Chapter 276: Unless you do it yourself, don't do it.

Still, no one answered.

Xiaoya felt strange. When she turned around, she found that everyone had somehow appeared behind her, staring intently at her as if they could see right through her.

Bai Qiu chuckled softly: "How does Sister know that Her Majesty has lost face?"

Xiaoya choked, unable to find any words to refute, and could only stubbornly say, "I guessed it right away, you must have been jealous of the Empress's kingfisher feather headdress and stole it while the Empress was taking a nap!"

"But everyone saw that the hairpin was taken from your sleeve."

Bai Qiu gestured to a palace maid behind her to step forward and take out the handkerchief containing the objects again. She slowly lifted it in front of everyone, revealing two exquisite hairpins adorned with kingfisher feathers.

Realizing she had been tricked, Xiaoya's face flushed crimson, and her hand trembled as she pointed at Bai Qiu, stammering, "You...you..."

"Now, Sister Xiaoya has nothing to say, right?"

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me! You clearly stole the evidence and framed me!"

The truth has come to light, and there is ample evidence and witness testimony, yet Xiaoya still refuses to admit it. Several palace servants couldn't help but cover their faces and whisper among themselves: "If I were her, I would be utterly humiliated and would want to crawl into a hole as soon as possible."

"Her Majesty is most wary of this kind of thing. A couple of years ago, a little palace maid who was sweeping and cleaning was also severely beaten with twenty rattan canes and sent back to the inner palace because of this, wasn't she?"

I heard that not long after that, he threw himself into a well and committed suicide!

"Really? You think it's impossible..."

The two exchanged a glance, the rest of the words left unsaid, but they understood each other perfectly.

Unexpectedly, Xiaoya suddenly went berserk, rushing over in a few strides and wrestling with two palace servants, yelling, "You foul-mouthed hussy! Stop spouting nonsense! I'll tear your mouth off!"

"What are you doing! Xiaoya, don't push your luck! If you didn't do this, what are you feeling guilty about!"

"What does her suicide by jumping into the well have to do with me? I didn't do anything!"

"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. What despicable things you've done over the years, everyone has seen it but dares not say!"

The two sides immediately began arguing fiercely.

This step was unexpected by Bai Qiu, but who says that sometimes an accident can be a sign of something unexpected?

With a wave of her hand, the remaining palace servants immediately restrained Xiaoya, took her hairpins and escorted her to the main hall.

Chu Wan was surprised that it was Xiao Ya who was being escorted, and her brow twitched twice.

"Your Majesty, everyone has seen it."

Bai Qiu didn't say much, but simply handed the two kingfisher feather ornaments back to her with both hands.

Chu Wan gritted her teeth, ultimately considering their years of friendship, and dismissed everyone except Bai Qiu.

"I will give you a chance to explain."

Chu Wan looked down at Xiao Ya with what she thought was a look of pity.

Xiaoya's mind went blank; she just knelt there, stunned.

Seeing this, Bai Qiu quickly stepped forward and shook her arm: "Sister Xiaoya, Her Majesty is giving you a chance. If you don't have enough money, you can tell Her Majesty. Bai Qiu doesn't have the same master-servant relationship with Her Majesty as Sister Xiaoya, but as long as Sister Xiaoya is willing to admit her mistake, Her Majesty will definitely forgive you."

It must be said that Bai Qiu's words were extremely clever. To Chu Wan, they were naturally flattering words, but to Xiao Ya, they were full of sarcasm.

Xiaoya sneered and immediately slapped her hand away forcefully, the crisp sound of the slap echoing in the air: "I don't need your crocodile tears to pretend with me."