Chapter 369

The golden candles lit up the palace as if it were broad daylight.

Lizzie knelt on the cold stone tiles, her hair disheveled.

Winona slammed her hand on the table and pointed at Lizzie, her voice thunderous.

“You insolent wretch!” Her eyes were filled with fury, and the hairpin atop her head quivered with her anger. “You dare poison the Princess Consort of Prince Xander and even damage an imperial gift? Do you take this palace as your playground?”

Lizzie trembled all over, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Mother, please see the truth! I’ve been framed! This is all Athena’s scheme!”

She lifted her head and saw Athena standing side by side with Xander, a deep scar now visible on Athena’s face.

Rage surged inside Lizzie. No wonder Athena provoked her. It was all to make her destroy the imperial gift.

That wretched woman was truly malicious.

“Silence!” Winona roared. “There is solid evidence. How dare you argue? Guards, confine Lizzie to her palace! She is not to take a single step outside without my permission!”

She clearly intended to downplay the matter by handling it with a mere confinement.

Xander’s brow twitched. He bowed and said coldly, “Your Majesty, if this matter is handled with just house arrest, it would be far too lenient and unconvincing.”

He continued, “On the day of my wedding, she poisoned my bride, then refused to repent and even insulted her. I ask Your Majesty to grant her justice.”

Xander pressed on relentlessly, cornering Winona. She looked to the King for support, only to find him frowning deeply, his expression stormy. Clearly, he was infuriated by Lizzie’s actions.

Yet Winona had called on him, so he could not ignore her. He asked, “Then, what punishment do you propose for Lizzie?”

“Thirty strokes of the rod and the stripping of her princess title. Only then will she truly repent.” The moment Xander spoke, silence fell over the hall.

Stripping a princess of her title was far too severe.

Winona frowned. “A beating as a warning isn’t enough? Must you take her title as well? How is she to live afterward?”

Such humiliation was unheard of.

Xander said, “Lizzie’s behavior is outrageous. Before marriage, she kept male favorites in her residence. The souls who died by her hand are countless. Now she even dares to use poison. Does Your Majesty still wish to shield her?”

Xander’s voice boomed like iron against stone as he advanced, a predator cornering its prey.

He forced Lizzie to watch her avenues of escape vanish, leaving only despair.

Panicked, she shook her head, tears and mucus streaming. “Mother, do not believe Prince Xander. He means to kill me…”

Winona would not allow Lizzie to be ruined, yet Xander refused to relent. She could only turn to Arthur. “Your Majesty, though Lizzie has been foolish, she now shows remorse. For my sake, grant her one more chance.”

Arthur needed just such a ladder to climb down, but as he prepared to speak, Xander’s voice rang out again. “Remorse? I think not.”

He clapped his hands. A palace maid entered, carrying a thick stack of papers.

Everyone watched in confusion, except Lizzie, who stared in horror.

“What is that?” the King asked.

Xander saluted. “These are the records of Lizzie’s usurious loans. It’s over one hundred thousand taels. Those unable to repay were forced to sell their sons and daughters and were driven to ruin.”

He continued, “Seven or eight have already died. In the dry well of Lizzie’s former estate, I found more than ten corpses…”

Lizzie collapsed, the blood draining from her lips.

Her eyes stared blankly ahead, devoid of all hope, as the color instantly drained from her lips.

With the murders exposed, Lizzie Cavendish knew there was no escape for her now.

Winona’s face paled in horror. She had always known Lizzie to be reckless, but never imagined she could be so ruthless.

Xander sneered and stepped forward, eyes sharp as an eagle’s. “Your Majesty, this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

At his signal, the maid unfurled the documents, the ink glinting coldly.

He started, “Using her royal status, Lizzie colluded with merchants, set up private banks in Pidence City and surrounding prefectures, and exploited the people with usury. Those who could not repay had their eyes gouged out or their limbs severed.”

He continued, “Lizzie, do you recall Abigail beyond the city walls? Three days late with interest, and you ordered her son to be thrown into the river! He’s less than ten years old!”

Gasps spread through the hall.

Winona staggered, clutching her attendant’s arm for support. Her lips were trembling wordlessly.

Shock gripped the Queen as well. She leaned back, heart pounding.

Among the imperial clan, none had clean hands in moneylending, yet Xander had exposed it.

‘Why would Xander lay all this bare? What is he really after?’ The Queen wondered.

The Queen sensed Xander wasn’t just after Lizzie.

The Queen thought to herself, ‘Maybe this move is meant to flush out the snake, and it could expose a whole nest of vipers.’

The Queen’s head throbbed. She no longer felt like watching.

Arthur slammed the desk and stood, livid. “Lizzie, do you admit your crimes?”

Frozen, Lizzie trembled. She opened her mouth to defend herself, only a muffled whimper escaping.

Xander was not done. He drew a copper coin from his sleeve and held it high. “Your Majesty, behold. The coin is gilded lead. Lizzie secretly minted tens of thousands of counterfeits in the mountains.”

Winona dug her nails into the armrest. “Impossible. My daughter would never…”

But words were powerless before evidence.

The King roared in anger.

Xander blocked him swiftly. “Calm your rage, Your Majesty! Counterfeit coins have already driven up prices. Soldiers at the borders complain of corrupt pay. The urgent task is to seal the workshops and recover the fakes.”

Arthur’s fists clenched, veins pulsing. “Guards, take Lizzie to the prison to await judgment.”

After a moment, he added, “Prince of Westmount is to be arrested as well. When the truth is fully uncovered, punishment will follow.”

“No! I have been framed, framed…” Lizzie screamed, pointing at Athena and Xander. “Those two are trying to kill me! Brother, if you believe them, one day this glorious realm will belong to them…”