Li Jiancheng frowned, and as he was about to speak, Zheng Shi continued, “I have been married to Your Highness for several years, and I believe I have never done anything to wrong you. Yet whenever something happens, Your Highness always suspects me first—it was so with the Chengzong affair, and it’s the same with the Consort Ji affair.”
Li Jiancheng stared at her for a moment, then said coldly, “Do you really think I don’t know why Nanny Tong killed herself?”
Zheng Shi’s heart jumped violently. Though she tried hard to suppress it, she still showed a trace of unease. “She naturally killed herself out of fear of punishment—what else could it be?”
“Though Zheng An acted secretly, he didn’t necessarily leave no traces. I only refrained from pursuing it further out of consideration for our marital bond. I thought you would restrain yourself after this incident, but I never expected you to become even more brazen, even wanting to harm Rong’er!”
Zheng Shi hadn’t expected that Li Jiancheng would know about Zheng An forcing Nanny Tong to take responsibility for harming Chengzong. She panicked and hurriedly said, “No! I never harmed Chengzong, nor did I harm Consort Ji. I am innocent—Your Highness, please believe me.” As she spoke, she stepped forward to grasp Li Jiancheng’s sleeve, but he pushed her away forcefully, and she fell to the ground.
At this moment, a guard came in to report that Gaoqi was willing to confess. Li Jiancheng perked up and hurriedly said, “Bring him in immediately.”
Soon, Gaoqi was dragged in. In just this short time, he had been beaten to within an inch of his life, lying on the ground with a deathly pale face, his back and buttocks covered in bloody marks—a frightening sight.
But for Li Jiancheng, these were not worth a second glance. He only cared about one thing: “Speak! Was it Zheng An who instructed you to do this?”
Gaoqi glanced at the guard beside him and said through gritted teeth, “Yes. Seeing Your Highness favoring Consort Ji and neglecting the Crown Princess, Marquis Zheng instructed me to drug Consort Ji, delaying her menstruation and changing her pulse, making her think she was pregnant. This would make Your Highness believe Consort Ji was using false pregnancy to gain favor, thus punishing Consort Ji. I never expected Consort Ji to discover it first!”
“Nonsense!” Gaoqi’s words made Zheng Shi turn pale with shock. She pointed at Gaoqi and said, “How dare you falsely accuse a current marquis! Do you know your crime?”
A flash of pain crossed Gaoqi’s eyes as he said through gritted teeth, “Everything I said is true—I spoke no falsehoods. The Crown Princess should know this better than anyone.”
“No, it’s not like that.” Faced with this unfounded accusation, Zheng Shi kept shaking her head in denial. But no matter how she denied it, she couldn’t reduce the coldness in Li Jiancheng’s eyes.
Zheng Shi knelt down in panic, grasping Li Jiancheng’s robe hem. “Your Highness, please believe me. This has nothing to do with me or my uncle—Gaoqi is deliberately framing us.”
Li Jiancheng sneered, “Before Gaoqi confessed, you said I didn’t trust you. Now that Gaoqi has confessed, you say he’s framing you. It seems that no matter what happens, in the Crown Princess’s mouth, it’s always others who are wrong.”
Zheng Shi wept, “I am truly innocent…”
“Enough!” Li Jiancheng’s appearance with bulging veins frightened Zheng Shi into silence. She knelt on the ground at a loss, tears still unstained on her face.
Li Jiancheng bent down to stare at her, his gaze so cold it made Zheng Shi shiver from the bottom of her heart. “I have already shown you mercy once—I will absolutely not show mercy a second time!”
Before Zheng Shi could understand the meaning, he had already said, “Prepare the carriage. I must enter the palace immediately. Also, bring Gaoqi along!”
Li Jiancheng had just returned from court, so entering the palace now would certainly not be for court matters. Among private affairs requiring Li Yuan’s attention, there was only one kind—deposing the Crown Princess!
Although Zheng Shi was Li Jiancheng’s wife, as Crown Princess, deposing her was no longer a matter of one household or one person, but a great matter concerning the realm. Therefore, deposing Zheng Shi required Li Yuan’s consent.
Zheng Shi guessed Li Jiancheng’s intention for entering the palace and became even more panicked, tightly grasping his robe hem while crying, “No! Your Highness, please don’t—I am truly innocent!”
Li Jiancheng remained unmoved by her desperate pleas, only urging his attendants to prepare the carriage immediately. His determination was clear and unchangeable!
Seeing Zheng Shi kneeling on the ground weeping bitterly, Jirong felt immense satisfaction, though with her cunning nature, she wouldn’t let even a trace of this satisfaction show.
“Your Highness, though the Crown Princess has committed grave errors, she has been married to you for several years. This matter… why not let it pass? After all, I haven’t suffered any real harm!”
Before Li Jiancheng could speak, Zheng Shi had already said with hatred, “You need not act so hypocritically here. This entire affair was orchestrated by you—you deliberately framed me!”
“Unrepentant!” Li Jiancheng coldly uttered these four words. When the attendant came to report that the carriage was ready, he kicked Zheng Shi away and strode off, never stopping despite her crying and screaming behind him.
After Li Jiancheng had disappeared from sight, Jirong stared at Zheng Shi, who was still kneeling and weeping on the ground, and said coldly, “Your Highness has gone far—crying more won’t help. You might as well save your tears!”
Zheng Shi raised her eyes filled with hatred and said through gritted teeth, “Jirong, you’ve harmed me so—I will never let you go. Even if I must die, I’ll drag you down with me!”
“I harmed you?” Jirong sneered. “The Crown Princess’s skill at crying thief while being the thief is quite impressive. But unfortunately, whether you admit it or not, Your Highness won’t spare you.”
Liyu said beside her, “Your Ladyship can only call herself Crown Princess for a little while longer. When His Highness returns from the palace, there probably won’t be a Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace anymore!”
Liuye angrily said, “How dare you!” But Liyu paid no attention to her rebuke. Zheng Shi’s fate was sealed, while her own mistress was rising like the sun—what was there to fear?
Li Jiancheng went all the way to the Imperial Study, where Wan Shi, who had already become a First Rank Noble Consort, happened to be there as well. Li Yuan was very surprised to see him return, and even more shocked when he saw Gaoqi being carried in. He hurriedly asked, “What is this about?”
Li Jiancheng knelt down and recounted the entire affair, then said angrily, “Zheng Shi, as Crown Princess, has committed such evil acts as harming a legitimate son and framing a consort. Such immoral behavior makes her unfit to remain as Crown Princess. Therefore, this son requests Father Emperor’s permission to depose Zheng Shi from her position as Crown Princess!”
Li Yuan said in surprise, “Such a thing happened?” Zheng Shi was the legitimate wife he had personally chosen for Li Jiancheng. In his impression, she had always been gentle, kind, and virtuous. Hearing this suddenly, he found it somewhat hard to believe.
Li Jiancheng cupped his hands and said, “If Father Emperor doesn’t believe it, you can ask Gaoqi!”
Li Yuan stared at Gaoqi, who was kneeling prostrate on the ground, and said sternly, “Was this truly done at the Crown Princess’s instigation?”
Gaoqi said in a low voice, “Yes. The Crown Princess has always been jealous of Consort Ji’s favor, so she used Marquis Zheng to bribe this humble subject to drug her, making her think she was pregnant, then seize the opportunity to expose it and frame her with the crime of false pregnancy to gain favor. Who would have thought that Consort Ji was so observant and discovered the Crown Princess’s plan first.” As he spoke, he kowtowed frantically, saying, “This humble subject was momentarily confused and accepted the instigation of Marquis Zheng and the Crown Princess. Afterward, this humble subject has been extremely remorseful. Please, Your Majesty, show mercy and spare this humble subject’s life!”