The Longshun Emperor's blood instantly rushed to his head in anger.
In a fit of rage, he stormed to the Phoenix Harmony Palace with his few trusted confidants.
Faced with the stunningly beautiful Empress Yan, his fury was instantly doused. He tried to take her hand, but she flung it away in disgust.
The Longshun Emperor still clearly remembered the obvious suspicion, contempt, revulsion, and hatred in her eyes.
Almost instantly, he slapped that breathtakingly beautiful face.
When someone is too beautiful, you can't bear to scold them.
Only after Empress Yan's cheek had swollen like a pig's head did he begin to verbally abuse her.
"You whore, why did you go looking into the daily records?"
Slapped to the cold floor, Empress Yan's phoenix eyes were bloodshot, a sense of humiliation welling up inside her.
This man was not Li Zongjing.
When she was pregnant with Ashu, it was only with the help of drugs. Besides that, Li Zongjing had never touched her, let alone look at her with such lecherous eyes.
On the other hand, although her brother the Marquis of Wei Yuan liked beautiful women, he disliked married women. The affair of forcing a palace consort was suspicious from the start.
Moreover, her brother and Li Zongjing had a very close brotherly relationship. He would never make such a big deal over a woman, wanting her brother's life.
Seeds of doubt continued to take root and grow wildly in her heart.
She inexplicably sent someone to steal the emperor's daily records from before and after his change, and indeed discovered discrepancies.
Someone allergic to peanuts suddenly wasn't allergic anymore!
An abstinent man suddenly became like a dog in heat!
The facts once again told her that this man really wasn't Li Zongjing!
She had originally planned to expose his false identity gradually, but she didn't expect him to come so quickly.
Reason is one thing, emotion is another.
The moment she saw the fake emperor, she felt nauseous and couldn't pretend to be calm and collected.
Seeing her reaction, the Longshun Emperor grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him, and said sinisterly, "You know everything, don't you?"
"Where are the daily records?"
Empress Yan's face hurt from his grip, and she couldn't speak at all.
Thinking of Ashu, she dug her nails deep into her flesh, leaving marks like teeth impressions, forcing herself to be more rational.
She tried to explain, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she really did throw up, vomiting all over the Longshun Emperor.
The Longshun Emperor pushed her away, throwing her to the ground, his tone as cold as a venomous snake: "Do I disgust you that much?"
"Guards! Search the palace!"
The Phoenix Harmony Palace was nearly turned upside down, even ant nests were dug up, but nothing was found.
He grabbed Empress Yan again, glaring at her: "I'm giving you one last chance. Will you talk or not?"
Empress Yan just opened her mouth, but with nothing left to vomit, she started dry heaving.
In that moment, the Longshun Emperor's brow filled with savage fury, and he made a decision he would regret for many years.
"Since we can't find anything, let's burn it all down."
As the entire Phoenix Harmony Palace was engulfed in flames, he made his final judgment: "Due to the Marquis of Wei Yuan case, the Empress repeatedly defied me, even going so far as to threaten self-immolation. Unexpectedly, the east wind suddenly rose, the fire grew out of control, and the Phoenix Harmony Palace was burned to ruins. The Empress's actions were greatly disrespectful, but as she is dead, I do not wish to pursue the matter further."
Afterwards, he discovered that Princess Longqing had visited the Phoenix Harmony Palace before him.
The Longshun Emperor quickly ordered the Princess Residence to be surrounded, using the pretext of controlling a terrible illness. He sent his confidants to interrogate her in every way, but Longqing refused to confess until her death.
She had grown up as childhood friends with Li Zongjing and Empress Yan, and their feelings ran deep. Later, she was granted a marriage by the late emperor, but met with misfortune, and it was the emperor and empress who upheld justice for her. She never betrayed Empress Yan until her dying breath.
In a fit of rage, the Longshun Emperor dealt with the Marquis of Wei Yuan's family with lightning speed.
The court's military officials knelt at the palace gates for three days and three nights, and he had no choice but to leave the last bit of flesh and blood of the Wei Yuan family, sparing the youngest son Yan Qinghe.
In the depths of night, when dreams returned, he often dreamed of Empress Yan's face, beautiful beyond compare.
The only flaw was that her eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.
So much so that when the Longshun Emperor saw Li Shuchen's identical phoenix eyes, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Using the opportunity of Li Shuchen pleading for the Marquis of Wei Yuan, the Longshun Emperor declared him to be disobedient and greatly disrespectful, insisting on deposing the crown prince.
Previously, when dealing with the Marquis of Wei Yuan, it was the military officials who objected.
Now, in dealing with Li Shuchen, it was the turn of the civil officials.
Blood flowed outside the palace gates for several days, but he was the emperor, the emperor who held absolute power.
Those who obeyed him lived, those who defied him perished.
Even though at the time he only had this one adopted son, Li Shuchen, he still stubbornly persisted. There were so many consorts in the harem, he could surely produce another!
After a power struggle between emperor and ministers, which shed countless amounts of blood, Li Shuchen and Yan Qinghe were finally sent to an extremely cold region.
Various forces pursued and tried to assassinate them along the way, yet they somehow managed to survive.
The moment he saw Li Shuchen again, the Longshun Emperor seemed to see through his ethereal features to that fairy-like, otherworldly Empress Yan.
Over all these years, he had countless beauties, yet he still couldn't forget her.
If Li Shuchen were truly his son, he would surely give him the best of everything in the world.
But he just had to be her child with someone else.
The Longshun Emperor despised him, using him as a shield for Yuyi, yet paradoxically didn't want him to die so easily...
Pulling back his thoughts, the Longshun Emperor let out a long sigh.
Princess Dowager Mei quickly waved her hand in front of her nose and said with certainty, "Jinü, you have bad breath."
"......"
The Longshun Emperor's face turned black as ink, his voice suddenly rising: "Don't think you can threaten me with that leverage!"
"Guards! Throw Princess Dowager Mei into Zhao Prison!"
As long as she didn't die, the sleeper agents she had planted wouldn't risk mutual destruction.
Once he rooted them out, Princess Dowager Mei would surely die!
But the problem was that he hadn't rooted out the sleeper agents yet, and Princess Dowager Mei had already died!
Cold sweat beaded on the Longshun Emperor's forehead. The good days of recent years had left him unaccustomed to such panic. If word got out, it would ultimately threaten his position on the throne...
Even more unlucky was that Prince Shun had also died. Without him, how could he threaten Li Yuanxiu? What about the silver for the peace talks?
Soon, the Longshun Emperor came up with a "clever idea."
"Someone, summon Prince Shun's wife to the palace in the name of Imperial Consort Yao!"
At this moment, the commander of the Imperial Guards, wiping away cold sweat and with hurried steps, requested an audience.
"Your Majesty, Prince Shun's heir Li Yuanshan has rebelled!"
Longshun Emperor: !
Beside him, Eunuch Feng thought to himself: Now there's no need to summon her, they're attacking directly!
He began to inconspicuously look around the hall, wondering where he should hide later.
Prince An had promised to spare his dog's life, that should count for something, right?
Eunuch Feng gripped the handle of his whisk tightly, his heart full of anxiety and unease.
Meanwhile, under Li Yuanshan's command, the well-equipped and valiant West Mountain Camp swept through like a storm, forcefully breaking into the imperial palace.
The opportunity to achieve merit and establish oneself had arrived, and everyone wanted to compete for the honor of assisting in the dynastic change.
In front of Taihe Hall, Li Yuanshan had basically controlled the situation. He sent people to bind the civil and military officials of the court, slowly explaining that his cause was just, and he was not a rebellious traitor.
"The one sitting on the dragon throne now is a fake emperor! Today, I am here to clarify the truth and proclaim it to the world, to comfort the spirit of the true imperial uncle in heaven."
"In Zhao Prison, next to my father's cell, was the late emperor's Princess Dowager Mei. From her, my father inadvertently learned the story of the twin princes."
If Princess Dowager Mei's spirit could speak from the netherworld, she would surely say that it wasn't her who said it, but someone else who tricked you! Fool! Don't wrongly accuse me!
However, the information Li Yuanshan received was that Prince Shun was suddenly killed because he learned of this earth-shattering secret. He even wrote a blood letter to him, indicating where the evidence was hidden.
Li Yuanshan couldn't help but exclaim: Thank you, Father! Father is so good!
In his final moments, his father was still trying to plan for him. He must avenge his father!
