Cui Lin looked as if he had struck gold. He eagerly pressed, "Madam Zhao, are you saying General Zhao met with someone from the Lu family last night?"
Madam Zhao nodded.
Zhao Yuanlang panicked: "Yue Shi, what nonsense are you spouting?! I didn’t meet anyone last night! What Lu family? Have you lost your mind—"
"Silence!"
Emperor An’s voice thundered: "Zhao Yuanlang, must I have someone gag you before you shut your mouth?"
Zhao Yuanlang’s face turned deathly pale.
Emperor An’s expression darkened. "Continue."
Madam Zhao trembled and spoke weakly: "I heard my husband say that he had already discussed matters with Duke Lu and that with the Lu family’s backing, their plan would succeed. He said… the Lu family had some hold over Your Majesty, something that forced Your Majesty to repeatedly yield to them. Even if things went wrong, the Zhao family would be safe as long as the Lu family took the brunt of it."
"At the time, I was shocked, but I didn’t think too deeply about it. As a woman of the Zhao family, I naturally wanted what was best for them. But then… my husband asked the Old Madam, ‘Are we really going to abandon Yinxuan?’"
When Emperor An heard the part about the Lu family having leverage over him, his face turned ashen. He had long suspected the Lu family, and though Madam Zhao’s words were vague—not specifying what the Zhao family had agreed to with the Lu family—Emperor An instinctively felt the Lu family was up to no good.
Unaware of the emperor’s thoughts, Madam Zhao, already weakened by poison, spoke even more faintly under the oppressive atmosphere in the hall.
"The Old Madam scolded my husband, saying, ‘Those who achieve great things must not be shackled by trivialities.’ She said Yinxuan had lost her virtue and was now useless, that the Fourth Prince was a good-for-nothing, and that keeping Yinxuan alive would only tarnish the reputation of the Zhao family’s women and bring shame upon them."
"She said it would be better to trade a worthless daughter for the Lu family’s favor—to use Yinxuan’s death to frame the Bureau of Military Affairs and Governor Xiao. They planned to pin the Lingyun Temple incident on him."
"The Lu family has people in the Imperial Medical Bureau, and Your Majesty is naturally suspicious. As long as they could make you doubt whether Xiao Yan’s injuries were faked—whether he had deliberately delayed the Lingyun Temple investigation to manipulate the court and consolidate power—they could make you lose trust in him."
"Then, they would lead you to question the circumstances of his ‘saving’ you that day, presenting prearranged witnesses to testify. Once Your Majesty was enraged, they would seize control of the Bureau of Military Affairs from him—"
"Outrageous!"
Emperor An’s furious gaze snapped toward the Zhao family. "Zhao Yuanlang, how dare you?!"
Zhao Yuanlang knelt, his face desperate. "Your Majesty, I never said these things! Yue Shi is lying!"
The Old Madam Zhao also shouted sharply, "Yue Shi, the Zhao family has treated you well! How dare you slander me and Yuanlang? When did I ever say such things?!"
Tears streamed down Madam Zhao’s face as she looked at them, trembling. "I’m slandering you? Then why did you poison me? Why lock me up in the manor?"
"Ever since Yinxuan was imprisoned, you ignored her. The moment I mentioned her, you turned cold. I begged you to save her, but you refused. When you found out I had gone to plead with Your Majesty, you berated me."
"I exhausted every avenue, yet you wouldn’t even visit her in prison. I know she was just a useless Fourth Princess Consort to you, but she was my daughter—my precious child, born after ten months of carrying her! Even if she made mistakes, I would rather give my own life to atone for hers!"
She then raised her head and pleaded with Emperor An, her voice shaking:
"Your Majesty, I know I failed as a mother, but Yinxuan has already realized her mistakes. She was deceived and used, and at Lingyun Temple, she lost her virtue and reputation."
"I beg you to save her… I beg you. I am willing to die in her place, please…"
Struggling to her knees, Madam Zhao kowtowed violently, each thud echoing painfully in the hearts of those present.
Seeing her emotional state, Tangning feared the poison would flare up and quickly held her back, kneeling beside her as she spoke to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I have no right to speak in this hall, but the events at Lingyun Temple involve me."
"The Fourth Princess Consort schemed against me, but in the end, she was the one who paid the price. I despise her, but I also pity her. She was merely too blinded by love, too trusting of the wrong person, and was manipulated into becoming a pawn in someone else’s scheme."
"For a woman, such public humiliation is punishment enough. I implore Your Majesty, in consideration of Madam Zhao’s motherly love, to spare the Fourth Princess Consort. Do not let her be used as a tool again."
The hall fell silent. The Zhao family’s faces were ghostly pale, while Cao Dejiang and the others wore complicated expressions.
Feng Qiuli spoke softly, "Lady Xiangning, did you not know the Fourth Princess Consort is already dead?"
Tangning’s eyes widened in shock. "Dead? How…?"
She stammered, "I had just left Rongsheng Academy when I encountered Madam Zhao. After being pursued, I ran into Commander Yu… I didn’t know…"
Cui Lin looked at Madam Zhao with pity. "This morning, Old Madam Zhao entered the palace to weep before the Empress Dowager, claiming the Fourth Princess Consort had been wronged and begging for mercy for her granddaughter."
"The Empress Dowager’s heart softened, and His Majesty, seeing Governor Xiao severely injured and the Bureau of Military Affairs leaderless, with the Lingyun Temple matter unresolved, ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to investigate."
"But when they arrived, they found the Fourth Princess Consort had already been strangled to death in her cell."
"Madam Zhao… did you truly not know?"
Madam Zhao staggered, collapsing to the floor. "No… No, Yinxuan couldn’t be dead… How could she die…?"
Cui Lin, though he disliked Xiao Yan, feared the Lu family more. He hadn’t expected the Zhao family’s mess to involve the Lu family and pressed on mercilessly.
"They say the Fourth Princess Consort died horribly. After being murdered, she was strung up to fake a suicide, with a forced confession left beside her. Old Madam Zhao was grief-stricken—she not only caused a scene at the Bureau of Military Affairs but also stormed into the palace, demEmperor An ng justice from His Majesty."
Madam Zhao swayed, first disbelieving, then turning as pale as paper.
"No wonder they locked me up… No wonder they wanted me dead…"
She trembled violently before suddenly turning toward Zhao Yuanlang and the others. With a surge of strength, she lunged at them.
"Zhao Yuanlang, you beast! She was your daughter! Your own flesh and blood!!"
She clawed at him with surprising ferocity.
"You monster! You monster!!"
"Give me back my daughter’s life! Give her back—!"
Caught off guard, Zhao Yuanlang was slapped twice before her nails raked bloody lines across his face. Howling in pain, he shoved her away violently.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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