Sensing the clash of swords within the palace, Zhao Qingshu's eyes seemed to want to kill them instantly.

Zhao Qianlan grabbed Song Ruoan's hand hesitantly, her bewildered eyes looking at Song Ruoan with an almost pleading expression.

Her grip on Song Ruoan's wrist tightened, and she gently shook it twice, her voice barely audible: "Ruoan... what's going on? What exactly is going on?"

At this moment, Song Ruoan was in a state of utter confusion, her mind was blank, and she could not even hear Zhao Qianlan's voice.

After Prince Yu stepped forward and uttered those words, the hall fell completely silent.

Prince Yu remained kneeling in the same spot, his back ramrod straight, still appearing as if he were an indomitable man.

But the Empress Dowager remained silent, which made his throat dry and caused him to break out in a cold sweat, as if he were kneeling on the edge of a knife.

Consort Liang looked anxiously in the direction of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, feeling as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

The Empress Dowager remained silent for a long time. It was Emperor Guangqi who turned his head slightly, glanced at the Empress Dowager beside him, and after a while, slowly spoke: "Prince Yu, what exactly is going on?"

Prince Yu finally took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and then spoke in a low voice:

"Grandmother, please forgive me! Father, please forgive me! Your son was eager to please you and wanted to make you happy, so I was deceived by a villain and believed him..."

As Prince Yu spoke, his voice gradually became sorrowful.

He glanced in the direction of Prince Xiu beside him, his heart filled with boundless hatred, yet he still had to offer him a gentle, brotherly smile:

"Fortunately, my brother sent the same lacquer mother-of-pearl inlay technique in time, which brought the truth to light and prevented me from causing a great disaster... It's all my fault!"

The biggest winner today is Prince Xiu. Although he used all his cunning, he did not engage in any verbal disputes and there is nothing to criticize about him.

In particular, his tactic of feigning retreat to advance, claiming that his birthday gift was the same as that of Prince Yu and therefore inconvenient to present, not only demonstrated his virtuous character to the emperor but also attracted the attention of the entire audience, practically putting Prince Yu in a precarious position.

The final result made Prince Yu look like a fool, and he was about to be punished by the emperor!

At this moment, Prince Yu was in a difficult situation and could only grit his teeth, express his gratitude to Prince Xiu, and then take all the blame.

However, he spoke very cleverly; although he readily admitted to the crime, he also portrayed himself as a complete victim.

As expected, Prince Yu not only did not refuse, but also expressed his gratitude to Prince Xiu, thus upholding the dignity of the royal family.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's expressions softened somewhat, and the Empress Dowager then asked:

"Being deceived by treacherous people? Prince Yu, what's going on?"

Prince Yu gritted his teeth, lowered his head, suppressed the deep hatred in his eyes, and adopted a look of self-deprecation.

"Your grandson is incompetent, and the one who deceived him is none other than the powerful official He Yunce!"

Upon hearing Prince Yu's words, the entire hall was shocked. Song Ruoan's eyes narrowed sharply, and when she clenched her fists tightly, her palms were almost bleeding from her fingernails.

Song Xizhi remained seated quietly, while Liang Yongshu said with some surprise, "I didn't expect this matter to be related to Lord He...?"

Liang Yongshu's voice wasn't loud, but it was heard by the sharp-eared Empress Dowager. She frowned slightly and asked Liang Yongshu:

"What do you mean by that, Madam Xin? Is there something in the past that involves Lord He?"

Liang Yongshu pursed her lips, suddenly becoming hesitant, while Consort Li raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke before her:

"It's quite a coincidence. Just now, Princess Jingyue ruined the birthday gifts presented by Song Xizhi, and she blamed He Yunce for everything. Now, Prince Yu is also saying that it's related to this Lord He because of his poor performance?"

"Could it be that this Lord He has such extensive influence, or some extraordinary power, that he can make the princess and the prince obey him?"

Consort Li did not originally intend to speak up for He Yunce; she merely wanted to stir up trouble and prevent Consort Liang from benefiting.

Sure enough, when she mentioned this, the Empress Dowager's brows furrowed even deeper: "Jingyue ruined Lord Song's birthday gifts? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Jingyue gritted her teeth and glared angrily at Consort Li with a face full of displeasure. Consort Liang, feeling annoyed, was about to speak, but Consort Li immediately began to explain, pounding her chest and stamping her feet:

"It's such a pity... The birthday gift that Lord Song sent was a vase with calligraphy by Master Yuanhui, which was full of the Master's blessings for the Empress Dowager. However, when Princess Jingyue's people forcibly took the birthday gift from the Ministry of Rites, the vase was already destroyed and the calligraphy was no longer legible."

"However, Consort Liang, mindful of the auspicious time, suppressed the matter and had the officials from the Ministry of Rites escorted to a side room to await questioning. Who knew that such a thing would happen again at the birthday banquet with Prince Yu."

Consort Li's words, which shifted the focus and ignored the presence of Prince Ning, instantly changed the nature of the situation.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager were both greatly alarmed:

"Unauthorized detention of officials from the Ministry of Rites?"

"You've ruined Master Yuanhui's calligraphy?"

Consort Liang's heart leaped into her throat. She hurriedly pulled Princess Jingyue forward and knelt down beside Prince Yu with a thud.

"Your Majesty, that's not how it happened. Prince Ning was also present at the time. Please listen to my explanation..."

Princess Jingyue had never lost face in front of so many people before. She didn't say a word, she just sobbed.

Emperor Guangqi and Empress Dowager had always doted on her, and seeing Princess Jingyue's appearance, they couldn't bear to say anything more, and simply waved their hands.

"Someone, bring He Yunce to the side room. I want to question him thoroughly and get to the bottom of this."

He Yunze was still unaware of what had happened and was quietly waiting in the side room for the birthday banquet to end.

Outside, there was a lively atmosphere with music and singing, and lanterns and decorations everywhere. But on such a joyous day, he was detained alone in a side room. It would be a lie to say that He Yunze felt a little lonely.

However, thanks to the birthday gift from Prince Yu, He Yunze was still able to remain somewhat calm and composed.

As he sorted out the incident of the broken vase from the birthday gift, he sipped tea to suppress the slight unease in his heart.

He Yunze had figured it out: the incident of the birthday gift being broken was definitely not accidental, but rather deliberately done by someone to frame him.

If it weren't for his memories from his previous life, which allowed him to obtain a large lacquer mother-of-pearl inlay as a birthday gift for Prince Yu, leaving room for maneuver, things would have been different.

I'm afraid that just because of his poor performance and the damage to Master Yuanhui's calligraphy, he will be ruined by that villain and never be able to recover.

But who is the mastermind behind this?

Who on earth is so insidious and despicable as to resort to such underhanded tactics?!

No matter who it is, they won't let this person go after he gets out!