The sound of guards drawing their longswords drowned out the urgent shout from afar.
Cui Cairen's eyes were filled with murderous intent. Now Ye Qingxue would finally have to pay for her son's life, right?
Yan Shizheng and Lü An, among others: Is Ye Qingxue finally going to die? Is Prince Jing's faction finally completely finished?
They didn't believe that Ye Qingxue would dare to resist after the emperor gave the order.
Even if she called out "Father Emperor," it was no use!
Cui Shao closed his eyes.
Even though he wanted to protect Ye Qingxue, he couldn't find strong evidence to prove that Yun Zhuo hadn't escaped from prison. A mere jade buckle was of no use to the Emperor.
Dong Bai was furious. Seeing so many swords about to be used against Ye Qingxue, she could no longer bear it and rushed over to knock the guards away.
The emperor's eyes widened suddenly, a deep-seated ferocity in them. Someone actually dared to save the person he had ordered to be killed?
Yan Shizheng immediately ordered: "How dare they defy the imperial decree! Seize this person and execute him on the spot, along with Princess Jing!"
More guards gathered around.
But at this critical moment, a clear and urgent voice came from the outer edge of the crowd: "Father, your son is here!!"
A resounding statement!
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then looked in the direction of the sound.
I saw the clouds.
His clothes were burned in many places, and his face was covered in soot, making him look very disheveled. However, his eyes were clear, and he walked over step by step, stood next to Ye Qingxue, and knelt before the emperor.
"Father, I am here! I did not escape from prison!"
Yan Shizheng's temples throbbed with veins. Wasn't it said that Yun Zhuo had been burned to death and his body had been taken away?
Who is the person alive in front of me?
"Did His Highness Prince Jing originally intend to escape from prison, but then he discovered that Princess Jing was to be executed, so he rushed back?" Yan Shizheng asked angrily after realizing what had happened.
Yun Zhuo ignored him.
Instead, he took out a small package from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and said, "Father, when the fire broke out, I was in prison. I was a dying man and did not want to escape."
"However, I have this item on me. In order to protect it, I have no choice but to temporarily escape from the prison and protect it from being damaged."
The emperor looked at Huaifu, who immediately stepped forward, took the small package from Yunzhuo's hand, and carefully peeled off the red cloth after returning to the emperor's side.
Beneath the red cloth was a wooden carving.
It depicts a young woman.
Upon seeing this, the emperor's pupils contracted sharply.
This is a wooden carving of the late empress.
He was young then and truly doted on the late Empress. This wood carving was a gift he personally carved for her.
However, the late empress has been gone for too long, and he has too many women around him. Even now, when he thinks of the late empress, he can only recall the feelings from his youth, and it can no longer evoke his love.
...Perhaps there was a little bit of affection, but thinking about what he had done, and how Yun Zhuo and Ye Qingxue had ruined his plans, the emperor suppressed that little bit of feeling for the late empress.
He had feelings for the late empress and fatherly love for Yun Zhuo, but none of those were as important as himself.
Yun Zhuo said, "Your subject knows that his sins are grave and is willing to die. Therefore, I carry the wooden sculpture of the Empress Dowager with me. Whenever I feel remorse, I repent in front of the wooden sculpture of the Empress Dowager."
Actually, Ye Qingxue reminded Zhuang Xin to bring the wood carving to him temporarily.
"When the fire broke out, I wished I could die, but I could not let my mother's wooden carving be burned. I could only desperately escape from the prison. Please forgive me, Father."
Yan Shizheng and Lü An: "!!!"
Sophistry! Yun Zhuo is definitely making excuses!
Ye Qingxue said, "Father, it's now certain that Prince Jing didn't escape from prison, nor did he release the criminals. The one who truly set fire to the prison and released the criminals was someone else. Once we find the owner of that hidden clasp, the truth will come out!"
Cui Shao immediately stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, what Princess Jing said is absolutely right! The prisoners in the Heavenly Prison have no use for such a fine jade buckle, and Lord Zhang also denied that the jade buckle was his. So it can only be that the people who broke in to set fire and break into the prison accidentally left it behind!”
"This humble servant is willing to lead men to investigate who this jade clasp truly belongs to! To clear the name of Prince Jing and Princess Jing!"
Silence, silence, only the night wind is blowing.
At this point, Yan Shizheng, Lü An, and the others no longer had any reason to want to kill Yun Zhuo and Ye Qingxue.
Consort Cui, enraged, said, "Your Majesty, even if Yun Zhuo did not break into the prison or escape, it is still true that he killed our son, isn't it? Isn't it right to execute them?"
Ye Qingxue said, "The Ninth Prince is poisoned, and it is still not certain whether he died from the poison or the long sword. Consort Cui is so eager to execute us. If it is found in the future that Yun Zhuo was framed, is Consort Cui willing to pay with her own life? Is your life more important than Prince Jing?"
Choi Jae-in: "..."
How come her life isn't as important as Yun Zhuo's?
She was once a virtuous concubine who managed the harem!
Yun Zhuo turned his head to look at Ye Qingxue beside him and asked in astonishment, "The Ninth Prince has been poisoned?"
Ye Qingxue turned to look at him, her tone heavy: "Yes!"
The couple stared at each other, their gazes heavy.
After a long pause, Ye Qingxue asked, "Does Your Highness still insist that the Ninth Prince was killed by you?"
Yun Zhuo seemed to be burned by the intense light in her eyes, and he avoided Ye Qingxue's gaze.
“...I killed him,” Yun Zhuo said, his voice ethereal, but Ye Qingxue heard him clearly.
After Yun Zhuo finished speaking, he tried to hold her hand, but Ye Qingxue dodged him.
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