“Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress.” Everyone bowed.
The Empress waved her hand, allowing everyone to rise.
Her gaze swept over Noble Consort Wan and the others, and she spoke, “Dear sisters, what is going on here?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty the Empress.” Noble Lady Yu stepped forward and was the first to speak, “Ever since Consort Li entered the palace, things have been quite unsettling in the palace lately. Just now, first the Fifth Princess fell into the water, and then the Eldest Princess was almost disfigured. Event after event, these are all inauspicious signs. Should we consult the Directorate of Astronomy?”
Noble Lady Yu’s mind moved quickly. Seeing that her plan to frame Xiao Yunfu and Xiao Yinxue had failed, she immediately shifted the blame to Consort Li.
Consort Li had only entered the palace a few days ago but had already secured the Emperor’s exclusive favor. The concubines in the various palaces had long been displeased with her.
In the past few days, the Emperor had refused to even grant an audience to the Empress. The Empress herself must also harbor considerable dissatisfaction toward Consort Li.
Noble Lady Yu’s action was meant to offer the Empress an opportunity to eliminate Consort Li.
Upon hearing this, Di Shengyue took a deep look at Noble Lady Yu.
This Noble Lady Yu was overly clever. No wonder she was able to climb to the position of Noble Lady step by step without the support of a maternal family, and even raise a daughter like Xiao Yunfu.
“Noble Lady Yu, please watch your words. So-called talk of ghosts and gods is nothing more than people playing tricks.” Di Shengyue, without anyone noticing, had already walked to the spot where Xiao Yunfu had just fallen into the water. She stepped on the hard ground beneath her feet and frowned, saying, “As far as I know, this ‘Lotus-Watching Pond’ was recently renovated. The surrounding soil was raised by several feet, and it is now the height of autumn when the weather is dry. How could it be so slippery? First, the Fifth Princess fell into the water, and just now, the guard passing by also seemed to slip.”
As Di Shengyue spoke, she looked toward the guard beside her.
Seeing Di Shengyue give him an opening, the guard immediately replied, “Yes, yes, I also slipped just now and nearly fell.”
“Your meaning is that someone deliberately placed something slippery by the pond to harm those in the palace?” The Empress’s eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at Di Shengyue.
“That is precisely my intention,” Di Shengyue said. “So, I ask Your Majesty the Empress to first thoroughly inspect this area before making any further plans. Otherwise, today it is the Fifth Princess who accidentally falls into the water; tomorrow, it might be one of the empresses or consorts.”
“How dare you! Are you cursing Her Majesty the Empress?” Noble Consort Wan sharply questioned.
“Noble Sister Wan, why are you so agitated?” The Empress glanced at Noble Consort Wan and said calmly, “This Empress actually finds the Royal Consort’s words quite reasonable. Since that is the case, Eunuch Ma, please carefully examine the spot where the Fifth Princess fell into the water.”
Eunuch Ma quickly walked to the place Di Shengyue had just examined and thoroughly searched it.
Before long, he found several pearls in the crevices of the mud.
Eunuch Ma carefully examined the pearls and said, “Your Majesty the Empress, this old servant found quite a few pearls. These pearls look like they are from the Kingdom of Zhen.”
“Bring them for this Empress to see.” The Empress reached out her hand.
Eunuch Ma handed the pearls to the Empress.
The Empress looked at them and said, “They are indeed pearls from the Kingdom of Zhen. I recall gifting a strand to each of the princesses some time ago. These beads were sewn on using a specific technique by the palace embroiderers. Without a special method, they would certainly not break so easily. It appears someone intentionally snapped the thread.”
Saying this, the Empress looked at Noble Consort Wan and asked, “Noble Sister Wan, what do you think?”
“Does Your Majesty mean that someone tried to harm the Fifth Princess?” Noble Consort Wan kicked the question back to the Empress, her gaze, however, fixed on Xiao Yinxue.
“Noble Consort, if this is the case, the matter becomes much simpler,” Di Shengyue stepped in front of Xiao Yinxue and said to Noble Consort Wan, “As long as we find out which princess is missing her bracelet, we will know which princess did it.”
As Di Shengyue spoke, she lifted Xiao Yinxue’s right hand; she was wearing the pearl bracelet on her wrist.
“I wonder where the Fifth Princess’s pearl bracelet is?” Di Shengyue looked at Xiao Yunfu.
Xiao Yunfu was startled and touched her wrist, only then remembering that the bracelet seemed to have gone missing when she fell into the water.
She then said, “Perhaps it accidentally fell off when I fell into the water.”
A sharp glint appeared in Di Shengyue’s eyes. She suddenly grabbed Xiao Yunfu’s wrist, raised it high, and said coldly, “Then, please explain, Fifth Princess, where did the wounds on your hand come from!”
When Di Shengyue revealed it, everyone noticed that Xiao Yunfu had many tiny cuts on her hand, looking as if they had been sliced by a thin thread.
“I bumped it in the water just now,” Xiao Yunfu said.
“Bumped it?” Di Shengyue sneered, “Fifth Princess, please don’t jest. These wounds on your hand were clearly left by forcibly snapping the thread of the pearl bracelet.”
“What nonsense are you talking about!” Xiao Yunfu was instantly enraged by Di Shengyue’s baseless accusation. “What good would it do me to snap my bracelet and cause myself to fall into the water?”
“Good?” Di Shengyue looked at Xiao Yinxue, who was not far away, a hint of mockery hanging on her lips.
Without Di Shengyue needing to say the rest, those around understood.
Their expressions toward Xiao Yunfu immediately changed somewhat.
Xiao Yunfu instantly grew anxious and hurriedly said, “If this princess wanted to harm the Eldest Imperial Sister, I wouldn’t need to snap my bracelet. All I would have to do is jump into the ‘Lotus-Watching Pond’ myself while I was with Imperial Sister.”
“Because you are too greedy. You not only wanted to use this incident to ruin the Eldest Princess’s reputation, but you also wanted to disfigure her,” Di Shengyue stated harshly. “Stepping over everything the Eldest Princess has to climb higher, Fifth Princess, you are truly capable.”
“You are making false accusations!” Xiao Yunfu still wanted to say something, but Di Shengyue cut her off.
Di Shengyue looked at the guard kneeling on the ground and said calmly, “Also, I have been thinking about one thing. Is this guard supposed to be guarding the ‘Lotus-Watching Pond’? Since the Empresses and Consorts do not involve themselves with the court, they may not know. Although the palace guards’ uniforms are the same, there are subtle differences, which indicate that each guard is responsible for a different area. I happened to briefly glance just now. Did this guard’s cuff seem to be embroidered with the words ‘Yuhua Palace’?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunfu froze instantly.
This guard was indeed from Yuhua Palace. Because the scenario she was staging today was a self-inflicted wound, she had found a trusted guard to watch the ‘Lotus-Watching Pond’ to prevent herself from being in the water too long without rescue.
She hadn’t expected this to become her biggest mistake!
“Someone, turn over the guard’s cuff and see,” the Empress ordered, a sharp gleam in her eyes.
Xiao Yunfu was completely stunned.
If it were proven that this was a guard from ‘Yuhua Palace,’ Xiao Yunfu’s reputation would be completely ruined.
Premeditated framing of the Eldest Princess, and attempting to harm the Eldest Princess—each charge was enough to destroy her.
She was so accustomed to using Xiao Yinxue to build a good reputation that she never expected Xiao Yinxue’s counterattack this time to be so fierce, so much so that she was utterly incapable of fighting back.
“Your Majesty the Empress, it is this concubine’s fault. It was this concubine who instructed the Fifth Princess to do this,” Noble Lady Yu immediately knelt before the Empress, taking all the blame. She said, “It was this concubine who deceived the Fifth Princess, saying I wanted a pearl for an earring, which is why I made the Princess snap the bracelet. It was this concubine who scattered the pearls by the pond, hoping to find an opportunity to lure Consort Li and cause her to fall into the water. Consort Li has been bewitching the Emperor, causing him to even skip morning court. This concubine truly could not tolerate it and resorted to this desperate measure. I never expected it to accidentally harm the Eldest Princess and the Fifth Princess. I beg Your Majesty the Empress for leniency.”
Di Shengyue had to admire Noble Lady Yu’s quick thinking. In just a few words, she not only resolved Xiao Yunfu’s immediate problem but also spun the entire incident as an act for the Emperor’s well-being.
Even if the Empress wanted to punish her, it could only be a light penalty.
The Empress took a long look at Noble Lady Yu and said, “Noble Lady Yu, for improper conduct and stirring up jealousy in the inner palace, you are fined half a year’s salary and are to remain in ‘Yuhua Palace’ for self-reflection for three months.”
“This concubine thanks Your Majesty the Empress,” Noble Lady Yu bowed, then left with her people.
With the matter resolved, everyone left with the Empress.
Before leaving, the Empress looked at Di Shengyue, leaving a meaningful look behind.
“Hiss,” a hand fiercely squeezed the wound on her hand. The sudden pain caused Di Shengyue to frown.
“Is playing the hero fun?” Di Shengyue turned her head to meet Xiao Yinxue’s angry eyes. “You are this Princess’s person. Who gave you permission to hurt yourself without this Princess’s consent!”
Within the fire of that anger, there was more distress and care.