"Your Majesty, please think carefully. Was Consort Shen a proper lady from a respectable family back then? Did she have any skills to please men and coax you into making her Empress?"
The emperor's temples throbbed with veins. He suddenly grabbed Empress Shen's hand and glared hatefully at Ye Qingxue.
"I don't believe a single word you say! The Empress is deeply in love with me; she couldn't possibly be from the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom!"
Empress Shen chuckled, "Miss Ye, you are not yet married and do not know the fun between men and women. Some things you will only know to change after you get married, have children, and experience the fun. The Emperor and I are deeply in love, so naturally I am willing to please the Emperor."
Ye Qingxue sneered: "Then how do you explain your current appearance? If the real Consort Shen were alive, she would be thirty-six years old now, while you are not even thirty!"
Empress Shen raised an eyebrow: "Are you praising my youthful appearance? I am favored by the Emperor and am also the Empress. I have no worries on a daily basis, so I naturally look younger."
"If you marry in the future and are loved by your husband, you can bloom like a delicate flower all year round. But if your husband does not love you, you will wither away early."
These words praised the emperor again.
Moreover, the emperor was very pleased with it.
Ye Qingxue sneered, her voice extremely grating to the ears of the Emperor and Empress, a clear challenge to imperial authority.
Empress Shen stopped laughing and her expression became serious.
"However, on the other hand, Miss Ye's story is quite dramatic and exciting, making people's hearts surge. She even has the cause and effect. If I were a listener, I would not be able to help but believe you."
"But everything requires evidence. Where is your evidence?"
Empress Shen looked at her with a smile, her eyes full of certainty, certain that Ye Qingxue could not produce any evidence.
The emperor said, "Since it's all fabricated, how can there be any evidence? Even if there is, it's forged. Just drag him away and execute him."
"Your Majesty, I have evidence!" Ye Qingxue said decisively, "Whether the current Empress is the Consort Shen of yesteryear or not, we can find out by having the Shen family come and testify."
Empress Shen covered her mouth and smiled gently: "Very well, Your Majesty, please send someone to the Shen family now to invite all my relatives to the palace."
Over the past decade or so, the Shen family has faced difficulties in producing offspring, resulting in a decline in talent. Since the death of the Shen family patriarch, only Shen Jiefeng has been considered outstanding, but he also died in the Bamboo Sea Stream.
Therefore, there are currently no descendants of the Shen family in the imperial court.
Now the palace gates are all guarded by her people, and even if the people of the palace go out to summon the Shen family, the Shen family cannot enter the palace.
Then all of Ye Qingxue's accusations would be fabrications.
No one stood behind her to provide her with strong support.
However, to be fair, Ye Qingxue is indeed a remarkable girl, knowing so much. It's a real pity that we can't use her for our own purposes.
But to see such a capable girl like Ye Qingxue walk step by step down a dead end...
It was like a pure white dove falling into mud; like crystal glass shattering under a blade; like the strongest liquor being poured into the dirtiest blood.
...It's so exhilarating, it sends shivers down your spine.
Unexpectedly, Ye Qingxue said, "There's no need to go through the trouble of asking the Shen family for help. I have already instructed my maid Qiu Shen to tell them the truth about Consort Shen. They have already entered the palace to find out the truth and have been waiting for the Empress Dowager's summons."
Just then, a palace maid's voice came from outside the door: "The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
The emperor frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over Ye Qingxue, his sword-like brows concealing a burning rage.
But the Empress Dowager had already entered, followed by the Shen family and Qiu Shen.
Nowadays, the Shen family is mostly composed of women. Even the men there are quite frail, with only two or three mixed in with the women.
It is said that the Shen family has lost its talent, and now it seems that this is indeed true.
Although there were many women, they could not enter the court to serve as officials, and thus could not bring prosperity to the family. Therefore, many people felt sorry for the Shen family.
Everyone knelt down to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
While the Empress Dowager was in Shou Kang Palace, she already knew the whole story. Whether it was the Empress's identity or the matter of Prince Ding's bloodline, she could not afford to be careless in the slightest.
After telling everyone to rise, she sat down on the couch.
His gaze swept over everyone, then he said, "Since Ye Qingxue accuses the Empress of not being a member of the Shen family, and Prince Ding of not being of the bloodline of our Great Zhou—"
Her gaze was fixed on Ye Qingxue.
"Then tell me, Ye Qingxue, how can we prove that what you say is true? I have already brought you the Shen family testimonies you requested."
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