, but she was unexpectedly kidnapped by Wei Ju's soldiers. According to the maidservant's recollection, Princess Walan did give birth to a baby boy, but he was taken away on the spot."
Emperor Jianxi frowned and glanced at a letter inscribed with the name of Walan tucked inside the booklet. He asked, "Walan is quite far from the capital. It would take at least eight days to get there. How did you get this letter overnight? Is there something else hidden?"
"Your Majesty, see! After the maidservant spoke to King Walan, he was furious and wanted to report to the court. However, he was intercepted by those involved. At that time, Wei Ju was the powerful uncle of the emperor, and his ancestors were enshrined in the imperial temple. Who would dare to offend him? It's just that a foreign princess was humiliated and lost her life in the territory of Great Chu. It was not Wei Ju's intention. Let's keep it secret for now. It will not only be good for the Wei family, but also for the current queen!"
Upon hearing this, Queen Hyomin closed her eyes and looked a little ugly. She traveled through time and space and originally wanted to protect the women of the feudal era to the greatest extent possible, but she didn't expect that she was secretly helping the tyrant to commit atrocities.
Seeing this, Zhao Ying secretly comforted him, "Mother, it's not your fault."
Queen Hyomin sighed, "I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me..."
Zhao Ying disagreed. "Mother, you are also a victim. The perpetrator has not yet confessed his guilt, so why should the victim take the blame?"
"That's right, that shameless Wei Ju still refuses to plead guilty. Why should the Imperial Grandmother feel guilty?"
The little fellow was sensible enough to know that one shouldn't make a loud noise in such situations, so he lowered his voice and spoke stealthily.
Shangguan Qiyou, who was standing by, echoed, "Grandmother, just listen to Yue'er. She's the smartest!"
"Yes, I am Zhuichongming!"
The children's noise eased his gloomy mood. Emperor Jianxi overheard a few words and a hint of relief flashed across his eyes. He continued to ask, "If everything has been suppressed, then where did this letter come from?"
"The truth should have come out. Ichiro was ordered by his superior to burn the letter, but it was accidentally buried in the case file, thus avoiding the disaster. It was dug out last night!"
Emperor Jianxi nodded slightly, indicating his agreement. He looked at the letter. As a direct disciple of Grand Tutor Wei, he was naturally well-educated and could read the Chinese characters. He said in a deep voice, "What is said in the letter is exactly the same as what Shangguan Aiqing said."
Shangguan Shu remained calm. Of course, it was exactly the same. He had ordered someone to write it. He had previously sent secret guards to Walan to investigate this matter, and only then did he know about the discrepancies. As for the real letter, it really existed, but it had been burned more than 30 years ago.
Seeing this, Wei Ju gritted his teeth in hatred. He was so unlucky, God was going to kill him!
He pretended to be calm, "Even so, it doesn't prove that I changed the crown prince!"
Shangguan Shu ignored him, continuing his own conversation. "Wei Ju prepared the child. After learning that the wet nurse was the greedy and foolish Pei, he easily bribed Pei. So, on the day of the Third Prince's full moon, Wei Ju took advantage of the chaos to dispatch the imperial guards, leaving only the Third Prince and Pei in a side hall of Kunning Palace."
"Send Pei to the palace!"
Pei was pressed forward by two guards. She was terrified and didn't know where to look after entering. She hunched her shoulders and said in a trembling voice, "Your servant...your servant greets the Emperor and the Empress!"
Shangguan Shu said, "Ms. Pei, please tell me the truth about what happened that night!"
Pei secretly glanced at the Emperor and Empress, then said, "Your servant, I was bewildered for a moment and listened to Uncle Wei's words. He... he told me that Empress Xiaomin's son was disabled, and that Empress Xiaomin was reluctant to give up her young son, but that keeping the child would make the Empress lose favor... Your servant, your servant didn't believe it at first. The child was smart and well-behaved, and there was nothing wrong with him. But he is the uncle of the emperor after all, and he gave me such a large sum of money. Your servant thought that someone who was so generous could not be a bad person. Uncle Wei is the Empress's biological brother, and he must be doing this for her own good..."
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