"Your Majesty, Kangle is innocent!"
Upon arriving before the emperor, Kang Le feigned composure and cried out her innocence, attempting to ascertain just how much the emperor knew about her.
But the emperor just watched her in silence.
Kang Le felt guilty and uncomfortable under the emperor's gaze, but at the same time she was certain that apart from the matter of Wu Family Village, the emperor should not know anything else about her.
The assassins who tried to kill Yin Jiuniang either didn't confess or were dealt with by the Grand Princess, so she turned to Han Zijin.
“My lord, believe me, the matter of Wu Family Village has nothing to do with me. I am deeply in love with you, but I never intended to harm anyone.”
It was all Fu Jiang's doing, trying to get a favor from me, and he acted on his own initiative. I really knew nothing about it.
"At this point, you're still putting on an act. Fu Jiang has already admitted that he harmed Wujiazhuang because of your orders."
"Kang Le, an entire village! Hundreds of lives lost! How wicked you are!"
Han Zijin's face was full of anger, and he was no longer as nonchalant as before. "You usually chant Buddhist prayers, pretending to be performing rituals for the people of Wujiazhuang and praying for my wife and children."
"Kang Le, it's a real shame you don't go into opera, but Heaven has eyes, and His Majesty is wise. He won't be fooled by you like I have been. It's time for you to get your retribution."
"Han Zijin, we are husband and wife, how can you curse me like this?"
The words carried a threat: if I am not good, how good can you, as the prince consort, be?
She wanted Han Zijin to drop the case.
Unexpectedly, Han Zijin pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and said, "You're acting right in front of His Majesty. Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will punish you for deceiving the emperor?"
Yesterday, you went to the Grand Princess's residence twice, once during the day and once at night. I don't know what important matter you were plotting during that time. You thought I was in your way, so when you came back, you wrote me a letter of divorce.
It's all in black and white, and it even bears your personal seal. Now that your evil deeds have been exposed, you're trying to drag me down with you.
Bah! You two-faced, beast-hearted vile woman, we have absolutely no connection now.
All these years you've pretended to be deeply in love with me while secretly keeping male lovers. Don't think I don't know!
Xie Tingzhou said that Kang Le's crimes were serious and that he should stay as far away from her as possible.
"You're talking nonsense! How could you slander me like this? I'm your wife! Who instigated you to do this to me?"
At this point, Kang Le finally realized what had happened.
This series of events, including Han Zijin's drunken revelation of the rumors about the Grand Princess, was all part of a conspiracy.
Han Zijin had already betrayed her. Although she was angry, she could also use this as an excuse to say that she had been used and framed.
There was only one witness to what happened back then, Fu Jiang. However, Fu Jiang outside the palace was covered in blood and flesh and was not human. It could be that he was tortured into confessing, or that he was instructed by someone to deliberately implicate her.
Therefore, her image as a deeply affectionate person for Han Zijin must not be allowed to collapse.
If the emperor had no other evidence, he would not punish a princess whose heart was filled only with love.
She wasn't without connections in the court over the years.
But then Han Zijin sneered, "The entire Wu family village has suffered a calamity. How can I still be worthy of enjoying wealth and honor in the capital?"
With my wife and children's fate unknown and their whereabouts unclear, what right do I have to be a father to others? So, I secretly gave myself a drug that would prevent me from having children.
"Kang Le, I was infertile when we married. Tell me, how did you conceive your two children?"
He then looked at the emperor and said, “Your Majesty, everything I have said is true. Kangle is not as honest as she appears.”
Her feigned affection for me is merely a disguise for her true nature. I am willing to have my pulse examined by the imperial physician.
Kang Le looked at him in disbelief.
Her nails dug deep into her palms. She thought she had disguised herself well, but little did she know that Han Zijin was the real expert.
He knew all along that his two children were not his, yet he was able to pretend that he knew nothing at all.
So what else did he learn while lurking by my side all these years? Did he hate me for a long time, which is why he sought revenge today?
Kang Le's hard-won composure crumbled again.
The imperial physician quickly arrived and took Han Zijin's pulse. "Your Majesty," he said, "judging from the pulse, it is clear that Consort Han is indeed incapable of bearing children."
"No, he must have taken the drug recently. I don't know who he's colluding with to kill me."
Kang Le knelt down, "Your Majesty, please believe me this once, for the sake of the Empress I saved back then."
Kang Le has been well-behaved all these years, only hoping to find him soon, to have children with him and live a lifetime together. How could she be involved with another man? It is a villain trying to harm Kang Le. Please, Your Majesty, save her life!
The imperial physician bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have practiced medicine for decades. I can tell whether Consort Han has recently lost his fertility or has been childless for more than ten years."
"Kang Le, what else do you have to say?"
The emperor, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke, “You saved the empress’s life, but you also plotted against me back then. I have spared your life and granted you the title of princess, which is already my way of repaying the empress’s kindness.”
"But Kang Le is truly innocent..."
"You're being wronged my ass."
Han Zijin, clutching his sore bottom, was too impatient to listen to her wailing. "I, Han Zijin, am not smart, but I'm not stupid either."
On our wedding night, you were clearly not a virgin, yet you pretended to fool me with a blood-stained handkerchief.
Do you know why I deliberately torment you every time we have sex? It's because I find being close to you disgusting, and I want you to give up.
"Over the years, I've become the world's number one ninja. I haven't exposed you out of mercy, but you've gotten so into the act. Believe me, I can reveal even more."
He now deeply regrets all those years of blind kindness, thinking that Kang Le had a hard time making a living under the emperor's nose. In the end, Kang Le was the real venomous snake.
Even with her thick skin, Kang Le couldn't help but blush when her shame was exposed in public, and she retaliated against Han Zijin.
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