“Who told you that Sixth Princess wanted to plot against you? Who told you that this matter had something to do with Sixth Princess?” the Empress asked in surprise. There was no other emotion on her face.
Sitting below, Mo Xuetong sharply sensed a hint of joy from the Empress and that she looked at Ling Mingyan with gentler eyes. Speaking of which, the Empress did not think highly of Ling Mingyan at all. Among her several nieces, she gave priority first to Ling Fengyan and then to Ling Rui’er. Mo Xuetong had heard that the Empress did not like the real legitimate daughter of Ding General Manor since she came to the capital.
It might because of Ling Mingyan’s arrogant and unrestrained character.
But at this moment, there was a little satisfaction in the Empress’s eyes when she looked at Ling Mingyan!
Mo Xuetong reached out and gently poked the person who was lazily leaning against the pillar, as if he was watching the show. Then, she blinked her watery eyes at the Empress.
Feng Yuran glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Then his vermilion lips curled up a little and he tilted his head slightly towards the Empress and nodded quietly. After that, he gave Mo Xuetong a seductive wink, which was so charming and handsome. Mo Xuetong blushed and turned her head away hurriedly.
She had just asked him such a small question, but he a.s.sumed a dissolute air.
However, it seemed that the Empress was indeed involved in it!
“I…” Ling Mingyan bit her lip and couldn’t speak for a while. The look that she wanted to say something but stopped on second thought held too much information.
“Just say it. His Majesty is here. There’s nothing you can’t say,” the Empress added.
“Yes, Your Highness, it’s… it’s Hu Qianyue who said that. She said that she had seen Sixth Princess bring someone in, and she also told me that Sixth Princess did it specially to frame me. A man lured me there, and the other went in and called people out. Then everyone would see that I was entangled with a strange man. Your Majesty, Sixth Princess has ruined my reputation. I… I can’t let her go even if I have to die.”
It was Hu Qianyue?
As soon as Ling Mingyan finished her words, the entire hall fell into silence.
Who was Hu Qianyue? She was a person from the Southern Barbarian Lands. Furthermore, she was also an envoy of her country, as well as a part of the marriage of the two countries. She would marry into King Yan’s Manor. It would be reasonable if she had arranged all of this. It was said that Hu Qianyue had a high status in the Southern Barbarian Lands. In other words, she was equivalent to the status of the legitimate daughter of a Duke’s Manor.
Having such a status, she could be able to be the legal wife of a prince. However, she was going to be King Yan’s second consort inexplicably. She might be full of hatred and thus it was possible for her to hurt You Yue’e. At this banquet, You Yue’e was the one who had the worst accident. Not only did she have a miscarriage, but also a man ran out of her room in disheveled clothes.
There were rumors that Consort Yan was a woman of loose morals, and had a miscarriage because she was too s.l.u.tty when she met the man privately. It had only been a short while since the incident happened, but the rumors had already spread quietly. If this matter really had something to do with Hu Qianyue, Consort Yan would really be a victim.
As for why Hu Qianyue told Ling Mingyan that it was the Sixth Princess who did it, maybe she just wanted to distract others’ attention so that others would suspect the Sixth Princess. In this way, no one would doubt her. If the Sixth Princess really fought with Ling Mingyan, it would not be her fault if something happened.
This woman of the Southern Barbarian Lands was indeed cunning!
Some people even remembered that the Sixth Princess said that she did not order anyone to send medicine to Consort Yan, but both Hu Qianyue and her maidservant said that the medicine was from the Sixth Princess. Could it be that the Sixth Princess was also wronged? Was everything false as one thing was false? No one suspected Hu Qianyue before, but as they carefully thought of her now, they really felt that she was the most likely one.
First of all, she did not get along well with Consort Yan. If Consort Yan gave birth to a legitimate son this time, it would not be good for her, a second consort who had not married into King Yan’s Manor yet!
Secondly, Princess Caifeng said that the affairs of the banquet were arranged by Hu Qianyue, so she was the one who had the most chance to do something.
Furthermore, the Sixth Princess had been with Hu Qianyue before. She had claimed that she did not give the medicine to Consort Yan, but Hu Qianyue and her maidservant insisted that the Sixth Princess had done it. The Sixth Princess had a good relationship with Consort Yan and had a gentle and decent character. She was about to leave to marry into another country and was not at odds with Consort Yan. Why was she trying to harm Consort Yan?
With this in mind, many people began to nod.
The Empress raised her head and then looked down. As she saw Princess Caifeng standing beside King Ning, she asked, “Princess Caifeng, is Hu Qianyue here?”
Princess Caifeng came out and bowed respectfully. “Your Majesty, Hu Qianyue is not feeling well. She has already rested, so she didn’t come. She has not fully recovered and has been busy for the past few days as she took the initiative to arrange the banquet for me. As soon as she told me, I asked her to rest.”
“Hu Qianyue has taken the initiative to help you arrange the banquet?” The Empress raised her eyebrows in surprise, as if she did not know about it at all.
“Your Majesty, Hu Qianyue didn’t feel well and has been recuperating for a long time. When she moved out of King Xuan’s Manor, she was a little better. I thought that she should have a good rest as she was weak. It was she who said she was fine. She said that it was my first time to host a banquet in the Qin Kingdom and that she was afraid that I couldn’t do it well, so…”
Princess Caifeng hesitated for a while before replying.
Since things had developed to this point, the truth could be considered to have been revealed.
“Somebody, bring Hu Qianyue here.” The Empress cast a glance at the scene in the palace and her expression turned cold.
Upon hearing the Empress’s orders, several guards had already gone to Princess Caifeng’s manor.
“Ling Mingyan, even though you believe what Hu Qianyue said and thus misunderstood Sixth Princess, since you have disfigured Sixth Princess’s face, you have to make it up to her.”
The Empress, sitting high, looked at the silent Sixth Princess and uttered coldly.
They had put all the blame on Hu Qianyue. This was the result of the negotiation between various forces, and it had also given face to the royal family. No matter what the inside story was, they had finally found a scapegoat. Of course, they would not know that the scapegoat was not innocent at all. Originally, Hu Qianyue had set up a trap in it.
Because both the Sixth Princess and Hu Qianyue had set up a trap, the whole situation was in a mess. In the end, the two of them also suffered from their own evil deeds. One was injured and the other was dead. This was what they deserved.
But things still had to be solved. It was a fact that Ling Mingyan had hurt the Sixth Princess’s face.
“Yes, I admit my guilt and beg Your Majesty to punish me. I was easily swayed and listened to Hu Qianyue’s provocation. Sixth Princess, I’m sorry. What I said was nonsense. Sixth Princess, no matter how you punish me, I feel that I’m sorry to hurt you.” As the crime on the Sixth Princess had been cleared, Ling Mingyan was absolutely sincere to plead guilty at this time.
Then she turned to the Sixth Princess and heavily kowtowed a few times, as if she was willing to be punished by the Sixth Princess at will.
Next, it would depend on the att.i.tude of the Sixth Princess. If the Sixth Princess intended to punish Ling Mingyan, she could execute the latter directly on the charge of ruining her appearance.
The hall quieted down. d.u.c.h.ess Ding and Duke Ding looked up at the Sixth Princess with pleading eyes. Even though Ling Mingyan was in the wrong, she was their daughter who grew up in their doting eyes. They really could not bear to lose this daughter. Even though they had made an agreement beforehand, it did not seem that the Sixth Princess was going to spare Ling Mingyan.
The Sixth Princess sat there still. No one could see her expression clearly through the veil. It was as if she did not hear Ling Mingyan’s change of topic at all. She didn’t have the slightest emotional fluctuation. At this moment, Ling Mingyan was apologizing to her. Everyone looked at her, and even the Emperor turned to look at her. However, she did not react and just sat there coldly.
It was as if Ling Mingyan was not apologizing to her. Mo Xuetong did not pay attention to the Sixth Princess’s face that was covered. Her attention was focused on her hands. The Sixth Princess’s hands were placed on her knees. They had been there since Mo Xuetong came into the hall, as if they were placed there casually. However, just now, Mo Xuetong thought that her hands were clenched in her sleeves as her sleeves wrinkled and trembled slightly.
The Sixth Princess was not as calm as she appeared.
“Xuehe!” Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen broke the strange silence and turned to the Sixth Princess, uttering in a soft voice. She reached out to hold the Sixth Princess’s stiff body in her arms and said gently with tears in her eyes, “Xuehe, forgive Marquise Mingguo. She… she was also misled by someone else. It was not her fault, but you suffered!”
When it came to the sadness, the tears in Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s eyes could not be stopped and fell down one by one. Every loving mother would feel sorry to see her daughter was hurt like this. Although Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen had always been gentle in the palace, the Sixth Princess was her only daughter. As she spoke, she involuntarily patted her daughter’s back gently.
“Mom…” the Sixth Princess’s voice sounded a little hoa.r.s.e and rough, as if she had not spoken for a long time.
“Xuehe, don’t say anything. I know. I know what you want to say,” Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen interrupted the Sixth Princess. She lovingly patted her on the back again and comforted her softly. Everyone could only see the Sixth Princess trembling slightly. Then, she lowered her head and leaned into Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s embrace, as if she was shedding tears in a low voice.
A girl had fallen to such a state. Her face was ruined. Even if she was a princess of the royal family, so what!
“Your Majesty, please forgive Marquise Mingguo!” After comforting the Sixth Princess for a while, Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen released the Sixth Princess with tears in her eyes and knelt down in front of Emperor Zongwen again. She wiped her tears and pleaded softly, “Under the circ.u.mstances, Marquise Mingguo is also a victim. Even if we take her life for her crime, Xuehe’s face wouldn’t recover.”
Sitting on the throne, Emperor Zongwen looked at Consort Wen with sharp eyes like an eagle. After a long while, he asked in a deep voice, “Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen, she has scratched Xuehe’s face. Do you really not want to punish her?”
“Yes, I beg for mercy for Marquise Mingguo, Your Majesty!”
Hearing what she said, Duke Ding, d.u.c.h.ess Ding, Duke Ming, d.u.c.h.ess Ming, and You Yuecheng all knelt down to beg for the Emperor’s mercy.
Mo Xuetong moved closer to Feng Yuran and quietly watched what would happen next!
She was Consort Xuan and stood by the side with the other princes and their consorts. She did not plead or say anything. Since the Emperor did not say anything, his sons and daughters-in-law could not say anything. Furthermore, pleading for the sake of an official’s wife was not something they should do!
