Then, the Emperor looked at Chen Yu and said in a deep voice, "Mu Chen Yu, back then, when the Princess Consort of Hong caused you to lose your virginity, I had already placed her under house arrest and entrusted the two children to a concubine to raise. But a concubine is still a concubine after all, and her improper management of the two children is worrying."
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Shen Yu immediately realized that this was a test from the Emperor. As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, she immediately replied, "Your Majesty, Shen Yu has long since let go of the past and will not hold a grudge against anyone. I beg Your Majesty to allow the Princess Consort of Hong and her children to reunite, so that the two children will not suffer."
These words shocked the emperor, and his eyes welled up with tears.
After a brief pause, the Emperor looked at the guards at the door and ordered, "Have Mu Chenyu perform a blood test to confirm Bai Yejing's kinship with the child. I want her to be convinced."
The guards brought two small bowls and placed them in front of the Emperor. Chen Yu stepped forward, looked at the two small bowls on the table, and thought to herself: It is May now and the room is cool. If the small bowls are heated a little more, the blood will definitely mix faster.
She glanced at the imperial physician, then at the emperor's brother-in-law and Lady Jia kneeling behind him, and then whispered to the emperor, "Your Majesty, they must have put vinegar or salt on the small bowl just now, so even if they are blood relatives, their blood will not mix."
"Oh? Then what can I do to put your mind at ease?"
"Your Majesty, could you please have these two small bowls washed with hot water to remove any residual vinegar, so as not to affect the results?"
"good."
As expected, under Chen Yu's manipulation, Bai Yejing's blood merged with the child's.
Lady Jia was heartbroken and left the scene in despair.
Seeing this, Cuiwei took the child away.
------
In the courtroom.
The Emperor's brother-in-law remained calm and composed. Even though the blood test had been thwarted by Mu Chenyu, he had another plan. The Empress had previously informed him that Mu Chenyu had suffered a miscarriage in prison, and Liu Yu's son had been eliminated. Then, a spy reported that Mu Chenyu was pregnant at the imperial mausoleum. Therefore, he rushed back to the capital to investigate, uncovering numerous suspicious points and even hiring Mu Chenyu's midwife at great expense.
At this moment, the two midwives were brought into the hall and knelt down to testify. "Your Majesty, yesterday, Miss Chenyu gave birth to a son and a daughter. Although the two children were premature, they are very healthy."
Both children have red birthmarks on their waists.
After the two midwives finished speaking, the emperor's brother-in-law spoke up, "Your Majesty, the law stipulates that adopted children cannot be abandoned, let alone Mu Chenyu abandoning her own daughter."
When An'er was mentioned, Chen Yu was in turmoil. If she told the truth, wouldn't that prove that Prince Yan and Hong Yu had deceived the emperor? It seemed that only by proving that An'er was dead could she make the emperor's brother-in-law stop.
Then, wiping away her tears and sobbing, she said, "Your Majesty, my daughter died shortly after birth yesterday."
"Died prematurely? Are there any witnesses?"
Faced with the Emperor's brother-in-law's interrogation, Shen Yu had no choice but to mention Princess Yanghua, since it was Princess Yanghua who ordered the fat nanny to abandon her child.
The Emperor summoned Princess Yanghua and the plump nanny, and indeed, as Chenyu had predicted.
The Emperor's brother-in-law remained calm and pointed at the plump nanny, saying, "Your Majesty, Yanghua and the plump nanny are both from the Mu family, so they naturally favor Mu Chenyu. Perhaps they conspired together to abandon Liu Yu's child in order to hide him. Who knew that Mu Chenyu would change her mind? Unfortunately, only the baby boy was found. Perhaps she hid the baby girl somewhere else, or perhaps she was adopted by someone else..."
Upon hearing the words of the Imperial Uncle, Shen Yu broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed that the Imperial Uncle had come prepared and must have found reliable clues to dare to pester her like this.
At this point, the official became suspicious and ordered the fat old woman to lead the way to check the place where the child was buried.
The group arrived at the mass grave by carriage and heard a commotion outside. Chen Yu lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see Aunt Bai leading several constables moving among the mounds of earth, seemingly searching for something.
Seeing this, Bai Yejing lowered the curtain, seemingly closing his eyes to rest, but his face was gloomy, as if he had something unpleasant hidden in his heart.
Just then, the voice of the emperor's brother-in-law came from outside: "Your Majesty, there is something suspicious here. Someone must have picked up the child."
How do you know?
"The fat old woman said the child was carried away by a wild animal, but there are only footprints and carriage tracks nearby, no animal tracks. Especially the most recent wheel track, which went east, while we all came from the west. Therefore, it is highly likely that the child was taken away by someone."
"What does the Emperor's brother-in-law think we should do next?"
"To search for the baby girl and help reunite Chen Yu and her child."
Shen Yu grew increasingly terrified. Wouldn't this lead to an investigation all the way to Prince Yan's residence? Based on the birthmarks on An'er and Ping'er, it would prove that she had indeed abandoned her children and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor.
However, the emperor granted the request to the emperor's brother-in-law.
The group arrived at Dongsheng Village, where the Imperial Uncle learned from the villagers that the Zhao family had welcomed a son and a daughter the previous day. So, the group went to the Yan Prince's Mansion.
Prince Yan personally came out to greet them, followed closely by Emerald and four maids.
Shen Yu was puzzled. Emerald was originally Hong Yu's personal maid, and should be serving Hong Yu who was in confinement at the time. Why was she following Prince Yan? Moreover, the four maids looked unfamiliar, and each of them had a solemn expression, as if they were on guard against something.
Prince Yan, however, wore a pleased expression and respectfully invited the Emperor to take a seat in the hall.
The emperor's brother-in-law stood in the hall, still exuding an air of grandeur, only glancing indifferently at Chen Yu and Bai Yejing standing at the door.
Shen Yu's eyes suddenly reddened. She knew in her heart that defeat was inevitable, and the Emperor's brother-in-law would never let her and her two children go. Since things had come to this, why not take all the blame and fight the Emperor's brother-in-law to the death? If she died, Prince Yan would surely treat Liu Yu's two children well.
Swish, swish, swish... A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and Eunuch Cai led two midwives in.
Eunuch Cai told the two midwives to wait outside while he went in to report to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, the midwives said that Consort Yu’s daughter and Chen Yu’s son look exactly alike, even their birthmarks are the same. They are the twins they delivered yesterday.”
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