Old Madam Liang’s face immediately flushed red. Prince Liang clearly loved her deeply—even Emperor Delong knew this.
She had even borne Luo Meixiang for Prince Liang.
But could these two matters be spoken of openly?
Princess Liang’s words made perfect sense, and all the ladies laughed—mocking, sarcastic laughter.
Old Madam Liang knew she was completely outmatched in verbal sparring against Princess Liang and Qin Shuying. She suddenly felt utterly helpless and powerless. She turned her gaze toward Emperor Delong, hoping he would say something.
But Emperor Delong remained silent, his gaze profound.
The hope that had risen in Old Madam Liang’s heart when Emperor Delong first entered was now falling bit by bit, scattered fragments crumbling to pieces.
Qin Shuying, with a grieved expression, said to Emperor Delong: “Your Majesty, this subject has finished questioning.”
She said nothing more, yet the ladies present had basically concluded that Old Madam Liang was fake.
Emperor Delong looked at Qin Shuying, then at Old Madam Liang who still carried herself with graceful bearing, and said slowly: “Then, do you have any defense to offer?”
Old Madam Liang’s heart stirred. “Your Majesty, this subject has something to say. If what Qin Shuying says is all true, then how did I hide the real Old Madam Liang and take her place?”
Qin Shuying sneered inwardly—she had been waiting for this very question.
Emperor Delong looked toward Qin Shuying: “Speak.”
Only then did Qin Shuying say: “Your Majesty, this subject and others discovered a secret beneath her bed—countless white bones, most being servants of the Liang family who had disappeared years ago. One set of remains wore extremely valuable jewelry that ordinary people could not afford. This subject requests Your Majesty to send people to seal off Ningyuan and thoroughly investigate the secret chamber beneath her bed!”
“What?”
Even Emperor Delong couldn’t suppress his surprise, and the ladies erupted in even greater commotion.
This time Old Madam Liang was completely panicked.
That hidden secret chamber…
Old Madam Liang staggered several times before steadying herself. “Nonsense, nonsense…”
Qin Shuying had been standing roughly parallel to Old Madam Liang, but after Old Madam Liang staggered, she ended up behind Qin Shuying. Qin Shuying turned to look at her and lightly pulled at the corner of her mouth, as if smiling.
Old Madam Liang understood Qin Shuying’s mockery and derision. A surge of heat rushed to her head, and she shrieked: “You wretch! Wretch!”
With that, she lunged forward and swung her palm to slap Qin Shuying.
Qin Shuying took the slap and staggered several steps before stopping.
Then, with tears in her eyes and filled with grief and indignation, Qin Shuying slowly walked toward Old Madam Liang and demanded: “If you’re not fake, why did you kill our grandmother and dump her body in the secret chamber beneath your bed? If you’re not fake, how do you have the audacity to sleep above that bed? You say you’re real—then produce evidence! Show us proof that you’re real! Bring witnesses to prove you’re real!”
Old Madam Liang’s gaze involuntarily turned toward Emperor Delong, but Emperor Delong said nothing.
Qin Shuying had her back to Emperor Delong, facing Old Madam Liang. The distance between them was very short, and Qin Shuying whispered rapidly: “His Majesty and the Empress are the loving couple—he won’t help you.”
The Empress?
That wretch Lin Yuan?
Immediately after, Qin Shuying loudly continued asking: “Since you’re not fake, then produce evidence to prove you’re real! Bring witnesses to prove you’re real! Speak up!”
Qin Shuying’s face, full of mockery and derision, was so hateful, so disgusting!
Old Madam Liang suddenly shuddered and shouted out of control: “Of course I have proof! The Empress knows I’m real—Lin Yuan knows I’m real! Your Majesty, summon Lin Yuan to come out and tell them I am the real Luo Yanyan! I’ve had enough of keeping her secret, enough!”
The Empress?
Lin Yuan?
All the ladies were stunned.
Princess Liang sneered coldly: “Still saying you’re not fake! Lin Yuan is Lin Yuan, the Empress is the Empress—you actually claim they’re the same person. It would be strange if you weren’t fake! You still dare say you’re not fake?!”
Old Madam Liang spat at Princess Liang, her gaze carrying the crimson of madness: “What do you understand…”
“Seize this remnant of the Qifeng Dynasty!”
Emperor Delong suddenly roared in fury. Several eunuchs immediately rushed forward, led by Zhao Quansheng himself, who somehow produced a handkerchief and sealed Old Madam Liang’s mouth with lightning speed.
Old Madam Liang hadn’t expected such a turn of events at all. She struggled and resisted, but the eunuchs wouldn’t let her succeed. They immediately restrained her, stuffing her mouth completely, leaving only muffled “mmm mmm mmm” sounds.
Qin Shuying breathed a sigh of relief, turned around to face Emperor Delong: “Your Majesty, this subject has acted improperly. This subject humbly requests Your Majesty to search Ningyuan—that is, the residence of the Liang family’s old lady.”
Emperor Delong’s face was iron-blue as his gaze swept around darkly. Seeing no particular expressions on the ladies’ faces, he nodded heavily: “Granted!”
Then, supporting himself on the table, he rose. His body swayed twice before he steadied himself, then he strode out.
The Crown Prince and several other princes who had been playing wooden men followed him out.
Princess Liang stood there in a daze.
She felt something was wrong.
If anyone could still prove that Old Madam Liang was indeed Luo Yanyan, Princess Liang would be one of them. She naturally knew the woman before her was undoubtedly Luo Yanyan herself.
Just now, when Luo Yanyan wanted Emperor Delong to summon Lin Yuan, Princess Liang instinctively assumed that the empress Luo Yanyan spoke of was Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan—Princess Liang knew of her. She was the Late Emperor’s consort who had died long ago.
So Princess Liang had instinctively rebutted Old Madam Liang.
But…
Princess Liang’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, so fast she could almost clearly hear the “thump thump” sound.
Also nearly tormented by their own heartbeats to the point of being unable to sit still were Noble Consort De and Consort Kang.
They, they seemed to have discovered some secret!
Heavens, this remnant of the Qifeng Dynasty truly deserved death! She had dragged them all down with her!
Qin Shuying covered her chest as if grieving for the real Old Madam Liang’s death. Her inner shock was naturally no less than that of Princess Liang, Noble Consort De, and Consort Kang.
Ever since detecting something amiss between Empress Wen and Princess Yongjia, she and Liang Zhe had never relaxed in seeking the cause.
Princess Yongjia treated Qin Shuying extremely well, so Qin Shuying couldn’t investigate from that angle. She had been continuously investigating past secrets and the Wen family.
The Wen family was the Empress’s maternal family, extremely low-key. The court barely felt the Wen family’s presence—like Empress Wen herself, they were an inexplicable, enigmatic existence.
Through her investigations, Qin Shuying keenly caught some anomalies: Empress Wen was not close to the Wen family’s women and rarely saw them.
This was strange.
One must know that when Empress Wen was still in the prince’s residence, she was already the principal consort. After Emperor Delong ascended to the imperial palace, Empress Wen naturally became empress. Empress Wen was the Wen family’s legitimate daughter. Though Old Madam Wen had died early, Empress Wen still had a legitimate younger brother—why wouldn’t she even summon her legitimate sister-in-law very often?
Finally, Qin Shuying thought of a highly impossible possibility.