Chapter 221 The Legend of Zhen Huan: Guarjia Wenyuan 20
The Emperor threw the marriage certificate in front of Consort Wan and said, "Do you have anything to explain?"
After picking up the marriage certificate and looking at it, Consort Wan was stunned.
How could that be? She watched as the marriage certificate was burned before she entered the palace. Although she was reluctant to part with it, how could she keep such an obvious piece of evidence?
Could it be that someone was watching her during her time at Ganlu Temple?
Or perhaps it was just a forgery. Jinxi knew about the marriage certificate, and maybe after she told the Empress and Consort An, they sent people to forge it.
Thinking of this, Consort Wan calmed down and said, "Your Majesty, I have never written anything like this. It must have been forged by someone. Forging handwriting is not something that no one can do."
“Your Majesty, this marriage certificate was found at Lingyun Peak. No matter how much Consort Wan tries to deny it, I have a witness, Cui Jinxi, who also knows about this marriage certificate.”
Consort An smiled. It would be a miracle if Consort Wan admitted it; she had expected it all along.
"Bring it up."
The Emperor was more concerned with the truth than with why Cui Jinxi would testify for Consort An, so he didn't ask any further questions.
"This servant, Cui Jinxi, greets Your Majesty."
Su Peisheng did not enter the palace; he was essentially a hostage to keep Cui Jinxi in check.
"Your Majesty, adultery is a capital offense that can implicate one's family. I care so much about my family, how could I dare to commit such a thing?"
Consort Wan suddenly spoke in a mournful voice, emphasizing the phrase "a crime punishable by death."
She was implying to Cui Jinxi that if they really admitted it, none of them would survive.
The Emperor did not reply, but looked at Cui Jinxi and asked, "I ask you, did you see this marriage certificate at Lingyun Peak?"
Under the watchful eyes of Consort An and the Empress, Cui Jinxi spoke, "This servant greets you."
To Consort Wan's surprise, Cui Jinxi still sided with the Empress. The reason was that she knew that even if she changed her mind, Consort Wan would not be able to turn the tide.
Because the Empress had other witnesses: villagers from the village at the foot of Lingyun Peak, servants from Qingliang Terrace, and the shop assistant at the clinic where Imperial Physician Wen's father had seen Imperial Physician Wen take the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine.
The servants of the Wen and Zhen families, who knew that Imperial Physician Wen had proposed marriage, accidentally saw the palace maids of Yongshou Palace wearing a waist-cinching garment, and then went to assassinate the people from Prince Guo's mansion...
Even if she changes her story, it won't change anything. She's going to die anyway, so she might as well tell the whole story.
Cui Jinxi recounted the past between Consort Wan and Prince Guo, and that Consort Wan was already more than a month pregnant before the Emperor went to Lingyun Peak.
It was the news of Prince Guo's suspected death and Master Zhen's serious illness that made Consort Wan decide to return to the palace, but Consort Wan couldn't bear to hit that child.
She also wanted to find out the truth about Prince Guo's death and protect the Zhen family, so she tried to return to the palace. Imperial Physician Wen had deep feelings for Consort Wan, and Consort Wan was confident that he would hide the pregnancy from her.
Consort Wan was intelligent. After thinking it over, she realized that Cui Jinxi would not give up the chance to live. The Empress must have other evidence to prove that she did have an affair with Prince Guo.
Since that's the case, Consort Wan decided to give up arguing and instead insist that Lingxi and Xuepo were the Emperor's children.
“Your Majesty, Jinxi must have been threatened. Lingxi and Xuepo are your children. If they had been pregnant before entering the palace, they wouldn’t have been so weak from premature birth.”
The Empress suggested, "Since Consort Wan is so certain, let's bring Princess Lingxi and Princess Xuepo here for a blood test to confirm their kinship. We can also have Imperial Physician Wen and Prince Guo summoned."
Suppressing his anger, the Emperor said, "Do as the Empress says."
He then looked at the silent concubines and said, "All of you, return to your own palaces. What happened today must not be told to anyone!"
"yes."
The concubines wore serious expressions, but in their hearts they wished they could sprout wings and fly away.
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