The emperor looked at the silk fabric and let out a long sigh. "Yes, it's genuine."
Lu Wanning was in a complete turmoil and couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Sheng Chenyi gave her a disdainful look. "I have no interest in deceiving a fool."
Lu Wanning said again, "Your Majesty, could the Shao family have colluded with him and deliberately sent such a battle report?"
Sheng Chenyi said impatiently, "Lu Wanning, that's enough. If the Shao family had colluded with me, it wouldn't have been just a battle report."
Lu Wanning's eyes were brimming with tears as she stared at the emperor.
By now, the emperor had calmed down. He looked up at Sheng Chenyi. "What on earth do you want?"
Sheng Chenyi stared at him coldly. "Father knows very well. I've been the crown prince since birth. After all these years, why did Father depose me? Wasn't it all for Sheng Jinyu? Now that Sheng Jinyu is gone, Father, who else do you think this empire can be entrusted to? The fourth brother or those little kids who haven't even grown up?"
"You! It was you who killed Sheng Jinyu. You killed him and then framed my father and brother!"
In her rage, Lu Wanning tried to reach for her scimitar, but then she remembered that the attendant had taken it away before she entered the palace today. She'd been so preoccupied with entering the palace that she hadn't paid any attention.
She threw herself at Sheng Chenyi recklessly, using both her mouth and hands. She bit down hard on his head. Sheng Chenyi wasn't on guard, and his ear was almost bitten off. His eyes were also scratched painfully.
After all, Sheng Chenyi was a man with good martial skills. He threw Lu Wanning to the ground with force and stepped hard on her hand.
"You bitch. I'll kill you today!"
"Prince Chen!" The emperor frowned and spoke. "Zhaoyang is just being naive. After all, she's your younger sister. Don't you have any sense of gentlemanliness?"
Sheng Chenyi was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Father, what should I say? You treat this daughter who has no blood relation to you much better than you treat me. Who does she think she is? What right does she have to stand here and even attack me?"
The emperor closed his eyes. "Since ancient times, the victor takes all and the loser pays the price. I've lost. I made a mistake by being soft - hearted back then. I knew very well what kind of person your mother was, but still, considering that you're my son, I let you off..."
Sheng Chenyi narrowed his eyes. "Let me off? Hahaha, Father, are you admitting it? You've always wanted me dead, haven't you?"
The emperor calmed himself for a while and then pointed at Lu Wanning, who was lying on the ground and couldn't get up. "You've got everything you wanted. After I'm gone, you can do whatever you want with her. But as long as I'm still alive, you shouldn't touch her."
Sheng Chenyi looked down at Lu Wanning. This delicate young woman had somehow found the strength to attack him. His ear was still bleeding, and his eye socket was in great pain. He wished he could execute her immediately.
However, a charming young woman was not entirely useless. Sheng Chenyi stepped on Lu Wanning's hand slowly and deliberately, crushing it until it was bloody and mangled. Her tightly - clenched teeth finally loosened due to the pain, and she couldn't help crying out.
Sheng Chenyi was satisfied and let go. "The Lu family is all stubborn, and you're no exception. It's a pity that you can't even bear the pain of superficial injuries."
Lu Wanning felt so useless. She'd been bullied to such an extent.
The emperor said again, "That's enough. Help her up."
Sheng Chenyi obediently helped Lu Wanning up and brought her in front of the emperor. He watched as the emperor took a small knife and cut the bedsheet, carefully bandaging Lu Wanning's wound.
The emperor's voice was already weak. "Silly girl, if you can't beat him, why do you have to be so brave?"
Lu Wanning sobbed. "I'm a daughter of the Lu family. I can shed blood, but I can't back down."
The emperor lovingly wiped away her tears. "I once promised the empress dowager that I would protect the Lu family and keep you safe for a lifetime. It's a pity that I can't do it anymore, Zhaoyang. From now on, I won't be able to protect you."
Big tears rolled down Lu Wanning's face. She should have known earlier that the emperor was a suspicious man, but also a kind - hearted monarch. She should have trusted him.
However, this scene of fatherly love and filial piety deeply irritated Sheng Chenyi. He quickly called the eunuch and handed over the imperial edict. "Write."
The emperor stared at Sheng Chenyi silently and didn't pick up the pen.
Sheng Chenyi sneered. "Father, are you thinking about who can still save you? Father, all the guards in the capital are my men, and the royal clan also supports me. As for those pedantic court officials, they're useless. Lu Hongxi's crime of colluding with the enemy is well - proven. No one in the world can forgive him. Who else is on your side?"
The emperor reached out and knocked over the tray held by the eunuch.
Sheng Chenyi was even more delighted. He raised his eyebrows and said, "In the box behind the main hall, there's your edict locked up. Is it the edict to pass the throne to Sheng Jinyu?"
The emperor's eyes narrowed.
Sheng Chenyi continued, "Of course I know. Before Sheng Jinyu went on the expedition, you said that once he returned in triumph, it would be the day to establish the crown prince. It's a pity, Father. He won't be coming back."
The emperor asked hoarsely, "Did you take the edict?"
Sheng Chenyi shook his head. "Not yet. Before, I didn't want to stir up trouble. Later, I didn't want to touch it. Now... I not only want him dead but also want him to be completely erased. Do you think you can leave any mark of him as the crown prince here? Impossible! You'll write it whether you like it or not! Hahaha, I have plenty of ways to make you write."
The emperor took a deep breath. "I'll write, but tell me, is A Yu still alive?"
Sheng Chenyi burst into wild laughter. "You still remember A Yu? You remember him all the time, but do you know that he always hated you? It was you who watched his biological mother die without doing anything. You just silently approved that she should die, didn't you? You're the one who started it all!"
The emperor's body trembled, and his eyes became even more cloudy.
Sheng Chenyi continued, "People say you're a passionate man, devoted to the imperial concubine. After the imperial concubine, you never made another imperial concubine. When Concubine Jiang entered the palace, you even violated the ancestral rules to dote on her. Isn't it because Concubine Jiang looks very much like the imperial concubine? But what's behind all this affection? It was you who killed the woman you loved most with your own hands."
The emperor trembled even more violently. He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
Lu Wanning scolded, "Don't talk nonsense. The imperial concubine was killed by your mother. What does it have to do with His Majesty?"
Sheng Chenyi looked at Lu Wanning with great interest. "You're so sharp - tongued. You weren't even there when that happened."
Lu Wanning sneered. "Although I don't know exactly what happened, I can guess. The emperor did make a mistake. He was weak for a moment and let the evildoers go unpunished. But that's not an excuse for the evildoers to shift all the blame onto others. The main culprit is the main culprit, and no amount of whitewashing can change that. Your mother, your biological mother, was the empress, but how much blood is on her hands? The imperial concubine was just one of her victims. There were so many concubines in the harem. How many of them fell victim to her?"
Sheng Chenyi's eyes turned fierce. "Nonsense!"
"Whether it's nonsense or not, you know in your heart. Your mother not only killed the imperial concubine but also the entire Yan family. Your mother was as venomous as your uncle. She didn't even spare her own relatives!"