Faced with Song Yu's accusation, the Crown Prince was left speechless.
"Elder Brother, do not slander me with baseless claims," the Crown Prince retorted.
Song Yu let out a derisive laugh and addressed the Crown Prince by name, "Song Ling, I was the one nearly imprisoned for a crime, and now you accuse me of slander? What a colossal joke."
With that, Song Yu knelt before Emperor Yuanyou and pleaded, "Your son implores Your Majesty to punish the guilty without mercy."
"Your son"...
Emperor Yuanyou's heart trembled.
This was the first time this rebellious son had referred to himself as "your son" in his presence.
"The Chang family conspired against imperial heirs—their crime warrants execution," Emperor Yuanyou declared, his gaze cold as he stared at the pale-faced Chang Qing. "Shen Xiao, confiscate all of the Chang family's assets. Every member within three generations shall be executed after autumn."
At the Emperor's words, Chang Qing's heart turned to ash. This was the annihilation of his entire bloodline.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to spare my children. This guilty subject will accept any punishment," Chang Qing pleaded, his eyes bloodshot. If the Chang family fell by his hand, how could he face his ancestors in the afterlife?
"Prince Qin is also this Emperor's son!" Emperor Yuanyou roared in fury. "Chang Qing, you dared scheme against my child and now ask for leniency?"
Wishful thinking!
Desperate, Chang Qing crawled toward the Crown Prince and clutched his leg. "Your Highness, plead for mercy on behalf of the Chang family. At least leave us a single heir!"
But the Crown Prince, already a drowning man clinging to straws, kicked Chang Qing away, desperate to distance himself from the doomed family.
Seeing this, Chang Qing threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"My Chang family has been noble for generations—we could have lived in peace and prosperity." His voice dripped with venom as memories of the past surfaced. "But you came to us, asking to marry a daughter of the Chang family."
"You promised that once you ascended the throne, you would treat the Chang family with favor."
The Crown Prince glared at him. "Chang Qing, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"And so, my family helped you become Crown Prince, and our daughters bore your heirs!" Chang Qing, now fully unhinged, spat out his grievances. "Yet you grew wary of us, repaying kindness with betrayal!"
"Father, these are nothing but slanders against your son!" the Crown Prince cried out to Emperor Yuanyou, but the Emperor's unfathomable gaze offered no comfort.
Chang Qing's grin widened.
He then crawled toward Song Yu.
Looking down at the disheveled man, Song Yu heard Chang Qing whisper, "Your Highness, had it not been for your affair with that palace maid, my family would have chosen you."
Song Yu's eyes darkened like a stormy sea, and even Emperor Yuanyou's fingers twitched imperceptibly.
With that, Chang Qing lunged at a pillar in the hall, dying instantly.
His final thought was regret—regret for ignoring his father's wisdom and dragging the Chang family into the bloody struggle for the throne.
His father had chosen Prince Qin.
He had said Prince Qin would remain a respected but idle prince, and a marriage alliance would ensure the Chang family's prosperity for generations.
But Chang Qing had bet on the Crown Prince instead.
He was the Chang family's greatest failure.
......
After Shen Xiao disposed of Chang Qing's body, he led his men to the Chang residence.
Back in the hall, the Crown Prince barely dared to breathe, fearing Emperor Yuanyou's wrath.
"Yanming and Yanchao have been traveling for a year. Summon them back," the Emperor commanded, and the Crown Prince's heart lurched.
His father still suspected the Eastern Palace.
"Your son will write to them at once," the Crown Prince replied stiffly.
Song Yu smirked. "Indeed, they should return to pay respects to their late grandfather. After all, the Chang family's downfall is because of them."
He was determined to pin the blame for the poisoned horses on Song Yanming and Song Yanchao.
"Elder Brother, Yanming and Yanchao would never do such a thing!" the Crown Prince snapped, his face ashen. "The Chang family only implicated the Eastern Palace to drag us down with them!"
In desperation, the Crown Prince rushed to Emperor Yuanyou and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
The sound made even Wu Qi, the eunuch, shudder.
Such a spectacle—couldn't they dismiss the servants first? He feared knowing too much would cost him his life.
"Father, the only reason I foolishly tried to shield the Chang family was because Chang Qing threatened to frame Yanming and Yanchao!" the Crown Prince cried, clutching the Emperor's sleeve. "They are only fifteen—how could they harbor such malice?"
"Why would the Chang family falsely accuse the Eastern Palace?" Emperor Yuanyou asked coldly, studying his son as if he were a stranger.
He could scarcely remember the boy he had once named Crown Prince.
"They wanted me to clean up their mess!"
Seeing the Emperor's disbelief, the Crown Prince blurted out in panic:
"I also played a part in Elder Brother's ordeal! Had I known it was the Chang family's scheme, why would I act against my own interests?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he froze in horror.
Emperor Yuanyou's expression darkened. "Fool!"
Song Shihuan nearly applauded. She had been struggling to prove the Eastern Palace's involvement, but the Crown Prince had confessed on his own!
"Your Majesty," Gu Zheng interjected smoothly, "this subject was ambushed on the way to Pingzhou and back to the capital. Could this also be linked to the Eastern Palace? Shen Xiao has already uncovered clues—the truth will soon come to light."
The Crown Prince turned deathly pale.
"The Crown Prince has acted improperly. From today onward—"
Before Emperor Yuanyou could finish, the Crown Prince's eyes burned with desperation.
Just then, a eunuch announced from outside, "The Empress has arrived!"
The tension in the hall thickened.
The Successor Empress hurried in, her grip tightening on her handkerchief at the sight of her disgraced son. "This consort greets Your Majesty. Hearing of the bloodshed in Zichen Hall, I feared for Your Majesty's health and came at once."
"Rise," Emperor Yuanyou replied tonelessly.
Song Yu turned toward the Successor Empress, his entire demeanor icy. Step by step, he approached her.
"Mother," he said, his voice dripping with venom, "before his death, Chang Qing revealed that the Chang family originally intended to marry their daughter to me—not Second Brother."
The Successor Empress's smile faltered slightly.
"He also said that had it not been for my scandal with the palace maid, they would never have given their daughter to Second Brother."
"How unexpected," the Successor Empress feigned surprise.
Song Yu's lips curled into a cold smile as he locked eyes with her. "Indeed. Isn't it strange how perfectly timed that scandal was? And how coincidental that the maid happened to be from your palace? Mother, don't you think so?"
"Yu'er, I don't understand what you mean," the Successor Empress replied calmly.
