That Imperial Concubine is both wicked and cunning! Your Majesty, wake up!

Just as things were at a stalemate, Xiao Yan suddenly spoke:

Children don't lie.

He seemed to be repeatedly pondering the words, and then slowly turned his gaze to Consort Rong.

Consort Rong felt instantly guilty.

Because last time, she had Shu'er pretend to have a stomachache to trick the emperor into letting her stay, but the emperor saw through Shu'er's lie.

The Empress was startled, and her heart sank.

The emperor did indeed become suspicious.

"Fool!" the Empress couldn't help but curse inwardly. She had taken every precaution, yet she hadn't prevented this fool, Hongtai, from being used as a pawn.

Whether it's protecting the son or protecting Consort Yuan.

In the end, she was the loser.

Regardless of the truth or the outcome, the Emperor would feel that she had failed in raising her son, and it was uncertain whether she would be able to continue raising Hongtai.

Today's match isn't just aimed at Consort Yuan, it's also aimed at her.

Song Shuangning and the Empress realized this almost simultaneously.

Song Shuangning raised her eyes and looked at the Empress.

That gaze held both probing and surrender.

The Empress's gaze was calm and serene; she merely nodded slightly.

A barely perceptible movement said it all.

They tacitly agreed that one needed a clear explanation, while the other needed to prove that she was not a "failed parent."

For them, this deal was the only solution and a true win-win situation.

Song Shuangning took a deep breath and looked at Xiao Yan, "Your Majesty, I did not push the Third Prince."

"I'm still feeling dizzy. I was invited to the Qu Shui Liu Li Pavilion by a eunuch in the name of Consort Shao, but when I arrived, it was empty except for the Second Prince and the Third Prince. This is too much of a coincidence."

"It's as if someone calculated the timing so that I would 'just happen' to meet Your Highnesses at that time and place."

She paused, then turned her gaze to the Second Prince. "Secondly, and what I find most puzzling, the Second Prince is not usually close to me. But today, he's been unusually clinging to me, wanting to play with me."

"I dare to suspect that someone instigated the Second Prince."

Song Shuangning's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Consort Rong's head, extinguishing her smugness.

Consort Jiang clenched her fists without making a sound. She stood at the very back of the concubines, and no one noticed this subtle change in her.

The most pathetic player on the field was none other than the Second Prince.

He bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, screaming, "No, it was you who pushed Third Brother!"

"Father, kill her! Kill her!" The second prince completely lost control.

This sudden outburst of rage prompted Xiao Yan to reprimand him.

An idea gradually took shape in the Queen's mind.

No wonder Hongtai behaved so well and sensibly, even taking reading and calligraphy, which he hated the most, very seriously; it was all a prelude to today.

Instigation.

Consort Jiang!

Yun's former good sister.

Ignoring the second prince's struggles, the Empress pulled him close and scolded him in a low voice, "How dare you be so rude! Where have all the manners your mother taught you gone?"

Then, she immediately seized on the only flaw and said in a calm voice, "I remember now. Just a few days ago, Tai'er ran away by himself and got out of my sight, along with the wet nurse and the palace maids. Perhaps, on that day, Tai'er met someone and heard something."

The second prince in the empress's arms suddenly seemed listless.

Xiao Yan: "Tai'er."

The second prince whispered, "No."

"Your subject did not lie."

It's clear that the Second Prince's words can no longer be trusted.

The Empress concealed the slight sternness in her eyes and turned to Xiao Yan. "Your Majesty, Tai'er is young. He witnessed his younger brother's serious injury today and must have been quite frightened. He may have spoken inappropriately. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to let him rest first and to summon the imperial physician to calm him down, so as to prevent any further mishaps."

Xiao Yan nodded.

The second prince was taken away.

The Empress sternly asked the servants kneeling in the courtyard, "Besides that palace maid, did anyone else witness how the Third Prince fell?"

These were mostly her and Consort Shao's trusted confidants, all of whom were shrewd and pragmatic. When questioned, they all said that the scene was too chaotic and they couldn't see clearly.

The palace maid trembled with nervousness.

Not only were the palace maids nervous, but Consort Rong was too.

Xia Yun reached out and patted Consort Rong's back twice, seemingly gently, in a reassuring manner. She had already had the background of this palace maid thoroughly investigated.

The Empress said, "If that's the case, we can't take the words of just one palace maid seriously. I'm worried that this palace maid might have been instigated by someone else."

The situation has become clear; things have taken a turn for the better, and a new path has opened up before us.

Song Shuangning was very glad that she had extended an invitation to the Empress to cooperate.

With the Empress, this "important figure," around, things were much easier for her.

Xiao Yan said, "Send him to the Department of Penal Justice."

"Yes, sir." Li Fuquan bowed and withdrew, ordering two eunuchs to drag the palace maid away.

Song Shuangning broke the silence and said softly, "Your Majesty, I believe that Consort Qing is right. Children are the most innocent."

She paused briefly, a hint of regret in her voice, "It is precisely because of their naivety that they cannot distinguish between well-intentioned guidance and malicious instigation. They may lie, but their lies are often just the simplest answers instilled in them by others."

"I think that rather than letting an innocent child sink deeper and deeper into the mire of lies, it would be better to use a white lie to build a bridge for him to get out of the mire."

Consort Jiang closed her eyes, a cold smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She lost again; an emperor who didn't even believe his own son.

Xiao Yan sat on the edge of the bed and smiled gently at Song Shuangning, "Consort Yuan is absolutely right."

"Let Wan'er go and keep Tai'er company."

The Empress knew that the Emperor would not harm Wan'er, so she dared not ask any more questions and immediately sent someone to invite the eldest princess.

Inside the side hall, the second prince was already a frightened bird, unable to sit still.

He was afraid that his lie would be exposed, and he wanted to stay in Fengyi Palace.

The door creaked open, and the eldest princess appeared in the doorway.

The second prince, as if seeing a savior, jumped up from his chair, his voice trembling with tears: "Sister! I'm scared!"

The eldest princess slowly walked up to him. "Second brother, tell your sister why your third brother fell down. You must tell the truth."

The second prince, still stubbornly insisting, shouted his memorized line, "It was...it was Consort Yuan who pushed him!"

The eldest princess's eyes turned cold. She squatted down and whispered in his ear, "Little brother, if you don't tell the truth, monsters will come and eat you tonight."

Her tone grew increasingly terrifying: "Do you know? Children who lie will be captured by monsters with long fingernails, have their tongues pulled out, and then locked in a dark cage, never to see us again."

The second prince's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembled, and he was unable to utter a word.

Just then, a blank-faced eunuch walked in carrying a bowl of ginseng soup. He opened his mouth, and the Second Prince noticed that he had no tongue.

This is a eunuch whose tongue was cut out for deceiving the emperor.

The second prince's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

He screamed "Ahhh!" and crawled backward on the ground, as if he had seen the most terrifying ghost in the world.

Seeing this, the eldest princess immediately put on a gentle expression and reached out her hand to him. "Second brother, don't be afraid, your sister is here. Tell your sister the truth, and I will protect you, right?"