Ye Liangdi was stunned: "Are you crazy? How dare you slander me?"

Ye Liangdi's shock was genuine, but whether it was from Zhang Pozi's betrayal or from being truly slandered was hard to say.

"Ye!" The Crown Princess slammed her teacup down on the table with a thud. "I think you've gone mad! You've always been so competitive and ambitious, I just thought you were vain, jealous, and ignorant. But now you dare to do such a thing!"

"Madam Ye, we are both concubines. You have been disrespectful to me time and time again, and I have never said anything to you. I never expected that today you would go even further! Trying to collude with this old woman to harm me. You actually want to pin this crime of murdering my offspring on me? You are really audacious. There is the Crown Princess in the Crown Prince's backyard. How come you think you can cover up everything now?"

Su Liangdi looked furious.

The others remained silent.

Ding Zhaoxun wasn't there, and the others, being of lower status, refused to speak up.

Of the two women who could interject, Luo Liangyuan felt it was inappropriate for her to do so.

The wild geese fly south, but all they care about is watching the show.

“I didn’t! This old woman said it herself, she…” Ye Liangdi paused halfway through her sentence: “You’re lying to me?”

"Liangdi!" Liu Ying quickly stopped Ye Liangdi from hitting someone.

The Crown Princess was furious: "Ye, you plotted to harm our offspring, and now you dare to frame someone else! How dare you!"

Liu Ying pulled back Ye Liangdi, who was about to erupt, and then knelt down herself: "Your Highness, it is Zhang Pozi who admitted that Su Liangdi instructed her to switch the medicine. She said it herself. Our Liangdi's mistake was in sending someone to see this old woman. The gold was indeed given to her by our Liangdi, but it was only as a reward. We did not ask her to frame Su Liangdi. If Your Highness does not believe us, you are free to investigate. Our Liangdi's only mistake was in not being able to distinguish Zhang Pozi's lie in time. This matter was definitely not done by our Liangdi."

Liu Ying was indeed very efficient; her words were reasonable and well-founded.

But how could the Crown Princess possibly listen?

"Guards, take this servant away and question her thoroughly! I don't believe her. Send Consort Ye back and keep a close watch on her. Don't let her wander off." The Crown Princess stood up and looked at Consort Ye: "Even if you are the Empress's niece, you are still a Consort in this household. As long as I am the Crown Princess, I am your mistress. If you are not satisfied, just submit a memorial to His Majesty and ask him to depose me!"

"How dare you! Ning Jiaolan, what gives you the right? I want to see my cousin!" Ye Liangdi was about to lose her temper.

"How dare you address the Crown Princess by her given name! You deserve to be slapped!" Jianchun snorted.

"Slap me? Come on, let's see who dares!" Ye Liangdi's eyes were red.

Just then, Cuizhu rushed over.

"Greetings to the Crown Princess and all the ladies." She smiled and said, "What's wrong? Crown Princess, please don't be angry. What could possibly be so serious?"

Cuizhu was, after all, the Empress's person, so even the Crown Princess had to give her some face.

Giving face is for the Empress, not for Cuizhu herself.

So she said in a harsh tone, "Stop pretending with me. Don't you know anything? Even if Her Majesty the Empress were here today, would you just let this Ye family get away with it? What about His Highness?"

"What did Your Highness the Crown Princess say? I was just asking. It was Her Majesty the Empress who instructed me to inquire if necessary. How could I possibly concern myself with so many things? As for the matter of this child's offspring, we can't say that it was Consort Ye who did it."

"And what do you think?" the Crown Princess asked, looking at her.

"What I mean is that we should confine Consort Ye to her quarters for now. An investigation is definitely necessary, but we can't use torture indiscriminately. Although Liuying is a servant, she came from the Ye State Duke's mansion. She's a child that the Old Madam likes very much. If she's really hurt, wouldn't that be bad?"

This is a reminder that interrogation is acceptable, but extracting confessions through torture is not.

"At least you still remember I'm the Crown Princess. Well, it's true that it's hard to conclude whether this is a case of murdering one's offspring, but the evidence against Consort Su is conclusive. If you're still not satisfied, then come to the palace." The Crown Princess said calmly.

Cuizhu naturally knew when to stop. No matter how you look at it, it was Ye Liangdi who had been tricked and caught red-handed.

"Yes, Your Highness, this servant will naturally obey."

How could Ye Liangdi accept this? "I didn't slander her, it was this old woman herself..."

“Ye Liangdi, the truth and the details need to be investigated slowly. For now, you should stay at home.” Cuizhu’s tone became a little firmer.

Ye Liangdi was still very afraid of the Empress, and she was also afraid of the Empress's people.

So even if he was furious, he could still say something, but in the end he was still grounded.

This is the first time in the two years since I entered the government.

"Don't worry, Madam Su, I will naturally stand up for you. And as for Ding Zhaoxun, I will naturally stand up for her in this matter," the Crown Princess said.

With tears welling in her eyes, Consort Su curtsied and said, "This concubine thanks Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Liu Ying was taken away, and so was Granny Zhang.

But while fireflies are cared for, that old woman... is likely to end up with nowhere to be buried.

After everyone dispersed, Luo Liangyuan caught up with her: "Sister Yan."

"What is it, Sister Luo?" Yan Nangui smiled.

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling down, and it's so cold outside. I was thinking of coming over to your place for a bit. Would you be welcome?" Luo Liangyuan asked.

"Of course you're welcome, let's go," Yan Nangui said with a smile.

“My Tingfeng Garden is quite far from your Jiyue Pavilion. But it’s close from the main courtyard to yours. If I go to your place for a visit and then go back, it’s just like paying my respects to the main courtyard and then taking a stroll in the garden,” Luo Liangyuan said with a smile.

That's an interesting explanation," Yan Nangui nodded with a smile.

When they arrived at Jiyue Pavilion, Luo Liangyuan was astonished.

They are all respectable women, but there are really different kinds of respectable women.

Her Tingfeng Garden was much smaller in scale, and she lived with Han Chenghui.

That's not all; the furnishings inside the house are also vastly different.

This Jiyue Pavilion was clearly carefully decorated. Yan Liangyuan had only been in the manor for a little over a month; it's impossible that she decorated it herself.

That was arranged in the mansion.

Exquisite in every way, it was no less than that of Liangdi, after all, Luo Liangyuan had also been to the rooms of Ye Liangdi and Su Liangdi.

At least, this place is not much worse than Su Liangdi's.

And looking at Yan Liangyuan's usual attitude, the hot drinks brought to her by the maids, and the respectful manner with which the maids served her.

You can really tell that this is the refinement of a large family.

Even though this Yan family member had been married into the Meng family for two unhappy years, and even though she had been mistreated by her stepmother.

But ultimately, being born into a prominent family makes a difference.

At this moment, Luo Shi remembered that not only was Yan Shi herself the legitimate daughter of the Great General, but her birth mother, Lan Shi, was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Lan.