As Di Shengyue left Yunxian Palace, she immediately saw a clearly anxious Youtao.
“Royal Consort, you’ve finally come out.” Youtao hurried up to her, and taking Di Shengyue’s hand, started pulling her in the direction of the Imperial Garden.
“What happened to the Princess?”
Every time Youtao wore such a solemn expression, it meant Xiao Yinxue was in trouble.
As soon as Di Shengyue realized it concerned Xiao Yinxue, her heart clenched, and she quickened her pace.
Youtao could only guide Di Shengyue and jog to keep up with her.
“Just now, the Princess and the Fifth Princess met unexpectedly in the Imperial Garden. Before they could exchange more than a few words, somehow, the Fifth Princess fell into the water. I saw it clearly; the Princess didn’t touch the Fifth Princess at all; she slipped herself,” Youtao anxiously explained. “But everyone else thinks the Princess pushed her. Consort Wan is talking with some distinguished ladies in a pavilion not far away and must have already rushed over by now. I really had no choice but to sneak away to find the Royal Consort.”
Hearing this, a look of deep thought crossed Di Shengyue’s eyes.
In her past life, she only knew that Xiao Yinxue was arrogant and willful, causing a lot of trouble in the palace.
Although Xiao Yunfu was the daughter of the Honorable Lady Yu and did not have high status, she excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was very friendly. She was quite famous in the capital.
She vaguely remembered that in her past life, Xiao Yunfu later achieved great fame, becoming the capital’s foremost talented lady, and her status rose accordingly.
When she spoke of Xiao Yunfu in her previous life, she only felt that Xiao Yinxue was far inferior.
Now, this incident of falling into the water made her re-examine this princess.
Di Shengyue immediately instructed Youtao: “Youtao, go and invite the Empress here right away.”
Currently, she was openly associated with the Third Prince, so the Empress would help no matter what, especially since the Empress and Consort Wan were already on bad terms.
“Yes.” Youtao nodded and quickly departed.
When Di Shengyue arrived, Consort Wan and several distinguished ladies were present.
Consort Wan was elegantly dressed, radiating an indescribable dignity. Her serious gaze was fixed on the two of them.
Xiao Yunfu had already been rescued by a guard. She was completely soaked and wrapped in a cloak.
Her bun was entirely undone, her dark hair was plastered to her face, her fair cheeks were flushed red from the cold, and her eyes were slightly red. She was shivering uncontrollably, presenting a pitiful sight.
Xiao Yinxue stood to the side, pursing her lips without saying a word, with no discernible emotion on her face.
“Reporting to Consort Niangniang, it has… nothing to do with the First Imperial Sister. I accidentally slipped on my own,” Xiao Yunfu said to Consort Wan, glancing at Xiao Yinxue with obvious fear in her eyes, keeping her head lowered.
She reached out and wiped a wound on her forehead, clearly showing several small scratches on the web between her thumb and index finger.
Di Shengyue watched, taking a deep look at Xiao Yunfu.
Xiao Yunfu’s appearance completely suggested she had been bullied by Xiao Yinxue.
The impression of Xiao Yinxue’s arrogance was too deeply ingrained. If it had been her in the past life, she likely would have also believed that Xiao Yinxue had bullied Xiao Yunfu.
Di Shengyue walked over to Xiao Yinxue, took her small hand, and felt the faint trembling coming from her body, which made her feel a pang of sympathy.
“Since that is the case, Yunfu, you must be more careful in the future,” Consort Wan said, appearing to be trying to smooth things over.
Di Shengyue’s eyes darkened slightly. Consort Wan’s words seemed to protect Xiao Yinxue, making Xiao Yunfu suffer injustice for no reason, but in reality, they placed all the blame on Xiao Yinxue without asking for the truth.
This statement directly silenced Xiao Yinxue. If Xiao Yinxue were to say now that she didn’t push her, it would only make people feel that Xiao Yinxue was being unreasonable.
Honorable Lady Yu was Consort Wan’s subordinate, so naturally, Consort Wan would side with Xiao Yunfu in every way.
It wouldn’t take long for rumors to spread in the palace that Xiao Yinxue had pushed Xiao Yunfu into the water.
No wonder Xiao Yinxue’s reputation was so poor in her previous life.
The thought of Xiao Yinxue’s difficult survival in this deep palace made Di Shengyue’s heart ache intensely.
She gripped Xiao Yinxue’s palm even tighter and reassuringly patted Xiao Yinxue’s back, whispering to her in a very low voice: “Princess, I’m here.”
Xiao Yinxue looked up at Di Shengyue’s deep eyes and felt a warmth spread through her heart.
Her furrowed brows slightly relaxed, revealing a very faint smile.
It seemed that as long as Di Shengyue was by her side, any difficulty could be overcome.
“Mhm,” Xiao Yinxue lightly responded.
Di Shengyue glanced sideways at a soaked guard, who was likely the one who had rescued Xiao Yunfu the fastest.
The guard was holding a tray containing the retrieved jewelry that Xiao Yunfu had lost. Di Shengyue’s gaze paused on a pearl bracelet, and she instantly had a plan.
As the guard walked past Xiao Yinxue, he suddenly felt a strike to his knee. Losing his footing, the items on the tray scattered all over Xiao Yinxue.
Seeing this, Di Shengyue immediately embraced Xiao Yinxue tightly, completely shielding her.
The hard jewelry crashed against her body, and a sharp hairpin even scratched a shallow cut on her cheek.
Di Shengyue paid no mind; the small injury felt like a light scratch.
With a slight flick of her sleeve, she secretly hid a certain item within it.
The guard, seeing this, immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Di Shengyue released Xiao Yinxue, wiped a trace of blood from her cheek, and with a cold face, walked up to the guard and sternly asked: “How dare you! Who instructed you! To intentionally try to ruin the Eldest Princess’s appearance.”
The guard knelt on the ground, trembling: “This servant… this servant would not dare.” The development of the situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
“I ask Consort Niangniang to preside over this matter,” Di Shengyue said, bowing to Consort Wan. “We must find the mastermind behind this. First, the Fifth Princess inexplicably fell into the water, and then the Eldest Princess was almost disfigured. Incident after incident, all targeting the princesses of the Xiao Kingdom, it truly makes one worry.”
Di Shengyue’s tone was sincere, and she gave a deep look at the two princesses.
Consort Wan narrowed her eyes, her dark gaze fixed on Di Shengyue.
She hadn’t expected this Di Shengyue to be so clever, able to turn the tables with just a few sentences.
She had instantly reversed the situation.
She turned the tragedy of Xiao Yinxue harming her sibling into an incident where both princesses were harmed, shifting Xiao Yinxue from the position of a persecutor to a victim.
The surrounding palace servants looked at Xiao Yinxue with a hint of sympathy. If this were true, the Eldest Princess was truly miserable. Not only was she secretly harmed, but she also had to unjustly bear the slander of harming her sibling.
Consort Wan secretly resented it. Such talent, what a pity she could not be used by her.
“It is not suitable for the Fifth Princess to stay in the cold wind for too long. I will send her back to the palace first and call for an imperial physician. Afterward, I will personally investigate this matter thoroughly,” Consort Wan said.
Regarding the so-called thorough investigation afterward, whatever the result would be, it was Consort Wan who would decide.
Di Shengyue was just about to speak.
The sharp voice of a eunuch rang out: “The Empress Niangniang has arrived.”
Accompanying the eunuch’s announcement, the Empress slowly walked towards the group.