Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

They didn't stay at the camp after returning.

Upon seeing Wei Rong, Wei Xing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered a reorganization and return to the capital.

Yunjing City was already in chaos.

News of the murder of the concubine at the hunting grounds, the emperor and empress falling off a cliff, and the emperor being seriously injured spread throughout the court and the country, causing public outrage and indignation among officials.

Holding a box full of irrefutable evidence, Wei Xing, together with all the upright officials in the court and his old subordinates from the border, stormed into the Dali Temple and exposed to the public all of Xiao Heng's crimes, including colluding with foreign enemies, framing Wei Beimu, slaughtering loyal officials, murdering concubines without cause, and disrupting the court.

If it weren't for Wei Beimu's death, the common people probably wouldn't even know he existed, as they were already used to the power struggles within the royal family.

The Wei family fought for the Great Jing for forty years.

Wei Rong's grandfather was a founding general, and her father died a gruesome death while defending the southern border.

If it were the enemy's method, then so be it.

But he was persecuted to death by the new emperor, which would be hard for anyone to accept.

Overnight, the winds of change swept through Yunjing, and the people spontaneously took to the streets, raising banners demanding Xiao Heng's abdication.

Xiao Heng had been in power for nearly four years, and his achievements were indeed negligible. Moreover, he had persecuted loyal officials, which made the people feel deeply aggrieved.

However, he had no children, and the late emperor had also died.

Now, only one elder brother, who lives far away in his fiefdom, can succeed him.

Everyone is guessing whether the Wei family, having been betrayed twice, will choose someone from the Xiao family to continue in power, or simply declare themselves king.

Alternatively, a junior member could be selected from the Xiao clan. Since Wei Rong was the empress anyway, it would be perfectly legitimate for her to assist the young emperor in ascending the throne and to serve as the empress dowager in governing the country.

I just don't know what she will choose.

In the Golden Palace, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, holding a scroll, declared in a voice that shook the heavens: "Xiao Heng is bloodthirsty and tyrannical, cruel and wicked, his virtue is unworthy of his position, and his crimes are immeasurable! I beg you to depose the Emperor and abdicate, to bring peace to the realm and to comfort the Wei family and the tens of thousands of souls lost in the southern borderlands!"

All the civil and military officials knelt down and echoed the call for abdication, the momentum of which resounded throughout the imperial city and was irreversible.

Ling Xianru remained seated in the court throughout, her calm expression concealing her true thoughts.

Xiao Heng was imprisoned in the former Dezheng Hall, where palace servants guarded him strictly.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, you are not permitted to enter without the Empress's order."

Two guards stopped Feng Zuyi with expressionless faces.

"Outrageous! You are utterly rebellious! She was appointed Empress by the Xiao family herself, and she dares to interfere with me, the Empress Dowager? Are you plotting a rebellion?!"

Even without a rebellion, the people's voices now all call for Xiao Heng to abdicate.

The guards, without hesitation, said, "Your Majesty, please return."

Then, upon raising his eyes, his expression changed drastically: "Your Majesty the Empress, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Ling Xianru, unaware of when, pushed Wei Rong, who was on a wheelbarrow, closer.

Feng Zuyi turned around, her expression extremely unpleasant: "Why are you all together?"

The palace has been in chaos these past few days, and she has also heard many rumors about Ling Xianru and Wei Rong, saying that their relationship is ambiguous.

Whether Xiao Heng's affair was a conspiracy between them to seize the throne or not, who knows?

"Wei Rong, you have betrayed the royal family, disobeyed the virtues of a woman, and even imprisoned the emperor here. You are the one who is utterly rebellious!" Feng Zuyi pounced on Wei Rong, ready to tear her apart.

However, she didn't even get a touch on Wei Rong's clothes before Ling Xianru gently separated her.

"Your Majesty, think carefully. The current situation cannot be changed by your few words. I don't care about the slander outside," Wei Rong said calmly. "I didn't blame you for my father's affairs, but if you insist on angering me, then Xiao Heng's fate will be your fate as well."

The implication was that she had originally intended to let Feng Zuyi off the hook.

Feng Zuyi was taken aback: "What do you mean? What are you going to do to the Emperor?"

"If you behave yourself, I guarantee you a life of wealth and comfort for the rest of your days," Wei Rong said, not intending to waste any more words with her. "If you keep causing trouble, from today onwards, you will not need to leave the Cining Palace."

After saying that, she had Ling Xianru push her inside.

The guards opened the palace doors for her.

With a clang, the dark hall opened its doors, letting in endless light, and the figure on the couch stirred.

The chains jingled softly, and a venomous gaze swept over: "What are you doing here?"

Severely injured, Xiao Heng slumped on the couch, writhing in excruciating pain, her face ashen.

He was locked up for three whole days. During that time, Wei Xing came by and beat him up.

His already serious injuries were exacerbated, and if Yun Sheng hadn't stopped him, Wei Xing seemed intent on killing him!

Looking at Wei Rong and Ling Xianru in front of him, Xiao Heng finally understood that he had spent his whole life scheming, killing loyal people, and being suspicious for half his life, only to end up being betrayed by everyone and having nothing left.

"Let's settle this once and for all."

Wei Rong threw the things in her hand to him.

It was a booklet, with the words "Divest" on the first page printed in enormous gold lettering.

"Divorce?" Xiao Heng coughed and laughed, somewhat manic. "Who gave you the audacity to do this, Wei Rong? I am the emperor. If you divorce me, you will be killed by the ancestors of the Xiao family in their dreams."

Wei Rong was not afraid of ghosts and gods, especially the ghosts of the Xiao family: "It's okay, if you don't put your handprint on it, I can let you taste the feeling of your ten fingers being boiled in oil every day, but I won't kill you. Death is too easy for you. You have to repay the debt to my father and those two hundred soldiers."

Oil pan —

Ling Xianru glanced at Wei Rong in surprise.

It turns out that the Empress, who has never used underhanded methods and is always gentle and polite to everyone, can be ruthless and show no mercy when she wants to.

Xiao Heng shuddered violently.

His hair was disheveled, and his bloodshot eyes were like a ghost's: "Are you insane?"

"You can try," Wei Rong sneered. "A scumbag who would harm his own flesh and blood is afraid of boiling oil."

Shen Mingxiu's death was something Wei Rong never expected.

Although she deserved to die, Xiao Heng's decisive arrow still terrifies her to this day.

What exactly is a man's love?

Or rather, what does the emperor's love count for?

Those were two real lives.

Xiao Heng picked up the booklet from the ground and opened it.

Previously, the only grounds for divorce were "divorce," which required outlining the seven grounds for divorce. But this booklet lists his seven grounds for divorce.

He harmed his father-in-law, was incompetent and irrational, suspicious and paranoid, and even murdered his own child.

He closed the booklet and stared blankly at Wei Rong: "But I never intended to take your life. Your father's prestige was too great, and I had to eliminate him. But didn't I never intend to strip you of your position as Empress? Shen Mingxiu... was merely a harmless concubine. You were the original wife; how could you compare?"

Whether Xiao Heng believed these words or not, Wei Rong certainly did not.

Not only do they not believe it, they even find it disgusting.

Before she could speak, Ling Xianru interjected, "What, is Your Majesty now trying to express your infatuation?"

Even if Xiao Heng forgot, he didn't forget the slap mark on Wei Rong's face, or the pinch marks.

How could Xiao Heng be reluctant to give up Wei Rong's life? He simply didn't have a reason to take Wei Rong's life.

"Shut up!" Xiao Heng suddenly roared at him, "When exactly did you get involved with the Empress? You didn't answer my question last time either. Who exactly are you?"