how so?
She clearly destroyed them all.
Shocked and horrified, the Empress turned sharply and glared fiercely at Zhou Xuance.
Was it him?
The regent's servants, maids, weapons, letters...
Could it be that...
Was it all a scheme he orchestrated from the very beginning?
It's like someone taking a heavy hammer and smashing it hard on the head.
I was completely dazed, my limbs were weak, and it felt as if my soul and spirit had been completely ripped away.
That's really true...
It's completely over!
The Shen family members exchanged bewildered glances. Shen Muzhi whispered in his younger sister's ear, clicking his tongue in astonishment, "Zhiyi, is the Empress really that crazy?"
The sunken branches remain silent, their meaning unspoken.
Because many things didn't happen in her previous life, and having lived two lives, she didn't have a deep impression of the Empress.
Meanwhile, the letter had reached Emperor Xiaoxuan. He opened it, glanced at it briefly, took a deep breath, and looked at the Empress: "Things have come to this point, the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say!"
"Empress!" The Empress Dowager was even more furious. "You are already the Empress, what more could you possibly want?"
With the evidence irrefutable and seemingly realizing that sophistry was futile, the Queen suddenly burst into laughter: "Don't you all understand why I'm dissatisfied?"
"I only have one son, Yuanheng, yet you've crippled him!"
Emperor Xiaoxuan gritted his teeth: "Even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne, you will still be the only Empress Dowager!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress suddenly sneered: "Back then, the late Emperor also left a will, making Consort Xiao a Dowager Consort and enjoying the privileges of an Empress Dowager. You and the Empress Dowager did not agree to that, did you?"
Upon hearing the mention of Consort Xiao, Shen Zhiyi clearly noticed a change in the expressions of both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
That expression...
It was even more out of control than when they knew the Empress was the mastermind.
"Empress, be careful what you say!" Emperor Xiaoxuan warned.
"Did I say something wrong? Even you and the Empress Dowager cannot tolerate Consort Xiao, so why should I be magnanimous? My son clearly has the opportunity to ascend the throne, how can I stand by and watch someone else step on him to get there?"
"My son is gone, what use is the position of Empress Dowager to me?"
"I think you've really gone mad!" Emperor Xiaoxuan gritted his teeth. "Do you know that assassinating me is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family?"
"Then execute them!" the empress shouted, her expression frantic.
"Your Majesty, don't think that no one knows what you've done."
"Was it really Yuan Heng who carried out the assassination attempt in the south several months ago?"
"You know better than anyone who did it, so why are you in such a hurry to convict him? Isn't that because you have a guilty conscience?"
"How dare you! What nonsense are you spouting?" Emperor Xiaoxuan's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
Shen Zhiyi was shocked to hear this.
Zhou Xuance was assassinated while traveling south.
The mastermind wasn't the Third Prince?
The Empress, however, seemed oblivious to everything else, asking, "How did the late Emperor suddenly pass away? Why did Consort Xiao commit suicide for love? And what about this thing on Zhou Xuance's body..."
Upon hearing this,
Everyone was terrified.
After all, it involved the late emperor and Consort Xiao.
There was already much speculation surrounding the sudden passing of the late emperor.
The Crown Prince, in particular, felt a chill run through his limbs, because the Empress's unfinished words were very likely about the poison that had afflicted his uncle.
Could it be related to my father?
What about the poison in his body?
The prince dared not think too much about it, only feeling a chill creep up from the soles of his feet and instantly spread throughout his body.
Emperor Xiaoxuan's fingers suddenly tightened, and his eyes...
They were all filled with murderous intent!
Before she could finish speaking, Gao Daban had already rushed forward.
With a loud "smack," a slap landed hard, causing the Empress to stagger and fall to the ground.
"Your Majesty, have you gone mad? Why are you spouting nonsense? Aren't you afraid of being executed along with your entire family?" Gao Daban warned in a deep voice.
The Empress has a maternal family, so it's not just a few people, or a dozen, that are involved; it could be hundreds or thousands...
So she became timid.
"The Empress has probably lost her mind, spouting such nonsense," Emperor Xiaoxuan warned.
Gao Daban gestured for the two eunuchs to grab her, then stepped forward and raised his hand—
A crisp slap landed.
"Slap, slap—"
The sound of the slaps sent shivers down people's spines, yet no one dared to plead for mercy.
Emperor Xiaoxuan didn't utter a word, but the slaps never stopped.
Until—
Her mouth was smashed.
Unable to speak again.
Emperor Xiaoxuan took a deep breath and looked at Zhou Xuance: "Xuance, I really didn't expect the Empress to dare to do this. I misunderstood you."
“I understand that my sister-in-law is upset about what happened to Yuanheng.” Zhou Xuance said, coughing twice.
"Don't worry, I won't let the Empress off the hook!"
"Your Majesty, you are not in good health and should not shed blood. Punishing those responsible is sufficient."
Attempting to assassinate the emperor will bring disaster upon nine generations of one's family.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager echoed, "Xuan Ce is right, and the Master also said that we should accumulate more virtue and do good deeds."
Since His Majesty's health was recovering too slowly, the Empress Dowager naturally requested that Buddha offer prayers.
The Empress probably hadn't expected Zhou Xuance to help her. Looking at him, she was filled with gratitude. However, given her involvement in all of this, she couldn't escape punishment. Without even a trial, the Emperor bestowed upon her a white silk noose and poisoned wine...
——
At this point, the matter seemed to have come to an end.
To save face, the royal family only said that the assassins of the emperor and Shen Zhiyi were spies from an enemy country, a means to sow discord within the royal family.
As for the Empress,
Unable to bear the thought of the Third Prince being deposed, he became depressed and committed suicide.
For a concubine to commit suicide was a grave crime, which would bring disaster upon her maternal family, thus implicating a whole group of people from the Empress's maternal family.
The script has been arranged.
What the Emperor said is the truth, and no one dares to question it.
Shen Zhiyi finally understood that sentence:
What the emperor wants you to know, that's what the history books will record.
Such a momentous matter was one that no one dared to speak out of, so Emperor Xiaoxuan warned in the end: "If what happened today gets out, everyone present will be held accountable."
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