novelraw Chapter 694 - 683: The Cuckolded Prince
Chapter 694 - 683: The Cuckolded Prince
Hearing Mu Jin’s response, Lin Jingxian’s gaze fixed on her, then fell limp like cold ash.
"Your Majesty, Empress, hearing only one side of the story is not enough to be credible. Who knows if she has been bribed by someone?" Lin Xueyuan knelt down and defended, aware that if Lin Jingxian’s guilt was confirmed today, his status as her father would be finished as well.
"Oh? Mr. Lin is suggesting that I, myself, bribe someone to cuckold myself?" Ye Qiu retorted indignantly, "You don’t trust your daughter’s personal maid, okay, but the original handkerchief surely can’t be forged."
"Indeed, Nanny Zhao, you’ve experienced much, go and see if there’s anything amiss with the original handkerchief?"
"Yes, this servant obeys."
Nanny Zhao took the handkerchief, examined it carefully, then knelt down and shook her head: "Reporting back to Your Majesty, Empress, in this servant’s opinion, this is not virgin blood."
"Oh?" Empress Liu frowned and said, "This court is unwilling to judge hastily. Doctor Du, you’re knowledgeable and experienced, you should have some understanding of bloodstains, please don’t be afraid of contamination and have a look."
"This official obeys the decree."
Doctor Du, being an old Imperial Physician, had seniority even over the Dean of the Imperial Hospital. He had always been the one checking Emperor Xingwu’s pulses, so his words were highly trusted by the audience.
All watched as Doctor Du examined the blackish bloodstain on the handkerchief closely, even sniffing it, and then shook his head: "Your Majesty, Empress, Nanny Zhao is correct, this is indeed not virgin blood, but rather resembles ordinary bloodstains."
Hearing Doctor Du also say this, Lin Jingxian’s crime was almost certainly assured. To insult the current Prince, presenting a child of unknown parentage as the Prince’s offspring, this alone was enough to sentence her to death.
Lin Xueyuan, upon hearing Doctor Du’s response, collapsed on the ground, devoid of will to live, just like his shameless daughter, without any hope for survival.
"This blood was drawn from the palm of my hand, I, a lowly servant, cannot afford good ointment, the scar is still visible to this day, please, Empress, bear witness," Mu Jin bit her lip decisively, steeling her resolve and showing her palm.
The scar was not big but was exceptionally conspicuous on a pair of fair and delicate hands; all the Ministers present remained silent and shook their heads.
What a scandal! This is indeed a huge scandal for the Royal Family!
Lin Jingxian dared to confuse the Royal Family’s bloodline with that of an outsider, truly a crime deserving of death.
"Now that the evidence of Lin Jingxian’s infidelity is conclusive, Fifth Brother, why then do you claim that the perpetrator is the Crown Prince?" Empress Liu asked again.
The audience perked up, knowing the critical moment was at hand, coincidentally, the couples of the Seventh Prince and Prince Ten requested audience. Empress Liu consulted Emperor Xingwu’s wishes and summoned both the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort to attend, along with Consort Hui who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
"Since everyone is here, Fifth Brother, you go first - why do you say that the Dragon Phoenix twins born out of Lin Jingxian’s affair are the Crown Prince’s children?" Empress Liu directly questioned.
The newcomers, unaware of the developments up to this point, looked around uneasily, shifting their gazes constantly among Ye Qiu, the Crown Prince, and Lin Jingxian.
Especially Shen Xiu, the Crown Princess Consort; from beginning to end, she was the one kept in the dark.
"Father Emperor, Empress Mother, this is a slander, your son has no relations whatsoever with Fifth Sister-in-law," the Crown Prince knelt and fervently defended.
The Crown Princess Consort also knelt, puzzled, "Father Emperor, Empress Mother, there must be some misunderstanding here, I know the capital has been rife with rumors recently, but the Crown Prince is absolutely not that sort of person."
Empress Liu had them stand up first and said to Ye Qiu, "Fifth, what evidence do you have? Slandering the Crown Prince is unforgivable - even if you are his brother."
"This son dares not speak recklessly; I have witnesses," Ye Qiu said with absolute certainty, even the Crown Prince and Emperor Xingwu, who were confident just moments ago, felt some trepidation inside.
"Who?" Emperor Xingwu demanded with a suppressed rage.
"The witnesses are you, Father Emperor, Consort Hui, Eunuch Lian Xi, and the four Imperial Mandate ladies present, as well as those palace maids and eunuchs you executed on the spot," Ye Qiu looked straight at Emperor Xingwu and recounted everyone present at that time without omission.
"Do you also want me to speak of the indecent acts between the Crown Prince and Lin Jingxian that transpired in Chenfeng Hall?"
"This is complete nonsense!" Emperor Xingwu was so angry that he had to be fed another bowl of ginseng soup by Doctor Du, but evidently, even with the soup, he was somewhat disoriented.
"Whether it’s nonsense or not, please have Consort Hui and those four Imperial Mandate ladies come out and speak," Ye Qiu, too, showed an extremely dissatisfied face at Emperor Xingwu’s protective demeanor of the Crown Prince.
Empress Liu looked at Consort Hui and said, "Consort Hui, what do you know? Speak it all."
"I..." Consort Hui, looking conflicted, glanced at Emperor Xingwu, hesitating to speak.
Seeing her like this, suspicion grew in the hearts of the ministers present.
"Who are those four Imperial Mandate ladies? Summon them as well," Empress Liu ordered again, "Consort Hui, is there something embarrassing that you can’t speak of?"
"This..." Under the extreme pressure of Emperor Xingwu’s possible reaction, Consort Hui finally steeled her heart, "On the night of the palace banquet, I had a bit too much to drink and felt unwell, so I asked His Majesty to accompany me for a walk. Who knew we would end up at the secluded Chenfeng Hall, and then we heard voices inside."
"What did they say?" Empress Liu asked.
Emperor Xingwu, with eyes nearly bulging out in anger, exclaimed, "Consort Hui, you can’t just say anything carelessly."
"I am not speaking carelessly. The man inside was saying that the first attempt to assassinate Fifth Prince was unsuccessful, and that they would continue to take action. He also said that upon succeeding the throne, he would restore the woman’s and their children’s status," Consort Hui recounted as she remembered, continuing, "I was terribly frightened at the time, and His Majesty was thoroughly grim. Then, from a side chamber, there came a few Imperial Mandate ladies changing clothes and a group of palace maids and eunuchs attending to them. When the man and woman inside were discovered, they were still in a state of disheveled dress. I saw it very clearly; they were none other than Crown Prince Ye Zheng and Fifth Princess Consort Lin Jingxian."
"His Majesty became furiously angry at the time and suppressed the matter. He immediately executed those palace maids and eunuchs, but those few Imperial Mandate ladies couldn’t be disposed of so arbitrarily, so they were just given a stern warning. Even I, because I had seen what happened that day, nearly fell out of His Majesty’s favor. If I hadn’t insisted vehemently..."
Consort Hui started sobbing as she spoke, "But I really couldn’t bear to see Fifth Prince being insulted like this. The Crown Prince has gone too far, he’s unfit to be a ruler."
"This..." The ministers looked at each other, taken aback that the situation was even more serious than they had imagined.
Crown Princess Consort Shen Xiu’s eyes were already wide with disbelief as she stared at Crown Prince Ye Zheng.
And Emperor Xingwu had already fainted from rage by the time Consort Hui finished recounting the incident.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Consort Hui crawled over, "I know I broke my promise, but you simply cannot fall ill! The Crown Prince has been too much of a worry for you."