Su Pinting couldn't help but purse her lips.
Su Nuan is kind and gentle? What a joke.
Everyone in Yun Nation knew that Su Nuan was a famous good-for-nothing. Not only was she stupid and clumsy, but she was also quite vicious.
Su Pinting quickly realized that she was at Shang Nation. No matter how handsome and suave the Emperor was, he was still a tyrant.
Hence, she hastily said, "I was foolish."
Feng Junyi played with the teacup in his hand. "It's good that you know you're foolish," he said in a deep voice, not sparring Su Pinting a glance.
Su Pinting seethed with rage.
Mu Chengxun couldn't stand looking at them anymore. The Emperor and the Empress—one tall and one petite—the man was handsome, and the woman was adorable. He didn't think that they would be compatible with each other, but they looked like a happy couple.
He overlapped his hands across his chest and said, "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
"There's no need to rush."
Feng Junyi's eyes rested on Mu Chengxun, and he said, "I heard that you and Su Su were childhood sweethearts. If Su Su hadn't become my Empress, you would have gotten married soon."
Mu Chengxun felt a pang in his heart. So Su Nuan told the tyrant her nickname. They must be very close.
He didn't know why the tyrant would ask such a question. He didn't answer but maintained his posture in silence.
Feng Junyi continued, "I thought that General Mu would be as brave and powerful as Major General Mu. I didn't expect you to be such a timid person. Why, just because Su Su has become my Empress, you don't want to admit your history with her?"
The Emperor's fiery question made Su Nuan suspect that he was jealous.
He was 13 years old, had a rough childhood, and assumed the reins of government despite his young age. He was more mature than the average person. If he was jealous, there was nothing wrong with it.
After all, she was his Empress.
His provocation was very effective.
Before Mu Chengxun could speak, Su Pinting said softly, "Your Majesty, when the Empress was in Yun Nation, the three of us grew up together, so—"
"Did I ask you to speak?"
Feng Junyi's cold interjection made Su Pinting swallow her words.
The person in front of her was Shang Nation's ruthless tyrant who killed people like flies. His reputation had spread far and wide. She obviously knew what kind of person he was.
Even if she was the Princess of Yun Nation, she would be beheaded if she made him unhappy.
Su Pinting's eyes watered. She quickly knelt. "I've made a mistake."
Su Nuan watched her closely. I need to learn how to make her pretty pitiful face.
Other than the unusual Emperor, any man in the world would not be able to resist pulling her into their arms and doting on her.
Su Nuan glanced at Mu Chengxun. As expected, his eyes were fixed on Su Pinting. If the tyrant weren't here, he would have rushed to hug Su Pinting.
Pfft, what an adulterous pair. And they still said nothing was going on between them?
After a while, Mu Chengxun answered, "Your Majesty, I have indeed known the Empress since we were young. We often played together."
Su Nuan was sitting beside Feng Junyi and could sense the room turn cold.
The little tyrant was jealous.
"Often."
Feng Junyi repeated his words, and everyone present broke out in cold sweat.
Su Pinting wanted to say something, but she was afraid that she would anger the tyrant, so she continued half-squatting. She struggled to remain in her position, not because she was weak but because it was difficult to half-squat for long. Sweat poured out of her forehead, and her body swayed.
Mu Chengxun was focused on Su Pinting. He overlapped his hands before his chest anxiously. "Your Majesty, Pinting is not feeling well. Can you allow her to leave first?"
"She has to stay even if she's not feeling well."
Feng Junyi continued, "I have to ask her about her crime—conspiring to murder the Empress."
When Su Nuan heard these blunt words, she felt that something was wrong.
She turned to look at Su Pinting, whose pale face turned even paler. She looked like she was about to collapse.
The next thing she knew, Su Pinting fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She looked at Feng Junyi and said, "Your Majesty, I have never intended to harm the Empress."
"Would you like me to show you the evidence before you will admit it?"
Su Pinting felt her heart in her mouth.
Evidence? What evidence? Could it be…
She did not dare to think further. She placed a hand on her chest as she panted in Mu Chengxun's arms.
Mu Chengxun could no longer sit still when he saw Su Pinting's pale face. He gathered his courage and said to Feng Junyi, "Your Majesty, even if you want to investigate this matter, please allow her to see the imperial physician first. She has heart disease. If we delay this for much longer, her life might be in danger."
"That's good. Then there'll be no need for me to execute her on my own."
Su Pinting was stunned. Tears streamed down her face.
Of course, Su Nuan was also shocked.
Feng Junyi's actions were truly outrageous.
Su Pinting felt a pain in her heart for real. She pressed her trembling hands against her chest and said softly, "Your Majesty, I don't know what happened but you must have misunderstood."
"I'll let you die a quick death today. Bring her in."
When she saw Feng Junyi's confident expression, Su Nuan finally realized the real reason Feng Junyi had dragged Zhen Zhu away after the incident. He wanted to investigate.
Even though Zhen Zhu had come clean about her side of the story, the spies planted in Shang Nation had not been caught.
Since Feng Junyi was so confident, he must have gathered sufficient evidence.
Under his command, a palace maid was immediately brought in by a eunuch.
The palace maid was pushed to the ground. She repeatedly kowtowed when she saw the tyrant in front of her.
"Please spare me, Your Majesty! Please spare me! I don't know anything…"
"Who's your master?"
Feng Junyi sat in his seat as calm as ever.
The palace maid glanced at Su Pinting and then looked back at the tyrant. Her body trembled like a leaf.
"I'll… I'll tell you. The person who instructed me was a palace maid that belonged to the Fifth Princess."
She pointed at the palace maid next to Su Pinting, who immediately fell to the ground.
Su Pinting clenched her fist and glared daggers at the palace maid. It was only for a fleeting moment before she pointed at the maid and cried out, "I have treated you well. Why are you trying to place me in harm's way?"
She clutched her chest again; she looked pale as if she were dying.
The palace maid was terrified. She trembled as she said, "I… I confess. I'll confess everything! It… it was the Third Princess who asked me to do it. The Third Princess has never liked the Ninth Princess. Even after she was married, she… she wanted the Ninth Princess dead without an intact corpse…"