After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 494 Identity Exposed

"Why doesn't the Cen family let you play with your sister? What else have you seen at the Cen family's place?" The emperor narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

Murong Jing recalled carefully, "In Aunt Cen's courtyard, there was only one personal maid, Liu'er, who served her. She didn't want a wet nurse or any other nannies. No, there was one older nanny who only appeared once."

"Is that old woman from your household?"

Murong Jing shook her head, "Jing'er has never seen her before. She... Oh right, she only bowed to Father, spoke to Father, and kowtowed several times, but ignored Aunt Cen and my sister."

The emperor's eyes darted around, and he immediately ordered, "Zhou Song, go and bring Chun Tao over for Jing'er to see."

"Hiss!" The Empress gasped, speechless.

When Chun Tao was carried over, Murong Jing stared at her for a long time, her eyes changing from suspicion to clarity. "It's her! It's this old woman. I recognize the hairpin in her hair."

What else could the Emperor and Empress not understand?
The Empress's anxiety finally died, and she slumped wearily into a chair.

The Empress Dowager instructed, "First settle Consort Li and Miss Jing in the palace. You may leave now!"

The palace servants took Murong Jing away, and the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The emperor suppressed his anger and ordered Cen Shi to be brought up.

Cen Mingxue was trembling with fear. She had just knelt down when she saw Chun Tao lying next to her. She was so frightened that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

A palace maid brought a basin of water to wake her up.

Under the emperor's interrogation, Cen Mingxue confessed immediately, "The courtyard where I live is rather secluded, near the back gate. This old woman always comes to see Your Highness. I don't know who this old woman is, I only know that her relationship with Your Highness is unusual."

Because His Highness had instructed me beforehand that whenever she came, I should have Liu'er go and announce her arrival. My sisters in the manor were unaware of this and thought it was one of my ways to win favor.

Every time they spoke, I would take the child and stand guard outside the door, never coming close.

That day, when Liu'er and I were keeping watch, we noticed Miss Jing acting suspiciously to the side, so we told Your Highness about it. I never expected Your Highness to beat Miss Jing like that; I truly knew nothing about it!

The emperor pieced everything together, and let out a cold laugh, "Step down!"

Cen Mingxue felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurriedly got up and walked outside.

An old nanny stared suspiciously at her back and whispered a few words in the Empress Dowager's ear.

The Queen Mother nodded.

The old nanny immediately led her people to catch up with Cen Mingxue.

The emperor and empress were puzzled.

Soon the old nanny returned, knelt down and reported: "Your Majesty, it is true that Lady Cen did not have any children. Miss Ru is not Lady Cen's child."

To confuse the royal bloodline!
Eunuch Zhou stared wide-eyed. How could the Second Prince have so many shady dealings! One after another, even he, who had experienced many storms, was a little overwhelmed at this moment.

The enraged emperor ordered Cen Mingxue to be brought back again.

"Cen family, confusing the royal bloodline is a capital offense. If you dare to conceal anything today, I will exterminate your entire clan!"

When Cen Mingxue saw that her scheme had been exposed, her face turned ashen, and she collapsed to the ground like a rag doll. She wanted to end her life, but that would mean the end of the entire Cen family, leaving her with only one path.

"Your Majesty, I must confess that Ru'er is indeed not my child, but she is indeed the bloodline of the Second Prince, otherwise the Second Prince would not have acknowledged that child!"

She was the daughter of the Second Prince and her cousin, Cen Mingzhu, who was also a concubine. After giving birth to her daughter in Zhaohua County, her cousin suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage and was weakened. Her brother-in-law ordered the child to be sent to the border. After discussing it with the Second Prince, her uncle arranged for her to adopt the child, thus giving her a legitimate identity.

The Empress was stunned. "That's not right! You said Ru'er was born to Cen Mingzhu, but Cen Mingzhu was holding a son that day!"

Cen Mingxue's teeth chattered as she stammered, "My cousin nearly died giving birth. If she had known she gave birth to a daughter and was taken away, she wouldn't have been able to bear it. That child was brought in to comfort her; it had nothing to do with her." In other words, Cen Mingzhu herself was kept in the dark. No wonder she violently smashed her head against a pillar and died that day!

She is also a victim!
The emperor laughed in anger, "Cen Yingfan is truly despicable! To protect the second son, he's even willing to sacrifice his own daughter! It seems they've been in cahoots all along! Such deception of the emperor deserves death! Guards!"

It's only noon now.

Before the evening banquet even began, the Imperial Guards were mobilized and stormed into the Cen family's residence.

All the civil and military officials were terrified and looked at the Grand Tutor.

"Grand Tutor, why did the Emperor suddenly confiscate the Cen family's property? Nothing major seems to have happened recently! Could the Jinlan Courtyard incident be related to Cen Yingfan?"

Some people have made speculations.

Immediately, someone chimed in, "You never know, the biggest thing that's happened recently is at Jinlan Academy!"

"That's good! Miss Zhao's spirit can finally rest in peace!"

Grand Tutor Zhao listened to everyone's words of comfort, but he couldn't feel happy at all. It was one thing for others not to know about the Jinlan Courtyard incident, but he knew perfectly well that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Cen family. The emperor was definitely not punishing Cen Yingfan because of the Jinlan Courtyard incident.

Lacking accurate information, the ministers were all filled with anxiety and had lost all interest in attending the palace banquet.

The Cen family.

Cen Li, his face pale, burst into Cen Yingfan's study. "Brother, something terrible has happened! The Imperial Guards are heading this way!"

"What happened?" Cen Yingfan suddenly stood up and walked out.

As soon as the two brothers reached the front yard, a group of imperial guards rushed in and surrounded the Cen residence. "By imperial decree, confiscate the Cen family property and arrest Cen Yingfan! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

The Cen family members panicked and knelt on the ground, trembling.

Cen Yingfan, his face pale, barely managed to sit up. "May I ask what offense this humble official has committed?"

The Imperial Guard Commander sneered, "Has Lord Cen committed few offenses already? Don't you have any self-awareness? If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place!"

The Imperial Guards ransacked the house with incredible speed, moving chests of gold and silver treasures from the Cen family's storeroom, which was truly astonishing.

The Imperial Guard Commander couldn't help but exclaim, "Everyone says soldiers are bandits, but Lord Cen has truly broadened my horizons! How long would it take to amass all this stuff?"

The Cen family members stared in disbelief as they watched the boxes of things being carried away.

Cen Yingfan was even more pale.

His Cen family had no real foundation; they relied on these things to maintain their facade. He worked hard all his life, only to end up with nothing!

Unable to withstand the blow, Cen Yingfan spat out a mouthful of blood.

When the Imperial Guards took the treasure and Cen Yingfan away, the entire Cen family was in an uproar.

"What should we do? What should we do? That's all my money! My savings for my funeral! The money for my grandson's wedding, all gone!" Old Madam Cen sat on the ground, wailing in despair.

Her daughters-in-law were all panicked and at a loss, and finally they all looked at Cen Li.

"Our belongings have all been confiscated, what do we do now?"

"What has the patriarch done wrong? Why was he arrested?"

"What about us? Will we also end up in jail?"