The Prince of Wei Yangwang suddenly had a moment of clarity and looked King Jingkang up and down.

Prince Jingkang, frail from birth, was much more delicate than his brothers. His face often bore a sickly pallor, and having spent years in seclusion, his demeanor was unusually gloomy.

The Prince of Wei Yangwang sneered suddenly. “Second Brother, could it be that you, unable to have children of your own, can’t bear to see others with offspring?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Prince Jingkang’s expression changed. His eyes turned fierce and menacing as he glared at the Prince of Weiyang with a look that could have torn him apart.

The courtiers standing by felt their hearts skip a beat at the scene.

Prince Jingkang, a few years older than the Prince of Weiyang( Prince Wei Yangwang), had married early. However, his consort had passed away from illness years ago, and he had not remarried since.

Though his household had a few concubines, he remained childless for years. It was whispered that his frailty made having children difficult.

Unlike the First Prince and the King of Weiyang, who both made considerable efforts regarding their heirs, King Jingkang never showed interest in the matter or sought medical advice.

Now, with Prince Weiyang bringing it up before the courtiers, Prince Jingkang’s face darkened immediately.

Just as he was about to explode, a soldier by Wen Yuesheng’s side returned hurriedly and reported in a steady voice, “Your Grace, no suspicious items were found in Consort Liang’s quarters.”

At the same time, the palace staff searching Consort Liang herself reported, “Your Grace, there’s nothing on Consort Liang.”

There were no gu worms or any other strange items.

The hall fell silent.

Prince Jingkang’s expression eased slightly, and he looked at Wen Yuesheng. “You dare act so presumptuously in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, humiliating a consort, only to find nothing.”

“With such conduct, I can’t help but suspect that you’re stirring up trouble on purpose.”

His words caused the courtiers to feel a chill.

Even Yan Wei furrowed his brow. Since the emperor fainted, Wen Yuesheng’s people had secured the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

With palace guards stationed outside, Consort Liang, though present, had no opportunity to destroy evidence or pass messages.

Yet, the gu worm could not be found. Could it have vanished into thin air?

“Guards,” Prince Jingkang commanded, intending to release Consort Liang before Wen Yuesheng could respond.

Before he could proceed, Wen Yuesheng interrupted coldly, “What about her attendants?”

Gao Quan quickly replied, “The attendants have been detained outside the hall.”

“Bring them in,” Wen Yuesheng ordered.

Consort Liang’s attendants were soon escorted into the hall.

“They’ve already been searched before entering,” Gao Quan reported. “Nothing unusual was found on them.”

Nothing was on Consort Liang, her quarters, or her attendants.

Could it be that Consort Liang truly had nothing to do with this?

But each time the emperor made erratic decisions or displayed strange symptoms, Consort Liang had always been nearby. The coincidences seemed far too convenient.

As the hall descended into silence, Wen Yuesheng spoke coldly, “Manniang.”

Zhou Manniang raised her head as Wen Yuesheng instructed, “Check their pulses.”

Her words startled everyone in the hall.

Yan Wei quickly understood and exclaimed in shock, “You mean…?”

Could Consort Liang have forced her attendants to swallow the gu worm to avoid suspicion?

Even those familiar with Consort Liang’s reckless ways were chilled by the thought.

Zhou Manniang had previously explained that both the mother and child gu worms were highly toxic.

The mother worm, in particular, was deadly.

Without hesitation, Zhou Manniang began checking the pulses of the attendants.

Her movements were swift, and in moments, she had examined several attendants.

Finally, she reached a young maid, no older than thirteen or fourteen.

The girl trembled as Zhou Manniang extended her hand toward her.

Zhou Manniang’s expression changed immediately. She grabbed the maid’s hand and, after checking her pulse and inspecting her head, her face turned grim.

“Your Grace,” she announced, “the gu worm is in her.”

The hall fell silent.

Consort Liang had truly placed the gu worm inside one of her attendants!

As Zhou Manniang’s words settled, the young maid collapsed to the ground, sobbing. “My lady, save me! Save this servant!”

The maid was a recent addition to Consort Liang’s household after the latter gained favor. Not one of Consort Liang’s trusted confidantes, she had never earned her trust.

After the emperor fainted, Consort Liang, sensing trouble, produced a silver box from her sleeve.

She then ordered her senior maid to force the young maid to swallow the gu worm.

After swallowing the revolting creature, the young maid felt an unbearable pain in her organs but dared not show it. Consort Liang had warned her:

“If anyone discovers the gu worm in you, your entire family will die!”

Terrified by the threat, the maid endured the pain in silence. When she overheard the search yielding no evidence, despair consumed her.

Zhou Manniang, seeing the gu worm already taking effect, rushed the girl to a side chamber to extract it.

Unlike the child worm, the mother worm’s introduction into the body was agonizing and life-threatening.

Having previously performed a similar procedure, Zhou Manniang worked quickly.

She extracted the worm, placed it in a metal box, and handed it to military doctors for identification.

The evidence was conclusive: it was the worm used to control the others.

When Consort Liang was dragged back into the hall, her face was ashen. Gone was her earlier arrogance and defiance. Even after her gag was removed, she remained silent, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor.

Wen Yuesheng gazed at her coldly. “Where did the gu worm come from?”

Consort Liang’s eyes flickered, but she stayed silent.

The courtiers, however, were not fools. As soon as the mother worm was revealed, many of them cast their gaze toward King Jingkang.

Consort Liang was Prince Jingkang’s biological mother. Even if she insisted he was uninvolved, her words alone would not suffice.

Under the weight of their stares, Consort Liang began to tremble. She suddenly raised her head and declared, “This has nothing to do with anyone else. I did this myself.”

She paused briefly, seemingly lost in thought, before raising her head to sneer at Wen Yuesheng:
“The entire Liang family has suffered at your hands.”

“Even I was banished to the cold palace. To avenge my family, my only path was to regain favor. Naturally, I had to resort to some methods to achieve this as quickly as possible,” she said, letting out a cold laugh. “If you say the emperor’s plight is my doing, that’s not entirely accurate.”

“If it weren’t for a vile woman like you, I wouldn’t have done any of this today! How dare you interrogate me now? Isn’t it all your fault in the first place?”

Even now, she showed no remorse.

She even blamed others for her own wrongdoings.

But the person she faced was Wen Yuesheng.

Across two lifetimes, Wen Yuesheng had never feared anyone’s slander.

She didn’t even flinch at Liang Fei’s words and coldly commanded, “Take her out. Use the rods.”

Liang Fei’s face froze instantly.

She looked up at Jingkang Wang, hoping for his support, but he stood with his back to her, silent and distant, as though they were strangers rather than mother and son.

Liang Fei’s eyes flickered briefly before she lowered her head.

Having fallen to such a state, she knew she couldn’t drag Jingkang Wang down with her.

The imperial guards entered the hall briskly.

Wen Yuesheng, emotionless, gave her order: “Thirty lashes.”

Liang Fei turned back just in time to see the guards approaching her. Fear gripped her heart, and she screamed in panic.

Unexpectedly, her desperate cries woke the emperor from his slumber on the dragon bed.

“Your Majesty!” High Eunuch Gaoquan, noticing the emperor’s hand move slightly, almost burst into tears.

Liang Fei was momentarily stunned. She looked up and met the emperor’s cold, sunken gaze, which sent a shiver down her spine.

Gaoquan drew back the bed curtains and helped the emperor sit up.

The emperor’s face was ashen, his eyes bloodshot, and his features utterly haggard.

After the gu parasite had been removed, he looked as if he had aged twenty years. His once-powerful gaze was now weary and clouded.

Having brushed close to death, the emperor was no longer as wrathful as before.

He sat there quietly, staring at Liang Fei.

After over thirty years of sharing a bed, Liang Fei still feared the emperor. Under his gaze, she couldn’t utter another word.

The officials in the hall, seeing the emperor awake, prepared to pay their respects, but he stopped them with a wave.

The removal of the gu parasite had left him gravely weakened, and even speaking was a struggle.

Yet despite his condition, he gripped Gaoquan’s hand to steady himself as he sat upright.

His gaze moved between Liang Fei and Jingkang Wang. After looking at Liang Fei for a long moment, his eyes settled deeply on Jingkang Wang.

But his body could not sustain him, and after whispering two instructions to Gaoquan, he fainted again.

After the emperor fell unconscious once more, the officials all left the side hall, leaving only a few imperial physicians behind.

Gaoquan emerged with them and said in a strained voice, “The emperor has decreed that this matter be handled entirely by Princess Sining.”

The officials hesitated briefly before replying in unison, “We obey the decree.”

The emperor’s condition was dire, leaving him unable even to deal with Liang Fei. The officials, now tasked with witnessing Wen Yuesheng’s authority, were left with complex emotions.

Meanwhile, Consort Liang remained defiant.

The guards under Wen Yuesheng’s command showed no mercy. After thirty lashes, Consort Liang Fei’s back was soaked in blood, and she could no longer move.

She had to be dragged out of the hall.

Though she had not confessed, the guards had held back enough to keep her alive.

Despite the excruciating pain, Consort Liang Fei clenched her teeth and refused to speak.

No matter how severely Yan Wei interrogated her, she insisted that the matter of the gu parasite was her own doing and had nothing to do with anyone else.

Lying outside the hall, Consort Liang Fei gasped out, “The gu parasite affair was entirely my doing. It has no connection to anyone else.”

“Wen Yuesheng, if you want to kill me, just do it. If you think you can beat a confession out of me—” She raised her head and saw only the hem of a black dress.

Consort Liang Fei sneered. “Ha! Who do you think you are?”

Wen Yuesheng stood in the hall, her face devoid of expression.

Amid Liang Fei’s screams and curses, Wen Yuesheng coldly said, “Guards.”

Consort Liang Fei froze momentarily, indifferent.

She knew from the emperor’s words earlier that she was doomed.

What more could Wen Yuesheng do to her? She would die anyway. Wen Yuesheng could not extract a single word from her.

Laughing maniacally, Consort Liang Fei’s voice grew more unhinged.

But Wen Yuesheng’s next words sent her reeling: “Detain everyone who had contact with her in the cold palace.”

This naturally included Jingkang Wang.

Consort Liang Fei’s face twisted in shock, and she looked at Wen Yuesheng in disbelief.

Before her eyes, the imperial guards swiftly restrained Prince Jingkang with little effort.

Prince Jingkang showed no emotion. Even as his hands were tied, he did not resist or even lift his head.

He kept his face lowered, his expression hidden from those around him.

Seeing this, Consort Liang Fei erupted with fury.

She shouted, “Wen Yuesheng, I already said this has nothing to do with anyone else! Are you deaf?”

Before she could curse further, Wen Yuesheng stepped forward, her black hem swaying.

She replied coldly, “Just because you say so, I should believe you?”

Consort Liang Fei bellowed, “You wretch! You won’t die a good death! I should have fed that gu parasite to you instead of the emperor!”

Amid Consort Liang Fei’s rage, Wen Yuesheng suddenly bent down and grabbed her chin.

Caught off guard, Consort Liang Fei met her icy, pitch-black eyes and shuddered.

Before she could react, Wen Yuesheng said coldly, “You like using gu parasites so much? Perfect.”

She flung Consort Liang Fei’s chin away and wiped her hands with a silk handkerchief, her expression impassive.

“Feed her every gu parasite that was just extracted,” Wen Yuesheng ordered.

Consort Liang Fei froze in terror.

Wen Yuesheng continued, her tone as frigid as ever: “Make sure she swallows them all.”

“Yes, ma’am!”