As soon as Yun An arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she sensed the heavy atmosphere. Her heart tightened, and she pinched her palm to force herself to remain calm before bowing her head and entering the hall.
As she passed by the middle-aged woman kneeling in the center of the hall, she glanced at her unintentionally and her pupils trembled in astonishment!
How could it be her?!
As Madam Zheng was wiping away tears, she heard the commotion and looked up. A flash of hatred immediately appeared in her eyes, and she instinctively lunged forward.
The eunuch swiftly grabbed her and pinned her down, shouting sternly, "How dare you be so disrespectful before His Majesty!"
Madam Zheng knelt back down, filled with resentment. Her turbid, triangular eyes were fixed on Yun An, her gaze sinister and terrifying. Yun An was terrified by her gaze and instinctively avoided her eyes.
Meeting Emperor Chongde's scrutinizing gaze, Yun An barely regained his composure, knelt respectfully to pay his respects, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Your subject... greets Your Majesty."
She pursed her dry lips, and feigned confusion with a forced smile, "I wonder why Father has summoned me to the palace?"
Surrounding her were several high-ranking officials, including the Censor, the Minister of Justice, and the Prefect of the Capital. The sight of this joint trial made her eyelids twitch and her back was already soaked with cold sweat.
Emperor Chongde's cold gaze swept over her, and Yun An forced herself not to reveal anything. He then looked at the kneeling old woman and said, "Zheng Wangshi, you speak."
Madam Zheng immediately wiped her eyes, her voice filled with resentment: "Your Majesty, it was her! She killed my entire family of three! My husband, son, and grandson all died in the fire! If it weren't for my daughter-in-law and I escaping by sheer luck, we would probably be..."
"Stop spouting nonsense!" Yun An suddenly interrupted her, her sharp words masking her guilty conscience. "This princess is of noble status, how dare you slander me like this! Tell me, why would this princess want to harm your whole family for no reason?"
Lady Zheng gritted her teeth, feeling somewhat uneasy. As a cowardly commoner, she wouldn't have dared to demand an explanation from the royal family.
But her husband, son and grandson all died innocently, so her lineage was cut off. As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. Since that's the case, she might as well take a gamble!
That person said that the bigger the commotion, the better. Even if it was due to the boiling public resentment, the royal family would definitely have to give her an explanation and wouldn't dare to touch her easily!
In addition, she truly hated Yun An, hated her for being so ruthless that she wanted to wipe out her entire family!
She raised her son and grandson with great difficulty, but before she could see her beloved grandson get married and have children, this heartless princess burned him alive!
If it were her daughter-in-law who died, she wouldn't be so heartbroken, but her grandson was the only son in the family, and he was supposed to take care of her in her old age and see her off when she died!
"Your Majesty, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I would never dare to falsely accuse the princess! If I hadn't truly been driven to desperation, how could I have dared to file a complaint with the authorities?"
Seeing her crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, behaving like a petty commoner throwing a tantrum, Emperor Chongde frowned. He wanted to reprimand her, but with several ministers present, he hesitated to speak up.
Eunuch Fu understood immediately, stepped forward, and waved his whisk: "Madam Zheng, if you are truly wronged, His Majesty will surely redress your grievances! Tell me the truth, what makes you suspect that the princess harmed your entire family?"
He straightened his expression and said in a cold tone, "If you tell even half a lie, you'll lose your head!"
Zheng Wangshi lowered her head, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes, which was quickly filled with hatred. She raised her head and looked at Yun An, gritting her teeth and said, "That day, the princess got lost in the forest, and I kindly rescued her. Not two days later, my house was flooded. The princess must have wanted to kill me to silence me!"
"Murder to silence witnesses?" A thoughtful look flashed in Emperor Chongde's eyes. "If it's murder to silence witnesses, then you must have known some secrets you shouldn't have known."
Yun An's eyes changed slightly, and he bit his lip, bursting into tears: "Father, I think this woman only became greedy because she accidentally learned my identity. She saved me that day, and I kindly gave her a bag of gold leaves. They have never seen so much money in their lives. Maybe she was just greedy and deliberately tried to take advantage of me!"
Madam Zheng stared wide-eyed in disbelief and blurted out, "You're talking nonsense!"
Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, a palace attendant suddenly announced from outside the hall:
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
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