Upon hearing the Emperor's words, the Empress was stunned, as if struck by lightning.
She had no idea that the Emperor would suddenly issue such an edict, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.
After a while, the Empress came to her senses. Her face turned deathly pale, her lips trembled slightly, and she shook her head, trying to refuse: "No..."
Before the Empress could finish speaking, she was gently tugged by the head maid standing beside her.
This pull made the Queen immediately realize her loss of composure. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.
But her hands unconsciously twisted the handkerchief in her hand into a rope shape, revealing that she was extremely nervous.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The imperial physicians dared not delay and hurriedly stepped forward to take the pulses of the palace maids in the Empress's palace in turn.
At the signal of a young eunuch in the empress's palace, the imperial guards pounced on the room like hungry tigers, quickly searching the surroundings. Their movements were swift and decisive, leaving no corner unchecked for any possible hiding place.
Finally, in a corner of the washroom, they found two trembling palace maids. The imperial guards dragged them out of the corner without any mercy.
"There are two more here!" the guards shouted, then threw the two palace maids onto the floor of the hall like sacks.
The two palace maids were terrified, their bodies involuntarily curling into a ball, trembling uncontrollably; they were so frightened that they had lost their souls.
The atmosphere in the hall immediately became tense, and everyone's eyes were focused on the two palace maids. At this moment, two imperial physicians stepped forward, their faces solemn, and carefully took the pulses of the palace maids.
The hall was deathly silent, save for the gasps of the palace maids and the steady breathing of the imperial physicians. Suddenly, one of the physicians sat bolt upright, exclaiming in astonishment, "Your Majesty, this palace maid is pregnant! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
His voice echoed through the silent hall like a thunderclap, shocking everyone. Immediately afterward, another imperial physician exclaimed joyfully, "This one too! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
The imperial physicians were completely unaware of the truth behind the affair; they all mistakenly believed that the two palace maids had gained the emperor's favor and were pregnant with his child.
This was undoubtedly a great thing, after all, the Emperor only had one princess and no sons yet. Everyone looked at the two palace maids with envy, as if they could see their bright future as noble ladies.
Unexpectedly, the emperor's face was full of anger. He suddenly shouted, "Guards, drag these two vile women away and interrogate them severely!" This sudden turn of events shocked everyone.
When the truth was revealed, the Empress lost her last shred of reason and became extremely anxious.
Ignoring the head maid's forceful obstruction and disregarding her status and demeanor, she knelt down with a thud and pleaded bitterly, "Your Majesty, please have mercy and spare them! For the sake of our Duke's Mansion's previous efforts in supporting your ascension to the throne, please spare this bloodline of the Duke's Mansion!"
Everyone present was startled when they saw the Empress suddenly kneel down and heard her say these words. Then, recalling the Emperor's question earlier, they immediately understood.
From the Empress's words, everyone learned that her own brother, Prince Hu, had unfortunately passed away a few days ago, and the unborn children in the wombs of these two palace maids were her brother's offspring.
The Duke of Enguo actually dared to use his own grandson to impersonate the emperor's son!
This astonishing discovery left everyone present speechless. They stared in disbelief at the three women kneeling in the hall, as if witnessing a colossal conspiracy unfolding.
People's faces showed horror, and shock surged into their hearts like a tidal wave. "The Empress and the Duke's Mansion are so fearless?"
They never imagined that the Duke of Enguo would be so audacious as to plot such a thing so brazenly. This was a crime of deceiving the emperor! Once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Just as everyone was in astonishment, the emperor suddenly stood up, his face terribly gloomy, his eyes flashing with anger.
Without hesitation, he drew his sword from the waist of one of his guards and walked step by step toward Empress Hu. Each step he took seemed so heavy, as if the entire hall trembled with his rage.
The Emperor walked up to Empress Hu and stopped. He stared coldly at her, the chill in his eyes sending shivers down one's spine.
His voice was deep and cold, as if it came from hell: "Your Duke Enguo's family has been kind to me, and I have always been grateful for your kindness. I have made you my empress and allowed your father to take control of the military power of the country."
"Your Duke's Mansion has repaid kindness with enmity, attempting to seize my throne and take away the Zhao family's empire through despicable means of substitution! You, as my Empress, have your heart set on the Hu family and betrayed me. How can you still have the face to live in this world?"
After saying this, the emperor suddenly raised the sword in his hand and thrust it into Empress Hu's chest without hesitation.
The sword strike was as swift as lightning, carrying boundless hatred and ruthlessness. Empress Hu didn't even have time to utter a scream before the sword pierced her body, instantly staining her clothes with blood.
"Outrageous! How dare you scheme against me! You're asking for trouble!" the emperor roared in fury, and with a sudden jerk, he pulled out his longsword.
Empress Hu's body seemed to have all its strength drained away, and she fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the cold ground.
Her eyes were wide open, incredulous at the Emperor's actions. Soon, her life force vanished completely, her eyes still open.
This sudden scene left everyone present speechless with astonishment.
They never expected that the conflict between the Emperor and Empress would suddenly escalate to such an uncontrollable point, with the Emperor raising his sword without hesitation and killing the Empress on the spot.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to deal with this unexpected situation.
The Emperor killed the Empress, this is a huge matter, how should we handle the aftermath?
This question lingered in everyone's mind, yet no one dared to speak up easily.
In the suffocating silence, the Imperial Guard General suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He strode forward, snatched the blood-stained sword from the Emperor's hand, and shouted, "The Empress's false pregnancy has been exposed. Knowing she could not escape punishment, she attempted to assassinate the Emperor. Fortunately, I discovered it in time and killed her to prevent future troubles!"
Before he finished speaking, everyone present seemed to wake from a dream and echoed, "That's right, I saw it with my own eyes!"
"This servant also saw it! The Empress attempted to murder the Emperor, but the Imperial Guard General killed her while protecting him!" the chief eunuch shouted, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as he swept them over all the palace servants in the hall.
The other palace servants all knelt down and echoed the steward's words in an attempt to save their lives.
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