Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Zhang Jinlian, how have I ever mistreated you? How dare you falsely accuse me!"

Consort Cao naturally refused to admit it and loudly proclaimed her innocence.

"His Majesty treats me with great kindness, why would I plot against His Majesty?!"

Your Majesty, please do not listen to the nonsense of this lowly maid!

Consort Wang and I have never had any personal relationship. How dare she discuss such a treasonous matter as regicide with me!

If Your Majesty the Empress dares to punish me based solely on the baseless accusations of a mere palace maid, His Majesty will surely seek justice for me upon waking!

"Eunuch Mai from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs and Eunuch Gao from the Imperial Horse Administration are both here and will surely report everything that happened today to His Majesty!"

"His Majesty has always favored Consort Duan; everyone in the palace knows this."

Mai Fu, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stepped forward and bowed to Empress Fang.

"If Your Majesty the Empress punishes Consort Duan based solely on the testimony of a mere palace maid, I fear His Majesty will blame Your Majesty when he wakes up."

This old servant dares to beg Her Majesty the Empress for a favor.

"Detain Consort Duan for now. Once His Majesty has regained consciousness, the truth will be uncovered, and she will be dealt with accordingly!"

"His Majesty has been murdered by these vile maids and is now on the verge of death!"

Empress Fang's face darkened.

"How dare you speak up for Cao, the mastermind behind this?"

"Your Majesty, the Empress is wise. Consort Duan, née Cao, is the mother of the eldest princess Chang'an and the third princess Ning'an. She has no motive to harm Your Majesty."

McFee has no intention of backing down.

"This old servant has served Your Majesty for many years and can hardly believe this."

"If the testimony of a mere palace maid is insufficient to be trusted, then what about the testimony of the mastermind, Consort Wang Ning?!"

Just as Empress Fang looked troubled, Chen Furong stepped forward from the crowd and walked up to Mai Fu.

"If Consort Wang also testifies that Lady Cao was a plotter to kill the emperor, will Eunuch Mai still plead for Lady Cao?"

"this..."

McFee hesitated for a few seconds,

"Consort Wang was captured on the spot by Gao Gong of the Imperial Horse Administration and his men, and is undoubtedly the mastermind behind the regicide and treason case!"

If Consort Wang also testifies that Consort Duan, Cao, was the mastermind behind the plot to harm His Majesty, then Her Majesty the Empress will have the final say on how to handle it. This old servant dares not say another word.”

After speaking, Mai Fu glanced at Chen Furong.

Judging from her attire, this person is a senior palace maid in charge. How come I've never heard of such a person being by the Empress's side?

After tonight, we must send someone to investigate her background.

As the head eunuch, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the emperor's "Great Companion," he often accompanied the emperor.

The Emperor knew all too well how much he doted on Consort Cao!

Was Consort Cao a plotter to kill the emperor?

If your brain hasn't been kicked by a donkey, how could you believe such nonsense?

The emperor's death will only bring harm to Consort Cao, and not a single benefit!

Of all the concubines and palace maids in the palace, Consort Cao was the one who most hoped that the emperor would live to be a hundred years old, without exception!

Even Empress Fang herself had more reason to kill the emperor than Consort Cao!

Of course, he had no personal relationship with Consort Cao and had no reason to protect her!

Just now, he risked offending Empress Fang to plead for Consort Cao, but it was actually for his own sake.

Although the emperor was strangled to death and unconscious by these palace maids, he still had a faint pulse.

Gao Zhong has already sent people to the Imperial Hospital. All the imperial physicians on duty will arrive at the West Garden soon tonight. Who dares to say that His Majesty cannot be saved?

Empress Fang clearly wanted to take advantage of His Majesty's unconscious state to execute Consort Cao as a plot to kill the emperor!

If His Majesty can escape danger and regain consciousness, he will surely hold a grudge against Empress Fang for this, and may even exonerate Consort Cao.

If I do nothing in this matter, then my time as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will be over!

His Majesty's temper has become increasingly violent in the past two years, and he will surely take his anger out on me. I'm afraid that I won't even have the chance to guard the tomb of the late Emperor.

Now that I have made my stance clear in front of everyone, that is enough!

If Empress Fang can produce more evidence and insists on executing Consort Cao, then it is Empress Fang acting willfully. Although she is the head of the eunuchs, she is ultimately just a servant of the royal family.

The Empress is, after all, the master; one can't fight city hall with one arm!

The emperor wouldn't blame himself for not saving Consort Cao.

After Consort Cao's death, the Emperor will direct all his hatred at Empress Fang!

This is not unjust at all; it was indeed Empress Fang who insisted on dragging Consort Cao into this case of regicide.

If you dare to do it, you must be prepared to bear the emperor's wrath!

The emperor's condition was actually very poor, and McFee had no idea whether he could be saved.

If the emperor were to pass away and the crown prince were to ascend the throne, Empress Fang, as the late emperor's principal wife, would naturally be honored as Empress Dowager and reside in Cining Palace according to custom.

However, the Crown Prince was not born to Empress Fang; his birth mother was Imperial Noble Consort Wang.

Lady Wang would also be honored as Empress Dowager, residing in Cining Palace, with the two Empress Dowagers standing side by side.

The Crown Prince is only seven years old (by Chinese reckoning), so it is impossible for him to rule personally after he ascends the throne. According to custom, the cabinet ministers should assist in governing, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs should approve the imperial edicts, and the Empress Dowager should supervise from behind the scenes.

Of course, if the empress dowager is strong enough, she may also "rule from behind the curtain" or even "rule the court from behind the curtain"!

Consort Wang has always been very low-key in the palace and has little presence, far less assertive than Empress Fang.

But she is, after all, the Crown Prince's birth mother. Once her son ascends the throne, he may not continue to keep a low profile!

At that time, it remains to be seen which of the two empress dowagers will prevail.

However, there is still a Prince Regent in the imperial court!

His Highness Prince Ying is the Emperor's younger brother, and he was summoned to the capital to assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country.

According to the original imperial edict, His Highness Prince Ying would continue to assist the Crown Prince until His Majesty returned from the pass and resumed his rule.

If His Majesty were to pass away now, and the Crown Prince were to ascend the throne, His Highness Prince Ying would naturally be the rightful regent prince!

From this moment on, His Highness Prince Ying shall have full authority to act as regent without any hindrance!

With the late emperor's prior decree, no one in the court could raise any objections. His Highness Prince Ying would continue to oversee the country and assist in governing until the young emperor came of age and assumed personal rule.

The only ones who could nominally rival His Highness Prince Ying were the two Empress Dowagers.

In other words, at this point, the current Empress Fang, and the future Empress Dowager Fang, is naturally a rival to His Highness Prince Ying.

His Highness Prince Ying has been overseeing the country for two years and has already established a considerable base of influence in the court. He also has a close relationship with the Lu family of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Mai Fu simply did not believe that Empress Fang could truly stand against Prince Ying in the court!

Although today's move will offend Empress Fang, it also serves as a public severance from her.

Let His Highness Prince Ying know that he is at odds with Empress Fang and is worth winning over.

Regardless of whether His Majesty is blessed by Heaven, my actions are absolutely necessary.

Just then, Chen Furong walked up behind Consort Wang Ning.

While personally untying the gag from her mouth, he spoke a few words in a very low voice.

"Cao, these palace maids were all personally assigned to me by you!"

Consort Wang Ning had just spat out the gag in her mouth when she yelled loudly at Consort Cao Duan, who was being held captive by Empress Fang's men.

"They are all palace maids of your Yikun Palace. Without your orders, how could I command them?!"