Empress Shen panicked for a moment, then suddenly sat up, grabbed the emperor's robe, and the wide sleeves slipped down, revealing her fair and slender wrists.
The emperor stopped speaking abruptly when he saw the scar on her wrist.
Empress Shen did not beg for mercy or bow her head. She said, "Your Majesty, I am already content to have served you for so many years. From now on, I will no longer be able to serve you. I hope you will take good care of your health. I bid you farewell."
As the emperor listened to her words, he recalled how she got the scar on her wrist.
That was a scar left from when he took the Queen hunting and was attacked by prey, and the Queen risked her life to save him.
The wound was so deep that the bone was visible, and the blood kept flowing, but she only cared about his safety and didn't care at all about the scar on her wrist.
At this moment, the emperor could still recall how Empress Shen, after confirming that he was alright, fainted weakly in his arms with relief.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" The ministers of the Prince Ding's faction finally reacted after the emperor's brief silence.
"The Empress is the mother of the nation; deposing her would shake the very foundation of the state and cause unrest among the people!" the ministers cried out urgently.
"Moreover, this evidence may not be true. It is very possible that Her Majesty the Empress has been framed! We do not believe that Her Majesty the Empress could do such a treacherous and ruthless thing!"
He added, "Furthermore, with no crown prince yet established, if the empress is deposed, it will cause turmoil in the harem, and the Eastern Palace will also be unstable. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"
The emperor stood on the high platform, looking down at the large group of ministers kneeling below, pleading for the empress, then at the empress kneeling before him but refusing to admit her guilt, and at Prince Ding, Yun Chi, prostrate on the ground.
Empress Shen said, "Your Majesty, it's alright. I am willing to exchange my position for my innocence—I have never conspired with the Sixth Prince to murder the Crown Prince!"
Although she was kneeling, her back was straight, as if nothing and no one could make her bow down!
However, she was inwardly apprehensive. She absolutely could not lose her position as empress, as it would be very detrimental to her future endeavors.
Why hasn't Wanxin created any new chaos to divert the emperor's attention yet?
All the people from the Prince Yu's mansion are in prison. Wouldn't it have been easy to just burn them down in the past?
Then we'll just say it was done by the remnants of the Sixth Prince's faction!
With Wanxin's intelligence, she shouldn't have failed to think of such an easy solution; she could simply continue to stall for time and wait.
"Your Majesty, Miss Wanxin has been brought here." Eunuch Huaifu's voice suddenly rang out, like a thunderclap, striking Empress Shen's ears.
Empress Shen's heart trembled violently. Wanxin hadn't been able to leave; she had actually been brought here by the Emperor's men.
Has the emperor begun to suspect her?
Empress Shen resisted the urge to go see Wanxin.
After the guards escorted Wanxin into the palace, they immediately forced her to kneel on the ground, and both the guards and Wanxin bowed to the emperor.
The emperor slightly raised his chin towards Huaifu, who then brought the two pieces of evidence used to identify Empress Shen to Wanxin.
"You are the Empress's head maid, so you should be able to recognize her handwriting. Is this letter from the Empress herself?"
When Wanxin's gaze fell upon the letter, she trembled violently and instinctively looked at Empress Shen, but Empress Shen did not turn to look at her.
Everyone noticed Wanxin's unusual reaction.
The hearts of the Prince Ding's supporters sank. Could this letter truly have come from Empress Shen? Had she used the Sixth Prince to help Prince Ding ascend to the position of Crown Prince?
Of course, what was terrifying to them was not that Empress Shen did this, but that the emperor found out after she did it!
This is extremely disadvantageous for Prince Ding, and also very disadvantageous for them!
The emperor said in a deep voice, "If you do not confess the truth, you will be sent to the Imperial City Guard."
The Imperial City Guard was a place for interrogating suspects; once someone was sent there, it was very difficult for them to come out unscathed.
Huaifu: "Wanxin, you'd better think carefully about how to answer! Otherwise, you won't be able to save your mistress, let alone yourself!"
He pushed the blood-written letter hidden in the Sixth Prince's wife's hair towards Wanxin: "The Sixth Prince's wife wrote the blood-written letter before she died and hid it in her hair. Even if Miss Wanxin wants to protect the Empress, it won't make much difference!"
Wanxin's face was pale.
Everyone watched her with bated breath.
Wanxin also looked at the faces of everyone in the Zichen Palace, especially Yun Zhuo.
...It seems the deposed crown prince has returned alive. His empress must pay a price, or he will not stop!
Wanxin gave Yun Zhuo a provocative look, then looked away, suddenly smiled bitterly, and said to him, "Since His Majesty has already determined that my lady has committed a serious crime, why bother asking this servant again?"
Everyone gasped in shock. So all this evidence is real?
A raging fire surged in the emperor's eyes. He suddenly grabbed Empress Chen's collar, lifting her almost halfway up her body: "Empress, your personal maid has already confessed. What do you have to say now?"
"Your Majesty!" Wanxin suddenly shouted, "These things did indeed come from Fengwu Palace! This phoenix-patterned jade pendant did indeed belong to the Empress! But the person who has been in contact with the Sixth Prince is not Her Majesty the Empress!"
"What did you say!" The emperor's deep eyes turned to Wanxin.
"The one who truly contacted the Sixth Prince was this servant! This servant stole the Empress's phoenix-patterned jade pendant and imitated the Empress's handwriting to write a letter to the Sixth Prince, pretending to support the Sixth Prince's plot to seize the position of Crown Prince in the name of the Empress! Shen Jiefeng was also this servant who falsely conveyed the Empress's imperial decree and was at the Sixth Prince's beck and call at any time!"
Empress Shen looked utterly astonished: "Wanxin, do you know what you're saying? Do you know... you've committed a capital offense! Tell me, this isn't true!"
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