Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Chapter 274 Mission: Impossible

No sooner had the eunuch finished speaking than Xue Huaiyu appeared before everyone, dressed in a dragon robe.

Everyone knelt down and bowed in respect.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Rise!" The voice was strong and clear, unlike the voice of someone who had been unconscious for a long time.

Upon hearing the sound, everyone stood up. Among the crowd, one person stood out—Chen Tongyu.

His face was ashen, and he knelt on the ground, seemingly oblivious to Xue Huaiyu's orders.

Chen Tongyu was filled with despair at this moment. He knew that his good days were probably coming to an end.

He dared not look up at Xue Huaiyu's expression, for fear of seeing even the slightest hint of anger.

"Minister Chen, what are you still kneeling for? Why don't you get up?" Xue Huaiyu's voice came again.

Chen Tongyu trembled all over and finally slowly raised his head.

"I am guilty!"

Now that things have come to this, he has no other choice but to hope that Xue Huaiyu can give him a quick death so that he can suffer less.

"Oh?" Xue Huaiyu's lips curled up slightly, revealing an enigmatic smile. "Minister Chen, tell me, what crime have you committed?"

"I have failed to properly educate my daughter, which has led to this terrible mistake. I beg Your Majesty to consider my years of dedication to the Great Xia and grant me a swift end!" Chen Tongyu said, his heart filled with despair.

He knew that the person who poisoned him was brought into the palace by Chen Xianlin. Now that the emperor had woken up, the first family to be killed would definitely be his Chen family. There was no way to turn the tide now.

"What are you saying, my dear minister? What wrong has the Empress done?" Xue Huaiyu raised the corners of his mouth slightly, looking at the person in front of him with a half-smile.

Upon hearing Xue Huaiyu's words, Chen Tongyu was about to continue apologizing when he suddenly stopped.

He couldn't believe his ears and tentatively asked, "Does Your Majesty mean...?"

Xue Huaiyu looked at him with an air of anticipation, and with a casual wave of his hand, two guards immediately understood and quickly went downstairs, bringing up a person who was bound hand and foot.

All eyes fell on the person being brought up, and when they saw his face, they couldn't help but widen their eyes.

This person is Shan Yan.

According to the plan, Shan Yan should have been secretly executed last night, so how could he suddenly appear here? Zheng Luoqi was filled with doubt.

His gaze quickly fell on Zhang Zhiyuan, and their eyes met briefly.

Zhang Zhiyuan acted as if he hadn't seen him, quickly turning his head away to avoid Zheng Luoqi's gaze.

Zheng Luoqi tried to calm himself down. He shifted his gaze from Zhang Zhiyuan and looked at his father instead.

Zheng Yuxiang's face didn't show much change in expression, as if he had expected all of this.

Upon seeing Xue Huaiyu, Shan Yan, who had been brought up, immediately knelt down, weeping bitterly, and cried out:

"It was all my fault. I was so infatuated with the Empress's beauty that I dared to dream of replacing the Emperor, which led me to commit such a treasonous act!"

Xue Huaiyu feigned anger, pointed at the mountain embankment below the stage, and loudly accused:

"My esteemed ministers, have you all heard this? This treacherous villain not only dares to covet the Empress, but has also gone so far as to poison me in an attempt to usurp my throne!"

"Such behavior is utterly heinous and deserves to die!" Xue Huaiyu was furious, his voice echoing throughout the palace.

"Guards!" he roared, his voice deafening. "Drag this villain away and execute him by slow slicing, as a warning to others!"

Soon, Shan Yan was dragged out of the main hall by the guards.

The matter seemed to have ended there, and the Chen family thus escaped a disaster.

Originally, the Chen family was accused of conspiring with Shan Yan to usurp the throne, but now Shan Yan has suddenly recanted his confession, and he has taken all the blame on himself.

Chen Tongyu could hardly believe his ears. He was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes, and he wept with joy.

Having narrowly escaped death, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, thanking Xue Huaiyu for his keen insight and for clearing the Chen family's name.

Some were happy while others were sad. Zheng Luoqi never expected that a person's life could be so resilient, that even this could be turned upside down.

He underestimated Xue Huaiyu!

After the court session

Chen Tongyu couldn't hide his smugness, and as he passed by Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi, he didn't forget to provoke them.

"What a pity, what a pity, this may be fate!" Chen Tongyu shook his head and said, feigning regret.

Seeing that, Zheng Luoqi wanted to rip his head off immediately.

After saying that, Chen Tongyu turned and left.

Zheng Luoqi stared speechlessly at Chen Tongyu's departing figure.

on carriage

Zheng Luoqi and Zheng Yuxiang sat facing each other. Looking at Zheng Yuxiang's calm and composed appearance, Zheng Luoqi couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. He secretly guessed that his father might already have a solution.

Zheng Luoqi asked, "Father, do you have a solution? As for the Zhang family, should we..." He gestured with his hand as if making a neck-slitting motion.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Yuxiang was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, you were fooled too, weren't you?"

Zheng Luoqi was even more puzzled. Did she mean she had been deceived? A thought suddenly came to mind.

"Father, when did you..." Zheng Luoqi already had some answers in her heart, but she was not sure.

"The Chen family is not so easy to eliminate. As long as our Prime Minister's residence exists, Xue Huaiyu will never easily eradicate the Chen family."

"The reason why Xue Huaiyu has not taken action against the Chen family is simply because he wants to sit on the sidelines and watch the two fight each other, so that he can reap the benefits."

"We can't just focus on the Chen family; to solve this completely, we have to eliminate both the Chen family and Xue Huaiyu!"

"What happened today shows that Xue Huaiyu wants to protect the Chen family at all costs, even with witnesses and physical evidence!"

"Now that the Chen family has just escaped death, they will definitely not let this go. Haven't there been a group of people outside the city secretly investigating the Pregnancy Manor recently?"

"Why don't we turn the tables on them..."