"Beating to death? No, no, don't beat to death, no!"
Shan Xiu screamed, but Su Peisheng showed no mercy, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away.
"Ah!" Shan Xiu struggled desperately, but there was no one around to save her. Su Peisheng even let out a sinister laugh. Shan Xiu was terrified. At that moment, the only person she could think of was that one person—
"Help me! Help me! Hongshi, help me!!"
Upon hearing that name, Su Peisheng loosened his grip, and Shan Xiu collapsed to the ground with a thud. She reacted quickly, scrambling back to her feet, trembling as she cried, "Don't kill me! Don't beat me to death! I can't die... I want to be his wife..."
For a moment, the hall was silent, with only Shan Xiu's repeated cries of "I cannot die" echoing through the air.
Su Peisheng was so frightened he wished he had no ears, while Wanxia fainted upon hearing the Third Prince's name.
Qian Shengyan stood up in shock at the two people at the head of the table, then turned back to look at Yinzhen in disbelief.
Yinzhen stared at Shan Xiu expressionlessly for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Heh, still making wild accusations even when facing death, well, you're quite something!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Qian Shengyan quickly said, slowly sitting down, unsure of what expression to make.
To her utter surprise, Shan Xiu revealed Hong Shi's name so easily. The development of the situation was completely beyond her expectations. She knew that the two of them would be finished sooner or later, but she did not expect that their downfall would be so devastating and unstoppable.
Yinzhen glanced at Su Peisheng, who trembled and dared not say another word. He stepped forward, covered Shan Xiu's mouth, and dragged her out.
"Wait a minute," Yinzhen suddenly said again.
Su Peisheng quickly stopped, lowering his head and not daring to look at the Emperor's expression.
He was probably too nervous, because he gripped Shan Xiu's hand so tightly that she almost rolled her eyes back, but Su Peisheng didn't care anymore. He was afraid that this person would say something that would kill him if he heard it...
“Wake up the sunset,” Yinzhen said.
Su Peisheng responded, leaving the semi-conscious Shan Xiu behind, and went to find a cup of cold tea to splash on Wanxia's face.
Wanxia awoke with convulsions, shuddered violently upon seeing Su Peisheng, and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing until her head bled: "Your Majesty, this servant..."
"You deserve to die," Yinzhen said calmly.
Wanxia closed her eyes briefly: "This servant... obeys..."
"Now I'm giving you a chance." Yinzhen twirled the ring on his finger, speaking meaningfully, "I'm granting her ten more days to live. During these ten days, you'll 'serve' Consort Hua well and make her willingly tell you the whole story. Of course, how much you can get out of her depends on your abilities."
Wanxia felt another shiver run down her spine. She knew that if this matter truly involved the Third Prince, the more she asked and the more she learned, the less likely she was to survive. But getting nothing out of him also meant certain death…
As her thoughts raced, Wanxia's hatred for Shanxiu intensified. She now wished she could peel off every piece of Shanxiu's flesh to vent her anger.
She knelt deeply in submission, not daring to say anything more, only saying, "This servant obeys the decree and will certainly serve Consort Hua well."
"Use whatever method you prefer, but I want to hear news of Consort Hua's death in ten days." As he spoke, Yinzhen stood up, paused briefly in front of Shan Xiu, and Shan Xiu screamed in fright as blood-stained water seeped out from beneath her.
Yinzhen disdainfully moved to another spot, saying to Su Peisheng as he walked, "We only need a few sweepers and servants to clean Chengqian Palace; there's no need for more people to serve us."
“Yes, sir,” Su Peisheng replied.
"Dispatch two teams of guards to patrol around Chengqian Palace day and night, keeping a close watch on everything. Anyone who tries to enter or leave, no matter who they are, will be arrested without mercy!"
"Yinzhen said coldly."
Su Peisheng swallowed hard before daring to reply, "Yes, sir."
Just as Yinzhen was about to leave the palace, he remembered that there was still one person. He turned around and saw Qian Shengyan following three steps behind him, looking completely bewildered.
Immediately, his rage subsided somewhat, and Yinzhen sighed, raising his hand to wait for her.
Qian Shengyan, almost flattered, placed her hand on Yinzhen's hand. Yinzhen sighed, "How hateful!"
Knowing full well that he couldn't possibly be referring to his son, Qian Shengyan followed up, saying, "I wonder who it is that's trying to frame the Third Prince!"
"Hmph!" Yinzhen snorted heavily and nodded in agreement. "How old is Hongshi? How could he do such a shameless thing? Either Shan is lying, or someone is impersonating Hongshi to do evil. It's truly despicable!"
“Yes!” Qian Shengyan echoed him, but subconsciously patted him reassuringly.
For a moment, I couldn't bear to think about what he would be like when he found out the truth...
However, considering the clues Fu Hui had given her, Qian Shengyan didn't know how much longer Hongshi could keep it a secret. She glanced at Yinzhen, guessing that this man had probably never held Hongshi since he was a child—well, let alone Hongshi, he probably wouldn't even know if Hongli, who had spent the most time with him since childhood, had a mole on his body.
But clearly, the Emperor is the Emperor. Although Yinzhen said he didn't believe it, he went straight to Zhongcui Palace.
Lady Li had just been punished with confinement, and was probably in a really bad mood. She was scolding a little palace maid, and the things she said were so bad that Qian Shengyan couldn't bear to listen.
Yinzhen was even more enraged. Without waiting for the eunuch to announce his arrival, he strode in and shouted angrily, "What are you doing!"
"Your Majesty?" Lady Li was shocked. She thought that since she was under house arrest, no one would come. Who could have imagined...
She bit her lip, her expression changing several times. Before she could figure out how to explain, Yinzhen said impatiently, "If you can't use so many palace servants, then reduce the number. That way, you won't have to discipline them yourself."
Before Lady Li could react, Yinzhen turned to Su Peisheng and said, "Fire half of the people in Zhongcui Palace, and their allowances will be based on the rank of a concubine."
"Yes, sir." Su Peisheng replied, feeling bitter inside.
Isn't this all Consort Xi's responsibility? The Emperor spoke to him so directly; didn't you see Consort Qi glaring at him, practically seething with anger...?
"Consort Qi," Yinzhen didn't bother with beating around the bush and asked directly, "Does Hongshi have any birthmarks?"
"Hongshi? Birthmark?" Li Shi hadn't even finished processing what had just happened, and now she was bewildered again by the question. "Hongshi doesn't have any birthmarks."
"Then, what about the mole?" Yinzhen asked seemingly casually, but at this moment, even Qian Shengyan, who knew the truth, and Su Peisheng, who had almost no connection with him, became nervous.
Lady Li clapped her hands excitedly, clearly this was a topic she enjoyed discussing: "A mole? Hongshi has one! Didn't I tell Your Majesty before that Hongshi has had a mole on his chest since he was little? Doesn't that mean he has great ambitions? When he was four or five years old, a fortune teller..."
"Which way?" Yinzhen interrupted her abruptly.
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