272 The Birthmark That Will Bloom

“Wu Tielong is dead. You actually dare to plot against my country’s territory?” The emperor chuckled. He was really old and muddle-headed. Xiao Shen had come this far step by step, and it was as if the country under his feet had almost been riddled with holes ever since his little princess had left the capital.

“Your Majesty, you’re confused. Since the imperial preceptor once said that the princess will be a famous empress for thousands of years, you should abdicate your position.” Xiao Shen was sure to win.

As expected, all the officials were moved when they heard about the princess. Zhao Panpan’s eyes were filled with blood, and they were empty and frightening. Hearing Xiao Shen’s words, even though she was already in a sorry state, she could not help but smile smugly. So what if she was blind? She was a princess!

“You think you’ve found the real one just because you took a fake as a pearl?” The emperor could not help but take a step closer to Jiang Xi. ‘Ah, so warm. As expected, there’s always warmth around my daughter. She’s indeed a person favored by God!’

The phoenix calmly pushed the emperor out.

The emperor was speechless.

The prison officer hesitated for a moment.

“What do you want to say?” The imperial preceptor pointed at the bailiff, and the bailiff was so scared that his face turned pale.

Jiang Si frowned slightly. In fact, he had only found two witnesses, but Xiao Shen had said that two witnesses were not enough, so he had found a fake one at the last minute, saying that he had been the night watchman back then, and that it was reasonable for him to have met the princess. Before he came, he had told the officer that the princess had a green-tea-leaf-shaped birthmark on her arm. Although he was so nervous that he said it was a flower intead, it did not affect anything.

“I… I don’t know if I saw it wrong back then, but at that time, that birthmark and that flower would still bloom when it rained or snowed. When I opened the swaddle, I saw the flower bud on the child’s right arm suddenly bloom, and then I smelled a strange fragrance…” The officer knelt on the ground, not even sure if he was dreaming.

Jiang Si laughed when he heard that. What an uneducated man. His lies could not stand up to scrutiny. However, this was also good. It could create momentum for Zhao Panpan. It was just an exotic fragrance, so any spice would do.

Jiang Si thought that the bailiff was just making things up, but the moment he finished speaking, the old lady from Happy Town nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, yes, yes, I saw it too. Xiao Meili asked me to bury the princess alive in the snow. I didn’t expect that after digging the hole, there would be a burst of flower fragrance around, and even the snow would be much lighter.” The old woman hurriedly spoke and grabbed the official’s hand as if she had met a friend.

Jiang Si thought, ‘Aren’t you witnesses overreacting?’

The officer was a little dazed when the old woman grabbed his hand.

“You saw it too, didn’t you? You saw it too, didn’t you? I’m not crazy, I really saw it!” The old lady grabbed the officer’s shoulder, and the officer’s face darkened. “Don’t be like this. My wife will quarrel with me if she sees us like this.” The officer was already over fifty years old, and he still looked a little younger when he stood next to the old woman.

The old woman’s expression froze, and she seemed to be crying and laughing at the same time. “You saw it, right? I’m not mistaken, but why doesn’t Xiao Meili believe me? Why doesn’t she believe me? That child can’t be harmed, that child can’t be harmed! Look at me, see if I’m pretty?” The old woman touched her face. The skin on her face was like that of an old woman, loose and covered with wrinkles.

“I’m not blind,” The officer took a step back. Was there something wrong with this old woman?

The old woman laughed until she cried, “Retribution, it’s all retribution! It was all retribution! I said that we can’t harm that child! Why doesn’t anyone believe me? I’m the evidence, the living evidence!” The old woman wailed as if she had vented all the fear and horror she had felt for so many years.

“Old woman, you must take care of your health.” The officer was kind and pulled the old woman. She looked so old that she could be his mother. Why did she have to suffer like this?

The old woman cried even harder after being shouted at by the officer, “I… I… This is all retribution! This is my retribution for burying that child alive! Ever since I buried that child alive in the snow, I’ve been getting older by the day. I was Xiao Meili’s most beautiful servant girl, and Xiao Meili said that if I did this, she would make me Marquis Zhao’s concubine!” The old lady held onto her walking stick, but the words that came out of her mouth made everyone turn pale with fright. Zhao Hongwei even took a step back, as if he was a little traumatized.