Chapter 60 Chapter 60 How can I be willing!
"Why is he here?" The emperor showed an extremely dissatisfied look on his face.
Without a second thought, he knew Pei Ji must have come because of Pei Jue. When he considered that both of them, and even the entire Pei family, had become involved in this factional strife, his dissatisfaction and fear of Xie Zhi reached a peak.
"You're quite capable." He looked at Xie Zhi coldly. He waved his hand, his expression impatient. "Isn't Pei Ji in seclusion? Send him back."
The eunuch trembled and bowed, saying, "Master Pei said he knew the Emperor didn't want to see him. But... he's willing to guarantee his life and ask the Emperor to see him."
Many of the officials in the palace were Pei Ji's students. His words were so sincere and humble that the emperor naturally didn't want to offend him and let the officials down.
He raised his eyes slightly, "Xuan."
The dull sound of footsteps on the bluestone tiles was like the drumbeats on the battlefield, making people's hearts pound.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they watched the thin, gaunt figure walk in against the light. His cheeks were sunken, revealing high cheekbones, and his expression was serious.
He knelt down neither humbly nor arrogantly and kowtowed to greet the emperor.
Xie Chengxin looked at him coldly, then raised an eyebrow at Xie Zhi. In desperation, he had tried every possible remedy, but all he had left was a worthless wet nurse. Even if Pei Ji's words carried some weight in the court, what good would that do?
The emperor's hoarse voice was filled with an oppressive questioning tone, "Master Pei, you have retired from government affairs for several years. What brings you here today?"
Pei Ji didn't look at the others in the hall. His voice was full of energy. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I shouldn't have bothered you. It's simply because my grandson is stupid and not good at speaking. I don't want to see the royal bloodline mixed up, and I don't want to see Empress Wencheng die with regrets."
Xie Chengxin chuckled, "Lord Pei Ji wouldn't want to say that I was born to the imperial concubine, and then exonerate my third brother."
He turned to look at Xie Zhi, and said meaningfully, "Third brother, you are really popular."
The emperor's expression grew increasingly grim.
The battle with King Jin was so brutal. What he feared most was collusion between factions and brothers fighting each other.
Pei Ji didn't look at him, but lowered his eyes and looked at the emperor respectfully, "Your Majesty, please allow me to speak a little more. If you want to verify whether the Third Prince is the late Queen's biological son, you only need one thing."
Under the emperor's gaze, he turned to look at the eunuch beside him and said, "Excuse me, eunuch, go to the kitchen and get a bowl of sheep's blood."
The emperor seemed to have thought of something because of his words. His eyes suddenly became sharp and stared at Xie Zhi's face.
Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will take root and sprout very quickly.
This sudden change in expression did not escape Xie Chengxin's eyes. His heart tightened for no reason, but he didn't know what Pei Ji intended to do.
Sheep's blood was not difficult to find. In a moment, the eunuch entered the hall with a bowl of scarlet sheep's blood.
Pei Ji bowed and looked at the emperor, "In order to seek fairness, please order someone to examine it."
The emperor naturally understood what he meant. He narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered something to the old eunuch beside him, "Go and check it."
No one in the hall knew what a bowl of sheep's blood could reveal, or how to test it. Seeing it so mysterious, with a sense of deliberate mystification, everyone stretched their necks and looked at each other eagerly.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please roll up your sleeves." The eunuch respectfully walked to Xie Chengxin with the sheep's blood and bowed to him.
Xie Chengxin gritted his teeth. His intuition told him to refuse, but the emperor was watching him, so he could only extend his hand.
The eunuch dipped three fingers in sheep's blood and drew several long bloody marks on his arm. Then he did the same on Xie Zhi's hand.
This action did not seem like a serious inspection, but rather like some kind of mysterious sacrificial ritual. All the officials present were somewhat confused and became even more curious.
Playing tricks. Xie Chengxin thought so, but his heart started beating violently for no reason.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment."
The entire hall was silent. Everyone held their breath, even their breathing slowed down, as if they were all waiting for the verdict at this moment.
Xie Zhi just stood aside calmly holding Nie Xiangyi, with an indifferent expression as if he was an outsider.
The clock in the hall ticked away, and the passage of time became slow and anxious.
Xie Chengxin couldn't help but speak, "Master Pei is playing tricks on me. I wonder if he's trying to buy time?"
Pei Ji glanced at Xie Zhi's arm. Small red rashes were gradually spreading on the place where the sheep's blood was applied.
He then spoke slowly and calmly, "The late Empress's wet nurse that my grandson met outside the palace was not a lie. It was she who told the story of Empress Wencheng being allergic to sheep's blood."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in surprise.
An elderly lady from the imperial clan whispered, "I remember that Empress Wencheng was indeed allergic to sheep's blood."
"Yes, yes. She breaks out in a rash when she touches sheep's blood."
Everyone craned their necks to look at the two men's arms. "Ah! Look at the Third Prince! The rash on his arm is exactly the same as when Empress Wencheng had an allergy!"
"Your Highness doesn't have a rash."
There was an uproar in the hall.
Pei Ji straightened his expression and said, "I personally think that Empress Wencheng's allergy may be hereditary, so I asked you two highnesses to give it a try."
"It can't be wrong! It can't be wrong! Whoever gave birth to it looks like him!"
"I said that the Third Prince is so talented and outstanding, he is no mediocre person!"
The discussion that gradually arose in the hall made Xie Chengxin's face turn pale. His fingertips slowly curled into his sleeves, gradually becoming cold.
He didn't expect they had this trick.
He had no idea that the late queen was allergic to sheep's blood! The imperial concubine hadn't told him either!
If he knew! If he had known earlier!
He took a deep breath and put on a desperate gesture, "If that's the case, why didn't Master Pei invite the wet nurse into the palace?"
"Because she doesn't dare." Pei Ji met his gaze without hesitation. "She has been carrying this secret and has been hunted by the imperial concubine for many years. She has become a frightened bird. Therefore, she is unwilling to enter the palace again."
The emperor looked at Xie Zhi with an extremely complicated expression, as if he couldn't believe the facts before him, but also seemed afraid to believe it.
He was both delighted that the always excellent Xie Zhicai was the son of him and his beloved, but also angry. Over the years, he had invested far more effort in Xie Chengxin than in Xie Zhicai.
But now he was told that their bloodline was the result of a stolen baby!
"You! You are Wan Yue's child!"
His already pale face was filled with shock and anger, and his breathing suddenly became heavy due to the ups and downs of his emotions.
He stood up, holding up his shaky body, and slammed the table. "This vicious woman! She actually lied to me to this extent!"
The eunuch hurriedly supported him, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! The imperial physician said you can't get angry!"
The intense anger carried a strong sense of oppression. Seeing this, everyone in the hall knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Xie Chengxin's heart sank little by little.
The emperor's words were tantamount to swapping their identities. The secret he had carefully concealed for so many years was now undone!
How can I accept this!
A ruthless look flashed across his gloomy eyes, but it only flashed for a moment. He then knelt and kowtowed, then looked up again with a bewildered expression, "Your son... Your son was not aware of this!"
An official then advised, "Your Majesty, although this matter is about the Imperial Concubine switching the prince's wife, it has nothing to do with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"How is it not related? If it weren't for the Imperial Concubine's actions, the one worthy of being called His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would probably be His Royal Highness the Third Prince."
Some officials even spoke frankly and boldly asked, "Your Majesty, will you return the throne of Crown Prince to His Highness the Third Prince?"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has worked diligently for many years and has done nothing wrong! This is a matter of national importance. How can you change it so easily and shake the foundation?"
"Yes." Someone echoed, "What's more, His Highness the Third Prince committed the treasonous act of matricide today!"
"That bitch deserves to be killed!"
Upon hearing this, the emperor's rage surged again. Years of deception had left him feeling like a mockery, a serious challenge to his dignity as a king.
All his guilt towards Xie Zhi and his beloved wife turned into anger towards the imperial concubine. The palace was so horrified that it suddenly fell silent and people were afraid to even breathe.
Since the Jin Prince Rebellion, they had never seen the emperor so angry.
Some people chose to be upright and spoke out righteously, "Your Majesty, I will die in remonstration! Although the imperial concubine is wrong, there are national laws and palace rules. The Third Prince committed matricide without reporting it to the emperor. This is completely unethical! Such disrespect for Your Majesty is no different from conspiracy to rebel!"
This speech is passionate and has some truth to it.
Regardless, the Third Prince's matricide today cannot be concealed. A crown prince with such a stain would be hard to convince the public.
Xie Zhi, who had been silent for a long time, glanced at everyone in the hall and finally spoke slowly.
"I am not plotting treason, nor am I killing my mother." His voice was calm, with an inexplicable sense of majesty that made people believe it, just like the way he used to walk in the Shen Ce Division.
"The noble concubine poisoned the Holy Saint and harmed his body. In the name of the commander of the Divine Strategy Department, I will eliminate the treacherous and treacherous people and kill the traitors."
Every word he said was like a drumstick, hitting people's hearts hard and making them tremble.
So much has happened in the blink of an eye, so much that it takes time for anyone to process.
Xie Chengxin's pupils shrank to a point of black. His fingertips were clenched tightly in his fists, almost sinking into his flesh.
Xie Zhi actually knew this!
He suddenly felt powerless, as if he was immersed in a basin of ice water, making it hard for him to breathe.
No! He couldn't admit defeat! He would never lose to Xie Zhi! He gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on the emperor.
After the series of shocking events, the emperor could hardly believe his ears. He crushed the bracelet in his hand to the point of breaking it into dust. He stared at Xie Zhi, "What did you say?"
"Your Highness has learned today that the Imperial Concubine has been plotting to poison your father's body for some time." Xie Zhi met his incredulous gaze. "Your Highness's symptoms today are not a relapse of an old illness, but rather the result of poisoning."
"How did you know?!"
Xie Zhi glanced at the frail Nie Xiangyi in his arms and said, "My wife has also been harmed by this."
He raised his eyes and said, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can ask the Divine Strategy Guards to search the palace and ask several imperial physicians to investigate at the same time to see if Your Majesty and Ah Si were poisoned by the same poison."
Xie Zhi didn't know whether the emperor was poisoned. He was just gambling. At this point, whether the emperor was poisoned or not, he had to prove it.
"Your Majesty," Pei Jue continued, "Lady Wen'an, Empress Wencheng's close friend, was also poisoned to death! It was because Lady Wen'an knew the Third Prince's background and was silenced by him."
"This vicious woman! This vicious woman!" The emperor was so furious that he almost gasped for breath. His face turned an unnatural red, as if someone was strangling his neck and he could hardly breathe.
He might be able to accept that his wife was killed by her, and that her child was swapped with her, but if she really plotted against him, the anger would almost overwhelm him.
His blood rushed up, and he felt dizzy and a fishy and sweet taste rising in his throat.
In the quiet hall, only the sound of "Puff" was heard.
"Father!"
"emperor!"
Before the emperor's decision was made, the palace was already in chaos.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
