"Bring the person over here right now!" Yuwen Wuji roared.

The crowd quickly parted, and Song Yaozhu and Yongle walked in, looking bewildered, their hands full of lanterns.

"Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Imperial Concubine." The two bowed simultaneously.

Yongle asked, bewildered, "Uncle, what's going on? Why is everyone gathered here?"

Yuwen Wuji looked Song Yaozhu up and down. He saw that her lake-green dress made her look tall and graceful. Her black hair was tied up with a few gold hairpins, which was simple but elegant. Her face was not covered with makeup, but under the light, her teeth were white and her lips were red. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and then glared at the imperial concubine.

If she weren't so incompetent, tonight would have been the night he got what he wanted!

Consort Gui did not receive the Emperor's order to rise and continued to squat. Her legs began to go numb, and perhaps due to insufficient blood supply, her mind began to become unclear.

What if that blood is Mo Yu's?

How is Mo Yu now?

She looked up at Song Yaozhu, who had already stood up, holding a lantern in each hand, and only glanced at her sideways.

The moment their eyes met, she saw the disdain and provocation in Song Yaozhu's eyes!

It was her! She knew everything, so she turned the tables on her!

Mo Yu is in her hands!

But she couldn't question Song Yaozhu right now, otherwise she would expose herself!

She composed herself and said, "Your Majesty, that thief dared to attempt an assassination within the palace; he must harbor rebellious intentions. He must be thoroughly investigated!"

The Emperor's eyes flickered, and he immediately thought of Xie Liwei, who had drunkenly left the banquet. He raised his hand and whispered something in Li Wei's ear, and Li Wei quickly instructed a young eunuch to carry it out.

"Your Highness, a palace maid just reported that she saw you and a man entering this courtyard in an indecent manner. Perhaps you and your lover were caught having an affair, so your lover killed the witness!"

Song Yaozhu couldn't help but find it amusing that Gao Ping was still trying to take advantage of her even in this state.

"Your Highness, people can be killed indiscriminately, but words cannot be spoken carelessly," she said with a smile, a smile that, in Gao Ping's eyes, was a blatant threat.

Gao Ping trembled. Did she mean that if she continued to implicate her, she would kill Mo Yu?

She bit her lower lip, concealing her murderous intent.

I must not let all my efforts go to waste at this crucial moment.

"Then please explain, Your Highness, why would anyone say they saw you in an ambiguous relationship with a man?"

"Your Majesty, I could say such baseless things too! I could also say that the Imperial Concubine dislikes men but prefers women, and has improper relationships with her female officials! Anyone could say such things, how could Your Majesty believe them?"

"You!" Gao Ping's face turned pale, looking as if she was about to ascend to heaven from anger.

"Uncle, which cunning palace maid was spreading rumors? We had her brought here and had her tongue cut out! Sister Song was with me on Lantern Street guessing riddles the whole time. Which eye of hers saw that? Did she mistake me for a man?"

Yongle said fiercely, but before he could finish speaking, Princess Xuan pinched his arm hard, and he cried out, "Mother, it hurts!"

"How dare you be so disrespectful and spout such arrogant words in front of the Emperor! Who taught you to bully others with your power!" Princess Xuan was furious; her daughter was truly stupid!

Is this the time for her to play the hero? Even if there's deep sisterly affection, there's a time to consider the occasion! This is clearly a trick devised by the Imperial Concubine to deal with the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao!

Why would the Imperial Concubine want to deal with the Princess Consort of Xiaoyao? Naturally, it's because the Emperor wants to deal with the Prince of Xiaoyao!

The previous imperial examination incident, with so many scholars pleading for the Xie family, made her feel chills down her spine, let alone the emperor sitting on the dragon throne!

The Xie family has no connections in the court, yet they have the power to command students across the land—what a terrifying force they are!

If it is not eliminated, how can he sleep peacefully?

It was the recent return of the Dowager Consort to the capital that temporarily shifted the Emperor's attention to the Prince of Yan. Therefore, Princess Xuan was not surprised at all that the Emperor was now taking action against the Prince of Xiaoyao's residence.

"Emperor Yongle spoke without restraint; Your Majesty, please forgive him!"

Yuwen Wuji glanced at Yongle. "You said you and the Princess Consort have been guessing lantern riddles on Lantern Street?"

Yongle nodded, "The servants on the street can all testify, and the Imperial Guards can also testify!"

Yuwen Wuji looked at the commander of the Imperial Guards, who nodded in agreement.

Yuwen Wuji raised his hand, and a small eunuch immediately crawled down onto the stool. After he sat down, he instructed the Minister of Justice to begin the trial.

This was supposed to be a lively festival, but it turned into something so strange and unbearable.

The Minister of Justice dragged out the palace maid who had been identified for questioning. She could answer any question about the time and place. Song Yaozhu sneered and interjected, "Since you are so certain and remember the time so clearly, you must also remember what kind of clothes the man was wearing and what kind of accessories he was wearing."

The palace maid immediately started stammering, first saying the man wore a black round-necked robe and a jade crown, then saying the man wore a jade hairpin with a jade pendant. In short, it was all completely nonsensical.

Everyone understood that this palace maid was instructed to frame Song Yaozhu.

Song Yaozhu wiped away imaginary tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, choking out, "Your Majesty, I don't know which shrewd woman in the harem I offended, that she would go to such lengths to frame me. Now I am innocent, but it's a pity that her scheme failed and she even took two lives. Your Majesty, how can you sleep peacefully with such a villain by your side!"

The underlying meaning of Song Yaozhu's words was that this treacherous and cunning person dared to harm her now, and would dare to harm the Emperor in the future! Her ability to command people in the palace showed that she wielded considerable power; if you don't get rid of her, you'll be raising a tiger to cause you trouble later!

She knew that Yuwen Wuji was aware that the Imperial Concubine was behind everything. Even if Yuwen Wuji didn't touch the Imperial Concubine now, it would be good if he said something that created a rift between them.

Meanwhile, other onlookers were thinking, "Could this villain be Song Wenyue?"

Most of the people who have their own people in the palace are the imperial concubines, and among the imperial concubines, the only one who has a grudge against Song Yaozhu is her younger sister, Song Wenyue!

Thinking about it again, Song Wenyue's "catching them cheating" attitude before they even arrived might actually be her doing!

After noticing the strange looks from these people, Song Wenyue felt a chill run down her spine and immediately realized that she had become the scapegoat.

She gritted her teeth, knelt on the ground, and started crying.

"Your Majesty, I was also tricked into coming here today by a palace maid. She said my sister was in trouble and asked me to rescue her. I rushed here and encountered the Imperial Concubine. I dare not imagine what would have happened if the Imperial Concubine had arrived even a moment later, and found me in the room... At that time, I would have been in deep trouble no matter what! That villain is so vicious, trying to frame both my sister and me! Waaah, who did my sister and I offend!"

Song Wenyue's crying inadvertently linked her and Song Yaozhu as victims. However, it also pointed the finger at the Imperial Concubine.

Consort Gao glared fiercely at Song Wenyue, that bitch...!