Chapter 378: Losing Both the Wife and the Soldiers (Fifth Update)

Rong Jin was momentarily stunned by the blow.

The Empress had struck with extreme force, causing half of Rong Jin's cheek to swell and turn red instantly.

Her palm felt slightly numb, and as she looked at Rong Jin's dazed and injured expression, her heart trembled in sympathy.

If she hadn't been driven to such desperation, how could she bear to strike her most beloved son?

But—

"This is no place for your input!"

The Empress barked a reprimand, then broke free from Rong Jin. She knelt and moved forward, pleading bitterly

"Your Majesty, you may punish me however you wish, and I shall have no grievances. But these matters were truly the work of me alone..."

Emperor Jiawen's gaze was filled with mockery.

"Were you not denying it all this time? Why are you admitting it so readily now?"

It was nothing more than refusing to shed tears until seeing the coffin, and refusing to turn back until hitting the south wall!

Seeing that all the evidence was now laid bare before her and that she could no longer argue, she was finally willing to confess.

Furthermore, she actually intended to take all the blame upon herself!

"Your cultivation talent is mediocre; this bronze vat certainly wasn't prepared for you, was it? How many people in this world could make you go to such great lengths?"

As he spoke, Emperor Jiawen's gaze fell upon Rong Jin.

Rong Jin shuddered.

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

He was not stupid; upon learning the function of that bronze vat, he had already sensed something. Later, seeing the Empress's reaction, it would be a joke if he still couldn't guess who it was prepared for.

Even though he had been ignorant of it before, the thought that hundreds of cultivators' bones were hidden within this courtyard made him shudder with horror!

The Empress was choked into silence.

Emperor Jiawen closed his eyes.

"Take the Empress and Rong Zhen back to the palace! Without my permission, they are not allowed to leave the hall! As for you, Rong Jin, get the hell back to the Crown Prince's Manor! Oh, and Rong Qi! Let him stay quietly in the Prince of Ping's Manor! Once this matter is thoroughly investigated, I will punish them one by one!"

Having finished speaking, Emperor Jiawen flicked his sleeves in anger and turned to leave!

Eunuch Min hurriedly followed, not daring to utter a single word.

Chu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and patted Chu Liuyue's arm

"Yue'er, go back and get some good rest first."

Now, this matter was officially no longer related to them, father and daughter, but as the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guard, he still had to follow His Majesty to continue the investigation.

Chu Liuyue nodded gently. "Don't worry, Father. Yue'er can take care of herself."

Only then did Chu Ning feel at ease. He turned and walked toward Rong Zhen.

"Fourth Princess, please."

Rong Zhen looked at the Empress hesitantly. "Mother—"

"Get out! This Palace has no daughter like you!"

The Empress suddenly cursed in a shrill voice!

Rong Zhen's already bloodless face turned even paler.

Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing and turned to leave.

As she passed by Chu Liuyue, she kept her head lowered, seemingly not noticing Chu Liuyue's presence.

"Fourth Princess."

Chu Liuyue suddenly spoke, calling out to her.

Only then did Rong Zhen stop abruptly and look up at her.

Seeing Chu Liuyue, Rong Zhen instinctively frowned, revealing a look of disgust.

However, just as she was about to speak, for some reason, a flash of dread suddenly crossed her heart.

Inexplicably, she swallowed the words in her throat.

Facing this series of subtle reactions, Chu Liuyue's eyes flickered slightly, and a suspicion formed faintly in her mind.

She said nothing more, instead giving Chu Ning a reassuring smile.

Rong Zhen, feeling a sense of fear in her heart, hurried away.

On the other side, Rong Jiu was standing before the Empress and Rong Jin, quietly waiting for the two of them.

He seemed very patient, saying little as he stood aside waiting.

From time to time, he would glance at the two of them, appearing quite amused.

No one knew that he had waited for this day for far too long.

Now that he finally had the chance to see the Empress in such a pathetic state, he was naturally going to seize the opportunity.

Sensing his gaze, Rong Jin's anger was instantly ignited

"Rong Jiu! You did this on purpose, didn't you!? You just want to make a mockery of us mother and son! Are you satisfied now!?"

Rong Jiu said indifferently

"What is Brother the Crown Prince talking about? I am merely waiting to escort you two back. Imperial Father has already given the order, so naturally, I must follow it."

Rong Jin clenched his fists

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking! Is it all because of that lowly biological mother of yours!? You have harbored resentment against us for more than just a day or two! One day, I will surely pay you back twofold!"

Rong Jiu's gaze turned cold, and a heavy killing intent permeated the air!

"Crown Prince, if you have the time, you should think carefully about how to escape this death trap."

The Empress's position could not be saved, and Rong Jin would fare no better.

This time, it would even implicate the Si family!

Unable to save himself, yet still dreaming of revenge?

Ridiculous.

Rong Jin had to nearly grind his molars to suppress the resentment in his heart.

"Mother, let's go!"

They had to find another way!

As Rong Jin supported the Empress and walked ahead, Rong Jiu paused and looked toward Situ Xingchen

"Grand Princess Situ, will you be coming along, or—"

Situ Xingchen's face was like a frozen mask, awkward and embarrassed.

She could never have imagined that things would develop to this point!

Wasn't everything fine before?

How could the situation of the Empress and the Crown Prince become so precarious just because she had gone out of the palace for a single trip!?

What was she to do?

"This Princess will not accompany you for now..."

Situ Xingchen said forcedly, feeling immense regret in her heart.

Had she known it would come to this, she would never have entered into an engagement with Rong Jin!

This current situation was simply impossible to clean up!

"That doesn't seem quite right, does it? Grand Princess Situ, you have just become engaged to the Crown Prince. Now that the Crown Prince is in trouble, if you leave just like this, wouldn't that be equivalent to deserting your post? Not just the Crown Prince, but many others will likely be very disappointed, won't they?"

Chu Liuyue spoke lazily with her arms crossed.

Situ Xingchen glanced at her, a flash of resentment quickly passing through her eyes.

Chu Liuyue was clearly doing this on purpose!

"Better not. This matter involves great significance after all. Although I am engaged to the Crown Prince, I am still considered an outsider. As the Grand Princess of the Xingluo Kingdom, it is truly inappropriate for me to continue meddling in this matter."

Even at a time like this, Situ Xingchen's speech was very calculated, delicately detaching herself from the situation.

It was as if she had forgotten that it was precisely because she testified to having seen Chu Liuyue and Rong Zhen together that she had incited the Empress and Rong Jin to accuse Chu Liuyue in front of Emperor Jiawen.

Chu Liuyue nodded with a beaming smile.

"Grand Princess Situ has a point. It's just that I originally thought that since you and the Crown Prince were engaged so quickly, you must be enamored with each other. I thought that seeing him in trouble, you would surely step forward. It seems I thought too much."

Situ Xingchen's expression became even more awkward.

Rong Jin, walking ahead, suddenly reacted. He turned and rushed toward Situ Xingchen, grabbing her hand firmly.

"Yes! Xingchen! Now you are the only one who can help me! Go and ask your Imperial Father to intervene; Father will surely show leniency!"