Song Chong smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, and there was a hint of danger in it. He said, "But you’re not my real daughter, yet you used tricks to confuse me, trying to seize the Nan Qi kingdom. Ah Chen, you have a lot of nerve!"

With Song Chong’s words, many people surrounded Ah Chen in the center. The ministers who knew the inside story watched the drama unfold, while those who were in the dark were full of confusion and shock. The content of His Majesty’s few words was too dense; they needed to sort it out.

"Father, how am I not your real daughter? Wasn’t it you who decreed to have me brought back to the palace personally?" Ah Chen looked up and asked, her eyes filled with bewilderment, her expression as if she truly knew nothing.

Song Chong sneered inwardly; it was too late for regret now.

If she had behaved, she could at least have survived. Her greed and ambition were boundless, and the Cui Family produced someone like her. Thankfully, Cui Qing’s family was loyal. Without Cui Qing’s arrangements, he might still be deceived by this demoness, and who knows what would happen to Nan Qi then.

"Chenchen, you are indeed not His Majesty’s daughter; you are the daughter of the Cui Family." Several people walked in from outside, led by Madam Ning, her eyes red. "Chenchen, you were wrong about this matter."

Following Madam Ning were Cui Zhao, Cui Chen, and Cui Jing, each with different reactions.

Madam Ning’s face was full of sorrow and helplessness. It was clear to anyone that standing here today, about to send her own daughter to her death, was an immeasurable pain.

Cui Zhao had an expression of calm, as if the big picture was set. He was rather composed and indifferent, seemingly unconcerned with anything, and some might even praise him, saying he remained unflustered in the face of events, truly worthy of being the family’s eldest, destined for great duties in the future.

Cui Chen appeared somewhat dispirited, with an unpleasant complexion, unable to even meet Ah Chen’s eyes.

Cui Jing looked at Ah Chen with a face full of complexity, as if lamenting fate, her true thoughts known only to herself.

Ah Chen turned her head, her gaze sweeping over these people, then suddenly burst into laughter and asked, "Since I am the daughter of the Cui Family, how is it that I was taken back to the palace as a princess and then sent to Nan Qi?"

They must have agreed on who would take the blame, right? It couldn’t be Song Chong the Emperor, nor could it be Consort Li. It would have to be the Cui Family, who could then still be praised for their loyalty, and Song Chong could reward them, wouldn’t that be just as they wished? It doesn’t matter if others believe it; appearances are all that count. Who would dare contradict the Emperor?

But how is that possible?

Standing here, she ensured none of them could have their way.

"Madam Cui, don’t tell me you couldn’t bear for Cui Jing to suffer, that as subjects, you should be loyal to the Emperor, and so it was right to protect Cui Jing by having me replace the true princess to suffer in her place? With that explanation, the later events don’t make sense. Cui Jing is the Ninth Princess; the subsequent events would be easily explained, and you wouldn’t need to cover for the Song Family anymore. Given today’s circumstances, why not come clean about everything? There’s only one possibility: you and this Emperor knew from the beginning, intending for me to replace Cui Jing to die. No, she should be called Song Jing."

"After all, she is the real Ninth Princess." Ah Chen’s smile was full of irony, her gaze falling on Song Jing, making the latter extremely uncomfortable.

Cui Chen has reached a dead end, with not much longer to live. How can she still be so arrogant? Isn’t she afraid of death?

"Originally, when I sent Song Jing over, as long as she didn’t expose herself, Bei Qi would never know the truth, and everything would be over. But at the time, your reactions weren’t right. Later when Song Jing returned, she was first titled Commandery Princess, then Princess, all orchestrated by this Emperor and that Lady Li. After all, Song Jing is your daughter; how could you let her suffer?"

"Even so, you hated me very much, resenting that I didn’t suffer in Bei Qi. But you couldn’t do anything to me, because on the surface, I’m still the Ninth Princess, your most beloved daughter. Feeling I was in your way, you planned to poison me, but since I wore those items daily in front of you, worrying they might harm you instead, you secretly destroyed them."

"Don’t you find it ridiculous?"

The entire court was shocked; something about her words didn’t seem right. She was surrounded, apparently at the end of her rope, yet how could she remain so calm? Did she have something prepared? Those in the know became wary, but she had indeed come to the Golden Throne Hall alone this morning; it was impossible for her to have anything prepared.

Were the things she said true?

Did His Majesty and Lady Li really poison her in secret?

Song Chong hadn’t expected it to be like this. How did she know these things?

So she flaunted those poisonous items in front of him on purpose? Wasn’t she afraid of being poisoned to death? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She must be crazy!

Was there still something wrong with the situation? But upon remembering his arrangements, Song Chong calmed down again; perhaps she was speaking harshly in her desperation, trying to tarnish his reputation.

People in desperate situations often say harsh words, and he has encountered such things before. Song Chong’s heart settled.

In any case, there’s no way Cui Chen could escape today.

The opponent must die.

And die with a destroyed reputation.

"Announcing my identity today is just a thorough attempt to strike me down so that I have no chance of leveraging the title of Crown Princess to seize Nan Qi, and also to remove me as quickly as possible."

"Haven’t you realized yet? I knew from the beginning that Song Jing was the real princess. Otherwise, why would I have sent her to Bei Qi? But she was lucky enough to return unharmed."

The entire court erupted. So she knew from the start, which made sense.

Song Jing’s face turned ugly. Did Cui Chen know from the beginning? How could this be? Everything that happened today was different from what was expected. She already thought that, even if Cui Chen didn’t survive today, her reputation as the Ninth Princess wouldn’t be too good either.

"You said that as the Ninth Princess, going to Bei Qi was my duty, so why harm you?" Ah Chen looked at Song Jing again, still with a faint smile.

"But you are the Ninth Princess, so why should I bear your suffering?"

Song Jing was left speechless; the words that seemed so justified then were a slap in the face today.

"The methods I used on your face at that time, as long as you didn’t want to reveal them, others wouldn’t have noticed. But you were scared — of course you were scared. In that situation, who wouldn’t be afraid of facing Bei Qi? You didn’t think it through and revealed your identity directly, leading to what happened afterwards."

Is there really such a thing?

The entire court was once again stunned, all looking towards Song Jing.

"Everyone says you’re knowledgeable, understanding, and you even said you were willing to replace me later. But that’s not what you really thought. Song Jing, are you a bag? How can you hold so much?"