Chapter 129 Rectifying the Chaos

Chapter 129 Rectifying the Chaos

Xie Zhuo was startled, glanced at Xue Qingning, and asked why this was the case.

Xue Qingning felt a desolate emptiness in her heart, but her face remained calm and composed, signaling him to calm down.

Xie Zhuo had no choice but to look away, and said fiercely to Xie Yan: "Prince Jing, your fourth brother understands your desire to protect your wife."

"However, they have corrupted royal ethics and disgraced the royal family."

"If the ruler does not condone perverse customs and moral order collapses, and does not curb unhealthy trends, how can the people below abide by the rules of the Yunhan state?"

"Third brother, don't be soft-hearted. Don't let this despicable harlot ruin our brotherhood."

Xie Yan looked at Xie Zhuo, who had always treated him coldly and had even peed on his head when they were children, and who was now calling him "Third Brother"?

Xie Yan couldn't help but sneer: "Fourth brother, what you say is absolutely right, but all of this must be based on the truth."

Xie Zhuo lowered his eyes, extremely annoyed. "The truth? The truth has already been revealed. If Prince Jing insists on fabricating another truth, then please produce the so-called truth."

"The truth?" Xie Yu looked at Xie Zhuo and laughed. "Only the parties involved know the real truth."

Xie Zhuo stared at Xie Yu, his eyes narrowing slightly: "What Sixth Brother said is the least reliable."

The emperor on the dragon throne spoke: "Fourth Prince, let the Sixth Prince speak."

Even though Xie Zhuorao wanted to obstruct it, he could only back down at this moment.

Xie Yu said to the Emperor, "Thank you, Father. What my Third Sister-in-law said is true. My son and I were framed."

"However, my third sister-in-law does not know the whole story, and therefore believes that she and I have made a grave mistake."

Shen Nanzi looked at him, wondering why Xie Yu said that.

She clearly remembered that they had rolled onto the bed, could it be...?

Xie Yu continued, explaining the situation: "Your subject was being chased by men in black, and by chance encountered the Third Imperial Sister-in-law who was searching for Cheng'er. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, we had no choice but to retreat to a side hall."

"But the arrows shot by the man in black contained aphrodisiacs."

"When the medicine takes effect, I must go out to meet the enemy."

"My third sister-in-law was willing to sacrifice her own innocence to save my life."

Xie Yu looked at Consort Wei and said, "She also said that if I were to die, Mother Consort would probably not survive."

Consort Wei's face flushed, and her gaze towards Shen Nanzi softened, tinged with guilt.

Xie Yu: "Your subject will play along and make outsiders think that your subject and your third sister-in-law have crossed the line of taboo between uncle and sister-in-law."

"But even if I die, I will not tarnish the innocence of my third sister-in-law."

"After putting on an act, he knocked out the Third Princess Consort."

"I know I cannot control my body and I am worried that I might do something that would harm my Third Sister-in-law, so I thought I should stay away from her."

"Who knew that there was a sparrow hiding in the house, which knocked me unconscious while I was under the influence of the drug and powerless to resist."

"I have no way of knowing what happened after that."

The entire audience was in an uproar; it turned out there were so many twists and turns in this matter.

Xie Yan overheard this and guessed that the yellow sparrow must be Xiao Lin Shi.

She hid in the shadows, knocked Xie Yu unconscious, and deliberately disheveled their clothes to create the illusion that the deed was done.

A surge of relief welled up in his heart. He was relieved that she and Xie Yu hadn't crossed that line, relieved that things weren't as he'd witnessed, and relieved that Xie Yu had told the truth in front of everyone.

"Hmph~" Xie Zhuo sneered, "The story is quite moving, then please provide evidence to prove it."

"Do you want evidence?" Xie Yan's expression was somewhat ruthless, but more so calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

The smile made Xie Zhuo's heart skip a beat, and he felt a fear of impending death.

Xie Yan shouted to the outside of the hall, "Bring in all the evidence!"

Then, several people, men and women, young and old, walked in from outside the Shengming Hall.

Everyone was taken aback.

As Xue Qingning looked at the many witnesses, her fingers clenched tightly, her eyes trembled, and when she looked at Xie Yan, a hint of hatred appeared in her eyes.

Xie Yan's gaze swept across her face, then he turned and reported to the Emperor.

"Sixth Prince, what you say should be true."

"Your Majesty, I have found out who impersonated Cheng'er and Auntie that day."

As they were talking, a guard brought up an old man and a child.

Their clothes looked very familiar; they were the same clothes Xie Chengze wore on the day he went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

He wore a black robe, a small crown on his head, and a pair of small red boots.

When she looked up, her figure and appearance were eight or nine parts similar to Cheng'er's.

Shen Nanzi was startled; even she could be fooled if she didn't look closely.

Xie Yan: "Remove their makeup!"

Immediately, someone came over with wet wipes, and after wiping them, the true identities of the old man and the child were revealed.

Even though there's only a slight resemblance, after makeup, it's impossible to tell the difference between the real and fake.

Even the Emperor and Consort Wei were shocked.

"This forgery is so convincing," Consort Wei whispered to the Emperor in surprise.

The Emperor tightened his grip on the armrest. "Tell me the truth."

The old woman was so frightened that she prostrated herself on the ground. "I am a performer in an opera troupe. Someone came to me and said that for ten taels of silver, I could take the child with me for a while."

"This humble commoner was blinded by greed and took this child on a trip without knowing anything about the rest of us!"

The six or seven-year-old boy clearly didn't know what was happening. He looked at everyone with fear in his eyes, clearly too young to understand anything.

Xie Yan said, "Cheng'er and his aunt, who was taking care of him, went to rest in the side hall and were drugged into falling asleep by someone using sleeping incense."

"Then, the two men impersonated them and appeared on the imperial road, all the way back to the palace."

"Princess Jing followed the imperial road to inquire, and chased after them to the Hele Palace, where she then laid an ambush."

“Cheng’er has a token for entering the palace. Anyone who has a token must be someone of status, so the search will be narrowed down.”

"When I found Princess Jing, I saw three arrows on the wall and confirmed that they were filled with aphrodisiacs."

"Your Majesty then ordered people to search for the person who recently purchased these special medicinal materials."

As he spoke, a middle-aged man who looked like a doctor was brought to the front of the hall.

When Xie Zhuo and Su Muyun saw this person, they were shocked. He was one of the doctors in their household.

Xie Yan was so well-connected that he could even find the doctor who dispensed medicine in their household.

The doctor knelt on the ground, trembling. "Your Majesty, spare my life! I am just a doctor. Whatever medicine my master orders, I will do as he commands."

"I have no idea where this medicine is going to be used."

"This person, the Fourth Prince should recognize him, right?" Xie Yan looked at Xie Zhuo, the smile in his eyes carrying an aura of intimidation.

"Do you think that aphrodisiac is very ordinary, with a formula that is the same as that of a pharmacy, and that it is impossible to detect?"

"However, because of your suggestion to increase the dosage, your doctor used the highest quality male umbilical cord."

"This is a treasure found only in the frigid seas; it's too easy to expose its flaws."

"Fourth brother, you still lack rigor in your work!"

Xie Zhuo swallowed, glanced at the large group of people standing at the entrance of the hall, their proud necks stubbornly stiff.

"He's just a doctor. It's not impossible for him to be bribed with money."

Before Xie Yan could speak, the doctor turned around and grabbed Xie Zhuo's clothes. "Fourth Prince, three generations of my family have served in this household. I have served you for more than ten years. How could I be tempted by others to betray my master with money?"

"Fourth Prince, please save this old servant! This old servant does not want to die."

Enraged, Xie Zhuo struck out with his palm, and the doctor immediately fell to the ground.

"Fourth Prince, how dare you commit murder on the spot!" The Emperor was so angry that he spoke too quickly and started coughing.

Consort Wei hurriedly got up, rushed to the Emperor's side, squatted down next to the dragon throne, and patted the Emperor's back.