Chapter 261 Trial
Pei Huaijin immediately retorted, "Prime Minister Zheng, what do you mean by this? Are you willing to disregard the late emperor's edict of succession and the legitimate bloodline of the royal family for the sake of the moral order between men and women that you speak of?"
He surveyed the whispering ministers around him: "Today, you have all witnessed that Prime Minister Zheng first forced the Emperor Emeritus to his death, and now he is attempting to overthrow the court based on gender. I ask you, if even the late Emperor's edict can be arbitrarily invalidated, where is the legitimacy of the imperial family? Where is the dignity of the laws of our Great Qi? Where is the order of the world? If in the future, any ambitious person imitates this behavior, using 'moral principles' as a pretext to commit treason, how should we conduct ourselves?"
Those officials who had just wavered lowered their heads again upon hearing this, their expressions complex.
Zheng Wenkai's face turned ashen, and he was about to retort when Pei Huaijin turned to Liang Cheng and said, word by word, "Duke Liang, you keep saying you are loyal to General Shen, but what General Shen hated most in his life was being belittled for his abilities and having his merits questioned because of his status as a woman!"
"If the general were alive today and saw what you did, completely negating the achievements and abilities of her beloved daughter over the years simply because of the absurd prejudice that 'a woman cannot be emperor,' and even going so far as to support a man of unknown origin, what do you think she would think?"
Upon hearing this, Liang Cheng's face instantly darkened.
Shen Xu glanced at Pei Huaijin and sincerely praised, "Well said!"
He truly deserves to be his future nephew-in-law.
Zheng Wenkai remained calm and continued, "Minister Pei is right. Let's set aside the matter of bloodline for now and just talk about Li Yuanzhao's various crimes. Once you all know what she has done, you will know that she can never sit on this throne!"
He knew that arguing about Chen Yanqing's identity at this point would only lead to a stalemate. Only by first confirming Li Yuanzhao's crimes could he completely overthrow her foundation.
"Bring everyone up here!"
Before long, Li Yuanshu, Lin Xuean, Xiao Lingdang, and several imperial physicians were brought up one after another.
Of all these people, only Little Bell was brought up on bail.
The officials looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves, their expressions filled with doubt.
How did these people end up here together?
Pei Huaijin frowned, instantly seeing through Zheng Wenkai's intentions. This was a trial targeting Li Yuanzhao, with the aim of exposing what she had done.
When Chen Yanqing saw Lin Xuean, he frowned.
Of all the men Li Yuanzhao had, Lin Xuean was the one he disliked the most.
Because the other men followed Li Yuanzhao out of admiration and respect, but Lin Xuean, from the very beginning, deliberately approached him using her beauty in order to climb the social ladder.
In retrospect, he was indeed a traitor who changed sides with the wind.
He wanted to see what Li Yuanzhao would think if he knew about this.
Shen Xu, unaware of the intricacies involved, questioned, "Zheng Wenkai, what do you mean by this?"
Zheng Wenkai addressed the crowd, “Think about it, everyone. Although the late Emperor suffered from headaches, he was in good health and was by no means destined for a short life. But ever since Li Yuanzhao presented this Physician Lin to the late Emperor, his health has deteriorated, and now he has passed away. Why do you think this is?”
As he spoke, he pointed to one of the people and said, "You tell everyone what really happened!"
The man was thin and wore the blue official robes of the Imperial Medical Bureau. He was the junior physician who usually followed Xiao Lingdang around.
"I am an underling of Director Lin, and I accompany him to the Ganlu Palace every day to deliver medicine to His Majesty. However, the late Emperor's health has been deteriorating, and I am worried about him. One day, after delivering medicine, I secretly went to examine the dregs of the medicine prepared by Director Lin. And then I found Tripterygium wilfordii in it... Although Tripterygium wilfordii can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and gout, it is extremely toxic and can cause internal bleeding and damage. If taken for a long time, one will vomit black blood and die of poisoning within three months!"
Spitting out black blood and dying from poisoning? Isn't that exactly what happened to the late emperor today?
Upon hearing this, all the officials turned their gazes to the little bell.
"Nonsense!" Little Bell trembled with anger. "You think you can prove I poisoned the Emperor Emeritus just based on your own words?"
The young imperial physician was startled by her imposing manner and hurriedly pulled out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, holding it high.
"Please look, everyone. These are the medicine bottles we found at Physician Lin's residence! I have tested the medicine with my colleagues from the Imperial Hospital, and it matches His Majesty's symptoms perfectly!"
Little Bell looked at the familiar porcelain vase.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Who knows where you got this poison! You're trying to frame me with nothing but empty words. Well, I can also say that this poison is yours. The Emperor Emeritus's actions clearly show that you poisoned him and are trying to pin the blame on me!"
"Framed?" Li Yuanshu stepped forward and said, "If you are truly innocent, why are you disguised as a man and walking around the palace, Holy Maiden of Southern Frontier?!"
Little Bell's face stiffened.
She has concealed her identity since entering the palace and has never revealed her background. How could the Third Princess know her identity?
Li Yuanshu looked at her and explained to the officials, "It is said that the Holy Maiden of the Southern Frontier is most skilled in making poisons, but she disappeared during the coup two years ago. I never expected that she was rescued by Li Yuanzhao and secretly raised in the palace."
"Six months ago, Li Yuanzhao had this holy maiden disguise herself as a man, pretending to be a folk doctor skilled in curing headaches, and introduce her to the emperor. But the emperor fell ill and never recovered after Physician Lin began serving him."
"That's why I had my doubts and sent people to investigate her pharmacy and residence." Li Yuanshu took the medicine bottle from the young imperial physician. "We found a lot of this kind of medicine at her residence! It's clear that Li Yuanzhao had been planning to murder the Emperor and seize power for half a year. We've all been deceived by her!"
Everyone was taken aback!
This person is actually a woman? Or perhaps the legendary saintess from the southern border?
The words of the Third Princess and the young imperial physician, coupled with the fact that the Emperor Emeritus had indeed fallen seriously ill after "Imperial Physician Lin" entered the palace, immediately convinced everyone of the truth.
Seeing the suspicious looks from everyone, Xiao Lingdang suddenly took a deep breath, raised her head and said, "The Third Princess is right, I am indeed the Holy Maiden of Southern Xinjiang, and I was the one who poisoned the Emperor Emeritus!"
Pei Huaijin looked at her in disbelief.
Is she also going to defect and betray His Majesty?!
Little Bell said, "When the Southern Frontier was in turmoil, our country sought help from the Great Qi, but the late emperor chose to sit idly by in order to stabilize the court, which led to the deaths of my parents in the war. I hate the emperor of the Great Qi to the extreme, which is why I concealed my identity to enter the palace, deceived His Majesty, and planned the poisoning on my own!"
"This was all done by me for revenge. What does it have to do with Li Yuanzhao? She was just a pawn I used!"
Pei Huaijin then realized that she wanted to take the blame upon herself to protect His Majesty.
Zheng Wenkai: "Do you think you can distance yourself from Li Yuanzhao by saying this?"
As he spoke, he looked at Lin Xuean, "Third Young Master Lin, you have a very close relationship with Li Yuanzhao, you speak for yourself!"
Lin Xue'an stepped forward and recounted in detail how Li Yuanzhao murdered Cui Jiulang and others on the day of the autumn hunt, and how he framed the Tibetan assassins.
Lin Xuean was Li Yuanzhao's male favorite, and he had been following Li Yuanzhao the whole time during the autumn hunt. Since he said this, it was even more credible.
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