The punishment of the female imperial court

Chapter 294 Witness
The doors of the main hall opened, and a gust of wind pushed the somewhat aged-looking palace maid into the hall.

The red light on the charcoal brazier suddenly shone brightly, like blood vessels pulsating, adding a touch of brightness to Yu Qiansi's pale face.

This strange woman who suddenly barged into the Hall of Prayer for Blessings was actually waved in by His Majesty.

Even after the doors of the main hall closed again, everyone remained rooted to the spot, staring at the uninvited guest whose clothes had turned out worn.

Empress Zheng also calmly observed the woman below the steps.

This was the second time she had seen Qiu Yi, and although only half a day had passed, the feeling she had of him was completely different. During the day, he had clearly carried an air of fear and eagerness to succeed. Now, however, he seemed like a general with victory firmly in his grasp.

Facing the distinguished guests in the room, she did not kneel or bow, but stood still, letting all sorts of expressions fall upon her.

Jiang Jiqing looked at Yu Qiansi and saw her lower her head to look at the charcoal fire, as if it were all unrelated to her. He could only think of the appropriate tone and said in a charmingly casual voice, "This...madam, are you a palace maid who used to work in the Hall of Prayer for Blessings?"

“I was in the Hall of Prayer for Blessings back then, but I wasn’t a palace servant.”

Standing in the courtyard, not kneeling or bowing, and daring to refer to himself as "I" among these nobles, is utterly presumptuous.

Wang Song had been sitting to the side with his eyes down, only occasionally glancing up at Yu Qiansi.

Ever since she began her thorough investigation into what happened ten years ago, he had been preparing for the consequences. Now, it was nothing more than a tug-of-war between them. It was like a pre-written play; after tonight, he had already figured out how many fingers to loosen, how to loosen them, and how to continue playing the role of a close brother with his "cousin."

However, upon hearing the middle-aged woman's voice, for some reason, he suddenly felt a sudden panic. Before he could sort out his thoughts, he looked up.

It was clearly a face I'd never seen before, yet somehow it gave me a sense of familiarity.

Consort Cao, who had been calmly twirling her prayer beads, suddenly opened her eyes.

It wasn't the same calm, ambiguous smile he had just given, the one that seemed to have everything under control.

Instead, it was like seeing a ghost.

Qiu Yi caught that look in her eyes, which was filled with anger and doubt. She narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows, looking utterly provocative.

"I see there are still many elderly people here, but unfortunately things have changed. It's normal that the adults don't recognize me now."

She no longer deliberately lowered her voice, and the moment she uttered "This Empress," the expressions of many senior officials changed.

"How is that possible?"

"It's Lin. No, it's... it's Empress Mingdao."

"But that was definitely Mingdao's voice."

"This is unbelievable!"

Exclamations rose and fell, spreading like waves. Qiu Yi even slightly raised her chin, fully enjoying this title that belonged to the dead.

Lin Peiyun raised her hand and touched the back of her neck. "As the 'victim,' I should be qualified to be a witness, right?"

"Nonsense!" A courtier, regaining his senses, almost screamed as he cut her off: "Where did this madwoman come from, daring to claim she is Empress Mingdao!"

For so many years, they have used the banner of the Cheng family to claim themselves as a virtuous and upright family, and have always exerted control over the Qi State Duke's Mansion. Logically speaking, if Lin Peiyun were still alive, it would undoubtedly be a good opportunity for them to attack the Qi State Duke's Mansion.

Ten years ago, whether it was outside the Great Wall, or the Bullying Palace and the Star-Picking Tower, they could hardly claim to be completely innocent in any of the incidents. Suddenly seeing the people who should have been dead for ten years standing in front of them again, like evil ghosts coming to claim their lives, they panicked and stammered their refutations.

"I have a bluish-purple birthmark on my shoulder that resembles a butterfly. Apart from the Lin family, the only other record of this is in the concubine register when I entered the palace. Such a thing is not to be touched by anyone but the emperor. If you do not believe me, you may ask His Majesty to open the archives and verify my identity."

“If that’s not enough,” Lin Peiyun said, giving them no chance to catch their breath, looking at Wang Song who was deep in thought with his eyes down, and chuckled, “My nephew is right here, so a blood test to prove kinship is not out of the question.”

"Hehe," Consort Cao chuckled softly, as if she had thought of something. "If he is truly Empress Mingdao, then His Majesty should be your biological son. Why would you bypass this biological son and instead seek out your nephew for a blood test to prove kinship?"

Lin Peiyun did not expect her to contradict her. Upon hearing Consort Cao's words, her expression froze slightly, and then she coldly snorted, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how can your imperial body be harmed?"

Consort Cao stood up and said coldly, "Whatever you say, I remember that little girl Peiyun didn't look like you at all. You dare to speak so arrogantly here with a face that bears a slight resemblance to hers; it's simply outrageous!"

“Yes,” many veteran officials came to their senses and began to speak in disarray: “Back then, although there was no coroner to examine the body, we all saw it, and the deceased was indeed Empress Mingdao without a doubt.”

"This is all thanks to the Yu family." Lin Peiyun turned to Yu Qiansi, who had been keeping her head down and warming her hands by the fire, and smiled. "It's all thanks to Lord Yu's uncle who created the 'Illusionary Face' medicine back then."

The rumored "Face Reversal" had the effect of changing faces, and it was all the rage in Beijing ten years ago. Some people even tried to use it to commit crimes and frame others.

Rumor has it that the Illusionary Face was created by Yu Lin'er, a genius boy from the Yu family who is a once-in-a-century talent.

Besides the illusionary face, he also had many miraculous medicines and remedies.

But ever since Huan Yan came into being, he has gone from being a young genius praised by everyone to a rat that everyone hates.

Those prescriptions that used poison to fight poison and save lives in the past have now become the subject of attacks.

"Don't think we haven't seen this kind of harmful poison before! The effect of the Illusionary Face can't completely change a person's appearance. It can only make them look like you." One of the old ministers who had served in the Dali Temple spoke up to refute, but he had to stop halfway through his sentence to avoid falling into a trap.

“Lord Li has a good memory,” Lin Peiyun said, brushing aside the stray hairs at the back of her neck and turning to face the crowd. “Those who have used the Illusionary Face will have a red mark on the back of their neck.”

The main hall was brightly lit, and the bright red marks, like freshly picked flower petals, were impossible to ignore.

Bo Yi stared intently, and there was no doubt that it was Huan Yan's mark.

But he still remembered that there was no trace of Huan Yan on the corpse in the imperial mausoleum.

Thinking of the imperial mausoleum autopsy, he suddenly paused, glancing at Yu Qiansi, who hadn't spoken since Lin Peiyun entered, and recalling the ambiguous questions she had asked him.

The corpse in the imperial tomb showed signs of martial arts training.

She already knew.

She had long known that the corpse in the imperial tomb was not the real Empress Mingdao.

But what does this have to do with the unusual emotions she displayed tonight?

Bo Yi was completely baffled, feeling that he had missed some crucial information.

I've come back to update again.

I dare not make any more promises, but I will continue writing when I have time and my emotions are stable. Thank you for still being willing to read this story.