Chapter 265 Internal Strife

Jiang was greatly shocked. Dou Wenyi really couldn't tolerate Sheng Xiyue and wanted to smear her.

The Crown Prince already had reservations about this marriage. If they were to give him a chance, would he really want to break off the engagement?

She looked sharply at Dou Wenyi, "Your Highness, what do you mean? Sheng Xiyue is perfectly fine in the East Palace, what does this have to do with this? Jingchu just explained the reason, it was clearly her maid who took the wrong fan."

"The Crown Princess should be tolerant. Even if Xiyue and the Crown Prince had some affection when they were young, it can't surpass you. Besides, even without our Xiyue, there will be other concubines and secondary consorts in the vast Eastern Palace in the future."

"Why should the Crown Princess make such a fuss over such a trivial matter and involve innocent people?"

As expected, the old fox was shrewder, and with just a few words, Jiang turned her attention back to her.

She openly accused her of being a jealous woman, wanting to take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

How ridiculous! Do they think they can confuse the public with this?

Lady Fan, the wife of the Duke of Wen, looked displeased. "No matter what, Jingchu is a member of the Wen family. To be forcibly taken to the East Palace from the opera house and subjected to severe torture is truly inappropriate for the Crown Princess. To imprison her own aunt would be a disgrace to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Dou Wenyi was not offended at all and said coldly, "This move was also out of desperation. If it weren't for the reputation of the Wen and Sheng families, the whole of Tianning City would know the truth once the Ministry of Justice came to our door."

"The fact that a concubine conspired with her own aunt to drug the crown prince is an unprecedented and laughable tale."

"As the two elders said, if things really escalate, I'm afraid both the Sheng family and the Wen family will have to keep a low profile and avoid showing their faces in public from now on... Aunt, what do you think?"

Jiang frowned. "What evidence do you have?"

Dou Wenyi sneered and ordered Cuizhi to bring over a statement from Granny Tao.

"On the third day of last month, Sheng Runeng lost 20,000 taels of silver at the casino. When he returned home, he used his aunt's dowry to pay off the debt. The two had a big fight and even got into a physical altercation."

Wen Jingchu racked her brains and came up with a way to make money.

"Sheng Runeng's newly acquired concubine is a courtesan from Lanxiang Courtyard. From her, we learned that the madam has a very effective aphrodisiac recipe. Coincidentally, Sheng Xiyue is in a great hurry to enter the Eastern Palace because of Feng Tingyun's matter."

"Therefore, Wen Jingchu and Sheng Xiyue hit it off immediately and decided that Sheng Xiyue would provide 30,000 taels of silver and Wen Jingchu would agree to drug the Crown Prince. You already know what happened after that."

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the atmosphere was oppressive.

Jiang's face turned pale. She instantly realized something, grabbed the testimony, and began to read it quickly. The more she read, the more serious her expression became.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother, and she naturally guessed that Sheng Xiyue was involved in this matter.

"These... are all just Granny Tao's side of the story. She must be trying to exonerate herself by making baseless accusations and slandering Xiyue. Do you have any evidence?"

Dou Wenyi sneered, "Without evidence, how dare you alarm our elders? Someone, go and invite Consort Sheng over!"

Since last night, Sheng Xiyue had not seen Yuzhu. She tossed and turned all night and could not sleep. When she still did not see Yuzhu this morning, she had a feeling that something was wrong.

When she was invited to the Chaohua Palace and saw her mother, Madam Jiang, she could no longer hold back her tears.

She threw herself into Madam Jiang's arms and cried, "Mother, I've missed you so much, you've finally come..."

Madam Jiang stroked her head and gently comforted her, "Alright, don't cry. With the Sheng family around, no one can bully you."

While wiping away her tears, Granny Yao complained, "Madam, you must stand up for Miss! She was confined to her quarters by the Crown Prince on her very first day in the Eastern Palace, and she was even frightened by a giant python. She can't even call the imperial physician when she's sick. Miss is so pitiful..."

Her shout caused a variety of awkward expressions on everyone's faces.

"Alright, shut up!"

Madam Jiang took a deep breath and pleaded, "Your Highness, Xiyue has already been punished by the Crown Prince. However, it is a matter within the inner quarters, and feelings outweigh the law. I hope Your Highness will be lenient for the sake of the Wen family and not pursue the matter any further."

Dou Wenyi narrowed her eyes slightly, her smile forced. "Intentionally drugging the Crown Prince is a serious matter, not a trivial one. Consort Sheng, what do you say?"

Sheng Xiyue gritted her teeth, feeling increasingly fearful and uneasy.

Dou Wenyi said coldly, "To prepare this aphrodisiac, in addition to the usual medicinal herbs, you also need rosemary from the Western Regions; this incense is only sold at Chen's Incense Shop, and because it is expensive, few people pay attention to it. However, half a month ago, Yuzhu, who was by Consort Sheng's side, bought up all the stock of Chen's Pharmacy and gave the madam five hundred taels of silver to help her refine it."

"In the end, the madam gave Sheng Xiyue five bottles of aphrodisiacs. Wen Jingchu took two bottles and left three. Concubine Sheng was worried about the efficacy, so she even put the drugs on a prostitute to test their effectiveness!"

"The medicine on the fan has already been identified by the imperial physicians and recorded in the imperial records. Finding the remaining three bottles of medicine would mean catching the perpetrator red-handed."

"Madam Jiang, why don't you guess where your daughter hid the remaining medicine?"

Her voice was soft, but it was deafening and chilling to everyone who heard it.

Almost everyone understood that Dou Wenyi had obtained solid evidence. If the charge was proven, Sheng Xiyue would at least be rejected by the Crown Prince, and at worst be executed according to the law.

Sheng Xiyue stared intently at Dou Wenyi, "Where...did you put the jade bead?"

"Indeed, Yuzhu confessed everything!"

Dou Wenyi nodded. "Someone, bring Yuzhu up."

The guards dragged the injured Yuzhu up and respectfully presented her with a jade bottle. "Your Highness, this medicine... was found in Consort Sheng's bedroom."

Sheng Xiyue's face drained of color. Looking at Yuzhu's clothes stained with blood, she felt a pang of heartache, filled with anger and resentment.

She cried out, "No, no, you framed me!"

Dou Wenyi glanced at her nonchalantly, "I knew you would say that. The madam made five bottles of medicine in total, and there are still two left. I guess they should be hidden in Consort Sheng's bedroom before she got married."

"Madam Jiang, do you wish to request that the Ministry of Justice search the Sheng residence?"

Jiang was furious. Realizing that there was no way to resolve this matter peacefully, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Sheng Xiyue across the face.

"You wretched child, I have spoiled you too much because you are young. I never thought you would be so easily bewitched and cause such a disaster today."

Her eyes welled up with tears.

Sheng Xiyue was stunned by the sudden slap, feeling extremely wronged, and continued to deny it, "Mother, I really didn't..."

Lady Fan, the wife of the Duke of Wen, glanced at Dou Wenyi without showing any emotion, thinking to herself that this little girl was quite formidable.

She had already investigated the matter thoroughly and even summoned people from the Wen and Sheng families, just to make a big scene and sow discord between the Wen family and the Crown Prince. Wouldn't it be incredibly difficult for them to benefit from the Crown Prince's influence in the future?

Even though she hated Wen Jingchu and Sheng Xiyue, she knew she couldn't remain a concubine. However, the Wen family was the Crown Prince's maternal family, connected by blood, and she couldn't let this matter cause estrangement.

Therefore, these culpability cannot all be attributed to the Wen family.

Fan tugged at Wen Jingchu's sleeve, her eyes constantly giving him hints.

Of course, none of their actions escaped Dou Wenyi's eyes. Now, it's almost impossible for Sheng Xiyue to escape unscathed.

She's waiting for them to fight like dogs!