Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 634

“He is stripped of his royal title and exiled to the Southern Continent.”

The Empress Dowager's expression changed, and she slammed her teacup heavily on the table. "No. Doing so will make people think that the Emperor is cold-blooded and heartless, which will damage his reputation."

"Furthermore, Princess Rui is pregnant. Punishing Prince Rui at this time, and with such a severe punishment at that, how are she and her child supposed to live in the future?"

"I don't concern myself with other matters, but this concerns the royal bloodline. Although Prince Rui is not my biological son, he has grown up by my side since childhood and is your half-brother by blood. How can Your Majesty be so heartless?"

Murong Yu sneered, "If I were ruthless, I would have killed him long ago when he attempted to rebel at the border!"

"Revolt! Rebel!"

The Empress Dowager was startled, clearly unaware of this matter.

Unusual activity has occurred in the border city of Jiuzhou; Prince Rui intends to rebel.

Ultimately, the attempt failed, and the matter was dropped in time. There was no conclusive evidence to convict him. Prince Rui was also very cunning. Murong Yu had been looking for an opportunity to demote him back to his fiefdom, but he had not been able to find any fault with him.

Now that we've finally found a handle against her, the Empress Dowager is sabotaging us!

“That’s right. Prince Rui is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and wants to make A Shang a scapegoat. If you don’t believe me, Mother, go and ask A Shang for the truth.”

The Empress Dowager couldn't believe that the child she had raised would do such a thing. "I will investigate first. If Prince Rui really has rebellious intentions, I will absolutely not stop the Emperor from dealing with him!"

Murong Yu snorted and got up to leave.

The Empress Dowager immediately summoned Pei Shang.

After listening to Pei Shang's words, the Empress Dowager seemed to be thinking, "Hmm, you can go back now."

"Aunt, Prince Rui cannot be kept." Pei Shang was anxious, not understanding why the Empress Dowager was protecting Prince Rui so much. Her cousin was her own son!

The Empress Dowager said, "If the evidence is conclusive, I will not protect him. But Shang'er, if you all dislike Prince Rui and then wrongly accuse him, causing a misunderstanding and ultimately killing him by mistake, wouldn't that be a grave mistake?"

Pei Shang was stunned, clearly not expecting the Empress Dowager to say such a thing.

Her cousin is her own son, how could she not trust him?

Because Pei Shang had a good relationship with the Emperor, the Empress Dowager suspected that the Emperor had deliberately asked Pei Shang to say those things, so she didn't believe it.

Then, Prime Minister Pei and General Xiao were summoned for questioning. The Prince of Qin was not in the capital; he had taken his wife and children to guard the border. Otherwise, he would have been summoned to the palace for questioning.

Finally, they approached Prince Rui.

"Mother, I am innocent!" Murong Chen entered, knelt down, and wept bitterly. "The Emperor has never liked me and thinks I have stolen Mother's favor."

"So he doesn't want me to stay in the capital, and he doesn't want me to stay by your side to take care of you."

"General Zeng knows best about what happened in Jiuzhou City. Back then, my brother risked his life for Yun Xiyue, hiding his trip to the Southern Qiang Kingdom from everyone. He almost didn't make it back. We didn't know about this. When I discovered that my brother wasn't in the military camp, Pei Shang was impersonating him, so I led people to arrest and interrogate Pei Shang."

The Empress Dowager was shocked. "Is this true?"

It seems her suspicions were indeed correct. Prime Minister Pei was not at the border; all he knew was what Pei Shang had told him. It was only after learning that Prince Rui wanted to use his son as a scapegoat that Prime Minister Pei sided with the Emperor.

General Xiao was originally one of the Emperor's men, so naturally he wouldn't speak up for Prince Rui.

He even vehemently denounced Prince Rui for his wolfish ambitions, lack of brotherly affection, seduction of concubines, and disruption of the court, deeming him worthy of death.

As for Grand Tutor Zhou, there's no need to ask. Since his granddaughter was killed, he naturally wished that Prince Rui would pay for her life, as this was the only way to protect the Zhou family.