After all, the incident at Yaochi caused such a huge uproar that everyone suspected the person behind it was extremely powerful and audacious.
And if you take a look at the whole new capital, the only person who is audacious, shameless, and short of money, and who wants to control the lifeline of each family, is none other than the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager's collusion with the barbarians was common knowledge during the relocation of the capital. Countless people privately cursed her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gradually faded into obscurity and lost most of her power after more than ten years in Jiangnan, precisely because she lost the hearts of the people.
The reason the Empress Dowager has not been punished is simply because there is no evidence.
Seeing that everyone had gone off-topic, the emperor on the dragon throne glanced at Chief Steward Yi.
Steward Yi immediately flicked his whisk and shouted, "Silence!"
The courtiers quickly extinguished their burning passion for gossip, shrank back, and continued watching the "performance."
"Marquis of Dingbei, do you know what a grave crime it is to falsely accuse the Empress Dowager? Do you have any evidence for your accusations? If not, and you are just spouting nonsense, I will certainly not spare you!"
"Your Majesty!" Marquis Dingbei knelt on the ground, kowtowing loudly, his expression so resolute that everyone who saw him felt he had suffered a great injustice.
"Your Majesty, I am obligated to serve you and live up to your authority. Even if I am punished by Your Majesty, I must say a few words today."
"As the mother of the nation, the Empress Dowager not only did not contribute anything to Tianwu, but also secretly colluded with enemies, destroyed Tianwu's foundation, caused the people to be displaced and their families to be separated. Her hasty relocation of the capital almost destroyed the country. She is truly guilty of heinous crimes."
"And that hibiscus ointment almost dragged our young talents of Tianwu into hell, turning them into the devil's lackeys."
"The Emperor cherishes the bond between mother and son and values filial piety, but the Empress Dowager doesn't respect the Emperor at all. Otherwise, how could she have made the Emperor so heartbroken and put him in such a difficult position?"
It must be said that the Marquis of Dingbei spoke very eloquently, which made the Emperor sigh and nod slightly.
Marquis Dingbei pressed on and finally unleashed his trump card.
"Your Majesty, I have irrefutable evidence, including letters from the Empress Dowager regarding her treason, and we have also obtained information about the former head steward of Yaochi. We await Your Majesty's questioning, and the truth will come to light. I beg Your Majesty to give the world an explanation and to give the Tianwu Prosperity a chance!"
As the Marquis of Dingbei spoke, he began to kowtow again.
The courtiers were stunned for a moment, then looked up and saw that the emperor was also looking at them. They finally realized that it was time to need extras!
So everyone knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, please give the world an explanation and give the Tianwu Prosperity a chance!"
With everyone's foreheads pressed against the cold floor tiles, even a fool could guess what was going on.
The evidence that the Marquis of Dingbei possessed may have been given to him by the Emperor.
All the groundwork laid before was for this fatal blow!
Li Lao Er couldn't hear what the people were thinking. If he could, he would definitely make them remove the word "perhaps".
Because that evidence wasn't given to them by the Emperor; it was obtained by their family. Jiaxi and Jia'an found it all the way from overseas!
But the Li family didn't want this tremendous achievement, so they handed it over, which benefited the Marquis of Dingbei...
The Emperor, looking extremely shocked yet finally hardening his heart, stood up and said, "Since things have come to this, if we do not investigate further, I will lose the trust of the people, and I may have to become an unfilial son today."
Having said that, he ordered, "Surround Shou Kang Palace. I want to personally ask the Empress Dowager why she did this!"
Just then, Eunuch Feng rushed over from the back hall, shouting, "Your Majesty, something has happened! The Empress Dowager... the Empress Dowager has committed suicide!"
"What?!"
Everyone was startled, and the Emperor frowned deeply as he looked at Chief Eunuch Yi.
This was completely unexpected for him. Who had made the move beforehand? Or had the Empress Dowager learned of the arrangements made by the previous dynasty and, in a fit of anger, taken her own life?
Chief Steward Yi immediately led his men to Shou Kang Palace.
In the imperial court, everyone lowered their heads and shrank their necks, afraid of being implicated.
Perhaps because Steward Yi had swung his legs like a whirlwind, he didn't keep everyone waiting for long before he returned with a letter from the Empress Dowager.
The emperor quickly opened it, read it carefully, and his expression was very complicated.
The Empress Dowager had been trapped in Shou Kang Palace for so long, isolated and helpless, with no hope left.
Moreover, in the past few days, court officials have been purged one after another, all of whom were her people.
She would be incredibly stupid if she didn't guess that the Emperor would take action against her today!
So she tried to escape, wrote her last words, and hung herself from the roof beam.
Not only did he not give the emperor a chance to avenge himself, he also managed to leave himself with a dignified, intact corpse...
The emperor gritted his teeth in hatred. He had been oppressed for half his life, enduring humiliation and hardship. How could he let the culprit die so easily?
He wanted her to suffer endless torment and agony, to be driven mad with rage, to be unable to live or die.
But his plan... failed again!
After much restraint, he finally calmed down and said, "In her final words, the Empress Dowager confessed to all her crimes and then committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
The court officials erupted in a clamor and began to speak again.
The Empress Dowager was like a sword hanging over Tianwu's head. Although she had faded out of the court in the past ten years, everyone knew that she always had the ability to overturn the government.
Even now, despite the Emperor's repeated purges of many of the Empress Dowager's people, those who remain neutral still believe that the Empress Dowager has not necessarily lost.
But now, such a person has suddenly died!
The sword hanging over Tianwu's head has simply disappeared!
No one knew how to react.
Relief? Regret? Disbelief? Joy?
At this moment, Marquis Dingbei shouted loudly again, "Your Majesty, although the Empress Dowager committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the criminals who helped the Empress Dowager interfere in court affairs and communicate with enemy countries should not be let off the hook and should still be thoroughly investigated."
"Moreover, I have evidence here that there was another very important person who conspired with the Empress Dowager at that time, and he was even in the inner palace!"
These words, once spoken, were like adding fuel to a fire, threatening to blow up the entire imperial court!
Some elderly ministers were already seeing black spots, but they struggled to stay awake, wanting to hear a few more words.
The other civil and military officials were also at a loss for words.
They anticipated that today's court assembly would be exciting, but they didn't expect the schedule to be so tight!
The Emperor slammed his fist on the table, seemingly furious, and demanded, "Marquis of Dingbei, explain yourself clearly! If you dare to make false accusations, I will punish you severely!"
Marquis Dingbei, who was usually timid and hesitant, seemed to have taken some kind of medicine today, standing tall and proud with an air of righteousness.
"For the sake of the Tianwu dynasty's foundation and to ensure that His Majesty is not misled, I dare not deceive in the slightest. The person I speak of is none other than the Noble Consort of Ronghua Palace! It was the Noble Consort who helped send the Empress Dowager's correspondence with the barbarians out of the palace! And most of the communication with those purged officials was also through the Noble Consort's meetings with the noblewomen!"
"The Imperial Concubine is deeply favored by the Emperor, yet she is so ungrateful, disloyal, and unjust. We beg Your Majesty to punish her as a warning to others!"
Was the Imperial Concubine one of the Empress Dowager's people?
Was the Imperial Concubine also implicated in colluding with barbarians and forming cliques for personal gain?
If it's true, the Imperial Concubine is definitely finished. Falling out of favor is the least of her worries; she could be confined to the cold palace or even sentenced to death.
With a mother like that, how could the second prince still be made crown prince?
The court officials who had previously openly supported the second prince were the first to panic...
Sorry for the late update, everyone. My herniated disc flared up, and I had to go for a shot, which delayed me. I'll try to be on time tomorrow!
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