Chapter 260 - A Showdown with the Empress!

Baili Qingcang tried two times and finally stood up from the throne. He looked at Bu Yunqing, who had a hunched back like an old woman. His eyes were filled with disbelief. “Yunqing…You are Yunqing?”

Bu Yunqing trembled all over. She slowly raised her head and looked at the high and mighty Emperor. “Your Majesty, the Empress has not changed, but you have aged a lot. I think the life in the Palace is not that good, right?”

Baili Qingcang found it hard to believe that the old woman in front of him was actually the once gorgeous Princess Yunqing, but that sense of familiarity was obvious. “Didn’t a palace servant help you escape? Why did you become like this?”

Bu Yunqing suddenly laughed. “Haha, you think I’m ugly and scary now? That’s right. When I first entered the Palace, I was in the prime of my youth. Now that twenty years have passed, I have become an ugly old woman. It’s natural that you find it hard to accept.”

Baili Qingcang only lost his composure for a moment before quickly calming down. “Yunqing, let me ask you, were you pregnant when you escaped from the Palace?”

Bu Yunqing stood still and turned to look at Chu Junyi kneeling on the ground. But when her gaze met his, she suddenly turned her head. “Yes, at that time, I was about to deliver. I really couldn’t hide it from the Empress, so I asked someone to come to her palace for help. I thought that she might spare the baby for the sake of the imperial family’s bloodline, and even if she killed me, I could accept it. But who would have thought that the Empress, who had always been magnanimous, would actually be so ruthless!”

Zhao Huiying’s face trembled in coldness. “Consort Yun, do not speak nonsense!”

Bu Yunqing chuckled, and her ugly face looked more and more ferocious. “Zhao Huiying, every time you looked in the mirror, didn’t you look behind you? Didn’t you see the countless vengeful souls behind you demanding your life? For so many years, how many princes, princesses, and concubines have you killed? Did you not wake up from nightmares at midnight?”

“Shut up!”

“Haha, I ruined my appearance, but the ugly appearance is only the surface. As for you, Zhao Huiying, no matter how beautiful you look, it is hard to conceal the stench that comes from your bones. You are an evil ghost wearing human skin!”

“Consort Yun! There is a limit to my tolerance.” Hearing this, Zhao Huiying could not help but shout.

Bu Yunqing laughed even louder. In the end, she almost couldn’t help but tremble. “After so many years, the Empress actually knew how to joke. Tolerance? In this harem, you have been covering the sky with one hand. Who do you have to tolerate?”

“Empress, after so many years, it was enough for you to wear a hypocritical layer of skin. Today, I would peel off your skin and let people see what you are!”

“Sheer nonsense!”

“At that time, His Majesty doted on Concubine Lan and slept in her palace for four days in a row. Not long after, Concubine Lan lost her life because of a miscarriage. Concubine Ning favored by His Majesty was accused of murdering Concubine Lan and was thrown into the cold palace. His Majesty doted on Guiren Zhao. Not long after, Guiren Zhao died because she harmed the pregnant Consort Qi. We thought that the pregnant Consort Qi would be able to deliver safely. Unfortunately, not long after, she became insane in the temple. Not only did she lose her baby, but she also lost her life. There were countless cases like these! You said tolerance? If you had even the slightest bit of tolerance, many children of His Majesty would be born!”

Zhao Huiying was exasperated. “Bu Yunqing, do you really think that I won’t punish you for falsely accusing me?”

“That’s right. After such a long time, all the evidence is gone. I have no concrete evidence now. Since that is the case, then I will just bring to light everything I know. Empress, you framed Concubine Lan, Consort Qi and me. None of these mattered. But why did you frame Xia Jingyan?”

Shen Ninghua suddenly looked up. Xia Jingyan…Mother…

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were chilly. “Consort Yun, you said that the Empress framed Jingyan. What exactly happened?”

Zhao Huiying was shocked and hurriedly explained, “Your Majesty, listen to me. This Consort Yun…”

“Shut up!” Baili Qingcang rudely interrupted her, not giving her any face at all. “Consort Yun, speak.”

Bu Yunqing suddenly smiled. No matter how much time passed, as long as Xia Jingyan was mentioned, Baili Qingcang would definitely react like this. “Your Majesty, didn’t you find it strange? Have you never doubted anything? The Xia Family had made such a great contribution to Da’an, so how could they betray the country and collude with the enemy? Besides, it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in the Xia Family, but don’t you believe in Xia Jingyan? Why was she so determined to leave you and marry Shen Dong, who was just a minor official at that time?”

Zhao Huiying suddenly stood up. “Bu Yunqing, back then, the proof of your crime was beyond any doubt. Escaping from the imperial palace to avoid being punished is already a fatal crime. Now, not only are you unrepentant, but you are also slandering me!”

She turned to look at Baili Qingcang. “Your Majesty, are you going to believe a guilty consort who has disappeared for twenty years with resentment in her heart?”

Bu Yunqing looked at Zhao Huiying mockingly. “Sister Empress, you haven’t changed at all over the years. You are still as hypocritical as before!”

Zhao Huiying ignored her and continued to look at Baili Qingcang firmly. “Your Majesty, what is there to say now? Consort Yun has a grudge against me. She definitely won’t say anything good about me. Could it be that as the Empress of Da’an, I have to be criticized by a guilty consort on no ground?”

“Hahaha, a guilty consort? Sister Empress, I admit that I am guilty. My biggest crime is that I did not immediately stand up and accuse you when you framed Xia Jingyan!”

Zhao Huiying suddenly turned around and raised her hand to slap Bu Yunqing.

Bu Yunqing suddenly closed her eyes, waiting to receive this slap. But after a sound, she did not feel any pain. She quickly opened her eyes and saw Chu Junyi standing in front of her. Tears welled up in her eyes and almost fell out. Son, this was her son…

After escaping from the Palace, she also wanted to see her son. She wanted to take him out of the Xiao family which had ulterior motives. She wanted to take him away from the disputes of the court. Even if they could just be ordinary persons, it was better than living in terror in the capital every day. However, she was totally disfigured. She was afraid that when she stood in front of her son, she would face a look of disgust and horror…

Chu Junyi’s expression was ice-cold. There was no smile on his usually smiling face. His dark eyes were imposing. “Empress, it is better not to use force in front of His Majesty. What do you think?”

“Empress? Chu Junyi, you should call me Mother Empress. Have you forgotten the most basic etiquette and filial piety?”

Shen Ninghua, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly stood up and looked at Zhao Huiying. “Empress, before the matter is completely clear, allow us to address you in this way. Father Emperor, I want to know what the Empress did to my mother back then.”

“Shen Ninghua, are you also rebelling?”

Shen Ninghua’s gaze was calm and her voice was even more indifferent. “If you didn’t do anything, why did you stop Consort Yun from telling the truth?”

“You…”

“All of you, shut up!” Baili Qingcang suddenly took the teacup from the desk and slammed it onto the ground. “Empress, listen obediently at the side. Bu Yunqing, tell me, what was there that I didn’t know about?”

Bu Yunqing withdrew her gaze from Chu Junyi. She no longer looked as mad as before and became much quieter. “Your Majesty, Shen Dong came from a poor family. Later, he joined the Zhao Family and became an ordinary strategist. Because he was ruthless and good at disguise, he was chosen by the Zhao Family’s patriarch, no, it should be the Empress.”

“When she found out that you wanted to take back the military power but didn’t do so because Xia Jingyan was a member of the Xia Family, she secretly spread the news to Xia Jingyan. When a woman suddenly heard the man who was in deep love with her wanted to destroy her family, that kind of feeling…Your Majesty, you should be able to understand it, right?”

“No wonder, no wonder I felt that something was wrong with Jingyan, but no matter how I asked her, she refused to tell me.”

“This was not the most important thing. When Xia Jingyan was heartbroken, Zhao Huiying, who was not the Empress at that time, pretended to comfort her and took the opportunity to drug her and then let Shen Dong sleep with her. This was the reason why Xia Jingyan had to marry Shen Dong!”

Baili Qingcang was stunned. Then, he rushed down from the stairs and grabbed Zhao Huiying by the neck. His eyes were filled with killing intent. “Zhao Huiying, is what Bu Yunqing said true?” No wonder, no wonder Jingyan had such despair in her eyes when she left the Palace. If it weren’t for Zhao Huiying, would they still be together now?

“No!” Zhao Huiying’s eyes trembled violently, but she denied it firmly. She could not admit it. Once she admitted it, everything would be over.

Looking at Baili Qingcang’s painful and angry appearance, Bu Yunqing coldly smiled. She seemed to feel that his agony was not enough and continued saying, “This was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that the drug Zhao Huiying applied to Xia Jingyan was extremely rare. Once taken, not only would it have the effect of aphrodisiac, but it could also make a woman pregnant. However, this medicine was extremely harmful to the woman’s body. When the baby in her belly grew up, the mother’s body would be basically ruined.”

Shen Ninghua’s whole body was cold. She survived, but she killed her mother. She did not expect the truth of the matter to be so cruel…

Bu Yunqing glanced at Shen Ninghua, and her gaze was extremely complicated. She paused for a moment before adding, “Xia Jingyan had practiced martial arts since she was a child, and her body was extremely healthy. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a chance to live. However, Shen Dong, who had won the appreciation of Zhao Yunxiang, drugged her with a chronic poison when she was pregnant, which ultimately took her life.”

The strength of the hand on her neck grew stronger and stronger. Zhao Huiying tried her best to push Baili Qingcang away, but she felt that his arm was like steel. Her chest was so stuffy that it was about to explode. “Your Majesty, let go…”

Baili Qingcang gritted his teeth. The veins on his forehead and neck kept surging. “Zhao Huiying, Zhao Family, good, really good!”

The Third Prince, who was kneeling at the door, was completely stunned. He had wanted to come in and ask Baili Qingcang for an imperial decree to let Bu Tinghe marry him, but he did not expect to see such a big show.

A burst of excitement rose from the bottom of his heart. He almost couldn’t control the smile in his eyes, Once the Empress fell, the Crown Prince’s collapse was not far away.

There was a sudden commotion at the door. “Your Highness, you cannot go in!”