The emperor was thinking of giving the queen a surprise, but unexpectedly, the queen gave him one instead.
When the emperor entered, he saw clothes strewn all over the floor and heard women's moans. This was the queen's bedroom. There was no one else here but her.
"Slut!" the emperor roared in a fury. He strode forward and yanked the two people on the bed down.
"Slap!"
"You slut!"
"Ah! Your Majesty, spare me! Spare me! Your servant is wronged. He forced me. It wasn't my will," the queen pleaded, kneeling naked on the ground.
She crawled over and hugged the emperor's thigh, begging, "Your Majesty, I'm truly wronged. It wasn't my will. Your Majesty..."
The emperor closed his eyes briefly and shouted, "Guards!"
The people outside pushed the door open. Seeing what was going on in the room, they all lowered their heads and knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.
"Guards, the queen has violated female virtues. I'm going to depose her. And as for all those in the harem who knew but didn't report, beat them to death with clubs."
"Your Majesty, spare us! Spare us! Your servant (maid) will never dare again," all the people knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately, but their pleas failed to soften the emperor's heart.
After all, this was a royal scandal. Who would spread it? The emperor now wished that all those who knew about it would die.
"My lord, this is a letter from Lou Ming. He said it's for you."
After Yuan Yuhan took the letter, he was stunned for a moment when he saw the content. This... couldn't be true:
Li Wantong was once taken into the palace by the queen and didn't come out until evening.
With just this one sentence, Yuan Yuhan understood Lou Ming's intention. He must have heard about Lord Li looking for him. This letter came just in time. He knew where to start his investigation.
"My lord, there's another thing. There's news from the palace that the queen has been deposed for her immorality, and all the people in her harem have been beaten to death with clubs."
Yuan Yuhan suddenly remembered what A Ru had said during the day. It seemed that the adultery had really been caught.
"Got it. You may leave."
Now that the queen had been sent to the Cold Palace, her maternal family was still in the court, and the crown prince's status was also quite high. Although the crown prince had promised to join them in overthrowing the Lou family, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't turn against them...
If they could prove that the third prince wasn't the emperor's biological son, the crown prince and his followers would be severely hit.
Immediately, he went to find Jing Xunce. "How's it going? Have you found any clues?"
"I've found a little clue, but it was cut off."
"Last night, the queen was caught having an affair and was sent to the Cold Palace. This news hasn't spread yet. Maybe we can use this to..." What they could use it for was self - evident to both of them.
"Who was that man?"
"He was a guard in the palace, but he was mute."
"At first, there were rumors that the third prince wasn't the emperor's biological son, but the news was suppressed immediately and didn't reach the emperor's ears.
You find an opportunity, within these few days, spread this news again. It must reach the emperor's ears."
"I understand."
Within a few days, the news that the third prince wasn't the emperor's biological son spread. When the emperor heard this news, he flew into a rage.
"Investigate for me and find out who spread this news."
"Yes."
The emperor sat alone for a long time and finally got up and went to the third prince's mansion. Since the third prince had been drugged by A Ru, he hadn't woken up.
However, the emperor didn't pay much attention. He brought a bowl of water, dropped a drop of his own blood into it, and then took a drop of the third prince's blood. When the emperor saw that the blood in the bowl didn't blend,
he was so angry that he had trouble breathing. Fortunately, a eunuch beside him supported him and gave him some water to calm his nerves. Otherwise, he might have been so angry that he fainted.
"Since this scoundrel can't wake up, then let him never wake up. Do you understand?" the emperor looked at the eunuch beside him. This matter must be resolved!
"Your servant understands." Then, under the emperor's supervision, the eunuch brought in a cup of poison and forced it down the third prince's throat.
Immediately, the third prince twitched all over and vomited blood. He soon lost his breath.
"Your Majesty, the third prince is dead."
"Let's go."
When Yuan Yuchuan heard about this, he slumped onto a stool, looking dazed. Why? Why did this happen? Then his eyes turned fierce. Since the emperor was heartless, don't blame him, his son, for being unrighteous.
"Go and tell the people in the palace to use the maximum dose of the medicine." Father, don't blame your son. All these were taught to me by you. You always said that if a man isn't ruthless, his position won't be stable.
A group of people entered the Cold Palace with several trays. The queen looked at them with fear in her heart. She knew what they were here for.
"The emperor has given the order. You choose one of these. I don't need to tell you the rules in the palace, do I? The emperor said that out of the many years of marital affection, he'll let you die decently."
The queen looked at the three - foot white silk, the poisoned wine, and a dagger in the eunuch's hand.
"Marital affection? Hahaha... How ridiculous! Get out of this palace! Get out! My son is the crown prince. If he knows that you've murdered his mother, he'll never let you go!"
The leading eunuch looked at her disdainfully. "Humph, the things you've done have implicated so many people. The crown prince himself might be in great trouble. How can he take care of you?"
"Since you don't want to choose, then let your servant choose for you." He picked out the three - foot white silk from behind and slowly walked towards the queen.
The queen struggled against the people holding her down. Her hands tightly grabbed the white silk around her neck.
"Your Majesty, let me tell you the truth. The third prince has already gone before you. You'd better stop struggling."
When the queen heard this, her hands holding the white silk gradually loosened. The eunuch behind her pulled hard. Before long, the queen was out of breath.
That night, except for the people in the palace, no one knew what had happened. They only knew that the emperor was extremely angry and had searched all the princes' mansions.
"Your Majesty, your subordinate found this in the crown prince's mansion."
The emperor looked at the imperial seal brought in by the guard and felt dizzy. "Where did you say you found this?"
"Your Majesty, your subordinate found it in the crown prince's mansion, in his study." At this moment, the young guard was also very scared. How could he have found such a thing? He didn't know if he would be beheaded for knowing about this royal matter.
If he could survive, he would resign tomorrow. He didn't want to do this lousy job anymore. Let whoever wants it take it.
"This unfilial son! Cough cough cough... I've already made him the crown prince, yet he's still not satisfied! Cough cough cough..." The emperor was so angry that he started coughing.
"Pfft..."
"Your Majesty!" The eunuch was scared when he saw the emperor vomiting blood and fainting. He quickly called for the imperial doctor.