The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

Concubine Si was crying, with a look of fear and grievance on her face, and she grabbed the corner of the emperor's clothes.

The emperor sat cross-legged on the couch and waved his hand vigorously.

He slapped Si Fei hard in the face.

The crisp sound startled everyone in the room. Except for Concubine Si, everyone felt relieved.

Concubine Si was thrown to the ground, her hairpin fell off, and her long black hair was disheveled. She was completely different from the cold and aloof look she had just shown when she entered the palace.

"Your Majesty, I am truly wronged! I…"

"You vicious woman, I treated you well. I even spared you the death penalty for plotting to murder the heir to the throne. Yet you dared to repay kindness with enmity and secretly collude with the enemy!"

The emperor exploded in anger and shouted harshly, not allowing Concubine Si to argue at all.

The room fell silent for a moment.

All that could be heard was the emperor's heavy and angry breathing, and the trembling sobs of Concubine Si as she curled up on the ground.

Everyone held their breath, not wanting to run into trouble when the emperor was furious.

It was not until a while later that the emperor calmed down his breathing and his complexion recovered a little.

Before Concubine Si could protest again, Concubine Qing spoke softly.

"Your Majesty, since Concubine Si refuses to bow her head, why not ask her to speak openly about her grievances? Once she is speechless and admits her guilt, this will prevent misunderstandings from outsiders and future generations."

This is exactly what I said.

The emperor agreed immediately.

Why?

The deposed queen's treasonous activities led to the invasion of the capital, and this must be heavily recorded in history books. If Concubine Si refused to confess her guilt until her death, even her death would damage the emperor's reputation.

When future generations read history, they will certainly suspect that someone, in order to shirk responsibility, put the blame on the deposed empress who had already lost power and forced her to confess under torture.

The emperor glared at Concubine Si coldly and said, "Since Concubine Qing has pleaded for you, I will give you a chance to argue. Zheng, think carefully and speak carefully!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Concubine Si knelt down and kowtowed, unable to hold back her tears.

She finally stopped crying, wiped her tears with her handkerchief and sleeve, and hurriedly defended herself.

"Your Majesty, the first person to be suspicious is Tohka, who is standing beside the Queen Mother!"

She accused Tohka of having ulterior motives. The Empress Dowager was plotting a rebellion, and Tohka, her personal attendant, hadn't noticed anything? Why didn't she report it beforehand? Why didn't she assassinate the Empress Dowager when she was raising her rebellion, as a show of loyalty? Finally, when the Empress Dowager was desperate, she brought her back. This wasn't loyalty to the emperor; it was clearly forced.

"She is neither loyal to the Queen Mother nor to Your Majesty. How credible can her words be?"

"Same thing, there's also Wei Zhishu!"

"Wei Zhishu only assassinated the Empress Dowager after she failed. She was simply opportunistic. If the Empress Dowager hadn't been defeated, she would probably have become a meritorious official assisting her. Your Majesty, you must be aware of her intentions..."

Concubine Hui couldn't stand it any longer and scolded, "So everyone has problems, but you don't? His Majesty asked you to explain yourself, but you are just randomly blaming others. Why don't you explain yourself in detail?"

The emperor lowered his eyes and listened with a calm expression.

Fei Wan quietly gave Concubine Hui a calm look, signaling her not to talk nonsense.

This time is different from the past.

When Hui Fei was a palace concubine, it didn't matter how rude she was in the palace.

But now that she has military power, she has to be careful in front of the emperor, so as not to arouse suspicion by any carelessness.

When Concubine Hui received Fei Wan's gaze, she endured it and held back the curse she hadn't yet uttered. She stared coldly at Concubine Si and said to herself, "You're lucky."

Concubine Si glanced at her with disdain. "I can explain myself, you don't need to remind me. Before the Queen Mother entered the palace, you escaped from the palace under the pretext of killing the enemy, leaving His Majesty and all the sisters behind. Now, relying on your achievements, you dare to yell in front of the Emperor. What's the matter? Did you kill a few enemy soldiers and gain the courage, or did you get the token from the late Emperor? How dare you defy His Majesty!"

Fei Wan thought to herself that it was stupid.

He slightly tilted his body, gave Concubine Hui a quick look that said "Don't speak", then quickly turned his head back and looked at Concubine Si with surprise, his face showing shock and anger.

But he pursed his lips and did not speak up to speak up for Concubine Hui.

Beside her, Concubine Qing also didn't say anything.

It was because at this time, Concubine Hui could not argue with Concubine Si, as she would lose her composure and give others a chance to criticize her; Fei Wan and Concubine Qing could not speak for Concubine Hui either, for fear of being suspected of forming a clique.

It is one thing for sisters in the palace to get along intimately with each other, but when it comes to being too successful and despising the emperor, the first principle for concubines is to be loyal to the emperor, not to support their sisters.

Everyone present, including Cao Bin and other palace maids, could not say anything for Concubine Hui.

Zhang Lin, the commander of the Tiger Guards, frowned upon hearing this, but he kept his mouth shut. As a military commander, he respected Concubine Hui for her bravery in fighting the enemy, but due to his special status, he could not explain anything to anyone in the court or the palace.

Therefore, although it seemed unreasonable for Concubine Si to throw dirty water on Concubine Hui, it was actually vicious and clever.

Anyone who objects may arouse the emperor's suspicion.

At this time, Tohka spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I beg your permission."

The emperor nodded and let her speak.

Shixiang bowed to Concubine Si and said, "Empress Si, I cannot prove my loyalty to Your Majesty and our Daliang. I accept your accusations and suspicions, but I feel this is my fate. I have served the Empress Dowager for many years and have enjoyed the glory of being with her. If I have to spend the rest of my life carrying a stain on my back and being abused and misunderstood, it is all my own fault. There is nothing to resent."

However, you criticize and suspect Concubine Hui, and I cannot stand by and watch. This is because Concubine Hui, in a critical moment, disregarded her own safety and left the palace to kill the enemy in order to protect the palace, His Majesty, the capital, and the dignity of Daliang! Every time Concubine Hui kills an enemy outside the palace, you in the palace are less in danger. How can Concubine Si not appreciate Concubine Hui's kindness, not be grateful, and only know how to smear her?

Forgive me for speaking frankly, but your ingratitude towards Concubine Hui is exactly the same as your betrayal of His Majesty!

You only care about your own interests, not others, and never see how good others are to you.

You are such a heartless person, yet you have been the Queen for so many years. This shows how kind and tolerant His Majesty is to you. Can't you just consider His Majesty's kindness and admit your guilt?

Why do you keep denying it? You won't cry until you see the coffin!"

Shixiang has been in charge of Ciyu Palace for many years, and her bearing is not inferior to that of high-ranking concubines. Although she spoke calmly, without making any noise and observing etiquette, she was full of dignity.

Under the gaze of her bright eyes, Concubine Si actually lost her momentum, shrank her shoulders and trembled.

When she realized what was happening, she quickly retorted angrily, "Shixiang, you and Concubine Zhao are colluding with each other to slander me..."

"enough."

The emperor interrupted calmly.

He raised his eyelids, which had been lowered all the time, and his cold face showed that his patience had run out.

"what do you want to say?"

Seeing that the maid in charge of Qingliang Palace standing next to him seemed to be hesitant to speak, he called her name.

The maid bowed, looked at Concubine Si, and said anxiously with an embarrassed look on her face, "Concubine Si, you...you should first explain the matter of the imperial guard clearly..."

Fei Wan almost curled the corners of her lips.

The foolish Concubine Si, the clever Tohka, the clever palace maid...

How interesting!