mtl008 Chapter 295 A Substitute Bride's Brave Love, A Prince Without Heirs Forever By Her Side - 25
Chapter 295 A Substitute Bride's Brave Love, A Prince Without Heirs Forever By Her Side - 25
"To the main hall!"
At the emperor's word, everyone began to get busy.
At this moment, the First Prince, dressed in full robes, knelt in the center. Aunt Mei had someone wake up the unconscious Li Ping.
With her face swollen, Li Ping knelt in a row next to the First Prince.
"Father, please listen to your son's explanation. It was this slut who seduced me! I was just confused for a moment."
Li Ping knelt on the spot, her whole body trembling like a sieve.
Mu Wanwan, who was standing to the side, decided to add fuel to the fire, "Father, Li Ping is already pregnant with the prince's child, so why would she seduce the eldest prince and do such a disgraceful thing in the prince's mansion? I beg you, Father, to investigate!"
The emperor's gaze fell on Liping. It turned out that this shameless woman was pregnant with Yucheng's child.
When the First Prince saw that the Emperor seemed to suspect the child in Liping's womb, he was certain that he would not harm the royal bloodline, so he simply pushed the blame onto her.
“Father, it was indeed Liping who seduced me first. You can ask her personal maid if you don’t believe me.”
Zhuo Yucheng sat in his seat with tears in his eyes, not uttering a sound.
Mu Wanwan knew that it was not appropriate for him to confront the First Prince directly at this time, since they were brothers, but she was different.
"Father, may I have a word to say?"
The emperor waved his hand, signaling her to speak, "Father, Liping usually behaves well in the Prince's mansion and has never overstepped any boundaries. Moreover, she is deeply favored by the Prince."
She served us the most times among the four of us, so I believe Liping would never do something so outrageous.
Li Ping was somewhat moved. She usually disliked Mu Wanwan intensely, but at this moment, Mu Wanwan was actually willing to believe that she was innocent and not let the First Prince implicate him.
The prince's attendants were no pushovers either; upon hearing that their master was in trouble, they quickly brought in the maid.
"Father, why bother listening to Li Ping's testimony?"
The maid was thrown to the ground. She quickly got up, keeping her head down and not daring to look up. "Your Majesty, it was Li Ping who seduced the First Prince."
Li Ping suddenly sneered. She laughed loudly and pointed at the prince and the maid. She knew all too well about the maid's intimate relationship with the prince.
I never expected that the person I truly admired would abandon me to save the day in this critical moment.
Mu Wanwan deliberately walked to Liping's side and grabbed Liping's arms with both hands. "Sister Liping, it's not your fault, right? You love the Prince so much, how could you do something to betray him? I don't believe it!"
Li Ping glanced at Zhuo Yucheng, who was covering his face to the side, and gently pushed away Mu Wanwan's hand that was holding her arm.
"Wanwan, thank you for your trust."
She turned and pointed at the kneeling prince, "Fine, since you are so heartless, then don't blame me for turning my back on you."
The First Prince was anxious and pulled Liping close, whispering in her ear, "Take it on first. You're pregnant. The Emperor and Second Brother will consider the child in your womb and won't do anything to you."
Li Ping pushed him away, "Your Majesty, the child in my belly is not Zhuo Yucheng's, it is the First Prince's!"
"You're talking nonsense!" The prince stood up and slapped the woman across the face.
She covered her face, but her tears flowed even more fiercely like a tidal wave.
The man's ruthlessness was on full display at this moment. She had wholeheartedly served as his pawn, only to be betrayed by him.
"Me? I'm lying? Are you even a man? You dare to do it but not admit it?"
The prince reached out and grabbed Liping by the neck. She grabbed his wrists with both hands, trying to pull him away forcefully.
"You're letting go?"
She uttered a few words haltingly, but the First Prince's grip tightened, as if he wanted to twist her neck off.
"Then you will die!"
He spoke very softly. Mu Wanwan gave a look to one of her attendants, and the others immediately went to help pull the prince away.
"Let me go! I'm going to kill this bitch so she can never slander me again!"
Having caught her breath, Li Ping lay on the ground, barely breathing.
"You forced me!"
Li Ping had envisioned a wonderful future for the two of them, but now the man she truly loved was actually trying to kill her.
It turns out that her beautiful fantasies were nothing but wishful thinking.
Now that I think about it carefully, the moment she stepped into the Zhuo Prince's mansion, there was no longer any possibility between her and the First Prince; she was the only one still foolishly indulging in wishful thinking.
"Your Majesty, I am the First Prince's man, and I was placed in the Zhuo Prince's mansion by the First Prince."
The emperor's gaze fell on the eldest prince, his face calm and composed, as if he were deep in thought.
The eldest prince quickly crawled to the emperor's feet. "Father, don't listen to that scoundrel's nonsense. Yucheng and I are brothers. I would never do such a thing."
Li Ping straightened her back with all her might. "Your Majesty, Wan'er, Yang Qiaoqiao, and I are all the First Prince's people. We were all placed in the Zhuo Prince's Mansion. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can have the other two arrested and severely interrogated by the Censorate. They will eventually tell the truth."
Having come to this point, the emperor could probably understand most of it.
Li Ping was probably telling the truth about 70-80% of the time. Logically speaking, he should have made his eldest son the crown prince, but it was precisely because he knew that his eldest son was incompetent that he delayed in making him the crown prince.
The second son was an excellent student from a young age, and over the years, after being granted the title of prince, he has been diligent in his duties and cared for the people, always thinking about what the people thought and being anxious about what the people were anxious about.
In truth, he had always intended for Zhuo Yucheng to become the crown prince, but the royal family believed that the throne should be passed on to the eldest prince.
This is why he first bestowed the title of prince upon his two children, wanting to observe their future performance before making a final decision.
"Father, if what Li Ping said is true, how am I supposed to face the world? Where will I put my face?"
Zhuo Yucheng slapped his leg in regret, "I listened to my mother and took three women into my room. Who would have thought that they were all women arranged by my elder brother, and all of them were my elder brother's women."
Li Ping turned around and kowtowed to Zhuo Yucheng, "Your Highness, I am sorry for what I did to you. If there is an afterlife, I will be reborn as a cow or a horse to repay your kindness to me over the years."
The prince, cornered, grabbed the emperor's hem and cried out, "Father, it must be Li Ping and my second brother conspiring to frame me. What she said is all baseless."
Li Ping pointed at the maid, "She is my personal maid, and also your woman. Don't you acknowledge that?"
The maid knelt on the ground with a thud. "Master, you did such a thing and you even tried to drag me down with you! I'm truly innocent!"
"Aunt Mei, take her inside for a physical examination. If she is a virgin, then we will believe she is innocent; if not—"
Mu Wanwan knew that if she didn't step forward now and produce the evidence, all the acting today would have been for nothing.
"Leave quickly."
Aunt Mei, supporting her maid, urged her to hurry.
"Your Highness, save me! Save me!"