Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 339

The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter was over and forgotten.

However, on this day, while the emperor was in his study, his personal eunuch Wang Xi entered and reported with a conflicted expression:

"Your Majesty, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and his wife, along with twenty-seven others, have come to request an audience, saying they have important matters to report to Your Majesty in person."

The emperor paused for a moment, thinking he had misheard: "...How many people?"

"Twenty-seven people."

Emperor: "...Are they trying to force me to abdicate?"

Twenty-seven people came to the palace in a grand procession to see him. What were they planning to do?

Wang Xi was also confused: "The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and his wife said that it concerns the Grand Princess Pingkang and that only Your Majesty can decide on it."

The emperor was increasingly confused.

Wasn't the matter of Princess Pingkang already resolved? And wasn't it related to the Yongning Marquis's residence? How come it's involved with twenty-seven other people?

Wang Xi asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, would you like to see them?"

Emperor: "Show them! Bring them in!"

He wanted to see what was really going on!

All twenty-seven people arrived, a huge crowd that couldn't even fit in the Imperial Study, so they had to move to the nearby Hall of Diligent Governance.

When the emperor looked at the twenty-seven people, he recognized some of them, who were officials or nobles; others were dressed in plain clothes and were probably commoners; the last four or five were women, all of whom wore veils and covered their faces completely.

The emperor frowned, displeased, and said, "Since you've come to see the emperor, why don't you even show your face?"

Wang Xi quickly explained, "It was this old servant who made them wear veils. This old servant has already checked them, but I was afraid of startling the Emperor, so I covered their faces for now."

As he spoke, one of the women removed her veil, revealing her face to the emperor.

"...!"

The emperor was indeed greatly startled!

The face was utterly horrifying, no longer recognizable as human. Its nose and lips had been severed, and its face was crisscrossed with over a dozen deep cuts, resembling a terrifying chessboard.

The other women also removed their veils. Their faces were all severely disfigured, unrecognizable, like a group of demons and monsters crawling out of hell, enough to terrify anyone in broad daylight.

The visual impact of this scene was simply too great. The emperor stumbled back several steps.

Wang Xi hurriedly shouted, "Why aren't you putting on your veils? You've frightened the Emperor! What will be your punishment?"

The woman whose face had been slashed more than a dozen times knelt down, kowtowed, and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. Our faces were ruined by the Grand Princess Pingkang!"

The emperor was still in shock, his heart pounding, but when he heard about Princess Pingkang, he frowned again.

"Princess Pingkang? How could she ruin the faces of so many of you?"

The Vice Minister of Justice and his wife also knelt down. The Vice Minister of Justice said, "Your Majesty, I have discovered a series of old cases from back then. Since the clues point to the Grand Princess Pingkang, I have no choice but to report to Your Majesty first."

He pointed to the disfigured women.

“These victims, though of different backgrounds, all had in common that they had interacted with the Imperial Son-in-Law Song Yong. Afterwards, they were accused by the Grand Princess Pingkang of seducing the Imperial Son-in-Law Song and were thus subjected to retaliation. These are the few who were lucky enough to survive; many more were killed. Your humble servant has brought their families with you.”

Everyone knelt down.

"Your Majesty, my sister perished in the fire. The Vice Minister has unearthed an old case and discovered clues linking her to someone under the command of Princess Pingkang!"

"Your Majesty, I originally thought my wife died from an accidental fall, but in fact she was pushed! Princess Pingkang's men are suspects!"

"Your Majesty, I saw it with my own eyes! My daughter was tortured to death by the Grand Princess Pingkang!"