After reading my mind, Daddy, why don't you smile?

"Your Majesty, have you ever heard of an anecdote that happened fourteen years ago?"

Emperor Jianxi frowned.

Zhao Yao fell to the ground, closed his eyes easily, and thought to himself that Shangguan Chaolu was not a dog that was fed in vain!

Zhao Ying is finished!

Shangguan Chaolu's eyes were firm and her voice was cold and crisp. "Fourteen years ago, Princess Huai'an and my brother were childhood sweethearts. However, my brother was favored by Princess Chengqian. Princess Chengqian was unable to coerce or bribe my brother, so she drugged Princess Huai'an at the banquet, causing her to... lose her virginity to a guard."

"After Queen Xiaomin learned about it, she married Princess Huai'an to the Xiongnu in order to cover up her daughter's crime!"

These words had been circulating in the circle of powerful people in the capital for a long time, but they were just rumors without any evidence. Moreover, since they involved Empress Xiaomin, no one dared to report them to Emperor Jianxi.

At this moment, this terrible window paper was broken.

Emperor Jianxi's eyes were frighteningly cold, and he said gloomily, "Do you know what crime Panmei, the current queen mother, committed?"

"I have never tried to flatter you! My husband, Zhao Quan, is the guard's younger brother. He knows the whole story of this matter very well, so Princess Chengqian holds a grudge against him. She even wants to silence him..." Shangguan Chaolu stared at Zhao Ying with a look as if filled with poison.

Zhao Ying looked bewildered and asked, "Has this ever happened?"

"Father, you know the Queen Mother's character very well. How could she harm Sister Huai'an?"

"Chaolu, I know that last time you asked me to give Zhao Quan an official position, but I didn't agree. You hate me, but since this involves my reputation and that of my mother, I cannot tolerate your flattery!"

Princess Xian stood up. At this point, the truth is no longer important. The downfall of the Eastern Palace is more important.

She glanced at Zhao Yao sympathetically, then slowly retracted her gaze and looked at Zhao Ying, "Your Highness, just tell me the truth. It's been so long, I'm sure that the Second Prince and the Emperor won't blame you anymore. And you are the Emperor's most beloved daughter... Amitabha."

As the virtuous princess spoke, she squeezed the Buddhist beads in her hand. Everyone knew that she loved to worship Buddha and was not competitive... so there was no need to slander Zhao Ying.

The Crown Princess sneered, "You are just making empty promises. Where is the evidence?"

Prince Liang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Crown Princess, isn't Xue'er's behavior enough evidence? If someone didn't want to kill her, why did Xue'er suffer this disaster?"

Princess Liang: "Sister-in-law, you don't think Huai'an set this up to harm your daughter, do you?"

The Crown Princess was speechless.

Behind him, Wei Fu came over and said nonchalantly, "She would not plot against her own daughter, but I heard that Princess Huai'an had been blocking the door and not letting anyone in. If it is as Zhao Quan said, it is hard to guarantee that she was not setting a trap to harm Your Highness, but someone else took advantage of it. She has brought this upon herself."

Zhao Ying's pupils trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but glance at Shangguan Shu.

Just then, Shangguan Shu looked at her and gave her a reassuring look.

As expected of his age, the wise king was very thoughtful. After hearing what Wei Fu said, he immediately pulled the crown prince in. "Marquis Wei and the crown princess spoke so much for Cheng Qian. Could it be that the crown prince was also involved?"

Someone in the crowd was breathing heavily.

When it comes to the prince...things get even bigger!

Emperor Jianxi always had a sullen face and was very secretive.

Suddenly, he looked at Zhao Yao, "Huai'an, is this true?"

Zhao Yao knelt deeply before Emperor Jianxi and choked up, saying, "Father, this happened many years ago, and I don't want to mention it again. But today, for the sake of these innocent lives, I have to tell the truth. Please forgive me for my crime of deceiving..."

"Every word Chaolu said is true. Not only that, Sister Ying found out that Zhao Quan was threatening her with this matter and tried to kill him more than once to silence him. Father, the wounds on Zhao Quan's body were the result of Sister Ying's forced confession..."

"You are talking nonsense!" Zhao Ying knelt down and said in panic, "Father, this is not true! I know nothing about it. How could I hurt Sister Huai'an? I have always regarded Sister Huai'an as my own sister..."

"Sister? Then why did you forcefully seize her husband? My brother was supposed to be His Highness Huai'an's husband, didn't you force him to marry you?"

Zhao Ying was speechless, tears streaming down her cheeks. She kept saying, "No... No..."

The corners of Zhao Yao's lips curled up in pride.

She suppressed her pleasure, pretended to be miserable, and said, "If you still don't believe me, you can summon my mother. She also knows about it..."

"Of course your mother will speak for you!" Zhao Ying seemed anxious and said sternly.

Zhao Yao, however, looked calm. There was no point in saying more at this moment as the Emperor would definitely summon her mother.

Sure enough, Emperor Jianxi asked someone to bring Ji Da Ying over.

Although she was sent to the cold palace, Ji Da Ying did not suffer much due to Zhao Yao's arrangement. She just wore more shabby clothes.

When passing by the crowd, Prince Shou couldn't help but frown when he saw her like this.

"See Your Majesty..."

Emperor Jianxi asked Ji Da Ying what happened fourteen years ago, and what Ji Da Ying said was exactly the same as what Zhao Yao said.

After listening, Emperor Jianxi took a long breath and asked in a low voice, "Cheng Qian, do you have any evidence to prove what you said?"

Zhao Ying clenched his fists, suppressed the resentment and anger in his heart, and said, "Your son...No."

"But I really didn't do it! If your father doesn't trust you, does he also not trust your mother?"

Emperor Jianxi did not answer.

Everyone understood that Princess Cheng Qian was doomed to fail.

The virtuous prince said respectfully, "Father, it seems that the truth of the past has been revealed. Cheng Qian murdered people out of love, and the mother covered it up for him. Is there anything about the prince's younger brother? I am willing to help you share your worries and investigate this case!"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess knelt down immediately, "Father, Princess Chengqian is innocent! Empress Xiaomin is a model for women in the Chu State, how could she do such a thing? Not to mention that the Crown Prince is also involved, it's ridiculous!"

Wei Fu also knelt down, "I am willing to guarantee Princess Chengqian. She will never do such a thing!"

Shangguan Chaolu said sarcastically, "How much can you, an outsider, know about Princess Chengqian?"

"enough!"

A cold and sharp shout came from behind Shangguan Chaolu.

When everyone heard the voice and looked over, they found that the most important person among them had not spoken yet.

The Xian Wang and his wife and the Liang Wang and his wife looked at each other and felt confident that Shangguan Shu would definitely take advantage of Zhao Ying's misfortune.

Zhao Yao, however, felt sympathetic, fearing that Shangguan Shu would ruin her plans.

However... in this situation, he was helpless, otherwise he would not have remained silent. Moreover, he was also part of her plan. He was the one who injured Zhao Quan...

Shangguan Shu lifted his robe, knelt, and saluted. He performed the whole set of actions with a graceful demeanor. Everyone couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, wondering if he was the male accomplice who started the war between the two princesses...

"Your Majesty... According to Princess Huai'an, Princess Chengqian wanted to kill Zhao Quan to silence him because the truth of the incident fourteen years ago was exposed, so she plotted against Zhao Quan and Hu Yanxue tonight. If what happened tonight has nothing to do with Princess Chengqian, then the above reasoning is not valid, and the fact that Princess Chengqian drugged Zhao Quan... is unknown."

"What do you mean, my dear?"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty! The affair between Zhao Quan and Hu Yanxue was planned by someone, but... it was not His Majesty Cheng Qian, but... this humble servant."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked and looked incredulous.

Especially the couple of Prince Xian and the couple of Prince Liang, they were full of questions. Didn't they say that Shangguan Shu and Zhao Ying had divorced and their relationship had broken down?

Why did he take the blame for Zhao Ying?

Zhao Yao's chest tightened, and then a dense feeling of fear and chillness spread throughout her body.

Was it Shangguan Shu who did it?

Shangguan Shu lowered his eyebrows and spoke in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, I have heard about Princess Huai'an's injury a long time ago. Princess Huai'an holds a grudge against Princess Chengqian because of this. She wants to repay her in her own way, so she bribed Zhao Quan to destroy Princess Chengqian's innocence."

The Crown Princess gnashed her teeth and said, "What Zhao Quan said is true!"

"After hearing about this, I threatened Zhao Quan..."

Huyan Xue screamed at Shangguan Shu, her eyes filled with hatred and brokenness. The girl's heart was finally broken in the face of the bloody facts.

Why did her uncle want to harm her?

Huyan Xue had just experienced a passionate love affair and was in a weak state of mind. She fainted in anger and pain.

"Xue'er!"