Looking at someone who was as guilty as a thief, Lin Qingge was amused to the point of laughter. "So, you staged this whole play, and it was all for my benefit, wasn't it?"
As soon as Lin Qingge finished speaking, a slightly breathless explanation came from her side:
"Well, I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you wouldn't agree.
He and I are merely using each other for our own needs."
Seeing the Empress, who had been standing on the high platform one moment and was now beside her, Yan Tinghao, who had finally realized what was happening, was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the ground.
"Wife!???
What's going on?
How did Madam become the Empress?"
After the shock, Yan Tinghao felt troubled. On one side was his superior, and on the other was his cousin...
However, his cousin was already the Emperor, but he was stealing a subject's wife. Wasn't that a bit too ungentlemanly?
Unaware of Yan Tinghao's internal turmoil, Lin Qingge said sarcastically,
"Hmph, how dare I disagree? What right do I have to disagree?"
Sensing that the person before her was genuinely angry, Leng Ningyue raised her hand and rubbed her temples, which ached slightly, and said helplessly,
"This is not the place to talk. I will explain to you when we get back."
"How dare I trouble Her Majesty the Empress to explain to me, a mere prefect! Besides, my residence is too small to accommodate a distinguished guest like Her Majesty the Empress."
While Lin Qingge was sulking, a woman who had just barged in noticed them and immediately rushed over aggressively.
"It's you, you vixen, seducing His Majesty! I will definitely expose your true colors to His Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingge immediately retorted, "Yes, and you're a pig spirit, spewing filth!"
After saying that, she wrinkled her nose exaggeratedly. "Tsk tsk, I was wondering where that smell of swill was coming from. So it turns out a pig spirit is causing trouble!"
"You—"
Having been accustomed to smooth sailing since becoming Crown Princess, the woman was utterly humiliated for the first time. She was so angry that her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she couldn't say another word for a long time.
Leng Ningyue, who was being defended, felt a smile flicker in her eyes.
She reached out and tapped Lin Qingge's brow, which was furrowed enough to trap a fly, and after dropping two words, 'Wait for me,' she once again held up her cumbersome skirt and walked step by step onto the high platform.
Hua Jinrong, who felt a pang of toothache watching this, poked the person beside her and asked in confusion,
"Bai Er, what exactly is Lord Lin trying to achieve with all this effort?"
Murong Bai glanced at the new Emperor on the platform, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and then lowered his head to blow on his fingernails.
"Perhaps he's trying to give up."
...
Feng Qingchen's gaze swept over the two of them, always feeling as if there was something they knew that he didn't.
At the same time.
On the high platform, the new Emperor directly summoned the imperial guards and, with a wave of his hand, ordered the woman who had burst into the hall to be taken away!
Seeing this, Prime Minister Shangguan quickly stepped forward to plead,
"Your Majesty, this woman is indeed my daughter, Shangguan Wan'er. Your Majesty must not be deceived by those with ulterior motives!"
"Oh, so according to Prime Minister Shangguan, I am so muddled that I can't even distinguish between my own bedmate?"
"I, I do not dare."
Prime Minister Shangguan knelt on the ground with a thud, but he still braced himself and said,
"But, but I would not mistake my own daughter either!"
"Prime Minister Shangguan is not mistaken, so is it I who am mistaken?"
Feeling the invisible pressure emanating from him, Prime Minister Shangguan finally came to his senses.
He understood that the new Emperor intended to use the enthronement ceremony as an excuse to set things right and drive out his second daughter, who had been substituted.
How could he allow such a thing to happen?!
With this thought, Prime Minister Shangguan kowtowed three times, tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, it is not that I am boasting, but my daughter possesses a beauty that is recognized throughout the capital as unrivaled.
Of course, many people have seen my younger daughter, including the ministers present.
If Your Majesty does not believe my words, you may have this Empress reveal her true appearance.
Let all the ministers identify her. Then, the truth will be as clear as day."
After listening to Prime Minister Shangguan's flawless words, Feng Qingchen angrily spat, "Bah, you old fox!"
However, compared to Feng Qingchen's anger, the young Emperor on the high platform confidently replied with a single word:
"Agreed."
Lin Moyuan, the new Emperor Xia Chengjin, then looked affectionately at the person beside him.
"Empress, although I do not wish for others to glimpse your peerless beauty, to prove that what I say is true, I must trouble Empress to remove the beaded veil from your head."
Goosebumps instantly prickled all over Lin Qingge, who felt that Lin Moyuan was being sickeningly oily. She wished she could go back fifteen minutes, just to have a pair of unpolluted ears!
Prime Minister Shangguan, seeing the new Emperor so amiable towards another woman for the first time, opened his mouth wide. The woman, held tightly by the imperial guards, was equally unable to accept this.
"No, this is impossible!
It must be that this vixen used sorcery on His Majesty!"
Ignoring the woman's clamor, the Empress on the stage slowly lifted the beaded veil, revealing a face that bore seven or eight tenths resemblance to the woman, but was even more radiant and magnificent.
Combined with her cold demeanor, she looked like a phoenix from the highest heavens, unattainable.
Although overjoyed that Leng Ningyue's face had finally been healed, Lin Qingge still annoyedly questioned the person beside her,
"Didn't you say it would take seven days to heal?"
"No choice. Who could have foreseen that my superb medical skills and miraculous recovery would shorten the original seven-day treatment to just three days?
Of course, the cost of treatment is also significantly higher. Please settle the additional consultation fee, sir."
"No way!"
Lin Qingge, clutching her purse, turned and stood on the other side.
The woman, however, looked as if she had seen a ghost upon seeing Leng Ningyue on the stage.
"No, impossible!
This is impossible!
You woman must be a fox spirit in disguise!
Yes!
She's a fox spirit in disguise!
"Tsk, for the daughter of the esteemed Prime Minister Shangguan to call someone a fox spirit with every other word, one might think she was the daughter of a concubine!"
"Your honor, you are mistaken. It is said that Prime Minister Shangguan and his wife have been deeply in love. Although he recently took in a concubine, she has had no children.
Therefore, the one impersonating Her Majesty the Empress is definitely not Prime Minister Shangguan's illegitimate daughter~"
As if inspired by Hua Jinrong's words, the now-pragmatic Prime Minister Shangguan immediately declared,
"Your Majesty is wise. This woman impersonated my beloved daughter to deceive me. Fortunately, Your Majesty saw through her wicked scheme in time. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"
As soon as Prime Minister Shangguan finished speaking, other officials knelt and shouted "Long live!"
The woman was escorted away by the imperial guards, maintaining an expression of disbelief, and imprisoned in the celestial prison.
After this interlude, the subsequent enthronement ceremony proceeded smoothly.
However, after the enthronement ceremony concluded.
Why did Her Majesty the Empress not return to the palace with the new Emperor, but instead walk out with that Lord Lin?