"Let my people go."

"Impossible!" Emperor Jingming flatly refused.

Lang'er, Fuqing, Fourteen, Fifteen, and the Seventh and his wife who were almost trapped in the plot, all the trouble was caused by these people, how could he let them go.

Elder Hua looked deeply at Emperor Jingming and closed his eyes.

Emperor Jingming was furious: "You have already confessed, are you still going to resist at this point?"

Elder Hua opened his eyes again and said calmly, "I am a dying man, and I have nothing left to lose. If you don't agree, then so be it."

Emperor Jingming was so angry that his whole body was shaking.

If the chess piece that Elder Hua confessed to was someone else, it doesn't matter whether it can be confirmed or not. It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go.

But this person is the empress dowager, the one who raised him, taught him, and single-handedly helped him ascend to the throne!

The grace of giving birth is greater than the grace of raising a child. As a mother, the empress dowager was absolutely competent, not to mention that she brought Emperor Jingming supreme power and status.

It was hard for Emperor Jingming to accept the fact that the Queen Mother was a pawn of a foreign race without any evidence.

"Okay, I promise you."

Humph, what's the use of agreeing? He will regret it later.

Don't talk about golden words. The other party has already plotted against him, so what if he tells a lie? This is called "all is fair in war"!

Elder Hua obviously believed it. He was silent for a moment and said, "The Queen Mother has a light red birthmark on her left buttock, shaped like a petal..."

Emperor Jingming felt somewhat embarrassed and more heavy when he heard this.

It has been confirmed that Aunt Duo is a traitor. She is not a maid who serves the Queen Mother closely in Cining Palace. If the Queen Mother has nothing to do with Aunt Duo and others, Aunt Duo would not have the opportunity to know such a secret of the Queen Mother, and Elder Hua would have no way of knowing it...

Emperor Jingming was silent for a while, then slowly said, "Take her away first."

Elder Hua was quickly taken away, leaving only Emperor Jingming, Pan Hai, and Han Ran in the hall.

Han Ran's forehead was covered in sweat, and he wanted to wipe it off but didn't dare to. Pan Hai tried his best to reduce his presence.

The emperor had no outlet for his emotions at that moment, so whoever bumped into him would be in trouble.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Jingming's cold voice rang out: "Pan Hai——"

Pan Hai shuddered and nearly fell down, but gritted his teeth and said, "I'm here."

"Quietly ask the maidservant who serves the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace to confirm... whether what Elder Hua said is true." It was very difficult for Emperor Jingming to say this.

"yes."

Emperor Jingming took a deep breath and said, "Don't disturb the Queen Mother."

At this time he still had hope that if it was proven that Elder Hua was making groundless accusations, at least the Queen Mother would not be disappointed to know that he had issued such an order.

Pan Hai took the order and left.

Emperor Jingming looked at Han Ran.

Han's scalp tingled and he lowered his head even more.

Emperor Jingming sighed and said, "Just wait here with me."

Time passed slowly. After Pan Hai left, the emperor and his ministers in the palace felt extremely tormented.

After an unknown amount of time, Pan Hai finally hurried back.

Emperor Jingming did not dare to ask for a moment.

Pan Hai suppressed his shock and saluted: "Your Majesty, I have asked."

Emperor Jingming paused for a moment before asking, "What's going on?"

Pan Hai lowered his eyes and said, "I questioned the two maids who served the Queen Mother in bathing, and they agreed with what Elder Hua said."

Summoning the palace maids who served the empress dowager closely would easily attract attention, while questioning the palace maids who helped the empress dowager take a bath would be much more low-key.

These palace maids only appeared when the Queen Mother was bathing, and were far from being the palace maids close to the Queen Mother.

Emperor Jingming's hand trembled, and his heart gradually fell into the abyss.

What Elder Hua said was true, the Queen Mother was indeed a foreigner.

As for whether he was a Xue Miao or Wu Miao, what did it matter? What mattered was that everything he had seen, heard, and felt from the Queen Mother from his childhood to the present was false.

They're all fake!

"You guys get out."

Pan Hai was very worried and couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty——"

"go out!"

Han Ran gave Pan Hai a look and stepped out first.

The two stood in the corridor outside the hall in a daze.

The deposed crown prince cheated on the emperor, and the queen mother is a fake...

They both seem to know too much, what should we do?

The palace was very quiet and Emperor Jingming did not come out until dark.

On the second day, Emperor Jingming did not attend court, which led to countless speculations among his ministers.

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day...

The ministers began to panic, but they could not even see the emperor. They could only see Pan Hai appearing at the Qianqing Gate every day and shouting to them, "The emperor is not feeling well, please go back, everyone."

Civil and military officials became increasingly uneasy.

The Queen had no choice but to end the cold war and take the initiative to go to Yangxin Palace to find out what was going on.

Emperor Jingming was in a daze in his room. After hearing the empress's question, he said expressionlessly, "You can go back. I need to calm down and think about a decision."

"emperor--"

Emperor Jingming glanced at her and said in a colder tone: "I don't want anyone to disturb me."

The empress had no choice but to kneel and take her leave. When she walked out of the Yangxin Palace, she couldn't help but look in the direction of the Cining Palace.

Is the Emperor's behavior related to the Empress Dowager? Maybe it's a good thing.

At dusk that day, with the sunset glowing in the sky, Emperor Jingming finally walked out of the Yangxin Palace and went to the Cining Palace.

In Cining Palace, the Queen Mother was feeling uneasy.

The emperor abstained from court due to illness. She sent people to inquire about him every day, but she couldn't even see the emperor, which was impossible in the past.

"The Emperor has arrived—"

The Queen Mother could not help but stand up and walk out.

Emperor Jingming strode in and said to everyone: "All of you leave."

Soon, Emperor Jingming and the Empress Dowager were the only ones left in the room.

"The emperor seems to be fine. I am finally relieved." The empress dowager was still kind.

Emperor Jingming stared at the empress dowager for a long time without saying a word.

"What's wrong with the emperor?"

Emperor Jingming turned his back to face the familiar face, and then he asked, "Are you getting used to living in the Great Zhou?"

The Queen Mother was shocked and asked in a choked voice, "What did the Emperor say?"

Emperor Jingming turned around suddenly and saw the fear on the empress dowager's face which had not yet faded away.

The Queen Mother quickly calmed down, and her fear turned into concern: "What's wrong with the Emperor? If you are not feeling well, you should take a good rest. The Crown Prince can take care of the government affairs."

Emperor Jingming laughed at himself: "The rise and fall of Wu Miao is closely related to the bloodline of the Great Zhou Emperor. Is this the meaning of your existence?"

The Queen Mother's expression changed completely: "Your Majesty——"

"I know everything. You don't need to waste my last bit of affection for you with your sweet talk." Emperor Jingming's voice trembled when he said this. "From now on, you must not step out of this room again until you die."

Emperor Jingming stopped talking and turned away.

The Queen Mother wanted to call the man to stop, but what could she say at this point? She slumped down on the couch with a dejected look on her face, as if all the oil had run out and the lamp had gone out in an instant.

Emperor Jingming walked to the door, turned around, and asked in a trembling voice: "In all these years, have you ever treated me like your son?"

The Queen Mother was silent for a moment and then opened her mouth to speak, but Emperor Jingming did not want to hear the answer anymore. He smiled bitterly and said, "You don't have to say anything. I have only been deceiving myself."

Emperor Jingming left without looking back. Soon, the palace maids who served the empress dowager closely were replaced, but the other palace maids did not move. To others, it seemed that there was almost no change in Cining Palace, but those palace maids who had not been replaced knew that something was different.

They never saw the Queen Mother again.