Inside the imperial study, the emperor suddenly threw the memorial on the ground, startling all the palace servants into kneeling down.
"It seems that Minister Mo is somewhat dissatisfied with my decision!" The Emperor said sarcastically, barely containing his anger.
Prime Minister Mo was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kept wiping his sweat: "Your humble servant dares not, Your humble servant deserves to die ten thousand times."
"I wonder what Your Majesty means by saying this?"
See for yourself!
Prime Minister Mo picked up the memorial from the ground and became increasingly alarmed as he read it. Someone had actually forged an imperial edict to deliver provisions to Chen'er.
No wonder the Emperor suspected him first!
If he were the emperor, he would also have the same suspicions, but he didn't do it, and he was truly wronged.
"Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. This matter was not done by your humble servant."
"Even if I had a hundred lives, I would not dare to forge an imperial edict."
"I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
The Emperor stared at Prime Minister Mo's face for a long time: "You don't resent me for giving up the imperial son-in-law?"
"Your humble servant dares not," Prime Minister Mo said, bowing his head to the ground in trepidation.
Just then, a young eunuch entered from outside the door, saying that Princess Qinghe was requesting an audience.
The Emperor looked annoyed; he knew that his willful daughter had come for Mo Lingchen again.
He's been really driven crazy by her these past few days.
With the help of palace maids, Chu Qinghe weakly entered the imperial study.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
The Emperor was in a bad mood, but he couldn't bear to see his daughter so ill.
"There's no need to kneel."
"Go and get a chair for the princess."
"yes."
"Thank you, Father, but I have come today to apologize."
After Jin Mudan finished speaking, she insisted on kneeling down: "Your subject falsely conveyed the imperial decree and transported grain and fodder to the Prince Consort, hoping that he could hold out until the people were evacuated and then lead his troops to retreat safely."
“I confess my guilt for falsely conveying the imperial edict. I beg Your Majesty to punish me.”
The Emperor stared wide-eyed in disbelief. It was her?
Bang!
The emperor was furious. He grabbed the teacup beside him and smashed it on the ground, which frightened Eunuch Wei and the others into kneeling down.
"It was you?"
"You...you...you are truly audacious, lawless, and reckless."
"Do you think that because you are seriously ill, I can't bear to punish you?"
"Do you know what the crime is for falsely conveying an imperial edict?"
Jin Mudan remained kneeling on the ground, her voice neither humble nor arrogant: "Your subject knows that falsely conveying the imperial edict deserves to be cut in half at the waist."
"Anyway, I won't live for many more days. If Father Emperor really has the heart to do this, then just execute me."
Seeing her fearless attitude, the Emperor was even more furious, his eyes wide with rage and his heart pounding: "You dare threaten me?"
Do you really think I wouldn't dare punish you?
Jin Mudan gave a sarcastic smile, deliberately provoking the emperor: "Ha, of course you dare. You are the emperor, the whole world is yours, what wouldn't you dare to do?"
"The life of the prince consort and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers are not worth mentioning to you."
"You can sacrifice yourself if you want, or give up if you want..."
"The lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people are merely a matter of your decision. You are truly remarkable!"
"Your subject is merely a woman, lacking your magnanimity and unable to consider the well-being of the world. Your subject only wishes to save her husband's life. Is that wrong?"
"Father, have you been emperor for too long and started to think of yourself as a god, believing you can control everything and no longer value human life?"
"But don't forget, you were just an ordinary person twenty years ago. You weren't born an emperor; you stole this empire from others."
"What you are doing now is no different from the tyrannical rulers of the previous dynasty!!"
For an emperor, the most taboo and unacceptable thing is to be described as a tyrant!
Jin Mudan's last words touched the emperor's sore spot, and even her own daughter could not be forgiven.
Moreover, this was even though she was in the wrong first!
The Emperor's eyes turned bloodshot with rage, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath: "Guards, drag this rebellious daughter away and behead her! Behead her!"
When Consort Jing stormed into the Imperial Study, she happened to hear the Emperor's roar.
Startled, she stumbled and scrambled to protect Chu Qinghe, pleading, "Your Majesty, please forgive her. He'er is still young and doesn't understand."
"I will definitely educate her properly in the future."
"Please, Your Majesty, do not punish her. This child is seriously ill and suffers from pain every day. Naturally, she is in a bad mood and that's why she's talking nonsense."
Jin Mudan pushed her away, her face resolute: "Mother, there's no need to beg him. Since he wants me dead, I'll die to show him, so he can have his way."
As Jin Mudan spoke, she suddenly scratched her neck with a hairpin. Consort Jing screamed in fright, grabbed her in her arms, and shouted for the imperial physician.
The emperor, however, remained standing motionless behind his desk, his face ashen.
Today, he was greatly provoked. For the first time in more than twenty years as emperor, his imperial power had been challenged, and this was something he would never allow.
Jin Mudan's hands were covered in blood as she reached out and touched Consort Jing's face: "Mother, don't be sad. This day was bound to come sooner or later. Just consider it a relief for your daughter."
"Mother, I will not be by your side from now on. You must take good care of yourself."
"He'er, don't speak, sob sob sob... You'll be alright, your mother won't allow anything to happen to you."
Wei Zhong suddenly shouted, "Your Highness Consort Jing, what about your face?"
His shout drew everyone's attention to Consort Jing's face, even the Emperor noticed the sudden wrinkling and damage to her skin.
Consort Jing realized what was happening and suddenly reached out to cover her face. The human skin mask on her face could not be stained with blood, otherwise it would quickly rot, stink, and wrinkle.
"Don't look, you're not allowed to look."
"Close your eyes, all of you! Don't look at my face!" Consort Jing hurriedly dodged and covered herself.
Just then, the Empress rushed over.
When the Empress entered and saw Consort Jing's face, she was taken aback at first, and then said, "There is indeed something wrong with your face."
"Your Majesty, please dismiss your attendants. I have important matters to report."
The Emperor nodded: "Wei Zhong, take your men out."
The Empress added, "Close the palace gates, and no one is allowed to go out to deliver messages."
Wei Zhong's heart skipped a beat. Just how serious was this?
Seeing that the Empress's expression was serious and not feigned, the Emperor ordered, "Do as the Empress says."
"yes."
Everyone left, leaving only a few bodyguards to protect the Emperor and Empress.
“Your Majesty, I must expose this woman. She is not the real princess of the Xiao Nan tribe. Her true identity is a princess of the previous dynasty.”
"She impersonated the princess of the Xiao Nan tribe to get close to you, only for revenge."
"What?"
The Emperor stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the Empress, then at Consort Jing, who was covering her face in a panic.
Is there anything else you don't understand? What the Empress said is probably true.
"Where is the evidence?"
The Emperor was still unwilling to give up. Consort Jing was his most beloved concubine, and he did not want his most cherished bedmate to betray him.
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