dognovel Chapter 186 Let her go to prison too.
Chapter 186 Let her go to prison too.
Ye Shishu was both amused and exasperated. "Father, your daughter-in-law is just a woman confined to the inner quarters. How dare you speak so presumptuously?"
"But Ling'er only listens to you!"
"Uh...that's because the prince has a good temper and doesn't like to argue with his daughter-in-law."
"He has a good temper?" Yu Chisheng scoffed. "Do you even believe that yourself?"
"..." Ye Shishu lowered her head and fell silent.
To be honest, she thought her man had a really good temper; he was patient, kind, and compassionate...
Of course, the other party must be a kind person.
If it were someone who committed numerous evils, was cunning, or was greedy and ungrateful, then she wouldn't know what their fate would be.
Before long, Yu Chi Ling brought Qi Sui in, followed by two guards, one on each side of Chen Mama.
Before the guards could push Chen Mama in front of Yuchi Sheng, Chen Mama broke free from their grasp, knelt down before Yuchi Sheng, and pleaded tearfully, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine did not intend to switch her own son with the Empress. It was all my idea. The Imperial Concubine only made this grave mistake because she listened to me. If Your Majesty wishes to punish someone, punish me instead. I beg Your Majesty to forgive her for the many years she has served you!"
Yu Chisheng chuckled coldly, "Are you going to take the blame for her?"
"Your Majesty, I'm not trying to take the blame for the Imperial Concubine. It was my idea! I'm the one who's guilty! You can't wrong the Imperial Concubine!" Granny Chen continued to plead.
“Granny Chen is so loyal, I probably won’t get anything out of her. In that case, let’s execute them all.” Yu Chi Sheng then ordered Wu Yue, “Issue my decree: at noon tomorrow, take Consort Murong, her son, and Granny Chen to the East Gate and execute them by slow slicing in public!”
Upon hearing this, Granny Chen's face changed drastically, and she exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, what do you want to ask me? Your Majesty, please release the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince! I will tell you whatever you want to know!"
Yu Chi Sheng narrowed his eyes and continued to sneer, "Before you confess everything, I might as well tell you that all the arrangements today were made at my behest, with the purpose of making Murong Lan admit that the Crown Prince is her biological son."
"Since I dared to do all this, I naturally have evidence that Murong Lan switched the princes. I never intended to execute you all, but you and your servants are truly stubborn and incorrigible, still trying to argue even when you are about to die."
"Since you all think I'm easy to fool and want to continue deceiving the emperor, it means you still harbor ambitions for the throne. In that case, I don't need to keep you alive any longer. Whether you speak or not, it's a capital offense, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Chen panicked completely. She kowtowed twice, crying, "Your Majesty, this servant is willing to confess... It was Consort Lan who overheard your conversation with Master Fangji about choosing the eldest son of the legitimate wife as the crown prince, which is why she had the idea of switching the princes..."
"That day, Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to Prince Cheng a few hours earlier, but Her Majesty the Empress was too weak and fell into a deep sleep for a long time. So, the Noble Consort asked me to take the Crown Prince to see Her Majesty the Empress. When I found an opportunity, I changed the swaddling clothes of the two princes and then took Prince Cheng back to Lanxia Palace..."
Yu Chi Sheng sneered again, "So, Prince Cheng is truly the Empress's son, and not someone she picked up from outside the palace?"
Granny Chen froze abruptly.
A hint of regret clearly surfaced in the astonished old man's eyes.
What good is regret now?
She has already confessed. If she goes back on her word and says that Prince Cheng was not the Empress's son, who will believe her?
……
The safari was terminated before it even officially began.
The grand procession returned with awe-inspiring news.
Upon learning that the Crown Prince was Consort Lan's biological son, while Prince Cheng was Empress Min's eldest son, the court and the public were in an uproar, and the news spread throughout the capital in a single day.
That very night upon returning to the palace, Yuchi Sheng issued an imperial edict, deposing Yuchi Rui from his position as Crown Prince, demoting him to a commoner, and imprisoning him in a death row cell.
Originally, Yuchi Sheng intended to imprison Consort Lan until her death, but unexpectedly, during the morning court session the next day, several officials spoke up for Yuchi Rui, saying that all the actions were done by Consort Lan, that Yuchi Rui was innocent, and that Yuchi Sheng should restore Yuchi Rui's status as a prince.
Yu Chi Sheng was already furious, and seeing their support for Yu Chi Rui only fueled his anger. He publicly announced that Consort Lan would be sentenced to a length of white silk, and pointed at the officials, angrily shouting, "You say Yu Chi Rui is innocent, but for over twenty years, not only has he occupied the position of Crown Prince, but he has also shown no brotherly loyalty to Prince Cheng, taking Murong Lan's favoritism for granted. Do you dare to swear on your lives that he doesn't know the truth? If you were in his shoes, would you accept someone else's mother's affection with a clear conscience?"
The officials were left speechless by the questions.
Yu Chisheng then called out each of them by name, "You are so loyal to Yu Chi Rui, so Yu Chi Rui's ambition is also your ambition. You want to go against the majority and support Yu Chi Rui to continue to covet the position that does not belong to him, right?"
Before the officials could react, he shouted sternly, "Where are the palace guards? Seize all these traitors who support Yuchi Rui!"
The officials were all paralyzed with fear.
The prime minister, Zhu Zhishun, who was standing at the head of the table, kept his head down, as if he hadn't heard or seen anything.
The revelation that Yu Chi Rui is the son of Consort Lan means that Yu Chi Rui is completely useless.
His term as prime minister has come to an end.
Right now, he wouldn't be foolish enough to save Yuchi Rui.
All he wants now is to protect himself and the Zhu family...
……
East Palace.
Looking at Qi Sui, who had come to deliver the imperial decree, Zhu Huaning questioned indignantly, "It was Consort Lan and her son who committed a heinous crime. What does it have to do with me? I didn't order them to do it!"
Qi Sui said, "His Majesty said that husband and wife are one. When Prince Cheng was imprisoned, Princess Cheng followed him through thick and thin. Now that the deposed Crown Prince is imprisoned, the Crown Prince's wife cannot escape unscathed either. His Majesty also said that the deposed Crown Prince occupied a position that did not belong to him, and you, as the Crown Prince's wife, also enjoyed wealth and honor that did not belong to you. Therefore, you should go to the prison to accompany the deposed Crown Prince to repent."