Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

This is clearly saying that Lin Wantang is two-faced.

She deliberately put on airs in front of Wei Wujiu, and even turned around and bit the kind-hearted Empress.

She did this in order to show Wei Wujiu her vulnerability and grievances, hoping to win his favor.

The emperor paused, then looked down at Lin Wantang, who was still kneeling and bowing respectfully, with a complex expression. He coughed angrily, "Insolence!"

"Lin Wantang, I know you are in love with Wei Wujiu. Wasn't the purpose of this marriage arrangement to bring you together, to prevent such a wonderful match from being wasted? But I wanted you two to live in harmony, supporting each other until old age. How could you resort to such mystification and fabrication, creating this mess? What are you trying to do?"

"Is Lin Qinglian deliberately currying favor and attempting to seize power through seductive charm?"

The emperor was furious and coughed so hard it sounded like his lungs were going to come out. Hua Ersan quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath and then wiped him with a handkerchief, only to see that the emperor had coughed up blood again.

The Empress also saw it, and with surprise and heartache, she helped the Emperor back to his bedchamber. "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your health is of utmost importance. This little matter is not worth worrying about. Please leave it to me."

How could we possibly hand it over to that wicked woman?

Lin Wantang's breath caught in her throat. Despite her discomfort, she was about to speak again when Wei Wujiu glanced at her sideways, stopping her as he said, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health. But this matter is not as the Empress has described."

The words were still spoken, and the emperor paused slightly as he tried to turn around.

Night Hawk stepped forward promptly, bowing and placing the blood-stained prayer mat at the bottom of the steps.

The emperor glanced at it, frowned, and patted Hua Twenty-Three's hand with a very bad expression: "What is that?"

Hua Ershisan didn't know either, so he sent a little eunuch over to check.

The Empress's face darkened, and she immediately said, "It's just a prayer mat, what's so special about it? Granny Ma!"

Granny Ma immediately stepped forward from the side, about to take away the prayer mat before the little eunuch could.

Night Hawk stopped him, kneeling and clasping his hands in a fist and palm salute, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this prayer mat is unusual. Please, Your Eunuch, examine it."

The Emperor was even more puzzled. His chest was throbbing with pain from coughing, and he didn't notice the Empress's rapidly changing expression. He urged, "Then investigate!"

The young eunuch responded and cautiously moved closer to the prayer mat...

"Oh!"

The moment he touched it, the young eunuch was so shocked that he fell to the ground. His hand, which had just touched the prayer mat, was pricked by needles and bled. "This... Your Majesty, this prayer mat is covered in needles!"

"That's right, Your Majesty! This seemingly ordinary prayer mat is actually covered with countless tiny needles!" Wei Wujiu added at just the right moment, emphasizing, "Just now in the side hall, I personally witnessed two servants from Chengqian Palace guarding Lin Wantang, forcing her to kneel on this prayer mat, enduring the pain and torment of a thousand needles!"

"Otherwise, even if I had a hundred lives, I would not dare to disturb His Majesty and His Majesty's and Her Majesty's rest in the middle of the night, nor would I dare to trespass into the side hall."

This explanation not only clarifies the grievance and the need for redress, but it is also reasonable and logical.

But it wasn't over yet. Wei Wujiu kowtowed and performed a grand ceremony: "Your Majesty, I am physically disabled and no different from a cripple. Romantic love between men and women is not for me. However, I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's boundless grace in granting me the privilege of marrying the daughter of the Grand Tutor. I cherish her, treat her with care, love her, and cherish her. I do not seek to emulate or rival the ancient sages, but only wish to be as devoted to you as my beloved Emperor and Empress."

"However, the situation today is unusual. I dare not allow Lin Wantang to be humiliated to this extent. I hope Your Majesty will be wise and do justice for Lin Wantang and give me a fair judgment."

Listen to how he said it; it was flawless and watertight, while subtly deflecting the Empress's previous accusations.

Didn't the Empress imply that Lin Wantang was two-faced and deliberately trying to curry favor with Wei Wujiu to cause trouble? Then Wei Wujiu should openly tell the Emperor that he is old, a bachelor, and in poor health. He was finally given a wife, so shouldn't he cherish and pamper her?

This is also an attempt to emulate the harmonious relationship between the emperor and empress.

Simply put, her words not only left the emperor speechless but also left the empress speechless. Each word was like an invisible slap, making the empress's face swell up!

The Empress, seething with anger, crumpled the handkerchief in her hand, glaring furiously at Wei Wujiu and Lin Wantang. Then, suppressing her resentment, she leaned towards the Emperor and sobbed, "Your Majesty, I don't know how this perfectly good prayer cushion ended up like this..."

"Reporting back to the Emperor..."

Lin Wantang spoke up at the opportune moment: "After the palace banquet, it was Granny Ma who detained me in the name of the Empress and brought me to the side hall of Chengqian Palace. Granny Ma said she would teach me a lesson on behalf of the Empress. While beating and scolding me, she forced me to kneel on this futon covered with fine needles and said..."

The emperor was trembling with rage. He gripped Hua Twenty-Three's hand tightly to steady himself and continued, "What did you say?"

The Empress felt flustered and quickly signaled to Granny Ma with her eyes.

"Your Majesty! This old servant didn't do that..." Granny Ma cried and knelt down, begging for forgiveness, and even accused the villain first: "Your Majesty, please don't listen to her nonsense! The Empress is benevolent and loving, everyone in the palace knows that, Your Majesty. She's just deliberately framing me and trying to sow discord!"

The Empress hurriedly defended herself: "Your Majesty, I have no reason to frame or harm her. Since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Wantang has been in the palace for some time, living in Jinxiu Palace and behaving like sisters with Yong'an. The two of them have always paid their respects to each other morning and evening without fail. Would I be so foolish as to cause trouble on New Year's Eve?"

The Emperor, panting, had taken the elixir presented by Hua Ershisan. His condition seemed somewhat stable, and he had clearly taken the Empress's words to heart. He gave Lin Wantang a disgruntled look: "Stop what you were saying!"

Lin Wantang's breathing became heavy, and she hesitated.

Clearly, trying to bring down the Empress over such a trivial matter is not just difficult, it's practically a pipe dream.

She hadn't intended to make a big fuss about this; she planned to swallow this bitter pill first, then strategize and plot later, taking revenge while also eliminating the Empress. This way, she could push Shen Huai'an to the brink, forcing him to rebel.

But once the arrow is released, there's no turning back; now...

"Don't be afraid, just say it." Wei Wujiu knelt beside her, his voice low and almost breathless.

Lin Wantang's mind was even more confused. Helplessly, she glanced at him discreetly, thinking: What do you mean, "I can say it"? The Emperor is clearly biased towards the Empress. If I say it, how will you handle the situation?

It wouldn't be right for both of them to be punished and deprived of peace during the Lunar New Year.

After much deliberation, Lin Wantang, faced with contradictory statements, finally decided to take a gamble and said, "I'm sorry, Consort Yu."

"Your Majesty, when Granny Ma questioned me about how much I knew about His Highness the Crown Prince's private affairs, and whether I knew about Consort Xiaoyu, I was terrified and truly knew nothing, which is why Granny Ma became so angry..."