For a moment, Empress Shen lowered her eyes slightly, not letting anyone see the true emotions in them.
In that brief moment, she realized a possibility: Ye Qingxue not only knew about the painting, but was also able to bring the little girl from the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom, which meant that Ye Qingxue had much more evidence than she had imagined.
Empress Shen flicked her sleeve with her fingertip.
She slowly raised her eyes to look at Ye Qingxue opposite her.
Even if Ye Qingxue has more evidence and has found relevant witnesses, so what? Before she entered the Zichen Palace, she had already ordered all nine palace gates to be sealed off, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.
No matter how compelling the evidence or witnesses Ye Qingxue had, she couldn't get them into the palace.
A cold, mocking smile appeared on Empress Shen's lips.
At this moment, everyone was looking at Ye Qingxue.
It must be said that Empress Shen's rebuttal made a lot of sense. How could she, who lived in the palace for so long, possibly have given birth to a twelve-year-old girl outside the palace?
Moreover, Empress Shen has been favored by the emperor for many years. If she were really pregnant, even if she deliberately concealed it, would the emperor, who often slept with her, not notice at all?
There's a big difference between simple obesity and a protruding abdomen, isn't there? They've never even seen Empress Shen fat!
Furthermore, there were palace servants specifically responsible for recording the dates when the concubines in the harem would menstruate, so it was impossible to deceive them!
After a long silence, the Emperor finally roared, "Ye Qingxue, you have gone too far! The Empress has ordered you to plead guilty, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to have you dragged out again? Or do you want me to execute your entire family? Do you think I wouldn't dare—"
Facing the emperor's wrath, Ye Qingxue stepped forward.
There was no trace of panic on her face, nor was she suppressed by Empress Shen's rebuttal or the Emperor's threat.
She spoke calmly, her voice like a cold blade, piercing straight at Empress Shen: "What if you entered the palace after giving birth to this girl? What if you are not the real Shen family's legitimate daughter, Shen Hongxiu?"
What?
What?!
How is that possible!
Everyone looked at each other, their minds completely blank!
This statement is even more terrifying than ten bolts of lightning striking the Zichen Palace!
If this were true, it would be enough to drive all the historians of the Great Zhou Dynasty mad.
Empress Shen's hand, hidden in her sleeve, suddenly clenched. Sure enough, Ye Qingxue knew more than she had imagined.
However, before she could speak, the emperor's eyes blazed with fury: "Ye Qingxue, what nonsense are you spouting! I have shared a bed with the empress for twenty-one years, and you dare to say that the empress is not my empress?!"
"You probably don't know what it's like to be torn apart by five horses or sliced into a thousand pieces. Today I'll let you taste it! Guards—"
Ye Qingxue suddenly spoke, her voice sharp and cold: "Your Majesty heard about my grandmother's deeds just a few nights ago. In a small marquis's mansion, a concubine's daughter dared to impersonate the legitimate daughter and even murder her."
"With such a beautiful land and such alluring imperial power, why wouldn't someone kill the real Shen Hongxiu and take her place?"
Ye Qingxue's chest heaved violently.
"Empress Shen entered the palace at the age of fifteen and gave birth to the second prince at the age of seventeen. However, shortly after the birth of the second prince, all the midwives disappeared, and the palace maids who served him that night also died suddenly."
Why did this happen?
"Because the Second Prince was killed on the night of his birth, the person who replaced him and survived is now Prince Ding, Yun Chi!"
"At that time, Consort Shen was promoted to Consort Shen because she gave birth to a prince. However, she had a difficult childbirth and was extremely weak after giving birth. She had no idea that her child had been replaced."
"She personally raised Prince Ding to the age of seven and poured all her love into him. Because of this, no one ever doubted Prince Ding's background."
"When Prince Ding was seven years old, she was sick for a full six months—but did the Emperor know that she, who was already Consort Shen at the time, was not sick, but was secretly executed?"
"The one who survived in place of Consort Shen was Empress Shen, who was by the Emperor's side! She spent half a year thoroughly understanding and learning all of Consort Shen's behaviors and habits!"
Ye Qingxue pointed at Empress Shen.
"The Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom has long coveted my Great Zhou. She is a beauty that the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom searched for from all over the world. Originally, she was sent to Great Zhou to bewitch the Emperor, but they accidentally discovered that she looked exactly like Consort Shen. So the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom came up with this plan!"
"Let her replace the original Consort Shen, raise Prince Ding, ascend to the throne of Empress, help Prince Ding ascend to the position of Crown Prince, and then seize the opportunity to eliminate the Emperor, so that Prince Ding can rule the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
"Once things are done, the entire Great Zhou will be the territory of the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom!"
"The previous Consort Shen had given birth to a child. In order to make it look real and to have enough hostages, the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom also allowed this Empress to give birth to a child and leave him in the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom as a hostage!"
"Your Majesty, Empress Shen and Prince Yunchi before you are both from the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom!"
“Prince Ding was never of the bloodline of the Great Zhou, and Empress Shen was never the Consort Shen of the past! Your true consorts and bloodline were all killed by them twelve years ago!”
After speaking at length, Ye Qingxue had exhausted herself and couldn't help but gasp for breath a few times.
Dongbai immediately gave her a sip of the sweet water he carried with him.
The main hall was completely silent.
Pan Yuanzhou and the others were completely dumbfounded.
As for the emperor, his face alternated between pale and flushed.
It was unclear whether he was enraged by Empress Shen and Yun Chi's background, or by Ye Qingxue's words.
Surprisingly, no one tried to stop Ye Qingxue from drinking water.
After drinking the water, Ye Qingxue's parched throat felt much better. She took a breath and continued:
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