The moment the man in black uttered those words, everyone was stunned and turned to look at Duanmu Qingxin.
"It was the Second Prince who attempted to assassinate His Majesty!"
"Has the Second Prince gone mad? How dare she attempt to assassinate His Majesty!"
"Could it be that His Majesty didn't make her the crown princess before, so she harbors resentment and wants to assassinate His Majesty to seize the throne?"
"But His Majesty clearly gave her a chance! It was her own fault for not gaining the Vermilion Bird's approval, so you can't blame His Majesty for that!"
Duanmu Qingxin was already somewhat nervous, and when she suddenly heard the black-clad assassin come out and identify her, she was immediately stunned. She immediately cried out in panic, "Mother, I did not send anyone to assassinate you. I don't know these people at all. Please investigate, Mother!"
Duanmu Shenghua was also completely bewildered by the black-clad assassin.
What's going on?
They were clearly the assassins she sent, so why are these people pointing the finger at Xin'er?
Moreover, the people she sent were all assassins; they shouldn't be able to come out and identify her. Why would these people come out and make baseless accusations?
Almost instantly, Duanmu Shenghua realized that she had fallen into Duanmu Junyu's trap.
Duanmu Junyu must have known all along that she would send assassins to ambush her, so she prepared two bodyguards to act as assassins in advance, all for this moment.
All the assassins she had arranged committed suicide by swallowing poison, and the secret guards she had prepared came in handy, coming out in time to identify the mastermind behind it all.
However, Duanmu Junyu knew perfectly well that she was the one who did it, so why did she still have the guards point the finger at Xin'er? If anyone was to be pointed at, it should have been her!
This must also be part of Duanmu Junyu's plan. She knows that she cares about Xin'er, so pointing out Xin'er is more effective than pointing out her!
Duanmu Shenghua never expected that her elaborate scheme would backfire, as Duanmu Junyu had outmaneuvered her. She immediately said, "Your Majesty, these two men in black are of unknown origin, and their words cannot be trusted!"
Duanmu Junyu coldly swept her gaze across the two men in black: "What evidence do you have to prove that the Second Prince sent you?"
“I have a token given to me by the Second Prince.” One of the men in black took out a token.
Upon seeing the token, the people around were stunned once again.
"It really is the Second Prince's token!"
"It seems that the Second Prince really did do it!"
"What a terrible thing! How could the Second Prince send assassins to kill His Majesty? This is a crime of matricide!"
Duanmu Qingxin was dumbfounded when she saw the token the man in black had produced. She immediately reached for her waist, but there was no token there: "Where's my token? My token is gone!"
She always carried her token with her, so how could it suddenly disappear?
Duanmu Qingxin looked anxiously at Duanmu Junyu: "Mother, they stole my token. I really didn't know about the assassination. They've wronged me. Mother, you must believe me!"
Duanmu Qingxin was so anxious she was about to cry, but apart from Duanmu Shenghua who believed her, no one else present believed her.
How could something so important be lost at such a critical juncture? Moreover, she did indeed have the motive to assassinate His Majesty, and even today's hunt was something she mentioned at the banquet yesterday.
Now all the clues point to her, so there's no point in her saying anything more.
Duanmu Junyu glared sharply at Duanmu Qingxin: "How dare you! Just because you didn't become the Crown Prince of Xiliang, you sent so many assassins to try and kill me! An'er and I almost lost our lives on the hunting grounds!"
With a single sentence, Duanmu Junyu confirmed Duanmu Qingxin's guilt, which frightened Duanmu Qingxin so much that she immediately knelt down: "Mother, I have truly been wronged. Even if you gave me two times the courage, I would not dare to send anyone to assassinate you!"
Upon seeing this, Duanmu Shenghua stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is of pure and kind nature and would never do such a thing as hiring someone to murder his mother. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that Duanmu Shenghua still had the nerve to ask her to investigate, Duanmu Junyu scoffed disdainfully: "Facts speak louder than words. There's no need to investigate. Lock Duanmu Qingxin in the Heavenly Prison and deal with her another day!"
At Duanmu Junyu's command, a group of Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward to take the person away.
Duanmu Qingxin was instantly terrified and screamed again, "It really wasn't me, it was Duanmu Shenghua! It was all Duanmu Shenghua's doing! She hired the assassins! It has nothing to do with me!"
Duanmu Shenghua looked at Duanmu Qingxin in disbelief. She never expected that Duanmu Qingxin would betray her!
Duanmu Qingxin shouted with her eyes closed, tears of fear streaming down her face.
She didn't want to betray Duanmu Shenghua, but if she didn't expose her now, the blame would fall on her.
She couldn't possibly bear the weight of hiring someone to murder her mother, so she was truly desperate!
Upon hearing Duanmu Qingxin's call, everyone around turned to look at Duanmu Shenghua.
"Is what the Second Prince said true or false? The mastermind behind this is actually Prince Hui!"
“I think what the Second Prince said is true. The Second Prince shouldn’t have the guts to hire someone to kill his mother. Prince Hui must be the mastermind behind this.”
"That's hard to say. Prince Hui has always supported the Second Prince. The two of them are birds of a feather. It's hard to say who was instigated in the end. I think it's probably a case of dogs fighting dogs."
Duanmu Junyu seemed quite satisfied with this dog-eat-dog situation, and turned directly to Duanmu Shenghua: "So this matter is also related to Prince Hui. Guards, take Prince Hui and me into the Heavenly Prison!"
Seeing that Duanmu Junyu was even trying to capture her, Duanmu Shenghua was now in a difficult situation.
She raised her head, looked at Duanmu Junyu, and admitted it directly: "It was me who did it. I sent these assassins. It has nothing to do with the Second Prince!"
She knew that Duanmu Junyu was determined to deal with her today. Rather than having both of them imprisoned in the dungeon, she decided to take the blame herself. That way, Duanmu Junyu would have no reason to arrest Xin'er.
Duanmu Qingxin was moved when she heard Duanmu Shenghua's words.
She hadn't expected that Duanmu Shenghua would actually defend her at such a crucial moment, even though she had just betrayed her to protect herself. She was still very grateful that Duanmu Shenghua could completely absolve her of responsibility.
The surrounding royal relatives and ministers were stunned when Duanmu Shenghua directly admitted to the crime of hiring an assassin.
"It really was King Hui who made it!"
"I knew it was her!"
“Queen Hui’s ambitions have grown bigger and bigger over the years, so it’s not surprising that she did this.”
“I still find it a bit strange. If it were based on Hui Wang’s previous personality, even if she really did it, she wouldn’t admit it. Why did she admit it so readily now?”
"That's right. The assassin just said that it was ordered by the Second Prince. Now all the blame is on the Second Prince. Even if the Second Prince drags Prince Hui into it, as long as Prince Hui doesn't admit it, His Majesty can't do anything about it."
"Now that you mention it, something does seem off!"
Duanmu Junyu showed no surprise, as if she had expected this outcome. She waved her hand again and said, "Take Duanmu Shenghua and Duanmu Qingxin to the Heavenly Prison together!"
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