Everyone gasped in shock. What a bombshell! Shi Aohan was actually the emperor's daughter? Was she the long - lost jewel of the royal family?
The ladies and young misses were extremely anxious. Originally, Shi Aohan had a good reputation and was protected by Lady He. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they maintained a good - looking relationship with Shi Aohan on the surface. But later, because of her loss of chastity during the mourning period and her attempt to seduce a married man, they looked down on her.
Now that they thought about it, if Shi Aohan was really the emperor's daughter, wouldn't they have offended a princess?
The emperor was still in a daze. He stared blankly at Fu Rongxuan and asked, "What did you say?"
After Fu Rongxuan blurted out the truth, the last bit of hesitation in his heart disappeared. He took a deep breath and said word by word, "Your Majesty, I'm saying that Shi Aohan is not a fatherless orphan. Her father is you. She should have been a noble princess. She has always yearned for you with all her heart."
Tears rolled down Shi Aohan's cheeks. She straightened her back and looked up at the emperor. Choking with sobs and trembling, she said, "Your Majesty... My mother is Shi Fengyun. Nineteen years ago in Qiantang, do you still remember?"
The emperor stared at Shi Aohan, his gaze as cold as ice. "Nineteen years ago? In Qiantang?"
Shi Aohan nodded. "Yes..."
The emperor turned to look at the queen and then at the crown prince. Pointing at Shi Aohan, he roared, "All of you knew about this, you, you, and even the He family and the Fu family. Everyone knew except me. I've been kept in the dark!"
Lu Wanning lowered her head, recalling the scene in the book. In the book, Shi Aohan's appearance before the emperor was well - foreshadowed. It was a troubled time for the Great Zhou Dynasty. Several natural disasters and man - made calamities occurred, and it was Shi Aohan who proposed suitable solutions.
The crown prince sang her praises in front of the emperor, which caught the emperor's attention. It was not until one day when they met in the queen's palace that the emperor vaguely felt that this woman looked familiar. After a few interactions, he found out that Shi Aohan was actually his own daughter.
At that time, both Lu Wanning and Shi Aohan were married to Fu Rongxuan. In order to show Shi Aohan's kindness, she was reluctant to put the emperor in a difficult position, so she voluntarily remained a concubine. In the end, the emperor only rewarded Shi Aohan and did not demote Lu Wanning from the main wife to a concubine, even though the Lu family was already in decline.
Now, of course, the situation was very different from the one in the book. There was no long - term foreshadowing or private confessions. All that happened was a disgrace in the palace hall. It was definitely a disgrace. Just a moment ago, the emperor was determined to take Shi Aohan as his concubine, but now, the woman who was about to become his concubine turned out to be his own daughter!
Lu Wanning instinctively looked for the figure of Prince Yu, but he had already left his seat and disappeared.
She had a strange feeling in her heart. When she deliberately spread the news that Shi Aohan was not worthy of the imperial dragon, she never expected that there would be a connection with the emperor. Moreover, the news she spread was full of loopholes. The crown prince quickly suppressed it, but they didn't find out that she was the mastermind.
Did Prince Yu play a role in this? Did he deliberately let the news reach the crown prince faster and also suppress it quickly? Moreover, Prince Yu must have found a way to erase her involvement and instead send this news to the emperor.
She was just an accidental participant. What about Prince Yu? Because of the original story in the book, she knew that Shi Aohan was the emperor's illegitimate daughter. Did Prince Yu know this too?
In just a moment, Lu Wanning was sure. Prince Yu must have known long ago that Shi Aohan was the emperor's illegitimate daughter. He also knew that the crown prince and others were looking for a suitable opportunity to present this talented and capable woman to the emperor, so that the emperor would know that he had such a long - lost daughter.
No matter who did it, Shi Aohan's future was now bleak.
Lu Wanning didn't know the emperor very well, but from their interactions, she knew that the emperor had a very complicated personality. He was extremely suspicious and hard to trust others. He seemed to be a wise emperor, but in fact, he was quite tyrannical.
Anyway, he was definitely not a kind and loving elder. Just look at how he treated his sons and daughters. Princess Qin, although she was his daughter, didn't even have a title. Although she was the only princess, she was completely invisible in the palace. As for the princes, apart from the fact that the emperor often mourned the second prince who died young and doted on the third prince, Prince Yu, there was no news that he treated any other sons well.
He was so cold to the children he often saw. How could he treat Shi Aohan, this suddenly - emerged illegitimate daughter, well?
A faint smile appeared on Lu Wanning's lips. She knew that Shi Aohan's jealousy towards her was just because she thought that Lu Wanning was not the emperor's biological daughter but still received the emperor's favor.
But Shi Aohan's stupidity lay in the fact that she didn't know that eight out of ten parts of the emperor's favor towards Lu Wanning were just for show, and the remaining two parts were just because of the empress dowager's preference.
For those in high positions, everything was a game, including the love for the younger generation.
The queen immediately knelt down. "Your Majesty, I... I just found out about this not long ago. But because you are so busy with state affairs, I didn't want to bother you. And..."
The emperor waved his hand to interrupt her explanation and pointed at Duke He. "When did you know about this?"
Shi Aohan crawled two steps on her knees and looked up at the emperor. "Your Majesty, if you want to blame someone, blame me. It was I who begged them not to say anything. It's all my fault. My mother... before she died, she told me to come to the capital to find my relatives. But she asked me to wait until the mourning period was over, forget everything in the past, and then recognize you."
The emperor sneered. "Blame? When did I say I was going to blame them?"
Hope flashed in Shi Aohan's eyes. She looked at him with gratitude. "Your Majesty..."
The emperor shouted, "Guards! The direct branches of the He and Fu families have committed the great crime of deceiving the emperor. Arrest them all and wait for further trial! Depose Crown Prince Sheng Chenyi and relocate him outside the palace. He is not allowed to enter without my summons."
The queen was shocked and cried out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! He is your eldest son and the legitimate son!"
The emperor gritted his teeth and stared coldly at the queen. "Queen, I haven't punished you yet! Deceiving and hiding the truth from the emperor? Who gave you the courage?"
The queen prostrated herself on the ground and shook her head. "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I adopted her as my god - daughter just to make up for my mistakes. I didn't mean to deceive you. I just really didn't want to bother you about this. If the matter of the royal family's long - lost daughter living among the common people is not handled properly, wouldn't it... arouse public criticism?"
The emperor walked up to the queen, bent down, and forcefully grabbed her chin. "Long - lost jewel? My child? He Linlang, have you ever cared about my children?"
The queen was extremely frightened. Her chin hurt badly, but she didn't dare to cry out. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I..."
But the emperor didn't allow her to explain. He threw her aside and sneered. "Moreover, my daughter is right here in the palace. There is no other daughter. Qin'er, come here!"