CHAPTER 1253: CHAPTER 1248: IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE ILLNESS

Could it be true?

King Jin turned his head to look at the Ducal Residence Master kneeling beside him, his face filled with anger, as if he could strangle the man, glaring at him furiously.

This was once the elder he respected the most, yet now revealed such a disgraceful face.

He snorted coldly and said, "I think you’re the one who’s gone mad. Insane for the throne."

The onlookers also felt that what King Jin said made some sense. What if he truly harbored ambition to seize the throne? Who wouldn’t desire the throne? But to go so far as to plot against the Empress and King Jin for it—that would indeed be too cruel.

The Ducal Residence Master was unmoved. Tears and snot running down his face, he lamented, "Xiaoran, I am your great-grandfather! What nonsense are you spouting? How many days does this old bag of bones have left to live? The Emperor is still in excellent health; he’ll surely outlive this decrepit body of mine!"

"If I truly had a mind to seize the throne, I would’ve done it when I was younger. Why would I wait until now? At this age, even if I committed the gravest of sins and seized the country, how many days could I possibly enjoy as Emperor...?"

At this point, he hurriedly kowtowed to the Emperor, saying, "Ah, I’m old now, useless. Your Majesty, you must forgive this old servant’s outburst. My mouth slipped and spoke words it shouldn’t have. I deserve to be punished!"

After speaking, he slapped his own mouth twice.

The crowd found themselves agreeing—after all, the Ducal Residence Master was so old now. Why wouldn’t he have seized the throne earlier?

Back when the Emperor had yet to solidify his power, that would have been the perfect time.

After all, for the Emperor to ascend to the throne, the Ducal Residence Master’s contributions were invaluable. Without his support back then, perhaps the Third Prince or the Fifth Prince would have become Emperor instead.

The uninformed onlookers shifted their opinions like reeds swaying in the wind, their gazes darting back and forth between King Jin and the Ducal Residence Master.

The words spoken by both were too shocking, leaving them trembling weakly in their legs.

King Jin turned his head away, no longer looking at the Ducal Residence Master. Instead, he began to recount, detail by detail, what he had uncovered on the day Consort Zhang met her accident—the reasons for his condition, and his inability to father children.

This included how Nanny Li manipulated the Empress into persuading him to agree to using another man’s seed, how the Ducal Residence arranged for his cousin Jin Wei, who bore some resemblance to him, to climb over the walls of the Prince Jin Residence in the dead of night, and how, in the darkness, they switched identities to deceive everyone and produce this child...

Of course, regarding the wound he discovered on his person, he altered certain parts of the story.

Gu Youyou ultimately had helped him. She was a woman, and more importantly, his sister-in-law. He couldn’t drag her into this and tarnish her reputation.

He credited this revelation to the late Imperial Physician Cui, claiming that it was Imperial Physician Cui who uncovered the secret. To silence him, they forced him to choose a suitable moment to take his own life.

Several invited Imperial Physicians broke into cold sweats. Only now did they realize why Imperial Physician Cui’s expression was so off when he came out of that room, and why he soon fell to his death from a carriage. His death had been so sudden.

It turned out he had been silenced.

At the same time, fear gripped their hearts.

They could only think themselves fortunate. If they were the ones called into that room to examine King Jin that day, it would have been them who died.

The crowd was astounded, feeling as if they were listening to a fantastical tale—it was terrifying.

"Nonsense! You’re spouting nonsense!" The Ducal Residence Master exclaimed in agitation. "Xiaoran, how can your illness have driven you to this extent? This isn’t a game—you’re spouting baseless claims that could lead to all our deaths, as well as your mother’s and yours!"

"That son is truly yours! How could you say such things? Look, look! See how much this child resembles King Jin. How could it be fake?"