Song Xia looked at Zhou Yongli with utter mockery: "You didn't appreciate my kindness before, and now you're blaming me for not informing you before you've gone down the wrong path? Do you think the merit of supporting the emperor is so easy to obtain? A bunch of fools, what is not rightfully yours will be returned sooner or later. I've already let you enjoy it for so many years, which is already too good for you."
Zhou Yongli looked terrified and struggled desperately. Song Xia tossed him aside like trash and then wiped her hands with a handkerchief.
"Song Xia, what are you so smug about? If His Highness Prince Huai hadn't been defeated, what would you be?"
"Tch, it's a real honor to put you in the position of Vice Minister of Rites. You still don't understand that even if Prince Huai ascends the throne, unless he's a tyrant, he wouldn't arbitrarily punish the county princess and the prince personally appointed by the late emperor for the sake of a concubine. Prince Huai has plenty of concubines. What is Zhou Ying? Even if she gives birth to a son, doesn't Prince Huai have enough sons already?"
Zhou Yongli was so devastated by the blow that he refused to believe that all his hard work over the years had come to nothing, and refused to admit that no matter how hard they tried, they could not defeat Song Xia.
"I feel quite sorry for you. You treat them as your closest relatives, but they never think of telling you what they do."
Song Xia glanced at him and continued to provoke him: "You only found out later that they drugged me. Zhou Ying seduced Prince Huai, and they only told you after the deed was done. Now, they've joined forces to drug His Majesty, and the truth only came out after their conspiracy failed. Zhou Yongli, do they really consider you family?"
"You're talking nonsense. You're just trying to sow discord between us. I won't fall for your tricks."
“They’re about to be executed, so why would I, the county magistrate, need to sow discord among you? However, you can go down and join them, and then you can be a loving family again.”
Zhou Yongli's face turned ashen. Was there really no way to turn things around?
He didn't want to die, and neither could his Fangniang, Shuge'er, and Yingjie'er.
"Song Xia, I beg you, please save them. You must have a way. They just said that Prince Cheng helped the Empress stabilize the court. The Empress will surely grant Prince Cheng a favor. I promise you, we will never get in your way again. We will let you beat and scold us without fighting back. We will be your servants for life."
Seeing him like this, Song Xia felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, she felt sorry for Yu Qing. Zhou Yongli was a good father, but only towards Zhou Shuqing and Zhou Ying.
So she felt even more hatred. Was it really worth taking Yuqing's life for them?
Yuqing's life in the past was so tragic. She was born with illness and was criticized and suppressed by him. She never had a moment of joy. In her short life of just over ten years, she never had a single day of comfort.
Now you know you regret it and admit your mistakes, but after your schemes succeeded in your past lives, did you ever offer Yuqing a single stick of incense? Did you ever recite scriptures for Yuqing for even a single day?
No, you all went to celebrate removing the obstacle, you were all immersed in glory and joy.
“Zhou Yongli, Yuqing is also your son. When you were scheming against him and trying to kill him, did you feel even a little bit of heartache?”
Zhou Yongli was stunned, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained.
“You always say that Yuqing and I stole your happiness and the status of Liu Fangniang and Zhou Shuqing, but ask yourself honestly, when our Prince’s Mansion came to ask about your marriage, did we pressure you? If you had revealed even a little bit about Liu Fangniang, it would have been impossible for the two of us to be together.”
Song Xia clenched her fists: "You want the power of our Prince's Mansion, but you don't want to lose Liu Fangniang's love, so you told them you had no choice. It's clear that Yuqing's health is bad because of you, but you said that I forced Yuqing too much. You also keep comparing Yuqing to Zhou Shuqing to attack my son and me. Zhou Shuqing, what are Yuqing and me in your eyes? Tools that can be used and sacrificed at any time?"
Zhou Yongli mumbled, "I'm sorry."
“You have no right to apologize to me, and Yuqing and I no longer need your apology. You have only yourself to blame for things coming to this point.”
“I am not a good enough father, Song Xia. If you spare their lives, I promise to keep them far away from the capital in the future. I will also do my best to be a good father to Yuqing.”
Song Xia felt disgusted as she listened: "Zhou Yongli, I've told you, you're no longer qualified. I no longer respect you, and Yuqing no longer needs you. Just be a good husband to Liu Fangniang for the rest of your life, and a good father to Zhou Shuqing and Zhou Ying for the rest of your life."
Zhou Yongli collapsed completely, looking pleadingly at Song Xia, but Song Xia only looked down at him with disdain.
Before long, they arrived at the palace. The entire palace was heavily guarded, and all the ministers were present. The Empress and Prince Ding stood in the center, flanked by Prince Cheng and the Prime Minister. The Empress's father, Marquis Chengen, stood one step down from them.
Zhou Yongli finally understood why Prince Huai had lost so badly: apart from the Empress and the Marquis of Chengen, he hadn't expected that even the Prime Minister was one of the Empress's people.
You must know that the Prime Minister's granddaughter is the Queen Consort of Prince Huai! Yet he chose to support Prince Ding instead of Prince Huai!
"The Princess of Rongcheng has arrived. She is also one of the witnesses to the matter of the Liu family presenting the secret medicine to Prince Huai."
Song Xia stepped forward and bowed: "Rongcheng greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"No need for formalities. Tell all the ministers about the Liu family's secret medicine."
"Yes." Song Xia spoke calmly and without fear, recounting how Old Madam Zhou suddenly lost her legitimate son, how Zhou Yongli inherited the Zhou family, and how she later suffered a premature birth, causing Yuqing to be weak and plagued by illness from a young age.
"I have been healthy since childhood, so after giving birth to Yuqing, I had some doubts in my heart. Until I met the maid who served Old Madam Zhou back then, and heard about the sudden death of Brother Zhou Yongli, my suspicions grew even stronger. So I ordered people to investigate. This investigation led to Old Madam Liu. I learned that this old lady was a refugee from a mysterious tribe in the southwest. Their tribe was skilled in growing flowers and making incense. Moreover, after Old Madam Liu was sold into the Liu family, the previous wife's legitimate son died suddenly, and she successfully took over. This further confirmed my guess."
Upon hearing Song Xia's account, the court officials couldn't help but exchange words, probably because they hadn't expected such a secret medicine to exist, or such a harmful thing to happen.
The Empress gestured for everyone to calm down: "Rongcheng, please continue."
Song Xia nodded and continued, "Although I am certain that none of these are coincidences, I have no evidence. However, I have not given up. Instead, I have people keep a close eye on the Liu family to see if they have any further moves. I did not expect that after Zhou Ying married Prince Huai, the old lady really tried to contact her former clan. What happened next is what Your Majesty knows."
Liu Fangniang and Zhou Shuqing, their bodies bound and mouths covered, listened to Song Xia finish speaking. Then, looking at Prince Huai and Zhou Ying, who were also bound, they collapsed to the ground in despair.
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