Chapter 324: The Charges Are Confirmed

Cian Palace…

The Empress Dowager sat cross-legged in the lotus position, holding a string of prayer beads in her hand, chanting sutras and offering prayers in front of the Buddhist shrine.

Ji Wufeng’s face was pale, and his mind still a bit dazed. He sat cross-legged beside the Empress Dowager, his expression gloomy as he said, “Gu Jingyun has deep feelings for the Gu family. At his age, he has no real concept of power or ambition, and he hasn’t formed a deep mother-son bond with the Empress. If we capture both the elder and the younger from the Gu family, Gu Jingyun will come alone.”

“Aijia warned you before—the Gu family isn’t made up of pushovers,” the Empress Dowager said coldly, casting him a sidelong glance. “Don’t let yourself fall into their trap.”

“Grandmother, I don’t underestimate them. I’ve sent archers over. If they can’t handle it, they’ll set off fire bombs. As long as the target is still breathing, we’ll hang them from the beam.”

Ji Wufeng’s pitch-black eyes gleamed with a sinister light, and a strange smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “That will make the threat more effective against the Crown Prince.”

The Empress Dowager looked at the increasingly ruthless Ji Wufeng and placed an imperial edict before him.

Ji Wufeng was taken aback. He unrolled the imperial edict—it was the late emperor’s final decree.

“Grandmother?”

“That bastard child cannot be allowed to live. Once he’s dead, you’ll have one less threat. When the eldest prince died young, the Empress couldn’t bear it. Now that her supposedly dead son has been returned to her, if she loses him again, she won’t be able to withstand it. Once the Empress loses power, there will be no one left in the harem to keep you in check.”

The Empress Dowager’s icy gaze swept over the final decree in his hands. “When the time comes, expose Xu Hui and the others for forging the edict. Eliminate all these thorns in your side. It will also be the perfect opportunity for you to consolidate power in court. With the new emperor’s ascension, a general amnesty must be declared, and a special imperial examination held to recruit talents—bring them under your command.”

The Empress Dowager’s grand promises stirred Ji Wufeng’s blood, as if he could already see himself seated upon the throne as the ruler of all.

A flicker passed through Ji Wufeng’s eyes. The Empress Dowager was a woman of boundless ambition—even her own son she could kill. How much less would she care for someone a generation removed?

In the depths of the imperial palace, only power mattered.

Blood ties and familial affection were as thin as paper.

Even if he were to sit upon that throne, he would still be nothing more than a puppet dancing on the Empress Dowager’s strings.

However…

Ji Wufeng lowered his gaze, concealing the calculation in his eyes. His somber tone carried a hint of submission. “I will follow Grandmother’s arrangements in all things.”

The Empress Dowager was pleased by his words. “Good. Take this and keep it safe. Wait for news from the other side.”

Ji Wufeng handed the final decree back. “Grandmother, it’s better if you keep this for me.”

The Empress Dowager raised her brows. Pleased by his tact, her expression eased slightly. “As for Cao Guangyi, when the time comes, you—”

“How dare you! What do you think you’re doing? This is the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber. How can you behave so outrageously?”

An angry voice from a female official rang out. The Empress Dowager’s expression turned grave. A wave of unease surged within her, and her heart leapt to her throat. The word “failure” flashed across her mind.

She had no time to think further. In a panic, the Empress Dowager hurried toward the door.

“I am acting under orders.” A low, cold voice rang out, followed by a series of startled, shrill screams from the palace maids and eunuchs. With a loud bang, the palace doors were forced open.

Zhao Wei stood at the threshold, sword in hand, clad in dark robes. Behind him were guards dressed in armor, standing in formation.

“Zhao Wei! You enter my palace armed and with men—do you have no regard for the law? No respect for imperial authority?” The Empress Dowager suppressed the unease rising in her heart and shouted sternly, “Take your men and get out of here this instant. For the sake of your past merits, Aijia will not hold you accountable for this offense.”

Zhao Wei’s expression did not change. “Empress Dowager, I am acting under orders. Today, someone attempted to assassinate members of the Gu Residence. Several suspects were captured alive, and under interrogation, they confessed that they were acting on the orders of the deposed Crown Prince, Ji Wufeng. They were instructed to capture the Crown Prince’s foster mother and third sister to threaten him into submission, with the intent of rebellion.”

“This matter is of utmost gravity. Her Majesty the Empress has ordered that the deposed Crown Prince be taken back and handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for interrogation.”

“Slander!” A bitter, metallic taste rose in Ji Wufeng’s throat, which he forcibly swallowed. His eyes bloodshot, he shouted, “Zhao Wei, my power was wiped out long ago by the Regent. I’ve been held in the Imperial Clan Court for nearly a year—how would I have any means to abduct my royal brother’s foster mother?”

He let out a cold laugh. “Everyone knows what happened at the Gu Residence a few days ago. Why would I be so foolish as to strike a stone with an egg? This is nothing but a pretext—you’re trying to find an excuse to have me killed and remove a potential threat to my royal brother.”

The Empress Dowager said sternly, “Zhao Wei, how can you convict Feng’er based on nothing more than your own account? The assassins you speak of—who they truly serve remains uncertain. Before passing judgment, we must speak of evidence.”

Zhao Wei’s expression remained unchanged. “The Empress Dowager is right—everything must be based on evidence. Her Majesty raised the deposed Crown Prince for over ten years. She is unwilling to believe that he would, for the sake of power, disregard the grace of being raised and harm the Crown Prince.

I, along with the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, obtained an order from Her Majesty to search the Crown Prince’s residence in Xingning Ward within the capital. There, we found weapons and a dragon robe.”

The faces of both the Empress Dowager and Ji Wufeng changed dramatically. Then they heard Zhao Wei continue coldly, “The Empress Dowager previously received a report claiming that the Gu Residence had captured the Crown Prince, harboring ambitions to usurp the throne, and that the residence contained a large amount of incriminating evidence. Therefore, Cao Guangyi was sent to conduct a search. As it turned out, they were falsely accused.

Such matters do not arise out of thin air. During this morning’s court session, the officials resolved to investigate further. With today’s incident of the deposed Crown Prince committing violence at the Gu Residence, I grew suspicious—only to unexpectedly uncover actual evidence.”

The Empress Dowager swayed, nearly losing her balance. She had brought this upon herself—hoisting a stone only to drop it on her own foot.

But she quickly regained her composure. Ji Wufeng had been her best option, but without him, she still had other choices.

Ji Wufeng felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen. His complexion turned a ghastly pale-green. He had never imagined that he would be struck down in a counterattack.

If he couldn’t prove that the items found in his residence weren’t hidden there by him, then under the momentum stirred up by the Empress’s faction, he would be forced to shoulder this unjust blame.

He looked toward the Empress Dowager, wanting to plead for her help, but what he saw in her resolute eyes was ruthless finality. In that instant, his heart went cold.

“Grandmother…”

The Empress Dowager spoke with disappointment, “Feng’er, did you truly harbor such thoughts?”

“I did not, Royal Grandmother! I’ve been framed!” Ji Wufeng defended himself anxiously. “The residence in Xingning Ward—I’ve never even lived there. How could I have hidden those… things inside?”

“Do you have any evidence to prove it wasn’t yours?”

“I…”

“Enough. A clear conscience fears no shadow. Go with Zhao Wei to undergo interrogation. Aijia will find the evidence for you.” But how could the Empress Dowager dare allow the Three Judicial Offices to try this case?

Those weapons and the dragon robe were likely the very things she had hidden in the Gu Residence, only for the Gu family to turn the trap back on her—planting them in the Crown Prince’s private residence, waiting precisely for this day!

If she tried to clear Ji Wufeng’s name and investigate the origin of the weapons and the dragon robe, she herself would be implicated.

The Empress and her allies had already planned three steps ahead—they had never intended to let them go.

Ji Wufeng assessed the situation. Escape was impossible. All he could do now was pin his hopes on the Empress Dowager.

Zhao Wei took Ji Wufeng away.

The Empress Dowager’s fingernails dug deep into her palm as she watched the guards drag Ji Wufeng away like a stray dog.

“Empress Dowager…”

The Empress Dowager shut her eyes tightly and said through gritted teeth, “Go give it a push—make sure Ji Wufeng is convicted.”