Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Morning next day.

The emperor, who was never late, was slightly late, but seemed to be in a good mood.

The Duke of Zhenguo raised his hand slightly from his side and gestured behind him.

The sudden deposition of the empress caught him off guard, and all the pawns he had placed in the Phoenix Palace were also removed.

The reason given for deposing the empress was that she drugged the crown prince and arranged another marriage for him. The empress's original crown princess was a fake princess who was still in Nan Yao and had not returned. So what was the empress planning by drugging him?

Only a few palace servants testified, which clearly indicates something is amiss.

With the Zhang family's daughter deposed, the faction was in turmoil, which was detrimental to him, so he couldn't do nothing.

Upon receiving his signal, one of his ministers immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

The emperor glanced at him, nodded, and said, "Granted."

The minister immediately said, "Deposing the empress is a major national event. Relying solely on the palace maids' testimonies, without verifying the medicine with the joint efforts of the imperial physicians, and with questions about who prepared the medicine and when it was administered, are all incomplete and lacking."

The Crown Prince is the son of the deposed Empress. They used to be a loving and filial son. The sudden occurrence of poisoning is quite unusual and suggests that someone may be framing him.

"For the sake of the nation's foundation and the Crown Prince, I earnestly request Your Majesty to entrust this case to the Three Judicial Offices, in conjunction with the Imperial Medical Academy, for a joint review."

"It is precisely because they are biological mother and son that her actions are all the more chilling."

The emperor's face darkened slightly. "The marriage of the crown prince is also a matter of great importance to the country. The women in the harem are interfering behind my back and even trying to manipulate the crown prince's mind."

The drugs have been examined, and the evidence is conclusive. Endangering the Crown Prince is a capital offense, but the Crown Prince knelt and begged for his mother's life. Considering the Crown Prince's benevolence and filial piety, I spared her life.

Your request for a review is not unreasonable, but if the three judicial departments are involved, then the judgment must be made entirely according to the law.

The emperor slowly turned to the crown prince. "Crown Prince, do you agree to this?"

The Crown Prince cupped his hands and said, "My mother has committed a capital crime. I beg my father to spare her life, for she raised me."

This means they disagree with the review process.

Just as the minister was about to say something more, the crown prince's icy gaze fell upon him.

"The Empress Dowager has already been severely punished for her mistakes, so why do you have to go to such lengths to kill her?"

Or do you think I'm cruel and heartless, and that I'm framing my own mother for murder?

The Crown Prince didn't want anyone to know about the Empress's heinous deeds, so he would never agree to a review by the three judicial authorities.

In addition, he had been troubled by ghosts and grieving his sister's death these past few days, so he was already in a bad mood and had no reason to be friendly to the meddlesome official.

His cold expression frightened the ministers, who immediately knelt down.

"Your Highness, I am innocent."

He was clearly trying to save the Empress and stabilize his faction, so how did it become a case of ruthless extermination?

Isn't the Crown Prince on the same side as them? Why would he oppose the review and slap such a serious label on him?

Did the Empress really manipulate the Crown Prince?

Just as he was about to ask the Duke of Zhenguo for instructions on what to do next, someone else stepped forward.

It was Imperial Censor Han from the Censorate who impeached the Duke of Yue for his incompetence in managing his household, sending young men to his elderly mother, corrupting social norms and etiquette, and tarnishing the reputation of high-ranking officials, among other things.

The Duke of Yue clenched his molars.

After the disgraceful incident last night, he didn't want to attend court today, but he was even more afraid that if he wasn't there, people would gossip about him to the emperor.

As expected, it happened.

He knelt down with a thud, "Your Majesty, please understand, what happened last night was the work of a treacherous villain."

My mother's courtyard was burgled, which frightened her so much that she couldn't sleep well at night, fearing that the thief would come again.

"I then found a guard to guard the place, intending to support him. However, last night the thief broke into the mansion but failed to steal the money he desired, so he hatched a wicked plan and threw the guard into my mother's room..."

He suddenly collapsed to the ground and burst into tears, “My mother is nearly sixty years old and was given dirty medicine and suffered such torment. I feel that I have lost all face and I refuse to live any longer.”

If it weren't for this old minister guarding her last night, my mother would have hanged herself and gone to the Yellow Springs. That villain is despicable, and my poor mother... Waaah...

He wept bitterly, thinking to himself how fortunate it was that a thief had broken into his house last night, otherwise he would have had a hard time denying the matter.

As for that young guard, she dealt with him last night. Even if Imperial Censor Han impeached him for what happened last night, the emperor would at most reprimand and punish him, but he wouldn't really investigate further.

After all, this is a matter within the household of a subject.

But two louder cries quickly drowned out the Duke of Yue's.

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged! My family has suffered a tremendous injustice!"

Marquis Weilie, holding a mountain much taller than himself, and his son, wiping away tears, staggered and knelt outside the palace gate.

He had not attended court for more than a decade, and all the officials looked at him with curiosity.

The Duke of Zhenguo's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly appeared there, wondering why he had appeared there.

He glanced up at the emperor, who remained calm and unreadable. He was mentally reviewing the incident from years ago, wondering if he had any leverage over the emperor.

The emperor glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and said, "Come in and talk."

Marquis Weilie entered the hall alone, knelt beside Duke Yue, and cried, "Your Majesty, Duke Yue has gone too far! He wants to kill my son! You must do justice for me!"

"You're spouting nonsense."

The Duke of Yue was kneeling on the ground pretending to cry and didn't see Marquis Weilie bringing Dashan over. Hearing this, he felt completely bewildered.

He immediately retorted, "Everyone knows that the Marquis of Weilie's mansion now only has you and Gu Jingge. Where did you get a son? And when did I ever intend to kill your son?"

The emperor had learned from Gui Yao last night that Da Shan was Gu Sanlang, but he pretended not to know.

He asked slowly, "What exactly happened?"

Marquis Weilie, his eyes red, raised his head and said, "In that battle, I thought my son would be boiled alive by the Lu army, but it turns out he escaped by chance and was rescued by a master of martial arts."

These past two days, he finally managed to find his way to the capital, but before he could even find his home, people from the Duke of Yue's mansion drugged him at the inn.

If my son hadn't been treated with medicine by a master since childhood, making him immune to all poisons, he would be lying dead in the countryside now.

"Your Majesty, Sanlang is my only bloodline. The Duke of Yue is so cruel."

Upon hearing this, all the officials turned to look at the mountain kneeling outside the door, which was almost as tall as an ordinary person standing.

So it turns out that Marquis Weilie still has a bloodline that survives. But isn't this person a bit too tall?

When the Duke of Yue was accused of murder, he naturally had to look at the murdered person, so he turned his head away.

Upon seeing this, he suddenly remembered what his younger sister, Shen Feiwan, had said: the man who owned the lychee tree was unusually tall...

I haven't harmed anyone recently, but my sister stole the lychee tree last night. Could this person be the one who did it?

Then we absolutely cannot admit it.

If the world knew that the Duke of Yue's mansion had targeted someone because Mother wanted to eat lychees, Mother's reputation would be even worse.

After the incident last night, his mother cried for half the night, saying she was too ashamed to face anyone. He had to persuade her to calm down.

If my reputation is further damaged, my mother might really not be able to go on living. No, my mother has worked hard all her life, she absolutely cannot suffer this injustice.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have never seen this man before, nor have I ever had any grudge against him. Why must you kill him?"

If all else fails, he can only let his sister take the blame, since he has never actually seen this man before.

Unexpectedly, Marquis Weilie glared at her and said fiercely, "How can you say that we have no enmity or enmity?"

My entire Gu family died at your hands. Now that you see I still have a bloodline alive, you fear the Gu family's revenge and want to take advantage of my inattention to kill my son first.

After Gui Yao entered the palace last night, he was reluctant to leave and waited at the Prince Jin's residence.

Gui Yao returned just before dawn and immediately ordered him to bring Da Shan over to file a complaint against the Duke of Yue.

Having been cautious for so many years, he subconsciously felt that this move was too impulsive.

Xiao Huaijin made him trust Gui Yao, and his son Dashan believed in Gui Yao as if she were a god.

Gui Yao had been kind to the Gu family, and they even went to the palace late at night to devise a plan for him. He was not an ungrateful person.

Besides, he'd been holding this grudge for over a decade, and he'd had enough.

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Yue's heart skipped a beat, but he said aloud, "Ridiculous! The entire Gu family died in battle; what does that have to do with me?"

"Because the armor you handled was made with substandard materials, it's completely ineffective for self-defense."

Marquis Weilie gritted his teeth and said, "The Lu army is the culprit who massacred my Gu family and the soldiers of Dasheng. The Duke of Yue, who embezzled money and made counterfeit armor, is also the root of the evil that harmed our compatriots."

He will die by being torn to pieces.

He bowed to the emperor, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Your Majesty, I have evidence."