Concubine Tong not only confessed to the Three Judicial Departments about Xiao Zisheng's origin but also admitted that she had joined hands with Concubine Wang back then to frame Shu Moyun.
"All I wanted was the position of a side concubine. But that jealous Shu woman monopolized His Majesty and refused to give in. In the huge Eastern Palace, she was the only woman. How proper was that? Which man in this world doesn't have several wives and concubines? So, I had no choice but to join hands with Concubine Wang. She was extremely difficult to deal with on normal days and had a very high level of vigilance. I spent a great deal of effort before I managed to get her to take that medicine."
Later, Shu died in the fire. They successfully entered the Eastern Palace and became the Crown Prince's women. In the future, they would become imperial concubines and give birth to imperial heirs.
However, every time the Emperor turned over her green placard, he would only leave her alone in the empty room. Inevitably, she became a bit anxious. So she found a kind of medicine that could cause hallucinations, making the Emperor think that the one serving him was Shu Moyun, in order to conceive a dragon heir.
But after serving the Emperor several times with this method, she still failed to conceive a child. Seeing that Concubine Wang had been diagnosed as pregnant, she became even more anxious. She was worried that she was infertile and would be despised by the Emperor. So she also had the maid announce that she was pregnant. She bribed the imperial physician and had someone find a child from her clan and secretly send it into the palace, pretending that it was her own.
She raised this child as if it were her own and indeed managed to gain a foothold in the palace with this child. Later, two other concubines were also "diagnosed" as pregnant. They were the birth mothers of the Princes Huai and Xuan. At that time, she was even angry, wondering why others could conceive children while she couldn't.
But now when she recalled it, she finally realized that during those nights of serving the Emperor, the one who had taken the medicine was not the Emperor at all, but herself.
The Emperor had also used medicine on her, making her think that she had served him. Ridiculously, she had never seen through it for so many years.
It was true. The Emperor hated the noble families for forcing Shu Moyun to death, and by extension, he also hated these daughters of the noble families. How could he possibly allow the daughters of his enemies to give birth to children?
His birth mother was just a maid. Growing up in ridicule, he was well aware of the means of the women in the palace to seek favor, so he naturally saw through her thoughts at a glance.
After recording what Concubine Tong had said in the case file, Qin Hao ordered someone to unlock the shackles on Xiao Zisheng.
This was what the Emperor had promised. As long as Concubine Tong personally admitted the origin of the heir and the matter of framing Shu Moyun back then, Xiao Zisheng would be set free, granted the title of viscount, and given a fief. The price was that Xiao Zisheng and the Tong clan would never be allowed to return to the capital. Otherwise, they would be charged with treason.
As for Concubine Tong, with conclusive evidence of murdering the Queen Shu Moyun, she would be bestowed death.
Upon learning the truth about his origin, Xiao Zisheng couldn't accept it no matter what.
He clearly - he clearly had obtained the "Phoenix Star" and was clearly the true son of heaven. Why had it turned out like this?
He had fallen from a noble prince to the heir of the Tong clan. This kind of gap was even greater than the blow when his legs were injured and he could no longer stand up!
Xiao Zisheng's gaze fell on Cang Xuan again. As he looked, all of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning, he suddenly realized -
The "Phoenix Star" was not Su Qingyu at all, but the girl from the Prince Qing's Mansion!
She was the "Phoenix Star"!
Tong Qing looked at Xiao Zisheng sitting there in a daze, and a hint of guilt welled up in her heart. She said softly to him, "Zisheng, live well after you get out."
Coming back to his senses, Xiao Zisheng said hatefully, "You're not my mother. Don't look at me with that kind of look!"
He turned his wheelchair and quickly headed out of the cell. Concubine Tong was escorted back to the prison.
Next to be interrogated were Concubine Wang and the Prince Qi, Xiao Ziqi.
Concubine Wang was involved not only in the crimes of promiscuity in the harem and confusing the royal bloodline but also in drugging and framing Shu Moyun back then, setting fire in an attempt to burn Shu Moyun to death, and monopolizing the position of the Crown Princess. All these crimes were punishable by death.
But in the face of Qin Hao's accusations, she gave a soft laugh and said, "I admit that I'm sorry to His Majesty. But you say that Jing'er is not His Majesty's blood. What evidence do you have?"
"You want evidence?" Cang Xuan, who had been sitting on one side watching, suddenly spoke up. He laughed, "Then this prince will show you the evidence."
Cang Xuan clapped his hands, and two guards brought an old woman and an old man into the dark room.
Seeing these two people, Concubine Wang finally changed her complexion.
"It seems that Concubine Wang recognizes these two people. In that case, there's no need for this prince to introduce them." Cang Xuan smiled.
Xiao Ziqi had never seen these two people before. He couldn't help but look at Concubine Wang and whispered, "Mother Concubine, who are these two people? Do you really recognize them?"
Concubine Wang took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and looked dejected: "I plead guilty."
These two people were an old midwife who had delivered Concubine Wang's baby in a separate courtyard in the past and a doctor who had treated her when she was pregnant.
Concubine Wang had lost her virginity to her cousin Wang Shijiang before she married Xiao Ce as the Crown Princess. Although Wang Chongling was extremely angry when he found out, he still managed to suppress the matter and forbade anyone to know.
After becoming the Crown Princess, Concubine Wang had served the Crown Prince several times, but she always woke up the next morning inexplicably. At this time, she found that she was pregnant. She knew whose child it was and was so scared that her complexion changed.
She told Wang Chongling about this, and Wang Chongling told her to give birth to the child and raise it as the Emperor's child.
But after the child was at a more advanced stage of pregnancy, she found that she was carrying twins. As the Queen, if she gave birth to twin boys, they might turn against each other in the future for the throne, and it was also regarded as inauspicious.
In order to cover up the fact that she was carrying twins, before the due date, she made an excuse to go to the summer palace to escape the heat. She gave birth to the children in the summer palace and sent one of the children back to Langya County to be raised by Wang Shijiang.
Xiao Ziqi and Wang Xuning were indeed twin brothers, but Wang Xuning's age was deliberately changed to be a bit younger. Since Xiao Ziqi had always stayed in the palace, no one noticed that the two looked similar. This matter had been hidden for nearly twenty years.
She also admitted that she was the one who had framed Shu Moyun at the palace banquet back then.
Because the position of the Queen could only belong to the women of the Wang family. That Shu woman was just a stumbling block on their way. Since she was an eyesore, she should be kicked away.
Looking at Cang Xuan's face that resembled Shu Moyun's, she pulled at the corner of her lips and laughed: "I never thought that Shu was also pregnant at that time. Xiao Ce actually managed to protect you. Losing is losing. Now that we've fallen into your hands, do whatever you want with us!"
The Wang family had committed the crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. Even if Concubine Wang didn't plead guilty today, as a woman of the Wang family, her end would be the same as that of Wang Chongling and the others. It's just that...
Cang Xuan said slowly, "The criminal Wang, knowing that the child she was carrying was not the dragon heir, still gave birth to it, intending to let an illegitimate child of unknown origin inherit the great line and disrupt the court. This is a capital crime that even the heavens and the earth cannot tolerate."
Hearing that she was going to be executed, Concubine Wang was not afraid at all.
But the next moment, Cang Xuan's words made the color drain from her face.
"She murdered my mother, causing our family to be separated for several years and almost never seeing each other again. Letting her die as easily as the others is too good for her. Lord Zhang, I remember that there's an even more terrifying prison in the Ministry of Justice called the water prison?"
Zhang Wentao: "Your Highness, you're right."
Cang Xuan looked at Concubine Wang and said calmly, "Send her to the water prison and sentence her to death by slow slicing. This prince wants her to suffer the pain of her skin being peeled off in the water prison and never be reincarnated for all eternity."