After the coffin was sealed, using the palace’s secret passages, it was switched with an identical coffin containing Xiao Juexong’s body, which had been moved out earlier.

If the coffin were opened, everything about the Eastern Palace would be exposed – this was meant to destroy the entire Eastern Palace!

“Is this the letter you’re referring to?” Shen Xihe casually produced the letter Li Yanyan had brought, handing it to Liu Sanzhi, and addressed the Emperor: “When Lady Li burst into the Eastern Palace earlier, she was indeed raving about Beichen causing the Third Prince’s death. I thought she was speaking nonsense. After she drank poison, this fell from her sleeve. I dared not make any assumptions, and given the gravity of the matter, I planned to present it to Your Majesty in private later.”

Emperor Youning held the paper with a complex expression: “Why would Lady Li do this?”

“Your Majesty, I believe there’s something suspicious about the Eighth Prince’s assassination attempt,” Consort Shu was the first to speak up. She wasn’t pretending to be at odds with Shen Xihe anymore – ever since the Xiao Honghong matter hadn’t gone according to her wishes, she had truly broken with Shen Xihe. “The Third Prince’s wife must have had firm conclusions but felt her words carried little weight, which is why she wagered her life.”

“Consort Shu means to suggest that Lady Li’s suspicions were true – that the Crown Prince knew early about the Eighth Prince’s assassination plot and informed Lady Li. That Lady Li, seeking merit in saving the Emperor, urged the Third Prince to attempt a rescue but instead lost his life, and thus bore a grudge against me? And when she failed to take revenge, she wagered her life betting that Your Majesty would give her and the Third Prince justice?” Shen Xihe gazed coolly at Consort Shu, following her logic.

“I never said such things,” Consort Shu objected. “I only feel that unless pushed to desperation, who would stake their life?”

“Well said!” Shen Xihe loudly caught Consort Shu’s words, frost seeming to gather in her eyes, making her emotions unreadable yet bone-chillingly cold. “Unless pushed to desperation, who would stake their life? Has Consort Shu forgotten what day this is?”

Today?

It was the day of the Crown Prince’s burial!

If Consort Shu believed Li Yanyan had firm conclusions to stake her life for justice!

Then how foolish must the Crown Prince have been to know of Xiao Changyan’s rebellion yet make no preparations, and even die saving the Emperor on the spot?

Consort Shu had slapped herself in the face. Her expression froze, and in her anger, she said: “The Crown Prince’s life was coming to an end, who knows if…”

“SLAP!”

Before Consort Shu could finish, Shen Xihe’s hand struck her face.

The hall fell silent. Consort Shu held her cheek in disbelief.

The servants all shrank their necks.

“Your Majesty, respect for the dead is paramount. Consort Shu’s slander gravely insults the Crown Prince and deeply offends the deceased. I beg Your Majesty to punish her severely!” Speaking thus, Shen Xihe knelt straight down and refused to rise, clearly prepared to maintain her position until Emperor Youning’s punishment satisfied her!

Consort Shu suddenly realized Shen Xihe wouldn’t let this go easily. Thinking back on her words, she regretted her impulsiveness – how could she have spoken so recklessly?

Consort Shu’s heart pounded, but she could only persist. She also fell to her knees: “Your Majesty, I had no intention to suspect or slander the Crown Prince. I merely spoke frankly, following the Third Prince’s wife’s actions. Everyone knows the Crown Prince was frail and sickly, and those rumors were widespread – I had heard them too. Moreover, before his death, the Crown Prince begged Your Majesty to protect his unborn child, so he wasn’t without purpose…”

Consort Shu’s voice grew very quiet at the end.

She didn’t suspect Xiao Huayong had faked his death, only that he knew his time was short and wanted his death to have value.

If he hadn’t died saving the Emperor, how would His Majesty have granted such a name to Shen Xihe’s unborn child?

With Xiao Huayong’s death while saving the Emperor, His Majesty likely wouldn’t establish another Eastern Palace, after all, having granted the imperial grandson such a name, establishing another heir would be like putting the imperial grandson on fire.

Unless Shen Xihe’s child wasn’t the imperial grandson. Otherwise, everyone would be chilled by His Majesty’s actions.

In Consort Shu’s view, Xiao Huayong was dead, but the Eastern Palace had gained endless benefits! If it were her with only days to live, she would have done the same!

Emperor Youning’s thoughts went further than Consort Shu’s. That day when he set up the trap for the Shen family, according to this letter it had leaked early – did the Shen family know in advance and turn it to their advantage?

One thing didn’t make sense – whether Xiao Huayong, now dead, was truly honest and deeply emotional or deeply calculating, Emperor Youning couldn’t believe anyone would go to such lengths for a woman, even if Xiao Huayong’s life was truly ending!

At least in his position, Emperor Youning couldn’t give up his life for a woman.

So whether this matter involved the Eastern Palace was hard for Emperor Youning to determine.

If it did, was Xiao Huayong truly as Consort Shu suspected, knowing his life was ending and using his death to pave the way?

Or had Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe reached an agreement – he would fake his death first, then hide in the background, plotting secretly, turning the obvious into the hidden? After success, he would return triumphantly.

Between the two, Emperor Youning preferred to believe the former. How could someone already buried in the imperial tomb come back to life? Even all the civil and military officials couldn’t accept that. If Xiao Huayong were truly so calculating, he wouldn’t act this way.

Whether true or false, opening the coffin for another examination would reveal all. However, this was the Crown Prince’s coffin – the Crown Prince who died saving the Emperor and was given a grand burial. Opening it casually – what would the civil and military officials think?

If they opened it and it truly was the Crown Prince, what would the world think of him as a ruler?

The dead deserve respect – one misstep would earn the world’s condemnation!

Finally, there was the possibility that this had nothing to do with the Eastern Palace, that someone had been instigating conflict between the Eastern Palace and him from the beginning. Emperor Youning had been increasingly suspicious of this lately.

“Your Majesty…” Liu Sanzhi returned from verifying Yu Sangning’s account, his expression unreadable. He approached Emperor Youning and whispered in his ear, no one else could hear.

Emperor Youning’s expression turned very ugly after listening. He suddenly looked at Yu Sangning, then cast a heavy glance at Shen Xihe: “Bring them in! Summon the Three Departments and Six Ministries, the Imperial Clan Court, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate!”

Shen Xihe’s fine brows furrowed slightly, unable to guess what matter would cause Emperor Youning to make such a show of force!

Many officials were already on duty, some happened to be in the palace and arrived quickly.

Emperor Youning also led people to the main hall of the Eastern Palace. When the officials had gathered, he spoke gravely: “I have summoned you all today for a matter requiring your collective judgment.”

As Emperor Youning’s voice fell, a young couple in commoner’s clothes was brought forward. Liu Sanzhi called out first: “Before His Majesty, kneel and bow!”

The two trembled as they kowtowed, their voices shaking.

Shen Xihe had an excellent memory. Even though she couldn’t see the faces of those kneeling now, and despite their quavering voices, she could remember who they were. She finally understood the meaning of Emperor Youning’s earlier glance.

A smile appeared at the corners of her lips, though it was ice-cold.

“Who kneels here?” Liu Sanzhi called out loudly.

Yu Sangzi’s voice trembled even more: “This humble woman, Liu Yu…”

“Parents and birthplace!” Liu Sanzhi’s tone darkened at Yu Sangzi’s evasive answer.