"Consort Liu, what you're saying is wrong. Wasn't it you who murdered the emperor?" The empress sneered, concealing the pain in her eyes.
They had been married for nearly twenty years, and there was still some affection between them.
They were once deeply in love. Unfortunately, it was just a fleeting moment.
They disappeared very quickly.
In the beginning, I hated and suffered, but the greatest sorrow is a dead heart.
Later, she gave up hope, and life became easier. She could even smile as she selected girls for him, welcome new girls into the palace, and even arrange for them to serve her in bed.
After giving birth to the crown prince, the empress basically ignored Emperor Chengye.
She was naturally more stable than the average girl, and all she needed to do was manage the affairs of the harem.
As for Emperor Chengye's favor, she no longer cared.
"Empress, you are lying through your teeth. It was you who murdered the Emperor. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Consort Liu, you are quite something. I only found out today that you are actually a spy for the Southern Hui, and even have an affair with this Taoist priest."
The Empress glanced at the woman in green's face, then looked at the Fourth Prince's face. "Speaking of which, could this child be yours and the woman in green's?"
"The victor is king, the loser is villain. Your Majesty, you have won, so you can say whatever you want. But this child is indeed the Emperor's. Please, for the sake of the Emperor, let him go."
The Empress looked at the Fourth Prince, and for some reason, she always felt a sense of unease about him.
The fourth prince is only eleven years old this year.
He was tall and his face looked more like Liu Cairen's.
With his head bowed, he always looked easily startled.
"Your Majesty the Empress."
Ning Hongze slowly walked up to the Empress. Upon seeing Ning Hongze approach, the Fourth Prince seemed to shrink back even more.
Ning Hong scoffed, drew her sword abruptly, and stabbed at the Fourth Prince.
The fourth prince hadn't expected Ning Hongze to suddenly attack him, and he narrowly dodged the attack.
He was quick and decisive.
Liu Cairen: "How could that be?"
She was completely bewildered.
When did her fourth prince learn martial arts? Her son has never learned martial arts.
A thought flashed through her mind, frightening her so much that her face turned pale and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"Qingyi, when?"
She suddenly grabbed the collar of the woman in blue. "Tell me, where is my son now?"
In order to ensure her son's survival and avoid being noticed by the concubines in the harem, she always instructed him to pretend to be stupid and timid, so that no one would look down on him at first glance.
Only children like this can live a smooth and successful life.
But her child is very intelligent.
He would often hold her hand at night and tell her that when he was made a king, he would plead with his eldest brother to let him take her away to his fiefdom.
He often told her that Zhao Qingqi was a good person, although he was a bit stupid, but he was much better at heart than the other two princes.
When did he stop saying those things?
It was two years ago when Qingyi took the initiative to contact her.
Where is my son?
"He... he's dead. The king said that the bloodlines of the Southern Hui people must not be mixed up, so he ordered him killed." The man in green lowered his head, feeling a pang of guilt and unease.
The King of Nanhui wasn't afraid of the Nanhui bloodline becoming mixed up; he was clearly afraid that the princess would become disobedient after becoming the Empress Dowager, and that the child with the bloodline of Dayin would grow up and side with Dayin. That's why he took action against him.
"My child? Gone?" It was her family who gave the order. How could they be so heartless? Her son was so young. How could they do such a thing?
Ning Hong then knocked the imposter of the Fourth Prince down with a single sword strike.
Before he could finish the job...
Liu Cairen had already come over with her knife. She slashed at the man's body, one cut after another.
He only released his grip on the knife after hacking the man to death, then sat on the ground, panting heavily, tears of regret streaming down his face.
She regretted it.
I regret listening to them and becoming an undercover agent.
She regretted having a son and why she still helped them.
If she hadn't gotten involved, her son could have lived a good life, they could have been together, she could have watched him get married and have children, she could have—
"Your Majesty the Empress."
Consort Liu suddenly knelt respectfully before the Empress. "Your Majesty, I know my sins are unforgivable, but my fourth prince was never involved. I beg Your Majesty to be merciful and allow his memorial tablet to be placed in the royal ancestral hall." She did not want her son to die without a burial place and without anyone to offer him a proper burial.
"Can."
The Queen nodded.
Since the Fourth Prince died two years ago, he was indeed unable to participate in these matters. As a descendant of the royal family of the Great Yin Kingdom, it was only natural for him to enter the ancestral hall.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."
Liu Cairen bowed her head and kowtowed. After finishing the kowtow, she slit her own throat and committed suicide.
Neither Ning Hongze nor the Empress stopped her.
For her now, leaving this world with dignity is the best choice.
The emperor was poisoned to death by the Taoist priest in green robes.
The news spread throughout the land the very next day.
The Imperial Medical Academy also confirmed that all those elixirs were poisonous.
The emperor died suddenly because his body was filled with too much erysipelas.
Most importantly, the Taoist priest in green was actually a spy from the Southern Hui Kingdom.
He killed the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince. Fortunately, the crown prince had to go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard on business, which saved his life.
Of course, some people questioned whether the crown prince was behind it.
In order to consolidate his position as king, he killed all his brothers.
But when I saw Zhao Qingqi with his red eyes and swollen eyes from crying, those thoughts suddenly vanished.
This prince is still just a child.
"Alright, Your Highness, you're back in the palace now, so stop crying." The Empress said with a touch of heartache as she looked at her son crying like this.
"Mother, it's not that I want to cry, it's just that my eyes are burning." That bastard was afraid that he couldn't act sad, so he directly handed him a handkerchief soaked in ginger juice, chili, and onion to smell. His eyes immediately reddened, and tears streamed down his face.
That guy even shamelessly tried to wipe his tears with a handkerchief. Could that handkerchief really be used? It would ruin his eyes.
Besides, the unpleasant smell emanating from him couldn't be concealed.
A country cannot be without a ruler for even a day.
Apart from the three princesses, only the crown prince remained in the entire harem.
The crown prince's ascension to the throne was perfectly legitimate.
Not a single official in the court objected.
However, when the Empress appointed Ning Hongze to assist in governing, it sparked considerable controversy.
Many speculated that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had been threatened by Ning Hongze.
However, the only thing that can be confirmed is that this Ninth Prince is not only unharmed, but has become even more favored—
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