With a beautiful woman massaging him, Emperor Mingyang's tired expression eased slightly, and he gestured to Deng Quan to offer seats to Yu Shuo and Qin Su.

Qin Su was wearing a dark red cloak and looked somewhat listless.

Emperor Mingyang, being an experienced man himself, saw through it at a glance. However, knowing proper etiquette, he did not linger his gaze on Qin Su for long.

"Do you have any extra hand warmers? Take one for Princess Consort Chen." Emperor Mingyang spoke to Tao Rong with a gentle expression.

"Your Majesty, I will send someone to fetch it."

The Prince of Minzhou, kneeling on the ground, was furious. Even though they were family, his daughter was gone, gone! Why was he still being so kind to that vile woman? That vile woman deserved to die!

And how dare she wear all red? How dare she?!

The Prince of Minzhou found Qin Su's red cloak too glaring; the color seemed to be her daughter's blood, dyed that color by her daughter's blood.

"Your Majesty," he couldn't help but call out, as if that would enhance his presence.

Emperor Mingyang felt his head start to ache again.

He said to Qin Su, "Princess Consort Chen, is it true that the Prince of Minzhou has accused you of murdering his daughter Bu Jiao?"

Emperor Mingyang believed he knew Qin Su somewhat; she was indeed not a noblewoman, nor did she possess the typical gentleness. But would she kill someone? She probably wouldn't dare, would she?

Moreover, the Prince of Minzhou is still a prince, and his daughter cannot be killed casually.

Qin Su remained remarkably calm. She countered, "Your Majesty, is there any evidence?"

Before Emperor Mingyang could speak, the Prince of Minzhou on the ground immediately pointed at Qin Su, "You still dare to deny it? The servants and maids who were with my daughter all said that you killed them!"

Qin Su took the hand warmer handed to her by the palace maid. The hand warmer was exquisite and very warm to hold. "The servant and maid are both from the Prince's mansion. How can they be used as evidence?"

The Prince of Minzhou was speechless. He hadn't expected Qin Su to still dare to deny it at this point. It was clearly her doing, yet she wouldn't admit it!

"Your Majesty, is what I said reasonable?" Qin Su turned to look at Emperor Mingyang.

Emperor Mingyang nodded slightly. "That's the gist of it. Does the Prince have any other evidence?"

What evidence could the Prince of Minzhou possibly produce?

"But Jiaojiao did go to the poetry gathering at Heshan Academy to find Princess Chen. Maybe the two of them had an argument, which is why this happened."

"That's just your assumption," Cheng An coldly retorted to the Prince of Minzhou. "Without concrete evidence, it's slander against the royal princess."

She disliked the Prince of Minzhou's family, and disliked Bu Jiao even more. That woman initially wanted to be Empress, but the Empress had already been chosen by her mother. Later, she wanted to be the Princess Consort of Chen, but Yu Shuo was a blockhead before meeting Qin Su, so how could he possibly be interested in Bu Jiao?

Both Bu Jiao and the Prince of Minzhou were extremely ambitious, but their abilities were insufficient to support such ambitions. As a result, they became both foolish and wicked.

"I am quite curious, how did your daughter end up arguing with me? I don't even know your daughter."

If it weren't for the post and the assassination attempt, she really wouldn't have noticed the Prince of Minzhou, let alone a girl who was subordinate to him.

The Prince of Minzhou couldn't very well say that his daughter wanted to become the Princess Consort of Chen. It was only then that he realized there were many loopholes in his words.

I should have listened to my advisors and not gone to the palace, but now there's no way out.

And he wants Qin Su dead! She absolutely must die!

Qin Su fiddled with the openwork hand warmer, her expression completely blank. "Speaking of which, my entourage that went to Heshan Academy today was attacked by assassins."

This statement immediately attracted the attention of many people. Yu Shuo knew about this matter and added, "Indeed, quite a few guards died."

"Is Yuanyuan alright?" Cheng An asked anxiously.

If she remembered correctly, Qin Su took Yuanyuan with her when she went out today. She originally wanted to go see Yuanyuan, but Butler Zhang said Yuanyuan wasn't there.

Emperor Mingyang was also concerned about this matter.

"Yuanyuan is fine."

After addressing the concerns of the group, Qin Su looked at the Prince of Minzhou and said again, "Speaking of which, the weapons used by these assassins all came from the royal family."

Emperor Mingyang frowned immediately upon hearing this.

This is clearly a setup!

And at this moment, she said, could this matter be related to the Prince of Minzhou?

That means this matter could be a big deal or a small deal.

"Since the Prince of Minzhou believes that I, the Princess Consort, killed your daughter, then I would like to know why I killed your daughter? Was it because she sent assassins to kill me? Did I kill her out of revenge?"

Qin Su asked the question calmly, but beneath that calmness was a sense of oppression that made the Prince of Minzhou unable to straighten his back.

Does he dare to admit it?

Of course he wouldn't dare.

This is no small matter.

Absolutely, absolutely, must not let anyone know.

Firstly, they attempted to assassinate the Princess Consort of Chen; secondly, they framed Emperor Mingyang. Either one of these actions was enough to send their entire household to the executioner's block.

"I suddenly remembered, the servant came back and said that Jiaojiao was killed by bandits."

Emperor Mingyang frowned again. Where did these bandits come from in the outskirts of the capital?

However, he wisely refrained from speaking further, only sensing that the assassination attempt was inextricably linked to the Prince of Minzhou.

If that's the case, then even if Bu Jiao dies at Qin Su's hands, it wouldn't be unjust.

But would she really dare to kill someone?

Emperor Mingyang remained skeptical.

"It was my mistake. I wronged Princess Consort Chen." He could only swallow his pride and admit it, but his eyes were filled with malice as he looked at Qin Su.

If he could, he would definitely send Qin Su to hell.

His legs ached from kneeling, and he said to Qin Su, "I will be hosting a banquet at my residence tomorrow. Would the Princess Consort of Chen do me the honor of attending?"

Emperor Mingyang: ? ?

Cheng An frowned, his tone strange, "You just lost your daughter and you're already holding a banquet?"

This statement perfectly captures what everyone is thinking.

Yu Shuo and Qin Su knew that this person was definitely up to no good and most likely planned to sabotage the banquet.

But with a brain like the Prince of Minzhou's, could he really come up with any useful solutions?

Emperor Mingyang was about to refuse when he realized this was clearly a trap.

Qin Su said, "Very well, this princess also wishes to meet Miss Bu. Let's go and see."

"Princess Consort Chen," Emperor Mingyang called out in a deep voice, his head starting to ache again.

"If Your Highness wishes to go, then go. I will accompany you." It was time for Yu Shuo to stand up for her.

The Prince of Minzhou had not yet gotten up. He was hunched over, looking not like a young man in his thirties, but rather over fifty.

It was truly a sorry and pitiful sight.

But if they hadn't set their sights on Qin Su, this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

However, where in the world are there so many "what ifs"?

The Prince of Minzhou was very worried that Yu Shuo would go, because if Yu Shuo went, many things would be difficult to implement.

Or rather, he could go, but not with Qin Su.