Yun Qingqing arrived at the Imperial Palace and was immediately led by a eunuch waiting at the palace gates to the Imperial Study.
She was somewhat puzzled. Wasn’t it the Empress who had summoned her? Why was she being taken to the Imperial Study?
As soon as she entered, she saw both the Emperor and Empress present. Xiao Changheng leaned elegantly against the back of his wheelchair, lazily sipping tea.
Xiao Zirui and Su Yurou were also there. When they saw her appear, their expressions revealed hidden meanings.
Yun Qingqing raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and paid her respects to the Emperor and Empress.
She then cheerfully greeted Xiao Changheng with a smile:
“Your Highness is here too! You’re looking quite well today!”
Having just used the Spiritual Jade Thumb Ring to collect a warehouse full of treasures, she was in high spirits and found the Regent King particularly pleasing to the eye at the moment.
“Qingqing, come sit here.” Xiao Changheng’s lips curved slightly, his usually stern face unusually gentle.
Only then did Yun Qingqing notice the empty seat beside him, clearly reserved for her. She smiled and walked over confidently, taking her seat.
Xiao Zirui watched her every move. Gone was her former timidity; instead, she was now decisive and unrestrained.
His brows furrowed into a knot.
Ever since this woman tore up the marriage contract, she had been acting strangely everywhere, clearly putting on a show for him! She was indeed cunning and scheming. He would just wait and see how long she could keep up this act!
“Huh? Auntie, why are you wearing a veiled hat into the palace? Even when meeting the Emperor and Empress, you haven’t taken it off. This…” Su Yurou trailed off, lowering her voice.
Clearly implying disrespect toward the Emperor and Empress while also reminding everyone how unsightly her face was.
Everyone thought Yun Qingqing would surely be embarrassed now.
But then they heard Yun Qingqing reply nonchalantly:
“My face swelled up terribly this morning, even more frightening than usual. If I take off the veiled hat and startle the Emperor and Empress, will you take responsibility?”
Su Yurou widened her eyes, speechless.
No, how could she not feel hurt, angry, or upset at all… Wait, she must be pretending not to care on purpose to avoid further humiliation!
Having figured this out, Su Yurou secretly clenched her fist. There would surely come a time when Yun Qingqing would lose face!
“Ahem, alright, let’s get down to business first.” The Emperor wearily rubbed his temple, just wanting to finish the matter quickly and go back to rest.
Yun Qingqing noticed Su Yurou glancing at her with a hint of smugness.
But before the conversation could continue, Yun Bai Lian arrived.
She was panting, her face flushed red, clearly having rushed over in a hurry. As soon as she walked in, she fell to her knees with a thud.
“I beg Your Majesties to uphold justice for Bai Lian!”
The Emperor was startled and frowned:
“What’s wrong with you? Explain clearly.”
Yun Bai Lian spoke with both anger and grievance:
“Today, my father had finished inventorying the assets and was preparing to have them moved back to return to Yun Qingqing. But she suddenly appeared, refusing to let anyone move anything and even drove everyone out of the warehouse.”
“After she left, when we went back to check the warehouse, the entire warehouse was completely emptied!”
“Yun Qingqing clearly did this on purpose to extort and swallow those items, planning to demand compensation when we couldn’t produce them! My father was so furious he fainted!”
“The laborers and the palace maid who delivered the message were all present and can testify. I beg Your Majesties to uphold justice for me!”
“What!”
Before the Emperor could speak, the Empress lost her composure first.
She had publicly promised to back Yun Zhiping’s family, stating that if they couldn’t repay what they owed Yun Qingqing, she would cover the shortfall herself.
But covering for someone is one thing; being schemed against to have something taken from you is entirely another!
“Lü’e, is what she said true?” the Empress asked sternly, addressing the palace maid who had returned with Yun Bai Lian.
The maid nodded:
“It is indeed true. The eldest Miss Yun entered the warehouse alone, and after she left, all the items inside were gone.”
“Yun Qingqing, I need an explanation from you.” The Empress’s expression darkened completely.
Yun Qingqing smiled calmly:
“What is there to explain? Yun Bai Lian herself said that those things were originally meant to be returned to me, so I simply moved them away. Is there any problem with that?”
The Empress: “…”
That does seem reasonable…
Yun Bai Lian gritted her teeth and said:
“That’s not right! If you really thought that way, why did you have to drive everyone out before moving them? And why did you rush off on horseback before we could even notice? Clearly, you were trying to extort money from us!”
“Yun Bai Lian, one must speak with evidence,” Yun Qingqing said leisurely. “You say I extorted you, but did I force you to hand over the things in the warehouse, or did I refuse to admit that I moved them?”
“…”
Yun Bai Lian choked for a moment, then said bitterly:
“If I hadn’t seen through your scheme and if the Empress’s maid hadn’t been there as a witness, you would never have admitted it!”
“If you hadn’t planned this in advance and set up the whole scheme, how could an entire warehouse full of items disappear without a trace in less than fifty counts after you entered?”
This was what infuriated Yun Bai Lian the most. Despite all her calculations, she had ended up being outsmarted by Yun Qingqing, losing such a large amount of wealth in less than fifty counts!
That was the dowry her father had promised to give her, most of which was supposed to be hers!
Since things had come to this, no one would get off easy!
Her first reason for bringing this complaint to the Empress was to counter Yun Qingqing’s tricks and prevent her from turning the tables and forcing her family to hand over more wealth. The second was to let the Empress know that Yun Qingqing had dared to scheme against her!
As long as the Empress remembered this, even if she didn’t hold Yun Qingqing accountable immediately, she would eventually deal with that ugly wretch!
However, Yun Qingqing burst into laughter:
“An entire warehouse full of wealth? You really know how to exaggerate.”
She took out an account book and handed it to the Empress, saying:
“With such trivial things, why would I bother scheming? I simply called two laborers from outside the back door, and they easily carried away three small boxes.”
The Empress looked at the account book and gave Yun Bai Lian a complicated glance:
“Is this what you meant by the wealth in the warehouse?”
“This…” Yun Bai Lian stared at the account book, speechless.
How could she have forgotten about this? The fake accounts she had created specifically to embezzle the wealth had ended up being used by Yun Qingqing to turn the tables on her!
“Elder Sister Bai Lian, this is really not right of you,” Su Yurou, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “To make such a fuss over such a small amount of money and even bring it to the Empress’s attention—if word gets out, people will think the Crown Princess is petty and stingy. Wouldn’t that embarrass the Crown Prince as well?”
“Shut up! Who gave you the right to speak here?” Yun Bai Lian nearly lunged forward to tear Su Yurou’s mouth apart.
Su Yurou looked terrified:
“Sister is the principal wife; as a concubine, I shouldn’t speak out of turn. It’s just that this concerns the Crown Prince’s reputation, so I couldn’t help but offer a reminder. I truly didn’t mean to anger you, Sister.”
“After all, if my sister were to gain a poor reputation before even entering the household, wouldn’t that give others grounds to criticize the Crown Prince…”
“You!” Yun Bai Lian flushed crimson with rage, her temper flaring as she snapped, “You clearly resent me for taking your position as the principal consort and are deliberately seeking revenge! Let me tell you, the Crown Prince has said…”
“Enough! Stop arguing!” Xiao Zirui, seeing the situation on the verge of spiraling out of control, sharply cut her off.
Although Yun Qingqing wore a veiled hat that concealed her face, he could distinctly sense the amused gaze beneath the white gauze.
He absolutely must not let this woman watch the spectacle!
Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and addressed the Emperor:
“It seems, then, that the matter of the warehouse was merely a misunderstanding. There is no need for Your Majesty and Her Majesty to trouble themselves over it. Let us return to the main issue at hand.”
The Emperor, already weary from the commotion, promptly shifted the topic and turned to Xiao Changheng and Yun Qingqing:
“We have summoned you here today to discuss a certain matter.”