When the old princess was beaten beyond recognition and lay on the ground like a corpse, Xie Tingzhou pulled Cai Yueya away.
"Fu Jiang's crimes are too numerous to count. To save his life, the Grand Princess threw a tantrum and even threatened His Majesty by injuring herself."
Grandma Cai, although you meant well in advising and trying to stop her, the old princess was stubborn and brought this mess upon herself. You did your best.
Ye Zhen agreed, "Yes, Granny Cai, the Grand Princess insists on making things difficult for His Majesty. We tried our best to persuade her, but we couldn't, we simply couldn't persuade her."
Cai Yueya kicked the old princess hard again, "Hey, I'm not going to try to persuade her anymore, she's as stubborn as a donkey."
"It's only because the emperor is so filial that such a person, who can't distinguish right from wrong, would be kicked out of our village. How could we let her freeload off her parents' home for decades?"
The emperor and Prince Ning stared wide-eyed and gaped, their expressions identical.
Is this even possible?
If they had known it could be this simple and straightforward, why had they been so wary of the old princess all these years?
And after Cai Yueya said that, they also felt that it made sense. The Grand Princess had already married out and was no longer a member of the royal family. Her family treated her well out of kindness, but not out of obligation.
With this thought in mind, the emperor straightened his back considerably.
Prince Ning's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Oh, she still takes advantage of her age to make a scene with Father Emperor, crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself."
"Look at her, a princess of the royal family, crying with tears and snot all over her face, what kind of behavior is this? It's really embarrassing for Father..."
A moment later, Chen Banjun personally went to the Imperial Hospital to request a doctor for the old princess.
Before long, rumors spread throughout the palace that the old princess, in an attempt to save Fu Jiang, had tried to blackmail the emperor by taking advantage of her age, but when that failed, she threatened him with self-harm.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the news reached outside the palace, with an even more exaggerated and detailed version.
The official's wife from Dongcheng asked her close friend, "Did you know that the Grand Princess threatened the Emperor with a knife, demanding that he spare Fu Jiang's life?"
"I've heard that too. I've also heard that Fu Jiang isn't the old princess's grandson at all. The old princess herself knows this, but she still insists on protecting him. Is Fu Jiang bewitched?"
"No, don't talk about those supernatural and bizarre things."
She leaned close to the other person's ear and said, "I think there might be some kind of improper relationship between them."
A passing merchant at the South City Tea House remarked, "So those royal guards were actually used to monitor the Grand Princess, but she claimed they were protecting her."
Tsk, their skin is even thicker than ours, the merchants..."
Another customer at the morning tea shop chimed in, "She also collected evidence of crimes committed by many officials in the court, intending to use it to exchange for Fu Jiang's life with His Majesty."
Upon hearing this news, the officials who were preparing to go to the palace to speak on behalf of the old princess all turned their carriages around and returned home.
An old man in the west of the city tapped his pipe and said, "I heard that the Grand Princess cried so much that green snot hung from her mouth, and she kept sniffling."
I thought noble people didn't have snotty noses, but I didn't expect that when they make a scene, they're even more unsightly than us ordinary folks, ugh..."
On the northern moat, a group of women washing clothes were also chattering about the old princess, analyzing all her recent behavior.
In the eyes of the world, the old princess had completely lost her prestige, and many people even hoped that she would die soon.
Meanwhile, in the palace, the old princess was unaware of all this. She slowly woke up and was about to complain to the emperor, asking him to kill Cai Yueya and Ye Zhen.
Then Ye Zhen said, "Your Majesty, Shu Liu Niang has been impersonating my grandmother for many years. She bought Liu Shi and the two conspired to stage a life-saving act to place Liu Shi in the Marquis's mansion, intending to marry her to my father."
When her grandfather disagreed, Shu Liu Niang took advantage of the moment when Madam Lou was giving birth and suffocated her to death with a pillow.
He subsequently repeatedly harmed his elder brother and even conspired with the likes of Liu and Fu Jiang to seize the Marquis's title and property. I implore Your Majesty to punish him severely.
She concealed the fact that Emperor Renzhao had forced the old Marquis to marry Lady Shu, thus preserving the royal family's reputation, which pleased the emperor greatly.
Just as he was about to nod and ask Ye Zhen to present the evidence, he heard Ye Zhen say again, "Father is wise; he did not let them succeed."
The mother and son sensed that the Grand Princess harbored ambitions to become Empress, and were also wary of His Majesty, so they sought refuge with the Grand Princess.
The three colluded, using the guise of family reunion to persecute loyal officials, weaken His Majesty's power, and ultimately achieve the Grand Princess's goal of rebellion.
The emperor's lips twitched. What a silver tongue! But his eyes were encouraging. "You're good at talking. Talk more."
The Grand Princess was so angry that she was panting like a broken bellows, struggling to protest her innocence, but everyone pretended not to hear her.
After Ye Zhen finished speaking, he looked at Cai Yueya, his eyes conveying the message: It's your turn.
After beating the Grand Princess, Cai Yueya became bolder and thought that the Emperor and Empress were more benevolent than the county magistrate, so she knelt down on the ground.
"Your Majesty, that Lady Shu has also harmed this old woman..."
She rattled off a whole story about how Shu Liu Niang had harmed her, and then asked, "Your Majesty, this old woman doesn't have many days left to live. Before I die, can I ask my enemy face to face why she did this to me?"
She looked as if she would die with her eyes wide open if she didn't ask, but the burning flame in her eyes told the emperor that there was more to come.
The emperor granted his request.
Ultimately, the Marquis of Zhongyong is his man, and the actions of the Marquis's mansion will only benefit him.
So the old lady, who was half-cooked, was carried into the palace.
A foul stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the emperor used his sleeve to cover the empress's nose.
Chen Banjun hurriedly went to light incense.
Xie Tingzhou cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have been impolite. I hope you will forgive me. She caused this mess after being burned."
At that time, her younger siblings did not know that she was not their biological grandmother, but out of filial piety, they dared not disobey her.
But her younger siblings and Aunt Cui still diligently cared for her every day. However, she adopted the old princess's ways, enjoying making herself miserable in an attempt to draw criticism from outsiders.
The emperor pondered, "This is called disrespect for elders. When faced with such elders, the younger generation is helpless. It's not your fault."
The Emperor knew why Shu Liu Niang had become like this. This statement, seemingly referring to Shu Liu Niang, was actually a reference to the old princess.
The old princess's breathing became more labored. "Your Majesty, are you also going to force this old woman to her death...?"
The emperor didn't look at her; his gaze was fixed on Cai Yueya. There was no need to waste any more time with the Grand Princess; it would be better to start a play directly.
Cai Yueya truly hated Shu Liuniang, and immediately squatted down beside her, asking, "Shu Liuniang, do you still recognize me?"
Shu Liu Niang was carried in while still conscious, and she overheard Xie Tingzhou talking to the emperor, vaguely realizing that her identity had been exposed.
Looking at the face right in front of her, though it had aged considerably, she still recognized it at a glance.
Cai Yueya, how come this vixen is still alive?
She even came all the way to the capital. No wonder my identity was exposed; it was her.
But Shu Liu Niang didn't say anything, looking completely bewildered.
If she says she knows him, wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?
But Cai Yueya has already beaten the old princess, so what's one more Shu Liuniang?
He stomped hard on her hand, crushing it, "I told you not to harm me. You made me rely on Butcher Fu, and even offered to make me your concubine. Then you took revenge on me afterwards."
A silver hairpin was handed to her, and Ye Zhen said sincerely, "Grandma Cai, this will save you effort."
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