The Emperor's heart is won, she sits on the Phoenix Throne! The Divine Physician's Eldest

As soon as the Empress finished speaking, everyone's eyes were focused on Song Siyao.

Song Siyao looked at Jiang Yu, "Miss Jiang, are you sure that you composed that piece of music yourself?"

Jiang Yu replied confidently, "Of course."

"Wen Shu, play 'A Mother's Heart' once," Song Siyao instructed.

"Yes, Master."

The zither that Jiang Yu had just played was still there. Ye Wenshu moved over and landed on it, her ten fingers covering the strings.

Her fingertips moved slightly, and the music flowed out, like a babbling brook, like the spring sun, like the fragrance of flowers covering the mountains, and like the fiery red of autumn maple leaves...

Everyone involuntarily closed their eyes, quietly enjoying the beauty of the music. They were immersed in it, and their beautiful memories came to mind.

Jiang Yu's face gradually turned pale, becoming as white as a dead person's face, without a trace of blood, which was extremely eerie.

Song Siyao watched her quietly, watching how she was digging her own grave.

After a long while, the music stopped, and thunderous applause erupted in the room. Ye Wenshu stood up and bowed slightly to everyone.

"I believe everyone has already noticed that this piece, 'A Mother's Heart,' is very similar to 'Heavenly Compassion' that Miss Jiang just played. However, a few notes have been changed." Song Siyao looked at Jiang Yu and asked, "Miss Jiang, did you change those notes because they were too high for you to play, so you lowered them?"

Jiang Yu's face suddenly turned from pale to bright red. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't think of a way to defend herself.

Song Siyao looked at the Empress and continued, "Your Majesty, Miss Jiang said that she composed that piece herself. My disciple has always been in my residence, so naturally he wouldn't know about Miss Jiang's piece. The people who went to invite my disciple just now were from the Empress Dowager's side. They couldn't possibly have played Miss Jiang's piece for my disciple. The two pieces are almost identical. Is there enough evidence that Miss Jiang plagiarized my disciple's piece?"

"not enough!"

Everyone knew the truth, but the Empress still said something against her conscience: "Princess Youfeng is incredibly powerful. Everyone knows that there is nothing Princess Youfeng cannot get if she wants it. I'm sure it won't be difficult for you to get Miss Jiang's song."

Emperor Changlong glanced at the Empress and frowned slightly. He knew that Song Siyao could handle it, so he didn't say anything more.

Song Siyao was not angry when she heard the Empress's unreasonable excuse. "Since Your Majesty is convinced that I stole Miss Jiang's song, then I have no choice but to prove my innocence."

She looked at Ye Wenshu and said, "Wenshu, you tell Her Majesty the Empress."

"Yes, Master."

Ye Wenshu bowed to the Empress, raised her eyes slightly, and said calmly, "Your Majesty, some time ago after I came to the capital, someone asked me to help teach them how to play the zither. I refused. Later, this person asked for a piece of music from me as a memento. I owed her a favor from back then, so I didn't refuse. I gave her a bunch of pieces and let her choose. In the end, she chose this piece, 'A Loving Mother's Heart'."

After I became an apprentice, my master took us out to create impromptu pieces. I saw a mother sending her son off to take the imperial examination. The scene was very touching. I felt the deep affection between the mother and son, so I spontaneously composed this piece, "A Loving Mother's Heart," and played it for them.

Your Majesty, the son in this song later passed the imperial examination and is now the magistrate of Long County.

Her words were brief and to the point; to ascertain the truth, one could simply send someone to Long County to inquire.

However, since she dared to say it this way, it must be true.

However, the Empress was still unwilling to give up. "Ye Wenshu, who do you think is the person who asked you for the song? She must have deceived Miss Jiang. Miss Jiang is absolutely unaware of this matter."

Ye Wenshu is composed and steady; if it were Luo Qing, she would have immediately confronted her.

But she was worried that confronting the Empress would cause trouble for Song Siyao, so she looked at Song Siyao, who was not so polite.

"Your Majesty, no matter how this piece of music ended up in Miss Jiang's hands, she knows very well that it does not belong to her. It belongs to someone else. She claims that someone else's music is her own composition and then presents it as a gift to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. Where does she place Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?"

The empress was speechless. Her face turned red, then white, then green, then black, like a mask changing.

The Empress Dowager's face was also quite unpleasant. Just now she had praised Jiang Yu, but now it felt as if a fly had entered her throat, and she could neither spit it out nor swallow it down, feeling nauseous and uncomfortable.

"Miss Jiang, tell me what exactly happened?" The Empress Dowager's gentle expression vanished completely, replaced by a cold and sharp gaze that perfectly displayed the majesty of the former empress. "I only want the truth. You decide for yourself."

Jiang Yu stood up, her head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her, looking helpless and desperate.

She racked her brains but couldn't find a suitable reason to exonerate herself.

If they don't admit it, as long as Song Siyao brings in the person who took the song from Ye Wenshu, a confrontation will reveal the truth.

But if she confessed, she would bear the stigma of theft for the rest of her life and would never be able to hold her head high again.

She originally intended to use this song to make a name for herself and overwhelm Song Siyao.

Despite all her calculations, she never expected that Ye Wenshu was actually Song Siyao's apprentice.

Who would have thought Song Siyao was so amazing?

“Your Majesty, Yu’er is still a child. She was indeed wrong today, but her intention was good. She wanted to show her filial piety to you. I beg you to forgive her this time, considering that it is her first offense and that she is young and ignorant.” Princess Ping pleaded for Jiang Yu.

Jiang Xiang immediately knelt down. "Your Majesty, my daughter has committed a grave error. It is due to my poor upbringing. I am willing to accept punishment."

Seeing that Princess Ping and Prime Minister Jiang were pleading for her, Jiang Yu had no further reason to defend herself. She knelt down with a thud and said, "Your Majesty, this was all done by me alone. My father was completely unaware of it. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous! The daughter of the Prime Minister has actually stolen someone else's music to present to me! This is a disgrace!" The Empress Dowager was furious. "Guards, drag Miss Jiang away, give her twenty strokes of the cane, and banish her from the palace. From now on, without my order, she is not allowed to set foot in the palace again!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

If the Empress Dowager forbids her from entering the palace in the future, how can she marry into the palace?

From a young age, she worked hard all for the purpose of marrying into the palace and standing at the highest point of the Great Zhou Dynasty, becoming the most honored woman in the Great Zhou.

But now, her life is completely ruined.