The princess's chest heaved violently, her breathing rapid. Cold sweat continuously oozed from her forehead.
She looked around. Everything around her began to blur, but the looks of mockery and derision directed at her became clearer and clearer.
Her hands trembled, her fingertips icy cold. She stared blankly at the emperor, opening and closing her mouth several times, but failing to utter a single word.
Everything targeted at her today was well - planned, one link after another.
Even if she had a thousand and one reasons and tried to drag others down with her, she couldn't deny one fact.
The Blood - Dripping Rose was found in her mansion, and every word Yue Chenkong had confessed was verified.
Her crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country could never be washed away.
"It's Liang Yuzhou! He wants to destroy this palace for the sake of Song Wanchu! And Lu Sihong! He is cruel and heartless and can't tolerate this palace!"
She was unwilling.
She had lived a magnificent life all her life, but in the end, she was outwitted by a few green - horned kids and ended up in disgrace. She was so unwilling!
The princess's eyes were bloodshot and bulging. She scanned those hateful faces one by one.
"They all deliberately oppose this palace! Your Majesty, I'm your elder sister. If I hadn't risked my life to save you from that bitch, Concubine Mei, how could you have become the emperor today? Let alone that young brat Lu Sihong. Without me, how could he have become the crown prince?"
The past kindness was her last straw to arouse the emperor's mercy.
She was like a fish out of water, on the verge of suffocation, while the emperor was like a clear spring. She stared at the emperor longingly, her eyes full of grievance.
But the emperor slowly closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Sister, you've really disappointed me. You embezzled the funds for repairing the river embankment to build a luxurious back garden. I forgave you. You instructed Yu Jingnian to mix sand into the military rations in order to exchange the rations for silver and build golden floor tiles. I forgave you. You stirred up the political situation in the court, assigned Cheng Jingxuan to humiliate the girl from the Shen family, and provoked the conflict between the Wen and Cheng families, intending to cut off the crown prince's right - hand men. I also forgave you."
The princess stared blankly with her mouth wide open, unable to make a sound anymore.
Her eyeballs bulged out in surprise.
It turned out that the emperor was well aware of everything she had done.
The desperate fear gradually devoured her sanity and took away her last glimmer of hope.
The emperor opened his eyes again. Facing the princess, his eyes were more determined than ever.
"Li Luxiang, summon the chief scribe to the palace and draft the imperial edict immediately."
In the grand hall, the emperor's cold and majestic voice echoed. "Princess Zhaoxian, blinded by greed and lust, living a life of extravagance. For her own selfish desires, she colluded with the barbarians and started a war, disregarding the innocent common people and the great Zhou's territory. Her heart deserves to be punished, and her crime is unforgivable. From this day on, her title shall be stripped, and she shall be demoted to a commoner. The princess's mansion shall be taken back, and all her property shall be confiscated into the state treasury. She shall be moved to the West Fourth Courtyard and be imprisoned for life. She shall not leave without an imperial edict."
The West Fourth Courtyard was essentially the cold palace. Concubines and female relatives of the royal family who had made mistakes were all imprisoned there.
They were only given two simple meals a day.
When they died, they would be wrapped in a straw mat and thrown out.
Many women had disappeared silently in that cannibalistic place.
The princess listened expressionlessly as the emperor pronounced her punishment.
It was all over. Everything was over.
If she had already taken control of the military power of the Duke's Mansion, she would still have the confidence and courage to fight against the crown prince.
She might even be able to threaten the emperor to withdraw the order.
But now she had nothing.
All her pride and glory were crushed at this moment.
She fell from the altar and became the biggest joke in the world.
The imperial edict was quickly written.
The emperor only glanced at it briefly. "Execute it."
The princess was dragged away by two female officials.
She said nothing, only staring fixedly at the emperor.
The emperor turned around, avoiding her gaze.
"Hong'er, I'm tired. I'll leave the rest to you to handle."
The order to punish the princess was personally issued by him.
His heart seemed to be hollowed out. Cold wind blew into his chest, and his whole body was ice - cold.
The crown prince lowered his eyes to hide the complex emotions in them. "Your son obeys the order."
The rest naturally referred to the princess's partisans.
The emperor had finally spared the princess's life, preserving her last bit of dignity.
The emperor left, and the queen followed closely behind.
Daoist Qiu looked at the emperor's back with a meaningful look in his eyes.
Then he also stepped forward to follow.
In the grand hall, the crown prince took the lead.
And the crown prince had a clear goal.
"Does anyone know who presented the Blood - Dripping Rose to Lu Ningzhen?"
Lu Ningzhen was the princess's real name.
She had been stripped of her title and demoted to a commoner, so she was no longer worthy of being called the princess.
The crown prince called her by her real name.
Cheng Yong trembled all over. His throat was dry, and he was so fidgety that he wished he could disappear immediately.
With the princess's downfall, the crown prince would settle accounts with her partisans, and the Marquis of Wude's Mansion would be the first to bear the brunt.
He now only hoped that no one would speak up and no one would implicate him in the matter of presenting the jade.
But as things turned out otherwise, soon an official stepped forward. "The person closest to Lu Ningzhen is Aunt Fang, the former chief maid of the Empress Dowager."
The crown prince's eyes darkened. "Summon Aunt Fang to the palace for questioning."
Aunt Fang, having completed her mission of internal and external cooperation, calmly appeared in front of the crown prince.
"Your Highness, the person who presented the jade is indeed Cheng Yong, the Marquis of Wude."
Cold sweat poured down Cheng Yong's face. He crawled away from his seat and knelt in front of the crown prince, kowtowing continuously.
"Your Highness, please forgive me! The Blood - Dripping Rose was given to me by my daughter, and it was also her idea to present the jade. I really didn't know that the princess - oops, I really didn't know that Lu Ningzhen colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country for the Blood - Dripping Rose. I just..."
"You just firmly believed that the princess was all - powerful and that following her would surely preserve your wealth and honor, and even allow your whole family to rise to prominence, right?"
The crown prince's anger towards Cheng Yong was especially intense.
It was not only because of the despicable things he and his son Cheng Jingxuan had done to Shen Yuhe and the Wen family.
It was also because he wanted to marry Cheng Simian to Liang Yuchuan, using his daughter as a tool to curry favor with the powerful.
If Cheng Yong had admitted his crime, the crown prince might still have admired his courage and responsibility.
But as soon as he was accused, he unhesitatingly shifted the blame to his daughter.
Cheng Yong knew very well that pushing Cheng Simian out couldn't wash away his crime.
Cheng Simian also had the surname Cheng. The matter of presenting the jade was done by the Cheng family. Who was the mastermind didn't really matter.
In the crown prince's eyes, the Cheng family was a whole, all currying favor with the princess.
He was just habitually cowardly.
Just as Cheng Yong was kowtowing and begging for mercy, scared out of his wits, two pairs of eyes on the women's seats quietly looked over.
Cheng Yong raised his sweating head and met Cheng Simian's gaze.
Cheng Simian's eyes were calm. She was in a state of tranquility and elegance.
It seemed as if all this had nothing to do with her.
She slowly stood up and knelt in front of the crown prince.
"Your Highness, the Marquis of Wude's Cheng family has curried favor with Lu Ningzhen. Their crimes are so numerous that they cannot be recorded on bamboo slips. Please punish them severely, Your Highness."
Cheng Yong was shocked and roared in disbelief. "Rebellious child, what are you saying?"