Lu Ningzhen glared at everyone present with eyes full of hatred.
Liang Yuzhou presented the personal letter that Lu Ningzhen had written to the death warriors.
The Emperor was familiar with Lu Ningzhen's handwriting.
She had no way to defend herself.
This time, Lu Ningzhen didn't even want to excuse herself.
She never expected that the Crown Prince and Liang Yuzhou would be so vigilant. Even after her downfall, they had been closely monitoring her every move.
They even knew exactly how many death warriors she had.
The assassination had failed because her plan hadn't been meticulous enough. She admitted defeat.
Anyway, the Crown Prince was still alive. She was the Emperor's elder sister who had once saved his life. The debt of gratitude would always be there, and the Emperor wouldn't take her life.
Thus, she seemed like a fearless warrior. Although defeated, she was ready to face death without flinching.
The Emperor looked at her, not sure whether he felt more grief or anger at this moment.
"Do you still remember the heart - blood incident five years ago?"
Lu Ningzhen was taken aback.
The Emperor didn't scold her for assassinating the Crown Prince. Why was he asking about something that happened five years ago?
She subconsciously glanced at Song Wanchu, her face showing suspicion.
Song Wanchu calmly returned her look.
Seeing that Lu Ningzhen didn't say a word, the Emperor's voice took on a hint of pressure. "Don't you have anything to say?"
Lu Ningzhen's eyes flickered a few times. "It's an old matter. I can't remember it clearly."
The whole incident had been a huge conspiracy designed by her.
But something had gone wrong midway. She hadn't managed to poison Song Wanchu to death. Instead, she had almost harmed Liang Yuzhou.
Although Song Wanchu had offered her heart - blood, she had concealed the truth so well.
The person who had saved Liang Yuzhou had become Yu Huiyan.
After that, the Emperor had rewarded Yu Huiyan and promoted Yu Jingnian.
If the old scores from that year were dug out, it would be like the Emperor being slapped in the face.
Combined with the crime of deceiving the Emperor and the crime of manipulating power in the court, she would truly be unforgivable.
Especially since Liang Yuzhou had saved the Crown Prince during today's assassination and made great contributions.
It would make her motives from that year seem even more vicious and hateful.
Lu Ningzhen didn't dare to imagine how the Emperor would react if he knew the whole truth.
She would surely die.
Lu Ningzhen insisted that she knew nothing.
The Emperor's eyes dimmed little by little.
He let out a soft laugh, as if mocking Lu Ningzhen or himself.
This elder sister of his was really capable. She had played him like a puppet and deceived him completely.
"You don't remember, but there's someone here who does. It's also an old acquaintance. Let you meet him."
Lu Ningzhen lazily lifted her eyelids.
Apart from Yu Huiyan, the only one who knew the truth about the heart - blood incident back then was Aunt Fang.
Yu Huiyan wouldn't dig her own grave. Aunt Fang hadn't been in the room at that time. Her testimony wasn't trustworthy, and Lu Ningzhen could easily refute it.
Zhou Yan and Zhou Sheng carried a stretcher in.
When Lu Ningzhen saw the person on the stretcher, her pupils dilated in shock.
Doctor Jiang's hand and foot tendons had already been severed. He was completely paralyzed and even had his tongue cut out.
He stared at Lu Ningzhen desperately, his eyes filled with blood. He let out muffled cries, his expression ferocious and full of boundless hatred.
A chill ran down Lu Ningzhen's spine. Her gaze quickly swept across the faces of the Crown Prince and Liang Yuzhou.
Who on earth had managed to find the half - dead Doctor Jiang?
The Emperor saw Lu Ningzhen's panic.
"Do you still recognize him?"
Lu Ningzhen gritted her back teeth and remained silent.
Liang Yuzhou stepped forward. His tall and straight figure cast a shadow on Lu Ningzhen's face.
"Your Majesty, this Taoist priest knows this Doctor Jiang. Back then, when this Taoist priest was poisoned, it was he who saved me. However, after I recovered and wanted to thank him, he hurriedly resigned and returned to his hometown. This Taoist priest found it very strange. When I went to his hometown to look for him, I found that he had become such a wretched state."
Doctor Jiang glared at Lu Ningzhen fiercely, his eyes full of the desire to devour her alive.
Even if he couldn't say a word, it was enough to tell everyone a bloody truth.
Lu Ningzhen was extremely cruel. She could have killed him to eliminate future troubles, but she was too confident. She deliberately left him alive to set an example, so that her followers could see what would happen if they didn't fear or depend on her.
"This Princess has some grudges with Doctor Jiang, but it has nothing to do with the heart - blood incident!"
Lu Ningzhen stubbornly refused to admit it.
"Good, very good."
The Emperor had still underestimated her shamelessness.
"Then I'll summon the people involved and help you recall the situation of that year again."
Yu Huiyan walked into the main hall tremblingly and knelt in front of the Emperor.
"This commoner woman is guilty!"
She looked up, glanced at Liang Yuzhou, and then at Song Wanchu.
Song Wanchu's expression was calm. Her gaze towards Yu Huiyan showed no emotion.
No disgust, no hatred, nothing.
The woman who she had once regarded as a love rival and had competed with openly and secretly for years didn't seem to care about her at all.
Yu Huiyan felt that she had been a clown all those years.
Now, she just wanted to be free.
She took a deep breath and told everything.
"Your Majesty, back then, Lu Ningzhen thought that Liang Yuzhou liked this commoner woman, so she wanted to act as a matchmaker, hoping that Liang Yuzhou would remember her kindness so that she could use this kindness to control the Duke's Mansion in the future.
Song Wanchu's father had sacrificed himself for the old Duke. The old lady wanted to matchmake the two of them, which was beyond Lu Ningzhen's expectation.
Lu Ningzhen regarded Song Wanchu as a thorn in her side. So she instructed this commoner woman to poison the wine at the palace banquet. Who would have thought that by accident, Liang Yuzhou drank the poisoned wine.
In order to completely tie this commoner woman to Liang Yuzhou, Lu Ningzhen forced Song Wanchu to offer her heart - blood, but told everyone that it was this commoner woman who had saved Liang Yuzhou. She not only deceived Liang Yuzhou, the Princess Jiahe, but also deceived Your Majesty!
This commoner woman never offered a single drop of blood. It was Song Wanchu who saved Liang Yuzhou's life!"
Song Wanchu quietly listened as Yu Huiyan tore open the truth of that year.
In the past, just mentioning this incident would make her heart ache faintly.
But now, her heart was as calm as still water, and there was no uncomfortable feeling at all.
Meeting Liang Yuzhou's worried and guilty gaze, she smiled easily.
So this was what it felt like to let go.
The world was bright and clear, and the man she loved had become even more lovable.
If Doctor Jiang's inability to speak was not enough to testify.
Then Yu Huiyan's words were irrefutable evidence of Lu Ningzhen's power - manipulation and deception of the Emperor.
The Crown Prince made the final decision. "Father, if it weren't for Wanchu saving Liang Yuzhou, your son might have lost his life in this woman's hands today."
Lu Ningzhen couldn't believe that Yu Huiyan would come to testify against her.
She stared at Yu Huiyan and growled hoarsely, "You've committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor just like this Princess. Don't you want to live anymore?"
Suddenly, a great anger welled up in Yu Huiyan. She pushed Lu Ningzhen hard and rolled up her sleeves, showing everyone her overlapping old and new wounds.
"Lu Ningzhen, the person I should hate the most is you. You used me as a tool again and again, made me do dirty work for you, and finally pushed me into the fire pit to be tortured and beaten by that brute Liang Yuchuan! You deserve to die. Why don't you just die! Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!"
Deep down, Lu Ningzhen still thought of herself as the high - and - mighty Princess. Being scolded by Yu Huiyan to her face, she was both ashamed and angry.
"Lu Ningzhen, do you still have anything to say?"
The Emperor's thunderous voice shook her eardrums.
"Deceiving the Emperor, manipulating power, colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, embezzling bribes, colluding with party members, disrupting the court, and even attempting to harm the Crown Prince! Our Great Zhou cannot tolerate a woman as vicious as you!"
Lu Ningzhen burst into wild laughter. "Brother Emperor, do you want to kill me? If you really kill me, how will you face Mother in the future?"
The Emperor had already made up his mind. "I will go to Mother's memorial altar to atone for my sins, but you must die!"
Lu Ningzhen's eyes bulged.
She couldn't see a trace of pity on the Emperor's grief - stricken face.
This time, even the debt of gratitude couldn't save her.
"Come, drag her down and bestow a white silk for her to commit suicide!"
Leaving her a whole body was the last bit of dignity the Emperor gave her.