Chapter 97 I'll find another playmate for you

Seeing Yueli appear, the expression on Shen Zhaoyi's face instantly cracked.

Why is she here?

Your Majesty has known that she is here for a long time?

Shen Zhaoyi had just been bewildered by He Yanchen and had forgotten that after dealing with Xiao Mingyue's matter, He Yanchen did not send anyone to look for Yueli. This was unusual, unless he had already known where Yueli was and knew that she was not in danger.

Shen Zhaoyi's chaotic mind became a little clearer at this moment, but she still didn't understand what He Yanchen meant.

"Your Majesty..." Shen Zhaoyi moved her mouth and looked at the man on the couch pleadingly.

He Yanchen sat up straight, not looking at the woman kneeling at his feet, but stretched out his hand to Yue Li, with an indescribable doting tone in his voice: "Come to me."

Yue Li lowered her head and moved over listlessly. He Yanchen couldn't wait any longer, so he held her hand and brought her to sit next to him.

"I told you long ago that she's not a good person and that she only approached you for ulterior motives, but Jiaojiao refused to believe me. Now that you've heard it with your own ears, do you believe it?"

He Yanchen lifted her little face and saw a look of loss on her face, and a trace of unhappiness flashed through his heart.

Why would she be so unhappy just because she recognized a villain with ulterior motives? Did she really regard Shen Zhaoyi as a good sister?

Ever since the last Yueli poisoning incident, He Yanchen had sent secret guards to keep an eye on Shen Zhaoyi at all times, and all the things she did in the palace had been recorded in detail in the letter.

He had known what Shen Zhaoyi was going to do a long time ago, but He Yanchen admitted that today's incident was not only about exposing Shen Zhaoyi's character, but more importantly, he wanted Yueli to hear Shen Zhaoyi admit it with her own ears, so that she would completely give up on her.

Yue Li usually looks heartless, but He Yanchen knows that she is always soft-hearted towards the people she loves. Otherwise, since she listens to him so much, why would she hesitate when he told her several times to stay away from Chen Zhaoyi?

He Yanchen could tolerate her playing with the people in the harem when she was bored, but she could not be sincere to them.

Just use it as a pastime.

Who would fall in love with a toy?

The man held her hand, inserted his slender fingers between hers, and interlocked theirs: "I know Jiaojiao used to be good friends with her, but you can't have these hypocritical people around you."

"If you're bored, I'll find you another playmate when we get back to the palace."

However, these playmates must be selected by him personally, and they must understand the etiquette and rules, and be able to please her without having any other thoughts.

He Yanchen secretly wanted her to refuse. Isn't it enough for her to have him?

Yueli hugged his waist gloomily, burying her face in his arms: "It's not because she is unhappy, it's because I feel stupid that I can't see her simple thoughts..."

"It's not your fault. There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there are no thieves who can guard against thieves for a thousand days. Besides, people's hearts are hidden, so how can you know what others are thinking?"

"Then how did Your Majesty know?"

How did he know? He Yanchen thought about it and thought that maybe it was because Shen Zhaoyi's target was him. Every time she saw him, her eyes seemed to linger on him inadvertently.

Although He Yanchen had a bad reputation in the past, he was born with a good appearance. Whenever he attended various palace banquets, he saw too many admiring glances from the women from aristocratic families, so he was naturally familiar with them.

"I am older than you, so naturally I have experienced more and know more than you." He Yanchen patted her on the back.

Shen Zhaoyi knelt below in a daze, listening to He Yanchen comforting the woman in his arms. Her mood suddenly plummeted from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the cliff.

No matter how calculating she was, she could never have imagined that in the eyes of His Majesty, she was just a toy responsible for entertaining Yue Li. If this toy was disobedient, he could just replace her with another one.

This realization made her extremely embarrassed!

"Your Majesty, I am sincere to you and Concubine Yu. Even though my original intention to approach Concubine Yu was not right, but Concubine Yu is straightforward, and I am not without sincerity!"

When she spoke, He Yanchen felt the person in his arms stiffen, and his eyes instantly darkened.

Sincerity? Who cares about the sincerity of a toy?

"Sincerely?" The man scoffed. "Are you talking about the sincere intentions of Chen Zhaoyi, who bribed the eunuchs in the enclosure and used the frightened horse incident to make Concubine Yu feel guilty, or the sincere intentions of Chen Zhaoyi, who bribed the palace maid to deliberately splash water on Concubine Yu?"

Yue Li's eyes widened when she heard that. She raised her head from the man's arms and glared at Shen Zhaoyi angrily and shamefully.

It turns out that she directed and acted out all those things by herself, and she made herself foolish!

Yueli was so angry that she grabbed the vase beside her and smashed it on Shen Zhaoyi.

Shen Zhaoyi was startled and quickly dodged. The vase hit her knees and the flying broken pieces of porcelain scratched the back of her hand.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged! How dare I do such a thing?"

Unfortunately, no one listened to her cry for justice. The palace maid who almost bumped into Yueli by the lotus pond a few days ago had already been sent to the Criminal Court for interrogation by Tang Shunfu. She only received a little silver and did not get much benefit. After a few beatings, she confessed everything.

Although Huang was the mastermind behind the last moon pear poisoning incident, she had long been deposed, and Shen Zhaoyi was undoubtedly instrumental in smoothing things over for the palace ladies.

As time went by, nothing was found out about the frightened horse in the paddock last year, but Shen Zhaoyi had a criminal record, so He Yanchen didn't have to find evidence to convict her.

Yueli took two deep breaths and looked left and right to see if there were any more vases. She wanted to smash this bad guy to death!

He Yanchen held her hand and said, "Wait until I finish speaking before you smash it."

Shen Zhaoyi was also a girl from an aristocratic family. She had grown up in luxury and had never been hit by anything since she was a child. She was a little dazed and a little frightened.

"Chen Zhaoyi, if you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself." He Yanchen picked up the parchments on the table and threw them in front of her.

In the past, he didn't like to care about the affairs in the harem, so he turned a blind eye to what the concubines did. But if he really wanted to investigate, even if it took a long time, he would still be able to find some clues.

Shen Zhaoyi quickly scanned the words above and immediately collapsed to the ground.

She's finished.

Yueli stretched her neck to see what was written on it. She accidentally glanced at a few lines of words and suddenly felt a chill. The incidents of frightened horses, poisoning, and being scalded by water were all directed and acted out by her. Many things in the past were also dug up. She really didn't realize that she had done so many evil things.

"Ji Ming, pass on my decree. Zhaoyi Shen, who harmed the concubines, will be demoted to the position of Changyi from today and temporarily imprisoned. After returning to the capital, she will be confined to Yihua Palace and not allowed to leave without summons."

"Your Majesty...I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!" Shen Zhaoyi cried and begged. She hadn't even gained favor, hadn't even realized her ambitions, was she going to be imprisoned until death?

Thinking of that dark and hopeless life, Zhaoyi Shen could no longer care about anything else. She crawled to Yueli's feet and grabbed the hem of her skirt. "Sister Yu! I really didn't mean to use you. Last time during the spring hunt, I really wanted to help you, so I blocked that mad horse for you. In such an emergency, how could I have predicted that the mad horse would actually trample someone to death?"

Yueli kicked her away: "You are just using me. You pretend to be nice in front of me, but say bad things about me behind my back!"

She won't trust these people anymore.

--【Off Topic】--

Xiao He: Isn’t it enough for you to have me?

Jiaojiao: I’ve had enough!