Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

The Empress Dowager's lips curled up, and she said with a cold smile, "Lord Tu, it's been so many days, have you found out anything about Prefect Song's matter?"

"Considering your loyalty to the court, if you can provide an explanation for Prefect Song's case, I will temporarily forgive your disrespectful words just now."

Tu Guoqiang spoke up: "Your Majesty, Prefect Song was framed. That incident was not a natural disaster at all, but man-made. In fact, Lord Chen knows this better than I do."

These words caused another stir.

Chen Jing stepped forward: "What Lord Tu said is true, I can testify to that. Lord Song is indeed wronged, and the real culprit behind it is Daotai Yao Miao."

Tu Guoqiang paused for a moment, then looked directly at the Empress Dowager: "Actually, Empress Dowager, you know he is innocent. It's just that Lord Song knows the Emperor is not the late Emperor's son, so the Empress Dowager insists on putting him to death."

Wow! ! !

The imperial court was now in complete uproar!

Tu Guoqiang and several other senior officials repeatedly stated that the current emperor was not the son of the late emperor.

The Empress Dowager's reaction, instead of anger, seemed more like an attempt to cover up her actions, which only fueled suspicion. Everyone began to have doubts.

Because the Empress Dowager's expression was so unusual, she always tried to suppress the matter.

More and more people began to side with Lord Tu.

Now, even if the Empress Dowager wanted to downplay the matter, it was impossible, because everyone wanted her to give an explanation.

Seeing that she couldn't escape this matter, the Empress Dowager's eyes turned cold: "Lord Tu, I am willing to let you off the hook because I think you are devoted to the Hanjiang Dynasty."

"I never expected you to challenge my and the Emperor's bottom line time and time again. I can tolerate it, but the Emperor cannot."

"You keep saying that the Emperor is not the son of the late Emperor, but do you have any evidence? If you don't give me an explanation today, you will be making an enemy of the entire Hanjiang Dynasty. If you can't produce any evidence, don't blame me for being impolite."

The court fell silent as everyone awaited Lord Tu's reaction.

Tu Guoqiang looked at Song Wenjie beside him: "General Song, why don't you say it?"

Everyone turned to look at Song Wenjie. He was tall and strong, making him stand out among the many ministers.

Sensing everyone's attention, Song Wenjie calmly walked out and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

Then, without any fear, he looked at the Empress Dowager and said, "Empress Dowager, you want evidence, right? Then I will summon a few people in."

Seeing Song Wenjie's confidence, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of unease in each other's eyes.

The Empress Dowager clenched her fists, her palms slightly sweaty, trying to remain calm.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Wenjie waved outside and said loudly, "Bring them in!"

At this moment, a guard entered with a young girl and a middle-aged woman.

Upon seeing the two people, the Empress Dowager's face turned deathly pale, and a chill ran down her spine, as if she had seen a ghost.

This girl was none other than Yu Xi, a palace maid in the laundry department.

I sent people to deal with the sisters, and when they returned to report, they said that they had fed the sisters poisoned wine and dumped their bodies in a dry well.

He thought he had done everything perfectly, but to his surprise, the girl from Yuxi was still standing alive in front of him.

The other middle-aged woman was none other than Shan Yi, the servant who had served Consort Yi back then, though she had gained a little weight.

Shan Yi recognized the Empress Dowager at a glance and immediately panicked: "Greetings, Empress! Oh, no, I mean Empress Dowager!"

Song Wenjie looked at the Empress Dowager with a half-smile: "Empress Dowager, you should know better than I who those two are!"

The Emperor naturally recognized the girl from Yuxi, but he only felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn't quite place her.

Upon seeing Shan Yi, the Empress Dowager's head buzzed, and she felt completely stunned, never expecting to see her again after so many years.

He had promised her that he would arrange for her to leave the palace and marry after Consort Yi's death. That was his promise, but in reality, he planned to send her out of the palace and then kill her. He never expected that she would still be alive.

It turns out that the guard who took her out of the palace had long fallen in love with her. Not only did he not kill her, he also married her.

"Your Majesty, we are so sorry to Consort Yi. I keep dreaming that she is coming to take my life. Empress Dowager, we are so sorry. This matter has been weighing on my heart for so many years, and I must speak out."

Shan Yi's expression was blank, her thoughts seemingly drifting back to the past, as she slowly recounted what had happened back then. She spoke of how, as Empress, she had ordered Shan Yi to persecute Consort Yi.

She then recounted the details, revealing that she had been instructed by Empress Wu Liana to poison Consort Yi's hair with a comb soaked in poison over a long period of time.

Because Consort Yi's hair was combed with a comb soaked in poison for many years, the poison entered her skin through the pores of her hair. Over time, this caused chronic poisoning, and Consort Yi eventually succumbed to the poison.

This way, the murder can be concealed and cannot be detected.

As far as he knew, the Empress Dowager had used the same method to persecute the late Emperor, and the court officials gasped in shock.

It's unexpected that the Empress Dowager would use such a secretive method to kill two people. This is not something that could be done overnight, which is enough to prove that she is meticulous.

After Shan Yi finished speaking, Yu Xi also revealed what she knew. It turned out that the Emperor had mentioned in his sleep that Eunuch Gao was his father, which had startled the sisters.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager's expressions grew increasingly grim. Looking at the Empress Dowager's cold gaze, Yu Xi couldn't help but shiver, but she couldn't care less about that now.

The Empress Dowager had long wanted her dead, and she was only alive today thanks to the Third Prince and General Song for saving her life.

Even if it means death, she will tear down the Empress Dowager's facade and expose her shameful deeds to the world, as a way of repaying the Third Prince for saving her life.

Tu Guoqiang looked at the Empress Dowager and smiled: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, do you two have anything else to say?"

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager threw her head back and laughed loudly: "Hahahaha~ Hahahaha~"

Then, with a sinister look in his eyes, he stared at Zhu Yuanzhang and spat out each word through gritted teeth: "Third brother, I really misjudged you."

"You've always pretended to be a pitiful scholar, but I never imagined you'd secretly collude with these old ministers of the former dynasty, plotting a rebellion."

"In order to plot a rebellion, you spared no expense to bring in these two so-called witnesses to frame the Emperor and me. It seems you are determined to seize the throne."

Immediately afterwards, the Empress Dowager glanced around at the ministers present, her gaze settling on Tu Guoqiang and Zhong Yuguo, a few other veteran ministers. Her chilling gaze sent shivers down everyone's spine.

After a pause, the Empress Dowager spoke: "Tu Guoqiang, Zhong Yuguo, when the late Emperor was alive, he valued you highly and trusted you deeply."

"The late Emperor's dying wish was for you to do your best to assist the Emperor. But unexpectedly, you few actually plotted a rebellion, repeatedly challenging the Emperor's bottom line. Even though I am magnanimous, I can no longer tolerate you."

With that, the Empress Dowager's eyes sharpened and she shouted loudly, "Song Wenjie, Tu Guoqiang, Huang Daofu, Zhong Yuguo, Chen Jing—you and your ilk are plotting a rebellion! Guards! Seize them all!"

No sooner said than done, hurried footsteps sounded at the door. Wu Jingang, the Nine Gates Commander, dressed in armor, led the Imperial Guards and surrounded the court.