An Lingrong is reborn to live for herself.

Sure enough, not long after Xia was taken away, the Empress sent someone to summon An Lingrong.

As soon as An Lingrong entered the palace, she saw Xia Shi trembling and lying on the ground, her face almost pressed against the palace bricks, but the scarlet marks Xia Shi had made on the bricks were still clearly visible.

The Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager remained seated at the head of the table. Kneeling not far from Lady Xia was Cui'er, who had always served Consort Fucha. At this moment, Cui'er's face was streaked with tears as she sobbed, "This servant is willing to die to prove that this servant is not lying. It was Consort Xia who deliberately provoked me, startling Your Highness's unborn child, which led to this outcome today."

Xia was trembling like a leaf, lying on the side. She looked up, wanting to say something, but when she saw the emperor sitting at the head of the table with his eyes almost blazing with fire, she was so frightened that she fainted.

The emperor said sternly, "Hmph, wake up this ungrateful wretch."

Just as the person standing behind Xia was about to make a move, Jiang Fuhai, who was by the Empress's side, stepped forward first. "Let this servant do it," he said, and then grabbed Xia's collar with one hand and slapped her hard across the face with the other.

You can tell from the sound that someone used a lot of strength; it sounds painful.

At this moment, An Lingrong noticed that the guards who had just brought Xia Shi in had not left, but were standing in the hall waiting for orders.

Apart from that, there was no one else in the hall.

The emperor's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.

The Empress was much calmer. When An Lingrong came in, she picked out some important questions and asked them to An Lingrong, who answered truthfully one by one.

At this moment, An Lingrong understood. It turned out that the emperor had already made up his mind the moment he saw the stillborn fetus.

Xia can no longer escape the death penalty today, no matter what.

However, the emperor's decree could not be made without evidence, so he had the empress summon the people who were present at the time and question them one by one, so that Xia would die in a way that made them accept the verdict.

Xia was slapped by Jiang Fuhai and became a little angry. She squinted and hummed softly before finally waking up.

The Empress turned to look at Lady Xia, her face full of anger at her lack of ambition, and asked, "Lady Xia, it seems you have indeed been a great trouble for Lady Fucha during her pregnancy. Do you have anything else to say?"

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I... I truly only had a close relationship with Sister Fucha. We lived in the same palace, so we saw each other often. Today, I just blurted out something inappropriate. I had absolutely no intention of harming Sister Fucha!" Xia Shi's mouth was bleeding from Jiang Fuhai's slap, and she stammered somewhat, but her mind remained clear. To plot against a royal heir was a grave crime that would bring ruin to the entire family; she absolutely could not admit to it.

"Your Majesty, Consort Xia is extremely arrogant in Yanxi Palace. Not only does she frequently come to our palace to disturb the young lady's pregnancy, but she also bullies Consort An, who lives with her, causing the young lady a great deal of distress. Furthermore, after Consort Miaoyin met the Emperor, Consort Xia suspected that Consort Miaoyin had gained the Emperor's favor only because of the young lady's recommendation. In fact, the young lady had been suffering from a cold and had not left the palace for several days, but Consort Xia refused to believe it and spent her days in Yanxi Palace making veiled insults and belittling the young lady. The young lady is good-natured and never argued with her, but who would have thought that things would turn out this way..."

As Cui'er cried, she recounted her experiences over the past few months.

The emperor grew angrier as he listened, nodding repeatedly. His gaze sharpened as he stared at Xia, asking fiercely, "I'll ask you one more time: have you ever been so ignorant of propriety and defiant of your superiors?"

Xia was already pale, shaking her head repeatedly, but only giving incoherent answers.

But the emperor had already decided to kill him.

"Xia, you are disobedient, have rebelled against your superiors, and harmed the imperial offspring. You are hereby given a white silk noose. Your body shall be returned to your family. No woman of the Xia family shall ever enter the palace again." After saying this, he ignored Xia's repeated kowtows, weeping and begging for mercy, and did not look at her again.

The Empress shook her head. "Go and do it." Several eunuchs were already waiting at the door. Upon hearing the order, they immediately came in and dragged Xia out.

Then he looked up at the guards and said, “The guards on duty have done a good job in assisting the investigation, but since this is a matter within the palace, it is against palace rules for the guards to interfere. So don’t spread it outside.”

The guards bowed their heads and accepted the order, then quickly left. But the instant the guards left, An Lingrong clearly felt a cold gaze, like a sharp blade, slice across her back, sending a chill down her spine.

Seeing that the matter was settled, the Empress Dowager slowly rose. "Today is a day of reckoning. I will return to the palace now. Leave the rest to the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor is still young and will have more children. Don't be too sad."

Although the words were simple, the bond between mother and child is ultimately strong.

Before getting up to leave, she still couldn't bear to put her hand on the emperor's arm, saying, "Your health is important. Your mother is getting old, don't let her worry."

The emperor nodded slightly, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

At this moment, perhaps only An Lingrong understood why the emperor and empress dowager, who were usually warm-hearted but cold-hearted, could be so in sync.

In her past life, An Lingrong told Zhen Huan before she died that the Empress had killed the Empress. Although An Lingrong had no evidence regarding the cause of the Empress Chun Yuan's death, she had been by the Empress's side for many years at that time, so by piecing together the fragmented details, she could roughly guess about 70-80% of the truth.

The death of Empress Chun Yuan must have been closely related to the child who died immediately after birth. However, she did not fully know how the Empress managed to do it.

However, the situation of Empress Fucha's pregnancy today is strikingly similar to that of Empress Chun Yuan when she encountered trouble. Perhaps Empress Fucha was a little luckier than Empress Chun Yuan, as she survived until the Emperor arrived to take charge.

But what is the purpose of setting up such a grand scheme today? And whose handiwork is it?

Is this just the Empress repeating her old tricks?