Chapter 111 Consideration
The entire side hall was terribly silent.
The emperor didn't look at him again, turned around, and was about to help the empress dowager, whose expression had eased a little but was still tired.
"Mother, you are frightened. Your son will help you to rest."
The empress dowager nodded, and with the emperor's support, she took a step forward, ready to leave this frustrating side hall.
At this moment——
"Father! I am wronged!"
A shrill cry, like a cuckoo weeping blood, suddenly exploded from the ground!
Xiao Jingren was like a drowning man who had grabbed the last straw. He suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and cried out in a mournful voice towards the backs of the emperor and the empress dowager.
The emperor paused.
The Queen Mother also stopped, frowned slightly, and a trace of reluctance and complexity flashed across her face.
Chen He still had her head lowered, her long eyelashes concealing all her emotions, but her slightly shaking shoulders seemed to be shaking even more violently, as if she was frightened by the sudden crying.
"Father, you are wise!"
"It's not what Shen He said at all! It was her! It was Shen He who seduced Erchen!"
He stretched out his trembling hand and pointed at Shen He, who was still kneeling on the ground, with naked hatred in his eyes.
"That jade belt with coiled dragon pattern belonged to her. She tore it off like crazy! She wants to blame me!"
"And there's the slap mark on my face!"
Xiao Jingren suddenly pointed at the Five Finger Mountain clearly visible on his face, and his voice suddenly rose:
"She heard some noise outside and knew that the Empress Dowager's men were coming, so she hit them on purpose!"
"She wants to frame me! When she found out I was going to marry Jiao'er, she was furious! She wants to destroy me!"
This cry of confusion and distortion was so heartbreaking that every word was heartbreaking, as if he was the one who had suffered all the injustice and frame-up.
Chen He suddenly raised his head, his palm-sized face streaked with tears, his eyes filled with incredible fear and hurt.
"Third Prince...you...how dare you slander me like that!"
Her voice trembled, as if she was too angry to speak at the outrageous accusation, and more tears welled up in her eyes.
"I...why would I seduce you? Why would I frame you? I'm already engaged to His Highness the Sixth Prince...I..."
She cried so hard that she almost fainted, her body was shaking, and she was barely supported by the palace maid beside her.
The Queen Mother frowned even more tightly as she watched the scene before her.
To be fair, Chen He's crying and Zhou Yan'an's inspection made her more convinced.
Xiao Jingren's defense at this moment sounded more like a dying struggle.
but……
The Queen Mother's gaze involuntarily drifted away into the distance, thinking of the fetus in Chen Jiao's belly that Master Lu Jiuxiao asserted was the "heir of God."
If Jingren is really confined for too long, his marriage with Shen Jiao will be postponed indefinitely...
Then wouldn’t it be unreasonable for the “heir of God” to come into the world?
Will this affect the fate of the nation and the future of the Great Xiao?
Thinking of this, the empress dowager felt a chill in her heart, and her original anger and disappointment towards Xiao Jingren was replaced by a deeper worry.
She took a deep breath, turned to the emperor, whose face was as gloomy as water, and said with a barely perceptible pleading in her voice:
"emperor……"
The emperor glanced coldly at Xiao Jingren who was still crying, then looked at the empress dowager, signaling her to continue.
The Queen Mother calmed herself down and tried to make her tone appear calm:
"Jingren's offense today is truly unforgivable. He has brought disgrace upon the royal family and he deserves severe punishment."
She first affirmed the emperor's judgment, then changed the subject:
"But... Emperor, do you still remember what Lu Jiuxiao, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's True Man, once said: The child in Shen Jiao's belly, the second daughter of the Shen family, is... the heir of God, and it is crucial to the prosperity of our Great Xiao nation!"
As the word "Heir of God" came out, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense!
Under Chen He's drooping eyelids, his eyes flashed imperceptibly.
The Queen Mother continued, with a hint of urgency in her tone:
"The marriage between Jing Ren and Shen Jiao is a match made in heaven, and it is also intended to ensure the legitimate birth of the heir to the royal family."
"If this incident causes the wedding to be postponed indefinitely, what if... what if it delays the auspicious time, or casts a shadow on the birth of the heir of God, then..."
She didn't finish her words, but the meaning was self-evident.
This was a reminder to the emperor that for the sake of the so-called "national destiny" and the "divine heir", he could be lenient with Xiao Jingren, at least not affecting his marriage with Shen Jiao.
When Xiao Jingren heard the empress dowager speaking for him, a glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in his eyes, his crying subsided, and he looked at the emperor eagerly.
However--
"Mother!"
A thunderous roar, harsher than any previous one, directly interrupted the Queen Mother's words!
The emperor turned around suddenly, his eyes burning with anger, as if he was going to set the entire side hall on fire!
He was not looking at Xiao Jingren, but directly at the Queen Mother, his voice icy cold:
"Mother! How long will you remain confused?!"
The Queen Mother was startled by the Emperor's sudden anger, and her face turned pale in an instant: "Emperor..."
"Heir of God? National destiny?"
The emperor sneered, his eyes as sharp as a knife, slowly sweeping over Xiao Jingren on the ground, and finally falling back on the empress dowager.
"For the sake of a vague notion of 'heir of God', are we going to ignore the facts and shield this rebellious son?!"
These words are extremely serious!
The empress dowager's lips trembled and she wanted to say something, but was blocked by the emperor's next words.
The emperor pointed at Xiao Jingren fiercely, his voice filled with extreme disappointment and rage:
"Good! What a 'Shen He Seduction'!"
"Let's not even talk about how a weak woman waiting to be married could have the guts to seduce the prince in the imperial garden!"
The emperor's gaze pierced Xiao Jingren like an ice cone, and every word he said was resounding:
"Even if! Even if it's true as you said, it was Chen He who threw herself into your arms and seduced you!"
"And you?!"
"You are the dignified prince of the Great Xiao! The future vassal king! In the face of a mere 'seduction', is this all you have to stand firm?!"
"Can't you control your dirty thoughts and allow yourself to flirt with a servant girl, causing such a huge scandal?!"
"Where's your princely bearing?! Where's your royal dignity?! Where's your brain?!"
The emperor became more and more angry as he spoke, his chest heaving violently, and the fingers pointing at Xiao Jingren were shaking.
"If you can't even resist this little temptation, how can I safely hand over the country to your generation?!"
"Being 'seduced' by a woman can make you lose your composure, lose your dignity, and ruin your reputation!"
"What if the enemy uses the beauty trap? Will you also hand over my city of Dayin?!"
This angry rebuke was like a violent storm, crashing down on Xiao Jingren!
It also tore his ridiculous excuse of "being seduced" to pieces!
The empress dowager's face turned pale and blue. She didn't expect the emperor to be so angry, and she didn't expect the emperor to escalate this matter to the level of "the country and the people."
The emperor took a deep breath, suppressing his surging anger, but his voice remained as cold as iron:
"There's no need to discuss this matter any further!"
"Xiao Jingren's punishment remains unchanged! He is confined to the Third Prince's residence! The wedding date is postponed!"
"As for that so-called 'heir of God'..." the emperor snorted coldly, a hint of scorn and disdain flashing in his eyes. "If he truly is the heir of God, he will surely be blessed by God. Why bother with such scheming and ignoring right and wrong?"
The emperor flicked his sleeves, no longer looking at anyone in the hall, and said in a deep voice: "Mother, let's go!"
This time, no one dared to speak out to stop it.
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