Chapter 377: The Mastermind (Fourth Update)

“Rong Jiu! Don't you dare speak such nonsense!”

Rong Jin instinctively moved to refute her.

As the Crown Prince, and one with cultivation talent that could be considered outstanding, why would he need to resort to such methods?

“For many years, this Palace has relied solely on my own abilities to cultivate. I have never taken any shortcuts, let alone employed such sinister means! I can swear upon my life!”

Rong Jin also swore a deadly oath.

He knew very well that in this current situation, if he did not quickly distance himself and his Imperial Mother from this matter, they would be doomed forever!

However, against the backdrop of the Empress's reaction, these words sounded incredibly pale.

“Si Huijing, what exactly are your intentions in doing this!”

Emperor Jiawen simply could not listen to Rong Jin's words.

In his heart, he was already certain that the Empress was behind everything!

The tear tracks on the Empress's face had already dried, leaving behind only a sense of despair.

Emperor Jiawen glanced at Rong Jin and Rong Zhen, then sneered

“Refusing to speak? Fine! Both Rong Jin and Rong Zhen shall be equally unable to escape punishment! And Rong Qi as well! I must have been blind back then to choose you as my Empress! To even let Rong Jin be the Crown Prince! Chu Ning! Rong Jiu! Search this entire place immediately!”

“Yes!”

The two responded in unison without the slightest hesitation.

Subsequently, they split up and began searching in different directions.

Rong Zhen hesitated to speak, appearing as if she wanted to stop them, but in the end, she merely stood there with a panicked expression.

Eunuch Min stood behind Emperor Jiawen, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

Because this trip involved the Empress and others, it had been kept very low-profile; they hadn't even brought guards.

Who could have expected such a world-shaking secret to explode!

Looking at the chaotic scene before her, Chu Liuyue slightly raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the sky.

The heavens of this Yaochen Kingdom were finally about to change...

Hearing Emperor Jiawen's words, the Empress finally realized something—Emperor Jiawen intended to dispose of both her and her son!

It didn't matter if she met with trouble, but Rong Jin's position as Crown Prince could not be taken away!

Seeing that Chu Ning and Rong Jiu had already begun searching inside, she shuddered and directly kowtowed to Emperor Jiawen to confess her sins

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please forgive me! This Concubine knows she was wrong! You may punish me however you wish, but I beg you to spare my child! They are innocent! They knew nothing of this, Your Majesty!”

She slammed her head against the ground with force. Accompanied by a dull thud, blood soon began to pour from her forehead like a stream.

Her makeup had long since been ruined by tears, and combined with the bright red, viscous blood flowing slowly down from her forehead, she looked utterly wretched.

Emperor Jiawen remained unmoved, as if he had heard a joke

“Unaware? Rong Zhen is right here. Are you telling me she knows nothing?”

The Empress was speechless.

In truth, she didn't even know why Rong Zhen was here!

She had handled this matter very discreetly; Rong Jin and the others were all unaware, including Rong Zhen!

Even if she were mad, she couldn't have sent Rong Zhen here!

But, Rong Zhen was indeed here! There was no room for denial!

At this thought, a sudden surge of resentment toward Rong Zhen rose in her heart—if not for her, how would Emperor Jiawen have found this place! He wouldn't have seen everything here! And he certainly wouldn't have suspected Rong Jin and the others because of her existence!

She looked at Rong Zhen and pleaded bitterly

“Zhenzhen, tell your Imperial Father yourself how you got here, alright? Consider it a plea from your Mother! You don't want your eldest and second brothers to suffer along with you, do you? Ah? You cannot drag them all down with you!”

Rong Zhen's pupils trembled.

Suddenly, many images flashed through her mind.

How familiar this scene was!

Ever since she was a child, whenever trouble arose, her Mother would always say such words, wouldn't she?

A layer of mist seemed to shroud her eyes.

Then, she slightly lowered her face and said clearly, word by word

“...Imperial Father, it was Mother who sent me here...”

The Empress's voice cut off abruptly as she looked at Rong Zhen in disbelief.

“...Mother said... only this way could I avenge myself against Chu Liuyue... and also pin the death of Elder Si Meng... on them...”

With every word Rong Zhen spoke, the Empress's eyes widened further.

After hearing this sentence, she was completely stunned!

Immediately after, the Empress suddenly realized something and screamed shrilly

“Your Majesty! Everything she says is false! It's all false! Please, do not believe her!”

Emperor Jiawen glanced at her and said indifferently

“Are you saying that your own biological daughter is framing you?”

The Empress felt an immense sense of grievance, yet she did not know what to say.

She didn't know why Rong Zhen would say such things!

“Rong Zhen, do you mean to say that Si Meng died at the hands of your mother?” Emperor Jiawen took a step forward and asked.

Rong Zhen flinched, raised her hand to point weakly at the bronze vat, and then quickly withdrew it, as if she were afraid of something.

However, this movement was clear enough.

—She was clearly saying that Si Meng had died inside that bronze vat!

“I almost forgot, he was a fifth-stage martial artist... To seize the power of such a powerhouse, one would naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

Chu Liuyue observed Rong Zhen dispassionately.

She had only been gone for ten days; how could so many things have happened in the Imperial Capital?

If she didn't clearly remember that she herself had killed Si Meng, she might have actually believed Rong Zhen's words.

The Empress's face turned pale and flushed as she prepared to argue.

“Your Majesty!”

“Imperial Father!”

Chu Ning and Rong Jiu returned one after the other.

The expressions on both of their faces were somewhat subtle.

Emperor Jiawen's heart sank

“What is it?”

Chu Ning and Rong Jiu exchanged a glance, appearing somewhat hesitant.

After a moment, Chu Ning cupped his hands

“Your Majesty, many white bones are buried in the backyard.”

Rong Jiu immediately added

“In several rooms of this courtyard, there are also varying amounts of scattered bones. A rough estimate suggests there are about a hundred people.”

Dead silence.

Even Chu Liuyue couldn't help but knit her brows.

When she saw that bronze vat, she had thought there must be more than just those few skeletons here.

But she hadn't expected there to be so many!

“Most of those people were cultivators. There have been no missing person cases in the Imperial Capital in recent years, so... these people must have been brought from outside the capital,” Chu Ning said in a heavy voice.

Emperor Jiawen took a deep breath and stared at the Empress

“Si Huijing, you could not have done this alone. Speak, who is helping you? The Si family?”

Upon hearing Emperor Jiawen mention the Si family, the Empress shook her head reflexively.

“No! These were all done by this Concubine alone! It was a momentary lapse in my judgment! This Concubine is willing to atone with death, I only beg Your Majesty to spare Rong Jin, Rong Qi, and the Si family!”

Rong Jin finally could not hold back and said

“Mother! What are you doing? You didn't do this, right? Whoever is trying to harm you, just say it—”

*Slap!*

The Empress actually delivered a harsh slap to Rong Jin's face!

(End of Chapter)