142. Re-mention

The situation in the palace changed in an instant. Rong Se was still sitting on the high seat. The guards who were waiting to surround and kill the Prince Regent did not dare to move rashly. However, Rong Se's words clearly showed that he was unwilling to let the matter go. Cao Lun looked unhappy. After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice, "Whether the late emperor was poisoned or not needs to be investigated further. But in front of the Xuanzheng Palace, what is the difference between the prince's behavior and raising an army to rebel? Could it be that the prince wants to collude with the Prince of Ning to kill the king?"

"Lord Cao, provocation will not work on me. If I really want to kill the king and usurp the throne, I will not waste my words on you."

Rong Se's words could be considered arrogant, but no one doubted them.

The shining sword is there. If the Regent Prince really wanted to rebel and force the emperor to abdicate, the Xuanzheng Palace would have been covered in blood by now.

Cao Lun breathed a sigh of relief, and said sternly, "In that case, there is no need for a fight in front of the Xuanzheng Hall. It would be better to let them all withdraw for the time being."

"There's no rush for this." Rong Se knew that Cao Lun wanted to give in and take a step back, but he had no intention of backing off today.

Cao Lun's expression changed slightly, "Then what does the prince want to do?"

"Of course I have to clear my name." Rong Se looked at him, his eyes indifferently sweeping over the ministers, and he was honest and frank. "Since I took power, rumors have been everywhere inside and outside the court. I am not unaware of these rumors, but I thought that those who are innocent are innocent and have nothing to fear. Who would have thought that a single word can melt gold, and three people can make a tiger! Li Yushi actually gathered these three people to slander me. If I don't resolve it today, I don't know how much dirty water will be thrown at me in the future!"

The three witnesses who had spoken so convincingly before were all dumbfounded.

Especially Yan Shuning, he has been having a bad time these days. He was so proud when he came to the capital, thinking that he would rise to a high position in the future. He thought that he would be able to soar to the sky after today, but who would have thought that the Regent would turn the situation around in a blink of an eye!

For now, let alone becoming successful, I don’t even know if I can save my life!

Since he had already offended the Regent Prince, and considering the previous grudges, Yan Shuning gritted his teeth and said coldly: "Your Highness, you say you are innocent, but that is just empty talk!"

"Who said that I have no basis for my words?" Rong Se glanced at Cao Lun meaningfully.

Cao Lun was frightened by this look. He underestimated Rong Se and never thought that Prince Ning would help him. Due to a momentary misstep, the situation had become so out of control!

"Your performance is over, it's my turn now." Rong Se said loudly, "Come, bring Queen Mother Cao up."

Cao Lun's expression changed drastically. "What are you going to do?"

"It's New Year's Day, please ask Queen Dowager Cao to return to the capital to reunite with Lord Cao." Rong Se smiled amiably, but his eyes were filled with coldness, and he said slowly: "By the way, in front of all the adults, clear my name."

Soon, Empress Dowager Cao was brought to the front of Xuanzheng Hall. Although she was wearing a luxurious golden robe and phoenix shirt, her hair was tall and exquisite, her hair crown was like a flying phoenix, and her swaying hair was inlaid with pearls and jade pendants, but her whole body was emaciated, and the gold and jade made her look like dry tree bark. Her eyes were dull and like boiling water, and her dry and cracked pale lips opened and closed, and she muttered to herself, but no one knew what she was saying.

Cao Lun could hardly believe that this was his decisive and shrewd sister and stood there in a daze.

Rong Jing suddenly sat up from the dragon chair, surprised that his mother was still alive, and even more unbelievable that she was dying. He was shocked and said, "...Mother, Queen Mother?" He glared at Rong Se angrily, but he didn't realize that his eyes were more filled with fear. He asked, "Didn't you say that Queen Mother was reciting scriptures for Father in the Imperial Mausoleum? Why did she become like this?!"

"The Queen Mother has naturally been in the Imperial Mausoleum." Rong Se smiled slightly and said indifferently, "Perhaps she has done too many things that hurt her, and she is afraid that the Buddha will not forgive her."

"Nonsense!" Cao Lun came back to his senses as if waking from a dream, quickly walked to Cao Yumin, and said with gritted teeth: "What's going on? What's going on?!"

Rong Se wanted to laugh and actually laughed out loud.

The laughter was particularly abrupt in the quiet hall, and the ministers were silent. The Regent Prince held his forehead, as if he had laughed enough, and then he raised his eyes indifferently and said softly: "I thought Your Majesty was born vicious and selfish, and Lord Cao only cared about power. I never thought that you two would actually care about someone. It was really unexpected. But today, Queen Mother Cao is my witness, let's hear what she says."

Cao Lun was furious. "The Queen Mother has become like this, what else can I say? My Lord, please stop bullying me!"

"Too much bullying?!" Rong Se repeated these four words in shock, his eyes suddenly heavy with coldness, "Who is really too much bullying? The dirt on my body and the good deeds you have done, let's make it clear today! Cao Yumin, your son can't be the emperor anymore."

Empress Dowager Cao seemed to be stimulated by these words. She suddenly became excited and shouted in a hoarse and sharp voice: "No! No, no, my son is the emperor! My son must be the emperor! I have already killed that old guy. He is dead. Yes, his other sons are also dead. My son, the old emperor is dead, and my son is the emperor!"

She bent down like a madman, yelling at the top of her lungs, her features grim, "I am the Queen Mother, I am the Queen Mother! My Cao family, the Cao family will prosper forever!"

When these words came out, all the ministers were shocked.

This is completely different from the testimonies of those few people. The Queen Mother herself admitted that she killed the late emperor in order to allow her son to succeed to the throne!

Even Lu Shangqian and Yu Qingzhou were stunned for a moment. They looked at each other in surprise.

Fights for the throne have been common since ancient times, and few emperors could die peacefully. They originally thought that the death of the previous emperor was indeed caused by the regent, but they didn't expect that it was not him.

Rong Jing fell back onto the dragon chair, the blood draining from his face.

Cao Lun was even more shocked and reached out to cover Empress Dowager Cao's mouth.

"Stop him." Rong Se ordered coldly, "Let Queen Dowager Cao continue speaking!"

Lan Ying immediately stepped forward and forced Cao Lun to kneel on the ground, sneering: "Behave yourself, you've already done it, and you still dare to splash dirty water on our master, why are you so anxious now?"

Rong Se glanced at Cao Lun and continued calmly, "Rong Xu is not dead. He wants to depose the crown prince and pass the throne to the Ninth Prince."

The Empress Dowager Cao screamed crazily and retorted, "No! How can the son of that whore be worthy! He doesn't deserve it... He doesn't deserve it. Yes, the throne belongs to my son. No... No, you're dead. Rong Xu, Rong Xu died a long time ago!" She was unconscious and strangely calm. Her tone was drawn out, as if she was reminiscing. She laughed foolishly and said, "Dead, he's dead, hahahaha, I'm the Empress Dowager. Zhao An, Zhao An succeeded, and Zhao An is also dead. They are all dead. Hahahaha, I'm the Empress Dowager! My son is the Emperor!"

Rong Se curled his lips imperceptibly.

No one can stay in a dark and quiet environment for a long time, but he locked Cao Yumin up for nearly half a year, not allowing her to see the light or talk to anyone. Until recently, he ordered people to keep repeating the words he just said in Cao Yumin's ear. Cao Yumin had already lost her mind, and being endlessly hinted at, she became what she is now. After her will was destroyed, she still couldn't forget her ambition. In her unconscious state, she seemed to be hypnotized, and according to the instructions given by Rong Se, she said the things she had done.

Including regicide.

In her opinion, Rong Xu died in her hands, and when he had a mental breakdown, it was easy for Rong Se to trick him into revealing anything.

It's ridiculous that she is still dreaming of becoming the empress dowager, not knowing that all the civil and military officials in the court had heard the truth about her regicide.

"You should all understand why the late emperor died." Rong Se's fingertips gently stroked the unicorn head on the armrest, looking relaxed, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "It is true that Empress Dowager Cao killed the emperor. I also wanted to kill my good brother, but unfortunately I was a step late and Empress Dowager Cao got there first."

He spoke out such treasonous words so openly that the ministers really didn't know how to respond. They just looked at each other and no one dared to say a word.

Rong Jing suddenly panicked and said, "No, that's not right. This must not have been done by the mother. She has become such a madman now. I don't know if what she said is true or not. How can I believe it?"

"Only crazy people can tell the truth." Rong Se snorted a sarcastic laugh, "She said it very clearly, and all the officials in the court heard it clearly, but this matter is not over yet. This prince and this prince's biological mother have been cursed for many years. They say that it concerns the face of the royal family and cannot be mentioned too much, but this prince still wants to mention it today. Queen Mother Cao - Concubine Yan is not dead yet, do you still remember Concubine Yan?"

When Empress Dowager Cao heard the three words "Concubine Yan", she raised her head suddenly, revealing a ferocious look again, and shrieked: "Yan Shuang? That bitch, that bitch... She is dead too, yes, I killed her, she couldn't die so easily, she was still begging for mercy, she said she was forced, and begged me to let her out of the palace, haha... out of the palace..."

She seemed to have returned to the day when she tortured and murdered Yan Shuang. She was still the high and mighty empress. That beautiful and weak woman cried bitterly and was then hung up. Her legs kicked and her face was horrible. Every time she was about to die, she would be let down and hung up again. She was tortured like this until she died, even her nails were broken and a drop of blood fell to the ground.

She spoke incoherently and unsteadily about how she had tortured and killed Yan Shuang, laughing as she spoke. Her smile was cunning and complacent, and even contained a hint of joy and happiness.

"When she died, her son was kneeling beside her, watching her all the time."

All the ministers were truly silent this time. The old ministers knew something about that old incident, including Lu Shangqian. They all thought that Concubine Yan felt ashamed to face people and committed suicide in the palace, but they did not expect that she died in such a miserable way. Even the young Ninth Prince witnessed his mother's tragic death with his own eyes.

"Concubine Yan, my biological mother."

When mentioning this concubine, Rong Se's expression would always soften a little. He felt sorry for her experience, admired her motherhood, and felt sad for her untimely fate.

Rong Se slowly closed her eyes and said softly, "She didn't seduce me on purpose. It was my brother, my half brother, who threatened her with my life and forced her to sleep with me. It's ridiculous that Empress Dowager Cao, as a woman, blamed my mother for the evil deeds done by her husband."

"The world spit on her and hate her, but you gentlemen, can you tell me now, what is wrong with Concubine Yan? Born in a dusty family, and endured humiliation for her son, which one is her fault?"