The words of Gu Kexing had just faded when all the court officials of the prime minister's faction knelt on the ground one after another.
They shouted in unison, "Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly!"
Seeing this, Xiao Wang narrowed his eyes slightly and scanned the kneeling court officials.
Gu Kexing truly lived up to his reputation. Even in such a situation, he could still come up with such a pretext to absolve himself of guilt.
Xiao Qi also immediately knelt on the ground to plead for the queen, "Father, Mother would never do such a thing! Please, Father, investigate thoroughly!"
The emperor's cold eyes stared at the kneeling crowd.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the Golden Luan Hall became deadlocked.
Just then, Song Yanran suddenly exclaimed, "What if this item is added? Can it prove that this manuscript was written by the queen herself?"
After saying that, Song Yanran took out a jade pendant from her bosom.
The jade pendant was pure white all over, obviously made of top - grade mutton - fat white jade.
The chief eunuch took the jade pendant from Song Yanran's hand and presented it to the emperor.
The emperor picked up the jade pendant and examined it carefully.
He had always thought this jade pendant looked familiar. Now, looking closely, the characters carved on it confirmed his suspicion.
Then he said coldly, "Queen, this jade pendant was what I gave you when you first entered the palace. Your nickname is carved on it!
If you didn't order someone to forge the letter deliberately, why would this jade pendant be in someone else's hands? What else do you have to say now?"
Hearing this, Gu Kexing couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Such an important thing could fall into someone else's hands.
How incredibly stupid!
Gu Kexing glanced at the queen who was kneeling on the ground, crying like a tearful mess. He clenched his fists tightly, as if making a difficult decision.
He shouted, "Queen, you're so muddle - headed! How could you do such a thing? Haven't you thought about the Second Prince?"
These words were undoubtedly a veiled reminder to the queen that for the sake of the Second Prince, the Gu family couldn't be completely destroyed.
After hearing this, the queen suddenly stopped crying.
Yes, if the Gu family fell, her son would never have a chance in the struggle for the throne in the future.
Meeting Gu Kexing's solemn gaze, the queen instantly understood that she had become a discarded pawn.
Her eyes became empty and dull, as if her soul had been taken away.
She was very clear about what her fate would be next.
Finally, she tightened her lips and looked at Xiao Qi reluctantly.
"Your Majesty, it's all my fault! Back then, I was jealous of Concubine Shu and afraid that she would become the queen. So I deliberately ordered someone to forge a letter accusing General Huo of colluding with the enemy and giving away state secrets, and then gave it to Prime Minister Gu.
Prime Minister Gu was completely unaware of this! It was all my doing!"
The queen spoke with certainty, taking all the blame on herself.
Then, Gu Kexing, looking upright and fearless, said, "Your Majesty, back then when I saw that letter written by General Huo, I thought it was really written by him.
It was my fault that I didn't investigate thoroughly! I'm guilty! I'm willing to resign from the position of prime minister as a warning to others!"
Gu Kexing knew that the emperor wouldn't believe the queen's words so easily, so he took the initiative to strike first before the emperor could say anything.
Immediately afterwards, after hearing Gu Kexing's words, the officials of the prime minister's faction, well aware of the principle that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold", knelt on the ground one after another to plead for Gu Kexing.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Gu has exhausted himself for so many years. Please be lenient!"
"Your Majesty, this was the doing of the queen alone. It has nothing to do with Prime Minister Gu! Please investigate thoroughly!"
"Your Majesty is wise. Prime Minister Gu is a pillar of our dynasty. We mustn't let him resign from his position!"
...
For a moment, the pleas echoed in the Golden Luan Hall.
Xiao Wang gave those court officials a cold look. Their so - called pleas were nothing but a fear that if Gu Kexing fell, their misdeeds over the years would be investigated.
The emperor saw that the court officials were pleading for Gu Kexing one after another, and the queen had completely cleared Gu Kexing of all suspicion.
Even though he still had doubts about Gu Kexing in his heart, he had no choice but to let it go.
After careful consideration, he said coldly, "Carry out my order. Take back the queen's imperial seal and title deed, and immediately send her to the Cold Palace. She must kneel for three hours every day to atone for the unjustly - killed souls of the Huo family!"
The emperor paused for a moment, then frowned and glanced at Gu Kexing who was kneeling on the ground. "Gu Kexing is guilty of negligence in this matter. He will have his salary withheld for three years and will be confined to his mansion immediately. He is not allowed to leave without an imperial summons!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone in the Golden Luan Hall varied.
Gu Kexing secretly let out a sigh of relief.
As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood.
Moreover, he still had a backup plan!
Just then, the queen suddenly glared at Song Yanran fiercely.
All this was thanks to Song Yanran!
Since that was the case, then no one would have a good time!
Then, the queen shouted towards the emperor, "Your Majesty, I want to expose Song Yanran! She once blackmailed me with a manuscript to help her frame Song Qingyu, the legitimate daughter of the Song Prince's Mansion!"
These words caught Song Yanran off guard.
Song Yanran shook her head repeatedly at the emperor and exclaimed, "Father, I definitely didn't do such a thing! She's just trying to take revenge on me and deliberately saying this! Please, Father, investigate thoroughly!"
Song Yanran immediately looked at Xiao Wang and cast a pleading look, "Your Highness, please tell Father quickly!"
Xiao Wang's lips curled into a sneer.
His cold eyes made Song Yanran's back shiver.
Xiao Wang stepped forward slowly and said coldly, "Father, every word the queen said is true. The poisoning of Miss Song at the palace banquet before was their doing."
Hearing this, Song Yanran looked at Xiao Wang in disbelief.
She asked in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, what are you talking about?"
"Do you dare to say that Miss Song's sudden serious illness back then and the poisoning at the palace banquet had nothing to do with you?" Xiao Wang's voice was still cold, without a trace of warmth.
The queen suddenly laughed a few times and watched Song Yanran with a look of schadenfreude.
"Do you see? This is the people of the royal family. They have no feelings! You've done so much for him, but he wants your life. Hahaha, Song Yanran, you're even more miserable than me!"
Song Yanran still refused to believe what she had heard.
She crawled to Xiao Wang's feet and carefully tugged at his robe, sobbing, "Your Highness, you can't treat me like this..."
She then touched her lower abdomen, and hope seemed to reignite in her eyes.
"Your Highness, there's our royal heir in my belly!"
Hearing this, Xiao Wang sneered, "Our royal heir? The bastard in your belly is someone else's. How dare you claim it as mine? It's really ridiculous."
"Bastard? How could it be a bastard? This is clearly our royal heir!" Song Yanran cried out.
She never thought that Xiao Wang would be so heartless that he wouldn't even care about his own child.
"Song Yanran, do you think I would still touch you after you harmed Ayu? The person who spent nights with you was a beggar I deliberately found on the street for you."
Xiao Wang's words were like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Tears streamed down Song Yanran's face. She was almost on the verge of collapse. A feeling of falling from heaven to hell instantly engulfed her whole body.
It turned out that Xiao Wang had never touched her. Instead, he had even found a beggar to humiliate her.
It turned out that all this was their scheme!
A huge wave of hatred swept over her. Her eyes instantly turned scarlet.
"Father, I want to accuse the Crown Prince of deceiving the emperor! He deliberately had someone pretend to be Song Qingyu in order to get the evidence in my hands!"