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

Upon hearing this, the vast courtyard fell into complete silence.

As night fell and dawn broke, the palace servants bowed their heads throughout the courtyard. Hua Ersan helped the emperor sit in the newly moved golden nanmu dragon-patterned chair. The emperor took another sip of tea, his imposing presence suppressing the thoughts of everyone present.

Wei Wujiu was surprised when Lin Wantang blurted out "Little Consort Yu". He looked at her with a solemn and doubtful expression, speechless, but his gaze seemed to contain a thousand emotions.

How did Lin Wantang know things that he didn't even know?

If it's just hearsay, then fabricating royal secrets, especially those involving concubines and the crown prince, is not only a capital offense, but Lin Wantang will also suffer the consequences, affecting her entire Lin family!

Lin Wantang was feeling uneasy and not entirely sure, but with her past life experiences and the fact that Jiang Nianqi was still alive and well in this life as evidence, she was now 50% more certain about her guess.

We're going all in, risking everything on this one gamble!

"What did you say?"

The Empress was the first to react. She glanced at the trembling Granny Ma out of the corner of her eye, and was certain that Granny Ma would not have made up such a thing if she did not know it. It was definitely Lin Wantang who was making false accusations.

"Consort Yu? What does this have to do with her?" The Empress felt confident of victory, her eyes flashing with a mocking glint. "Lin Wantang, you should know when to stop spouting nonsense! I know that the Crown Prince and you have known each other since childhood. Originally, childhood sweethearts would have been a beautiful story. But wasn't it you who was unhappy about becoming a concubine and insisted on breaking off the engagement?"

"What? Now that the Emperor has stripped Lin Qinglian of her title as Crown Princess, you're up to something again? You shouldn't be making baseless accusations and saying whatever comes to mind. Who taught you manners?"

The Empress gave the Emperor a stern rebuke, then smiled sweetly and leaned towards him: "Your Majesty, I told you, this is nothing serious. Why make Your Majesty suffer from the cold here? Eunuch Hua, please help His Majesty into the palace. I will take care of the rest."

The emperor, by nature suspicious, had been pondering Lin Wantang's words. Ignoring the empress, he asked, "You said that Granny Ma questioned you about how much you knew about the Crown Prince's private affairs?"

"And what about Consort Yu?"

These seemingly innocuous words, concerning the two people involved, are a major taboo regardless of whether one thinks about them carefully or not.

Lin Wantang took a deep breath and said with unwavering determination, "Your Majesty, it is so, but I do not know what Granny Ma means."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince has known me since childhood, but I have always been respectful and virtuous, and have never overstepped my bounds. I truly do not know anything about Your Highness's private affairs or secrets. As for Consort Xiaoyu, she is a newly promoted Noble Lady who serves the Emperor, and we are complete strangers. Therefore, I..."

The emperor didn't listen any further and waved his hand to interrupt: "Alright, I know you're innocent. I feel really bad that you've suffered such a great injustice for no reason. Spend twenty-three!"

The emperor issued an edict to bestow upon Lin Wantang some valuable items, along with a considerable amount of excellent medicinal herbs for healing external injuries.

Without further reprimanding Wei Wujiu, the emperor dismissed both men and allowed them to rise.

Seeing that the emperor wanted to appease her, the empress sensed something was terribly wrong. Before she could say anything, the emperor questioned her, "Empress, are you aware of what Granny Ma has done?"

"Your Majesty, of course I didn't know..."

The emperor interrupted, "Well, that old woman Ma deceived the emperor and committed heinous crimes; her crimes are unforgivable. Detain her in the Censorate and hand her over to Nie Zhen so he can interrogate her properly! As for the others involved, have them beaten to death."

As the emperor finished speaking, he helped Hua Niansan up and walked into the hall, while Wei Wujiu helped Lin Wantang bow again to express his gratitude and kneel to pay his respects.

Granny Ma collapsed to the ground in a panic, short of breath. She tried to get up and beg for mercy, but the guards gagged her and dragged her away.

The Empress was dumbfounded. Forget about Wei Wujiu and Lin Wantang who had left, she barely managed to calm herself down and helped her maid into the palace. Before she could even say "Your Majesty," the Emperor grabbed her wrist and dragged her away roughly.

"Look what you've done!"

"I spared your kindness as my wife, and because you are the Empress! That's why I had no choice but to indulge you! But what really happened that night? Do you truly not know? Or did your servants really act on their own without your knowledge?"

The emperor is just old, but not confused or stupid. How could someone who was able to rise from a lowly prince, dissatisfied with being stripped of his power and sent to a remote place, seize the opportunity to contact barbarian tribes, start a rebellion, and successfully ascend the throne and secure his position be a mediocre and incompetent person?

The emperor saw everything clearly, but he chose to turn a blind eye because he needed to weigh the pros and cons and restrain others.

"Your Majesty, I never imagined you could be so petty! Just because of that wretched child, you're taking your anger out on Lin Wantang? You should at least have a legitimate reason! What's going on today?!"

Fortunately, Lin Wantang only suffered some superficial injuries. Judging from her expression, the emperor was unsure whether the relationship between the Crown Prince and Consort Xiaoyu was real or not.

Otherwise, if she were to suffer a serious injury at the hands of the Empress, there would be Wei Wujiu, Lin Rucong, and Lin Xiao, who was in charge of the fortress. One after another, these people would not let her off easily!

The Empress panicked, tears welling up in her eyes, and she knelt down tremblingly, saying, "Your Majesty, it was my oversight..."

"Enough!" the emperor interrupted impatiently. "Explain yourself to me first. What exactly is going on between that wretched child of yours and Consort Yu? I've given you a chance; don't wait for me to investigate personally!"

The Empress was completely bewildered. She looked up blankly, her eyes filled with tears, and choked out, "Your Majesty, please understand! I truly know nothing. An'er is the most filial son to Your Majesty, and he is always well-behaved and cautious in his conduct. How could he dare to overstep Your Majesty and act recklessly in private? Even if Your Majesty gave him ten thousand lives, he would never dare to do such a thing!"

"That vile woman Lin Wantang must be spouting nonsense! The Emperor can't believe her..."

The emperor snorted coldly, his next words both piercing and deadly: "Then why did you choose to keep the child in Consort Yu's womb? Huh?"

One sentence revealed that the Empress was dissatisfied with the concubines' favor and pregnancy, and frequently harmed them, leading to the decline of the imperial heir.

The Empress's face turned deathly pale, and she forgot to cry, frozen in shock, unsure how to react. The Emperor, seeing her like this, grew even more furious and irritated, and shoved her aside, saying, "You'd better watch yourself!"

The emperor had Hua Ershisan help him change his clothes, then angrily drove to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and urgently summoned Liu Yuniang to grind and consume the elixir.

The Empress, helped up by her maid, was momentarily stunned before her mind was filled with overwhelming rage. She clenched her manicured nails tightly: "Quick! Go and inform the Crown Prince of these matters, so he can prepare!"

"As for Lin Wantang, that bitch, I'll teach her a lesson about what it means to have trouble coming from your mouth!"