Mo Xuetong did not expect the Sixth Princess to come as well!
Her face was hidden behind a layer of a thin veil, and others could faintly see the thick cloth wrapped around her face. Although her eyes could not be seen, others felt that her temperament had changed. She was no longer as gentle and soft as she used to be. Instead, she reeked of a strong sense of gloom. She clasped her hands tightly and looked coldly through the veil at the people entering the hall without saying anything.
Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen looked weak and aggrieved. Sitting beside the Sixth Princess, she held her daughter’s hand and patted her from time to time. The corners of her eyes were red and swollen, and she was in low spirits. It was obvious that she had cried. After all, her only daughter had suffered such a thing. As a mother, how could she not be sad?
The Empress Dowager and the Empress were both seated by Emperor Zongwen’s side.
“Ling Mingyan, why did you do that?” since this was a matter between women, the Empress asked on behalf of the Emperor.
Emperor Zongwen did not seem to be in a good mood. His sharp eyes landed on Ling Mingyan as well, but he did not say a word, which was a sign that he was about to get angry. When Duke Ding saw that Emperor Zongwen’s thoughtful eyes were shifting to him, the corners of his eyes could not help but twitch, and he hurriedly lowered his head.
He secretly hated his daughter who was kneeling in the hall. He had known that she was a troublemaker, and that was why he had never planned to marry his daughter off to those princes. He chose his second brother’s daughter to be a prince’s legal wife instead of her because she was too arrogant.
Originally, Duke Ding thought that Mingguo Manor was as powerful as Ding General Manor, but Ding General Manor still had the support of the palace. Even if something happened, with the support of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, Ling Mingyan would be fine. This was also the reason why Duke Ding doted on his only daughter. Although the marriage between the two manors had some political properties, it was what Ling Mingyan wanted.
It could also be said that she had chosen her own husband on her own.
However, the matter had gotten to this point. No matter how much Duke Ding loved his daughter, he was still filled with anger!
“Your Majesty, it was Sixth Princess who framed me. She wanted to ruin my reputation. It was Sixth Princess who set up a trap for me. I hated her and thus I hurt her.” At this point, Ling Mingyan was ready to risk everything. Although she was nervous, she still gritted her teeth and defended herself.
“How did you know that Sixth Princess wanted to frame you?” the Empress asked in a deep voice.
“I didn’t know that man at first, but his figure is very similar to that of His Excellency. I stood by the sh.o.r.e and saw him meeting with a woman, so I got angry and rushed over to pull him. When I pulled him over, I saw that it was not His Excellency, which led to this misunderstanding. At that time, Sixth Princess was not present. But when she came over later, she mentioned it from time to time. It was obvious that she knew about it.”
Ling Mingyan could only insist that the Sixth Princess had framed her.
“Your Majesty, His Excellency and I love each other so much. Doesn’t Sixth Princess feel tired when she has been holding him in her heart? She made a scene in Mingguo Manor before, and this time, she set a trap in Princess Caifeng’s manor. As a princess, she has extended her hand so far from the inner palace. Is it really just a matter of me alone?”
His words were sharp. It could be said that Ling Mingyan had stretched the story of the Sixth Princess’s framing her to the idea that she was powerful. Emperor Zongwen’s expression grew darker and colder as he sat on the throne. There was an indescribable look in his eyes. His eyes turned to Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen and deliberately paused on her face for a while.
Although what had happened in Mingguo Manor did not get out, everyone present was not an ordinary person and most of them were there. Of course, they knew that it was the Sixth Princess who had plotted against others. It was reasonable that her first ruse having failed, she tried another. However, after hearing Ling Mingyan’s words, everyone looked at the Sixth Princess and Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen with a little suspicion.
Were they really just an imperial n.o.ble consort and a princess who didn’t take charge of anything?
If she really arranged people in Mingguo Manor and Princess Caifeng’s manor, she could be described as powerful.
“Marquise, don’t say something like that to distract us. It’s all because of you that Xuehe is in such a state. Your speculation will destroy her. In this way, how can she marry into the Southern Barbarian Lands? How can she be the one to make peace with the Southern Barbarian Lands?”
Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen shed tears and wiped them from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Then she looked up at Ling Mingyan sadly and angrily and rebuked her.
At the same time, she was trying to lead the topic in the direction that was beneficial to her!
Her different emphasis tilted the whole conversation in her daughter’s favor. Mo Xuetong rolled her bright eyes and could not help but sigh. Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen was indeed extraordinary. The rash Ling Mingyan was almost no match for her. Even though someone had taught her a few words before, she could not compare with her on-the-spot performance.
Fortunately, with Ling Mingyan’s character, she could say harsh words, which was hard for Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, who had always been patient, to retort. Furthermore, Feng Yulei was involved in this matter. Even though Ding General Manor did not support him, it was still one of his backers. If something were to happen to Ding General Manor, it would not do Feng Yulei any good.
Now, Ling Mingyan was still Marquise Mingguo. Mingguo Manor was Feng Yulei’s strongest support!
One was her daughter and the other was her son. Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s words had a decisive effect…
“Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, Sixth Princess wanted to plot against me and become His Excellency’s wife. Don’t you know anything about it? Or is that what you want, too? I heard that you have been pleading with His Majesty to withdraw the order to ask Sixth Princess to marry into another country.”
Sure enough, Ling Mingyan spoke straightforwardly regardless of her own life. She completely ignored that the face Emperor Zongwen, who was sitting on the throne, had darkened. No matter how wrong the Sixth Princess was, it was her father who lost face in front of so many people. Emperor Zongwen turned to look at the Empress with a little anger in his eyes.
In the hall, Duke Ding almost couldn’t stand still and didn’t dare to raise his head. At this moment, he wished that he had strangled Ling Mingyan to death when she was born. This wicked girl dared to say those words and even spoke the palace matter out. It was a clear indication that Ding General Manor had some connection with someone in the palace. The Emperor hated people plotting against his harem the most.
Once, an imperial consort had spread out a matter that happened in the palace without permission, and then she was sent to the Cold Palace and her family had fallen from grace.
Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen did not expect that Ling Mingyan would have the courage to talk about the affairs of Mingguo Manor. She was stunned and looked at her in disbelief. She opened her mouth with tears in her beautiful eyes, turned to the Emperor, and sobbed with grievance, “Your Majesty, I, I… Xuehe, she didn’t do that. She has been childish and was willful for a while because she was vexed. But she would never do such a vicious thing!”
After that, Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen knelt down and cried to Emperor Zongwen with tears all over her face. “Your Majesty, please give Xuehe justice. Look at how she is now… How, how can she marry into the Southern Barbarian Lands?”
Marry into the Southern Barbarian Lands? Emperor Zongwen grew even gloomier. The Sixth Princess’s face had been disfigured, so she was really not suitable for this marriage. The imperial physician had said that even if the Sixth Princess’s face still had a chance to recover, her eyes had really been damaged. From that point on, even if she could see things, she would only have blurred vision.
Marrying a princess with a disfigured face was indeed not appropriate for the two nations’ relationship.
However, it happened after the marriage agreement of the Sixth Princess and the Third Prince. The latter would come to welcome the former in a few days from the Southern Barbarian Lands. If the Sixth Princess were to be replaced by someone else, it would be disrespectful to the Southern Barbarian Lands on the one hand, and on the other hand, the Qin Kingdom seemed to take the marriage as a trifling matter. It was a big deal for the two countries to make peace with each other by marriage. It would be less sincere if the princess was changed.
“Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, you don’t have to be sad. His Majesty will make the decision for Sixth Princess. Get up first,” the Empress lifted her eyes with a slight smile and said softly as she reached out to pull Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen.
“Your Majesty, I, I was also responsible for what happened to Sixth Princess. I didn’t discipline her well enough. Originally, Sixth Princess didn’t want to attend the banquet, but I persuaded her to do so. But now, such a thing happened, I…”
Although Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen had stood up while holding the Empress’s hand, which had showed her weak nature, she still cried with her hands covering her face, as if she had completely taken the blame. It also proved that the Sixth Princess just happened to go there, so it was impossible for her to hurt anyone, let alone set up a trap.
There was a flash of sharp light in Emperor Zongwen’s deep eyes, and he looked at Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s face thoughtfully.
“Dear, don’t worry. Listen to Empress’s question.”
They had finally returned to the original interrogation.
“Ling Mingyan, do you have any evidence to prove that Sixth Princess has plotted against you? Who told you that it was Sixth Princess who sent someone to ruin your reputation? There were so many people in the manor at that time, including Consort Yan, Consort Xuan, the second consort of King Chu, and a few other n.o.ble madams. They did not find out that Sixth Princess had something to do with it. Have you been misled by someone?”
The Empress frowned slightly and naturally took up the topic.
As soon as she said that, a hint of joy appeared on the face of d.u.c.h.ess Ding, who was sitting below. She looked at Ling Mingyan anxiously and clenched her hands nervously. At this time, Ling Mingyan also looked at her. d.u.c.h.ess Ding quickly winked at her daughter with her right eye calmly. This was the secret signal she had made before. Her daughter would not be too stupid!
Of course, Ling Mingyan was not stupid. Actually, she regretted it after the matter. There were thousands of ways to fight with the Sixth Princess, but she obviously chose the most inappropriate one—to confront the royal family directly. She knew that she was not important enough, but in that situation at that time, she only wanted to tear the Sixth Princess apart and did not care about anything else.
Therefore, when d.u.c.h.ess Ding secretly asked someone to send a message to her, she calmed down and said that she would obey the arrangement.
“Your Majesty, my reputation was ruined at that time. I was at a loss of what to do. I… I certainly believed what they said. Sixth Princess was with them at that time. Would they try to frame Sixth Princess?” Ling Mingyan raised her head angrily and stared at the Sixth Princess vehemently. However, everyone present had understood the message in her words.
Someone said something in front of Ling Mingyan, which was why she and the Sixth Princess got into a fight. What happened at the banquet was weird, and many people couldn’t figure out what was going on. Things happened one after another, and the people who had an accident were very n.o.ble. In the end, the Sixth Princess’s face was disfigured by Marquise Mingguo.
How could it not arouse many thoughts in other people’s minds?
However, now that she said so, it was not about Marquise Mingguo and the Sixth Princess…
