Empress Zhong was not in a hurry, and said slowly, "This matter involves a prince. If it is not investigated clearly, it will be a small matter to wrong the Fifth Prince, and it will be a great loss to the royal family's dignity. Fortunately, the Fifth Prince is not the only one in this room. Since the Fifth Prince cries out injustice, why not interrogate Miss Ji Renran of the Ji family first? I believe with the efficiency of the Shenxing Division, the truth will soon be revealed."
Noble Consort Xi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the Empress was no longer targeting her son.
As for Ji Renran, Noble Consort Xi had never taken her seriously.
She was just an insignificant person; her life or death was of no consequence.
However, she could not say that, even though she thought so.
Noble Consort Xi looked at Ji Renran and said, "Miss Ji Renran of the Ji family, rest assured. I have a portrait of you. As long as you are innocent, I will not stand idly by. But this matter involves the Fifth Prince, so you will have to endure some hardship for now. When the truth is revealed, I will give you an explanation."
These words clearly told Ji Renran that as long as she could get through the Shenxing Division, Noble Consort Xi would grant her the status she desired.
Ji Renran looked up, but her gaze fell on the Fifth Prince beside her.
Xie Jingzhou naturally understood how much truth there was in his mother's words. However, all he wanted now was to clear himself. He not only avoided Ji Renran's gaze but also looked at the Emperor with great grievance, "Imperial Father, your son is truly wronged. I beg Imperial Father to believe me..."
Emperor Xiaochang looked at the Fifth Prince kneeling before him, his nose running and tears streaming down his face. It was impossible not to feel pity.
He then looked at Ji Renran beside him, and Emperor Xiaochang slowly opened his mouth.
Empress Zhong happened to speak at this moment, "The Fifth Prince is right. The truth of the matter will be known as soon as Miss Ji Renran of the Ji family is handed over to the Shenxing Division for interrogation. I have heard that the Shenxing Division has very special methods. Those who enter that place will have their skin peeled off. When their flesh and bones are exposed, they will naturally not dare to hide anything."
Noble Consort Xi glanced at the trembling Ji Renran and looked at the Empress displeasedly, "The Shenxing Division has its own procedures for handling matters. Why does Empress need to spread fear here?"
"Noble Consort Xi might have forgotten, but not long ago, when there were mice in Noble Consort Xi's palace, it was I who led people to help Noble Consort Xi clean house. Noble Consort Xi moved to Huaqing Palace not long after and is naturally unaware that when those mice were carried out, their skin was burnt."
Empress Zhong smiled at Noble Consort Xi, her dark eyes cool.
To get closer to the Emperor, she would even stage a robbery.
If she wanted to play dumb in front of me, I would deliberately bring it up to annoy her.
Noble Consort Xi had indeed used some methods to get closer to the Emperor back then.
It should have been a natural progression, but the Empress had to interfere, sending her capable eunuch to the Shenxing Division.
Thinking of the Empress's opportunistic tactics, Noble Consort Xi felt like spitting up blood!
Gritting her teeth, Noble Consort Xi was about to retort when she caught sight of Ji Renran suddenly crawling a few steps towards the Emperor out of the corner of her eye.
"Emperor, please enlighten me. Today's incident was not a deliberate scheme by anyone. It was because the Fifth Prince and I were already in love. Since Noble Consort Xi already had a portrait of me, I thought I would eventually be the Fifth Prince's person anyway. So I specifically came here to meet the Fifth Prince, but I did not expect the Fifth Prince to reprimand me for being unruly and beat me..."
Ji Renran's words stunned everyone.
Even Empress Zhong was shocked.
She had deliberately brought up the methods of the Shenxing Division, intending to frighten Ji Renran into telling the truth.
However, Empress Zhong also knew that those who dared to conspire with Noble Consort Xi were not ordinary in their courage.
Since Empress Zhong had spoken, she must have been prepared.
But just as she began, Ji Renran confessed?
Noble Consort Xi: "..."
This little slut has gone mad!
Noble Consort Xi glared at Empress Zhong, knowing that this old woman had bad intentions!
Empress Zhong: "..."
She was also very surprised, okay?
Emperor Xiaochang's expression turned extremely grim, "Do you know that slandering a prince is a grave offense!"
Since Ji Renran had spoken, she was clearly determined.
Facing the Emperor's questioning, she kowtowed heavily, "This subject dares not deceive Your Majesty. It was all my own will. I just thought that the Fifth Prince and I were in love, but I did not know that the Fifth Prince greatly valued rules and etiquette..."
"So you are saying that the injuries on your body were inflicted by the Fifth Prince?"
"Yes, all... all of them..."
"Shut up!" Xie Jingzhou, who had regained his senses, was going crazy.
He never expected that Ji Renran would betray him at such a critical moment.
Just asking her to stay in the Shenxing Division for a while, and she was so eager to drag him down with her. Such a woman was truly detestable.
Ji Renran also felt very wronged.
Although she didn't know what the Shenxing Division was, it was a place for interrogation; how could it be an easy place to stay?
Even if she managed to get out alive, with a tarnished reputation, how could Noble Consort Xi still agree to let her in?
This matter seemed to drag the Fifth Prince down, but she was taking all the blame on herself!
However, facing such a desperate Ji Renran, Xie Jingzhou certainly did not appreciate it.
His rage made him glare menacingly at Ji Renran, his sinister expression even startling Emperor Xiaochang.
Such a terrifying and gloomy son was completely different from the one in his memory.
Ji Renran was frightened by the Fifth Prince's demeanor, and her face turned pale as she begged, "Your Highness, please calm your anger. It is all my fault. It is all my fault for not knowing my place..."
Her plea struck Xie Jingzhou like a warning bell. The darkness in his eyes vanished.
When he looked at the Emperor again, he had returned to his usual humble and timid demeanor, "Imperial Father, you must believe your son. Your son was indeed deceived by Miss Ji Renran of the Ji family. Your son was angry and lost control, so he made a mistake. Imperial Father, your son is truly wronged..." Su Dan Novel Network
With the situation having developed to this point, Xie Jingzhou dared not argue with Ji Renran any further and could only brace himself and admit it.
Noble Consort Xi almost fainted on the spot upon hearing this.
But since her son had admitted it, what more could she say?
Seeing that the Fifth Prince had conceded, Ji Renran's heavy burden was lifted.
What Ji Zizhao had said outside the door was correct: to achieve something, one had to be bold.
As long as she and the Fifth Prince had something between them, even Noble Consort Xi would not be able to stop her from entering the family.
Empress Zhong looked at Ji Renran's shifting gaze and immediately understood.
No wonder the effect was so good; it turned out to be the result of the future daughter-in-law drugging him beforehand.
But the truth was hidden, yet the reputation for beating someone was good?
Emperor Xiaochang, in his anger, got up and walked towards the Fifth Prince, kicking him in the chest.
Xie Jingzhou cried out in pain, almost crying. Just as he was about to beg for mercy again, he swallowed everything back down upon seeing the Emperor's scrutinizing gaze, closed his eyes, and fell to the ground, feigning unconsciousness.
Empress Zhong, seeing the Emperor storm out, quickly led her people to see him off.
Noble Consort Xi hurriedly asked Mama Zhang to call for an imperial physician for the Fifth Prince. When she saw Ji Renran kneeling beside them, she could no longer control her anger and threw the teacup in her hand.
"Crack!"
Blood mixed with tears flowed down Ji Renran's cheek, but she could only bite her lip tightly, daring not to make a sound.