Shen Zhi’s gaze fell upon those earrings. They were silver-thread moonlit pendants, which she had worn a few times.
However, when she had wanted to wear them two days ago, Shen Zhi and Suwen had searched through her vanity table thoroughly, but could not find them.
It was Nanny Zhao who had consoled them, suggesting they might have dropped somewhere in the courtyard and that they should look for them later.
She hadn’t even started looking, yet here they were appearing before her now.
There was a traitor in Lanxin Pavilion.
“Consort Shen, are these your earrings?” Lin Shiya looked at her and asked.
Shen Zhi did not make excuses for herself; she directly acknowledged them. “These are earrings I often wear, but they went missing from my jewelry box two days ago.”
“At that time, I even had the maidservants of Lanxin Pavilion search for them.”
“I do not know who gave them to this stranger; I am truly being wronged.” When Shen Zhi said this, she appeared incredibly distressed—the frustration of being falsely accused and having no one care to listen to her explanation, making it agonizing.
“Crown Princess, this concubine is innocent. I do not know this man at all; someone is trying to frame me.” As she spoke, she kowtowed to Lin Shiya, crying out.
“I implore the Crown Princess to investigate this matter thoroughly and return my innocence to me.”
This kowtow was hard and solid; it left Shen Zhi wincing in pain. For this performance, she was truly giving it her all.
How could Consort Liu let her escape this charge?
Standing to the side, Liu Yan sneered. “Consort Shen, the witnesses and physical evidence are already complete; you should stop struggling in vain.”
The look in Liu Yan’s eyes was filled with contempt and triumph.
A lowly orphan girl daring to steal her Pei Lang—she was truly tired of living.
At this moment, the man pointed at Shen Zhi and shouted, “Mother Shen, I have corresponded with you, and I have given you a token of love. Why are you denying it now?”
“Are you trying to trick me?” The man was dressed in plain clothes and looked like a coachman.
As soon as he spoke, Shen Zhi knelt straight, her sharp gaze fixing on him as she demanded, “You say that I corresponded with you and exchanged tokens of love. Then, where is this correspondence, and where is this token of love?”
“It is one thing for you to steal my earrings, but for you to slander me by claiming I was with you is truly despicable.”
“Besides, I have no idea who you are!” Shen Zhi put on a look of utter indignation.
“That letter was sent inside the storybooks you usually read!” the man shouted immediately. “And you accepted the begonia wooden hairpin I gave you!”
Hearing this, Liu Yan immediately interjected. She looked toward the Crown Princess with a rare display of respect.
“Crown Princess, why not search Lanxin Pavilion? If Consort Shen has been wronged, that would indeed be unfortunate.”
After hearing this, Lin Shiya looked at Shen Zhi, who was kneeling on the floor, and raised a hand. “Since that is the case, then conduct a search.”
“If nothing is found, I will naturally restore your innocence.”
Following Lin Shiya’s command, the maidservants entered and began to rummage through the room. They acted crudely, leaving the items in Lanxin Pavilion in a chaotic mess.
Suwen knelt to the side, her heart sinking.
We are finished.
Their opponent’s move was far too ruthless. If the charges against her mistress were truly substantiated, there would be only one path left: death.
Suwen could only keep praying that Nanny Zhao would be able to bring the Crown Prince quickly; the only person who could save her mistress now was the Crown Prince.
Nanny Zhao, who carried Suwen’s heavy hopes, had already arrived before Pei Lian. As soon as she saw him, she knelt down. “Your Highness, I beg you to save my mistress! She has been framed.”
Pei Lian looked at Nanny Zhao, understanding in his heart that this matter had already begun.
“What has happened?” Pei Lian feigned ignorance.
“Consort Liu went to the Crown Princess and said that Consort Shen has had an affair with another man. Now, the Crown Princess is there with a crowd and that man, interrogating Consort Shen in Lanxin Pavilion.”
“Your Highness, Consort Shen… she has been framed. She hasn’t even stepped out of Lanxin Pavilion this whole time.” Nanny Zhao felt a sharp pain in her heart. Shen Zhi, having no power, no influence, and no one to rely on, was now struggling just to survive simply because she had received the Crown Prince’s favor.
“There is such a thing? I shall go and take a look.” As Pei Lian spoke, Yuan Qing emerged from the study behind him, holding a box.
Inside Lanxin Pavilion, the room had been turned upside down. The storybooks Shen Zhi loved most had been torn to shreds by them, but they had found neither the so-called letter nor the begonia wooden hairpin.
Yanyu walked out and reported to Lin Shiya, “Returning to the Crown Princess, neither a letter nor a wooden hairpin was found in the room.”
Hearing this, Liu Yan’s eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
“That’s impossible! Did you search carefully?” the man shouted.
“You really didn’t find them?” Consort Liu interjected.
“Did you perhaps find them and hide them away?”
Hearing Liu Yan, Shen Zhi hurriedly spoke: “I have done nothing to betray the Crown Prince.”
“I am deeply devoted to him; how could I ever do anything to betray him?”
As she spoke, Shen Zhi stood up and declared loudly to everyone present: “Since the Crown Princess and Consort Liu do not believe me, this concubine has no choice but to use death to prove her innocence.”
With those words, she turned and charged directly toward the large tree in the courtyard. Her speed was swift, and just as she was about to slam into the tree, she was caught and pulled into someone’s embrace.
As she was held, Shen Zhi struggled. “Let me go! Let me die!”
“I have done nothing to betray the Crown Prince!” As Shen Zhi struggled, tears streamed from her eyes.
Hot tears splashed onto the back of Pei Lian’s hand, causing him to look at her several times.
Her fair face was covered in tears, her forehead was red and swollen, and she looked exceptionally aggrieved.
Pei Lian’s arrival brought the farce to a halt, and everyone bowed in unison.
“Greetings to the Crown Prince.”
Hearing the voice, Shen Zhi stopped struggling. She remained in Pei Lian’s arms, sobbing quietly.
Today, Shen Zhi wore a light yellow pomegranate skirt; her weeping looked as lovely as rain on a pear blossom, truly enough to make one’s heart ache.
“I am here; do not be afraid.” Pei Lian instinctively tried to soothe her.
After telling everyone to rise, Pei Lian swept his gaze around and asked, “What has happened?”
“Returning to the Crown Prince,” Lin Shiya, as Crown Princess, stepped forward to explain, “This man claims he intends to elope with Consort Shen and even produced her earrings as a token of love.”
“Not only that, he claims to have corresponded with her and exchanged tokens of affection.”
“To restore Consort Shen’s innocence, this concubine ordered a search of Lanxin Pavilion, but as of now, neither the letter nor the wooden hairpin has been found.”
After listening to the Crown Princess, Pei Lian remained silent, merely pulling Shen Zhi to a nearby chair to sit down.
At the same time, he took Shen Zhi’s handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
This gesture successfully made everyone present feel sour with envy.
Liu Yan felt her eyes going stiff with jealousy.
Why, even after hearing all this, does the Prince still treat Shen Zhi this way?