The large inkstone, laden with ink, flew towards the Empress, who widened her eyes in shock and quickly dodged.
With a loud crash, the inkstone rolled to the ground, sending shivers down the spines of the consorts.
The Empress, trembling, knelt on the ground. The Emperor was seeking her life!
The Emperor gripped the armrest of his chair, gasping for breath, and said to Wang Chun, the chief eunuch beside him, "Wang Chun! Immediately… convey my decree, tomorrow… Xia Hongqian ascends the throne!"
"Yes, this servant will go now," Wang Chun, holding the imperial decree, bowed and exited the hall.
The Emperor leaned back on the dragon throne, looking dejected, his eyes filled with resentment and despair. He waved his hand, saying, "All my esteemed ministers, withdraw."
Chancellor Dong, with an unwilling expression, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, why—"
"Withdraw! I told you to withdraw! Chancellor Dong, did you not hear my words? Withdraw!" the Emperor roared, veins bulging in his neck.
Chancellor Dong and the other ministers panicked, all bowing and retreating, not daring to utter another word.
"Close the doors!" the Emperor commanded sternly.
The eunuchs standing at the entrance quickly secured the hall doors.
The Emperor's gaze fell first upon the Empress, his eyes filled with venom and malice. He gritted his teeth and said, "Empress, who is the Crown Prince's biological father!"
This declaration shocked everyone present. The consorts trembled in fear.
At this moment, they finally understood why the Emperor had summoned them all.
The Crown Prince slumped to the ground in shock, feeling as though he were dreaming. How could he not be the Emperor's son? How could that be!
Bai Sheng suddenly understood what the Grand Princess's trump card was. It turned out the Grand Princess also knew that the Crown Prince was not the Emperor's biological son. The underground network she had established over the years was truly formidable.
The news of the Emperor being cuckolded could not get out. Perhaps, only the First Prince, the First Grandson, and the Grand Princess would survive in the hall today.
Bai Sheng clutched the small dart in his hand.
The Empress's face turned pale. Trembling, she feebly argued, "Your Majesty, I… I don't… I don't know what you are talking about."
The Emperor sneered mockingly, "You don't know what I'm talking about? Your son, Xia Rongxian, is not my son at all! Speak! With which wild man did you consort?!"
"No, Your Majesty, Xian'er is your biological son, he is! Someone must have slandered me! Who? Who has defamed me like this!" The Empress shivered in terror, looking around with feigned shock.
The Emperor shifted his gaze to Consort Mei, his eyes bloodshot, wishing he could devour her alive. "And you! You ugly thing! You slut! I loved you so much, indulged you! Yet you fornicated with another man and gave birth to this mongrel, Xia Jingyu!"
"What?!" Prince Yu stumbled backward in shock. He stared at Consort Mei, his expression dazed, and murmured, "Mother Consort, what… what is going on?"
Prince Yu was not the Emperor's biological son? Bai Sheng almost had a cardiac arrest in shock and looked at Consort Mei in disbelief.
If that were true, Consort Mei and Prince Yu would be in even greater danger. No royal family would tolerate someone who polluted the royal bloodline!
A faint smile suddenly appeared on the Empress's lips. It seemed she was not the only one in the harem who had affairs with other men. She never expected that Consort Mei, who always prided herself on her integrity, was also a slut!
Consort Mei remained composed. She did not answer Prince Yu's question but looked directly at the Emperor without fear, sneering, "Your Majesty! Do you not feel ashamed saying this? You love me? After I was disfigured saving you, you vomited at the sight of my face, and within three days, you had one woman after another!"
The Emperor sprang to his feet, waving his arms wildly, and roared hoarsely, "I am the Emperor! I am the Son of Heaven! I can have any woman I desire! All women in the world belong to me!"
"But women are also human! Women need exclusive love! You treat women with such disdain and contempt, so do not blame women for being unfaithful to you! Xia Jingyu is indeed not your son, but do you know why?! It is not because I, Mei Qingshui, am promiscuous! It is because you, Xia Jiahong, are heartless and unjust!"
Prince Yu staggered, grabbing the armrest of a nearby chair. He felt completely hollowed out, his mind blank.
The Emperor let out a sputtering cough and vomited a mouthful of blood. A young eunuch immediately stepped forward to wipe it for him, but he pushed the eunuch away.
Consort Mei approached the Emperor step by step, her eyes extremely cold. "Back then, I accompanied Your Majesty on a personal expedition. To prove his bravery, Your Majesty insisted on personally scouting the enemy's position. To protect Your Majesty, I led over fifty people with me.
As a result, we were surrounded by the elite forces of Northern Qiang. To save you, I led a small detachment of fifty men to cover your escape. You successfully fled.
However, the detachment of fifty men was annihilated. I was forced by the enemy to the Soul-Shattering Cliff, a fall of ten thousand feet. To preserve my chastity, I did not hesitate to jump off the cliff.
Ironically, Your Majesty, after you returned to the main camp, you probably thought I was dead, as you never mentioned my name even once.
But the strategist at the time, Baili Rongmo, cared about me. He knew I had gone to the front lines with you but did not see me return.
So, he asked you where I was and what had happened. Upon learning the truth, he wanted to lead an elite detachment to rescue me, but you forbade it, saying I was likely dead and not worth wasting another soldier.
Baili Rongmo had no choice but to ride his horse alone into the enemy camp to search for me.
On the way, he happened to encounter a pursuing enemy detachment. With a broken leg, he killed dozens of men by himself and then forced a Northern Qiang soldier at knifepoint to learn that I had jumped into the Soul-Shattering Cliff.
Dragging his wounded body, he arrived at the Soul-Shattering Cliff and did not hesitate to jump down.
Fortunately, both of us were lucky enough to get caught on branches, and neither of us died.
However, the deep valley of the Soul-Shattering Cliff was filled with Soul-Shattering Grass, and both of us were poisoned. It was under the influence of the Soul-Shattering Grass that we had relations while in a state of delirium. Yu'er, that is how he came to be.
Finally, Baili Rongmo, with his broken legs, carried me out of the Soul-Shattering Cliff bit by bit. Your Majesty, do you know? From that moment on, my heart completely died for you!
Later, my disfigurement to save you was also to make you detest and avoid me, so I could remain chaste for Baili Rongmo!
Hahaha…
That's right, Xia Jingyu is the only orphan of the Baili family, whose nine generations were exterminated by you! No, he should be called Baili Jingyu now! Hahaha…"
Bai Sheng's palms began to sweat. Consort Mei and his third uncle had such a past. Prince Yu was actually his third uncle's biological son!
But now that Consort Mei had admitted it publicly, the Emperor would surely not let them go.