Marry my elder sister? Fine! I'll give you the letter of annulment and marry someone else.

The Emperor finally finished reading the letters and threw them in the Empress's face. "Is this what you called the slanderous words of a villain?!"

The Queen quickly picked up the paper from the ground. As she read the words clearly, her body began to tremble uncontrollably. "No, no, it's not like that."

The Queen's face was completely drained of color. "Someone must have framed me!"

The emperor scolded, "This is a frame-up, and that is a frame-up, Queen, do you take me for a fool?"

Those letters were actually the ones Song Zhi had collected during this period.

Shortly after she was taken out of the hall by Sun, Song Yang asked one of his disciples to expose these things.

Mu Qinghan and Meng Qi still held onto hope and tried to protest their innocence, "Father, there are many people who know the handwriting of this son and General Meng. Whatever you see must be a forgery. This son is filial and brotherly to you, and has no other intentions."

Meng Qi kowtowed drunkenly, "Your Majesty, for so many years I have guarded the frontier for the sake of peace in Tianqi. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. How could I do such a treasonous thing?"

His words were so firm and sincere that if it were in the past, the emperor might have been shaken.

But now the emperor has overwhelming evidence before him.

The emperor's face was terribly gloomy. He stared at Mu Qinghan intently, "Send the order to search the East Palace."

"emperor!"

"Father!"

Two voices sounded at the same time, one from the Queen and the other from Mu Qinghan.

"Absolutely not."

The Queen fell to her knees with a plop. "This is definitely someone trying to sow discord. If the Emperor really follows his enemies' evil plan and suspects Han'er, and a rift develops between father and son, how will Han'er ever win the support of the people?"

"Furthermore, Your Majesty, think carefully. Han'er is already the crown prince and will definitely inherit the throne in the future. Why take such a risk?"

The emperor glanced over coldly, obviously thinking of this.

Seeing the emperor wavering, Song Yang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is a matter of national importance. I believe it is better to be rigorous and not let it go. I believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, as the master of the Eastern Palace, will understand."

The Queen glared at him, "What on earth is Lord Song up to? Is he really trying to frame my son?"

Song Yang said calmly, "Your Majesty, calm down. If the Crown Prince is truly wronged, only a thorough investigation can clear His Royal Highness' name. I am doing this for His Royal Highness's sake."

"Then tell me why my son is rebelling since he will inherit the throne sooner or later."

"The Emperor is in his prime and in good health. I think he should be able to reign for decades."

The implication is that after being in power for such a long time and being only one step away from the pinnacle of power, the prince may not want to waste that long.

"Besides, the other princes have all performed exceptionally well. I imagine Your Highness must also be feeling a sense of crisis."

"you!"

The Queen gnashed her teeth in anger, "You are slandering me."

"So for the sake of your highness's innocence, please, Your Majesty, conduct a thorough investigation." Song Yang bent his old waist, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Song Aiqing is right."

Sitting on the dragon throne, the emperor, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke again.

His eyes were cold, and a huge pressure enveloped the hall.

He most wanted Mu Qinghan to inherit the throne, but that was limited to succession and did not include forcing the emperor to abdicate.

The Queen moved forward in fear, "Your Majesty, please think twice."

Song Yang was enjoying the excitement, "Your Majesty, if you try to stop us like this, someone who doesn't know would think you're feeling guilty."

The queen glared at Song Yang hatefully. She was feeling guilty. After all, her stupid son was not very smart. If he was caught, it would be a disaster.

But now that they have been forced to this point, they have nowhere to retreat.

Mu Qinghan was sweating profusely. He pursed his dry lips and said, "Since Your Majesty is suspicious of me, I will ask Your Majesty to search the palace and clear my name."

He was gambling that his secret compartment was hidden enough and would not be discovered.

The emperor suppressed his emotions and sent people to investigate. The whole hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and no one dared to make the slightest sound.

As time went on, the atmosphere became increasingly heavy.

But in such a heavy mood, Song Zhixiao seemed unusually relaxed.

Mu Qinghan's wishful thinking was doomed to fail, because before she died in her previous life, she saw him enter the dark room and knew how to get in, so she had just retreated and "kindly" told the guards.

She hid behind the crowd with a smile on her face. If she wasn't afraid of attracting too much attention, she would have wanted to eat some melon seeds.

Finally, the guards who went to search came back to report.

Everyone's eyes were on the guard who answered, and the queen nervously clenched the handkerchief in her hand.

Mu Qinghan stared at the guard motionlessly. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the guard meticulously presented a series of things that he had hidden in the dark room to collude with the ministers.

The evidence is irrefutable.

The light in Mu Qinghan's eyes suddenly went out.

Instead, he was filled with great fear. "No, that's not the case. Please listen to my son's explanation, father."

The Queen's face instantly lost all color and turned pale. She didn't care about her image and slammed her head to the ground. "Han'er must have been instigated. Your Majesty, please understand."

And those ministers who were exposed for colluding with Mu Qinghan also knelt down hurriedly and begged for mercy.

The entire hall was in chaos, with all kinds of noises ringing out.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne without saying a word, only the blue veins on his neck revealed his anger at the moment.

He looked deeply at Mu Qinghan and asked two words in a trembling voice, "Why?"

The queen was still kowtowing, and even had blood on her face.

Mu Qinghan trembled with fear, "Father, your son..."

"Why did you betray me? Am I not good enough to you?"

The emperor supported the dragon throne, ignored the queen, stood up and walked to Mu Qinghan, "You can't even wait for me to die."

This is his most beloved and doted-on son, the one he is determined to promote to the position of crown prince no matter what.

He painstakingly paved the way for him, but he was secretly planning to replace him.

"Father, I...ah!"

Before Mu Qinghan could finish his words, he was kicked to the ground by the emperor.

"emperor!"

The Queen screamed shrilly and ran forward to block Mu Qinghan. "Your Majesty, please vent your anger on me. Don't hurt Han'er."

"How dare you come here? I haven't settled your score with you yet."

The emperor's eyes were red and filled with murderous intent. He kicked the queen's shoulder mercilessly, "How did you teach him? I don't believe you are completely unaware of the things this rebellious son has done."

The Queen fell down in embarrassment. "I am innocent. I really didn't know about this. If I knew, how could I let Han'er be so confused?"

"Mother." Mu Qinghan held the queen in his arms.

The emperor looked at the two coldly and was about to punish them when the queen pleaded, "Your Majesty, please don't forget what you promised me!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression paused.

The Queen's eyes were blurred with tears. "Please forgive my son, Your Majesty."

Seeing the situation, Mu Qinghan admitted his mistake without hesitation, "Father, I was just blinded by greed for a moment. I hope you will forgive me."

The emperor moved his lips. Although his eyes were still cold, the murderous intent in them was gradually dissipating.

Song Zhi raised his eyebrows, there was indeed an inside story.