Chapter 37 Time Loop
In a short time.
All eyes were on the small figure crying her heart out.
The little empress was crying so hard she could barely breathe, her tiny shoulders trembling, she looked so pitiful.
This sudden shout caught everyone off guard.
The kneeling Prince Consort Cui's eyes darted around, and he felt that this was a golden opportunity!
His Majesty must have heard of Luan Xue's evil deeds and was so frightened by her wicked heart that he cried!
He suddenly got up from the ground, stretched out his finger again, and pointed it straight at the expressionless Luan Xue.
"Luan Xue! You poisonous woman!"
He was filled with righteous indignation, his voice righteous and awe-inspiring.
"So that's why you've always disliked Mu Yu and made things difficult for her! It turns out you're afraid your fake identity will be discovered!"
"I knew it! How could someone as wise and powerful as the Empress Dowager have given birth to a daughter with such a vicious heart as you! Turns out you're a complete imposter!"
Prince Consort Cui spoke with great enthusiasm, becoming more and more agitated as he spoke, as if he were the biggest victim.
"You've deceived us so badly! You shameless liar! Tell us! What methods did you use? What have you done to Mu Yu all this time?!"
A barrage of accusations rained down on Luan Xue.
However, the woman kneeling there didn't even lift her eyelids.
Those vicious words couldn't hurt her in the slightest.
Her heart was already dead.
only...
Luan Xue's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the small sandalwood chair not far away.
Just a moment ago, she seemed to hear Zhao Ning's inner thoughts.
Could it be that Zhao Ning, like himself, is also a special person?
The thought flashed through her mind for only a moment before the glimmer of light in her eyes quickly faded.
So what if it's special?
She's just a four-year-old child.
So what if it can?
Ahead, Yuan Hua and his civil and military officials were all listening intently, waiting for the next development from His Majesty, when they were suddenly interrupted by Cui's impassioned speech, which immediately enraged them.
Yuan Hua, in particular, was already in a bad mood, and now she was even more furious.
"How dare you!"
"Cui Li! I am still here! Do you think it's your place to judge this case?"
Prince Consort Cui trembled with fright and immediately knelt down.
Yuan Hua's phoenix eyes sharpened, radiating a cold light.
"No matter what, before the truth comes out, Luan Xue is still the Second Princess personally appointed by me! She represents the face of the royal family! How can I allow you to hurl insults here?"
"Guards! Slap me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two burly old women, their arms thicker than Cui Fuma's thighs, walked over expressionlessly.
They grabbed Prince Consort Cui's arms from the left and right.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me..."
"Smack!"
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
The crisp, resounding slaps echoed rhythmically throughout the palace gates, one after another.
After a dozen or so slaps, Prince Consort Cui's once handsome face swelled up like a pig's head, with blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.
He was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body was trembling; he almost fainted.
But he ultimately dared not utter a single complaint against the Empress Dowager, and could only glare at Luan Xue beside him with eyes filled with extreme resentment.
It's all because of that bitch!
It's all her fault!
Luan Xue finally reacted. She glanced at him indifferently, as if she were looking at a clown.
Then, he turned back indifferently.
It felt as if looking at it even once would be an insult to my eyes.
…
Yu Zhaoning was still sobbing loudly on the tall sandalwood chair.
The little girl's crying voice was so pitiful, with sobs and whimpers.
The old tutor Wang An, who was standing nearby, was extremely anxious and quickly bowed and coaxed him.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't cry. What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Another elderly minister with a white beard also came over, his face full of heartache.
"Yes, Your Majesty, if you encounter any problems, tell us old ministers, and we will certainly uphold justice for you!"
Lin Xiang stood to the side, not saying a word, but his handsome eyebrows were furrowed into a knot, and the worry in his eyes could not be hidden.
Yu Zhaoning wiped away her tears with her chubby little hands, shook her head, and her little nose twitched.
She didn't speak, but instead refocused her attention on the virtual panel in her mind.
I didn't know until I saw it, and then I cried even harder.
The familiar voice echoed in everyone's minds once again, filled with deep sorrow and sympathy.
[Waaaaah, so that's how it is! Aunt Luan Xue is so pitiful!]
[She was stuck at the same point in time, looping it a full ninety-nine times!]
Lin Xiang and the others' hearts jumped into their throats.
cycle?
What's the meaning?
[That means every time she opens her eyes, she's in the carriage that brought her here, and every time she has to endure being meticulously framed by the scheming Mu Yu, betrayed by the scumbag prince consort Cui Li, and then publicly judged!]
[Each time, she desperately explained and struggled, but no one believed her!]
[And each time, he died a gruesome death in various ways! He was either beheaded, given poisoned wine, or once locked in a wild animal cage and starved to death! Waaaaah, so pitiful!]
Upon hearing this heartfelt statement, all the civil and military officials were stunned.
Their eyes widened, and their mouths were agape enough to fit an egg.
Time loop?
What is this?
Some quick-thinking ministers pondered the matter for a while before vaguely understanding its meaning.
In other words, Her Highness the Second Princess has already experienced what happened today...
Ninety-nine times?!
Oh my god!
Doesn't that mean she's the real one?!
But what about the evidence that Mu Yu presented?
Everyone's minds were a complete mess, and their worldviews were almost shattered.
Others might not understand, but Yuan Hua is a modern person who has traveled from the past!
The meaning of "time loop" is instantly clear!
What a hellish torment her daughter, her Xue'er, is going through!
Betrayed time and time again, facing death time and time again!
No wonder!
No wonder Xue'er's eyes were so lifeless!
No wonder she gave up all struggle!
Because she knew that no matter what she did, the outcome would be the same!
Thinking of this, Yuan Hua felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and a sweet taste in his throat.
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the delicate handkerchief red.
He fell straight backward and landed heavily on the chair behind him.
"Royal Grandmother!"
"Empress Dowager!"
Yu Zhaoning was halfway through eating melons when she suddenly discovered that her grandmother was spitting blood, which scared her to death.
With a yelp, she tumbled and scrambled off her little chair and pounced on him with her short legs.
"Grandmother! Grandmother, don't frighten Ningning! You absolutely mustn't be hurt!"
The little guy cried his eyes out, like a little koala, clinging tightly to the Empress Dowager.
The civil and military officials around them were also in chaos.
"Quickly! Summon the imperial physician! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!" The old Grand Tutor's voice changed.
The imperial physician who was attending her rushed forward, scrambling to his feet, and hurriedly pulled a pill from his medicine box and stuffed it into the Empress Dowager's mouth.
"The Empress Dowager is suffering from a sudden attack of anger! Quickly! Administer a nitroglycerin pill to Her Majesty!"
Yuan Hua felt her breath catch in her throat, but her granddaughter's warm body and anxious cries pulled her back from the brink of collapse.
He breathed slowly, his breathing gradually becoming steady, and with some effort, he raised his hand and caught his granddaughter in his arms.
He used all his strength to keep himself from collapsing, but his pained eyes looked in Luan Xue's direction.
She wanted to know what her daughter had gone through.
…
Luan Xue, who was not far away, was already trembling and completely stunned.
She looked up in disbelief, and for the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared in her lifeless eyes.
His Majesty...
They actually knew what had happened to them!
How is that possible?
She struggled in this cycle for far too long.
From initial hysteria to desperate attempts to defend oneself, and finally to complete apathy.
She watched again and again as Mu Yu used those so-called pieces of evidence to discredit her false identity.
She watched her former lover speak harshly to her over and over again.
She even witnessed her most beloved mother, faced with overwhelming evidence, order her execution in utter despair...
Time and time again!
Later, I lost count of how many times it happened.
My mind and body are completely numb, and my soul seems to have been ripped out of my body. I coldly watch this absurd farce unfold.
I even thought, let it be.
Let's end it here.
She resigned herself to her fate.
Didn't Heaven want Mu Yu to take her place? Didn't it want her to die a miserable death?
She'll give it to me! She'll give it to me!
However, this time...
When she opened her eyes again, she seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
My niece, who had never appeared in previous cycles, has suddenly appeared!
My mother, who is usually dignified, calm, and always puts the big picture first, actually coughed up blood in public today because of me.
Everything is different from the previous ninety-nine times.
Her heart began to pound.
Perhaps this time, she can really break free from this strange cycle?
But...
She slowly raised her head and looked up at the gray sky, her eyes still filled with confusion and pain.
Damn God, why is she being treated like this?
What did she do wrong?