The path from Qingyin Pavilion to the side hall wasn’t long, but Su Yaoyao walked slowly.
She even took a slightly longer route, deliberately passing a cluster of fully bloomed night-blooming jasmine and pinning a few flowers to her robe.
By the time she reached the side hall, a crowd had already gathered.
The commotion from before had drawn the young nobles and ladies, all craning their necks to peer at the intricately carved wooden door, curiosity and schadenfreude written across their faces.
“I heard it’s the Second Prince and that Su family’s illegitimate daughter…”
“Really? Weren’t they fine at the banquet just now?”
“Absolutely! A palace servant bringing the sobering soup discovered them. The door was closed, and it took ages to open…”
“My goodness, this is too…”
Whispers surged like a tide.
The Empress stood at the front, her face composed, flanked by a few trusted senior maids.
Beside her, the Marquis of Yongning—Su Yaoyao’s supposed father—looked pale and sweaty, clearly having rushed upon hearing the news.
Nearby, Consort Chen also arrived.
The Second Prince’s mother now wore a frosty expression, her crimson-painted nails digging into her palm. Her eyes were daggers fixed on the door.
Finally, the door opened.
Two senior maids helped a disheveled young woman stumble out.
It was Su Yun’er.
Her pink palace gown was torn and tattered. She wrapped a hastily thrown outer robe over herself, but it couldn’t hide the intimate red marks on her neck.
Her hair was messy, the ornamental pins crooked, tears streaked her face, and her eyes were glazed and lost.
The moment she stepped out, her legs gave way, and she collapsed, trembling.
The crowd gasped.
Several old-fashioned ladies looked away in disgust. “So indecent!”
“Sister…” Su Yun’er lifted her head, her gaze locking on Su Yaoyao from the crowd, voice hoarse and tragic:
“Sister, why did you do this to me?!”
The outcry drew all eyes to Su Yaoyao.
“What is my sister saying?”
Su Yaoyao stepped forward slowly, eyes filled with innocent confusion. “I was with the Empress in Qingyin Pavilion all this time. How could I have harmed you?”
Her voice was soft and calm, yet carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
The Empress spoke just in time: “Indeed, Yaoyao was with me the entire time.”
This effectively gave Su Yaoyao an alibi.
“Your Majesty!” Su Yun’er suddenly flung herself at the Empress’s feet, crying, “I am innocent! I—someone set me up! That incense… that incense was tampered with!”
She pointed wildly at the incense burner.
The crowd’s attention shifted.
The Empress frowned. “Incense? What incense?”
“Love-inducing incense! Warm Affection Incense!” Su Yun’er spoke rapidly, clinging to the explanation.
“I only accompanied His Highness to look for my sister… but the moment I entered, I smelled it, and then… I lost my senses…”
She cried harder. “Someone wanted to harm me and His Highness! I beg Your Majesty for justice!”
The crowd’s expressions shifted.
If she had truly been drugged, the Second Prince and Su Yun’er would be victims, and it could be excused.
But who in their right mind would use such a base trick on a prince and a noble lady at a palace banquet?
The Empress scanned the hall and finally fixed her gaze on Su Yaoyao.
“Yaoyao,” she asked, voice emotionless, “when you changed earlier, did you notice anything unusual?”
All eyes immediately turned to Su Yaoyao.
She wore the water-green palace gown, her skin like jade. The beaded hair ornament swayed gently in the candlelight, casting a soft glow.
Compared to the disheveled pair in the hall, she seemed pristine, a lotus untouched by mud.
Su Yaoyao approached the Empress and knelt in greeting.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, yet clearly for all to hear, “I did change clothes here. But…”
She paused, lifting her eyes, curiosity subtly flickering:
“When I left, this incense burner had already gone out. How is it… burning again now?”
Her words fell, and the hall fell silent.
Su Yun’er’s crying halted abruptly.
She lifted her head, staring at Su Yaoyao in disbelief.
Extinguished?
Impossible!
She had… she had personally lit it!
“You lie!” Su Yun’er screamed uncontrollably.
“This incense was burning the whole time! It was you! You set me up!”
“Sister,” Su Yaoyao turned to her, eyes innocent and puzzled. “Why would I harm you? Moreover…”
She looked at the ill-fitting outer robe Su Yun’er was wearing, voice soft:
“You said you worried about me and accompanied His Highness to find me. So why… are you wearing my undergarment that was left on the floor?”
The crowd noticed for the first time—beneath Su Yun’er’s robe, a hint of pale lilac could be seen.
The same piece that had fallen to the ground earlier.
Su Yun’er’s face went pale.
She scrambled to cover herself, but the more she panicked, the more conspicuous the lilac undergarment became.
“I… I found it…” she stammered incoherently. “I…”
“Then why, if it is mine, are you wearing it?” Su Yaoyao tilted her head, voice laced with innocent confusion.
“And… you said you were drugged the moment you entered. How could you have the leisure to pick up my garment and wear it so neatly?”
The question was sharp and revealing.
Indeed, if she had truly been drugged, she wouldn’t have been thinking about wearing someone else’s clothes.
Su Yun’er opened her mouth, but no words came.
She could hardly admit she had deliberately lured the Second Prince to ‘catch’ Su Yaoyao, only to be outsmarted.
The Empress’s gaze turned icy.
She was no fool.
Su Yun’er’s petty scheming was transparent.
Her face turned pale, and before she could speak, a commotion interrupted.
The Second Prince, Xiao Qiming, was helped out by two guards.
His brocade robe was wrinkled, collar open, cheeks still flushed, eyes slightly dazed.
Seeing the crowd outside, he froze briefly, then erupted in anger:
“What are you staring at?! All of you, get out!”
Consort Chen hurried forward and slapped him across the face.
“Brat! Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?!”
Xiao Qiming was stunned, covering his face, glancing dazedly at everyone.
When his eyes fell on the collapsed, disheveled Su Yun’er, a flicker of disgust passed over him.
Then, seeing Su Yaoyao standing nearby, graceful and clear-eyed…
His gaze shifted abruptly.
It was as if something had pierced him sharply.
Memories surged like a tidal wave—