Dare you?
The virtuous concubine naturally didn't dare to do that.
If it is really as Shen Zhixiu said, then the descendants of the Leng family will curse her for the rest of their lives, right?
Scolding her is not enough, I'm afraid they all want to grind her into ashes.
The virtuous concubine's expression froze for a moment, but then she thought again, Shen Zhixiu had no evidence and was afraid he was trying to trick her.
She returned to normal in an instant and said, "Every word I said is true. Why should I be afraid?"
Shen Zhixiu nodded with satisfaction, then raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, what the virtuous concubine said is a deliberate slander against the late queen. I have evidence to prove that the person who had an affair with Prince Zhan was not the late queen."
Those who were clear-headed at the scene immediately understood the profound meaning in Shen Zhixiu's words.
What he meant was not that Prince Zhan and the late Queen were innocent, but that it was not the late Queen who had an affair with Prince Zhan.
What you mean is that someone else is having an affair with the King of War?
Concubine Xian was stunned. How could Shen Zhixiu have evidence?
Emperor Xuande also asked Shen Zhixiu, "What evidence do you have? Could you please present it?"
Shen Zhixiu nodded and said, "What I want to present is a witness. The witness is Li Hu, the deputy general of the War King back then. In fact, he did not tell the whole story that day."
It was only last night that he finally got the truth out of Li Hu. Today, the Emperor had sentenced Consort Xian to death and Zhou Jianyuan to imprisonment. He hadn't intended to publicly mention this. After all, it was a royal scandal, not something to be glossed over.
I originally planned to wait for some time before telling the emperor quietly.
But he hadn't expected that Consort Xian would slander the late Empress and maliciously fabricate rumors about Song Hongshen's background. Since that was the case, he didn't need to hide it any longer.
When she heard that Li Hu was a witness, Concubine Xian's expression changed slightly.
"Didn't Li Hu die in the Shen family's villa?" Concubine Xian blurted out what she was thinking.
Shen Zhixiu sneered and said, "That evening, Li Hu left the capital under another identity and did not stay at the Shen family's villa."
"It seems that the fire in the Shen family's villa was also the work of the virtuous concubine."
Speaking of this, he also wanted to thank Concubine Xian. If it weren't for the fire in the other courtyard, he wouldn't have thought it was suspicious and wouldn't have sent people to look for Li Hu.
During this period, he had been ordering people to pretend to hunt down Li Hu. Li Hu finally couldn't stand it anymore and told the truth.
The virtuous concubine's face suddenly turned pale and she knelt on the ground dejectedly.
Emperor Xuande looked puzzled, "What on earth is going on?"
Shen Zhixiu said, "Your Majesty, please summon Li Hu to the palace. He is being held captive at the Shen family."
Emperor Xuande ordered Puyi to handle this matter and come back quickly.
Puyi received the order and rode out of the palace at full speed. He brought Li Hu back in less than two quarters of an hour.
After Li Hu came to the palace, Shen Zhixiu said, "Li Hu, tell us everything that happened back then. Don't hide anything."
Li Hu didn't dare to hide it and spoke out what had been weighing on his heart.
"The reason Prince Zhan brought his men to the capital wasn't actually because of Princess Yongjia's letter."
Emperor Xuande frowned, "Oh? You said it wasn't because of Yongjia's letter? What's going on?"
Li Hu replied, "When Princess Yongjia's letter arrived at his fiefdom, several of our prince's confidants asked him if he wanted to return to the capital to bring the old concubine over."
"At that time, His Royal Highness Prince Zhan said that he understood His Majesty and knew that He was not such a person. He also said that His Majesty was the most benevolent and filial person and would never treat the old concubine harshly. Princess Yongjia may have misunderstood, which is why she said that."
Emperor Xuande was stunned for a moment. Was this what Zhou Yangze said to him? Did Zhou Yangze never doubt that he would treat the old concubine harshly?
Perhaps recalling the close brotherly love they had when they were young, Emperor Xuande's eyes suddenly turned red.
Li Hu continued, "Half a month later, the prince received another letter from the virtuous concubine. She said she wanted the three of them to be reunited and hoped the prince could find a way to take them out of the capital."
"The prince couldn't sit still anymore, and within a few days he took people to the capital."
"His original intention wasn't to rebel. He thought the Concubine Xian was willing to go with him. So he planned to devise a scheme to allow the Concubine Xian and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to quietly leave the capital with him."
"But I didn't expect that he would be hanged as a rebel before he even saw the virtuous concubine."
After Li Hu finished speaking, there was silence in the hall for a long time, and then whispers were heard again.
Everyone heard from Li Hu's words that the one who was having an affair with Prince Zhan was actually Concubine Xian.
The background of the deposed prince also seems to be in doubt.
Emperor Xuande was stunned for a moment again, then asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean by this? What is the relationship between Zhou Jianyuan and Consort Xian and Zhou Yangze?"
Li Hu glanced at the virtuous concubine kneeling on the ground, his eyes full of hatred.
He gritted his teeth and said, "The Concubine Xian and Prince Zhan had an affair in their early years. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince might be Prince Zhan's child."
"When Prince Zhan returned to the capital to pay homage to the late emperor, he also had a private meeting with the virtuous concubine. The virtuous concubine said it herself that the child was from His Highness Prince Zhan."
"Our prince was so happy at the time that when he entered the palace to pay his respects to the late queen, he brought a lot of toys for the unborn child."
The person he hates the most now is Concubine Xian. If it weren't for this affair, the prince would still be the local emperor in his fiefdom. How could he have died so early?
He also felt something was amiss about the letter Concubine Xian wrote to the prince. He suspected that Concubine Xian wanted to get rid of the prince so that no one would know about it.
After all, the prince was the heir to the throne at that time. Instead of recognizing the prince as his biological father, it would be better for him to continue to be the prince and wait to ascend the throne one day.
Besides, the affair between the two was a thunderbolt to Concubine Xian and the Crown Prince. It is not surprising that Concubine Xian killed people to silence them for fear of being exposed.
Emperor Xuande recalled the quarrel between him and Song Zining, which was all because of the little gadget that Prince Zhan brought into the palace. He thought it was a gift from Prince Zhan for Song Zining's unborn child, but he didn't expect that was not the case at all.
He carefully recalled the events of the past. It seemed that the misunderstandings between the emperor and the empress were always caused by the virtuous concubine.
I didn’t realize it before, but now I think it seems to be intentional.
At this time, the virtuous concubine was crying and shouting for justice, saying that Shen Zhixiu was deliberately framing her. She would not betray the emperor, nor would she give birth to a child for someone else.
Emperor Xuande just wanted to know the truth at this moment, so he looked at Mr. Zhou who was sitting in the hall of the Grand Prince.
"Royal brother, I have to trouble you for this matter. Please verify the relationship between me and Zhou Jianyuan."
Mr. Zhou didn't show any surprise on his face. He stood up as usual, walked to the middle of the hall, and took out the silver needle from his body.
Emperor Xuande was puzzled, "Doesn't my royal brother need to go to the Imperial Pharmacy to get medicine?"
Mr. Zhou coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I brought it today."
Because he had been asked to conduct a last-minute paternity test at several banquets, he was extra cautious this time and specially prepared a dose of medicine with him.
Not to mention checking the two of them, even checking everyone in the hall would be enough.
Thanks to thorough preparation, Mr. Zhou's paternity test was completed quickly this time.
It only takes a cup of tea to get the results.
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