The tension in the palace was palpable.

The Empress reasoning made sense—despite her status, even a queen could lose a few items over the years.

But as long as the guard was dead, no one could prove any wrongdoing. The letter could be forged, and items could be lost.

What the Queen failed to anticipate was that Yan Ling was waiting for exactly this moment.

Standing at the center of the hall, he coldly addressed Xiao Ji, saying, “Whether it is true or not, a test will prove everything.”

Test? How would they test it?

Xiao Ji, who had been putting up a brave front, raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Before he could respond, Zhou Man Niang, standing behind Wen Yuesheng, stepped forward.

“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “I have received the command of the Princess to search the private estate of King Jingkang, where a large number of mother-and-child worms were found.”

The revelation that Prince Jingkang had so many of these sinister creatures sent a chill through the room.

However, the discussion had been about Xiao Ji’s lineage. How had they ended up talking about worms?

Zhou Man Niang continued, “Raising these worms is difficult, and the ones found in Prince Jingkang’s estate are not fully grown.”

“Though the worms are not fully grown, there is one notable characteristic.”

She raised her gaze and spoke slowly. “These worms feed on flesh, which is why they are called ‘mother-and-child worms,’ because they need the flesh of a blood relative to grow.”

“Only when raised with blood relatives can the two worms survive together. If one’s bloodline is impure, the mother worm will devour the child worm.”

At her words, the entire hall was stunned.

This meant that Prince Jingkang’s worms could be used to test blood relations?

The Empress’s face immediately darkened.

Her hands gripped the armrest of her seat so tightly that her long nails pierced through her skin, but she seemed unaware.

She had never imagined such a sinister and treacherous method.

In fact, she wasn’t even sure if Xiao Ji was truly the Emperor’s biological son.

Years ago, when she was lonely in the palace, she had a secret affair with a guard, and during this time, she had even slept with him a few times.

After conceiving Xiao Ji, she became uneasy. She knew that if the Emperor found out, both she and Xiao Ji would face death, so she sought help from her brother, the Duke of Zhen Guo.

After scolding her for her foolishness, the Duke had sent people to silence the guard.

She had hoped that this would be the end of it, but she never expected that such a secret would one day be exposed.

Hearing that the worms could be used to test blood relations, the Empress almost bit her teeth in frustration.

Yet, she couldn’t find a single word of rebuttal.

Even when the Emperor ordered the worms to be used for testing, she could only maintain a calm face and coldly say:

“How can we be sure that Xiao Ji hasn’t tampered with it?”

Xiao Ji, who was barely hanging on, couldn’t help but laugh at the Empress’s words.

With the last bit of strength left in him, he spat out blood into the box containing the worms.

Once he finished, he lifted his head and grinned at the Emperor. “Here, Father, let’s see what the true bloodline of the Emperor really is.”

The Emperor’s servant, Gao Quan, had already taken some blood as instructed.

Looking at the Emperor, who seemed on the brink of collapsing, Gao Quan’s face darkened, but he still managed to pour a little of the blood into the box.

As the blood touched the worms, one of them immediately burrowed in, while the other remained motionless.

Once the Emperor’s blood was added, the motionless worm immediately began feeding on the blood.

The contrast between the two worms was clear, confirming Zhou Man Niang’s words.

Gao Quan, his face changing repeatedly, finally turned his gaze to Xiao Ji.

He walked over to Xiao Ji, holding the box.

Xiao Ji’s face was grim. Today’s events were the greatest humiliation of his life.

He stared at the worms in the box for a long time, not speaking.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gao Quan urged him to take the box.

Xiao Ji finally raised his hand, allowing his blood to drip into the box.

The worms, upon sensing the blood, became more active and excited.

Gao Quan, holding his breath, waited for the moment when the Emperor’s blood would be added.

When the blood touched the worms, the box was silent for a brief moment.

But then, the black mother worm suddenly sprang into action, devouring the child worm beside it.

Gao Quan’s face changed, and the box slipped from his hands with a soft thud.

The entire hall went silent.

The Emperor, who had been sitting calmly, suddenly stood up. His head spun, and his vision blurred, his emotions nearly causing him to faint.

But through the turmoil, he clearly saw the Empress’s panicked expression.

In a furious roar, the Emperor shouted, “You wretch!”

He kicked the Empress, sending her sprawling out of the hall, landing near Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji, however, was oblivious to everything, his eyes fixed on the box.

The entire hall seemed to turn upside down as he stared at the box, his gaze dark and intense as he locked eyes with Xiao Ji.

He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Xiao Ji by the collar and snarling, “This is your scheme, isn’t it? What did you do to these worms?”

With a powerful grip, he nearly strangled Xiao Ji, his eyes bulging with rage.

Xiao Ji, seeing the normally composed and restrained Prince of Yong’an lose control, couldn’t help but laugh.

Staring at the crazed expression of Xiao Ji, he laughed softly and said, “What’s wrong, can’t accept that you’re a bastard?”

“Ha ha ha ha, Xiao Ji, you’re truly pathetic.”

“If you can’t accept this, then there’s still one more box, isn’t there?”

Xiao Ji followed his gaze to the box beside him, which contained the same worms from earlier.

Xiao Ji took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the urge to tear this man apart, and took the box.

Without hesitation, he added his own blood to the box.

However, the moment his blood dripped into the box, the once active black mother worm suddenly erupted and devoured the child worm in an instant.

Thud.

Xiao Jin loosened his grip, and the box shattered in front of him.

Xiao Ji looked at him and laughed heartily as he stepped on the mother worm, crushing it.

But he was already left with just a breath, and the laugh had barely appeared when he suddenly stopped breathing.

As Xiao Ji fell silent, Xiao Jin abruptly raised his head.

His forehead was throbbing, and his vision twisted. He swept his gaze across all the people in the hall and finally landed on Wen Yue Sheng.

Xiao Jin paused for a moment, then shouted, “Take action!”

He suddenly turned around, his eyes locking onto the astonished commander of the personal guard amidst the chaos.

The commander was too stunned to react, but Xiao Jin immediately drew the sword hidden under the table, raised it, and pointed at him, shouting, “Gong Yue! I command you to take action!”

Gong Yue, the commander of the personal guard, was still in a state of shock when he heard a loud crash from the hall.

He turned around and saw that the emperor, overwhelmed by the intense shock, had fainted.

The entire Taihe Hall was thrown into chaos, with countless voices echoing in the air.

In the midst of the turmoil, Wen Yuesheng coldly commanded, “Take all of Xiao Jin’s faction into custody.”

As her words fell, numerous soldiers surged into the hall.

Before Xiao Jin could swing his sword, it was directly pressed to the ground by Jiang Yan, who led the charge.

Amidst the bloodied chaos in the hall, he watched as someone in the distance slowly stood up, walking past him.

Without any pause or attachment, just as he had once treated her many years ago—cold and indifferent.

But years ago, he looked down on her from a higher position. Now, he could only lower his gaze, looking at the hem of her dress.

The moon hung high.

After the farce in the palace lasted for a long time, it finally came to an end.

At the dead of night, the emperor finally opened his eyes again.

The emperor’s chamber was quiet, but his body felt as heavy as if it had been submerged in water for days and had just been pulled up.

His limbs were all aching with dull pain.

The emperor opened his mouth, intending to call for Gao Quan to enter.

But when he turned his head, he saw Wen Yuesheng sitting calmly in the hall.

The cold moonlight bathed her, making her pale blue robe appear as if it were coated in a layer of white light.

In her hand, she held a string of greenish-blue Buddhist beads, turning them slowly. Her cold, emotionless black eyes were fixed on the emperor lying on the dragon bed.

And outside the entire chamber, she was the only one there.

The emperor glanced at her coldly and said in a hoarse voice, “Where is Gao Quan? I want to see him.”

His words were barely audible, his voice hoarse, as if a lamp had almost burnt out.

But even at this point, he still refused to relent.

Wen Yuesheng remained silent, and the hall fell into a long silence.

The emperor, tormented by pain, felt sharp pains in his temples. He knew that his time was running out, but he gritted his teeth and continued to hold on.

Seeing that Wen Yuesheng did not speak, he could only say, “Bring Gao Quan and Xiao Yin to me.”

The once powerful emperor was now exhausted. He said in a low voice, “Si Ning, you must know, there has never been a woman on the throne throughout history.”

“Even if Xiao Jin is not my offspring, this country and dynasty still do not belong to you.”

He said it with certainty, then turned his head and refused to look at Wen Yuesheng again.

Even at this point, he had not relented.

Wen Yuesheng showed no emotion on her face.

She stopped turning the Buddhist beads, and coldly said, “Do you think, at this point, everything is still under your control?”

The emperor, hearing this, suddenly turned his head and stared at her with his cloudy eyes.

Wen Yuesheng stood up, her hand still holding the Buddhist beads behind her back.

She spoke softly, “Your Majesty, listen… is there anyone here in the palace who still listens to your orders?”

At this moment, the emperor finally realized that the entire palace was eerily silent.

The men he had entrusted to Xiao Jin had long since disappeared.

The emperor’s chest heaved violently. He wanted to be angry but realized that, in Wen Yue Sheng’s eyes, he was just a piece of paper that could easily be torn apart.

The emperor just stared at her, speaking slowly, “Si Ning, are you really going to do this?”

“Are you really going to disregard propriety, ethics, and the rules?” The emperor sneered coldly, “Do you think that by ascending to the throne like this, the officials and soldiers across the land will follow you?”

“Even if I die today, there is still Xiao Yin! There are still the sons of the royal family. What will you use to convince them?”

Before he could finish, there was a sudden stir outside the hall.

Gao Quan stood outside, his gaze complicated as he looked inside the hall.

In front of him stood the high-ranking officials of the court, led by Elder Lü.

Elder Lu loudly declared, “The country cannot go a single day without a ruler. Now, with everything in disarray and the court in chaos, we implore Your Majesty to decree and name Princess Si Ning as the Crown Princess!”

Wang Jinzhi also stepped forward, saying, “Princess Si Ning is outstanding in learning and military achievements, second only to the royal family. We are willing to offer our full support to assist her in ascending the throne. We implore Your Majesty to issue an edict and declare Princess Si Ning as the heir!”

Yan Wei said, “The royal offspring are cruel and ruthless, causing harm to the people and the court. In order to protect the dignity of the royal family, I humbly ask Your Majesty to declare Princess Si Ning as the heir and restore peace and order to the people.”

Qi Fang said, “I, with all the scholars of the capital, vow to follow Princess Si Ning to the death. We beg Your Majesty to grant us this favor.”

The voices of the officials requesting action were endless.

The emperor’s face was slowly crumbling.

He knew that everything he had said would be easily resolved in Wen Yuesheng’s mind.

The emperor closed his eyes.

With his eyes closed, the words of the ministers outside seemed even more distinct.

Wen Yuesheng, standing beside him, spoke coldly, her voice devoid of emotion. “Outside the imperial palace, there is still the imperial city.”

“Beyond the imperial city, there are the three armies in the east, the Fuzhou army, and the frontier troops.”

Suddenly, the emperor opened his eyes in the darkness.

He saw Wen Yuesheng standing not far from him.

Though they made eye contact, the emperor, who had long been in a position of power, now felt that she was coldly looking down on him.

“Your Majesty, do you still want to summon Xiao Yin into the hall?” she asked softly. “Do you want to adopt a son from the royal family to ensure the throne’s legitimacy?”

The emperor opened his mouth but could not respond.

Under the moonlight, she said expressionlessly, “Or do you want to directly adopt him under your own name, declare the trusted ministers to assist the new emperor in ascending the throne?”

“Either way,” Wen Yuesheng nodded slightly.

“But one thing, Your Majesty, your offspring are few.”

Her voice was light and shallow as she raised her hand and gently tapped the dragon bed beside her.

“At most, there is only Xiao Yin left.” She paused, her cold gaze sweeping across the emperor. “Has Your Majesty made your decision?”

The moonlight was bright.

The ministers gathered outside the emperor’s chamber did not leave.

As the first light of dawn broke, the tightly shut doors of the chamber were finally opened.

Gao Quan walked out, holding the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand.

Standing beside him were Elder Lu and Wang Jinzhi. As the first light of dawn broke, Gao Quan, under the gaze of everyone, declared:

“…Princess Si Ning, as an exemplary royal, has achieved military success on the battlefield, eliminated traitors in the court, and is skilled in both knowledge and strategy, as destined by Heaven… From today onward, Princess Si Ning Wen Yuesheng is named as the Crown Princess, to take charge of the court. From now on, all military and national affairs, any petitions from the officials, will be handled by the Crown Princess.”

“Given.”