Just when everyone thought the plum blossom banquet was over, a shocking rumor suddenly spread - Concubine Yao was accused of confusing the royal bloodline, and the Prince of Xiang was not the heir of the late emperor.
As soon as this news came out, the whole city was in an uproar and everyone was talking about it.
Upon hearing the news, Concubine Yao was enraged, her body trembling slightly with extreme anger. "Investigate for me! I want to see who is the audacious bastard who dares to fabricate such a ridiculous rumor to frame me!"
Upon hearing this, the guards kneeling on the ground quickly responded and retreated.
Just as he reached the door, a servant hurried in, clutching a long wooden box in his hand. He reported in a panic, "Tiffany, this was specially sent by someone..."
Concubine Yao frowned and said in a deep voice, "What is it? Open it and take a look."
The servant obeyed the order and tremblingly opened the lid of the box, but unexpectedly, a bloody hand appeared in the box.
The servant was so frightened that he dropped the box to the ground with a dull sound.
Upon seeing this, Concubine Yao leaned back involuntarily. The maid beside her was quick to act and quickly stood in front of her, shouting, "How dare you! Where did this thing come from?"
The servant fell to his knees, kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy: "Please spare my life, Grand Concubine! I really didn't know. The person who delivered the gift only said that it came from Ningzhou and was specially given to the Grand Concubine as a gift..."
Concubine Yao forced herself to remain calm, patted her chest, signaled the maid to move aside, and her eyes fell on the bloody hand again.
At this moment, her eyes were drawn to a ring on her finger. She was very familiar with that ring. An ominous premonition surged in her heart, and she called out in a lost voice, "Zhi'er..."
Before she could finish her words, she couldn't bear the sudden blow and fainted.
——
After hearing the news, Chen Jingxi glanced at Chu Jinghuai and asked, "Did you spread this news?"
Chu Jinghuai nodded slightly, as a sign of agreement.
"Then... Chu Youzhi is really not the late emperor's son?"
Chu Jinghuai nodded again.
Chen Jingxi frowned, as if thinking of something, and asked tentatively: "Could it be... Chu Youzhi is your father's son?"
"Um."
Chen Jingxi couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Your circle is really messed up. If someone suddenly said one day that you were the late emperor's son, I would believe it without a doubt."
Chu Jinghuai was choked by this sudden joke and coughed repeatedly. After finally catching his breath, he said helplessly, "Stop talking nonsense."
Seeing his big reaction, Chen Jingxi became even more curious, her eyes full of inquiry: "Could it be... that you are really the late emperor's son? Don't hide it from me."
"No, stop making wild guesses."
"Have you ever doubted your own life experience? I always feel that it is too far-fetched for the emperor to blame you for the death of the Concubine Chen. There may be other hidden reasons."
Chu Jinghuai's eyes dimmed slightly when he heard this, and he never answered Chen Jingxi's question.
——
After Concubine Yao woke up, she went straight to the palace to cry.
The emperor was deeply troubled when he heard this and wanted to persuade Concubine Yao to return home first. However, Concubine Yao insisted on kneeling in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and refused to leave.
Jiang Hai looked at the sky and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Concubine Dowager has been kneeling for an hour, and it's snowing outside..."
The emperor looked at the snowflakes falling outside, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He sighed and said, "Let her come in."
Concubine Yao was led into the hall, her face pale and her body trembling.
Upon seeing this, the emperor quickly ordered, "Please give me a seat."
However, Concubine Yao insisted on kneeling on the ground and refused to get up. She cried out in tears, "Your Majesty, you must make the decision for the prince!"
"What's wrong Yushi? What happened?"
Concubine Yao sobbed and said, "Someone...someone chopped off Zhier's hand. My poor Zhier!"
"What?" the emperor exclaimed in disbelief. "What on earth is going on?"
Concubine Yao's hands trembled as she pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve. The handkerchief contained the ring. She choked with sobs and said, "Just now... just now, someone brought me a severed hand. It was Zhi'er's hand. I recognize this ring. It was the one Zhi'er had been wearing..."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's eyes flashed with a fierce look, and he angrily said, "Who on earth is it? How dare they do such a cruel thing!"
Concubine Yao gnashed her teeth and said, "It must be Prince Su! Only he could be so cruel and ruthless as to do such a brutal thing to Zhi'er!"
When the emperor heard that it was Chu Jinghuai, his face changed again and again. He knew it was that rebellious son, but now he had no evidence, so what could he do to that rebellious son?
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He wanted to kill Chu Jinghuai, but he couldn't.
He was the king of a country, but he was helpless against his subjects and even his own son. This helplessness and anger intertwined made him almost breathless.
At this time, the emperor's gaze fell on Concubine Yao again, and his dissatisfaction became even greater.
"Why did you go to provoke Princess Su for no reason? And use such dirty tricks! I told you a long time ago that with your intelligence, teach Yuzhi well, and I will ensure that you will have a life of wealth and glory."
"But look at what you've done? You've turned Yuzhi into a loser, and he's even committed all sorts of illegal things! For all these years, I've turned a blind eye and condoned your actions. Now that he's lost a hand, it's a good opportunity for him to learn a lesson!"
Concubine Yao didn't expect that her sobbing would not only not get the emperor any comfort, but instead bring her a scolding, causing her to cry even harder, "Is this his son? He is just like this, what's the point of me disciplining him? It would be fine if you didn't make the decision for him, but instead you blame us, mother and son, for our mistakes!"
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