Chapter 184 A Premeditated Frame-Up

The Empress was so angry her face turned pale. Was she scolding her for being illiterate? She had already tried her best to learn.

What's the use of learning these ancient poems? Anyway, the emperor just likes her innocence and naivety, and she and the emperor are truly in love.

She pleaded with the Emperor, "As the Empress, I manage the harem and fear that the concubines might do something immoral. I'm just taking precautions. I don't quite understand what Consort Xian wrote about her thoughts and reflections. But I think Consort Xian's handwriting is exactly the same as the one on the handkerchief..."

"Has the nanny who went to collect the samples returned yet?" The Emperor asked impatiently.

When the nanny returned, she exchanged a glance with the Empress and handed a stack of manuscripts to the Emperor. After the Emperor flipped through them, his eyes lit up. They were not love poems, but the Four Books and Five Classics, and the handwriting was the same as the Empress's.

He asked Jiang Fenghua, "Did you write these words?"

Jiang Fenghua replied, "Yes."

The Empress glanced at it too. It was written quite beautifully, but the Emperor's eyes were practically popping out of the book. What was so interesting about it? She interjected, "Your Majesty, since Consort Xian can also write like this, doesn't that prove that she can't clear her name either?"

The Emperor said, "Now that the matter has been investigated, it has nothing to do with Consort Xian. Everyone, stop crowding around." How could he not see that the words on the handkerchief were deliberately imitated? Lianye was also imitating the words on the handkerchief, so Lianye's handwriting was closer to the words on the handkerchief.

Jiang Fenghua finally breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor was a wise ruler; he just didn't like her.

She thought the matter was over and done with.

Unexpectedly, the nanny beside Su Tingwan suddenly stepped forward and said, "A palace maid who has privately sold palace items outside the palace should be punished with caning according to palace rules."

“She sold my things, so if anyone should be punished, it should be me,” Jiang Fenghua said to the old nanny.

Then the old woman said, "Your Majesty and Empress, when I went to Consort Xian's palace to retrieve the manuscript, I took it upon myself to search Chenxi Palace and found that the jewelry that the Empress and the other consorts had lost a few days ago was hidden there. I suspect that Lianye may not only sell handkerchiefs, but also steal and sell items from the palace. I asked the Imperial Guards to go with me, and sure enough, I did find stolen goods in Chenxi Palace."

The Imperial Guards were carrying several bundles, which contained palace utensils as well as gold and silver jewelry.

At this moment, the concubines stepped forward one after another, saying, "This hairpin is mine, this one is mine, this bracelet is mine, this earring is mine..."

Everyone came forward to claim them. Jiang Fenghua and her two maids were dumbfounded. Even a palace maid from Chenxi Palace came out to identify them, saying, "This servant often saw Lianye and Hongxiu acting suspiciously. It turns out they stole things from the palace and hid them..."

Lianye stared at the palace maids, her eyes filled with disbelief. "What nonsense are you spouting? When have we ever been sneaky or stolen anything from the palace to hide?"

One of the palace maids, Cuiping, directly pointed out, "Sister Lianye, just admit it. No matter how well we hid it, they still found it all. You can't use my silver anyway, so I'll give it back to you."

She took out a large bag of silver from her purse and threw it in front of Lianye. The gleaming silver left Lianye no room for denial; she was caught red-handed and had no way to defend herself.

Lianye said, "Cuiping, you have no conscience! Your mother is sick and you don't have money to treat her. Who gave you the money...?"

“Sister Lianye, stop making up these stories. You always use this excuse when you leave the palace. My mother died long ago. I don’t have a mother at all.”

Lianye felt like the sky had fallen. Palace maids had two opportunities to leave the palace to visit their families each month, and she had indeed made Cuiping do that. But Cuiping had also really cried pitifully for her; her family was very poor and had no money to pay for her parents' medical treatment...

The Empress frowned. "Consort Xian, how could you allow people in your palace to steal things from the palace and sell them? This...this...how can I protect you? With such character, how can I feel at ease raising the little prince and princess by your side?"

"No, we didn't," Jiang Fenghua denied. What did Su Tingwan want? Did she want her child? No way.

"Your Majesty, I have neither lotus leaves nor any lotus leaves. Please believe me," Jiang Fenghua pleaded.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor asked the Imperial Guards, "What happened? You went to retrieve Consort Xian's manuscripts, how did you find so much jewelry?"

"Your Majesty, these items were indeed found in the Morning Light Palace, and they were placed together with these embroidered handkerchiefs. It seems they were intended to take them out of the palace to resell them," the Imperial Guard reported.

The Emperor looked at the handkerchief; there was no writing on it. "Consort Xian, what is your explanation?"

"Your Majesty, I did not. I do not know how those things ended up in Chenxi Palace..." Jiang Fenghua denied.

Her face was deathly pale. She felt as if someone had woven a net around her, trapping her tightly. She was like a dying fish struggling to escape, but she couldn't break free no matter what she did.

"Consort Xian, do you still not admit that you were involved in stealing items from the palace? Did you embroider all these handkerchiefs? Did you really embroider so many handkerchiefs just for fun? Is it really unrelated to you?" the Empress asked her repeatedly.

Even if she complains to the Emperor, he won't find anything if he goes to Chenxi Palace to investigate, because the monthly allowance and clothing and jewelry she provided for Chenxi Palace are all still there.

There were even people who regularly sent silver to the Jiang family, all of which were her doing. Where did this money come from? Wasn't it the silver that Jiang Fenghua obtained by stealing items from the palace to help the Jiang family?

Jiang Fenghua, speak up! Keep trying to deny it. See how the Emperor finds out that the Jiang family was also involved in this matter, and then Jiang Shaofu's reputation will be ruined.

You entrusted your second sister to sell the handkerchiefs. The Jin family is in business, and the Emperor has ordered the Jin clan to be shut down...

Jiang Fenghua understood Su Tingwan's threat, and she said, "These handkerchiefs were embroidered by your concubine..."

Lianye said, "It wasn't Consort Xian, it was all done by me alone. I stole all these things by myself, and Cuiping stole them too. She thinks she can get away with this little bit of silver? Dream on. If we're going to die, we'll all die together."

"Lotus Leaf..." Jiang Fenghua roared at her, "You didn't do it, why admit it? It wasn't you..."

"It was me, Your Majesty. It was all my doing. I'm so sorry. I've done so many wrong things behind your back. I'm truly sorry." Lianye's eyes were firm, as if she were ready to die.

“She admitted it herself, why should Consort Xian protect her? She’s just a maid.” Ji Chen said sarcastically. “No wonder she can recite so many love poems. She almost implicated me. She’s obviously not a good person. Keeping her by Consort Xian’s side will really corrupt the little prince and princess.”

The next moment, Lianye said to him fiercely, "If Prince Ji had no wicked intentions, how could he have been bewitched by a few love poems from this servant? Since you knew that these handkerchiefs came from the palace, why did you only take them out now instead of informing the Emperor beforehand? Instead, you broke into the inner palace to meet with this servant in secret. It takes two to tango. This servant admires you, and you admire this servant too, don't you? To exchange gifts with the women of the inner palace in secret, Prince Ji cannot escape punishment."

"Who admires you?" Ji Chen's eyes turned red with anger. "Nonsense, utter nonsense! I only kept quiet to the Emperor because I was tempted by the handkerchief." He was also afraid that the Emperor would misunderstand.

"What a sharp-tongued palace maid! Is this how Consort Xian taught them? They're utterly lawless!" the Empress scolded. "Wang Mama, what should be done with such a palace maid?"

"Your Majesty, according to palace rules, he should be beaten to death." Normally, the concubines and maids in the harem should be under the Empress's jurisdiction, and the Emperor would not interfere.