I woke up as the Villainous Empress

Chapter 187  Emergency Court Session X

  "Who is it? Who asked you to poison His Majesty with the slow poison? Give me that person's name. Now!" Zheng Liang bellowed.

The court was enveloped in a tense hush, all eyes fixed on Bai Jiang, waiting with bated breath for him to reveal the culprit's identity. The ministers exchanged wary looks, secretly speculating whether the perpetrator was connected to Yang Lingxin or if there was a grave misunderstanding that led to her being summoned to the court as a suspect. For what motive could she have to harm her own beloved husband? Their marriage was a joyful union, and it made no sense for her to sabotage it by such vile means. Surely, she couldn't have played any role in this heinous act.

Yang Lingxin was holding her breath nervously and fixated on the back of the kneeling man. She held onto her maid's hand tightly, her legs feeling weak with anxiety, and repeated a soothing mantra in her mind to keep calm.

She had faith in Yang Luoyang's ability to keep things under control. After all, he had been her loyal aide for years, and nothing had gone awry during that time. What could possibly go wrong now?

Just like how he had shut down Zheng Liang's previous accusations, she was confident that he would do the same this time around. There was no way he would allow her to suffer such an unjust fate.

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​​Bai Jiang's heart pounded in his chest as he weighed the consequences of his next words. Would he betray his family or the person who had given him the order to commit such a heinous act? His dry mouth begged for water, but he dared not ask. Gu Lan, who beat him to a pulp, would rather bring him a cup of poison than a glass of water. As he moistened his lips with his tongue, Bai Jiang struggled to speak, his voice barely audible. "The one who ordered me to poison His Majesty was..." he trailed off, afraid to complete the sentence.

"Louder! We can't hear you." Shouted someone from the court. "Earlier you were crying so loudly, now you can't talk properly? Speak loud and clear!"

The high-pitched, feminine voice that caught everyone off guard was nowhere similar to Zheng Liang's thunderous deep voice. Instead, it was Yang Ning, who had been sitting there silently like a puppet. Everyone turned their heads to look at her, surprised by her sudden outburst.

Yang Luoyang's brow furrowed in confusion as he observed Yang Ning's behavior. He couldn't comprehend why she was so invested in this matter, or why she was suddenly being so vocal in a setting where she had previously remained silent.

He couldn't help but wonder where this newfound boldness had come from. In all his years, he had never seen her speak out against him or anyone else in the royal court. It was a startling change, and he was unsure how to react to it.

As he pondered this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease wash over him. Something was not right here, and he had a feeling that there was more to this situation than met the eye.

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The ministers stared at Yang Ning in shock as it was the first time they had heard such a loud voice coming from a lady in the public space and that lady was none other than the Crown Princess, Yang Ning. The ladies aren't allowed to speak in men's affairs. However, here she was openly interfering in the court's affair and acting as if she is the one who is leading the court session. They all looked at Zheng Liang to see his reaction. However, they were surprised that he didn't say anything to her. He even supported her and asked Bai Jiang to speak louder instead, "What are you doing? Didn't you hear what the Crown Princess said? Speak loud and clear from now on!" Bai Jiang panicked at being shouted at and immediately touched his head to the ground to apologize for his actions. "Your Highness, Please forgive me. I…I will speak properly from now on." He shouted over his lungs, doing his best to make everyone hear him loud and clear. "Better!" Yang Ning nodded at his raised voice and casually gestured to him to continue with his statement, surprising everyone in the royal court. Why does it feel like Yang Ning is the one leading the court session more than Zheng Liang? "The person who ordered me to poison His Majesty was…." Bai Jiang said in a loud, quivering voice. He hesitantly paused and glanced at everyone before blurting out, "It was Her Majesty!"

The royal court was thrown into a state of shock as soon as Bai Jiang accused the Empress of attempting to murder the King. The ministers were stunned and remained silent for a moment, unable to believe what they had just heard. The ministers were horrified and looked at Yang Lingxin in shock. They weren't expecting Bai Jiang to mention her name in this matter. The most they were expecting was for him to name someone acquainted with her. However, it was shocking that the person who asked him to give poison to His Majesty was none other than the Empress of the Empire. Yang Lingxin's eyes widened in shock when she heard him revealing her name to everyone. She clutched her chest in desperation and could see her world crumbling apart in front of her eyes. She turned to look at Yang Luoyang, however, he avoided her gaze. Forget about protecting her, he didn't even glance at her. "NOO! He is lying. He is framing me for something I didn't even do. Why would I do something like that?" Yang Lingxin shook her head in desperation and cried to attain everyone's attention and sympathy. "Zheng Liang, stop all this. Why are you doing this to me? How can you forge evidence to prove me as a culprit?" She cried. Bai Jiang frowned. He looked at Zheng Liang and shook his head in desperation, "Your Highness, I am not lying. Please believe in me."

"When His Majesty fell ill, Her Majesty called me to her chamber and ordered me to add the natural oils given by her in the hot water in His Majesty's chamber and place it at his bedside." "She even offered to make me the head of the imperial medicine department and gave me a pouch of gold coins to keep it a secret." He looked up at Zheng Liang and urgently revealed the truth. "I rejected her offer at first but she threatened to kick me out if I didn't follow her orders." Bai Jiang looked at Zheng Liang with pleading eyes and begged, "Your Highness, if you could not believe in me, you can ask anyone from the Imperial Medicine Department about it."

"They must have seen me together with Her Majesty's maid who had visited me at the Imperial Medicine Department a few times to hand me the poisoned natural oil to add to the hot water in His Majesty's chamber. Your Highness, Please believe in me."

"I had no choice. My father died a few years ago and I am the sole breadwinner of my family. If I had been kicked out of the palace, how would I have fed my family who was waiting for me at home." He begged and pleaded for mercy from him. Yang Lingxin couldn't take it anymore and stumbled forward with her unstable steps and slapped the assistant physician on the cheeks and grabbed his collar and shouted at him, "How dare you? Do you think if you lie blatantly, everyone will believe in your empty words?"

"Tell me, who told you to frame me for such a heinous crime? What would you get by accusing me falsely? Tell me!" She shouted and slapped him again using all her might. Bai Jiang was caught off guard by her sudden attack but he couldn't do anything since his hands were tied together. The rings in Yang Lingxin's hands left some bloody scratches on his face, making him even more miserable. Zheng Liang frowned and gestured to the female guards to pull Yang Lingxin away and hold her in place.