"The audacious Earl's Mansion dares to harbor a fugitive from the imperial court and harm the Crown Prince! Your Majesty, execute these treacherous officials immediately!"
As soon as the servants from the Earl's residence entered the hall, the Empress immediately rebuked them through gritted teeth.
The old lady had been to the palace before, and the empress ordered them all to be beheaded without saying a word, which terrified her so much that she trembled all over.
Gu Zheng and Gu Zhongyu were both kneeling, while Xie Zhaozhao was standing.
"The Grand Secretary's wife is quite arrogant, not even kneeling before the Emperor and Empress?" Princess Yu Rong sneered. "Or does the Grand Secretary think he is above the Emperor?"
Xie Zhaozhao glanced at her indifferently and ignored her.
"She has an imperial gold medal, so she doesn't need to kneel." The Empress looked at the ants of the Earl's mansion with disgust, wishing she could crush them one by one with her toes.
"Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly the Earl's family has done wrong?" The old lady was afraid, but she still had to ask.
She is an elder, and she must stand up for her descendants.
“What crime? An unforgivable crime!” Princess Yu Rong stepped forward and said angrily, “You harbored a fugitive. Aunt Yue, her name is not Tu Qian Yue, nor is she Gu Cheng Yan’s cousin, but Guan Ying Ying, the daughter of Guan Shan Yue who was exiled.”
She went on to tell how Gu Chengyan saved Guan Yingying, how he hid her in the No. 3 courtyard of Tianhou Lane in the South City, and how she was later forced to become his concubine.
Madam Hou was terrified and exclaimed in astonishment, "Impossible! Guan Shanyue's family was exiled three thousand miles away. How could Yan'er have brought her back to hide her?"
"Here are testimonies from the exiled armorers."
Princess Yu Rong handed the evidence to the old lady, who read it quickly and collapsed to the ground.
How could that wretched woman, Aunt Yue, be the daughter of a disgraced official?
Gu Zheng also examined the evidence and argued his case: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Consort Yue was my elder brother's concubine. After my elder brother passed away, Consort Yue had already fled."
If the princess claims this is Aunt Yue's testimony, then princess, is Aunt Yue hiding in the princess's residence? Did you coerce or entice her into writing false testimony?
"Nonsense! You've already beaten her to death, how could she have escaped?"
Princess Yu Rong was filled with utter hatred, "The people of the Earl's Mansion are shameless! All the women in the manor beat her to death... Old Madam, do you dare to say that this didn't happen?"
The old lady was so frightened she almost fainted. She was there when Aunt Yue was killed that day, but how could Princess Yu Rong know so much about it?
Who would leak the news?
"Old Madam, you can't deny it either, can you? How cruel you were! You pelted her to death with stones, dismembered and burned her body, and even scattered her ashes into the latrine... How vicious you were!"
Princess Yu Rong roared, "Father, such treacherous officials who harbor fugitives, commit murder and arson, and destroy evidence should have their entire families executed—no, they should be executed by slow slicing!"
"Princess, when has the Earl's family ever offended you that you would slander it so viciously? And you even want the entire Earl's family to be executed?"
The old lady, with a death wish, said, "Your Majesty, you are wise! How could the princess fabricate such an absurd story? That woman has clearly escaped. Where could I possibly kill her?"
Princess Yurong lost control of her emotions and said bitterly, "She was the one who was beaten to death by your entire household... Madam Lu, you were the one who beat her the most that day because your daughter was violated by bandits, and you took your anger out on her!"
When the topic of her two daughters being abused came up, Madam Lu angrily said, "Princess, watch your words! Even if you are a royal princess, you cannot slander your subjects like this."
"Slander? Do you dare say your two daughters are still virgins?"
Princess Yurong finally seized a major opportunity, saying, "Do you dare to call them out and let the nanny examine them? If they are still virgins, I will accept any punishment from Father Emperor."
Both Lady Lu and Gu Zhongyu crawled a few steps on their knees and kowtowed to Emperor Hui, saying, "Your Majesty, we are innocent! How could the princess slander our daughter like this? Please, Your Majesty, do justice for us!"
Princess Yu Rong pressed, "Madam Lu, do you dare to have your two daughters examined?"
"My daughter is already married. How can she face her husband's family if you slander her like this?"
Princess Yu Rong was furious. Damn it, those two girls were only fourteen or fifteen years old, how could they be married already?
Emperor Hui roared, "Yu Rong, do you have any witnesses or evidence?"
"Your subject has your own channels!" Princess Yu Rong couldn't very well say, "I am Guan Yingying herself, could I?"
Xie Zhaozhao had remained silent until Princess Yurong and Madam Lu reached this point in their argument, at which point she stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say in my defense."
"speak!"
"Aunt Yue is nothing more than a lowly concubine in the manor. The princess has no connection with her whatsoever. Why is she speaking as if she were speaking from personal experience?"
Princess Yu Rong met Xie Zhaozhao's all-seeing eyes and felt a chill run down her spine. She hurriedly and weakly retorted, "I have my own channels."
"If what the princess said is true, Aunt Yue has been dead for more than a year, so why is the handwriting in her testimony written no later than midnight?"
"I preserved it properly..."
"If Aunt Yue is truly, as the princess says, the daughter of the disgraced official Guan Shanyue, and was killed by the Earl's mansion, then shouldn't fugitives be punished by everyone?"
Xie Zhaozhao unleashed her ultimate weapon—
“If she is a fugitive, then her biological son, Gu Yuebai, should be the first to be punished and should be executed immediately as a warning to others.”
Emperor Hui had no idea what Xie Zhaozhao was up to. He turned to Hua Zisheng and said, "Go to the Earl's residence and take care of this...take care of what?"
“Gu Yuebai,” Xie Zhaozhao added.
"Yes, bring that child here."
Princess Yu Rong was horrified. She wanted to kill the people in the Earl's mansion, not Gu Yuebai!
Why did they kill Yuebai first?
"The parents are guilty, but the child is innocent. Madam Gu is truly ruthless. How innocent is a six-year-old child? Why should he be implicated?"
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