It's all ruined, who cares about the chastity arch

When they exchanged glances, it seemed as if an unstoppable force had formed, vowing to reveal the truth.

Facing this scene, Concubine Pei's expression became extremely stern. She tightly grasped the silk handkerchief embroidered with gold thread, as if trying to draw some strength from it. Her voice was a little sharp: "What nonsense! Who on earth instructed you to come here to slander me!"

Her eyes were like sharp swords, trying to find a gap to fight back through the questioning.

The woman seemed to have expected this. Her face was calm, and her tone was firm and unquestionable: "Although the young lady had little contact with the outside world during her lifetime, the old lady loved her so much that she specially asked an artist to draw a portrait for her as a memorial. The portrait was carefully stored in the old lady's coffin. Once it is taken out, the real and the fake will be clear."

Concubine Pei sneered and said with disdain: "Just a painting, do you dare to ask us to dig up the old lady's grave?"

The implication is both irony and a challenge, suggesting that the other party is helpless.

At this moment, the palace door opened with a bang, and Pei Chi'an walked in slowly. Every step he took seemed steady and powerful, and his voice echoed in the quiet hall: "There is no need to dig the grave, because when the old lady was buried, I had already taken the painting out for safekeeping."

As he finished speaking, a long scroll unfolded in his raised hand, and the pictures on it were looming, like a fragment of history about to unveil its mysterious veil.

At this moment, Concubine Pei's face turned pale, like a piece of white paper. Her dull eyes were filled with shock, disbelief, and even despair, as if the whole world was turned upside down at this moment.

"Chi'an, you..."

The music stopped abruptly, and all eyes, including those that were originally immersed in the singing and dancing, were now focused on Pei Chi'an. The air seemed to freeze.

Pei Chi'an did not give any answer, but strode around Concubine Pei, knelt on one knee before the emperor, and respectfully presented the scroll in his hand.

"Your Majesty, this painting is the portrait of my aunt. Because the old lady was buried too hastily, many burial objects were not buried with her, and this painting is just one of them. My father's greed not only kept this painting, but also hid many gold and silver treasures in the family secret room."

Emperor Xuan stood up slowly, examining the scrolls one by one with a deep gaze.

Although his words were light, they were as heavy as a mountain: "If that's the case, open it and you'll know the truth."

In this series of events, Concubine Pei was still in extreme shock. She stared at Pei Chi'an in a daze, as if expecting some miracle to happen, imagining that he could stand up and prove her innocence, and hoping that the person in the painting would be herself.

However, Pei Chi'an did not give her any response, but turned to face the ministers and unfolded the scroll.

The picture gradually unfolds, and the image of a young girl is vividly presented under the delicate brushstrokes. She is a petite girl with an oval face, slightly narrowed almond eyes, and slightly drooping willow-shaped eyebrows, revealing gentleness and submissiveness.

Although she doesn't have a stunning appearance, her scholarly temperament gives her a unique charm.

In comparison, Concubine Pei's beauty is more flamboyant, with her eyes slightly raised, exuding charm, and her brows full of sharpness and pride.

The difference between the two is obvious at a glance.

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "This... This is impossible! These are clearly two different people!"

His words were full of surprise and confusion.

Concubine Pei turned around abruptly and looked directly at the girl in the painting. The familiar coral pearl hairpin was clearly Pei Jingliu's symbol.

Her body froze, and her feet involuntarily moved back, with an expression of disbelief and panic on her face.

Her gaze turned to Pei Chi'an again. In her eyes, besides fear, there was more despair of being betrayed.

Her clenched fingers almost tore her sleeves, and her heart was filled with confusion and unwillingness.

Over the years, she has been very fond of Pei Chi'an, almost obeying his every request and granting him everything he asked for.

In this palace full of intrigues, she had never given true feelings to anyone, except for him.

Watching him grow from a young boy into a tall and upright man, as time went by, she had already regarded him as the last warmth in the family.

However, it was the person she trusted the most who, in front of everyone, revealed the lies beneath her gorgeous robe without showing any mercy.

Her heart felt as if it was pierced by thousands of needles and she felt excruciating pain.

Concubine Pei frowned and gnashed her teeth as she shouted to Emperor Xuan: "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this painting! Someone must have deliberately forged it, using someone else's portrait to impersonate Miss Pei, intending to frame me!"

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, and her eyes were full of pleading, "Your Majesty, please do justice for me!"

However, Emperor Xuan responded with a cold smile: "Queen Dowager, Pei Jingliu is the daughter of the Pei family. How could someone from the Pei family mistake their own flesh and blood?"

Every word he said was piercing, as if to shut down all excuses.

Concubine Pei's eyes were like burning torches, staring at the woman in the painting, her inner struggle and anger almost erupting: "Then... is there someone in the Pei family who wants to deal with me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to lose her support and her body was about to fall.

Pei Chi'an knelt on the ground and slowly moved forward, holding the scroll that determined his fate in both hands. "Your Majesty, please look carefully. The person in this painting is indeed my aunt who has been lost for many years. My family and I have been deceived for too long. It was not until my sister heard the rumors recently that I became suspicious and found this scroll in the secret room of my home."

Although his voice was deep, every word was firm. "Pretending to be a royal relative and disturbing the order of the palace is an unforgivable crime. I dare not and cannot protect any evildoer!"

From the nickname "Ruofei" in the past to the rebuke of "witch" today, the change of emotions is known only to herself.

Concubine Pei felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She staggered and took a few steps back almost out of control. Her voice was filled with grief, anger and despair: "Enough! I am Pei Jingliu! Pei Chian, how can you slander me like this!"

Her words showed her unwillingness to accept her fate, and her deep disappointment and hatred for the people she had nurtured.

"You are the one who is truly confusing people!"

At this moment, the sound of indignation burst out like a sharp arrow, and the speaker was Zhang Sanmei, whose eyes were burning with rage.

There seemed to be two torches in her eyes, blazing and firm, locked tightly on Concubine Pei's face. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, sonorous and powerful, with uncontrollable indignation: "You are just a humble maid, and you dare to dream of using crude means to deceive everyone and replace the master? Do you really think you can play tricks on the world and deceive the world?"

"My dear! Do not forget your identity as a lowly servant. The mark on your skin is like a branding iron engraved in your bones, and it will be difficult to remove it for the rest of your life!"

In her words, Zhang Sanmei hit the nail on the head, directly hitting the other party's most sensitive and shameful point.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Pei's body trembled violently, and she instinctively wanted to hide the arm with the word "slave" branded on it behind her back.

Zhang Sanmei's words were like a heavy hammer hitting her heart. The mark was not only a physical shackle, but also an eternal shackle deep in her soul, reminding her all the time of the endless humiliation she had been forced to endure at the hands of human traffickers when she was young.