As the prime minister, Wang Yuanguang was naturally aware of the emperor and empress's movements, and he also knew a great deal about many things that happened in the former Eastern Palace.
Just as he himself said, he didn't dare to collude with Yelü Nanxian and actually commit any treasonous act. However, he could intentionally or unintentionally leak this information to Yelü Nanxian, who then arranged the seemingly "coincidental" assassination based on the information obtained from Zhou Nian.
Although he did not actually intend to harm anyone, he certainly harbored malicious intentions.
This is precisely what Xue Shen cannot tolerate.
He ignored Wang Yuanguang's sophistry, and his expression grew even colder at his words: "Do you think that by using such methods to kill someone with a borrowed knife, you can give your daughter a chance to enter the palace?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Imperial Guards brought Wang Yunting over.
Wang Junting was still wearing the same clothes she wore last night.
After Yelü Nanxian was arrested, Wang Junting and several other daughters of officials were also taken back to the capital by the Imperial Guards, but they were imprisoned separately from Yelü Nanxian and the others.
She has been imprisoned and suffering since last night, and has no idea what has happened.
It wasn't until she was escorted by the Imperial Guards to the Meridian Gate, saw her father bound to the rack, and heard Xue Shen's merciless questioning that she realized things were going badly.
As she was led before them, she glanced helplessly at Xue Shen, then called out "Father" to Wang Yuanguang.
Wang Yuanguang was too busy taking care of himself to care about his daughter.
Seeing this, Wang Yunting felt even more helpless. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Xue Shen with teary eyes, appearing even more pitiful: "Your Majesty, I don't know what mistake I have made?"
Xue Shen scrutinized her critically, frowning and unable to contain himself, saying, "You are not like the Empress at all. Trying to imitate her is just a poor imitation."
Upon hearing this, Wang Junting could no longer shed tears.
When Xue Shen pointed it out, the ministers who were watching the execution belatedly realized why Wang Yunting looked somewhat familiar—not because she was Wang Yuanguang's daughter whom they had seen before, but because Wang Yunting's makeup, hairstyle, and clothing were six or seven parts similar to the Empress.
The Empress was stunningly beautiful, possessing the elegance of a peony, a symbol of national beauty. Her everyday attire was often adorned with gold, jade, and emeralds, and the colors tended to be vibrant. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, and the more luxurious her attire, the more it accentuated her dignified and graceful bearing.
But Wang Junting was different.
Although she is a beauty, her features and temperament are rather plain, and her previous attire was mainly simple and elegant, which made her temperament even more outstanding.
But today she was wearing a very complicated dark purple fairy dress, with intricate wisteria flowers adorning her hair. She looked more glamorous than before, but at the same time, she fell into the trap of being cliché.
And most importantly, those who have seen the Empress will remember that she once wore a similar outfit.
Anyone with eyes could see that Wang Yunting was deliberately imitating the Empress.
Suddenly, everyone's gaze toward Wang Junting turned strange.
Wang Junting's scheme was exposed by Xue Shen without any mercy, and she vaguely sensed the change in the expressions of the people around her. She immediately lowered her head in shame and embarrassment and began to sob softly.
However, Xue Shen found this demeanor utterly hypocritical.
He stared directly at Wang Yunting, as if he could see through her beautiful facade to her filthy heart: "Madam Wang, do you know that last night, including you, there were seven other wives of officials brought back from Qingshui Manor? Why did I only send you to witness the execution?"
Wang Yunting, who was sobbing softly, raised her head, her expression weak and helpless. She bit her lip and gently shook her head: "This humble woman does not know when she has offended His Majesty's dislike."
She seemed extremely wronged and embarrassed, but she still held a sliver of hope for Xue Shen, looking at him with a pitiful expression, hoping that he would still have a little pity for her.
Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed once again.
Xue Shen chuckled, "Because you're different from the others. The other young ladies are unaware of their families' schemes, some were even forced to come by their parents, but you're different—"
Xue Shen's voice suddenly turned cold: "Only you knew about your father's scheme from beginning to end; you are his accomplice."
Wang Junting trembled, looking at him in disbelief. Her tearful eyes widened in terror as she shook her head repeatedly in denial: "No, I didn't. I really don't know anything."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shen scoffed and had someone bring up Wang Junting's personal maid: "If you were unaware of the situation, why did you instruct the maid to deliberately inquire about the Empress's daily attire before she gave birth?"
"If you didn't know, how could you have sent your maid to the tailor shop that the Queen used to frequent, and had the tailor make you a dress exactly the same as the Queen's?"
The academic genius spoke calmly, but almost every word he uttered trampled on the face that Wang Yunting was desperately trying to protect.
As Wang Junting listened to his repeated questions, her lips parted and tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
Xue Shen was right. How could she not know her father's plans? She had always been clever.
Although she was the eldest daughter in the family, her father had many concubines, and there were so many illegitimate daughters watching her. If she were really as aloof and arrogant as she appeared in public, and detached from worldly affairs, she would have been brought down by those illegitimate daughters long ago.
How could she have maintained the aloof and detached demeanor of the eldest daughter of the Wang family for so many years?
How could she possibly turn down all the marriage arrangements made by her family and just wait for her beloved?
Everything she has now is something she painstakingly and painstakingly protected.
When she learned that the King of Qin's leg ailment had been cured, no one knew how happy she was. She had thought that becoming the Crown Princess was just a distant dream from her teenage years.
But when she saw the King of Qin with his legs fully healed, her heart, which had almost resigned itself to its fate, began to beat with renewed ambition.
She admired the dashing King of Qin, and the power and status that the name "King of Qin" represented.
So even though she knew what her father had done, she pretended not to know and then happily sat in the yard, waiting for her father to bring her what she wanted.
Her father hoped she would enter the palace, gain the emperor's favor, and maintain the Wang family's current power and status.
She admired the King of Qin and wanted to be the mistress of the world, and was happy that her father used her as a pawn.
But now, everything she had imagined was shattered by Xue Shen's merciless words.
Wang Junting closed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I just... I just admired His Majesty too much... Does Your Majesty still remember when you were still the Crown Prince, my mother took me to the palace to pay my respects to the late Empress? The late Empress praised me, saying that I was dignified and intelligent, and that if a Crown Princess were to be chosen in the future, someone like me should be chosen..."
“Since then, my father and mother have been raising me according to the Crown Princess’s requirements…”
She cried out hoarsely, "Your Majesty, I've waited for you for ten years! Shen Youying was just lucky; she was betrothed to Your Majesty by the deposed emperor before I was..."
"Why won't His Majesty look at anyone else?!"
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